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Former House Speaker Hastert seeks sentencing delay due to poor health | CHICAGO (Reuters) - Former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, convicted last year of a financial crime, asked on Friday for a delay in his sentencing due to poor health. Hastert pleaded guilty in October to a federal charge of “structuring” - evading bank reporting rules by withdrawing large amounts of cash in smaller increments - in a hush-money case stemming from allegations of sexual misconduct. The 74-year-old, once one of the country’s most powerful politicians, was hospitalized in November and was treated for a spinal infection requiring surgery, a severe blood infection and a stroke, his lawyers said in a motion filed on Friday. The lawyers have not been able to meet with Hastert to prepare for the scheduled Feb. 29 sentencing due to his health problems, the motion said. The lawyers requested a March 7 status hearing before U.S. District Judge Thomas Durkin. Hastert faces up to five years in prison but prosecutors have recommended a sentence of six months or less, in exchange for his guilty plea. Hastert admitted to paying $1.7 million in cash to an individual he had known for decades to buy that person’s silence and compensate for past misconduct toward that individual. Prosecutors did not spell out the misconduct, but unnamed law enforcement officials have told media that it was sexual and involved someone Hastert knew when he was a high school teacher and coach in his hometown of Yorkville, Illinois, in the 1960s and 1970s. | 0fake |
No plan to use National Guard for immigration enforcement: White House | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Friday said there was no plan to utilize the National Guard to round up unauthorized immigrants, after a news report asserted that the proposal had been under consideration by the Trump administration. White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters he couldn’t categorically say the move had never been discussed anywhere in the administration. The Associated Press reported the proposal to mobilize up to 100,000 National Guard troops was part of a draft memo being circulated at the Department of Homeland Security. Spicer sharply criticized the report. “There is no effort at all to ... utilize the National Guard to round up illegal immigrants,” he said. “This is 100 percent not true.” David Lapan, a spokesman for DHS, said the department was “not considering mobilizing the National Guard for immigration enforcement.” The AP said the draft memo, dated Jan. 25, had been circulating among DHS staff for about two weeks and was addressed to the then-acting heads of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. It reported the 11-page document called for an unprecedented militarization of immigration enforcement on the states bordering Mexico - California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas - and also encompassed seven states contiguous to those four — Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. The AP said the memo was meant to serve as guidance to implement the wide-ranging executive order on immigration and border security that President Donald Trump signed on Jan. 25. A DHS official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the memorandum obtained by the Associated Press was an “early, early version” of a document being prepared by staff for Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly. Discussion of the National Guard was dropped before the memo ever made it to Kelly’s desk, the official said. The memo being prepared for Kelly has not yet been finalized but is expected to be finished soon, the official said. | 0fake |
BREAKING: A HUGE DEAL! Putin Suspends Nuclear Pact With US | The Obama administration has done everything in its power to destroy the atmosphere of trust which could have encouraged cooperation Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday suspended a treaty with Washington on cleaning up weapons-grade plutonium, signaling he is willing to use nuclear disarmament as a new bargaining chip in disputes with the United States over Ukraine and Syria.Starting in the last years of the Cold War, Russia and the United States signed a series of accords to reduce the size of their nuclear arsenals, agreements that have so far survived intact despite a souring of U.S.-Russian relations under Putin.But on Monday, Putin issued a decree suspending an agreement, concluded in 2000, which bound the two sides to dispose of surplus plutonium originally intended for use in nuclear weapons.The Kremlin said it was taking that action in response to unfriendly acts by Washington. It made the announcement shortly before Washington said it was suspending talks with Russia on trying to end the violence in Syria.The plutonium accord is not the cornerstone of post-Cold War U.S.-Russia disarmament, and the practical implications from the suspension will be limited. But the suspension, and the linkage to disagreements on other issues, carries powerful symbolism.Read more: Reuters | 1real |
Climate Change Blamed for Half of Increased Forest Fire Danger - The New York Times | Forest fires are burning longer and stronger across the western United States, lighting up the landscape with alarming frequency. Residents are forced to flee, homes are incinerated, wildlife habitats are destroyed, lives are lost. Last year, the Forest Service spent more than half its annual budget fighting fires. Scientists have long theorized that climate change has contributed to the longer fire seasons, the growing number and destructiveness of fires and the increasing area of land consumed, though some experts suggest that the current fire phenomenon is not just a result of a changing climate, but also policies practiced by the government for the last century or more. In a new study published Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists from the University of Idaho and Columbia University have calculated how much of the increased scope and intensity of Western wildfires can be attributed to climate change and its effects. They state that, since 1979, climate change is responsible for more than half of the dryness of Western forests and the increased length of the fire season. Since 1984, those factors have enlarged the cumulative forest fire area by 16, 000 square miles, about the size of Massachusetts and Connecticut combined, they found. The study uses “fuel aridity,” or dryness of the climate and the forests, as a way to measure the influence of climate change on forest fires. The combination of a long period of drought in the West and hot temperatures have caused trees and undergrowth to become particularly tinderlike. Warmer air can draw more moisture, in general, from trees and plants, turning them into kindling. The scientists used the dryness of the climate to determine the dryness of the forests themselves, using eight metrics that corresponded with fuel dryness and fire danger, said A. Park Williams, one of the study’s authors and an assistant research professor at Columbia’s Earth Observatory. The authors found that fuel aridity in a given year has a direct relationship with the forest fire area, and that climate change accounts for 55 percent of the increased aridity from 1979 to 2015. Cyclical climate variations would have dried out the landscape some, but climate change on top of those patterns caused this drying process to double. Dr. Williams said that those variations were also affected by patterns in the Pacific Ocean, which alternate between cooler, wetter periods and hotter, drier ones and also contribute to the drier landscape and a longer fire season, according to the study. In the beginning of the period examined in the study, 1948 to 2015, the West was in a cool, wet period, but has since shifted to a hot, dry period. Dr. Williams also stressed the exponential relationship between fuel aridity and the wildfire area: Every degree that temperatures warm has a much bigger effect on the fire area than the previous degree did. He also said that this pattern — longer fire seasons, more burned acres of forest — is likely to continue as long as there is enough fuel to burn, but that there will come a point, probably in the middle of the century, when there are not enough trees left to sustain wildfires. Some human activity — such as fire suppression, land development and fire ignitions — is thought to have also contributed to the wildfire problem, and Dr. Williams said that prescribed fires might be able to help slow the rapacious appetite of Western wildfires, but the effect of these factors on aridity was not included in the study. The study notes — but does not include — the effects of other phenomena that may be associated with climate change, such as more frequent lightning strikes, the growth and spread of beetle populations that kill Western pines as a result of climate change, and the reduced snowpack in Western mountain ranges. Wildfires also release carbon dioxide, one of the main drivers of climate change, and reduce the number of trees available to absorb carbon dioxide, a double whammy for the atmosphere. “People tell me that they’ve never seen fires as active as what they’re battling right now,” Dr. Williams said. “What we’re seeing in fire world is much different than what we saw in the 1980s, and in the 2030s, fires will be unrecognizable to what we’re seeing now. ” | 0fake |
Iran halts flights to Iraqi Kurdistan at request of Baghdad: agency | DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran has halted flights to airports in Iraqi Kurdistan at the request of the central government in Baghdad, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Sunday, a day before a Kurdish independence referendum. The agency quoted Keyvan Khosravi, spokesman for Iran s top security body, as adding that Iran was also closing its airspace to flights originating in Iraqi Kurdistan. | 0fake |
(VIDEO) BALTIMORE BBQ & BREW OWNER GUARDS RESTAURANT AFTER LEADERS “UTTERLY FAILED” | Midtown BBQ & Brew owner Tony Harrison was on Fox and Friends to explain that he saw video of a police line being breached and realized that [authorities] weren t going to be able to help us. That s when he decided he would stand watch outside of his business instead.Harrison said that he left his restaurant at one point. When he came back, a window was broken. He said he waited inside in the dark to protect his restaurant, but nothing further happened.Harrison said he s disappointed in the way leaders have responded to the rioting which began in the wake of Freddie Gray s death. They utterly failed, they failed the businesses, they failed the communities, they failed their own police officers, Harrison said. | 1real |
Illinois no closer to budget deal after key legislative elections | CHICAGO (Reuters) - The two main antagonists in Illinois’ budgetary stalemate signaled no imminent spending deal on Wednesday, a day after a series of politically symbolic elections tilted in favor of Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan over Republican Governor Bruce Rauner. Madigan and Rauner have feuded since last summer over a fiscal 2016 spending plan, and Illinois has been without a fully-functioning operating budget since July, the longest stretch of fiscal futility in modern state history. Candidates supported by Rauner in the two most expensive, highest-profile legislative primaries Tuesday faced defeat, and an insurgent Democrat backed by Republicans and other anti-Madigan forces failed spectacularly in Rauner’s bid to unseat the House speaker on his political home turf in Chicago. Madigan said those results should persuade Rauner to drop his effort to tie an anti-union, business-backed agenda to passage of a state budget and focus solely on “the most important issue at hand.” “With the clear message sent by voters Tuesday, I am hopeful we can use this framework moving forward to implement a state budget and work together to get things accomplished for the people we serve,” Madigan said in a statement. Several legislative races on Tuesday were regarded as proxy battles in the Madigan-Rauner standoff - none more so than the $6.2 million contest in Chicago to topple incumbent Democratic Representative Ken Dunkin, regarded by many Democrats as a political turncoat for missing a key labor vote opposed by Rauner and failing to vote to reverse human-services cuts made by the governor. President Barack Obama, who had served in the Illinois Senate and then represented the state in the U.S. Senate before moving to the White House, made an almost unheard of endorsement in a state legislative race for Dunkin’s Democratic challenger, Juliana Stratton, which helped her score a convincing win, which a top Rauner aide sought to minimize. “Even in a Democratic primary, the speaker needed to call in the president of the United States to defeat one legislator who dared to show a hint of independent thinking,” said Rauner spokesman Lance Trover, insisting that Tuesday was not a total political washout for the governor. Trover cited “many races” Tuesday in which “special interests backed by Speaker Madigan failed to defeat Republican incumbents and candidates who support Governor Rauner’s call for structural reforms.” Rauner sought to punish an incumbent Republican state senator, Sam McCann, from rural Illinois for bucking him on union-backed legislation the governor opposed. In that $4 million race, the second costliest statehouse race in the primary, Rauner personally campaigned with GOP challenger Bryce Benton, who lost to McCann handily. “Perception is everything in politics, and to the political community Rauner came up on the short end of a fight with Madigan. So he looks weak and Madigan looks strong,” said David Yepsen, the head of Southern Illinois University’s Paul Simon Public Policy Institute. Still, Yepsen said, political dynamics that didn’t exist prior to Illinois’ primaries now could make a budget deal easier. Democratic lawmakers facing uncontested elections in the fall might cast Rauner-friendly votes more easily, and voters sent a message Tuesday to Rauner to retool his anti-union, business-backed agenda, Yepsen said. But Rauner’s administration showed little willingness to do that in a Wednesday statement that needled Madigan for allowing the House to be on a month-long recess despite the ongoing budget stalemate. “The primary elections are over and rather than issuing partisan press releases, the speaker needs to end his month-long vacation and begin working with the governor to enact a balanced budget alongside structural reforms that grow our economy,” Trover said. | 0fake |
Review: ‘The Present’: Even in Russia, It’s Hard to Turn 40 - The New York Times | As is so often the case, the party doesn’t really get going until everybody is good and drunk. Then, after much wine, vodka and awkward conversation, comes a fabulous eruption of runaway hedonism. Maybe, you think, coming to this shindig wasn’t such a bad idea, after all. You’ve known such moments, surely, when the spectacle of people going stark raving wild carries its own irresistible, anarchic logic. A feeling of vital connection saturates the room like the fizz from an exploded bottle of Champagne. Alas, the thrill is a lonely cascade of fireworks in a night of damp squibs. And the briefly, beautifully animated revelers go back to being their soggy, miserable selves. That’s what happens — in terms of both plot and performance — toward the end of the first half of “The Present,” the Sydney Theater Company’s sprawling and confused adaptation of a sprawling and confused play written by a young Anton Chekhov. This fitful Australian import, which opened on Sunday night at the Barrymore Theater, chronicles the bad behavior at one birthday celebration. The mistress of these revels, I am happy to report, is the extraordinary screen star Cate Blanchett, making a Broadway debut. Ms. Blanchett is portraying the hostess and birthday girl, Anna, a ravishing widow who is unhappily turning 40. Ms. Blanchett knows how to hold a stage and, if necessary, hijack it. Her performances in “A Streetcar Named Desire” (at the Brooklyn Academy of Music) and “Uncle Vanya” (at New York City Center) both for the Sydney Theater Company, were as brilliant as they were brave. Such commanding, charisma is useful if you’re attempting to hold together a badly assembled party or, for that matter, play. But here Ms. Blanchett’s inventiveness is as sorely taxed as that of her character. Anna’s party turns into the kind of disaster that ends not only in tears but also bloodshed. This production, on the other hand, feels moribund from the beginning. Frantic attempts at resuscitation by Ms. Blanchett and her valiant leading man (and unforgettable in “Uncle Vanya”) a tireless Richard Roxburgh as a hapless homme fatale, only occasionally succeed in eliciting a pulse. “The Present,” which has been adapted by Andrew Upton (Ms. Blanchett’s husband) and directed by John Crowley, is the Chekhov play that almost got away. Though the scholarship on its origins is uncertain, it appears that Chekhov began writing it as an student, and it exudes a youthful, passionate untidiness. Its manuscript, a whopper in length, wasn’t published until nearly two decades after his death. An uncut version would take at least five hours this one is three. The eminent playwrights Michael Frayn and David Hare, among others, have done their best to domesticate this shaggy behemoth. Mr. Frayn reconceived it as an elegant sex farce, under the title “Wild Honey” (seen briefly on Broadway in the ) while Mr. Hare’s adaptation hewed closer to the more brooding, tragicomic template usually associated with Chekhov. That version is called “Platonov,” and I saw a fine production of it at London’s National Theater last summer. Directed by Jonathan Kent, it was set in the period in which it was written. And the vestiges of decorum served as an appropriately chafing corset for the flabby plot. Mr. Upton drags the story out of the twilight of the czars and into the morning after of the . As in the original script, it’s a period of profound uneasiness, when a nation’s future is murky and its citizens unsure of their roles. But despite the inclusion of several soliloquies on recent Russian history, it’s hard to comprehend what they’re reacting against here. Exit the robber barons (and the real aristocrats) enter the oligarchs and their murderous henchmen. Farewell, balalaikas hello, the Clash. As for those without a fixed part in the new scheme of things, they’re the same old kvetchers of yore, doomed to circular philosophizing and drinking. Chief among these is Mikhail Platonov (Mr. Roxburgh) a provincial schoolteacher of vaulting wit and unfulfilled aspirations. He knew Anna when she was the young trophy wife of a powerful general, now dead. It’s at the general’s summer dacha — rendered with all the personality of an Ikea showroom by the show’s designer, Alice Babidge — that Anna has chosen to celebrate her birthday. Her guests include her stepson, Sergei (Chris Ryan) who as a youth was best friends with Nikolai (Toby Schmitz) and Mikhail, who is married to Nikolai’s sister, Sasha (Susan Prior). Though Mikhail is a bloviator, a womanizer and a mean drunk, Sasha loves her husband. So, more problematically, do all the other women in the play, who, in addition to the patrician Anna, include Sergei’s wife, Sophia (Jacqueline McKenzie) a humanitarian physician, and Nikolai’s girlfriend, Maria (Anna Bamford). It’s hard to fathom the attraction, but apparently once you’ve had your first whiff of him, Mikhail is as addictive and dangerous as crack cocaine. Maybe it’s because he’s livelier and more subversive than the other guys, who include Anna’s rich older suitors, Alexei (Martin Jacobs) and Yegor (David Downer). But like most of his contemporaries, Mikhail can’t stop talking about how directionless his life is. Such flailing is common in Chekhov. But usually you understand the specific, idiosyncratic places his characters are coming from. In this version, everyone seems to be flailing interchangeably, in the same stale vacuum, for all eternity. (Setting the play’s third section in what looks like a dreamscape only compounds the impression.) Ms. Blanchett does bring colorful shades of excitement to being bored. Her Anna plays a great game of dramatically uninterested chess, and her response to a rambling speech by Mikhail at the lunch table is priceless. (Hint: it involves the removal of an undergarment.) That comes just before that bacchanal I wrote about earlier. It’s one of the most memorable party sequences I’ve ever seen, a volcanic channeling of a displaced class’s fear, anger and disgust. These people want to blow up their world, and in a way they do, most entertainingly. That leaves us with another full hour of tediously sorting through the ashes. | 0fake |
Ted Cruz-John Kasich Alliance Against Donald Trump Quickly Weakens - The New York Times | The temporary alliance between Senator Ted Cruz and Gov. John Kasich of Ohio, formed to deny Donald J. Trump the Republican presidential nomination, was already fraying almost to the point of irrelevance on Monday, only hours after it was announced to great fanfare. With the pact, the two candidates agreed to cede forthcoming primary contests to each other. Mr. Kasich would, most crucially, stand down in Indiana’s primary on May 3 to give Mr. Cruz a better chance to defeat Mr. Trump there, while Mr. Cruz would leave Oregon and New Mexico to Mr. Kasich. It appeared to be a measure of last resort, but initially it seemed like a breakthrough. Mr. Cruz trumpeted what he called the “big news” in Indiana, a state that appears pivotal to stopping Mr. Trump from winning a majority of delegates. “John Kasich has decided to pull out of Indiana to give us a contest with Donald Trump,” he said. But at his own campaign stop in Philadelphia on Monday, Mr. Kasich tamped down Mr. Cruz’s triumphalism. Voters in Indiana, Mr. Kasich said, “ought to vote for me,” even if he would not be campaigning publicly there. He added, “I don’t see this as any big deal. ” Under the best of circumstances, the arrangement between Mr. Cruz and Mr. Kasich would seem to be a long shot — more of an expedient to stop Mr. Trump from taking a big step toward winning the nomination next week in Indiana than a permanent joining of forces. Far from forming any kind of unity ticket, Mr. Trump’s surviving challengers have both vowed to triumph in an open convention in Cleveland, and they remain irreconcilable on key matters of policy. Their agreement dealt only with three states, leaving an open question as to how directly they might compete with each other everywhere else. Even in Indiana, emerging as the most important state, the pact appeared something less than decisive. While Mr. Kasich’s campaign canceled his public appearances in the state, the governor was still slated to visit Indianapolis on Tuesday for a event at the Columbia Club. And he still had meetings scheduled with a series of Indiana Republicans, including Gov. Mike Pence, according to a leading Republican in the state. Mr. Cruz’s campaign privately advised supporters on Sunday not to endorse tactical voting, whereby his supporters might switch their allegiance to Mr. Kasich in states where the Ohio governor is running stronger against Mr. Trump. “We never tell voters who to vote for,” read the suggested Cruz talking point. “We’re simply letting folks know where we will be focusing our time and resources. ” Mr. Trump, who has taunted his opponents throughout the race for their Keystone Kops approach to undermining his campaign, seemed to relish the continuing strain between his remaining rivals. On Twitter, he mocked “Lyin’ Ted Cruz” and “1 for 38 Kasich,” referring to the latter’s dismal winning record in the Republican race, for being unable to beat him on their own. “So they have to team up (collusion) in a two on one,” Mr. Trump wrote. “Shows weakness!” At a campaign rally in Rhode Island, Mr. Trump boasted that his opponents were united against him, and said he welcomed their “collusion. ” “Actually I was happy,” he said, “because it shows how weak they are. ” Allies of both Mr. Cruz and Mr. Kasich did not exactly disagree with that assessment, and acknowledged that the prospect of imminent disaster in Indiana had been the impetus to reach their deal, such as it is. Still, aides to Mr. Cruz and Mr. Kasich seem acutely aware that they risk turning off voters who find the arrangement unseemly. Even before his rivals’ agreement, Mr. Trump had complained repeatedly that the nominating process was “rigged” against him. With Mr. Trump expected to win all five of the East Coast states that vote on Tuesday, the next opportunity to slow his campaign will come a week later in Indiana. Republicans believe he must be stopped there if they are to deny him the nomination. “Indiana is a for Ted Cruz, and it’s a for anybody who doesn’t think Donald Trump should be the nominee,” said David McIntosh, the president of the Club for Growth, a conservative group opposed to Mr. Trump and supportive of Mr. Cruz. The group is airing an ad in Indiana urging voters to vote for Mr. Cruz, not Mr. Kasich, to stop Mr. Trump, and officials said they intended to keep it on the air despite the agreement. On Monday, Trusted Leadership PAC, a group supporting Mr. Cruz, said it also planned to keep a previously announced attack ad against Mr. Kasich on the air in Indiana. The group added, though, that it had shelved advertising plans in New Mexico and Oregon. Charles R. Black Jr. an adviser to Mr. Kasich, said it would be helpful to his candidate — and “a big blow to Trump” — for Mr. Cruz to win Indiana. The point of announcing the deal, Mr. Black said, was to indicate to outside “super PACs” where the campaigns and candidates were marshaling their resources. Mr. Black played down the degree to which voters would cast their ballots strategically, switching allegiance between candidates to thwart Mr. Trump. “Either the guy gets to 1, 237 or he doesn’t,” he said. “Voters don’t focus on this tactical, inside baseball stuff. ” For months, rivals of the Republican have claimed that he has succeeded only because the vote has been spread among so many alternative candidates. That argument appeared to falter in New York last week, when Mr. Trump won 60 percent of the vote and captured nearly all of the state’s delegates. Now that each of them has been granted a cleaner shot against Mr. Trump — in different states, and at different moments over the next few weeks — Mr. Cruz and Mr. Kasich will have no easy excuse if Mr. Trump continues to prevail. While Mr. Cruz faces the more immediate test in Indiana, Mr. Kasich will have to make swift use of his free hand in Oregon. Though the state’s primary date is May 17, the election there is conducted by mail, and voters will begin to receive their ballots this week. Ron Saxton, a prominent Kasich supporter in Oregon, said the deal “puts more pressure” on Mr. Kasich and Mr. Cruz to perform strongly against Mr. Trump. But Mr. Saxton, a former Republican candidate for governor, said there was catching up to do in his state. “None of the three G. O. P. campaigns have any real Oregon visibility yet, just the national press,” Mr. Saxton wrote in an email. “Since Cruz’s name remains on the ballot, my guess is that he’ll get close to the same votes he’d get if he hadn’t ‘withdrawn.’ Is he going to actively encourage his supporters to vote for Kasich?” On Monday, both candidates swatted away questions about whether the deal was something of an underhanded ploy. Mr. Cruz said the agreement was aimed at empowering voters against the denying that the effort to stop Mr. Trump was subverting the will of the people. “This is entirely about the will of the people,” he said. “This is about winning the votes of the Hoosier State. ” Mr. Kasich, in Pennsylvania, grew quickly agitated at the suggestion that his deal with Mr. Cruz reflected desperation. “Me? No, I’m not desperate — are you?” he asked a reporter. “Are you desperate?” | 0fake |
This Method Has Predicted Every Modern Election And Trump Is Screwed | It s not about polls, it s not about personalities, it s not about unfavorable (or favorable) ratings, it s not even about policy. Moody s, who has predicted every election since Reagan in 1980, says that the Democrat will win the White House and the odds are getting progressively worse for Trump.According to Moody s, it s the economy. It s always the economy, and despite Trump s insistence that we are stuck in an apocalyptic nightmare of 40 percent or more unemployment, people are pretty happy overall, which favors the party in office: Democrats.It s a bad sign for Trump. Moody s has been predicting a Democratic triumph since last August, but the margin of victory is getting bigger for the left as the economy has stayed relatively strong and President Obama s approval rating has risen.The reason a Democrat will win isn t about polling or personalities, it s about economics, says Moody s. The economy is the top issue in just about every election. When the economy is doing well, the party currently in office usually wins again. When the economy is tanking, Americans vote for change.So far, the U.S. economy is chugging along. It s growing. Millions of people are getting jobs, home prices are rising and gas is cheap. All of this favors Democrats. The bad thing is that this puts Trump right in his comfort zone. Just two years before the housing collapse, Trump, on the Howard Stern Show, actually hoped that the real estate market would collapse. You can bet that he s hoping something similar for 2016.Right now, Moody s says the thing most likely to put a wrench in Democrats plans is if the price of oil was to dramatically rise. Nationally, that level would have to be about $3.00 per gallon. Right now, the national average is about $2.31, which Americans are pretty comfortable with.The other thing Americans are comfortable with, which bodes well for Democrats, is President Obama. His approval rating is over 50 percent for the first time in three years. If it holds at current levels, the two-year increase in the president s approval rating running up to the election would surpass even that of President Ronald Reagan at the end of the Cold War, notes Moody s.Best yet, the swing states are all looking pretty good. Moody s predicts that Virginia, New Hampshire, Ohio, Florida, Colorado (no wonder Republicans hate legalized pot, it helps the economy and helps Democrats win) and Nevada will all swing for the Dems. North Carolina should go Republican unless the transgender bathroom laws get enough Dems to the polls.Featured image via Joe Raedle at Getty Images (Clinton)/Isaac Brekken with Getty Images (Trump) | 1real |
Word Via Ned Dougherty Nov 1, 2016 | By wmw_admin on November 5, 2016 End Times Daily — Nov 1, 2016 St. Rosalie’s Parish Eucharistic Chapel, Hampton Bays, NY Our Lady of Light My dear son, On this very important feast day in the Church of My Son Jesus, the Redeemer of the world, I come to you with greetings from not only your Heavenly Mother, but also from your brothers and sisters, who are now united with us in the Eternal Kingdom of the Father in Heaven. You must know that your brothers and sisters are particularly saddened by the events that are taking place in your world, but your brothers and sisters in Heaven know resolutely that all will be fulfilled in the end according to the Word of the Father in Heaven. But your brothers and sisters know the challenges that you are going through in your world, particularly in the United States of America, where the evil one, the demon from hell, is currently waging his battle for the future of your country, and his minions are working overtime to keep the evil one in power and control over the rest of you. The challenge for you living here on Earth, not only in America, but throughout the world is to identify and defeat the minions of satan, who are stealthily going about their plans to create a draconian new world order to dominate and control the rest of you. Alas! Now the minions of satan are becoming exposed to the rest of you, as it has been ordained through the intervention of the Father in Heaven through His Son, the Redeemer of the world. In your governments, your institutions, your foundations, your places of higher learning, as well as through your commercial businesses and entities, and in your media and entertainment, you are seeing the work of the evil one stripped bare and the minions of the evil one fully exposed now. This dressing down of the minions of satan has been made necessary for the Father’s plans for mankind to be realized. However, the Father in Heaven and His Son, the Redeemer of the world, are relying on you, the sons and daughters of all that is good, to stand up to the challenge presented by those who are supporting all that is evil. Never before has it been so clear to you, who among your public figures have sworn their allegiance to the evil one, so it is imperative upon humanity in these times to remove these evilly motivated and controlled individuals from places of power and authority, for such is the will of your Father in Heaven. You have been given a unique opportunity in the history of mankind to reduce, nay to eliminate, all the evil in the world that comes from satan, but that is implemented and fueled by his minions. Do not avoid the truth at this point! Now is the time to remove the despots from their positions of power and authority and to replace them with those who can align themselves with the Heavenly Father and His Son to usher in a New Heaven and a New Earth, as opposed to the new world order of the evil one. So be it! | 1real |
So Much For Brussels Terror Victims…Let’s Play Ball! | Hey Barry, could you at least have enough respect for the terror victims in Brussels to remove your shades for the interview? President Obama was all smiles this afternoon as he watched an exhibition baseball game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cuban national baseball team just hours after ISIS terrorists killed at least 34 people in Brussels.Settling down with wife Michelle, daughters Sasha and Malia and Cuban dictator Raul Castro, Obama appeared carefree as he enjoyed the game ignoring calls to cut short his historic trip to return to Washington and lead the response.Indeed, despite criticism that he only devoted one minute of his speech earlier in the day to the Belgian atrocities, Obama took the time to give a somewhat surreal 15-minute interview to ESPN about the threat posed by ISIS keeping his $500 shades on throughout the spot.Here is Obama s surreal interview with ESPN:After observing a moment of silence for the hundreds of victims, a relaxed Obama said, This is just one more example of why the entire world needs to unite against these terrorists. When asked by ESPN why he had not returned to Washington, the president said to do so would show the terrorists they have the power to disrupt. It s always a challenge when you have a terrorist attack anywhere in the world, particularly in this age of 24/7 news coverage, said the president. You want to be respectful and understand the gravity of the situation, but the whole premise of terrorism is to try to disrupt people s ordinary lives. Recalling what he called one of his proudest memories during his time as president, the reaction of Boston Red Sox David Ortiz after the Boston bombings in April 2013, Obama said he felt the hitter spoke for the nation when he said, This is our f**king city and nobody is going to dictate our freedom. Probably the only time America didn t have a problem with somebody cursing on live TV was when he talked about Boston and how strong it was and wasn t gonna be intimidated, Obama said. That is the kind of resilience and the kind of strength that we have to continually show in the face of these terrorists. They cannot defeat America. The president then offered his thoughts and prayers to those affected by the terror attacks.Communist human rights violated Raul Castro wasn t able to release any political prisoners, but he was able to release doves at the historic baseball game with Comrade Obama Doves released from centerfield stands ahead of Rays-Cuba game pic.twitter.com/kVEJHjfyxn Edward-Isaac Dovere (@IsaacDovere) March 22, 2016Just after the game ended and Air Force One took off for Argentina for a two-day stint, the president ordered all federal flags to be flown at half mast as a mark of respect for those who were killed in Tuesday morning s attacks.Prior to his interview with ESPN, Obama had faced calls from Ted Cruz, Donald Trump and John Kasich to leave Cuba and return to the states.Meet the new Che We can only hope he retires there.Shepard Fairey mock-up for sale in Havana: Yes We Came pic.twitter.com/TgiHAvYqsu Edward-Isaac Dovere (@IsaacDovere) March 23, 2016The president did not heed their advice. He dedicated a brief portion of a planned speech to the attacks and went on about his day.Here s Obama and his new bestie doing the wave https://twitter.com/BKcolin/status/712342816685494273He met Cuban dissidents at the U.S. Embassy in Havana, then made his way to watch the baseball in casual khaki pants, white shirt, no tie, and sunglasses. Via: Daily Mail | 1real |
‘Simpsons’ Creator Matt Groening Eerily Foresaw Today’s Republican Insanity 25 Years Ago | Matt Groening loves to poke fun at everything conservative and Republican. From the hilarious Fox News motto on a news chopper that circles Springfield, home of The Simpsons, to his own comic, Life In Hell, he s been clear that Republicanism is not something to which he takes kindly. This is plainly in evidence in Life In Hell, where he rewrote the Pledge of Allegiance several times.The most amazing of these pledges captures right-wing bigotry, fundie Christian culture, and jingoism very well. It reads:Matt Groenig predicted the future in 1994 pic.twitter.com/VJ0joILC18 Butch Brodie (@butch_brodie) August 25, 2016 I pledge allegiance to and wrap myself in the flag of the United States against anything un-American, and to the Republicans for which it stands, two nations, under Jesus, rich against poor, with curtailed liberty and justice for all (except blacks, homosexuals, women ). Look at today s GOP. It has been hijacked by flag-waving, gun-toting pseudo-Christians who think Murica is the greatest nation on earth, and woe to he who disagrees with any of that. In doing so, they ve co-opted our flag and turned it into a symbol of all that is wrong, not right, with this country.Groening may not have known it at the time, but he was predicting the future of the Republican Party with this particular pledge. However, it s not the only time he s made fun of the Pledge of Allegiance. He had this one, too, from 1991: I pledge impertinence to the flag-waving of the unindicted co-conspirators of America, and to the Republicans for which I can t stand, one abomination, underhanded fraud, indefensible, with liberty and justice, forget it. And this one: I plead alignment to the flakes of the untitled snakes of a merry cow and to the republicrats for which they scam: one nacho, underpants with licorice and jugs of wine for owls. Maybe Groening saw back then what we re actually living now? These nutbags are people who think they re taking their country back, and in the process, have pretty much stolen everything that made us the United States of America (except fundie Christianity and the oppression that comes with it, and ammosexuality. They can keep those two). These three pledges are beautiful examples of everything wrong with Republicans.Featured image by Ethan Miller/Getty Images | 1real |
LONDON’S MUSLIM MAYOR DEMANDS MORE POWER: “On behalf of all Londoners, I am demanding more autonomy for the capital – right now” | This is the same Muslim mayor who recently banned sexy women from advertisements in London Sadiq Khan today called for London to take back control of its own destiny in the aftermath of the EU referendum.The Mayor issued a demand for more tax-raising powers right now as well as far-reaching command of public services.His devolution wish-list stopped short of calling for London, the only English region to vote to stay within the EU, as a city-state.But he stressed the extra powers would be necessary to protect the capital s economy, jobs and prosperity from the uncertainty of Brexit ahead.They include greater financial autonomy, as well as wide-ranging control over business and skills, housing and planning, transport, health and criminal justice.It comes as a petition calling on the Mayor to declare London independent hit more than 170,000 signatures in just three days. Via: Evening Standard Sadiq Khan today urged Londoners to stand guard against hate crime following Britain s decision to withdraw from the European Union.The Mayor joined Metropolitan Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe to warn there would be a zero tolerance approach to xenophobic attacks.City Hall aides said Mr Khan was very concerned about reports of racial tension after the Brexit vote highlighted disagreements about immigration. | 1real |
Ruby Rose And Chrissy Teigan Troll Donald Trump’s Wiretapping Nonsense In Hilarious Twitter Spoof | The longer Donald Trump and his merry band of authoritarian misfits carry on with the baseless claims that President Barack Obama wiretapped Trump Tower during the 2016 election cycle, the more subject they are to merciless and unrelenting ridicule. The latest people to troll Trump? Entertainers Chrissy Teigan and Ruby Rose.The two women had been on Lip Sync Battle together, and they used that as a way to riff on Trump s insane allegations against the former president. Taking to Trump s favorite platform for communication, Twitter, Teigan and Rose engaged in a back and forth in which they pointed Trump s own insanity back at him:The best part is that Ruby Rose pretty much outright calls Trump crazy. That s because he is. As funny as this is though, and as well-deserved as the mockery here and elsewhere is, it is also frightening. Donald Trump is president of the United States. What he says even via Twitter is of the utmost importance. He lies incessantly pathologically, even, and seems at times to be downright delusional. That is dangerous for the nation and the world, to have such a person holding the nuclear codes.Keep the mockery up, celebs. Perhaps Trump will go so far off the rails that the men in white coats will come for him, and we ll all be saved.Featured image via Michael Buckner/Getty Images (Teigan)/Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images (Ruby Rose) | 1real |
WATCH: John McCain Mocks President Bone Spurs Over His Draft Deferments | Sen. John McCain, whose status as a war hero Donald Trump publicly and controversially disparaged, took a swipe at the former reality show star over being the recipient of five deferments in order to avoid the draft because his feet hurt. In contrast, McCain spent more than five years as a prisoner of war in which time he was subjected to torture. He s not a war hero, Trump said during the presidential campaign. He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren t captured. During a C-SPAN interview about the Vietnam War airing Sunday night, McCain called out wealthy Americans who were able to get out of being drafted into service in the conflict in which he spent years as a POW. One aspect of the (Vietnam) conflict by the way that I will never ever countenance is that we drafted the lowest income level of America and the highest income level found a doctor that would say that they had a bone spur, McCain said. That is wrong. That is wrong. If we are going to ask every American to serve, every American should serve. Watch:TONIGHT @SenJohnMcCain talks about the Vietnam War's legacy on C-SPAN, at 6 & 10pm ET. pic.twitter.com/WnZT0n8Mcn American History TV (@cspanhistory) October 22, 2017Trump received five deferments, four of which were for his college studies, and one was for bone spurs.While on the campaign trail, Trump warned that if Hillary Clinton was elected we would end up in World War III. Trump won the election and now he routinely lashes out at countries such as North Korea while having a dick measuring contest with the dictator.The U.S. Air Force is preparing to put nuclear-armed bombers back on 24-hour ready alert, a status not seen since the Cold War ended in 1991, Defense One reports.But, Trump is a Fortunate Son who avoided going to war while people of lesser incomes had to see their children drafted. McCain went full-Maverick and called him out for that but in the best possible way.Personally, I don t like Presidents with bone spurs.Image via screen capture | 1real |
Scientists Warn of Climate Apocalypse: CO2 Emissions Will Send Earth Back to ‘Triassic Period’ | The unchecked use of fossil fuels will produce a climate not seen since the Triassic period about 200 million years ago, researchers warn in a new report. [The culprit for this unprecedented warming is atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) suggest researchers led by the University of Southampton in the UK, which by the year 2250 could reach levels equivalent to those of the “age of reptiles,” when dinosaurs roamed the earth. In their research, the researchers admit that CO2 levels are “much lower now” than they have been at other, hotter points in the earth’s history, yet they warn that levels are rising rapidly. During hotter periods in the planet’s history, the concentration of CO2 has climbed as high as 3, 000 parts per million (ppm) whereas in 2016, the concentration was only 400 ppm. If fossil fuel use continues unabated, the researchers predict, the concentration of carbon dioxide will reach 2, 000 ppm by about 2250. By the year 2400, the earth could reach temperatures not seen for more than 400 million years, they said. “So not only will the resultant climate change be faster than anything the Earth has seen for millions of years, the climate that will exist is likely to have no natural counterpart, as far as we can tell, in at least the last 420 million years,” said geochemist Gavin Foster from the University of Southampton in the UK. “We found no past time period when the drivers of climate, or climate forcing, was as high as it will be in the future if we burn all the readily available fossil fuel,” Foster said. At the same time, Foster recognized that scientists have no way of measuring CO2 concentrations from millions of years ago but must “rely on indirect ‘proxies’ in the rock record. ” Climate proxies have come under heavy fire from a number of scientists, however, who consider them to be beyond inaccurate. The “primitive modeling” involved with the use of climate proxies is “inaccurate and unreliable well beyond what is required for the conclusions drawn,” said Dr. Duane Thresher, a climate scientist with a PhD from Columbia University and NASA GISS. Climate proxies are very sparse, Thresher has noted, and a single measurement often has to represent thousands of square miles or more. “A single temperature for the Earth averaged from these measurements is meaningless and absurd,” he stated. But the use of unreliable proxies is not the only issue of contention among climate scientists. A deeper problem is the function and consequences of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the way that the earth reacts to it. Last fall, a group of scientists were amazed to discover that the world’s plants have somehow increased their capacity to assimilate carbon, resulting in an actual decline in the percentage of CO2 remaining in the atmosphere. Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that despite the increased human emissions of greenhouse gases, between 2002 and 2014, plants were somehow able to absorb more carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere than in previous decades. In their study published in Nature Communications, the researchers noted that “terrestrial ecosystems play a significant role in the global carbon cycle and offset a large fraction of anthropogenic CO2 emissions. ” Moreover, some scientists vehemently disagree with treating carbon dioxide as a pollutant at all, suggesting that it is a necessary and beneficial component of the atmosphere. Dr. William Happer, professor emeritus of physics at Princeton University and a member of the National Academy of Sciences, has insisted that fearmongering regarding global warming creates needless hysteria. “We’ve heard that CO2 is a demon molecule that causes global warming,” Happer said, whereas in reality more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere produces increased crop yields and a greener planet. According to Happer, an increase in carbon dioxide would only benefit both plant life and human life. “We should tell the truth: CO2 will benefit the Earth,” he said. Follow Thomas D. Williams on Twitter Follow @tdwilliamsrome | 0fake |
Political Party of Anarchists, Libertarians, Hackers, and Computer Geeks to Take Power in Iceland | By Claire Bernish at thefreethoughtproject.com
In a country continuing to shirk the ordinary, Iceland’s Pirate Party — an amalgamation of anarchists, libertarians, and hackers, who want to ban digital surveillance — is predicted to win the country’s national elections this Saturday.
This collection of free-thinkers have upturned the traditional Western political paradigm and hopes to use online public polls to shape governmental policy and end all Internet spying.
Although the Pirate Party formed just four years ago, its popularity has skyrocketed — most likely for unconventional tactics aligning loosely with libertarianism — the promotion of privacy rights and personal freedoms, and simultaneous shrinking of Big Government.
Edward Snowden has been offered the safe haven of Icelandic citizenship should the Pirates likely victory come to fruition — which makes sense, given the party’s anti-establishment roots.
In fact, the Pirates have experienced astonishing success in a short time — taking the nation’s longstanding political traditionalists off-guard in the process — even the group’s founder, a programmer and former Wikileaks activist, is stunned.
Asked whether she expected the explosion of enthusiasm for the nascent Pirate Party — which now leads in public polls with 22.6 percent — founder Birgitta Jónsdóttir decisively told the Washington Post , “No way.”
But considering growing frustration with ever-increasing Western governments — and all of the surveillance programs, police state tactics, and chill on personal liberties — the rise of the Pirates, who describe themselves as neither right nor left but a radical mix of both, hardly seems too shocking.
“People want real changes and they understand that we have to change the systems,” Jónsdóttir asserted, “we have to modernize how we make laws.”
According to the Pirates’ website , “The Icelandic Pirate Party was founded on November 24th, 2012 based on the political ideology of the Swedish Pirate Party, which Richard Falkvinge founded in January 2006, to bring about internet copyright reform.” | 1real |
Ireland demands 'significantly more clarity' from UK over Brexit border | DUBLIN/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Ireland needs Britain to provide significantly more clarity on its plans for the Irish border, Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said on Thursday, denting hopes that London was on the verge of a deal to move on to the second phase of Brexit talks. But British Prime Minister Theresa May s room to offer additional concessions to Dublin appeared extremely limited as the Northern Ireland party propping up her government hinted it might withdraw its support if she gives too much. Avoiding a so-called hard border on the island of Ireland is the last major hurdle before Brexit talks can move to negotiations on Britain s future trade relationship with the EU and a possible two-year Brexit transition deal. A mis-step by May could bring down the British government or spook British businesses fearful of a cliff-edge Brexit without a transition deal. We are looking for significantly more clarity than we currently have from the British negotiating team, Coveney told parliament in Dublin, adding that constructive ambiguity from Britain would not suffice. Hopefully we will make progress that will allow us to move on to Phase 2 in the middle of December, he said. If it is not possible to do that, so be it. Britain in the coming days needs to demonstrate sufficient progress on three key EU conditions a financial settlement, rights of expatriate citizens and the Irish border for leaders to give a green light to trade talks at a summit on Dec. 14-15. With significant progress on the financial settlement and citizen rights, a deal on the Irish border would pave the way for Brussels to offer British Prime Minister Theresa May a transition deal as early as January. Britain s Times newspaper, without citing a source, said London was close to a deal after a proposal to devolve more powers to the government of its province of Northern Ireland so that it could ensure regulations there did not diverge from the EU rules in place south of the border across the island. The border between EU-member Ireland and the British region of Northern Ireland will be the UK s only land frontier with the bloc after Brexit, and Dublin fears a hard border could disrupt 20 years of delicate peace in Northern Ireland. Ireland has called on Britain to provide details of how it will ensure there is no regulatory divergence after Brexit in March 2019 that would require physical border infrastructure. But any attempt at a solution will have to convince Northern Ireland s pro-Brexit Democratic Unionist Party, whose 10 members of parliament are propping up May s government. The party ratcheted up the pressure on Thursday by suggesting it might withdraw its support for May s government. If there is any hint that in order to placate Dublin and the EU they re prepared to have Northern Ireland treated differently to the rest of the United Kingdom, then they can t rely on our vote, DUP member of parliament Sammy Wilson said in an interview with the BBC. European Council President Donald Tusk, who last week set an absolute deadline of Monday for May to demonstrate sufficient progress on the three issues, is due to fly to Dublin on Friday for talks with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar in a bid to break the deadlock. May will then hold talks in Brussels on Monday with EU chief executive Jean-Claude Juncker and his chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, and will hope to secure a green light to trade talks at a summit on Dec. 14-15. Barnier said on Wednesday the summit would be able to discuss a transition period and that the EU would define a framework next year of the new partnership with Britain that would follow the transition. May has insisted she wants any new offers to be met with simultaneous assurances from the EU that it will maintain the open trading relationship which businesses are demanding to know soon if they are to maintain investment levels in Britain. | 0fake |
Trump seizes on U.S. jobs report to target Democratic economic policies | WASHINGTON - Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said a U.S. jobs report on Friday that showed the weakest hiring in more than five years proved that Democratic economic policies are pushing the country in the wrong direction. The report gave Trump his biggest opening yet to target Democratic rival Hillary Clinton on the economy, after months of mostly solid economic indicators. “It’s going the wrong way folks. They’ve been kidding themselves, they’re playing games. It’s going the wrong way,” Trump told a rally in Redding, California. Clinton, the front-runner to be the Democratic nominee for the Nov. 8 election, has credited President Barack Obama for reviving the U.S. economy after the 2008 recession but has also said that the recovery is not over. In a CNN interview, Clinton acknowledged the figures were “disappointing to anybody.” “I think President Obama inherited a terrible situation and I’ve said that repeatedly over the past year and we’ve come a long way out of the ditch we were dropped into by failed Republican policies,” Clinton told CNN’s Jake Tapper. The unemployment rate in May fell three-tenths of a percentage point to 4.7 percent, the lowest level since November 2007, but that was in part due to people dropping out of the labor force. Overall, nonfarm payrolls increased by only 38,000 jobs in May. If disappointing jobs reports continue, Trump could use Clinton’s pledge to build on Obama’s work against her to woo working-class voters in states such as Ohio. The state has lost well-paying manufacturing jobs and is also a key presidential battleground - closely competitive because it does not lean heavily Republican or Democratic. Clinton, a former secretary of state, is likely to finally clinch the Democratic nomination over challenger Bernie Sanders on Tuesday when six states hold nominating contests. One is California, the most populous U.S. state, with the most Democratic delegates of any other state and where both candidates have been campaigning heavily. In a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Friday, some 46 percent of likely voters said they supported Clinton, while 35 percent said they supported Trump, and another 19 percent said they would not support either. The survey of 1,421 people was conducted between May 30 and June 3. Trump, a real estate developer, has already sewn up the Republican nomination. In the general election campaign, job creation plans are expected to be a priority, particularly in states that have been hit hard by manufacturing-sector job losses. Trump has promised to toss out international trade deals to revive U.S. manufacturing and sweep away a slew of environmental regulations to bolster the ailing energy sector. Job creation in the manufacturing and construction sectors fell sharply in May, according to Friday’s jobs report. Trump has already begun working economic numbers into his stump speeches. He has said he could put 15 states that have voted for Democratic presidents in recent elections in play, including Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan, which have all lost manufacturing-sector jobs. Peter Morici, a conservative economist and professor in the business school at the University of Maryland, said the poor jobs numbers reflected trends that have driven voter frustration and fueled the populist campaigns of both Trump and Sanders. He said Trump needed to add detail to his economic policies, such as detailing changes to social programs like Medicaid, which provides healthcare for the poor. “We can’t just turn around and cut income taxes without doing something about those things,” Morici said. Republican strategists agreed that Friday’s jobs report created an opportunity for Trump to differentiate his policies from Obama’s or Clinton’s. “It allows Donald Trump to tout how he would do things differently as president and focus on some of the job-creation plans that he has,” Republican strategist Ron Bonjean said, adding it would also allow Trump to talk about his record as a businessman. Trump has been fleshing out his foreign policy ideas and has released a tax plan, but he has been light on other details, such as how he would oversee the U.S. financial system. | 0fake |
DONALD TRUMP TIME PERSON OF THE YEAR: “The revolution he stirred feels fully American” | 1real | |
Germany’s Angela Merkel Makes Incredibly Naive Announcement: EVERY MIGRANT MUST LEAVE…After THIS One Condition Is Met… | Perhaps Merkel should have considered the serious consequences of Germany s compassionate open border policy that allowed over 1 million (mostly) Muslim males to infiltrate their country. German officials essentially granted them permission to rape and sexually assault their women and children while they looked the other way. But that s not all Germany is giving them free food, housing, education and spending money to boot. Does Angela Merkel really believe that when she tells these freeloading Muslim males that it s time to go back home, that they re going to pack up their bags and leave? As Germany s open-door refugee policy comes increasingly under fire, the Chancellor has tried to silence her critics.Despite mounting pressure to cap the number of refugees in the wake of the Cologne sex attacks which saw 130 women sexually assaulted by men, believed to be migrants, Mrs Merkel has stood her ground.Some 1.1million migrants entered Germany last year, many fleeing conflicts in Syria and Iraq.Mrs Merkel said: We need to say to people that this is a temporary residential status and we expect that, once there is peace in Syria again, once ISIS has been defeated in Iraq, that you go back to your home country with the knowledge that you have gained. Mrs Merkel said 70 per cent of the refugees who fled to Germany from former Yugoslavia in the 1990s had returned.She urged other European countries to offer more help because the numbers need to be reduced even further and must not start to rise again, especially in spring .Speaking to a regional meeting of her Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Mrs Merkel said said all EU states should have an interest in protecting the bloc s external borders, and all would suffer if the internal passport-free Schengen zone collapsed and national borders were closed.Peter Altmaier, who Mrs Merkel has tasked with overseeing the government s handling of the refugee crisis, said the government was negotiating with some countries including Turkey about taking back criminal refugees who arrived via non-EU countries.Yeah because what nation in their right mind wouldn t gladly accept criminal refugees into their country? Gee, we sure hope Merkel isn t foolish enough to believe there aren t any members of ISIS living comfortably in refugee housing or camps inside their open-borders.Via: Express UK | 1real |
Zadie Smith’s ‘Swing Time’ Explores Friends’ Diverging Paths - The New York Times | Doubles — pairs of friends, rivals and families contrasting ideologies and views of the world — animate Zadie Smith’s novels, as surely as doubles and doppelgängers haunt many Hitchcock movies. Her astonishing debut novel, “White Teeth” (2000) recounted the story of two World War II vets — polar opposites and best friends — and their extended families, opening out into a teeming, portrait of a multicultural London. “On Beauty” (2005) another magical novel (set mainly in Boston) also depicted two very different families with intertwined lives. And the disappointing “NW” (2012) used the diverging stories of two childhood friends to look at the potent and ever shifting dynamics of money and class. Ms. Smith’s latest novel, “Swing Time,” works a variation on this setup. This time, it’s two spirited London girls and their very different trajectories. There are echoes of Wendy Wasserstein’s captivating 1981 play, “Isn’t It Romantic” — in their titles, lifted from 1930s classics in film and song, and in their portraits of two friends’ coming of age and their conflicted relationships with their mothers. At the same time, this novel addresses many themes that have animated Ms. Smith’s work since the start: the competing claims that family, cultural heritage and politics exert on identity how personal imperatives are shaped (or not) by public events the mix of emulation, resentment and rebellion that inform children’s attitudes toward their parents. Told in the first person, the narrative cuts back and forth in time, alternating between persuasive chapters about the unnamed narrator’s memories of her childhood and adolescence (when she and her friend Tracey both aspired to become dancers) and dull, strangely generic chapters about her experiences, working as an assistant to a famous singer and humanitarian named Aimee, who can “procure a baby” for adoption “as easily as she might order a handbag from Japan. ” The novel’s flashback chapters, set in London, possess the tactile energy and emotional detail of “White Teeth. ” Ms. Smith conjures the electric pulse of the 1980s and 1990s, when goth and punk were taking over the streets, and the nostalgia of the Cool Britannia years, when people rode Vespas to work and decorated their cubicles with pictures of Michael Caine in “Alfie” — the boys looking like “rebooted Mods” with “Kinks haircuts from 30 years earlier,” the girls like “Julie Christie in short skirts with smudgy black eyes. ” She also captures the rituals of that era before smartphones and the internet transformed daily life — when email was still a rarity, and research was conducted not through Google, but in libraries, reading old newspapers and microfiche. She is more adept here than in “NW” at mapping the inner lives of her heroines, though the radical sympathy she evinced for her characters in “White Teeth” and “On Beauty” has given way to a somewhat more grudging attitude — perhaps accounted for by the fact that the story is told from the narrator’s decidedly subjective point of view. Ms. Smith conveys her heroines’ youthful passion for dance — a calling that only Tracey has the talent to seriously pursue — and the of their friendship. Tracey — whose absent father has been in jail, and whose angry mother is an enabler of Tracey’s worst impulses — is the diva, the heedless one, who wears flashy clothes, has lots of boyfriends and takes a lot of drugs. The narrator is the good girl, the prudent one, who plays Ethel to Tracey’s flamboyant Lucy. Eager to escape the shadow of her chilly, politically ambitious mother, the narrator goes off to college, and eventually takes a job that requires her to play Ethel to Aimee’s Lucy. Aimee is a complete celebrity stereotype — a rote of Madonna and Angelina Jolie, who possesses none of the satiric edge or surprising tenderness of, say, the Justin hero of Teddy Wayne’s 2013 novel, “The Love Song of Jonny Valentine. ” And the chapters that chronicle Aimee’s much publicized efforts to build a school in an unnamed African country are beyond tedious — Aimee jetting in from her cosseted life in Britain and America to visit a village and meet with children and politicians, all the while trailed by video cameras. These sections are so perfunctorily rendered that they often feel like stuffing, written to fill out the novel’s schematic structure, which moves between sections, and flashback, ones. Some of the narrator’s experiences in Africa with Aimee — combined with her efforts to understand shifting attitudes toward race in music and dance — are meant to raise larger questions about cultural appropriation, and the relationship between the privileged West and the developing world. But these issues do not spring organically from this clumsy novel — a novel that showcases its author’s formidable talents in only half its pages, while bogging down the rest of the time in formulaic and predictable storytelling. | 0fake |
Snapchat To Raise Up To $4 Billion In IPO, Valuing Company As Much As $40 Billion | Oct 26, 2016 3:52 PM 0 SHARES
The long await IPO of Snapchat is finally coming: according to Bloomberg the social media will seek to raise as much as $4 billion in its planned initial public offering, making it the biggest social media company to go public since Twitter's initial public offering in November 2013.
Bloomberg reports that The IPO could value Snapchat at about $25 billion to $35 billion, citing unnamed sources, and while no final decision has been made and the size of the IPO may change, and the valuation could reach as much as $40 billion, one of the people said.
In a surprising twist, because the company’s revenue is less than $1 billion, it plans to file IPO documents confidentially with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, one of the people said.
Snapchat chose Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to lead its offering, people familiar with the matter said earlier this month. JPMorgan Chase & Co., Deutsche Bank AG, Allen & Co., Barclays Plc and Credit Suisse Group AG will also be involved as joint book runners, the people said.
The Los Angeles-based company makes an application for sharing selfies and videos, watching news videos and chatting with friends. After its last funding round, Snap’s private market value reached $18 billion. | 1real |
Factbox: Where Republican U.S. senators stand on healthcare bill | (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Republicans’ legislation to overhaul Obamacare hit roadblocks almost as soon as it was unveiled: opposition from all 48 Democratic and independent senators and four conservative Republican lawmakers, as well as skepticism from several other Republicans. To win approval of the bill released on Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell can afford to lose only two Republican votes. (In the event of a deadlocked 50-50 vote, Republican Vice President can vote to break the tie.) Here is a tally of where Republican senators stand on the bill in its present form, before any possible amendments, based on statements by or interviews with the lawmakers on Thursday and Friday. OPPOSED: Five senators - Rand Paul of Kentucky, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Ted Cruz of Texas, Mike Lee of Utah and Dean Heller of Nevada. SUPPORTIVE: Four senators - Richard Burr of North Carolina and three members of the Senate Republican leadership: John Cornyn of Texas, John Thune of South Dakota and John Barrasso of Wyoming. UNDECIDED, LEANING YES: Four senators - Patrick Toomey of Pennsylvania, Richard Shelby of Alabama, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Johnny Isakson of Georgia. UNDECIDED: 10 senators - Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Marco Rubio of Florida, Susan Collins of Maine, Rob Portman of Ohio, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, James Risch of Idaho, John McCain of Arizona, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. | 0fake |
U.S. House committee approves bill to increase scrutiny of Fed | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Republican-controlled committee of lawmakers approved a bill on Tuesday to allow a congressional audit of Federal Reserve monetary policy, a proposal Fed policymakers have opposed and which faces an uncertain path to final approval. Democrats uniformly spoke against the proposal during a meeting of the House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, suggesting the bill would face stronger resistance than in the past. “We should not in any way hinder their independence,” said Representative Carolyn Maloney, a New York Democrat, echoing the sentiment of Fed policymakers who say they could come under political pressure to avoid making unpopular decisions such as raising interest rates to slow growth and control inflation. The next step for the bill would be a floor vote by the entire House, where Republicans hold a solid majority. Republican President Donald Trump expressed support for audits of the U.S. central bank during his election campaign, but it remained unclear whether the White House would back the proposal. Republicans proposed numerous bills during the Obama administration to open the Fed up to deeper scrutiny, arguing the added transparency would ensure the Fed was accountable and free of outside influence. Currently, the Fed publishes detailed audits of its finances but it keeps the inner workings of its monetary policy deliberations secret, publishing transcripts of policy meetings only with a five-year lag. The proposal approved on Tuesday would “put an end to that reign of secrecy,” said Representative Thomas Massie, the Kentucky Republican who submitted the bill. The House has already passed versions of the bill twice, with dozens of Democrats joining nearly unanimous Republican support in 2012 and 2014. Those versions of the legislation died in the Senate. Republicans control both houses of Congress but only have a narrow majority in the Senate. Representative Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts was among Democrats who voted in favor of similar legislation in 2012 and 2014 but came out against the current proposal, saying it could lead to political interference at the Fed. Lynch said he hoped a compromise could be found that increased transparency at the Fed, such as by requiring it to publish transcripts of policy meetings two years after they take place. | 0fake |
Bear enjoys sprinkler—memorable and heartwarming | FILMS & VIDEOS OF NOTE PATRICE GREANVILLE
T he images are eloquent , so I will add nothing along those lines. But think of this: The world is still crammed with countless moral imbeciles who get their kicks killing these creatures. In the USA it is a huge community of depraved bastards with a huge industry behind them, a vociferous gun lobby, and a pliant, worthless and utterly prostituted political class and media. Don’t get me wrong: I’m NOT a liberal. I am not seeking a ban on guns as that is a useless and unenforceable pursuit in a nation like the US. That train left the station a long time ago. And frankly I don’t like the notion of disarming the citizenry, especially when the corporate-sponsored police state is growing by leaps and bounds, visibly and covertly, right under our noses. What I am against is for humans to train their guns (and bows and arrows and other pestilential forms of weaponry) on helpless animals minding their business in a dwindling natural space. All to get some cheap kicks. A “legal crime”—how’s that for a glaring oxymoron— defended by a multitude of largely unchallenged baloney.
One of the million reasons why the squandering of media time on crap—political lies and cheap escapism— is a huge tragedy for humanity and those weaker species who depend on it. Meanwhile, visions like this should be used creatively by animal campaigners to push back against hunter propaganda, for example. The material is there. But the ineptitude of animal campaigners, especially the big orgs, is simply embarrassing. A disgrace. | 1real |
Al Jarreau, Singer Who Spanned Jazz, Pop and R&B Worlds, Dies at 76 - The New York Times | Al Jarreau, a versatile vocalist who sold millions of records and won a string of Grammys for his work in pop and RB as well as his first love, jazz, died on Sunday in Los Angeles. He was 76. His death was announced by his manager, Joe Gordon, who said that Mr. Jarreau had been hospitalized for exhaustion two weeks ago. On the advice of his doctors, he had canceled his tour dates and retired from touring. Mr. Jarreau did not begin a musical career until he was nearly 30, but within a few years he had begun attracting notice for a vocal style that was both instantly appealing and highly unusual. Critics were particularly taken by his improvisational dexterity, in particular his virtuosic ability to produce an array of vocalizations ranging from delicious nonsense to clicks and growls to sounds. Although he made his initial mark in the jazz world, Mr. Jarreau’s style, and his audience, crossed stylistic barriers. His music incorporated elements of pop, soul, gospel, Latin and other genres. It was a mark of his eclecticism that he won six Grammys across three different categories: jazz, pop and RB. He was also among the performers on a children’s album, “In Harmony: A Sesame Street Record. ” If Mr. Jarreau’s highly accessible, intensely personal style defied easy classification, that very accessibility — and, perhaps, the mere fact of his considerable commercial success — left some jazz purists skeptical. Reviewing a concert by Mr. Jarreau at the Savoy in New York in 1981, Stephen Holden of The New York Times encapsulated what many saw as both the pros and the cons of Mr. Jarreau’s singular style: “Al Jarreau may be the most technically gifted singer working in today,” Mr. Holden wrote. Of the evening’s performance, however, he continued: “Mr. Jarreau’s concert lacked the emotional range of great jazz. He is such a prodigious talent that the absence of even the slightest blues inflections kept his music from cutting deeply. ” But critics’ reservations never deterred Mr. Jarreau, who prided himself, as he told The Los Angeles Times in 1986, on his “jazz attitude,” which he defined as “the idea of being open to each and every moment as a chance to create something different. ” “I try to be receptive,” he added, “and to be listening, and to not be afraid to try something new. ” Alwin Lopez Jarreau was born in Milwaukee on March 12, 1940, into a musical family. His father, a minister, was a fine singer his mother played the piano in church. Young Al began singing at 4, harmonizing with his siblings. As a youth he sang in church, as well as with harmony groups and local jazz bands. Mr. Jarreau earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Ripon College in Wisconsin in 1962, and a master’s in vocational rehabilitation from the University of Iowa in 1964. Afterward he moved to San Francisco, where he worked as a rehabilitation counselor for people with disabilities. But Mr. Jarreau found he could not resist the pull of jazz and before long was singing in local nightclubs. By the late ’60s, he had quit his day job and embarked on a nightclub career, first on the West Coast and eventually in New York. He reached a national audience with the album “We Got By,” released by Warner Bros. in 1975 to critical praise and commercial success. Though advertised as his debut, it was actually his second album. A decade earlier, Mr. Jarreau had quietly recorded an album, later released on the Bainbridge label under the title “1965. ” Though Mr. Jarreau took legal action, without success, to block its belated release in 1982, it is esteemed by jazz connoisseurs today. Appearances on “Saturday Night Live” and other television shows raised his profile, as did extensive touring. In 1981 he had his biggest hit with the song “We’re in This Love Together,” which reached No. 15 on the Billboard pop singles chart. He won his first Grammy in 1978, for best jazz vocal performance, for his album “Look to the Rainbow. ” He won his last in 2007, for best traditional RB vocal performance the award was shared by Mr. Jarreau, George Benson and Jill Scott for their collaborative performance “God Bless the Child. ” In between, in 1982, Mr. Jarreau earned a Grammy for best pop vocal performance by a male artist for the title track of his album “Breakin’ Away. ” That year, he also received the Grammy for best jazz vocal performance by a male artist, for his version of Dave Brubeck’s “Blue Rondo à la Turk,” from the same album. His other Grammys came in 1979 for the album “All Fly Home” (in the jazz category) and in 1993 for the album “Heaven and Earth” (in RB). A seventh Grammy came in 1981 for “In Harmony: A Sesame Street Record,” a compilation children’s album that featured a range of artists. Among Mr. Jarreau’s recordings was the theme song for the television series “Moonlighting,” for which he wrote the lyrics to Lee Holdridge’s music. He appeared on Broadway as a replacement in the role of the Teen Angel in the 1994 revival of “Grease. ” Mr. Jarreau’s first marriage, to Phyllis Hall, ended in divorce. He is survived by his wife, the former Susan Player a son, Ryan two brothers, Marshall and Appie and a sister, Rose Marie Freeman. Mr. Jarreau canceled a number of concert dates in 2010 after experiencing heart and breathing problems during a European tour. He was hospitalized for 11 days but resumed his touring schedule after his release, and had continued to perform until recently. Shortly after his 2010 hospitalization, he said in an interview that his health problems had not been as serious as reports suggested, but joked that he appreciated the attention they received in the media because it proved that he was a celebrity. “I figured,” he said, “ ‘Yeah, maybe I have arrived.’ ” | 0fake |
Surprised About Donald Trump's Popularity? You Shouldn't Be | Surprised About Donald Trump's Popularity? You Shouldn't Be
There are a lot of surprising things about Donald Trump's campaign. He has been atop polls almost constantly for nearly five months. Contrast that to GOP primaries of recent past, in which a series of "front-runners" have come and gone before a nominee was chosen.
Likewise, he seems not only immune to fact checks but is helped when he is perceived to be a victim of media targeting — even when he has made blatantly untrue claims and refused to back down.
Wednesday provided the latest Trump news that shocked (shocked!) many: Nearly two-thirds of likely GOP primary voters said in a Bloomberg poll that they supported his proposal to block all Muslims from entering the U.S. — a proposal that many legal scholars say would be unconstitutional and that many of Trump's GOP opponents blast as "un-American."
But when you look at Americans' attitudes, not only on that specific question of Islam but toward politics in general, a lot of things that have surprised the political establishment about Trump aren't surprising at all.
Let's start with that Bloomberg poll. One important caveat of this poll is that it's primary voters, not all GOP voters. Conventional wisdom says that primary voters (of either party) tend to have more extreme views than voters writ large, but they are who pick a nominee.
It's true that Americans view Muslims more negatively than they do any other major religious group, as Pew found in a 2014 study. On a "feelings thermometer" of 0 (most "cold" or negative) to 100, Muslims scored a 40, on par with atheists' 41. At the other end were Jews, Catholics and evangelical Christians, at 63, 62, and 61, respectively.
In addition, a majority of Americans — 56 percent — believe Islam is "at odds with" American values, up from 47 percent in 2011, according to a recent survey from the Public Religion Research Institute. The results are even more extreme on a partisan level, with 76 percent of Republicans agreeing with that idea.
In another new PRRI survey, 67 percent of Republicans said that "U.S. Muslims have not done enough to confront extremism," along with 45 percent of Democrats.
Especially in a time when fear of an extremist Islamist terrorist group dominates the news, surveys like these show why some people might be particularly inclined to jump onto the Trump bandwagon.
As a Trump supporter told a focus group this week, "We have to do something." And Trump has brought forth the biggest "somethings" of all candidates.
Trump may be appealing to people who already have misgivings about Islam (or, prior to that, immigrants), but of course, it's not those attitudes that are driving his campaign. After all, his popularity has held, regardless of which topic he has chosen to focus on.
Rather, a bigger phenomenon may be at work in why Trump and his ideas are so popular: polarization. It's not clear whether Americans are growing more polarized ideologically (that is, whether their ideas are growing further apart politically). What is clearer is that Americans are experiencing more affective polarization — that is, regardless of where their views are moving, liberals increasingly dislike conservatives, and conservatives increasingly dislike liberals.
For a real-world spin on this, consider that 30 percent of consistent conservatives and 23 percent of consistent liberals say they'd be unhappy if their children married someone of the opposite party, according to a 2014 Pew poll.
"Regardless of whether or not their political beliefs are separate, the degree of dislike and distrust between the parties is really high," said Adam Berinsky, a political science professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who studies political misinformation. "Democrats and Republicans live in different worlds. So what's Trump tapping into? I think it's this idea that the world is going bad."
A few things have driven this dislike, as polarization expert and Vanderbilt University professor Marc Hetherington told NPR last month:
— the rise of "gut-level" issues like terrorism, guns and abortion as political topics;
— the way race helped re-sort the political map in the past century; and
— how closely matched the two parties are. (Think about how much easier it is to hate a sports rival who's a constant threat to your team than one who's way worse or way better.)
What it creates is distrust. Americans' levels of trust in the federal government are at nearly the lowest levels on record, as Pew reported last month.
"More polarization begets poor performance, which begets worse trust, which gives you worse performance, which, of course, gives you more frustration," Hetherington said.
A Lack Of Trust And A Want For 'Change'
Notably, trust is lower among Republicans during a Democratic administration (just as trust is low among Democrats during GOP administrations) — and trust is exceedingly low among Republicans right now.
All of that creates a perfect environment for a Trump to arise right now in the Republican Party. Lack of trust in government means Americans — particularly non-Democrats — may be particularly willing to vote for an "outsider."
Similarly, as Hetherington explained, Democrats were willing to vote for the "outsider" Obama after eight years of a George W. Bush presidency. Obama and Trump's rhetoric may be vastly different, but Americans' willingness to vote for change — even if untested — is the common factor here.
Polarization may also contribute to why Trump seems to have a Teflon skin when it comes to fact checks. He has over the years claimed that Obama wasn't born in the U.S. and, more recently, that there were "thousands and thousands" of Muslims in New Jersey cheering the attacks on the World Trade Center. He hasn't disavowed those ideas — even given repeated fact checks.
And, more important, his supporters haven't abandoned him. In fact, they've become more intensely supportive.
Polarization once again may be at work. When people increasingly dislike their countrymen across the aisle, it could reasonably make them more susceptible to "motivated reasoning" — loosely defined as what happens when one's reasoning process is clouded by emotions (such as hatred of the other party) and other pre-existing biases.
Motivated reasoning can happen when new information challenges one's worldview. As political scientists from Appalachian State University wrote in a 2012 article, "When individuals engage in motivated reasoning, partisan goals trump accuracy goals."
In these situations, people "vigorously defend their prior values, identities, and attitudes at the expense of factual accuracy."
Getting back to Trump, this could lead his supporters to believe some of his more brazen claims about Muslim hatred toward other Americans, Sept. 11 celebrations, black-on-white homicide rates or immigrants and crime.
To be clear, the willingness to believe in unsupported ideas is bipartisan. To take an extreme example, according to research from Dartmouth College political science professor Brendan Nyhan, Democrats were, as of 2006 (that is, during the Bush administration), roughly as likely to believe that the Sept. 11 attacks were an inside job as Republicans were, as of 2010, to believe that Obama wasn't born in the U.S.
The point is that in this low-trust, highly polarized environment, when one party is always suspicious of the other, things that might have surprised Americans just a few decades ago are commonplace now. | 0fake |
Vera Rubin, 88, Dies Opened Doors in Astronomy, and for Women - The New York Times | Vera Rubin, who transformed modern physics and astronomy with her observations showing that galaxies and stars are immersed in the gravitational grip of vast clouds of dark matter, died on Sunday in Princeton, N. J. She was 88. Her death was announced by the Carnegie Institution of Washington, where she had been a longtime staff astronomer. Dr. Rubin, cheerful and had a lifelong love of the stars, championed women in science and was blunt about the limits of humankind’s vaunted knowledge of nature. Her work helped usher in a change in cosmic consciousness, namely the realization that what astronomers always saw and thought was the universe is just the visible tip of a lumbering iceberg of mystery. Scientists now know we are not the center of the universe, nor are we even made of the same stuff as most of creation. Cosmologists have now concluded that there is five or 10 times as much dark matter in the universe as there is ordinary atomic matter — the stuff of stars, planets and people. What it is, nobody knows, although theories abound, and attempts to identify it in laboratory and experiments and in outer space have transfixed modern physics. “We know very little about the universe,” Dr. Rubin said in an interview for “Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos: The Story of the Scientific Quest for the Secret of the Universe. ” “I personally don’t believe it’s uniform and the same everywhere. That’s like saying the earth is flat. ” President Bill Clinton awarded Dr. Rubin the National Medal of Science in 1993, and she was frequently mentioned as a candidate for the Nobel Prize. Sandra Faber, a staff astronomer at the University of California, Santa Cruz, said that Dr. Rubin, along with Margaret Burbidge, who is retired from the University of California, San Diego, was a “guiding light” for a generation of female astronomers. In a statement written for Scientific American, Dr. Faber wrote, “Rubin’s happy family history raising four children, all of whom eventually earned their own Ph. D.’s, was particularly inspiring to young females. ” She was born Vera Florence Cooper on July 23, 1928, in Philadelphia, the younger daughter of Philip Cooper, an electrical engineer who worked at Bell Telephone, and Rose Cooper, who had also worked at the phone company but had to quit her job because of nepotism rules. The family moved to Washington when Vera was 10. She later said she had become entranced by astronomy from watching the stars wheel past her bedroom window. She was drawn to Vassar College as an undergraduate because Maria Mitchell, the first American to discover a comet, had taught there. In a sign of the challenges to come, her high school science teacher told her that she would be fine in a career as long as she stayed away from science. She graduated in 1948, the sole astronomer in the class. That year, she married Robert Rubin, who was then a graduate student in physical chemistry at Cornell. She had hoped to get a Ph. D. from Princeton, but the astrophysics graduate program did not admit women at the time and declined to send her a course catalog. So instead she went to Cornell to obtain a master’s degree and finished it in 1951. When her husband got a job at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, the family moved to Washington and she enrolled at Georgetown University. She earned her Ph. D. there studying the properties and motions of distant galaxies while raising her children. Robert Rubin died in 2008. A daughter, Judy Young, who was also an astronomer, died in 2014. Dr. Rubin is survived by her sister, Ruth Cooper Burg, a judge in Washington her sons, Allan, David and Karl five grandchildren and a . Breaking into the field was never easy. One day in 1950 she drove with a baby through a snowstorm to a meeting in Pennsylvania to deliver a paper with data, which she later decided was questionable, about the rotation of the universe, only to be chastised and humiliated by “senior astronomers,” she said. She fled the city and the issue of cosmology. Another time, she recalled, she was excited to be summoned to a meeting with the eminent astrophysicist George Gamow, only to learn that they would have to talk in the lobby because women were not allowed upstairs in the offices. Dr. Rubin never forgot. “Don’t let anyone keep you down for silly reasons such as who you are,” Rebecca Oppenheimer, an astrophysicist at the American Museum of Natural History, recalled being counseled by Dr. Rubin. “And don’t worry about prizes and fame. The real prize is finding something new out there. ” Dr. Rubin joined the Carnegie Institution, in its department of terrestrial magnetism, in 1965, after holding teaching posts at Montgomery College in Maryland and at Georgetown. Yet by Dr. Faber’s account, she still had to battle for access to a telescope on Palomar Mountain in California jointly owned by Carnegie and Caltech. When she did get there, she found that there was no women’s restroom. As her friend and institute colleague Neta Bahcall later told Discover magazine, Dr. Rubin taped an outline of a woman’s skirt to the image of a man on a restroom door, making it a ladies’ room. By then, averse to controversy and the sharp elbows of “senior astronomers,” Dr. Rubin was looking for a field of research that would keep her out of trouble. “I wanted a problem that nobody would bother me about,” she said later. That was when she stumbled into the most daunting problem in modern astronomy: the discovery that most of the universe is invisible. Teaming up with a young Carnegie colleague, W. Kent Ford Jr. Dr. Rubin set out in the early 1970s to map the distribution of mass in spiral galaxies by measuring how fast they rotated. The faster the stars were going around, the more gravity, and thus mass, must be keeping them in their orbits. They expected to find that most of the mass was where most of the starlight was, at the centers of the galaxies. In that case, stars on the outer fringes of a galaxy should have been moving more slowly than those in the inner regions — the way Pluto, on the outskirts of the solar system, takes 248 years to go around the sun, while Mercury speeds around in 88 days. To their shock, however, they found that the stars on the outskirts of galaxies were not slowing down if anything, they were speeding up. By the laws of either Newton or Einstein, it meant that there was extra mass out there where there was relatively little light, mass that was speeding up the stars. “Great astronomers told us it didn’t mean anything,” Dr. Rubin said. Told to look at more galaxies, they did, and the effect persisted. In fact, the idea that there was more to the universe than could be seen had been lurking on the edges of scientific respectability since the 1930s, when the Caltech astronomer Fritz Zwicky deduced that some invisible “missing mass” was required to supply the gravitational glue that held clusters of galaxies together. Otherwise, with the galaxies moving so fast, a cluster would simply fly apart. “Nobody ever told us all matter radiated” light, Dr. Rubin said. “We just assumed it did. ” Another boost to this idea had come in 1973, when the Princeton theorists Jeremiah Ostriker and James Peebles suggested, based on computer simulations, that spiral galaxies would warp and fall apart — because of gravitational forces from stars — unless they were embedded in a halo of dark matter, like a hamburger patty surrounded by a bun. Dr. Rubin and Dr. Ford’s work brought these ideas to center stage. “Vera’s work, mostly in the early ’80s, clinched the case for dark matter for most astronomers,” Dr. Ostriker wrote in an email, noting that she had been working with familiar galaxies and the kinds of optical observations that astronomers understood. It helped that at the same time theoretical physics was exploding with new ideas, like supersymmetry and string theory, which implied the existence of new kinds of subatomic particles left over from the Big Bang and floating around the universe (and through our bodies) in clouds. As Sheldon Glashow, a Nobel laureate now at Boston University, once remarked, “We theorists can come up with a lot of garbage to fill the universe. ” It has gotten worse. A wide range of astrophysical and cosmological measurements have subsequently arrived at an intimidating composition of the cosmos: 5 percent atoms, 27 percent dark matter and 68 percent the even more mysterious dark energy that seems to be speeding up the expansion of the universe — all of which subverts any illusion that astronomers might actually know what is going on. In an interview in 2000 posted on the Natural History Museum website, Dr. Rubin said: “In a spiral galaxy, the ratio of matter is about a factor of 10. That’s probably a good number for the ratio of our ignorance to knowledge. We’re out of kindergarten, but only in about third grade. ” In three decades of searching, the experimentalists have not found any trace of Dr. Glashow’s garbage, notwithstanding occasional rumors that the dark matter particle, the secret ingredient of the universe, has been spotted in some underground tank or fleeing through the detectors at a place like CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research in Geneva. If true, the rumors could have sent Dr. Rubin straight to Stockholm to pick up a Nobel Prize. Some theorists have suggested that Einstein’s theory of gravity, general relativity, might have to be modified to explain the dark matter observations. During one of those flurries of excitement, in 2009, Dr. Rubin, who liked to stick to the facts, kept her cool. “I don’t know if we have dark matter or have to nudge Newton’s laws or what,” she said at the time. She added: “I’m sorry I know so little. I’m sorry we all know so little. But that’s kind of the fun, isn’t it?” | 0fake |
Germany's far-right AfD chooses nationalist as co-leader | HANOVER, Germany (Reuters) - Members of the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party elected a right-wing nationalist to be their co-leader on Saturday, signaling a possible toughening of tone before regional votes next year. A party congress chose Alexander Gauland - who once defended an AfD member who had said history should be rewritten to focus on German victims of World War Two - to return to the post he had held until 2015. As members deliberated, thousands of anti-AfD protesters marched outside carrying placards reading Hanover against Nazis and Stand up to racism . Earlier, riot police fired water cannon at dozens of protesters who blocked a road leading to the congress, underlining the divisive impact the party has had since it entered the Bundestag lower house for the first time in a Sept. 24 election. The party s incumbent leader Jorg Meuthen - seen as a relative moderate in the movement - won enough votes to keep his post. But in a vote that dragged into the evening, he was joined as co-leader by Gauland, who ran for the post at the last minute after another candidate seen as a moderate, Georg Pazderski, failed to win enough votes. Before the leadership vote, Meuthen praised the party often beset by internal strife for showing unity after two senior members quit in September in protest against what they saw as an unstoppable populist streak. There are people in this country who don t only say We can do this but who actually manage to do something, Meuthen told delegates, putting a new twist on Chancellor Angela Merkel s Wir schaffen das (We can do it) message to those who doubted Germany can deal with a record influx of migrants in 2015. As thousands of protesters marched peacefully outside, AfD delegates watched a short film that painted a gloomy picture of Europe s largest economy being overrun by beggars, stone-throwers and Muslims. Founded in 2013 as a vehicle to oppose euro zone bailouts, the AfD was polling at around 3 percent nationally two years ago on the eve of the refugee crisis. The arrival of more than 1.6 million people seeking asylum in the two years to the end of 2016 has helped it morph into an anti-immigrant party that now has seats in 14 of Germany s 16 regional parliament. Polls suggest it will win seats in next year s regional elections in the southern state of Bavaria and the western region of Hesse, which would give it a foothold in all of Germany s state parliaments. Gauland replaces Frauke Petry, who quit to become an independent member of parliament. Her sudden departure two days after the AfD became the first far-right party to win seats in the Bundestag since the 1950s exposed rifts over whether the party should ditch rhetoric including statements saying Islam was not compatible with the German constitution. | 0fake |
Senator Mark Kirk Mocks Disabled Veteran Tammy Duckworth for Mixed-Race Heritage | During a debate between Rep. Tammy Duckworth and Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) for his U.S. Senate seat in Springfield, Illinois, Kirk mocked Duckworth’s ancestry, saying in rebuttal of her comments on the true cost of war,
“I had forgotten that your parents came all the way from Thailand to serve George Washington.”
His remark came in response to her statement that, “My family has served this nation in uniform going back to the Revolution. I am a Daughter of the American Revolution.”
Watch courtesy of Deadspin : Senator Mark Kirk mocks disabled Iraq war vet Tammy Duckworth in debate for her mixed-race heritage: https://t.co/3Znpd2Uvfq pic.twitter.com/cpWYBKri4l
— Deadspin (@Deadspin) October 28, 2016
Kirk, of course, has claimed to receive military honors he did not, in fact, receive. For him to attack Duckworth is not only the height of hypocrisy but mocking her ancestry is appalling.
The Republican position, as restated here by Kirk, is that it’s okay to come from another country as long as you’re white. Neither Kirk nor his campaign has apologized. Kirk has said Trump should quit over his misogynist comments; apparently, it’s okay to make racist comments.
When Duckworth said her family had served since the American Revolution, she wasn’t joking, and she set Kirk straight in a tweet : My mom is an immigrant and my dad and his family have served this nation in uniform since the Revolution #ILSEN pic.twitter.com/ehEBHswFMs
— Tammy Duckworth (@TammyforIL) October 28, 2016
The Illinois senator has unendorsed Donald Trump, one malignant clown calling another a malignant clown , and this latest move has given Kellyanne Conway a rare opportunity to gloat, tweeting , The same Mark Kirk that unendorsed his party's presidential nominee and called him out in paid ads? Gotcha. Good luck. https://t.co/IV7miL317s
— Kellyanne Conway (@KellyannePolls) October 28, 2016
With a single sentence, Mark Kirk proved you don’t have to support Donald Trump to be a deplorable. | 1real |
Purchasing Loyalty with Foreign Aid | Written by Jacob G. Hornberger A dispute that is taking place between Saudi Arabia and Egypt indirectly demonstrates the nature of US foreign aid. After dumping a walloping $25 billion in foreign aid to help the Egyptian military dictatorship’s economic woes, the Saudis are hopping mad. Why? Because last month in the United Nations, contrary to Saudi Arabia’s wishes, Egypt voted in favor of a Russian resolution on Syria. In the world of foreign aid, that’s a super no-no. When a regime has received $25 billion from another regime, it is expected to vote the way its benefactor wants it to vote. In a remarkable admission regarding foreign aid, at least in this particular case, the New York Times, in an article on the matter, wrote, “The Saudis may have thought they were buying loyalty….” The Times article pointed out that to punish the Egyptians for their independence, “The state-owned Saudi oil company, Aramco, postponed a promised shipment of 700,000 tons of discounted oil in October, and the spokesman for Egypt’s oil ministry said the fate of November’s shipment remains unknown.” Although the New York Times would probably be reluctant to describe US foreign aid in the same way, that’s precisely what it is — a way to purchase “loyalty” from foreign regimes, including dictatorships. The US government loves to put foreign regimes on the federal dole because once that happens, US officials know that they have bought them, lock, stock, and barrel. Once a regime is on the dole, it inevitably becomes dependent on it. The racket works like this: The IRS collects money from hard-pressed US taxpayers, which US officials use to send millions of dollars in foreign aid to foreign regimes. The foreign regimes then use the money to buy weaponry to fortify their hold on power or to just to line the pockets of government officials. It doesn’t matter to US officials what the tyrants do to people within their country. They can abuse them, incarcerate them, torture them, or kill them. None of that matters to US officials. What matters to US officials is the international arena. Like votes in the UN. Or just public support for US invasions, coups, interventions, assassinations, kidnappings, and the like. That’s when US officials expect “loyalty,” in the form of blind support, which was what Saudi Arabia was expecting from the Egyptian tyrants. And heaven help any nation that takes the “wrong” position. The US will respond in the same way the Saudis have responded to the Egyptians. It will threaten to do very bad things to the nation that opposes a U.S invasion, coup, or resolution within the UN. When a nation is on the US dole, US officials expect “loyalty.” Americans can’t do anything about foreign aid by the Saudi government. But they can do something about US foreign aid. What they should do is demand that it be ended, immediately. the Future of Freedom Foundation . Related | 1real |
John Roberts helps overthrow the Constitution | Conservatives are dismayed about the Supreme Court’s complicity in rewriting the Affordable Care Act — its ratification of the IRS’s disregard of the statute’s plain and purposeful language. But they have contributed to this outcome. Their decades of populist praise of judicial deference to the political branches has borne this sour fruit.
The court says the ACA’s stipulation that subsidies are to be administered by the IRS using exchanges “established by the State” should not be construed to mean what it says. Otherwise the law will not reach as far as it will if federal exchanges can administer subsidies in states that choose not to establish exchanges. The ACA’s legislative history, however, demonstrates that the subsidies were deliberately restricted to distribution through states’ exchanges in order to pressure the states into establishing their own exchanges.
The most durable damage from Thursday’s decision is not the perpetuation of the ACA, which can be undone by what created it — legislative action. The paramount injury is the court’s embrace of a duty to ratify and even facilitate lawless discretion exercised by administrative agencies and the executive branch generally.
The court’s decision flowed from many decisions by which the judiciary has written rules that favor the government in cases of statutory construction. The decision also resulted from Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.’s embrace of the doctrine that courts, owing vast deference to the purposes of the political branches, are obligated to do whatever is required to make a law efficient, regardless of how the law is written. What Roberts does by way of, to be polite, creative construing (Justice Antonin Scalia, dissenting, calls it “somersaults of statutory interpretation”) is legislating, not judging.
Roberts writes, almost laconically, that the ACA “contains more than a few examples of inartful drafting.” That is his artful way of treating “inartful” as a synonym for “inconvenient” or even “self-defeating.”
Rolling up the sleeves of his black robe and buckling down to the business of redrafting the ACA, Roberts invents a corollary to “Chevron deference.”
Named for a 1984 case, Chevron deference has become central to the way today’s regulatory state functions. It says that agencies charged with administering statutes are entitled to deference when they interpret ambiguous statutory language. While purporting to not apply Chevron, Roberts expands it to empower all of the executive branch to ignore or rewrite congressional language that is not at all ambiguous but is inconvenient for the smooth operation of something Congress created. Exercising judicial discretion in the name of deference, Roberts enlarges executive discretion. He does so by validating what the IRS did when it ignored the ACA’s text in order to disburse billions of dollars of subsidies through federal exchanges not established by the states.
Chevron deference does for executive agencies what the “rational basis” test, another judicial invention, does for legislative discretion.
Since the New Deal, courts have permitted almost any legislative infringement of economic liberty that can be said to have a rational basis. Applying this extremely permissive test, courts usually approve any purpose that a legislature asserts. Courts even concoct purposes that legislatures neglect to articulate. This fulfills the Roberts Doctrine that it is a judicial function to construe laws in ways that make them perform better, meaning more efficiently, than they would as written by Congress.
[Bernstein: Why the Affordable Care Act is so messed up]
Thursday’s decision demonstrates how easily, indeed inevitably, judicial deference becomes judicial dereliction, with anticonstitutional consequences. We are, says William R. Maurer of the Institute for Justice, becoming “a country in which all the branches of government work in tandem to achieve policy outcomes, instead of checking one another to protect individual rights. Besides violating the separation of powers, this approach raises serious issues about whether litigants before the courts are receiving the process that is due to them under the Constitution.”
The Roberts Doctrine facilitates what has been for a century progressivism’s central objective, the overthrow of the Constitution’s architecture. The separation of powers impedes progressivism by preventing government from wielding uninhibited power. Such power would result if its branches behaved as partners in harness rather than as wary, balancing rivals maintaining constitutional equipoise.
Roberts says “we must respect the role of the Legislature” but “[A] fair reading of legislation demands a fair understanding of the legislative plan.” However, he goes beyond “understanding” the plan; he adopts a legislator’s role in order to rescue the legislature’s plan from the consequences of the legislature’s dubious decisions. By blurring, to the point of erasure, constitutional boundaries, he damages all institutions, not least his court.
Read more from George F. Will’s archive or follow him on Facebook. | 0fake |
Election’s Rape And Sexual Assault Accusations Need to Be Taken Seriously | Election’s Rape And Sexual Assault Accusations Need to Be Taken Seriously Posted on Oct 27, 2016
By Sonali Kolhatkar Protesters organized by the National Organization for Women gather near the Trump International Hotel and Tower in New York City on Oct. 12, as sexual assault allegations about GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump emerged on the heels of The Washington Post’s bombshell report about Trump’s 2005 “Access Hollywood” hot-mic comments regarding his treatment of women. (Frank Franklin II / AP Photo)
Less than a day after the third and final 2016 presidential debate, GOP nominee Donald Trump faced new accusations from a woman who recounted a story of her sexual assault at his hands. Karena Virginia told members of the press how Trump groped her in public at the U.S. Open in 1998 while asking, “Don’t you know who I am?”
Two days later, two more women, Kristin Anderson and Summer Zervos, made similar allegations . Earlier this year, a woman named Katie Johnson said Trump raped her in 1994 when she was 13 years old; she filed a lawsuit against him that was later thrown out on a technicality. Trump’s ex-wife, Ivana Trump, has also accused him of raping her. To date a dozen women have publicly alleged that Trump in some way assaulted them.
Jane Piper, an activist who faced her rapist in court in 2014 , told me in an interview that she believes the women who have accused Trump. “I take their word as their word, and I believe them,” she said. “We have this documented evidence of [Trump’s] attitude and behavior toward women,” added Piper, referring to his numerous public statements revealing a callous and disrespectful attitude toward women. To Piper, the idea that Trump might be a serial perpetrator of sexual assault is consistent with his language and the attitude he has publicly displayed.
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Think about Bill Cosby. While he has not been convicted on charges of sexual assault, in the court of public opinion, he is already considered guilty. He has admitted to drugging women in order to have sex with them, and the sheer volume of accusers against him leaves one wondering: “How could they possibly all be lying?” As Fox News’ Chris Wallace asked Trump during the final presidential debate, “Why would so many different women from so many different circumstances, from so many different years, why would they all ... make up these stories?”
Indeed, in cases such as those involving Cosby and Trump, there is little to be gained by publicly proclaiming oneself the victim of rape and assault. All a woman gains is to be forever known as someone who accused a famous man of a vile crime. According to Piper, “It is not comfortable to be known in this way. It makes no sense, and it is ridiculous and offensive and insulting” to imply that a woman might make it all up for fame.
Like Cosby, Trump has bragged about assaulting women. In a now infamous recording obtained by The Washington Post , Trump revealed to TV host Billy Bush that he simply has his way with women: “Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything.” And, as in Cosby’s case, women are emerging from the woodwork as the election looms to reveal sordid stories about Trump’s alleged assaults on them.
One major difference here is that Cosby is an actor (who will indeed face the accusations against him in court), while Trump is running for the highest office in the nation. While all men, including Cosby, need to be held to high standards on sexual assault, those who run for president deserve the utmost scrutiny.
Piper dismissed the response by Trump’s supporters that the timing of the accusations now emerging is suspect. “Of course, this timing is perfect,” she told me, “because [Trump’s accusers] just listened to him in that video describe what he did and [be] proud of it, and the next day, in the debate, lie and say that he never ever actually did that.” Piper said that if she had been one of the women who had alleged assault by Trump, she “would be doing everything in my power to make sure that the public knew what kind of person this man was so that they would know what kind of leader they were choosing to elect.” Essentially, anyone running for president of the United States should expect his or her past and present to be scrutinized under the most stringent of microscopes.
“Womanizing,” or having affairs, as presidential candidate Gary Hart was accused of in 1987, is very different from being accused of sexual assault or rape. Hart was brought down by a media frenzy that began with a single, provocative photograph. Trump is heading straight into an election dogged by repeated accusations of crimes—not affairs—and all he has offered are simplistic denials and deflections. | 1real |
WATCH: NBC Reporter Calls Trump Out For Lying Repeatedly During Live Press Conference | Donald Trump finally held his first solo press conference on Thursday and it did not go well at all.In fact, it was a complete and total disaster and an embarrassment.Throughout his remarks, Trump peppered the press and the American people with lie after lie.His principle target, of course, was the media, which he again accused of being dishonest. The press has become so dishonest that if we don t talk about it, we are doing a tremendous disservice to the American people, Trump said. Tremendous disservice. We have to talk about it. We have 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 represent 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 s going through what they have to go through to oftentimes distort not all the time and some of the media s fantastic, I have to say, honest and fantastic but much of it is not. The distortion, and we ll talk about it, you ll be able to ask me questions about it. We re not going to let it happen because I m here, again, to take my message straight to the people.Trump went on to claim that he inherited a mess from President Obama and portrayed the world as an apocalyptic wasteland that only he can fix.And then he bragged about his Electoral College win again as some sort of proof that the American people love him.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 is impossible. 270, which you need that was laughable. We got 306. Because people came out and voted like they have never seen before. So that s the it goes. I guess it was the biggest electoral college win since Ronald Reagan. In other words, the media is trying to attack our administration because they know we are following through on pledges that we made, and they are not happy about it for whatever reason.Trump s press conference was a dumpster fire of lies. And NBC reporter Peter Alexander stepped up to the plate and called Trump out. You said today that you had the biggest electoral margin since Ronald Reagan, Alexander began. He then proceeded to list President Obama s two electoral victories which were far bigger than Trump s in 2016.Trump then claimed that he was talking about Republican presidential wins.Overall, Trump s win is one of the smallest on record and he lost the popular vote by nearly three million votes.Faced with the facts and caught in a lie, Trump was asked Why should Americans trust you? Trump claimed that he was given the information, suggesting that he was just reading remarks that someone told him to read.Alexander repeated his question and added to it. Why should Americans trust you when you accuse the information they receive as being fake when you re providing information that s fake? he asked.All Trump could say in response was I don t know. Here s the video via YouTube:Clearly, Donald Trump doesn t know how to do anything except lie. And this is why we have a free press to call him out for it.Featured image via screenshot | 1real |
Trump Budget Is Heavy Lift, Even for G.O.P. Congress - The New York Times | WASHINGTON — After eight years of chafing under President Barack Obama’s fiscal priorities, congressional Republicans were longing for a budget proposal that did the two things that have become the party’s mantra: Make broad cuts to federal spending and reduce the federal deficit. Instead, President Trump sent them a budget even many Republicans found difficult to love. To fulfill a campaign promise to leave Social Security and Medicare — which represent more than 40 percent of annual federal spending — untouched while constructing an expensive border wall, Mr. Trump went after a relatively small pot of money, discretionary spending, goring Republicans’ pet programs in the process. He does propose increasing military spending by 10 percent, something many conservatives would also like to see, but he probably cannot unilaterally break through legal budget caps, imposed after a battle in 2011 over raising the government’s statutory borrowing limit known as the debt ceiling. Mr. Trump ran as a populist and stacked his cabinet like a conservative, yet he delivered a budget that in many respects is neither. The result is deeply unsatisfying for many in his party, which has been yearning for a unified government to finally make major changes to entitlement programs to bring the deficit in line. “This is a good budget if you want to spend your time fighting small fires,” said former Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, who as the Republican chairman of the Senate Budget Committee spent years trying to rally lawmakers to do the hard work to balance the budget. “It’s a statement of policy, which is legitimate, that the government is too big,” Mr. Gregg said. “As a practical matter, it does not affect the big issues that drive that. ” Congress could have eliminated every penny of domestic spending at its annual discretion this year, and it would not have balanced the federal budget, according to Congressional Budget Office projections, much less rid the nation of its nearly $20 trillion in government debt — which Mr. Trump told voters he could do easily in eight years. It is precisely what conservatives have wanted to control. “The fact is that until the president and Congress are willing to address the real drivers of our debt, Medicare and Social Security, we will be complicit in shackling future generations with the financial burden of our own lack of discipline,” said Senator Bob Corker, Republican of Tennessee. “That is not a legacy I want to leave. ” Mick Mulvaney, Mr. Trump’s budget director, who as a member of the House was one of the biggest deficit hawks, was confronted with the budget’s failure to deal with the debt in a news conference with reporters on Thursday. “It’s a fair question,” he said. “I would just suggest to you it’s not the right time for the question. The budget blueprint, again, does not deal with the debt. It even doesn’t even deal with the deficit. It is simply the first part of the appropriations process. ” The budget document represents a aspiration for Mr. Trump, leaving it to the House and Senate appropriations committees to do all the painful work, like finding a way to pay for a wall along the Mexican border that the White House wants. But trying to pass appropriations bills with large cuts to popular domestic programs seems almost impossible in both chambers, especially the Senate, leading Congress on another path to spending measures that Republicans have long wanted to escape. The Congressional Budget Office foresees a federal deficit for the 2018 fiscal year of $487 billion, rising steadily from there until it reaches $1 trillion in 2023. But that is driven all by an aging population, rising health care costs and rising interest payments from the escalating debt. Projected declines in discretionary spending under Mr. Trump’s plan would be more than swallowed by rising payments to Social Security and Medicare because the population aged 65 and older is expected to grow by 39 percent through 2027. In that time, spending on people 65 and older who receive Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and military and federal civilian retirement income will rise from 37 percent of federal spending in 2017 to 45 percent in 10 years. And many of his proposed cuts are at odds with congressional priorities. His budget cuts spending for the National Institutes of Health, which lawmakers gave a big funding increase last year to help attack cancer and other diseases community block grants, which help feed hungry children (a Democratic priority) and local law enforcement (popular with Republicans) as well as pet programs like funding to care for the Great Lakes, which Midwestern lawmakers have fought hard to maintain. “The president proposes and Congress disposes,” said Representative Charlie Dent, a Republican appropriator from Pennsylvania. “We can’t finance a defense buildup entirely on the back of domestic, nondefense spending. It’s not realistic and unfair. ” Mr. Trump’s budget also shows little regard for the political sensitivities of his party. His proposal to restart licensing for a nuclear waste repository in Yucca Mountain, in Nevada, creates a headache for Senator Dean Heller, a Republican who is up for in that state next year. His response was swift and blunt. “As has been stated in the past, Yucca is dead, and this reckless proposal will not revive it,” he said in a statement. It even takes an ax to programs that are important to the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, by proposing cuts in funding for the Appalachian Regional Commission and some air service that would probably eliminate two airports in his state. Mr. McConnell on Thursday went in search of a silver lining. “I’m pleased to see an increased focus on our national security and veterans budgets,” he said in a statement. “These are positive steps in the right direction. I look forward to reviewing this and the full budget when it is released later this spring. ” Mr. Trump is hardly alone in putting forth a budget dismissed by his own party. Mr. Obama pushed the idea of changing the way the inflation rate was calculated to slow the growth of big programs like Social Security, a proposal many Democrats opposed. President George W. Bush pressed to partially privatize Social Security, and many Republicans disliked that idea. But it is striking to read Mr. Trump’s budget and see clearly mixed messages from the opening pages delivered by Mr. Mulvaney, who praised the budget as a debt crusher, and from Mr. Trump, who emphasized his increases in military spending. Those contradictions are among the many reasons that even members of Mr. Trump’s party see his budget more as a mere suggestion than an edict. “Historically, presidential budgets do not fare well with Congress,” said Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina. | 0fake |
Anderson Cooper ’Appalled’ by Kathy Griffin ’Beheading’ Photo: ’Completely Inappropriate’ | CNN anchor Anderson Cooper weighed in on Kathy Griffin’s photograph in which she posed with a fake, bloodied, decapitated head of President Donald Trump, saying the photo was “disgusting” and “inappropriate. ”[“For the record, I am appalled by the photo shoot Kathy Griffin took part in,” the Anderson Cooper 360 host wrote on his Twitter account Tuesday evening. “It is clearly disgusting and completely inappropriate. ” For the record, I am appalled by the photo shoot Kathy Griffin took part in. It is clearly disgusting and completely inappropriate. — Anderson Cooper (@andersoncooper) May 31, 2017, Cooper and Griffin have CNN’s New Year’s Eve Live since 2007. CNN said in a statement Tuesday that it was “evaluating” Griffin’s future role in the broadcast, but said it had not yet made any decisions. “We found what she did disgusting and offensive,” the network said in a statement, according to the Hill. “We are pleased to see she has apologized and asked that the photos be taken down. We are evaluating our New Year’s Eve coverage and have made no decisions at this point. ” The photo, first published by TMZ Tuesday morning, caused a firestorm online, as the comedian’s name became a trending topic on Twitter with thousands of people taking to the service to express their shock and disgust. Meanwhile, Facebook users flooded the comedian’s official page with calls to boycott her upcoming comedy tour. Griffin apologized later Tuesday for the photo, which was taken by Los photographer and artist Tyler Shields, and asked that it be taken down. “I’m a comic. I cross the line. I move the line, then I cross it. I went way too far,” Griffin said in a video posted to her Twitter account. “The image is too disturbing. I understand how it offends people. It wasn’t funny. I get it. I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my career, I will continue. ” Representatives for CNN and Griffin did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Follow Daniel Nussbaum on Twitter: @dznussbaum | 0fake |
REPUBLICAN PROPOSES HOUSE BILL TO FORCE Supreme Court Justices And Employees To Join Obamacare | Of course, we d be okay with excluding three of the Justices who didn t go along with the rubber stamping of Obama s reckless socialized medicine plan. While we re at it, it s only fair for Barry and his family to be forced to use his signature Obamacare insurance plan as well A House Republican on Thursday proposed forcing the Supreme Court justices and their staff to enroll in ObamaCare.Rep. Brian Babin (R-Texas) said that his SCOTUScare Act would make all nine justices and their employees join the national healthcare law s exchanges. As the Supreme Court continues to ignore the letter of the law, it s important that these six individuals understand the full impact of their decisions on the American people, he said. That s why I introduced the SCOTUScare Act to require the Supreme Court and all of its employees to sign up for ObamaCare, Babin said.Babin s potential legislation would only let the federal government provide healthcare to the Supreme Court and its staff via ObamaCare exchanges. By eliminating their exemption from ObamaCare, they will see firsthand what the American people are forced to live with, he added.His move follows the Supreme Court s ruling Thursday morning that upheld the subsidies under ObamaCare that are provided by the government to offset the cost of buying insurance.The 6-3 decision, authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, said consumers purchasing health insurance from the federal exchange in roughly 34 states could continue to do so.The ruling in King v. Burwell has spurred anger on the right, with conservatives questioning the logic of the decision. They deserve an Olympic medal for the legal gymnastics, Rep. Joe Pitts (R-Pa.), the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee, told The Hill.Roberts argued in his decision that eliminating subsidies would have pulled state healthcare markets into a death spiral. That chain of effects, he added, was not consistent with ObamaCare s intent. The argument that the phrase established by the State would be superfluous if Congress meant to extend tax credits to both State and Federal Exchanges is unpersuasive, he wrote.Justice Antonin Scalia strongly criticized that interpretation in his dissent. We should start by calling this law SCOTUScare, he wrote, lambasting Roberts for the ObamaCare decision in 2012 declaring the law s mandate that people buy insurance constitutional.Via: The Hill | 1real |
Trump and Vietnam's president underscore free and open access to South China Sea | (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump and Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang underscored the importance of free and open access to South China Sea, in a joint statement issued on Sunday. The two leaders called for the “full and effective implementation” of the declaration on the conduct of parties in the South China Sea, and for all claimants to clarify their maritime claims. Trump and Vietnam’s Quang said parties should halt escalatory action and militarisation of disputed features. | 0fake |
The Funniest And Most Obscene Local News FAILS Of 2015 (VIDEO) | You can always count on local newscasters to make complete asses of themselves, with invariably hilarious results. And in the age of YouTube, the best fuck-ups can be permanently preserved for all time.The following compilation was assembled by the folks at NewsBeFunny and includes all of the greatest (and not so great) news fails of 2015. Of course, they couldn t help but to include some cable news bloopers in the mix.Along those lines is the unbelievably stupid clip of a Fox News Channel reporter hurling an ax at a target, then wildly missing the target and instead hitting a military marching band member performing on the other side of the target. Worse, the reporter reacted by pulling one of these: \_( )_/ The Fox News ax incident should really be blamed on the producers who decided it d be a great idea to place human beings on the other side of a giant target, then to have a doofus reporter attempt to toss at ax at the target. Doy.Other bloopers are, naturally, not safe for work, while others involve the usual video trolls disrupting on-the-street reporters during live news coverage. By the way, not all of the reporters are American. Included in the mix is a reporter from Scandinavia exclaiming fuck! while on the air.Predictably, there are more than a few reporters being attacked by animals and bugs the latter of which makes for the some of the funniest clips. Oh, and there s at least one clip of a reporter setting a table on fire during a cooking demonstration.And there s at least one clip of a bystander giving a flamboyant and over-the-top recap of a violent accident. No autotune remixes are included in the montage.So, sit back an enjoy the fun. And the stupid. Lots of stupid.[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRqieDyEnOg]Featured image via video screen grab. | 1real |
IF HILLARY CLINTON IS CHARGED WITH OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE SHE COULD GO TO PRISON FOR 20 YEARS | Home › POLITICS › IF HILLARY CLINTON IS CHARGED WITH OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE SHE COULD GO TO PRISON FOR 20 YEARS IF HILLARY CLINTON IS CHARGED WITH OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE SHE COULD GO TO PRISON FOR 20 YEARS 0 SHARES
[10/31/16] MICHAEL SNYDER -In the world of politics, the cover-up is often worse than the original crime. It was his role in the Watergate cover-up that took down Richard Nixon, and now Hillary Clinton’s cover-up of her email scandal could send her to prison for a very, very long time. When news broke that the FBI has renewed its investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails, it sent shockwaves throughout the political world . But this time around, we aren’t just talking about an investigation into the mishandling of classified documents. I haven’t heard anyone talking about this, but if the FBI discovers that Hillary Clinton altered, destroyed or concealed any emails that should have been turned over to the FBI during the original investigation, she could be charged with obstruction of justice. That would immediately end her political career, and if she was found guilty it could send her to prison for the rest of her life.
I have not seen a single news report mention the phrase “obstruction of justice” yet, but I am convinced that there is a very good chance that this is where this scandal is heading. The following is the relevant part of the federal statute that deals with obstruction of justice …
Whoever knowingly alters, destroys, mutilates, conceals, covers up, falsified, or makes a false entry in any record, document, or tangible object with the intent to impede, obstruct, or influence the investigation or proper administration of any matter within the jurisdiction of any department or agency of the United States or any case filed under Title 11, or in relation to or contemplation of any such matter or case, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.
If Hillary Clinton is sent to prison for 20 years, that would essentially be for the rest of her life.
I have a feeling that the FBI is going to find a great deal of evidence of obstruction of justice in Huma Abedin’s emails. But unfortunately there is not likely to be a resolution to this matter before November 8th, because according to the Wall Street Journal there are approximately 650,000 emails to search through…
As federal agents prepare to scour roughly 650,000 emails to see how many relate to a prior probe of Hillary Clinton ’s email use, the surprise disclosure that investigators were pursuing the potential new evidence lays bare building tensions inside the bureau and the Justice Department over how to investigate the Democratic presidential nominee.
Metadata found on the laptop used by former Rep. Anthony Weiner and his estranged wife Huma Abedin, a close Clinton aide, suggests there may be thousands of emails sent to or from the private server that Mrs. Clinton used while she was secretary of state, according to people familiar with the matter. It will take weeks, at a minimum, to determine whether those messages are work-related from the time Ms. Abedin served with Mrs. Clinton at the State Department; how many are duplicates of emails already reviewed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and whether they include either classified information or important new evidence in the Clinton email probe.
Of those 650,000 emails, an inside source told Fox News that “ at least 10,000 ” would be of interest to the investigation.
At this point, FBI officials have not even begun searching through the emails, because a search warrant has not been secured yet. The following comes from CNN …
Government lawyers haven’t yet approached Abedin’s lawyers to seek an agreement to conduct the search. Sources earlier told CNN that those discussions had begun, but the law enforcement officials now say they have not.
Either way, government lawyers plan to seek a search warrant from a judge to conduct the search of the computer, the law enforcement officials said.
But the FBI is reportedly already searching a laptop that was co-owned by Anthony Weiner and Huma Abedin, and no warrant was necessary for that search because Weiner is cooperating with the FBI.
Many have been wondering why FBI Director James Comey would choose to make such a bold move just over a week until election day. Surely he had to know that this would have a dramatic impact on the election, and it is unlikely that he would have done so unless someone had already found something really big. In addition, Comey was reportedly eager to find an opportunity to redeem himself in the eyes of his peers at the FBI. The following is an excerpt from a Daily Mail article that was written by Ed Klein, the author of a recently released New York Times bestseller about the Clintons entitled “ Guilty As Sin “…
‘The atmosphere at the FBI has been toxic ever since Jim announced last July that he wouldn’t recommend an indictment against Hillary,’ said the source, a close friend who has known Comey for nearly two decades, shares family outings with him, and accompanies him to Catholic mass every week.
‘Some people, including department heads, stopped talking to Jim, and even ignored his greetings when they passed him in the hall,’ said the source. ‘They felt that he betrayed them and brought disgrace on the bureau by letting Hillary off with a slap on the wrist.’
According to the source, Comey fretted over the problem for months and discussed it at great length with his wife, Patrice.
He told his wife that he was depressed by the stack of resignation letters piling up on his desk from disaffected agents. The letters reminded him every day that morale in the FBI had hit rock bottom.
So what happens next?
In the most likely scenario, the FBI will not have time to complete the investigation and decide whether or not to charge Hillary Clinton before the election. This means that we would go into November 8th with this scandal hanging over the Clinton campaign, and that would seem to be very good news for Donald Trump.
However, it is possible that once the FBI starts searching through these emails that they could come to the conclusion very rapidly that charges against Clinton are warranted, and if that happens we could still see some sort of announcement before election day.
In the unlikely event that does happen, we could actually see Hillary Clinton forced out of the race before November 8th.
Once again, this appears to be very unlikely at this point, but it is still possible.
If Clinton was forced to step aside, the Democrats would need to come up with a new nominee, and that process would take time. In an article later today on The Most Important News I will reveal who I believe that nominee would be.
In such a scenario, the Democrats would desperately need time to get their act together, and so we could actually see Barack Obama attempt to delay or suspend the election . The legality of such a move is highly questionable, but Barack Obama has not allowed a little thing like the U.S. Constitution to stop him in the past.
This week is going to be exceedingly interesting – that is for sure.
The craziest election in modern American history just keeps getting crazier, and I have a feeling that even more twists and turns are ahead.
It sure seems ironic that Anthony Weiner is playing such a central role this late in the story, and I can’t wait to see what is in store for the season finale. Post navigation | 1real |
Brazile: Trump has ‘Enormous’ Opportunity to Find Common Ground with Dems - Breitbart | Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” interim chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee Donna Brazile said Donald Trump has “enormous,” opportunity to find common ground with Democrats in Washington, D. C. Brazile said, “If it’s ‘my way or the highway,’ what you’re going to see again is another round of gridlock in Washington, D. C. You’re going to see retribution and retaliation. He has an enormous opportunity as every president in the first 100 days to show that, you know, he’s eager to find common ground, to meet with, you know, Democrats, Chuck Schumer. I mean Chuck Schumer knows Donald Trump, both New Yorkers. Have him over for breakfast, have him over for afternoon tea and see if you can find some common ground. ” ( The Hill) Follow Pam Key On Twitter @pamkeyNEN | 0fake |
WATCH: Viral Video Of Tomi Lahren Being Called A ‘Racist Piece Of Sh*t’ To Her Face | If you don t know who Tomi Lahren is by this point, you re clearly a very fortunate person. Lahren has made her fame off trashing everything liberal despite not knowing anything of which she speaks.Barely out of college, and still green in the world, Lahren had viral videos hosted through The Blaze, but was ultimately let go because of her raging hypocrisy surrounding abortion rights. Then after months of making videos on her phone and clearly adored by Fox News propaganda artist Sean Hannity, she was ultimately added to Fox as a regular mouthpiece. Now, she s out in Hollywood, the land in which she claims to hate, going out and doing all the Hollywood things she can, and someone just caught her on camera.It looks as though she got hoodwinked into posing for a photo, because you can see her smiling, but then, in video mode, she s asked: Tomi, what s it like to be a racist piece of sh*t? At that point, she smiles and walks away.Watch the video here: How DOES it feel Tammy? pic.twitter.com/kL93Vhy5qM jordan ?? (@JordanUhl) September 15, 2017You see, Lahren, time and time again, has proven through her videos, that without a doubt, she is clearly racist.Welcome to Hollywood, Lahren. A liberal land of fact-checking, all-inclusive people who will literally call you out when they see you.Featured photo via video screen capture | 1real |
Trump vows harsh response to Iranian vessels that harass U.S. Navy | PENSACOLA, Fla. (Reuters) - U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump vowed on Friday that any Iranian vessels that harass the U.S. Navy in the Gulf would be “shot out of the water” if he is elected on Nov. 8. Trump, at a rally before thousands of supporters in Pensacola, Florida, laid out an aggressive national security policy with a beefed-up U.S. military “so strong that nobody’s going to mess with us.” He talked tough about how he would respond to any Iranian harassment of American ships in the Gulf. A U.S. Navy coastal patrol ship changed course after an Iranian fast-attack craft came within 100 yards (91 meters) of it on Sunday. It was the fourth such incident in the past month. “When they circle our beautiful destroyers with their little boats and they make gestures at our people that they shouldn’t be allowed to make, they will be shot out of the water,” he said. Trump has based his foreign policy beliefs on keeping the United States out of what he called “endless wars” in the Middle East. Visiting a city with a U.S. Navy base and where many military veterans live, Trump said he wants a stronger military to project American power and bolster the United States as the leader of the world. Trump this week laid out a plan to spend many billions of dollars on bolstering the U.S. military, including more ships, planes and troops. “We’re going to put us in a position of leadership of the world again so we can negotiate from a position of great, great strength. But more important than negotiating, we will be secure again,” he said. Trump, who has drawn criticism for his frequent praise of Russian President Vladimir Putin, also mentioned a recent incident in which a Russian fighter jet came within 10 feet (3 meters) of a U.S. Navy surveillance plane over the Black Sea. “Putin laughs, believe me, he laughs at our leaders. Yesterday he had a plane 10 feet away, taunting us, toying with us, just like Iran,” he said. | 0fake |
Turkey investigates reports that folk dancers sought asylum | ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey is investigating reports that 11 Turkish folk dancers applied for asylum after attending a folk dance festival in the Hungarian capital Budapest, state-run news agency Anadolu said. Ankara prosecutors have launched an investigation into the dancers, who received special passports to attend the festival, as only five dancers of a group of 16 returned to Turkey. It was not clear where the remaining dancers may have sought asylum. The Hungarian Immigration Office said they did not submit asylum requests in Hungary, but gave no further details. The folk dance team from Ankara arrived on Nov 1, four days before the event, the private Dogan News Agency said. The team had previously attended an event in Bosnia and Herzegovina in July, and the whole team had returned to Turkey afterwards, according to media reports. It was not immediately clear why the dancers sought refuge. Turkey has jailed more than 50,000 people in the aftermath of a failed coup attempt last year and is seeking thousand of others for alleged ties to the coup. | 0fake |
Prep Blog Review: How To Survive The Flu & Cold Season | Drew Stratton October 29, 2016 Prep Blog Review: How To Survive The Flu & Cold Season
Ready or not, the flu and cold season is here. I’m sure you are not the type person to stay in bed all day long as you have so many things to do for your winter preparedness.
Even though both are respiratory illnesses and share similar symptoms like runny or stuffy nose, sneezing, sore throat and cough, a cold is milder than a flu and it doesn’t usually result in other serious health problems.
I can’t say the same thing about the flu. So, if you also have fever, headaches and muscle soreness, you should see a doctor.
So, for this week’s Prep Blog Review I’ve gathered a handful of tips to help you feel better during the flu & cold season. 5 Natural Ways to Fight a Cold or the Flu
“It is that time of year again, the beginning of cold and flu season. Yuck! Although many of us would love to stay inside and avoid all those nasty germs lurking about in public, it is not always feasible. So, let’s look at a few ways to fight off and relieve the symptoms of a cold or the flu, Naturally:
Herbs:
One of the best herbs to stimulate immune supporting white blood cells, T cells, macrophage and interferon activity is Echinacea. This can be taken at the first signs of a cold and will help to ease the symptoms. Boneset is another herb that will help to stimulate the immune system and is one of the most effective herbs to fight a cold or the flu. It promotes sweating and helps your body to release toxins. Although you could steep it and drink as a tea it is best to take it in pill form if possible, as it can be quite bitter tasting.”
Read more on The Trailer Park Homesteader . 4 Ways to Cut the Duration of Your Cold
“At our house, back to school means back to kids bringing home germs. When the leaves start turning, I start reaching for my cough drops, feeling that all too familiar tickle in my throat. If I can, I try to drink tons of water, wash my hands like crazy, and keep the bug from taking hold. But once I know I’m past the point of no return, the following things can help cut the duration of my cold and get me back to my busy life.
Do you know how to tell cold and a flu virus?”
Read more on Ready Nutrition . 17 Natural Antibiotics Our Grandparent Used Instead of Pills
“For hundreds of years, maybe even longer, our grannies and grandfathers relied on simple household items to heal. For that purpose, they picked different natural antibiotics, which they mostly found in home, gardens or meadows and woods nearby.
Much of this came out of necessity. Rather than using an antibacterial facial scrub, our Nanas massaged honey deep into their pores. By using proven old home remedies, we can treat and cure various health problems and do a lot for our health avoiding unpleasant medications side effects, too.”
Read more on Backdoor Prepper . What You Need to Know About Expired Prescription Drugs
“The topic of using expired prescription drugs comes up frequently in survival and preparedness circles. Although there are many articles detailing with the efficacy of outdated meds, one question I get over and over again is “what do I do when the meds run out?”
Whereas there is no single clear answer, one thing we can all start to do now is hang on to our old, unused meds. For the most part and with very few exceptions, they will be viable for two to twelve years beyond their expiration date. The secret is to keep them in a cool, dark, location that is not too dissimilar from your food storage.”
Read more on Backdoor Survival . Prepping For Medical Emergencies
“Planning for medical emergencies is one of the biggest challenges one faces. This is especially true if the situation will occur with limited outside resources on which to rely. There are several things you can do to improve the odds for yourself and your loved ones, including solid medical knowledge, the leadership skills necessary to create a makeshift hospital, and a comprehensive medical stockpile.”
Read more on The Prepper Journal .
Drew Stratton for Survivopedia. 11 total views, 10 views today | 1real |
U.S. gives China draft proposal for tougher North Korea sanctions - sources | UNITED NATIONS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has given China a draft resolution for tougher U.N. sanctions on North Korea and is hoping for a quick vote on it by the U.N. Security Council, a Western diplomat said on Tuesday. A senior official of the Trump administration confirmed efforts were under way to negotiate a new U.N. resolution, but added that there had been no agreement. We re trying to get another one, said the official, who did not want to be identified. They re not there yet. Details of the draft given to China last week were not immediately available, but the United States is keen to step up global sanctions to pressure North Korea to give up a weapons program aimed developing nuclear-tipped missiles capable of hitting the United States. Among the steps it wants is a tightening of restrictions on North Korea s supply of refined petroleum, which is capped by previous U.N. sanctions at 2 million barrels a year. China, which supplies most of North Korea s oil, has backed successive rounds of U.N. sanctions but has resisted past U.S. calls to cut off supplies to its neighbor. Its embassy in Washington and Foreign Ministry in Beijing did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The United States has also called on the U.N. Security Council to blacklist 10 ships for circumventing sanctions on North Korea, documents seen by Reuters on Tuesday showed. The documents said vessels had been conducting ship-to-ship transfers of refined petroleum products to North Korean vessels or transporting North Korean coal in violation of existing U.N. sanctions. Earlier on Tuesday, China responded to the announcement of a new U.S. national security strategy this week that branded Beijing a competitor seeking to challenge U.S. power by saying that cooperation between it and Washington would lead to a win-win outcome for both sides, but confrontation would bring mutual losses. | 0fake |
ANTI-TRUMP VANDALS Hit Dr. Ben Carson’s House…Paint “F*ck Trump” on House [Video] | Dr. Ben Carson was interviewed by a local TV station and relayed a story of grace after his home was vandalized. He also discussed the events in Charlottesville and the removal of Confederate statues. The secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said he believes dialogue can help overcome hate and bigotry.Carson said his home was vandalized earlier this summer while he was away: We were out of town and our house was toilet papered, Carson told News4 s Meagan Fitzgerald. They had painted F Trump on it as well. He said neighbors cleaned up the mess, and he responded with grace. That really is the message that I try to get out to people. You can t necessarily control the animosity and the hatred of someone else, but you can control how you react, he said.When asked about Charlottesville he said education is key | 1real |
It Is Up To Us — Paul Craig Roberts | It Is Up To Us
Paul Craig Roberts
Did Donald Trump win the election because he is a racist and misogynist and so are the American people?
No. That’s BS from the Oligarchs’ well-paid whores in the media, “liberal progressive” activist groups, think tanks and universities.
Did Trump win because he stole the election?
More BS. The Oligarchs controlled the voting machines. They failed to steal the election, because the people outsmarted them and told the pollsters that they were voting for Hillary. This led to the presstitutes’ propaganda that Hillary was the certain winner, and the Oligarchs believed their own propaganda and didn’t believe it necessary to make certain of their victory.
Trump won the presidency because he spoke directly and truthfully to the American people, telling them what what they knew to be true and had never before heard from any politician:
“Our movement is about replacing a failed and corrupt political establishment with a new government controlled by you, the American people. The establishment has trillions of dollars at stake in this election. Those who control the levers of power in Washington and the global special interests they partner with, don’t have your good in mind. The political establishment that is trying to stop us is the same group responsible for our disastrous trade deals, massive illegal immigration and economic and foreign policies that have bled our country dry.
“It’s a global power structure that is responsible for the economic decisions that have robbed our working class, stripped our country of its wealth and put that money into the pockets of a handful of large corporations and political entities. The only thing that can stop this corrupt machine is you. The only force strong enough to save our country is us. The only people brave enough to vote out this corrupt establishment is you, the American people.”
Trump did not promise voters a bunch of handouts. He didn’t say he would fix this and that. He said that only the American people could fix our broken country and identified himself as an agent of the people.
The people won the election, but the Oligarchy is still there, as powerful as ever. They have already launched their attack using their whores in the media and liberal progressive groups in attempts to delegitimize Trump with protests, petitions, and endlessly false news reports. George Soros, using the money he made by his attack on the British currency, will pay thousands of protesters to attempt to disrupt the inaugeration.
What about Trump’s government? As Trump discovered, finding appointees who are not part of the Oligarchy’s economic and foreign policy establishment is very difficult.
Washington is not a home for critics and dissidents. Consider Pat Buchanan, for example. As a White House official in two administrations and a two-time presidential candidate, he is experienced, but Washington has marginalized him.
Moreover, even if there were a stable of outsiders, they would be eaten alive by the insiders. Trump will have to take insiders. But he has to pick insiders who are to some extent their own person. General Michael Flynn as National Security Advisor is not a bad pick. Flynn is the former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency who advised the Obama regime against employing ISIS against Syria. Flynn has publicly stated on television that the appearance of ISIS in Syria was a “willful decision” of the Obama regime. In other words, ISIS is Washington’s agent, which is why the Obama regime has protected ISIS.
Trump’s chief of staff (Priebus) and chief strategist (Bannon) are reasonable choices.
Sessions (Attorney General) and Pompeo (CIA) are disturbing appointments based on their media-created reputations. But in the US where there is no honest media, we don’t know the truth of the reputations. Nevertheless, if Sessions does support torture, he is disqualified as attorney general, because the Constitution prohibits torture. The US cannot afford yet another attorney general who does not support the US Constitution.
If Pompeo actually is so poorly informed that he opposed the Iran settlement, he is not fit to be CIA director. The CIA itself said that Iran had no nuclear weapons program, and with Russia’s help the matter was resolved. Does Trump want a CIA director who neoconservatives could use to restart the conflict?
The views of Sessions and Pompeo could be products of the time and not visceral. Regardless, Trump is a strong and willful person. If Trump wants peace with the Russians and Chinese, appointees who get in the way will be fired. So let’s see what a Trump government does before we damn it.
Presstitute reports of extreme neoconservative John Bolton and former US attorney and NY Mayor Rudy Giuliani being candidates for Secretary of State do not seem credible. If Trump intends to get along with Putin, how can he do that if his Secretary of State wants war with Russia? Trump should find an experienced diplomat who negotiated with the Soviets. Richard Burt, who had a major role in the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, is the sort of person it would make sense to consider. Another sensible candidate would be Jack Matlock, Reagan’s Ambassador to the Soviet Union.
If Trump wants peace with Russia, the Secretary of State is the important appointment.
If Trump wants to stop the Oligarchy’s rip off of the American people, the Secretary of the Treasury is the important appointment.
Under the last three presidents, treasury secretaries have been agents for the banks-too-big-to-fail and for Wall Street. It is now a tradition for the financial gangsters to own the Treasury. It remains to be seen if the tradition is too strong for Trump to break.
The Oligarchy is trying to discredit the Trump Presidency before it exists. This effort is discrediting liberal and progressive groups by identifying them with nonenforcement of the immigration laws and with homosexual and transgender rights, issues not on the agenda of an electorate whose economic fortunes have been declining and who are tired of 15 years of war that serves only the hegemony agenda of the neoconservatives and the profits and power of the military/security complex.
According to The Saker, Putin has begun removing the Atlanticist Integrationists, Russia’s Fifth Column, from influence. Let’s see if Trump can remove our fifth columnists—neoconservatives and neoliberal economists—who have sold out the American people and America’s integrity.
If Trump fails, the only solution is for the American people to become more radical.
The post It Is Up To Us — Paul Craig Roberts appeared first on PaulCraigRoberts.org . | 1real |
WATCH: PARENTS JAM MEETING ROOM To Denounce False Teachings, Indoctrination Of Islam In TN Public Schools | Many of the parents were not allowed to attend this meeting due to capacity restrictions. Why did larger venues refuse to host this controversial meeting? Were they afraid to allow American citizens to voice their concerns about the false teachings of Islam in the public schools? Are Americans and American businesses going to cower over the fear of being targeted by radical Muslims for fighting back against the indoctrination of Islam?BRENTWOOD, Tenn. School board members in Brentwood, Tennessee received an education on the public s frustrations with Islam lessons in local schools during a radio station sponsored town hall Wednesday.Criticisms of the middle school text My World History and Geography centered mostly on the omission of negative aspects of the Muslim religion, and the appropriateness of the materials for students in sixth and seventh grades, Brentwood Homepage reports.The event was sponsored by Supertalk Radio and held in a tiny room at a Holiday Inn Express, where about 70 folks including students, parents, teachers, lawmakers, school board members, and political pundits huddled inside. Organizers reportedly turned some people away when the room reached capacity.Sunset Middle School seventh-grader Avery Noe pointed out during the meeting that lessons exclude jihadist from Islam and questioned why negative aspects of the religion aren t covered.Stewart County middle school teacher Kyle Mallory said teachers cover the materials they re given, focusing on what s expected on standardized tests, and asserted the issue with biased lessons on Islam stem from the state s textbook selection process. Mallory teaches in a different school district that rejected the My World History and Geography text, Fox 17 reports. Y all had a school board member from here come up to the textbook commission, he said. Nothing was done. It s not a teacher problem. We have (a state education) commissioner not doing her job, and I think the state legislature needs a no-confidence resolution. Mallory told Fox 17 the My World History text is very biased, didn t tell the whole story. We need to make sure when we re teaching students in the classroom that we tell them the truth and the textbooks weren t, Mallory said.Williamson County School Board member Beth Burgos told the Brentwood Homepage she joined the board because of textbook issues, and she backs a recent bill introduced by state Rep. Shelia Butt to postpone comparative religion courses until high school.Board member Susan Curlee believes the key to changing the way Islam is presented in schools, and to preventing unintentional indoctrination, lies with standardized tests. My biggest concern is testing, she said. When my daughter was in seventh grade, I was told they didn t want to teach Islam that way, but had to because 25 percent of the test was going to focus on Islam. As long as testing is the accountability metric, it could be this way. Curlee told Fox 17 the lessons her daughter learned about Islam while in Franklin Special School District last year presented a rosy picture of the religion, while glossing over important points. A lot of the things we hear about Mohammed and a lot of the warfare that was waged is very much sugar coated, she said. My World History, which is used by about 40 Tennessee school districts, also alleges Islam spreads peacefully, and that Christians and Muslims worship the same God. My concern is, are we going to be asking students on a test to potentially compromise their faith for the sake of a grade? Curlee said.Tennessee state Sen. Jack Johnson, who also attended the town hall, told the Brentwood Homepage a lot of people share Curlee s concerns. I m concerned because I have three kids in Williamson County Schools, Johnson said. The possibility we could be advocating Islam in school and could be misrepresenting history had generated lots of calls and emails. I want to educate myself and learn more about it. Event organizers told the media they were forced to hold the town hall in the small Holiday Inn Express room because larger venues in the area refused to host the discussion. Via: EAG News | 1real |
BREAKING: AP Finds Proof Melania Trump Illegally Worked In U.S. PRIOR To Getting Work Visa |
In what may be the last bombshell to drop prior to Election Day, the Associated Press is now reporting that they have found the smoking gun that proves Melania Trump worked illegally in the United States prior to obtaining a work visa.
This means: For all intents and purposes, Melania was the sort of “illegal” immigrant that her husband now labels as criminals and morally-bankrupt. The Trump family lied about this fact and conspired to cover it up for the duration of the election. This comes at a supremely bad time for Trump, who recently made Melania a campaign centerpiece – including a much publicized speech on… you guessed it… immigration.
Here’s what the AP found :
The documents obtained by the AP show she was paid for 10 modeling assignments between Sept. 10 and Oct. 15, during a time when her visa allowed her generally to be in the U.S. and look for work but not perform paid work in the country. The documents examined by the AP indicate that the modeling assignments would have been outside the bounds of her visa.
It is highly unlikely that the discovery will affect the citizenship status of Mrs. Trump. The government can seek to revoke the U.S. citizenship of immigrants after the fact in cases when it determines a person willfully misrepresented or concealed facts relevant to his naturalization. But the government effectively does this in only the most egregious cases, such as instances involving terrorism or war crimes.
According to the documents, Melania made roughly $20,000 illegally before getting her visa – only slightly less money in seven weeks than the average undocumented worker Trump disparages as “moochers” make in a year .
While existing standards mean Melania would likely remain a U.S. citizen despite her previous violations, her husband’s plans to crack down on illegal immigration might be working against her. Trump has long held that people who “cheated” to get into the United States illegally should be moved to the “back of the line.” Would he include his wife in that sweeping category?
Of course, Melania Trump should not be deported over a technicality in her early immigration status. However, her husband might want to think about that fact when he screams at rallies about rounding up families of Hispanic immigrants and shipping them out of the country. Melania is living proof that the immigration issue in this country isn’t exactly cut-and-dry. Not that Trump is known for any semblance of nuance.
Featured image via Win McNamee/Getty Images Share this Article! | 1real |
Iran letter blowback startles GOP | The Manhattan billionaire made the announcement on Twitter and said he will hold a formal press conference to discuss it further on Dec. 15. | 0fake |
Ted Cruz Tells His Fanatics To Put On Their ‘Armor Of God’ To Prepare To Fight For Him | In an effort to prepare his supporters for the upcoming Republican primary, Ted Cruz urged them to put on their armor of God and not believe any bad things people say about him. I want to tell everyone to get ready, strap on the full armor of God, get ready for the attacks that are coming, Cruz said according to the Washington Post.Cruz leads in some Iowa polls over Donald Trump and has seen a rise in national polls despite the fact that his religious zealotry is a huge threat to our democracy and Constitution.And that s why he is telling his fanatics to cover their ears and refuse to believe or even consider any attacks made against him, even if they might be true. Unfortunately, there are a lot of folks in politics who are not constrained by what they view as quaint notions of the truth, Cruz continued. They believe particularly as you get close to an election day, that they can just toss out any lie, any attack and the attack will do its damage before anyone discovers that it s not true. So I want everyone here to get ready, because that is coming, and it s coming with a ferocity none of us has ever seen. Cruz claims that establishment Republicans are trying to sabotage his campaign by telling lies about him. In reality, the only lies being told are the ones coming from Cruz s own mouth.Like when he was caught in a lie last month on live television during an appearance on Fox News while claiming that he didn t want an immigration bill to pass in the Senate, which didn t match up with previous statements he has made.Or how about when Cruz was outed as a complete hypocrite on CNN when Dana Bash pointed out that he wouldn t be running for president today had the United States not granted asylum to his father. In fact, he may not have ever existed since Cruz s father would have likely been killed in Cuba if the United States government had succumbed to fears over Communism being spread by immigrants.And then there s the time Cruz claimed that Christians do not commit acts of terrorism, conveniently ignoring the KKK, anti-abortion lunatics, Timothy McVeigh and multiple mass shootings that have occurred in recent years.Ted Cruz is basically treating his supporters like a cult leaders treat their followers. He is telling them to ignore what is said outside the campaign and is using religious rhetoric to gin them up into a frenzy. He wants them to believe that he is a divine leader sent by God to rule the country like a king, which is literally what an Iowa Republican actually does believe.Facts and truth do not matter to Ted Cruz. He only wants people to believe what he tells them to believe. And if he does win, theocracy will replace our democracy as the Bible replaces our Constitution.Featured Image: YouTube/ Wikimedia | 1real |
Refugee crisis influx no boon for German integration: study | BERLIN (Reuters) - The wave of refugees that entered Germany in 2015-2016 has slowed its integration efforts, according to a study that also showed little progress since 2005 in leveling the playing field for immigrants on education, employment and incomes. At the height of Europe s migration crisis, Chancellor Angela Merkel adopted an open-borders policy that drew more than one million refugees into Germany in two years. In the prior decade, education opportunities picked up for newly arrived immigrants and people born in Germany with at least one foreign parent. But the Federal Statistics Office study released on Thursday found the education gap between those categories of migrants and native Germans had since widened again, with the proportion of the former lacking a high school certificate growing between 2014 and 2016. The scale of future immigration has become a major sticking point in three-party talks that Merkel is leading on the formation of a new coalition government, for which she has set an initial deadline of Thursday night. While Germany s unemployment rate has fallen to its lowest since the country s reunification in 1990, more immigrants were unemployed in 2016 than native Germans, the study said. In that year, 13.6 percent of immigrants and 6.2 percent of native Germans had low-paying jobs. Merkel s conservatives have proposed to the coalition talks that a suspension of reunifications between migrants and their family members outside Germany should be extended beyond a March 2018 deadline. Immigration expert Herbert Bruecker, a professor at the Berlin Integration and Migration Institute, said that would worsen the divide. Our surveys show that people, who are living separated from their families, have a lower life satisfaction and also suffer more often from depression or bitterness, he said. | 0fake |
Stephen Bannon and Breitbart News, in Their Words - The New York Times | The appointment of Stephen K. Bannon as chief White House strategist for Donald J. Trump has been condemned by civil rights groups, Democrats and some Republicans, because of Mr. Bannon’s record as chairman of Breitbart News, the news and opinion site. Here, in his own words, are a selection of Mr. Bannon’s public statements about the country, the Republican Party and his own political philosophy. • “Fear is a good thing. Fear is going to lead you to take action,” he said in a 2010 interview. • Referring to Ann Coulter, Michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin in a 2011 radio interview on Political Vindication Radio, he said: “These women cut to the heart of the progressive narrative. That’s why there are some unintended consequences of the women’s liberation movement. That, in fact, the women that would lead this country would be they would have husbands, they would love their children. They wouldn’t be a bunch of dykes that came from the Seven Sisters schools up in New England. That drives the left insane, and that’s why they hate these women. ” • Mr. Bannon made a movie in 2012 about the Occupy Wall Street protests. He told an interviewer: “After making the Occupy movie, when you finish watching the film, you want to take a hot shower. You want to go home and shower because you’ve just spent an hour and 15 minutes with the greasiest, dirtiest people you will ever see. ” • “I think anger is a good thing,” he told a gathering of conservatives in Washington in 2013, according to a profile in The Atlantic. “This country is in a crisis. And if you’re fighting to save this country, if you’re fighting to take this country back, it’s not going to be sunshine and patriots. It’s going to be people who want to fight. ” • “I’m a Leninist,” Mr. Bannon was quoted as saying by a writer for The Daily Beast who met him at a party in 2014. He later said he did not recall the conversation. “Lenin wanted to destroy the state, and that’s my goal, too,” the site quoted him as saying. “I want to bring everything crashing down, and destroy all of today’s establishment. ” • “What we need to do is the Republican Party,” he said in a 2010 radio interview on Political Vindication Radio. • “We don’t believe there is a functional conservative party in this country, and we certainly don’t think the Republican Party is that,” he told the same gathering. “It’s going to be an insurgent, populist movement that is virulently and it’s going to continue to hammer this city, both the progressive left and the institutional Republican Party. ” • “There is a growing global revolt against the permanent political class at home, and the global elites that influence them, which impacts everyone from Lubbock, Tex. to London, England,” he said in a 2014 interview in The New York Times. •“Let the grassroots turn on the hate because that’s the ONLY thing that will make them do their duty,” he wrote about Republican leaders in a 2014 email exchange with a Breitbart News editor. The emails were obtained by The Daily Beast. • “We call ourselves ‘the Fight Club.’ You don’t come to us for warm and fuzzy,” Mr. Bannon told The Washington Post this year. “We think of ourselves as virulently particularly ‘ ’ the permanent political class. We say Paul Ryan was grown in a petri dish at the Heritage Foundation. ” Mr. Bannon took over Breitbart News in 2012 after the death of its founder, Andrew Breitbart, and shifted it further to the right. Critics, including some conservatives formerly associated with it, have denounced Breitbart in its current incarnation as a hate site steeped in misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, white nationalism and . Here is a sampling of some articles published during Mr. Bannon’s tenure that drew criticism: • “Birth Control Makes Women Unattractive and Crazy” A December 2015 article by Milo Yiannopoulos, who was later barred from Twitter when he was accused of inciting racist and sexist attacks on the actress Leslie Jones, told women that birth control “makes you fat,” “makes your voice unsexy,” “makes you jiggle wrong,” “makes you a slut” and “makes you unsexy all the time. ” • “Bill Kristol: Republican Spoiler, Renegade Jew” A May 2016 article by David Horowitz criticized Bill Kristol for his opposition to Mr. Trump as “a political miscalculation so great and a betrayal so profound as to not be easily forgiven. ” • “World Health Organization Report: Trannies 49 Xs Higher HIV Rate” A December 2015 article by Austin Ruse, using a slur for transgender people in the headline, argued that a public health study on sexual health in the transgender community was actually a warning about “how dangerous it is to become ‘transgender. ’” The site called it a rebuke to “the ‘transgender’ narrative that is sweeping American culture. ” • “Roger Stone: Huma Abedin ‘Most Likely a Saudi Spy’ With ‘Deep, Inarguable Connections’ to ‘Global Terrorist Entity’” A June 2016 article by Dan Riehl chronicled the belief of Mr. Stone, a Trump adviser, that Ms. Abedin, an aide to Hillary Clinton, was connected to a terrorist conspiracy. • “There’s No Hiring Bias Against Women in Tech, They Just Suck at Interviews” A July 2016 article by Mr. Yiannopoulos argued that it was women’s fault that tech firms hired so few of them. • “Lesbian Bridezillas Bully Bridal Shop Owner Over Religious Beliefs” An August 2014 article by Susan Berry criticized a lesbian couple who complained on Facebook about a Pennsylvania bridal shop that refused to sell them wedding dresses. • “The Solution to Online ‘Harassment’ Is Simple: Women Should Log Off” A July 2016 article by Mr. Yiannopoulos argued that women were “screwing up the internet for men by invading every space we have online and ruining it with and a needy, demanding, form of modern feminism. ” | 0fake |
Immigrants, the Poor and Minorities Gain Sharply Under Affordable Care Act - The New York Times | LOS ANGELES — The first full year of the Affordable Care Act brought historic increases in coverage for workers and others who have long been left out of the health care system, a New York Times analysis has found. Immigrants of all backgrounds — including more than a million legal residents who are not citizens — had the sharpest rise in coverage rates. Hispanics, a coveted group of voters this election year, accounted for nearly a third of the increase in adults with insurance. That was the single largest share of any racial or ethnic group, far greater than their 17 percent share of the population. workers, who did not have enough clout in the labor market to demand insurance, saw sharp increases. Coverage rates jumped for cooks, dishwashers, waiters, as well as for hairdressers and cashiers. Minorities, who disproportionately worked in jobs, had large gains. The health care law was one of the most bitterly contested pieces of legislation in the country’s history. It remains controversial because of its costs to both taxpayers and insurance customers. The high premiums and high deductibles of many plans still make coverage a crushing financial burden for some families. And the law is not close to achieving the goal of universal coverage, in part because 19 states have declined to expand their Medicaid programs for the poor, an option the Supreme Court granted them in a landmark 2012 case. Nevertheless, the Times’s analysis shows that by the end of that first full year, 2014, so many people gained coverage that it halted the expansion of the gap between the haves and the in the American health insurance system, a striking change at a time when disparities between rich and poor are growing in many areas. “The law has clearly reduced broad measures of inequality,” said David Cutler, an economics professor at Harvard, who served in the Clinton administration and advised the 2008 Obama campaign on health issues. “These are people who blend into the background of the economy. They are cleaning your hotel room, making your sandwich. The law has helped this population enormously. ” Until now, the impact of the law has been measured mostly in broad numbers of newly insured people — about 20 million by the administration’s most recent account. But the Times’s analysis of census data from 2014, the first year the heart of the law was in full effect, provides a finely detailed look at who the newly insured actually are — by race, education, occupation, immigration status, and family structure. The analysis shows how the law lifted some of the most vulnerable citizens. workers gained insurance at a higher rate than workers, and people with high school degrees gained it at double the rate of college graduates. Adults living in households headed by relatives, such as siblings or cousins — often a marker of economic distress — gained insurance at double the rate of those in traditional households. The law’s passage, without a single Republican vote, capped decades of efforts to enact a broader health insurance system. Medicaid and Medicare passed in the 1960s, but did little to help workers who did not receive insurance through their jobs. Presidents Nixon, Carter and Clinton all tried and failed to win approval for expanded coverage, and the number of uninsured Americans grew to nearly a fifth of adults under the age of 65 by 2010, the year the Affordable Care Act passed. The findings from the census data could inform the national dialogue, especially in this election year. Hispanics are a powerful voting force and the law is viewed favorably in Hispanic neighborhoods. But whether the sharp increase in coverage rates for Hispanics will translate into votes for Democrats who supported the law, or whether some Republicans might temper their vows to repeal it, is not clear. And the fact that so many who benefited under the law were not citizens (or voters) — 1. 2 million out of the total 8. 7 million who got health insurance in 2014 — could set off a new round of debate in a year when immigration has become a deeply polarizing issue. About 60 percent of those noncitizens were Hispanic, mostly natives of Mexico and Central America who had been living in the United States for decades. Another third were Asian, mostly newer arrivals living in states like California, New York and Texas. Illegal immigrants are not eligible for insurance under the law, but legal immigrants can qualify for subsidies in the insurance exchanges and those who have been in the country for more than five years can qualify for Medicaid. The vast majority of the country’s 11 million illegal immigrants, about 70 percent of whom are Hispanic, still lack coverage, said Mark Hugo Lopez, director of Hispanic research at the Pew Research Center. Though the law has withstood two Supreme Court rulings that would have undermined its central elements, it continues to face challenges. It requires most Americans to have health insurance and gives subsidies to those who cannot afford it. Even so, many still cannot afford policies. While it expanded Medicaid to cover more of the country’s poor, the Supreme Court allowed states to opt out and 19 have, leaving millions of people still uncovered. But in neighborhoods like this one in South Los Angeles, a historically poor patch of the city dotted with palm trees, small ranch houses and home to a growing Hispanic population, the law is having a big effect. “From the vantage point of the poor and working poor, Obamacare has been profound,” said Jim Mangia, president of the St. John’s Well Child and Family Center, a federally funded health clinic in South Los Angeles that has enrolled 18, 000 new patients under the law, nearly all of them Hispanic or black and the vast majority in Medicaid. The clinic reported a 44 percent increase in cervical cancer screenings, a 25 percent increase in tobacco cessation therapy, and a 22 percent increase in the share of patients with controlled hypertension since 2014, the result, he said, of more patients having insurance. One new patient, Angela Cruz, 60, is a typical example of a winner under the law. A legal immigrant who is not a citizen, she came to this country from El Salvador in 1990. She had never had health insurance in her 25 years of working in the United States, most recently as a nanny. She stitched together medical care through emergency rooms, free clinics and home remedies. When she needed to pay for medicine for a painful bout of kidney stones, she stopped buying meat. Then she got coverage under the health law’s expansion of Medicaid in California. Now, she said, “I don’t have the stress of wondering — can I pay this — when sometimes I didn’t have anything to pay it with. ” Hispanics remain the least insured Americans, with only 67 percent having coverage in 2014, in part because so many illegal immigrants are uninsured. Gains for blacks were muted because they disproportionately live in states that chose not to expand Medicaid. About 60 percent of poor blacks live in states that did not expand Medicaid. While the share of poor blacks covered by Medicaid did rise by two percentage points in those states, the rate rose by six points in states that expanded the program. In all, minorities gained more than whites, making up of the increase in insured adults across the country, and 70 percent of the increase in private insurance. Minority men who work as groundskeepers and janitors saw substantial gains, rising to 59 percent insured, up from 51 percent in 2013. Hispanic male construction workers rose to 43 percent insured, from 36 percent in 2013. One such worker, Sergio Ortega, 51, a legal immigrant from Mexico who had never been insured before getting covered by Medicaid in 2014, said making a doctor’s appointment seemed unthinkable without insurance, so he often simply ignored his health problems. Several years ago, he started feeling tired, a condition that eventually drove him to quit his job demolishing buildings and start selling fruit from a street cart. By the time he sought treatment through his new coverage and discovered he had diabetes, his lower leg had to be amputated. “I realized it was getting really bad because my foot started turning purple,” said Mr. Ortega, who is a patient at St. John’s. Perhaps the biggest unmet promise of the law is that many it was supposed to help still cannot afford insurance. Alberto Torres, 50, a driver for a garment company in Los Angeles who could not afford insurance before the law, had signed up for a plan in 2014 for $41 a month. But this year his monthly premium jumped to $106 — too much, he said, for his meager salary. “I’m feeling not so good,” he said recently, waiting in line for help to look for a less expensive plan. High deductibles are another big obstacle. “If you are living paycheck to paycheck and have nothing in the bank, insurance with a $3, 000 deductible might feel like no insurance at all,” said Larry Levitt, a senior vice president of the Kaiser Family Foundation. Having insurance does not necessarily mean better health, but experts hope it could start to ease some of the worst disparities that have kept the United States close to the bottom of health rankings of rich countries. Mr. Ortega has been fitted for a prosthetic leg. He is still learning how to use it. “Now I don’t worry,” he said. “It’s a security, a comfort that I feel. ” | 0fake |
This letter from Manchester City Council is a strong contender for facepalm of the year | Next Swipe left/right This letter from Manchester City Council is a strong contender for facepalm of the year Someone at Manchester City Council might need to a) Google the term “Hellenic” and b) use a spellchecker. Manchester City Council sent this piece of beauty to someone recently: pic.twitter.com/w5jwlpZHbF
— George Zacharopoulos (@GreekGeordie) November 1, 2016 | 1real |
Trump says he’d be ‘neutral’ with Israelis and Palestinians | Email
Leading Republican presidential hopeful suggests Israeli-Palestinian peace accord may be impossible: ‘Sometimes agreements can’t be made’After being asked by a voter at a Charleston, South Carolina, town hall event hosted by MSNBC about what steps he would take to broker an accommodation between the sides in the conflict, the GOP contender vowed to give it “one hell of a shot” and called it “probably the toughest agreement of any kind to make.”But when pressed by host Joe Scarborough over whether he ascribed fault to either Israelis or Palestinians over the failure to reach a lasting accord, Trump declined to take sides.
“You know, I don’t want to get into it, because … If I win, I don’t want to be in a position where I’m saying to you and the other side now says, ‘We don’t want Trump involved,'” Trump said.
“Let me be sort of a neutral guy,” he continued. “A lot of people have gone down in flames trying to make that deal. So I don’t want to say whose fault is it. I don’t think it helps.”Trump also expressed skepticism over the possibility of achieving a two-state solution, given the conditions of the conflict and the need for any agreement to be sustainable over time.
“It’s possible it’s not makeable, because don’t forget it has to last — it’s wonderful to make it and it doesn’t work, but it has to last,” he said. “To make lasting peace there? Probably the toughest deal of all, but I’m going to give it a shot.”
Though he was not asked directly what he considers the most substantial obstacles standing in the way of a peace agreement, he suggested that growing hostility between the two peoples was contributing to the current stalemate, and what he considers the root of the conflict.
“A lot of people say an agreement can’t be made, which is okay. I mean, sometimes agreements can’t be made. Not good, but, you know, you have both sides really, but one side in particular, growing up and learning that these are the worst people,” he said. “I was with a very prominent Israeli the other day. He says it’s impossible, because the other side has been trained from the time they’re children to hate Jewish people.”In the past, Trump has questioned Israel’s commitment to peace, while at the same time suggesting the Jewish state does not have a negotiating partner in the Palestinians. He has also called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “a good friend.”
At a presidential candidates forum hosted by the Republican Jewish Coalition in December 2015, the real estate magnate said, “I don’t know that Israel has the commitment to make it, and I don’t know that the other side has the commitment to make it.”
He made the same point in an interview with AP earlier that day: “A lot will have to do with Israel and whether or not Israel wants to make the deal — whether or not Israel’s willing to sacrifice certain things,” he said. “They may not be, and I understand that, and I’m okay with that. But then you’re just not going to have a deal.”
Trump’s comments Wednesday came hours after a dramatic upset in polls saw Trump fall behind Texas Sen. Ted Cruz for the first time in 31 consecutive polls, coming in at 26% of registered Republican voters nationally, two points behind Cruz at 28%. | 1real |
Democrat Clinton says China likely to commit more 'bad acts' in trade | NEW YORK (Reuters) - Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton on Friday said that as the Chinese economy slows, China will engage in more damaging practices in global trade. “But now that China’s economy is slowing down we can expect even more bad acts from them,” she said in a speech in Detroit. “It’ll look to dump products overseas to make up for lost demand at home. So we have to stop that right now.” Clinton is the front runner for her party’s nomination to the November presidential election. (Reporting by Luciana Lopez; Additional reporting by Michelle Conlin; Editing by Leslie Adler) This article was funded in part by SAP. It was independently created by the Reuters editorial staff. SAP had no editorial involvement in its creation or production. | 0fake |
Trump Supporter: There Will Be Civil War Whether Trump Wins Or Not | It s getting to the point that as frightening as the premise is of a Donald Trump presidency is, the movement he has created has a life of its own and it s beyond frightening. Many are armed, dangerous and itching for a Civil War, no matter how the election turns out.One such supporter attended a rally of Trump s running mate, Mike Pence, on Tuesday in Albuquerque, N.M. The woman, who is identified only as Brenda, really, really wants Trump to win and if he doesn t, she says there will be Second Amendment remedies. There will also be Second Amendment remedies if Trump doesn t win, because apparently Obama will declare martial law. If Hillary Clinton wins the election and she s on that Second Amendment, taking your guns away, there is going to be a civil war in this state or elsewhere in the country, the woman who identified herself as Brenda predicted, to some applause in Albuquerque, N.M. But, if President Trump would win, the woman continued, to hollers from the crowd, there s also going to be a war, because Obama is going to pull that martial law on the United States. Source: The HillPence tried to reassure Brenda that Clinton won t win, but he did nothing to tamp down the threat of violence, and why would he? That would be off message. Trump might not be overtly calling for violence, but when he suggests that Second Amendment people can do something about Hillary Clinton, well, all it takes is one wrong person to read into that message.Trump s other message is more subtle, but possibly even more dangerous. At this point, Trump pretty much knows he s about to lose the election and he s setting himself up with a basket of excuses none of which blame him or his campaign. Trump s portrayal of all his detractors, including Clinton voters, is that they are cheating. He told a crowd in Pennsylvania that the only way he could lose there is if there s cheating. Trump is currently losing Pennsylvania by seven points.Facts don t matter to Trump voters. They are convinced that Trump is some sort of messiah and that if people don t get that, they deserve to be punished. If the nation doesn t vote for Trump, you can guarantee that at least some of his armed followers will cry foul. Whether Trump wins or loses, it won t be pretty.Featured image via Spencer Platt at Getty Images. | 1real |
McPain: John McCain Furious That Iran Treated US Sailors Well | 21st Century Wire says As 21WIRE reported earlier this week, the unlikely mishap of two US Naval vessels straying into Iranian waters just hours before the President s State of the Union speech, followed by the usual parade of arch-neocons coming on TV in real time to declare the incident as an act of aggression by Iran against the United States is no mere coincidence.24 hours after the incident, the Iranians returned all 11 US sailors, unharmed and in good spirits. The only remaining casualty from this event was an incident of a common condition in Washington known as Pre-Traumatic Stress Disorder suffered by a certain US Senator was mortified by the uneventful outcome which followed Daniel McAdams Ron Paul Institute The two US Navy riverine command boats intercepted in Iranian territorial waters yesterday were sent on their way along with the crew of 10 US sailors after brief detention on Iranian soil.According to news reports, the well-armed warships either suffered mechanical or navigational difficulties which caused them to enter Iranian territory (although it may well have been a game of cat-and-mouse to test the Iranian response). The US sailors were apparently treated well, enjoyed what appeared a decent meal in relaxed surroundings, and in the end apologized for the mistake and praised their treatment by the Iranians. Thanks to President Obama s policy shift on Iran toward engagement and away from isolationism, Secretary of State John Kerry was able to telephone his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Zarif and quickly defuse what just months ago would have been a far more serious situation.This should be a good-news story about the value of diplomacy and reducing tensions with adversaries, but Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) was having none of it. That Kerry expressed his appreciation to the Iranians for swiftly releasing the American sailors only showed the Obama Administration s craven desire to preserve the dangerous Iranian nuclear deal at all costs evidently knows no limit, said McCain in a press release.McCain was furious that Obama administration officials seem to be falling over themselves to offer praise for Iran s graciousness and was outraged that the Iranians dared interfere with the actions of US military vessels operating in Iranian waters.In the world of John McCain, only the United States has the right to national sovereignty. The US military has the right to act anywhere and everywhere and the rest of the world dare not raise a question.According to McCain, sovereign immune naval vessels are exempt from detention, boarding, or search. Their crews are not subject to detention or arrest. Imagine the tune McCain would have been singing if a well-armed Iranian naval vessel had been spotted in US territorial waters off the coast of New York. Would he have so rigorously condemned any US interference in the actions of Iran s sovereign naval vessels?Leave it to some clever Twitterers to post an example of the difference between US and Iranian detention.Copyright 2016 by RonPaul Institute. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit and a live link are given.READ MORE JOHN MCCAIN NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire McPain Files | 1real |
BREAKING NEWS: Leftist Media Publishes Major Fake Russian Story AGAIN…Special Counsel Mueller NEVER Subpoenaed Trump’s Deutsche Bank Records | How many times in one week can ABC News publish fake Russian collusion stories and still be considered a reliable source of news? ABC News suspended Brian Ross after he made a false report about Trump directing his NSA Michael Flynn to meet with the Russians during his campaign. After the Stock Market lost 350 points, ABC News was forced to admit that Trump s discussion about meeting with the Russian Ambassador took place while Flynn was part of Trump s transition team and not when Trump was a candidate.Yesterday, ABC News tweeted a story about Paul Manafort, saying that he was working with a Russian Intelligence-connected official. They were forced to tweet a correction seveal hours later , stating that the person Manafort met with was not an official but instead, an individual . Big difference Today, ABC News jumped on the rabid lefitst media bandwagon again today to report that Special Counsel Robert Muller had supbeonaed Deutsche Bank for Trump s financial records. That story also turned out to be fake news.John Roberts of FOX News reports: A source with knowledge of the investigation tells @FoxNews that there has been no subpoena from Robert Mueller s office sent to Deutsche Bank asking for information on @realDonaldTrump financesA source with knowledge of the investigation tells @FoxNews that there has been no subpoena from Robert Mueller's office sent to Deutsche Bank asking for information on @realDonaldTrump finances John Roberts (@johnrobertsFox) December 5, 2017President Trump s legal team is pushing back against reports that Special Counsel Robert Mueller has called on Deutsche Bank to submit data pertaining to its client relationship with President Trump as part of his investigation into alleged Russian election meddling. We have confirmed that the news reports that the special counsel had subpoenaed financial records relating to the president are false, said Jay Sekulow, a member of Trump s legal team. No subpoena has been issued or received. We have confirmed this with the bank and other sources. Bloomberg, citing an unnamed source, reported that Mueller is seeking information on the German lender and its relationship with Trump and his family. Trump reportedly owes the bank $300 million. Fox News | 1real |
Factbox: Republican U.S. senators to watch in the debate on the tax bill | (Reuters) - Republican Senator Rand Paul said on Monday he will vote for a tax bill headed to the U.S. Senate floor for debate this week, settling questions about his support for the measure, although several other senators’ positions on it were still uncertain. President Donald Trump and Republican leaders in Congress want to pass tax legislation by the end of 2017. The House of Representatives has approved its own bill. Republicans control the Senate by a 52-48 margin, leaving little room for defections. Here is a list of Republicans whose votes could be pivotal to the bill’s fate. Paul, a fiscal hawk with a libertarian streak who sometimes strays from the party line, said on Monday he planned to vote for the tax bill, which was headed soon to the Senate floor. In a Fox News online opinion piece, Paul said the bill was not perfect and he would “prefer a larger cut,” but that he planned to back it because it achieved some of his goals and he could push for more changes next year. “I plan to vote for this bill as it stands right now,” wrote Paul, of Kentucky. Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin surprised colleagues earlier this month by becoming the first Republican to announce opposition to the tax plan. That earned him a telephone call from Trump. Johnson, formerly chief executive of a polyester and plastics manufacturer, said the legislation unfairly helps corporations over small businesses. But he has said he hopes changes could be made to win his support. Susan Collins, a moderate Maine Republican, has said she has qualms about Senate leaders’ plan to include repeal of the Obamacare individual mandate in the tax bill. The mandate requires people to buy health insurance or face a penalty. Collins said her staff’s research showed that for some middle-class Americans, higher insurance costs stemming from repeal of the individual mandate would outweigh the benefits of the tax cuts they would receive. She was among three Republicans who voted in July to block a Republican attempt to dismantle Obamacare, former Democratic President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law. Senator Bob Corker, a Trump critic who has decided not to run for re-election, has not taken a position on the tax bill. As a deficit hawk, Corker’s main concern is red ink - the tax bill is expected to add $1.5 trillion to the national debt over 10 years. Corker and Trump have openly feuded in recent weeks, with Corker calling the White House an “adult day care center” after Trump attacked Corker repeatedly on Twitter. Senator John McCain of Arizona, a maverick and former presidential nominee, says he will wait for the final version of the tax-cut bill before announcing his position. The war hero infuriated Trump when he joined Collins and Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska in voting against the Senate bill last summer to repeal Obamacare. McCain, who is still working after a diagnosis of brain cancer, has said he has almost no working relationship with Trump and has criticized the administration. Murkowski of Alaska chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and wants to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, or ANWR, to oil and gas drilling. That provides an enticement for her to support the tax bill. Her committee has passed legislation to open the refuge to oil drilling, and the measure is expected to be attached to the tax bill. But Murkowski voted against three attempts to dismantle Obamacare in the summer, so the combination of the tax bill with a repeal of the Obamacare individual mandate may give her pause. Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona, a vocal Trump critic who is not seeking re-election in 2018, has issued a statement saying he appreciated the effort to fix the tax code but was worried about the impact on the national debt. Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma, is a conservative Republican, like Flake. Lankford has been in talks with Flake and others about opposing the tax plan on the grounds that it would balloon the national deficit, Time magazine has reported. | 0fake |
Iraq ‘Ready For War’ With Turkey Over Who Should Control Mosul After Isis |
Iraq and Turkey are threatening to go to war with each other over who should hold power in Mosul and the surrounding region after the defeat of Isis . Turkish tanks and artillery have deployed along the border and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has said that while Iraq “did not want war with Turkey” it is ready to fight one if necessary.
The confrontation is sharpening as the Iraqi Army enters eastern Mosul and Shia militia known as the Hashd al-Shaabi advance towards the town of Tal Afar, threatening to cut Isis’s last escape route from Mosul to Syria . Turkey sees itself as the protector of the Sunni Arabs of Mosul and northern Iraq, a community left vulnerable by the likely defeat of Isis by Shia and Kurdish forces backed by US-led airpower.
The dependence of the anti-Isis forces on air strikes and drones was underlined on Wednesday when Iraqi Special Forces delayed their advance into east Mosul because high humidity and clouds made it difficult for aircraft to identify and attack targets on the ground. They had entered the industrial suburb of Gogjali on Tuesday and were Wednesday going from house to house looking for Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and booby traps.
The population of Mosul east of the Tigris River, which divides the city in half, has in the past consisted largely of well-educated professional people such as doctors and engineers, few of whom are likely to be sympathetic to Isis. Residents in the east say they expected Isis to withdraw to the western side of Mosul, which is more sympathetic to them, crossing the five bridges spanning the Tigris which, the residents say, have been rigged with demolition charges.
The Iraqi government reacted angrily to the possibility of Turkish intervention. “The invasion of Iraq will lead to Turkey being dismantled,” said Mr Abadi at a news conference in Baghdad on Tuesday. “We do not want war with Turkey, and we do not want a confrontation with Turkey, but if a confrontation happens, we are ready for it.” He added that Iraq would consider Turkey as an enemy and would deal with it as an enemy.
The exchange of abuse between Ankara and Baghdad continued on Wednesday when Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu denounced Mr Abadi as “weak”, asking: “If you have the strength, why did you surrender Mosul to terror organisations? If you are so strong, why has the PKK occupied your lands for years?” Earlier Turkey’s deputy prime minister Numan Kurtulmus had tried to lower the temperature by saying that the military build-up was a precaution and not a threat.
Iraqi leaders in Baghdad have long privately blamed Turkey for aiding or tolerating al-Qaeda-type movements like Isis which operated in Iraq, but the ill-will is now becoming more public on both sides. On 11 October President Recep Tayyip Erdogan launched a furious tirade against Mr Abadi, saying: “He insults me. You are not on the same level as me! You are not my equal! Scream all you want from Iraq! It will not change anything! We will do what we want to do.” On 23 October, Mr Erdogan further raised the stakes by asserting Mosul has historically belonged to Turkey and it should therefore play a role in determining its future.
Turkey already has 700 troops at a base in Bashiqa, north of Mosul, and has been training a Sunni Arab militia force of former policemen from Mosul numbering about 2,500. This force is probably not big enough to make Turkey a player in the struggle for the city and political observers in Irbil believe Turkey will not intervene militarily. But this could change if the Hashd attack Tal Afar, whose Turkman population is about 80 per cent Sunni and which is the home town of many Isis commanders, judges and religious police. Turkey would also be energised if the PKK was visibly benefiting from developments in and around Mosul. Another more cynical interpretation of Turkey’s focus on Mosul is that it is to divert attention from its muted response to the Syrian and Russian assault on East Aleppo.
The fall of Mosul is likely to give birth to a series of crises because the province of Nineveh, of which it is the capital, is a mosaic of warring sects and ethnic groups. After years of war these are divided by deep hatreds, with Yazidis, Kurds and Christians all accusing their Sunni Arab neighbours of complicity in Isis massacres. In Nineveh Plain most of the Sunni Arabs have fled into Mosul city fearing revenge from returning Christians and the Shabak minority who are largely Shia.
Revenge is taking place within sectarian and ethnic groups, some of whom joined Isis while others fought it. Amnesty International says that pro-Iraqi government Sunni tribal fighters taking part in the Mosul operation are carrying out revenge attacks on men and boys in “liberated” areas suspected of belonging to Isis. Fighters from the Sabawi tribe, originally from Mosul, are said by Amnesty to have illegally detained civilians, beaten them with metal rods, given them electric shocks and tied some of them to the bonnets of vehicles and paraded them through the streets while others were placed in cages, according to interviews with local officials and eyewitnesses. Many people displaced from Mosul and surrounding towns and villages say they will not return home until security is restored and this is still a long way off. (Reprinted from The Independent by permission of author or representative) | 1real |
Hillary Clinton Jumps the Shark with ‘Trump’s Secret Russian Server’ Conspiracy Theory | 21st Century Wire says Yesterday, WikiLeaks editor and founder Julian Assange confirmed what 21WIRE already knew that Hillary Clinton and the Obama White House s claim of the US election process being hacked by the Russian government was a desperate work of fiction. Not content with that fish tale, Hillary Clinton took the narrative to an embarrassing new low (if that was even possible) with another, wilder made-up conspiracy story about the Russians. The following statement made by Hillary Clinton yesterday epitomizes the term jumping the shark :It's time for Trump to answer serious questions about his ties to Russia. https://t.co/D8oSmyVAR4 pic.twitter.com/07dRyEmPjX Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) October 31, 2016Apparently, Hillary Clinton s campaign staff fed her a planted online news story (by the Clinton campaign?) which ran on a questionable pro-Democratic Party online news outlet. On Monday, the Slate ran the story by one of its alleged journalists named Franklin Foer, complete with a clickbait blog-like headline, Was a Trump Server Communicating With Russia? Whatever legitimacy the Slate had before last night, just evaporated.John Roberts from Forbes explains, The bottom line is that Slate screwed up by publishing this in the first place, and by adding more kooky misinformation to an already addled election season. As for Foer, he says on Twitter a follow up piece is in the works. Roberts rightly points out that the only follow-up story for this lemon should start with the word RETRACTION. CYBER FEUD: Assange believes Clinton has gone beyond the pale with her Russian conspiracy obsession.During his exclusive interview with award-winning filmmaker John Pilger, when asked what he thought of Hillary Clinton s shrill antics, Julian Assange said, I actually feel quite sorry for Hillary Clinton as a person, because I see someone who is eaten alive by their ambitions, tormented literally to the point where they become sick. The saddest thing about this and the other dishonest and destructive actions of the Clinton campaign and the Democratic Party is that no one in the party seems to see anything wrong with this level of deceit and dishonesty. Like Hillary Clinton in her sociopathic path to power, the party rank and file are acting like a cult coven following their high priestess.Still, Clinton surrogates in the media are trying to equate Clinton simultaneously scapegoating and baiting another nuclear superpower with a decade-old misogynist hot mic audio excerpt of Donald Trump in a TMZ-style tabloid sting. That pretty much sums up Democratic Party strategy for this election season.Assange was right. Clinton, the Democratic Party and their surrogate, are eating themselves. Such are the spoils of power in Washington that men and women will do and say anything to have it.READ MORE ELECTION NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire 2016 FilesSUPPORT 21WIRE SUBSCRIBE & BECOME A MEMBER @21WIRE.TV | 1real |
I sense a giant earthquake will happen today | Report Copyright Violation I sense a giant earthquake will happen today I don't know where. Hopefully it's just in my pants, but seriously though, something makes me feel 7.0+ is coming within a day or so. Page 1 | 1real |
No Deal on Health Care as Congress Goes into Recess - Breitbart | The failure of Republicans’ recent health care reform bill to pass through Congress and win popular support means there will be no changes to America’s crumbling health care system as lawmakers head into a recess. [The bill, the chief architect of which was Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, was dubbed Obamacare 2. 0, as it failed to fully repeal parts of Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act. Some of the problems with the bill included persistent rising health care costs and maintaining certain health care provisions for illegal aliens, potentially leaving both Republicans in Congress and the Trump administration vulnerable to an electoral backlash. Throughout his presidential campaign, Donald Trump promised to fully repeal and replace Obamacare, making it a priority during his first months in office. Having taken office, Trump’s first executive order called on federal agencies to “ease the burden” of Obamacare by giving states “more flexibility and control to create a more free and open healthcare market. ” ObamaCare will explode and we will all get together and piece together a great healthcare plan for THE PEOPLE. Do not worry! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 25, 2017, However, Trump supported the recent bill, stating that he was “100 percent” behind it and blaming the Republican Freedom Caucus for its failure. He has since said that when Obamacare “explodes,” a new healthcare plan will be put in place. On Wednesday evening, Paul Ryan was seen entering the White House to discuss redrafting the bill, which was called the American Health Care Act. One of the key issues of contention surrounding a redraft are regulations imposed on insurance companies, which opponents say are driving up the cost of healthcare for everyone, besides those with conditions. The failure to secure a deal on health care has left both Trump’s and Republicans’s approval ratings at record lows just months into a new administration. With a crowded agenda of tax reform, immigration enforcement, as well as preventing a potential government shutdown, Republicans must prioritize securing a good healthcare deal if they are to hold onto both their House and Senate majorities. You can follow Ben Kew on Facebook, on Twitter at @ben_kew, or email him at bkew@breitbart. com | 0fake |
AIR FORCE WILL EASE POLICY ON DISCHARGING TRANSGENDERS | As a side note, I m just curious when did the world agree to forfeit the rainbow (a sign from God to Noah that he would never again flood the earth) as the official symbol for the gay community?The Air Force announced policy changes Thursday that will make it more difficult to discharge transgender troops, a move that mirrors one made in March by the Army and puts the Pentagon a step closer to allowing transgender people to serve openly.Troops diagnosed with gender dysphoria or who identify as transgender are generally discharged from serving, based on medical grounds. Those decisions have been made by doctors and unit commanders. The new Air Force policy requires those decisions to be reviewed by high-level officials at Air Force headquarters. Though the Air Force policy regarding involuntary separation of gender dysphoric Airmen has not changed, the elevation of decision authority to the Director, Air Force Review Boards Agency, ensures the ability to consistently apply the existing policy, Daniel Sitterly, a top Air Force personnel official, said in a statement.The Air Force and Army moves follow a number of statements from top Pentagon officials about dismantling the policy allowing transgender troops to be kicked out of the services. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said this year in response to a question about transgender service that ability to perform military tasks should be the standard for eligibility.Air Force Secretary Deborah James expressed openness to allowing transgender troops to serve. From my point of view, anyone who is capable of accomplishing the job should be able to serve, James told USA TODAY. And so I wouldn t be surprised if this doesn t come under review. Via: USA Today | 1real |
WATCH: Sean Hannity Loses His Sh*t Because Jon Stewart Humiliated Him On Colbert | Jon Stewart completely annihilated Sean Hannity on national television, and the Fox News host threw a hissy fit over it.On Thursday night, Stewart made a surprise appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and briefly took over the desk to deliver a stinging take down of Sean Hannity.Hannity has often derided President Obama for using a teleprompter and has accused him of being divisive and thin-skinned, but hypocritically praises Donald Trump despite the fact that the Republican nominee does and is all the things Hannity claims to hate about President Obama.And Stewart masterfully ripped him a new one for it. Either Lumpy (Hannity) and his friends are lying about being bothered by thin-skinned authoritarian less-than-Christian readers of prompter being president, or they don t care, as long as it s their thin-skinned prompter authoritarian tyrant narcissist. You just want that person to give you your country back because you feel that you re this country s rightful owners. The only problem with that, this country isn t yours! You don t own it! It never was! There is no real America! You don t own it! You don t own patriotism, you don t own Christianity, you sure as hell don t own respect for the brave and sacrifice of military, police and firefighters! Trust me! I see you and I see your bulls t. Here s the epic video via YouTube.On Friday, Hannity responded by throwing a temper tantrum that only a petulant child could love. I see they brought that idiot Jon Stewart back from the dead. Great, attack me all you want. I was right about Obama and you re a fool who head his head had your head so far up Obama s ass, Jon Stewart. I ve never seen anybody kiss an ass like you kiss his. I know you re a rich liberal. Are you donating money to those families, the 46 million American families on food stamps, Jon? Hey, Jon, are you helping out the 50 million Americans in poverty? Hey, Jon, are you going to help use your wealth from all your comedy writers that lay out the material for you, are you going to help pay down the debt that Obama s accumulated?More debt than every other president before him combined? Are you going to help, Jon, the 1 in 5 American families in the country that don t have a single family member that have a job? I know you re rich enough, you don t have to work anymore. Here s the audio via YouTube.This is how you know that Jon Stewart kicked Hannity s ass. Hannity goes on his radio show and throws a hissy fit complete with expletives and every insult he can think of while ignoring the fact that Stewart used video tape to prove how much of a hypocrite Hannity is.Featured image via screenshot | 1real |
Rome's Trevi fountain runs red after man pours dye in water | ROME (Reuters) - The waters of Rome s Trevi Fountain, one of Italy s top tourist attractions, turned red on Thursday after a man dumped dye into the main pool, a city official said. Police detained the man responsible, a statement from the mayor s office said, as city officials assessed if there had been any damage to the 18th century landmark. The fountain, where tossing a coin into the pool is supposed by superstition to guarantee one s return to the eternal city, is a big tourist attraction in Rome. Actress Anita Ekberg famously frolicked in the fountain s pool in the 1960 film La Dolce Vita . Acts like this demonstrate ignorance and a total lack of civic sense, Deputy Mayor Luca Bergamo said. Italian media said the culprit was the same person who dyed the fountain red in 2007 to protest the cost to the city of hosting an international film festival. Thursday s action took place on the opening day of Rome s 2017 film festival. | 0fake |
Russia Hack Bigger Than We Thought; Electrical Grid Threatened | As President Obama is threatening and acting out on retaliation for Russia s hack of the United States election, it s becoming evident that the hack was even bigger. According to a report in the Washington Post, the Vermont electric utility was also hacked.While the Russians did not actively use the code to disrupt operations, according to officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a security matter, the discovery underlines the vulnerabilities of the nation s electrical grid. Officials in government and the utility industry regularly monitor the grid because it is highly computerized and any disruptions can have disastrous implications for the country s medical and emergency services.No one is sure at this point why the Russians hacked the small utility, but it s possible that they did it just to show us they can. It could also have been a test, similar to the way credit card thieves start with small charges to test the card.This is also far from out of character for Russia. Earlier in 2016, Russia allegedly hacked the power grid in the Ukraine.The hackers who struck the power centers in Ukraine the first confirmed hack to take down a power grid weren t opportunists who just happened upon the networks and launched an attack to test their abilities; according to new details from an extensive investigation into the hack, they were skilled and stealthy strategists who carefully planned their assault over many months, first doing reconnaissance to study the networks and siphon operator credentials, then launching a synchronized assault in a well-choreographed dance. It was brilliant, says Robert M. Lee, who assisted in the investigation. Lee is a former cyber warfare operations officer for the US Air Force and is co-founder of Dragos Security, a critical infrastructure security company. In terms of sophistication, most people always [focus on the] malware [that s used in an attack], he says. To me what makes sophistication is logistics and planning and operations and what s going on during the length of it. And this was highly sophisticated. Source: WiredWhile Lee couldn t say for sure it was Russia, the Ukraine is convinced it was. Nonetheless, Lee said, it was a very well-funded operation and it could have been from a nation-state.As Wired notes, the electrical infrastructure in the Ukraine is more secure than it is overall in the United States. Beyond that, many of our electrical grids don t have backup, which means that it could be hours, days, or even longer before we get power back.Even more frightening, the entire nation could be without power indefinitely if just nine of its 55,000 substations were hit by terrorists or by hackers.A coordinated attack on just nine of the United States 55,000 electric-transmission substations on the right day could cause a blackout from Los Angeles to New York City, according to the study conducted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The study s results have been known for months to select people in federal agencies, Congress and the White House, but were reported publicly for the first time Wednesday. The WSJ did not publish a list of the 30 most critical substations identified by the FERC study.One particularly troubling memo reviewed by the Journal described a scenario in which a highly-coordinated but relatively small scale attack could send the country into a long-term literal dark age. Destroy nine interconnection substations and a transformer manufacturer and the entire United States grid would be down for at least 18 months, probably longer, the memo said.Source: TimeOne of Donald Trump s campaign promises has been to improve the infrastructure. Obama has been trying to do that for most of his time in office, but Congress has blocked that. Still, even if Trump does get an infrastructure bill signed, his relationship with Russia is troubling. Will his loyalty be with the United States or is he indebted enough to Russia that he will leave the doors open for them to attack us where we are the most vulnerable? It s a disconcerting question, to say the least, and it s why the hacking of the election, along with Trump s praise of Putin, is a big f*cking deal.UPDATE: The Washington Post has issued a correction. The utility was hacked, but that Vermont utility is not corrected to the grid. 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, an editor s note attached to the original article said.Featured image via Pool/Getty Images | 1real |
Donald Trump Invites Conservative Media to White House for Exclusive Briefing - Breitbart | President Donald Trump met with a group of conservative media reporters, columnists, and radio hosts to discuss his first 100 days as president, speaking about trade issues, foreign policy, and infrastructure spending. [Representatives from Breitbart News were present for the event. The event was billed as a reception, as White House aides and members of the press office mingled with about individuals from conservative media outlets to discuss Trump’s first 100 days and issues of importance. But the event turned into an impromptu press conference after the president entered the room flanked by senior advisers Reince Priebus, Steve Bannon, and Jared Kushner. At one point economic advisor Gary Cohn peered in the door to view the event. White House press secretary Sean Spicer was also present, as Trump held a discussion, which the White House press staff put on the record afterwards. Conservative journalists asked Trump policy questions — particularly about trade foreign affairs in North Korea, Iran, and Syria and social policy. Trump announced that he wanted to levy a 20 percent tax on Canadian soft lumber and suggested he wanted to address milk imports as well. “It means we’re going to start doing lumber in our country, it’s going to mean that farmers are going to start selling milk in our country,” Trump said. A senior administration trade official said that the issue was a “long simmering problem” with Canada, accusing them of charging lumber companies low subsidized rates. “We love Canada, wonderful people, wonderful country, but they have been very good about taking advantage of us through NAFTA,” Trump said. Trump said that he would explore allowing more logging on federal lands with the Department of Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency. “We’re actually having some of those horrific fires because this stuff is sitting there, virgin stuff for so long, and it’s in very bad shape,” he said. Trump seemed to think that Syrian dictator Bashar would not use chemical weapons again. “Wait and see if he uses them again, OK?” he said, adding that the Obama administration was wrong about Syria getting rid of their chemical weapons. “That turned out to be false,” he said. “They duped the Obama administration. ” Trump continued to highlight the problems with North Korea but remained elusive about what he was planning to do in the country. He mused that North Korea’s dictator Kim was probably not as strong militarily as he appeared. “I’m not so sure he’s so strong like he says he is I’m not so sure at all,” he said. Trump criticized modern presidents for not acting decisively on the North Korea threat. “This should have been done by Obama and it should have been done by every president since, really, Clinton,” he said, referring to the former president’s memoirs. He also discussed the ongoing crisis of persecuted Christians in the Middle East. “Nobody’s been treated worse, it seems to me, than Christians in the Middle East,” he said, arguing that it was easier for Muslims to come into the United States as refugees than Christians, although it was far more dangerous there for Christians. “We’re going to be helping the Christians big league,” he said. Trump defended his plan to spend big on infrastructure, pointing out that the United States spent $6 trillion in the Middle East with little to show for it. “I tell you what we got, it’s 20 times worse than it first was when we first started bombing the hell out of Iraq,” he said. “Iraq was thrown in the hornets nest and it’s a disaster, far worse than anybody understands. ” Trump said he wanted to spend $1 trillion on building new infrastructure and repairing existing infrastructure projects like bridges, roads, and airports. When asked if he still believed DACA was illegal, Trump demurred, instead focusing on his efforts to crack down on gang members. “We’re getting rid of people, and people in towns, they’re cheering. These are rough people,” Trump said, saying that DHS Secretary Gen. John Kelly called members as bad as . “We have people that came into this country that should have never ever in a million years been allowed into this country. ” | 0fake |
BEAUTIFUL BLACK WOMAN Verbally Attacked For Wearing Trump Hat BUT She Opens Up A Can Of Woop A** [Video] | Melissa wore her Trump hat to a coffee shop and immediately was verbally attacked. She came back with facts and a great argument for Trump. Awesome!Wearing my #MAGA hat 2 the coffee shop sparked a Trump debate. ?Trump will Veto the #TPP #Americafirst #ImWithYou pic.twitter.com/mp1a6M2s96 Melissa (@Sweetatertot) June 23, 2016 Check her out on Twitter:https://twitter.com/Sweetatertot | 1real |
Vitamin D Deficiency, Dirty Air Doubles Your Risk of Dementia | Vitamin D Deficiency, Dirty Air Doubles Your Risk of Dementia 1 in 4 Americans will struggle with Alzheimer's by 2050 Image Credits: geralt/Pixabay .
Dementia is one of the most common and debilitating illnesses that older Americans face today.
However, recent studies have suggested that air pollution may be one of the top causes for the contribution of the disease’s growth.
By 2050, 1 in 4 Americans will suffer from Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s is the most potent form of dementia, and often ends in the patient unable to remember how to do daily and necessary tasks like eating or using the restroom. This will rival the current diabetes and obesity crises seen today.
Recent studies have confirmed that a variety of environmental factors are at play when it comes to dementia.
Doctors have noted that those who are deficient in vitamin D are 125% more likely to develop dementia than those who get in the necessary amount.
A vitamin D deficiency can also be associated with brittle or soft bones as well as depression. It is recommended that everyone gets at least 10 minutes of sunlight per day in order to ensure they have enough vitamin D, as well as eat fortified dairy products or salmon, liver and red meat. Vitamin D can also be obtained through supplementation or fish oil.
However, doctors have found that the biggest environmental risk for dementia lies in air pollution.
In fact, the problem is so great that those who live in a city with high pollution can double their risk of develop dementia within 1 or 2 months living there.
Recent studies have also shown that post-mortem examinations of the brains of those who have lived in highly polluted areas contain traces of magnetite. This chemical compound may be partially responsible for the memory impairments associated with dementia.
The risk of developing dementia if you are exposed to air pollution increases exponentially if you are obese.
Researchers say that those concerned about the epidemic can combat it by living somewhere with as little pollution as possible, maintaining a health intake of vitamin D and exercising.
According to research, exercise is imperitive when it comes to staving off the illness. Dr. Laura Baker, who ran a study on dementia and exercise stated:
“These findings are important because they strongly suggest a potent lifestyle intervention such as aerobic exercise can impact Alzheimer’s-related changes in the brain. No currently approved medication can rival these effects.” NEWSLETTER SIGN UP Get the latest breaking news & specials from Alex Jones and the Infowars Crew. Related Articles | 1real |
Women Rule Halftime. Can Lady Gaga Make It Rock Again? - The New York Times | Where did all the rocker guys go? In recent years, women have almost completely taken over the most highly visible gig in American pop: the Super Bowl halftime show, 12 minutes of music beamed worldwide. It is a ratings magnet, a marketing tool, a sponsor’s flagship, a cultural event and, of course, a live performance with no second chances, to be applauded or ruthlessly dissected, virtually in real time, via every internet resource. This Sunday, the halftime for the 51st Super Bowl belongs to Lady Gaga, along with, if preview video clips can be trusted, dozens of dancers for a set that will include “Bad Romance. ” Lady Gaga has neither revealed any guests nor ruled out the possibility. Nor has she telegraphed whether her set will have any direct political messages. Lady Gaga has plenty to prove. Her 2016 album, “Joanne,” made a show of being more vulnerable and less glossy than her previous pop albums, bringing back the rock guitars she had welcomed on “Born This Way,” in 2011, and set aside on “Artpop,” in 2013. “Joanne” entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1 but faded fast its lead single, “Perfect Illusion,” fell short of the Top 10. But Lady Gaga is the kind of performer the Super Bowl has relied on since 2011: a veteran hitmaker who can put on a spectacle. It’s a job category dominated by women. Women have all but taken over the Super Bowl since the Who — working hard, looking weary — headlined in 2010. Female pop stars might seem to offer the yin to football players’ yang, but in the era, these women’s work requires its own athleticism, timing, discipline and unerring performance under pressure. Katy Perry, Madonna and Beyoncé have all presented themselves at the Super Bowl — as they do in their arena tours — as strong women, attended by masses of dancing disciples. Coldplay was the nominal headliner last year, but the N. F. L. hedged its bet on the band’s earnest British rock: It brought back Bruno Mars, who played in 2014, for part of the set and added 2013’s headliner, Beyoncé. And when Beyoncé strutted onto the field, performing “Formation,” with her dancers wearing Black berets and Afros, Coldplay’s performance might as well have vaporized rock was forgotten. (Beyoncé and her dancers also leveraged the Super Bowl exposure by posting photos with references to the Black Lives Matter movement and fists raised in the Black Power salute, roiling social media.) For much of the preceding decade, the radio format for most Super Bowl headliners had been classic rock: Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, the Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney, along with the Prince in 2007. The N. F. L. had decided to treat the Super Bowl halftime as a stadium concert, and these were acts with plenty of experience headlining stadiums. The Super Bowl simply added more lights and fireworks as the rockers performed a fraction of a concert. Besides Coldplay, the only other male headliner since the Who has been Bruno Mars (joined by the even more Red Hot Chili Peppers) who played halftime as a throwback to older stadium shows. The string of rockers in the early 2000s was also a reaction to the show in 2004 with Janet Jackson’s indelible “wardrobe malfunction,” which revealed less than what might have been seen any night on HBO, or on some red carpets, but which set off a moral panic. (Moral panics are part of the Super Bowl fun M. I. A. Madonna’s guest in 2012, started one by raising her middle finger to the camera.) Grizzled classic rockers, the N. F. L. might have reasoned, were less likely to be separated from their tops (though the Red Hot Chili Peppers arrived in 2014). But a major part of the impact of a stadium rock concert comes from being there as part of the crowd: feeling the power chords vibrating the bleachers, joining the singalongs, smelling the beer. But for the millions of viewers not in the stadium, the television experience is one of distance, and the perspective that of a more detached observer. The halftime show, unlike the game, doesn’t work best as a documentary of extreme physical exertion. Musicians are expected to work hard, too, but the N. F. L. came to realize that the halftime show is not so much a as a music video shot in one take — and pop stars, far more than rockers, have both the timing and the pizazz to please the camera as well as the local stadium audience. The Black Eyed Peas (led by Will. i. am but featuring the female singer Fergie) inaugurated the Super Bowl’s new pop era with a platoon of fluorescent, robotic dancers. Since then, female Super Bowl headliners have made it their business to take over not just a big stage but also the entire field, filling it with dancers and bestriding it with outsize processions. Filling the giant field also fills the home screen. Could Lady Gaga be the one to merge the Super Bowl stadium rock concert with the pop parade? It’s an ambition she has flirted with for years, and one that on “Joanne. ” Lady Gaga’s hits have been flamboyant, dance tunes, but she has never been shy about unleashing the kind of belting she brought to songs like “The Edge of Glory. ” On Sunday the Super Bowl may also rock again — with a lady at center stage. | 0fake |
New Poll Leaves Trump Camp Terrified As Even TEXAS Leans Hillary | A new poll released from the Washington Post and SurveyMonkey has people scratching their heads. For the first time in four months, Donald Trump is leading Hillary Clinton, 46 to 44 percent, while simultaneously losing all swing states and the red states of Texas and Arizona.The poll, which was done from August 9 to September 1, and had close to 75,000 respondents, shows Trump losing Wisconsin, Florida, Colorado, Michigan and Arizona by two points to Clinton, with all of them being within 2 points of each other, 46-44 percent. Texas, the reddest of all red states in the union, was nabbed by Clinton with 1 point over Trump.How is that? People really, really hate Donald Trump:A comparison of the current survey with the 2008 Texas exit poll (there was no exit poll there in 2012) points to reasons the race appears close right now. Trump is performing worse than 2008 GOP nominee John McCain among both whites and Hispanics, while Clinton is doing slightly better than Obama.So in a national poll, Clinton is losing overall. But in all the states that matter (swing) and states never thought possible (Texas), she s winning.Although Trump is leading, the Post (which says the poll actually shows why Clinton has a clear advantage over Trump) has Clinton solidifying 244 electoral votes to Trump s 126 with 168 being tossups. Of those tossups, which includes 10 states, Clinton leads in six, ties with Trump in two, and Trump leads in two.While Trump supporters may be giddy and Clinton supporters worried, the Post actually contends that Trump is the one who should be worried:Overall, the results reflect Trump s strategy of maximizing support in older, whiter Midwestern states where his anti-free-trade message and appeals to national identity generally find more fertile ground. But his struggles elsewhere, including places that have long supported Republicans, illustrate the challenges of that strategy in more diverse states where his stances on immigration and some other positions have turned off Democrats, independents and many Republicans.>To win the election, Trump must quickly consolidate the Republican vote. With prominent Republicans declaring they will not support Trump and some even announcing they will back Clinton, this represents a major challenge for the GOP nominee. In the Post-SurveyMonkey poll, Clinton is winning 90 percent or more of the Democratic vote in 32 states, while Trump is at or above that level in just 13.It s not Hispanic, Latino, Black, or even female voters that are hurting Trump s chances it s Republicans. The Obama coalition, which delivered two victories to President Obama in 2008 and 2012, have coalesced around Clinton in larger numbers. But now this election has offered something unique: Republicans are starting to come around to Clinton.With Trump losing the traditional coalition and now with Republicans, chances of him overtaking her are slim.Featured image via Justin Sullivan/Getty Images | 1real |
Kellyanne Conway's husband says Trump tweets hurting legal case | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The husband of White House adviser Kellyanne Conway criticized President Donald Trump’s tweets about the administration’s temporary travel ban on Monday, saying they were undercutting the Justice Department’s ability to defend his policies. The president’s messages “may make some people feel better,” but they will not help the administration achieve its goal of getting the Supreme Court to rule in its favor, George Conway said in a Twitter message. George Conway is a lawyer who last week withdrew from contention for a senior Justice Department post; his wife was Trump’s 2016 campaign manager before joining him in the White House as a senior adviser who is one of Trump’s most vigorous defenders. In later Twitter messages, George Conway emphasized he still “very, very strongly” supports Trump and his executive order, but he said tweets on legal matters “seriously undermine” the administration’s agenda. He also said that “sensible” lawyers in the White House and Justice Department agree with him. In his early morning Twitter messages on Monday, Trump potentially hurt his administration’s legal case as it seeks to have the Supreme Court overturn lower courts’ rulings and allow the travel ban to go into effect. He assailed the Justice Department for a revised version of the measure that he called “watered down” and “politically correct.” The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment about George Conway’s tweets. The travel ban, which Trump says is aimed at preventing attacks in the United States, seeks to halt entry to the United States for 90 days for people from several predominantly Muslim countries and bar refugees for four months. Critics say it is discriminatory. Conway was in contention to head the civil division of the Justice Department, which would have given him responsibility for defending the travel ban in court. He said last week that it was “not the right time” for him to leave the private sector. | 0fake |
Judge denies request to return to U.S. by Russian lawyer who met Trump Jr. | NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Friday denied a request for Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, who met with Donald Trump Jr. during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, to return to the United States to attend a hearing over an unpaid $6 million settlement in an international money laundering case. In an order filed in Manhattan federal court, U.S. District Judge William Pauley said Veselnitskaya’s immigration status was “squarely within the purview of the executive branch.” Veselnitskaya represented Prevezon Holdings Ltd, a Russian-controlled company, which in May agreed to pay nearly $6 million to settle a U.S. government lawsuit accusing it of laundering proceeds of a $230 million tax fraud. Her temporary permission from the U.S. Department of Justice to enter the United States while working on the case has expired. Following Pauley’s order on Monday, a U.S. lawyer for Prevezon filed a letter asking that Veselnitskaya be allowed to appear by telephone at the hearing, which is scheduled for Nov. 9. The hearing is expected to focus on whether the settlement payment was due on Oct. 31, as the U.S. government has maintained. Prevezon disputed that in a letter filed on Oct. 31. About half of the settlement money was supposed to come from 3 million euros owed to Prevezon the Netherlands had frozen at the United States’ request, according to the letter. The Netherlands lifted the freeze on Oct. 10, but the same day imposed a new freeze based on a complaint by William Browder, chief executive of Hermitage Capital Management, Prevezon’s letter said. Browder has said that the underlying $230 million tax fraud was uncovered by a former Hermitage auditor, Sergei Magnitsky, who died in a Russian prison in 2009. In its letter, Prevezon asked the court to help obtain temporary U.S. immigration status for Veselnitskaya and its owner, Denis Katsyv, so they could attend hearings. Veselnitskaya met Donald Trump Jr in New York last year. Trump Jr. said in a statement at the time that he and Veselnitskaya “primarily discussed a program about the adoption of Russian children” after Russia in 2012 banned adoptions of Russian children by Americans in retaliation for sanctions imposed under the U.S. Magnitsky Act. The 2012 law was intended to punish Russian officials responsible for Magnitsky’s death. Trump Jr. has released emails related to the meeting during last year’s election that described Veselnitskaya as a Russian government attorney who could provide information that would “incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father.” | 0fake |
In Rand Paul and Marco Rubio’s feud over Cuba policy, a preview of GOP’s 2016 foreign policy debate | Two of the Republican Party’s top White House hopefuls clashed sharply Friday over President Obama’s new Cuba policy, evidence of a growing GOP rift over foreign affairs that could shape the party’s 2016 presidential primaries.
Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.), who backs Obama’s move to normalize relations with communist Cuba, accused Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.) of being an “isolationist” with his hard-line opposition to opening up trade and diplomatic engagement with the island nation. Paul suggested that Rubio “wants to retreat to our borders and perhaps build a moat.”
Paul’s comments came after Rubio — the son of Cuban exiles who has stepped forward as a leading voice of resistance to Obama’s policy — told Fox News that Paul had “no idea what he’s talking about” when it comes to Cuba.
The feud is the loudest public dispute so far between potential GOP 2016 candidates and lays bare the divergent world views of traditional hawks — including Rubio and past Republican presidents and nominees — and the emerging, younger libertarian wing represented by Paul.
For decades, Rubio’s position has been the GOP’s natural default. But Paul is testing that convention.
“Are we still cold warriors or are we entering a brave new world in diplomacy?” Republican strategist John Feehery said. “Rubio’s perspective is we have Cuba, we have North Korea, we need a bold, internationalist, America-led world that fights the bad guys. Rand Paul is taking his father’s position to a new level, which is constructive engagement, but America isn’t really the policeman of the world.”
Hawkish Republicans have long called Paul’s foreign policy “isolationist,” a label he rejects. In this week’s Cuba debate, Paul applied the label to Rubio.
Paul’s comments were unusually personal, beginning with a series of tweets aimed at Rubio followed by a two-paragraph message on his Facebook page. “Senator Rubio is acting like an isolationist” and “does not speak for the majority of Cuban-Americans,” he wrote.
Paul followed up with an op-ed on Time’s Web site Friday afternoon in which he wrote that he grew up learning to despise communism but over time concluded that “a policy of isolationism against Cuba is misplaced and hasn’t worked.” He noted that public opinion has shifted in favor of rapprochement — especially among young people, including young Cuban Americans — and that U.S. businesses would benefit by being able to sell their goods in Cuba.
“Communism can’t survive the captivating allure of capitalism,” Paul wrote. “Let’s overwhelm the Castro regime with iPhones, iPads, American cars, and American ingenuity.”
Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), who traveled to Cuba this week with the U.S. entourage to secure contractor Alan Gross’s release, shared Paul’s sentiments. Flake said that he supported Obama’s decision to normalize relations and that after a five-decade embargo, it was time “to try something different.”
Rubio responded to Paul’s comments Friday evening, telling conservative radio host Mark Levin, “I think it’s unfortunate that Rand has decided to adopt Barack Obama’s foreign policy on this matter.”
For both Paul and Rubio, there are short-term political benefits to the tussle. With potential donors and other influential Republicans deciding between roughly a dozen presidential hopefuls, the pair are generating media attention and staking out ground on a high-profile policy issue.
The spat was also the latest example of Paul’s combative tendencies. He has been the most aggressive GOP presidential contender in taking on Hillary Rodham Clinton, a former secretary of state and likely Democratic candidate, and showed Friday that he will not hesitate to throw punches at fellow Republicans as well.
Ana Navarro, a Miami-based Republican strategist close to Rubio and former Florida governor Jeb Bush, said it was an example of the “silly season.”
“There are some issues, like eye surgery and Kentucky bourbon, Paul knows something about,” she said of the ophthalmologist turned lawmaker. “But to try to outdo Rubio on Cuba policy — and to do it by trolling him on Twitter in 140-character spurts — is frankly not productive, mature or senatorial.”
Paul is trying to chart a new course for Republicans on foreign policy and areas such as race relations, working with Democrats on legislation to address drug sentencing guidelines.
“Paul is going to stretch the limits and try to grow the party in directions Republicans aren’t used to,” said Ari Fleischer, a former White House press secretary to George W. Bush. “I think the only upside he’ll have is with young people. Outside of that, I think it’s going to be tough going for him. . . . The history of the party is much more interventionist, muscular, strong, Ronald Reagan foreign policy.”
Paul’s aides said the senator considers Cuba policy an economic and diplomatic issue and not a partisan one.
But GOP primary voters may see it differently. “There’s a certain willingness among conservatives to reconsider our Cuba policy, but the fact that it’s been negotiated by Obama — whom we have no confidence or trust in — makes it suspect,” said Richard Viguerie, a longtime conservative leader. “If this had been done by a trustworthy, conservative Republican, it would have been different.”
Rubio, as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has worked to distinguish himself as a leading voice on international affairs. Almost immediately after Wednesday’s Cuba announcement, Rubio spoke out aggressively and in personal terms. Raised in Miami by parents who fled Cuba in the 1950s, Rubio grew up surrounded by other Cuban American families and now represents them in Washington.
“It is just another concession to a tyranny by the Obama administration rather than a defense of every universal and inalienable right that our country was founded on and stands for,” Rubio told reporters on Capitol Hill.
Most 2016 GOP hopefuls — including Bush, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Sen. Ted Cruz (Tex.) and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker — issued statements similar to Rubio’s. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has not spoken specifically on Cuba but generally shares Rubio’s more hawkish worldview.
William Kristol, a prominent neoconservative and editor of the Weekly Standard, noted that most of the potential candidates, as well as the party’s congressional leaders, are “all in the same neighborhood” on foreign policy.
“Rand Paul is a lonely gadfly,” he said. “Rand Paul speaks for a genuine sentiment that’s always been in the Republican Party, but maybe it’s 10 percent? 15 percent? 20 percent? I don’t think he’s going to be a serious competitor for guiding Republican foreign policy.” | 0fake |
Rosie O’Donnell Donates $1,000 to ‘Brave Young Patriot’ Reality Winner | Actress Rosie O’Donnell took to social media and praised contractor Reality Leigh Winner, who was recently arrested and charged for allegedly leaking a National Security Agency report on Russian election hacking to news site The Intercept. [In one Twitter message, the former View applauded the alleged leaker. “Brave young patriot,” O’Donnell wrote Wednesday in a Twitter message that linked to a GoFundMe page dedicated to raising money for Winner’s “loss of wages, counseling”: brave young patriot — https: . — ROSIE (@Rosie) June 7, 2017, On Thursday, O’Donnell tweeted, “I support Reality Winner speak truth to power #resist #womenUNITE”: https: . support reality winner speak truth to power #resist #womenUNITE https: . — ROSIE (@Rosie) June 8, 2017, A vocal critic of President Donald Trump, O’Donnell also reportedly confirmed that she donated $1, 000 to Winner’s GoFundMe campaign. As of Saturday, more than $32, 000 from over 770 people had been raised. The comedian also defended Winner, insisting that she was “brave” and not “careless” for allegedly leaking government documents: brave not careless @flightbomb @clb0137 @JeanetteSharon1, — ROSIE (@Rosie) June 9, 2017, Winner was denied bail at a hearing in federal court Thursday and will remain behind bars as she awaits trial. Last week, filmmaker and activist Michael Moore launched a website called TrumpiLeaks to encourage government employees and contractors to engage in the kinds of leaks in which Winner allegedly participated. “Today, I’m launching TrumpiLeaks, a site that will enable courageous whistleblowers to privately communicate with me and my team,” the Oscar winner wrote. Moore cited the historical significance of the 1778 whistleblower protection law, saying, “Patriotic Americans in government, law enforcement or the private sector with knowledge of crimes, breaches of public trust and misconduct committed by Donald J. Trump and his associates are needed to blow the whistle in the name of protecting the United States of America from tyranny. ” Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter @jeromeehudson. | 0fake |
Chris Christie Takes Marco Rubio To The Woodshed For Being A Scripted Robot (VIDEO) | Marco Rubio was looming large in New Hampshire, but Chris Christie made Marco Rubio look very small on Saturday night.In a span of only a few minutes, Christie knocked Rubio off his game so badly that he ended up repeating the same line on multiple occasions even after the New Jersey governor accused him of being scripted.And it all started when Christie absolutely shredded Rubio s lack of leadership experience. You have not be involved in a consequential decision where you had to be held accountable, Christie said. You just simply haven t. And the fact is the fact when you talk about the Hezbollah Sanctions Act that you list as one of your accomplishments you just did, you weren t even there to vote for it. That s not leadership, that s truancy. Indeed, Rubio has been roundly criticized for not doing his job.According to Gov Track, Rubio has missed 14.1 percent of votes since 2011, and that percentage skyrocketed last year. Currently, he has missed up to 88 percent of votes in the Senate because he would rather be out campaigning. And that disqualifies Rubio from being president, Christie says. The fact is it does matter when you have to make decisions and be held accountable for them. It does matter when the challenges don t come on a list of a piece of paper of what to vote yes or no every day, but when the problems come in from the people that you serve.I like Marco Rubio, and he s a smart person and a good guy, but he simply does not have the experience to be president of the United States and make these decisions. Rubio responded by bringing up Christie s own lack of leadership during natural disasters and then he used a line that would get him stuck like a broken record for the next several minutes. Let s dispel once and for all with this fiction that Barack Obama doesn t know what he s doing. He knows exactly what he s doing. Barack Obama is undertaking an effort to change this country, to make America more like the rest of the world. Christie responded by accusing Rubio of memorizing a 25-second speech that his advisers gave him, and Rubio only helped Christie by repeating it again and again. Let s dispel with this fiction that Barack Obama doesn t know what he s doing, Rubio said later on. He knows exactly what he s doing. He is trying to change this country. And again Here s the bottom line. This notion that Barack Obama doesn t know what he s doing is just not true. He knows exactly what he s doing. Here s the video via YouTube:In the end, Rubio looked a like a robot who was pre-programmed with key phrases prior to the debate but went haywire upon being challenged.This was not a good performance by Rubio, especially since he had been rising in the New Hampshire polls. But after the beating he took from Christie on Saturday night, Rubio can probably kiss his presidential aspirations goodbye.Featured Image: NBC Latino | 1real |
Middle Eastern Writers Find Refuge in the Dystopian Novel - The New York Times | Basma Abdel Aziz was walking in downtown Cairo one morning when she saw a long line of people standing in front of a closed government building. Returning hours later, Ms. Abdel Aziz, a psychiatrist who counsels torture victims, passed the same people still waiting listlessly — a young woman and an elderly man, a mother holding her baby. The building remained closed. When she got home, she immediately started writing about the people in line and didn’t stop for 11 hours. The story became her surreal debut novel, “The Queue,” which takes place after a failed revolution in an unnamed Middle Eastern city. The narrative unfolds over 140 days, as civilians are forced to wait in an endless line to petition a shadowy authority called The Gate for basic services. “Fiction gave me a very wide space to say what I wanted to say about totalitarian authority,” Ms. Abdel Aziz said in a recent interview. “The Queue,” which was just published in English by Melville House, has drawn comparisons to Western classics like George Orwell’s “1984” and “The Trial” by Franz Kafka. It represents a new wave of dystopian and surrealist fiction from Middle Eastern writers who are grappling with the chaotic aftermath and stinging disappointments of the Arab Spring. Five years after the popular uprisings in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and elsewhere, a bleak, apocalyptic strain of literature has taken root in the region. Some writers are using science fiction and fantasy tropes to describe grim current political realities. Others are writing about controversial subjects like sexuality and atheism, or exhuming painful historical episodes that were previously off limits. In a literary culture where poetry has long been the most celebrated medium, writers are experimenting with a range of genres and styles, including comics and graphic novels, hallucinatory horror novels and allegorical works of science fiction. “There’s a shift away from realism, which has dominated Arabic literature,” said the novelist Saleem Haddad, whose new book, “Guapa,” is narrated by a young gay Arab man whose friend has been imprisoned after a political revolt. “What’s coming to the surface now is darker and a bit deeper. ” Science fiction and surrealism have long provided an escape valve for writers living under oppressive regimes. In Latin America, decades of fascism and civil war helped inspire masterpieces of magical realism from authors like Gabriel García Márquez and Isabel Allende. In Russia, the postmodern novelist Vladimir Sorokin has published disturbing and controversial futuristic novels that surreptitiously skewer the country’s repressive government. Dystopian themes are not entirely new in Arabic fiction. But they have become much more prominent in recent years, publishers and translators say. The genre has proliferated in part because it captures the sense of despair that many writers say they feel in the face of cyclical violence and repression. At the same time, futuristic settings may give writers some measure of cover to explore charged political ideas without being labeled dissidents. “These futuristic stories are all about lost utopia,” said Layla of a collection of Spring writing titled “Diaries of an Unfinished Revolution. ” “People really could imagine a better future, and now it’s almost worse than it was before. ” In the turbulent months after the uprisings, when the promises of democracy and greater social freedom remained elusive, some novelists channeled their frustrations and fears into grim apocalyptic tales. In Mohammed Rabie’s gritty novel “Otared,” which will be published in English this year by the American University in Cairo, a former Egyptian police officer joins a fight against a mysterious occupying power that rules the country in 2025. Mr. Rabie said he wrote the novel in response to the “successive defeats” that advocates of democracy faced after the 2011 demonstrations that ended President Hosni Mubarak’s rule. While there are parallels to Egyptian society, setting the story in the near future allowed him to write more freely, without drawing explicit connections to Egypt’s current ruler, he said in an email interview translated by his Arabic publisher. Nael Eltoukhy, whose darkly satirical 2013 novel, “Women of Karantina,” takes place partly in a Alexandria in the year 2064, said he felt that a futuristic farce was the best way to reflect the jaded mood in Egypt. “In Egypt, especially after the revolution, everything is terrible, but everything is also funny,” he said in an interview. “Now, I think it’s worse than the time of Mubarak. ” Gloomy futuristic stories have proved popular with readers, and several of these novels have been critical and commercial hits. “Otared” was a finalist for this year’s prestigious International Prize for Arabic Fiction. Publishers say the books have caught on with the public in part because they distill a collective feeling of frustration. This new body of literature shows a sharp tonal shift from the ecstatic outpouring that arrived immediately after the Arab Spring, when many writers published breathless memoirs or dug out old manuscripts they had stashed away for years. Celebrated Egyptian novelists like Ahdaf Soueif and Mona Prince wrote firsthand nonfiction accounts of the 2011 protests in Tahrir Square. The Syrian novelist Samar Yazbek published diaries she kept during the Syrian uprising. A new generation of writers drew inspiration from the stunning scenes of citizens rising up together against entrenched dictatorships. “There was something about the experience of the revolution where suddenly you had a voice, and your voice had weight and it had meaning,” said Yasmine El Rashidi, an Egyptian journalist whose first novel, “Chronicle of a Last Summer,” about a young woman’s political awakening in Cairo during and after Mr. Mubarak’s rule, will be published in the United States next month. In the years since the revolution, that optimism has withered, and the authorities have cracked down on creative expression across the region. In Saudi Arabia, the poet Ashraf Fayadh was sentenced to death last year for his verses, which religious authorities called blasphemous. After an international outcry, his sentence was reduced to eight years in prison and 800 lashes. In Egypt, under the strict rule of President Abdel Fattah the government has shut art galleries, raided publishing houses and confiscated copies of books it views as controversial. Last year, customs officers seized 400 copies of “Walls of Freedom,” about Egyptian political street art, and charged that the book was “instigating revolt. ” “We are concerned now with what we publish,” said Rizk, director of Dar Egypt, an Arabic publishing house. “If something is banned, it does create commercial problems. ” Despite explicit protections for free speech in Egypt’s 2014 Constitution, the authorities have targeted individual writers and artists. The novelist Ahmed Naji is serving a prison sentence for violating “public modesty” with sexually explicit passages in his experimental novel “The Use of Life. ” Many fear that his imprisonment will lead to more . “The Arab Spring and the revolution broke people’s fears and gave them the initiative to express themselves,” said Ms. Abdel Aziz, whose novel, “The Queue,” was published in Arabic in 2013. “Now we are back to oppression. ” Ms. Abdel Aziz, 39, earned a master’s degree in neuropsychiatry in 2005 and now works part time at a center in Cairo that counsels victims of torture and violence. She has published two collections and several nonfiction books on sensitive subjects like torture and the human rights violations committed by Egyptian security forces. But after Mr. Mubarak’s fall, writing a factual account felt like an inadequate way to capture the surreal experience of ordinary Egyptians who lived through the uprisings and subsequent crackdowns, she said. Instead, she aimed to write a universal story that reflected what was unfolding around her but transcended geography and current events. She started writing “The Queue” in September 2012. The novel follows a young salesman, Yehya, who was shot during a failed uprising. Yehya is denied medical treatment and forced to wait in an endless line to petition The Gate for a permit to have surgery. As he grows weaker, the line only gets longer, stretching on for miles. Ms. Abdel Aziz uses coded language for loaded political terms and events throughout the novel, which was translated by Elisabeth Jaquette. The 2011 uprising against Mr. Mubarak is called “the First Storm. ” A later civilian revolt that ended in bloodshed is referred to as “the Disgraceful Events. ” Ms. Abdel Aziz worries about the growing scrutiny Egyptian writers and activists face. About a dozen of her friends are in prison, she said. She has been arrested three times for taking part in demonstrations and protests. But she feels that living in fear is futile. “I’m not afraid anymore,” she said. “I will not stop writing. ” | 0fake |
'New roadblocks' emerge in Iraq after Islamic State defeat: aid expert | ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - The war against Islamic State in Iraq may soon be over but providing humanitarian aid to Iraqis is becoming more difficult as new political and cultural divides open up, the secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said. Jan Egeland also warned that members of the international coalition which helped Baghdad in its three-year campaign against Islamic State could now drastically reduce their humanitarian budget for Iraq following the militants defeat. More than 3 million people displaced by Islamic State-related violence in the last three years have still not returned home. A rift between the central government in Baghdad and the Kurds following a September referendum on independence has created a fresh wave of displacement. New political, cultural and sectarian divides seem to be popping up, Egeland told Reuters during a visit to Iraq. There are too many cleavages in Iraq. We don t need more roadblocks and certainly not more violence. The NRC runs one of the largest foreign aid operations in Iraq. Islamic State s self-declared caliphate effectively collapsed in July when U.S.-backed Iraqi forces re-took Mosul, the group s de facto capital in Iraq, after a gruelling nine-month battle which reduced much of it to rubble. Nearly one million people fled Mosul since 2014, but only one third of its residents have so far been able to return, aid groups say. Iraqi government officials have estimated it will take at least five years and billions of dollars to rebuild Mosul alone. There s one thing we should have learned in Iraq it is that we cannot spend countless billions of dollars on military campaigns and then not spend the smaller sums needed to make it safe for people in the future, Egeland said. This is a time of decision-making: will we stay and help people recover and rebuild their lives next year? Or will we prematurely think the job is done? The international community must not abandon the millions of people who are still displaced, Egeland said. That would be not only shameful but shortsighted. (This version of the story was refiled to amend Egeland s title) | 0fake |
Iowa Girl Faces Death: Life Destroyed by Gardasil Vaccine | Iowa Girl Faces Death: Life Destroyed by Gardasil Vaccine
by Health Impact News
The VAXXED film crew continues interviewing people who are vaccine damaged around the country. They were recently in Iowa, and interviewed the family of Sydney Weggen.
Sydney states that before Gardasil she used to dance up to 5 hours every day, but now she does not dance at all.
Her school recommended to her parents that she get the Tdap vaccine, because a student in her class with pertussis “coughed on” her. Sydney was almost 11 years old at that time.
When they took her to their doctor to get the pertussis vaccine, they were offered the Gardasil vaccine as well. Because they had seen many commercials on TV for the Gardasil shot, and because the doctor was recommending it, they consented and Sydney received the first Gardasil shot. She also received the second and third shots a few months apart.
Sydney began to have appetite problems, not being able to eat much. She began to lose weight. She lost over 20 lbs. before her 12th birthday and became anemic. Doctors thought at this point it was a psychiatric problem, and not physical. The parents were told it was “all in her head.”
As her condition continued to deteriorate, blood work done suggested there was something physical going on, and she was referred to the university hospital to check for some autoimmune sickness, such as Crohn’s Disease or Lupus.
After being admitted to the University of Iowa Hospital, they ran further tests. Her right lung was found full of fluid. But the doctors could not figure out what the problem was, and so they waited for more specialists to look at her.
As they waited, her weight dropped to only 66 lbs., and her parents realized that she was dying.
Someone suggested they take her to the Mayo clinic so they could get some answers. After spending $20,000.00 on tests, they were still not getting results. They had to put a stent in to get her lung to keep functioning.
VaccineImpact.com.
Watch the entire interview: More information about Gardasil Leaving a lucrative career as a nephrologist (kidney doctor), Dr. Suzanne Humphries is now free to actually help cure people. In this autobiography she explains why good doctors are constrained within the current corrupt medical system from practicing real, ethical medicine. FREE Shipping Available! Order here . Medical Doctors Opposed to Forced Vaccinations – Should Their Views be Silenced? eBook – Available for immediate download.
One of the biggest myths being propagated in the compliant mainstream media today is that doctors are either pro-vaccine or anti-vaccine, and that the anti-vaccine doctors are all “quacks.”
However, nothing could be further from the truth in the vaccine debate. Doctors are not unified at all on their positions regarding “the science” of vaccines, nor are they unified in the position of removing informed consent to a medical procedure like vaccines.
The two most extreme positions are those doctors who are 100% against vaccines and do not administer them at all, and those doctors that believe that ALL vaccines are safe and effective for ALL people, ALL the time, by force if necessary.
Very few doctors fall into either of these two extremist positions, and yet it is the extreme pro-vaccine position that is presented by the U.S. Government and mainstream media as being the dominant position of the medical field.
In between these two extreme views, however, is where the vast majority of doctors practicing today would probably categorize their position. Many doctors who consider themselves “pro-vaccine,” for example, do not believe that every single vaccine is appropriate for every single individual.
Many doctors recommend a “delayed” vaccine schedule for some patients, and not always the recommended one-size-fits-all CDC childhood schedule. Other doctors choose to recommend vaccines based on the actual science and merit of each vaccine, recommending some, while determining that others are not worth the risk for children, such as the suspect seasonal flu shot.
These doctors who do not hold extreme positions would be opposed to government-mandated vaccinations and the removal of all parental exemptions.
In this eBook, I am going to summarize the many doctors today who do not take the most extremist pro-vaccine position, which is probably not held by very many doctors at all, in spite of what the pharmaceutical industry, the federal government, and the mainstream media would like the public to believe. Read : Medical Doctors Opposed to Forced Vaccinations – Should Their Views be Silenced? on your mobile device! | 1real |
BLOCKED! Protesters Block ICE Van Removing Illegal Felon For Possible Deportation [Video] | Garcia de Rayos has a felony conviction for working under someone else s Social Security number. She also has kids who are U.S. citizens. The Obama administration put Garcia under supervision and required she do periodic check-ins with ICE.Garcia de Rayos knew her status could change under Trump. Her supporters chanted in Spanish, she is not alone, as she walked into the ICE office with (her attorney) Ybarra Maldonado. About an hour later, Ybarra Maldonado came out alone. He told Garcia s family that she d been arrested and now faces deportation. We re living in an era of a war on immigrants, Ybarra Maldonado said. This is President Trump s first move and it s now time for our community to organize and fight back. Ms. Garcia De Rayos is currently being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement based on a removal order issued by the Department of Justice s Executive Office for Immigration Review which became final in May 2013. Relevant databases indicate Ms. Garcia De Rayos has a prior felony conviction dating from March 2009 for criminal impersonation. Read more: kjzz | 1real |
Oklahoma governor plans special session to fix budget shortfall | (Reuters) - Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin plans to call a special legislative session to fill a budget shortfall of $215 million tied to cigarette sales, according to a statement issued by her office on Wednesday. “I am planning on calling a special session beginning September 25 for legislators to adjust the current fiscal year budget,” she said in a statement. On Aug. 10, Oklahoma’s State Supreme Court ruled against a measure passed during the last legislative session that created a $1.50 “cessation” fee for cigarette packs. The fee was expected to add about $215 million to state coffers, mostly earmarked for health and human services agencies. Fallin said in a statement last month that the ruling meant Oklahoma would also miss out on federal matching funds. The fee was passed when lawmakers were attempting to fill an $878 million budget shortfall. A special session would cost Oklahoma an additional $30,000 per day, according to an August statement by the state’s House Democratic Caucus. Following Fallin’s announcement Wednesday, House Speaker Charles McCall, in a statement, said House Republicans would consider raising a cigarette tax in a special session “but will send it to a vote of the people if House Democrats again refuse to support the measure.” If passed in special session, the cigarette tax would generate approximately $122 million for fiscal 2018’s budget, the statement said. The balance of money to plug the hole would come from existing budget sources as well as utilizing some of the state’s Rainy Day Fund “The cigarette tax is the only feasible tax option Oklahomans have said they would support,” McCall said. Oklahoma’s fiscal issues stem from tax cuts and structural changes to the state budget, further exacerbated by a decline in energy prices a few years ago, said Robert Dauffenbach, a senior associate dean for economic development and impact at the University of Oklahoma. Oklahoma has a balanced budget requirement. Its fiscal 2018 budget totaled about $6.8 billion, according to Michael McNutt, a spokesman for Fallin. The yield on Oklahoma 10-year general obligation bonds traded 20 basis points over the benchmark Thomson Reuters Municipal Market Data AAA yield scale at the close on Tuesday. The yield was little changed from the end of May, when the state’s legislative session ended. | 0fake |
What is Federalism? | Email
We all know that our national government — the one headquartered in Washington, D.C. — is called the “federal government.” The word “federal,” as well as its equivalent in other languages, is also used to describe certain other national governments, such as Mexico’s, and words such as “federation” and “confederacy” are evidently related to it. But what does the term “federal” mean?
The word comes from the Latin foedus , meaning “covenant,” and denotes a form of government that, if not wholly invented by America’s Founders, was certainly perfected by them and applied to the governance of a much larger territory than anyone else had ever managed. The proper name for the methodology of creating and sustaining a “federal” government is “federalism.” And many historians and students of political philosophy believe federalism to be among the greatest of all the American Founders’ contributions to civilization.
When the Founders first won independence from the British Empire, they drafted a document known as the “Articles of Confederation,” America’s first national constitution. The former 13 colonies, having fought together in the war for independence despite being technically separate, now wished to create a bare-bones national government that would unite them in a loose confederation — that is, a union of mostly independent states wishing to enjoy some of the advantages of political union while maintaining most of their independence. Early America was not the first such confederation; the country of Switzerland had existed (and continues to exist) as a federation among separate so-called cantons speaking four different languages and possessing very different cultures for several centuries before the American founding. And Canada, founded almost a hundred years after the United States and consisting of two major ethnic groups speaking different languages (English and French), also refers to itself as a confederation.
For a variety of reasons, the American Founders came to believe that a more robust arrangement than loose confederation was needed. Because of this, the Constitutional Convention of 1787 in Philadelphia was convened by representatives from 12 of the original 13 states. (Rhode Island did not participate.) After nearly four months of discussion and sometimes acrimonious debate, the final draft of a new U.S. Constitution contemplating a stronger national government than the Articles of Confederation had countenanced was signed and submitted to the governments of the 13 states for ratification.
This entire process, including ratification, had been undertaken by the separate states. They in effect created a national government that, in most respects, was inferior in authority to the states. Those powers delegated to the national government that the states agreed to renounce, such as the power to form treaties with foreign governments, were understood to have resided with the states as well until delegated to the newly formed federal government. The covenant implied by the term “federal” was among the formerly independent states to delegate some of their powers to an agreed-upon central authority. This covenant also bound the federal government to respect the limits on its powers clearly spelled out in the Constitution, and to otherwise defer to the states or to the people — as the 10th Amendment makes explicit.
The federal government, in other words, exists entirely by the license of the states, and its powers are derived from theirs, and not the reverse. This was (and remains) in stark contrast with most other national governments, wherein states, provinces, departments, oblasts, or other political subdivisions are created by a pre-existing strong central government. There was, for example, no interest in federalism in the founding of each of modern France’s successive revolutionary republics; the government in Paris merely divided French territory into administrative units known as departments, mostly for bureaucratic convenience. Many of Russia’s oblasts date all the way back to the czars, and the remainder were created during the Soviet period. On the other hand, some modern states, such as Mexico, India, and Argentina, are divided into states or provinces with significant autonomy, but in none of these did the national government arise as a consequence of a pact among previously independent state governments.
The intent of the Founders was that the federal government, formed by a covenant among the states, would be primarily their servant and not their master, and that it would likewise serve the people. The division of powers among the states, and between the state and federal governments, would make it much more difficult for would-be tyrants to subvert these aims and to grind the people down as in an Old World autocracy. But the history of the United States since the very early 19th century, only a few decades after its founding, has seen a steady migration of power from the states and the people into the federal government. In a wide array of concerns — from education to public lands to the regulation of food to marriage — the federal government is making itself the supreme authority, while converting the states into mere geographical administrative units expected to implement federal laws, regulations, and rulings, regardless of whether those laws, regulations, and rulings are constitutional. In this way, the doctrine and practice of federalism is being turned on its head.
Much of this has taken place, not because the states have permitted the federal government to wrest existing legal authority from the states (although this has taken place, particularly under the pretext of equal rights), but because the federal government has been allowed to usurp power where none has been enumerated in the Constitution — and then claim that states are subordinate in the exercise of such powers.
In our day, the system of federalism has been all but abandoned. Most Americans believe that all government authority comes from Washington, trickling down by the consent of elected national rulers to state and local governments. We will not be able to restore constitutional government without first restoring federalism. Please review our Comment Policy before posting a comment
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Please keep your comments on topic with the article. If you wish to comment on another subject, you may search for a relevant article and join or start a discussion there. | 1real |
Trump administration wants Obamacare subsidy case put on hold, again | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration asked on Monday that a major federal court case weighing the fate of the Obamacare cost-sharing subsidies be put on hold again, leaving billions of dollars in payments to insurers up in the air for 2017 and 2018. In a joint filing with the U.S. House of Representatives submitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the administration and Republican lawmakers asked for a second 90-day extension. The subsidies are available to low-income Americans who buy individual health insurance on the exchanges created under the 2010 Affordable Care Act, former President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law, popularly known as Obamacare. President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers want to repeal and replace the law and are working on legislation to overhaul it that would also secure the subsidy funding during a transition period. But it is not clear if or when they will pass it. The two sides said they wanted more time because they were discussing measures that would no longer require a judicial decision, including the new healthcare legislation. Insurers that are trying to set premium rates for insurance plans to be sold in 2018 are running up against deadlines and have repeatedly asked Congress to fund the subsidies during the transition. One Republican senator said on Monday that he believed the money for the subsidies should be appropriated by Congress. “I think we have to,” Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana told reporters outside the Senate. “We need to stabilize premiums, or we’re not going to have a market.” He said he was speaking for himself and not Republican leaders. The legal case was filed by the Republican-led House against the Obama administration to cut off the subsidy payments. A lower court had ruled in favor of the lawmakers, saying that Congress must appropriate the money for the subsidies and that the government could not simply pay for them in the way it does now. Insurers and medical groups reiterated their view on Monday after the court filing about continuing the payments, which amount to about $7 billion this year and help low-income consumers pay for out-of-pocket medical costs. “Uncertainty is destabilizing the market and leading health plans to raise their rates for 2018 to account for the political risk brought on by Congress and the administration through a protracted debate over the fate of these reimbursements,” Margaret Murray, chief executive officer of the Association for Community Affiliated Plans, said in a statement. While the proposed legislation from the House would keep the payments through 2019, Trump has said he could stop paying the subsidies at any time. That has insurers concerned that the monthly government payments could end and leave them exposed financially. Several insurers, including Aetna Inc and Humana Inc, have already exited the Obamacare marketplace for 2018. Credit Suisse analyst Scott Fidel said insurers such as Centene Corp and Molina Healthcare Inc that focus on the low-income families that qualify for the subsidies have the most at risk. Centene shares closed down 1.4 percent at $74.02 and Molina fell 0.8 percent to $66.84. | 0fake |
ELECTION DAY QUESTION: Do You Want To Glow In The Dark? | by Karl Denninger
One final set of thoughts before you go out to vote today.
There’s one major issue that got very little play during the campaign, as the media was hell-bent on focusing on Trump and bad words.
If we all burn, that is on them — and you. But I assure you the press will fry up just like you will at 5,000 degrees.
That issue is Syria.
Hillary Clinton has committed herself to imposing a “no fly” zone over Syria. As I have pointed out on multiple occasions in this column there are two problems with that commitment.
First, the Russians are in there at Syria’s invitation. They’re protecting Syria’s government at its request, exactly as we protected Kuwait at its request . They are therefore acting with the permission of the sovereign government of Syria, and we will not be. We will effectively be invading Syria.
Second, Russia has missile systems deployed in Syria that we cannot reliably kill, and our aircraft and other flying equipment cannot reliably survive being fired upon by them either. While we can certainly find some of their batteries through intelligence and similar, and blow them up, doing so would be a clear act of war. If we do not do so then anything Russia does not want flying in the skies over Syria will not be flying. It will instead be in many pieces and any airmen inside said aircraft will be dead.
Will Russia allow us to dictate that there will be a no-fly zone and allow us to enforce it?
I doubt it.
If we attempt to implement one anyway then conflict is inevitable. This is a conflict that has not happened thus far in the nuclear age between superpowers. Oh sure, there’s been a plane forced down here and one shot down there, along with plenty of harassment, along with various proxy wars where this party or that was supplying arms to one side or the other (e.g. Afghanistan) but an actual face-off and exchange between US and Russian forces has never occurred.
Once it happens, if it does, then someone will of course believe they “won” and someone will believe they “lost.” The question will then be whether the side who believes it “lost” will admit to that and withdraw.
If that side does not do so then we are facing nuclear war – a war that inherently involves the destruction of both nation’s infrastructure and large percentages of their respective populations.
Hillary Clinton has said she intends to walk this path. We do not know whether Trump will; he hasn’t committed himself one way or the other. But his statements thus far tend to lead me, and many others, to believe he won’t try to interfere in Syria’s (or anyone else’s) sovereign affairs. In fact he’s made clear that he believes that we have had far too many foreign entanglements and they have not served us well.
There’s no guarantee that a President Trump would not find some reason to intervene, of course, and thus no guarantee that we don’t ultimately wind up in the same place. Let’s face it — Syria is a mess, and one that Hillary Clinton had a large hand in creating.
But the choice here is between someone who might get pressed into a situation that leads to armed conflict, possibly nuclear conflict, and someone who has a vested interest in continuing what she started, who has declared her intent to take an action that by definition will violate Syria’s sovereignty and, with near-certainty will lead to an exchange of weapons between the Syrian protectors, which are Russian, and the United States.
That road has a high probability of being one way and at the end are events you will not like.
Don’t vote to die — and kill your children.
If you vote for Hillary you are in fact voting for nuclear war. | 1real |
Trump Calls for Revoking Flag Burners’ Citizenship. Court Rulings Forbid It. - The New York Times | WASHINGTON — Since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, politicians have periodically announced with fanfare that they would introduce a bill to strip the citizenship of Americans accused of terrorism. The idea tends to attract brief attention, but fades away, in part because the Supreme Court long ago ruled that the Constitution does not permit the government to take a person’s citizenship against his or her will. But on Tuesday, Donald J. Trump revived the idea and took it much further than the extreme case of a suspected terrorist. He proposed that Americans who protest government policies by burning the flag could lose their citizenship — meaning, among other things, their right to vote — as punishment. Mr. Trump wrote the post shortly after Fox News aired a segment about a dispute at Hampshire College in Massachusetts, which removed the American flag from its campus flagpole after protests over his election victory during one demonstration, someone burned a flag. Even if Mr. Trump were to persuade Congress to enact a criminal statute, a dramatic shift in the balance between government power and individual freedom, anyone convicted and sentenced could point to clear Supreme Court precedents to make the case for a constitutional violation. The obstacles include the precedent that the Constitution does not allow the government to expatriate Americans against their will, through a landmark 1967 case, Afroyim v. Rusk. They also include a 1989 decision, Texas v. Johnson, in which the court struck down criminal laws banning flag burning, ruling that the act was a form of political expression protected by the First Amendment. David D. Cole, a Georgetown University law professor who the Supreme Court briefs in the case and who is about to become national legal director at the American Civil Liberties Union, said he wondered if Mr. Trump’s strategy was to goad people into burning flags in order to “marginalize” the protests against him. But he also called Mr. Trump’s proposal “beyond the pale. ” “To me it is deeply troubling that the person who is going to become the most powerful government official in the United States doesn’t understand the first thing about the First Amendment — which is you can’t punish people for expressing dissent — and also doesn’t seem to understand that citizenship is a constitutional right that cannot be taken away, period, under any circumstances,” he said. The 1967 case involving the stripping of citizenship traces back to a 1940 law that automatically revoked the citizenship of Americans who took actions like voting in a foreign country’s election or joining its military. The case centered on a man who had been born in Poland, became a naturalized American citizen, and later went to Israel and voted in an election there. When he subsequently tried to renew his American passport, the State Department refused, saying he was no longer an American citizen, and he sued. In a ruling, the Supreme Court called citizenship and the rights that stem from it “no light trifle to be jeopardized any moment” by politicians’ attempts to curtail it. The court said that the 14th Amendment, which guarantees due process of law, does not empower the government to “rob” someone’s citizenship. Americans, the ruling explained, can only lose their citizenship by voluntarily renouncing it. “The very nature of our free government makes it completely incongruous to have a rule of law under which a group of citizens temporarily in office can deprive another group of citizens of their citizenship,” Justice Hugo L. Black wrote. In a case in 1980, Vance v. Terrazas, the Supreme Court extended that precedent by a vote of 6 to 3. That case concerned a man who was born with both American and Mexican citizenship, and who as a student took an oath of allegiance to Mexico, renouncing his American citizenship in order to obtain a Mexican citizenship document. When the State Department said he had thus surrendered his American citizenship, he sued. The court majority said he was still a citizen because the government had to prove that he specifically intended to relinquish it, rather than having said those words with a different motivation, like fulfilling his desire to obtain the certificate. The 1989 case was also decided by a vote of 5 to 4. It centered on a protester who had burned a flag outside the 1984 Republican National Convention in Dallas as part of a political demonstration against Reagan administration policies. The protester, Gregory Johnson, was charged under a state law that criminalized desecrating the flag and appealed his conviction. The majority ruled that Mr. Johnson’s act was symbolic speech protected by the Constitution, effectively striking down state laws against flag desecration across the country. In response, Congress swiftly enacted a federal law against such desecration, but in 1990 the same majority struck it down, too. Just one of the justices who participated in the cases, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, is still on the court today he sided with the majority that struck down the bans. Justice Antonin Scalia, who died in February and whose seat Mr. Trump will get to fill because Republican senators refused to hold a hearing for President Obama’s nominee for the vacancy, was also in the majority. After the 1989 decision, supporters of a ban tried to enact an amendment to the Constitution to make an exception to the First Amendment, but it twice fell short in the Senate. The issue flared again a decade ago. In 2005, Hillary Clinton, a senator from New York at that time, the Flag Protection Act. Arguing that desecration of the symbol “may amount to fighting words or a direct threat to the physical and emotional ” of onlookers, the bill would have banned flag burning if abusing the symbol was “intended to incite a violent response rather than make a political statement. ” The crafters of that bill sought to frame it as a compromise and an alternative to an amendment, saying “the Bill of Rights is a guarantee of those freedoms and should not be amended in a manner that could be interpreted to restrict freedom, a course that is regularly resorted to by authoritarian governments which fear freedom and not by free and democratic nations. ” But Congress did not act on the legislation. The following year, when the Senate again tried to approve a constitutional amendment to empower Congress to ban flag desecration and it fell one vote short of the necessary majority, Mrs. Clinton was among those who voted against that measure. | 0fake |
Franken Calls for ’Independent Investigation’ Into Trump’s ’Putin Crush’ - Breitbart | Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union,” in reacting to reports about President Donald Trump’s national security adviser Michael Flynn’s phone conversations with a Russian ambassador, Sen. Al Franken ( ) said, “We need to have an independent investigation on it” because what he said was Trump having a “Putin crush. ” Partial transcript as follows: FRANKEN: There is a lot here that we need to look at, and we need to have an independent investigation on it. TAPPER: When you say independent, what do you mean, independent counsel, select committee? FRANKEN: I think an independent counsel would be terrific but I know that Lindsey Graham and Sheldon Whitehouse in Judiciary are doing — did doing hearinngs and investigation. I trust those guys. There’s something going on in intelligence and that’s opaque. We need something transparent and we need an investigation because we don’t know what he owes Russia. We don’t know how many Russian oligarchs have invested in his business. He has saddled up to Putin in so many ways. What he’s doing in Syria is great. TAPPER: Yeah. FRANKEN: He didn’t, you know, annex Crimea and going after NATO. There’s something — he’s got a bit of a Putin crush, and there’s — I want to know how much of that is tied to maybe financial strings? Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN | 0fake |
Blue State Blues: Why Do Democrats Undermine Latino Leaders? | There is something decidedly odd about the California State Legislature’s decision to hire former Attorney General Eric Holder, now back at the prestigious Covington Burling law firm, to fight the incoming administration of Donald Trump. [The weirdness goes beyond the fact that it may be unconstitutional for the legislature to have hired Holder, given that the state already has its own attorneys who are certainly capable of doing what the state government requires. One of those attorneys is none other than Gov. Jerry Brown’s nominee for Attorney General, Rep. Xavier Becerra ( ). He has a long track record of fighting Republicans on issues like immigration and entitlement reform, and has has made clear he intends to fight the Trump administration every step of the way to protect California’s state and its “progressive” policies. He is also, as the local media noted appropriately at his nomination, California’s first Latino Attorney General. So why does California need Holder? Does the California State Legislature believe somehow that Becerra lacks the ability to do the job? Probably not, since a committee of the State Assembly approved his nomination this week in a vote. Does Holder bring something special to the job of representing the state that Becerra does not? They are both Washington creatures and know how to fight on the national stage. Is there some reason to pay both of these men, working separately? Note that California has some recent, and bad, experience with duplicating government functions. Much of last year’s political energy was spent in a pointless feud over gun control between Senate President pro Tem Kevin de Léon ( Angeles) — the first Latino to serve in that role in more than a century — and Lieutenant Gov. Gavin Newsom, the Democratic favorite for governor in 2018 against formidable challenger Antonio Villaraigosa, who served as the first Latino mayor of Los Angeles. Newsom wanted to legalize marijuana via referendum. But then he decided to add a gun control referendum, Proposition 63, which bans ammunition magazines and requires ammunition purchasers to undergo a background check. Sen. de Léon championed his own gun control efforts through the legislature, triggering a nasty spat. The potential for clashes between the executive and legislature, even on common policies, is clear. Why would California risk repeating history? Come to think of it — why did Newsom insist on credit for both the marijuana and the gun control initiatives, without finding any room for de Léon to share the “progressive” accolades? The Léon fight happened at the same time as the race for U. S. Senate between Becerra’s predecessor, Kamala Harris, and Rep. Loretta Sanchez ( ) pitting the state’s first black and Hispanic candidates for the seat against each other. Before she faded down the stretch, Sanchez had carried the hopes of California’s rising Latino constituency. But Harris clinched the biggest endorsements and donors very early in the race. Over and over again, California’s emerging Latino leadership has offered new leaders to the state. And in each case, the state’s existing Democratic Party establishment has maneuvered to block them. Eric Holder, who has no roots in California, walked into his new job with no confirmation hearings Becerra has to jump through the hoops. What is the message there? One hesitates even to touch the Democratic Party’s identity politics game. Perhaps the real rivalry is between Northern and Southern California: the San Francisco Bay Area has a stranglehold on statewide office, and most of the state’s Latino stars hail from L. A. and Orange County. Still, it is odd that the California State Legislature decided that as qualified as he is, Rep. Becerra needs a “double” — at a cost of $25, 000 per month — from a law firm on the other side of the country. Joel B. Pollak is Senior at Breitbart News. He was named one of the “most influential” people in news media in 2016. His new book, How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak. | 0fake |
Tiger shot dead in Paris after escaping from circus | PARIS (Reuters) - A tiger was shot dead in western Paris on Friday after escaping from a circus, police said. The tiger was shot by circus staff, police said. A tram line had been closed while the animal was at large. No further details were immediately available. | 0fake |
MULTI-MILLIONAIRE #NFL PLAYERS Take Knee During National Anthem On 9-11 To Protest “OPPRESSION” Next To Armed Forces Who Risk Their Lives For Less Than 20K Per Year [VIDEO] | Does anyone else find it ironic that black multi-millionaire athletes are protesting oppression in America after 8 years of our first Black President?How much courage does it take for these multi-millionaire athletes to stand in protest against the flag our US military members defend with their lives every day? Members of our Armed Forces are making between $17,892 and $34,696 in basic pay, depending upon time served in the military and rank. But yeah we can see why you multi-millionaire punks who are treated like royalty wherever you go, are all feeling so oppressed that you need to disrespect our flag and the brave men and woman who stand on the field next to you, while you spit on their sacrifices as a way to promote Obama s Black Lives Matter legacy NFL player-activists continued to take a knee Sunday during the national anthem to protest alleged oppression of blacks in America.On Sunday in Seattle, Dolphins running back Arian Foster, wide receiver Kenny Stills, safety Michael Thomas, and linebacker Jelani Jenkins took a knee as everyone else rose to honor America. They are taking a knee for injustice in America, according to civil-rights activist Shaun King.But what is the end game? How will we know when the injustice has subsided to the point so they can stand again?Perhaps when the murder rate in Chicago falls. It s currently on a record pace (512 so far this year) with most of the victims African-American. Or maybe when the black teen unemployment employment rate of 31 percent, six times higher than the national average, improves.Maybe that is what the NFL activists are waiting on, for these two oppressive situations to be fixed.Watch here:We will see. Don t hold your breath. This seems like a one-note song it s clearly an extension of the Black Lives Matter movement, and it s about police killing a few unarmed black suspects. Via: Breitbart News | 1real |
He’s getting desperate: Trump’s campaign used to be confident, but Cruz has gotten him feeling downright thirsty | But this past week, Trump’s seemingly implacable sense of self-confidence seems to be, well, shaken. More than that, even. Lately, the man seems downright thirsty. In a very short order, his campaign strategy has changed from a man who enters the room and tells you how it’s going to be to that of a man who is begging and pleading for you to like him. The stench of desperation has started to cling to him, and now every move he makes seems even more like pathetic pandering. The once unbreakable Donald Trump now is starting to look like the guy who uses a shirtless picture for his Tinder profile.
The biggest sign of this newfound thirst is in the opening of the pocketbook. Trump’s ability to grab media and voter attention without spending much money has been a unique aspect of his campaign so far. Even though he does take donations, Trump likes to front like he’s not beholden to any backers, which contributes to the voters’ sense that he’s not like those other bought-and-sold politicians.
But now the politician who was acting like he could win just by saying stuff on Twitter has caved and is making a huge ad buy in Iowa and New Hampshire. Oh, he’s trying to spin it as another sign of his winning spirit, announcing the ad buy with huge fanfare and getting a level of free media coverage that other candidates don’t get for mundane things like buying TV ads. But none of that can distract from the fact that the almighty Trump is now acting like every other candidate in the race, going on TV with his hat out and asking for your vote. This is not the “you’re fired” Trump. This is a guy begging for a job.
On its own, caving in and acting like every other candidate wouldn’t be that big a deal. But the ad buy comes during a week when every move Trump makes in public is looking grabby. The long-standing predictions that Trump’s poll lead would vanish once the primaries begin isn’t looking quite as much like establishment wishful thinking anymore. His lead in New Hampshire is shrinking and Ted Cruz is up in Iowa. If he loses both of those, he knows we’ll see a reemergence of the narrative that he was just a passing fancy for voters before they start to get serious at the polls, and his behavior is starting to smell a bit desperate.
Going after Bill Clinton for past infidelities, for instance, is the choice of a desperate man. Panty-sniffing the Clintons has a long history of backfiring with the voters and it opens Trump up to charges of hypocrisy, since he blew up his first marriage in order to marry his mistress. But Trump has gone even further than simply bringing up Monica Lewinsky. He’s also been hinting that Bill Clinton has committed sexual assault. It’s an attempt at a feminist gotcha, but going there means that Trump is aligning himself with the same people who accuse the Clintons of murdering people, having secret love children, and practicing witchcraft.
It’s an interesting move, because Trump has spent the past month actually moving away from his past as a right-wing conspiracy theorist, by refusing, for instance, to talk about his “questions” about Barack Obama’s birth certificate. To dive back into the fever swamps means risking general election credibility to pander to the hard right again, a move he’d only undertake if he were really worried about losing in the primaries.
His attacks on the Clintons aren’t the only effort at baiting the base that runs a high risk of backfiring, either. One of the stranger moves that Trump has taken this week has been race-baiting his opponent Ted Cruz. “In all fairness, to the best of my knowledge, not too many evangelicals come out of Cuba, OK,” Trump said at a campaign rally in Iowa. “When you’re casting your ballot, remember.” Cruz’s polling success in Iowa is assumed to come from the evangelical base, so this attempt to sow doubt that he’s really evangelical is a clear-cut case of thirstiness. But this runs a high risk of backfiring. Trump isn’t wrong to assume that the “evangelical” identity is tied closely in the conservative mind to whiteness. But what he fails to understand is that this is why so many conservative Christians like Ted Cruz. As with Ben Carson, the handful of non-white evangelical figures on the scene offer “proof” that the white evangelical identity is so desirable that it draws converts. Cruz himself knows this, which is why he highlights his background instead of minimizing it. There’s a similar trying-too-hard quality to the way Trump spokeswoman Katrina Pierson acts. It’s not just that she wore a bullet necklace on CNN, but the way she defended herself when people made fun of her for it. Maybe I’ll wear a fetus next time& bring awareness to 50 million aborted people that will never get to be on Twitter https://t.co/UTomoyYXLK Oh, will they also be holding little Confederate flags while singing “Proud to Be an American”? The pretense of sincere concern for fetal life is all but abandoned here. The fetus–like the gun or the flag–is reduced to a bit of jewelry, a sad posturing to indicate alignment with the fetus fetishist tribe whose votes Pierson’s hustling desperately to get. But perhaps the saddest grasping from Trump comes from this ad that Trump posted on Instagram. “WE ARE IN A SERIOUS WAR,” the title reads, before running a reel of coverage of the Paris and San Bernardino attacks. But then it cuts to Obama making a joke about “Star Wars,” suggesting that his willingness to spend a couple of hours out of his busy week seeing a movie is what lies between us and bringing an end to the threat of Islamic terrorism. The whole thing is preposterous, but it’s hard to even get mad, it’s so pathetic. For one thing, we are not actually in a war, and stating otherwise has a strong whiff of hoping you can make it true simply by saying it. But there’s something particularly pitiful about wanting Obama to make a pointless gesture in refusing to see “Star Wars.” What’s the argument here? That if Obama refuses to see “Star Wars,” ISIS will be so impressed by his sacrifice that they’ll lay down their arms? That seeing a movie somehow removes his ability to make important military decisions? That if he would just stand in an empty room yelling, “Damn you, ISIS!” for two hours instead of watching a movie, we would defeat our enemies? This insistence on empty gestures over meaningful action, of course, sums up the entire Trump campaign. This is a man whose foreign policy proposals amount to arguing that if he just puffs his chest out big enough, all other world leaders will immediately do everything he wants. But the utter silliness of this ad, with its assumption that Obama can meaningfully effect world change by not seeing a movie, highlights the vapidity of the Trump campaign poignantly. Vote for Trump, and he will miss entire blockbuster movies for no reason whatsoever, just for you! The man is clearly desperate. | 0fake |
SHOCKER! IS MITT ROMNEY Being Considered For A Trump Cabinet Position? | 1real | |
Privileged Trump Supporter Cries ‘Discrimination’ When Bakery Won’t Make ‘Trump 2016’ Cake (VIDEO) | Most of us know that Donald Trump s fanbase is made up of some of the most privileged members of American society. A good majority of Trump supporters are straight white men (and some women) who have never been faced with a true obstacle or discrimination a day in their life. But if you ask them, they d likely only complain about how oppressed they are and this recent incident between a bakery and a Trump supporter is a perfect example.This week, 17-year-old Trump supporter McKenzie Gill went to get a birthday cake made up at her local Albertsons. To prove just how much of a die-hard fan she was of the business mogul, she wanted her cake to read Trump 2016 a celebration of both her 18th birthday and the mark of her first vote in America s election process.However, things didn t exactly go according to plan. When Gill went to order the cake, the woman behind the counter refused to put Trump 2016 on it. She said she could put an American flag design on the cake, but definitely not the words Trump 2016. In response, Gill took after her yellow-haired role model and threw a temper tantrum on social media. In a Facebook post, she wrote: The woman behind the cake counter just refused to make me a birthday cake because I wanted Trump 2016 on it. Did that really just happen? FacebookGill got her cake made up elsewhere and made a formal complaint to Albertsons about being refused. Albertsons apologized and said that the women who d refused to write Trump 2016 on the cake had misunderstood the store s policy to not use copyrighted phrases in its designs. In an interview, Gill said: It s your job, we re not really going for your opinion on what you think of the candidates we were just wanting Trump 2016 on the cake. You can check out the interview with Gill below, courtesy of KSLA:Featured image is a screenshot | 1real |
Mass shootings appear to be spiraling out of control. Are they? (+video) | The San Bernardino attack Wednesday marked the 355th mass shooting of 2015. The question, which divides experts, is whether such shootings are on the rise or whether the public is more acutely aware of them.
Two women comfort each other near the scene of a shooting outside a Southern California social services center in San Bernardino, Calif., where 14 people were killed Dec. 2, 2015.
Responding to the mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif., on Wednesday – the deadliest since the Newtown, Conn., school massacre three years ago – President Obama warned Americans that "we should never think that this is something that just happens in the ordinary course of events."
Unfortunately, the 355th shooting that involved four or more victims this year suggested that already may be the case: In 2015, such occurrences have averaged more than one a day. In fact, the San Bernardino attack was Wednesday's second mass shooting – the first was in Savannah, Georgia.
The immediate aftermath of the attack, which killed 14 people and injured 21, took on a familiar script, from the political rhetoric of the gun control debate to what some called empty calls for “thoughts and prayers.” Those reactions have become familiar during a span of two years in America when not a calendar week has gone by without an act of mass gun violence.
“We’ve reached a critical saturation point with these mass shootings, and that’s part of the numbness and confusion we feel,” says Ron Astor, a University of Southern California professor of social work who has studied mass violence for more than 30 years. “But it’s not like we’ve accepted [the level of violence]. The problem is, we haven’t figured out what to do with that moral outrage that we all have.”
Overall gun violence has declined, along with violent crime, over the past two decades. But the frequency with which mass shootings have been reported this year have led to perceptions that this one, particularly shocking, type of violence may be experiencing a surge. The question, which divides experts, is whether such shootings are, in fact, running above historical norms, or whether the public is simply more acutely aware of them, given the rise of social media and the 24-hour digital news cycle.
“The only increase has been in fear, and in the perception of an increase,” says James Alan Fox, a criminologist at Northeastern University, told The New York Times.
A lack of a common definition of what encompasses a mass incident complicates the ability of criminologists to reach a consensus on how much of an increase 2015’s tally represents – or what the historical average for mass shootings has been.
The FBI, in a report last year, counted 160 “active shooter” situations between 2000 and 2013, including the Sandy Hook school shooting in Connecticut; the Aurora, Colo., theater shooting; and the massacre at Fort Hood in Texas. Its findings suggested a steady increase in frequency, with a peak in 2010 of 26.
Research by Harvard University suggests that the frequency of mass shootings has increased threefold since 2011, based on a survey of news reports by the liberal-leaning Mother Jones magazine. That research looked at incidents in which the victims and shooter were strangers, and where the shooter killed four or more people. The Harvard researchers found that such shootings had occurred an average of every 200 days from 1982 to 2011. Since then, they've happened once every 64 days, on average.
But Professor Fox, co-author of “Extreme Killing,” slices the data differently. He says that by including situations where the shooter knows the victims – such as domestic or gang violence – the rate of annual mass shootings actually declined slightly from 2011 to 2014 when compared with the previous four years. (Addressing critiques that his method is flawed, Fox told Huffington Post that to those slain “it hardly matters whether they were killed in public or in a private home.”)
Two online databases that use news reports to track shootings where four or more are wounded or killed found that there have been 355 such shootings since January, spanning 221 cities and 47 states. That’s up from 337 mass shootings in 2014, according to one, shootingtracker.com. Those databases, which also include incidences of domestic and gang violence, were created in 2013 and differ from the FBI’s old definition of mass murder, which exclusively counted fatalities, making it difficult to compare historical trends.
Where criminologists do agree is that, similar to the awareness of killings of unarmed citizens by police that spiked after Michael Brown’s death in Ferguson, Mo., the public’s attention to such events has been heightened and led to a desire to take action – although there is no consensus on either side of the political aisle what such action should be.
“The extent that fear and anxiety increases, that may make it harder for us to come to some sort of resolution, because people feel a greater need to protect themselves, be armed or take defensive action or blame certain people and contain those people,” says Frankie Bailey, a criminologist at the State University of New York in Albany. “And at the same time, we’re dealing with competing perceptions of causation of what’s happening. And until we can agree on that, even though there’s a broader moral imperative to stop it, it’s difficult to find common ground for deciding how to deal with it.”
But in fact, says Mr. Astor, US cultural norms have shifted in other ways, specifically around the acceptance of violence. After all, he says, in just the past century, the US has eliminated lynching, reduced the number of police killed on the job, and dramatically decreased domestic violence.
And while media coverage has increased awareness, he argues that it hasn’t resulted in public apathy.
“Media coverage has, ironically, raised our intolerance for these kinds of events,” says Astor. “We already know through social science and religion that the way to get people to respond differently is to go against our instincts, to not only talk about [the perpetrator] and their motives, but to spend an inordinate amount of time on the totality of each of the victims and who they were. We move more to action if we actually feel more closely each of the individual lives that were lost.”
While the polarization surrounding the gun control debate has made political solutions difficult to attain, others also argue there are areas where progress can be made.
“There’s a sense of helplessness, but it’s in some ways misplaced,” says Jonathan Metzl, director of the Center for Medicine, Health and Society at Vanderbilt University, in Nashville, Tenn. “The fact is, we are going to have a very hard time, given our gun culture, stopping mass shootings. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t stem the tide of gun violence, because everyday gun violence is incredibly preventable.”
Correction: This article has been updated to change Ron Astor's title. He is a professor of social work at the University of Southern California. | 0fake |
State Department spokeswoman floats jobs as answer to ISIS | What the West really needs to take on the Islamic State is ... a jobs program.
That's what a top State Department spokeswoman suggested when asked in a TV interview Monday night about what the U.S.-led coalition is doing to stop the slaughter of civilians by Islamic State militants across the region.
"We're killing a lot of them, and we're going to keep killing more of them. ... But we cannot win this war by killing them," department spokeswoman Marie Harf said on MSNBC's "Hardball." "We need ... to go after the root causes that leads people to join these groups, whether it's lack of opportunity for jobs, whether --"
At that point, Harf was interrupted by host Chris Matthews, who pointed out, "There's always going to be poor people. There's always going to be poor Muslims."
Harf continued to argue that the U.S. should work with other countries to "help improve their governance" and "help them build their economies so they can have job opportunities for these people."
She acknowledged there's "no easy solution" and said the U.S. would still take out ISIS leaders. But Harf said: "If we can help countries work at the root causes of this -- what makes these 17-year-old kids pick up an AK-47 instead of trying to start a business?"
Asked about Harf's remarks on Tuesday, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Harf was only making the point that fighting ISIS entails more than just a military solution.
The comments come as the Obama administration takes heat from lawmakers for its approach to the Islamic State, whose self-proclaimed fighters in Libya recently executed 21 Coptic Christians from Egypt.
The White House on Tuesday kicked off a three-day summit on "countering violent extremism." It began with Vice President Biden moderating a discussion on countering extremism with representatives from cities.
This, though, follows a pattern of conferences and summits called by the administration to address urgent challenges. The administration is facing criticism for this approach -- and for describing the summit in general terms -- at a time when Islamic State militants are spreading, recruiting and executing prisoners from multiple countries in increasingly brutal ways.
"The White House had to seem like it was doing something," said Jonah Goldberg, a National Review editor and conservative columnist, while claiming the summit won't achieve much.
Senior administration officials, though, defended the conference, and their description of it, on a call with reporters.
Asked whether Islamic extremists are in fact the focus of the summit, one official said extremism has spanned "many decades" and taken on "many forms," but they recognize that those launching recent attacks "are calling themselves Muslims."
"You can call them what you want. We're calling them terrorists," the official said.
The New York Times reported Tuesday that as airstrikes continue in Iraq and Syria, the administration is boosting efforts to counter ISIS on social media. The plan centers around a small State Department agency that pushes against ISIS and other groups' online propaganda.
"We're getting beaten on volume, so the only way to compete is by aggregating, curating and amplifying existing content," Richard Stengel, under secretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs, told the Times.
Officials reportedly plan to describe some of their social media strategy at the three-day counter-extremism summit. | 0fake |
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