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Trump Claims, With No Evidence, That ‘Millions of People’ Voted Illegally - The New York Times | WASHINGTON — Donald J. Trump said on Sunday that he had fallen short in the popular vote in the general election only because millions of people had voted illegally, leveling the baseless claim as part of a daylong storm of Twitter posts voicing anger about a recount push. “In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally,” Mr. Trump wrote Sunday afternoon. The series of posts came one day after Hillary Clinton’s campaign said it would participate in a recount effort being undertaken in Wisconsin, and potentially in similar pushes in Michigan and Pennsylvania, by Jill Stein, who was the Green Party candidate. Mr. Trump’s statements revived claims he made during the campaign, as polls suggested he was losing to Mrs. Clinton, about a rigged and corrupt system. The Twitter outburst also came as Mr. Trump is laboring to fill crucial positions in his cabinet, with his advisers enmeshed in a rift over whom he should select as secretary of state. On Sunday morning, Kellyanne Conway, a top adviser, extended a public campaign to undermine one contender, Mitt Romney — a remarkable display by a member of a ’s team. In television appearances, she accused Mr. Romney of having gone “out of his way to hurt” Mr. Trump during the Republican primary contests. Claims of voter fraud have been advanced for years by Republicans, though virtually no evidence of such improprieties has been discovered — especially on the scale of “millions” that Mr. Trump claimed. Late on Sunday, again without providing evidence, he referred in a Twitter post to “serious voter fraud in Virginia, New Hampshire and California. ” A day earlier, Mr. Trump’s transition team ridiculed the idea that recounts were needed. “This is a scam by the Green Party for an election that has already been conceded,” it said in a statement, “and the results of this election should be respected instead of being challenged and abused. ” That message runs counter to the one Mr. Trump sent on Sunday with his fraud claims — if millions of people voted illegally, presumably officials across the country would want to pursue ballot recounts and fraud investigations. But the Twitter posts could energize some of his supporters, who have claimed online that Mrs. Clinton’s two lead in the popular vote has been faked. Mr. Trump at times promoted other conspiracy theories during the campaign, including claiming that Senator Ted Cruz’s father was somehow tied to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Many of Mrs. Clinton’s supporters have been galvanized by the notion that vote recounts in the three states — where Mr. Trump leads by a combined total of about 100, 000 votes — could somehow overturn Mr. Trump’s commanding Electoral College victory. By announcing, three weeks after Mrs. Clinton conceded, that it would participate in the Wisconsin recount, her team has helped reignite the contentious atmosphere of the campaign, of which Mr. Trump’s Twitter barrages were a fixture. (By all accounts, Mr. Trump types out many, though not all, of his own Twitter posts.) After spending almost five days in Palm Beach, Fla. where he celebrated Thanksgiving at his resort, Mr. Trump made no public statements on Sunday other than those via Twitter. He returned in the afternoon to Trump Tower in Manhattan. Through the day, Mr. Trump appeared fixated on the recount and his electoral performance. In a series of midafternoon Twitter posts, not long before he boarded his flight, Mr. Trump boasted that he could have easily won the “ popular vote” if he had campaigned only in “3 or 4” states, presumably populous ones. “I would have won even more easily and convincingly (but smaller states are forgotten)!” he wrote. The afternoon messages followed a string of Twitter posts in which Mr. Trump railed against the recount efforts. In an initial post at 7:19, he wrote: “Hillary Clinton conceded the election when she called me just prior to the victory speech and after the results were in. Nothing will change. ” He went on to quote a comment by Mrs. Clinton during one of their debates, in which she said she was horrified by Mr. Trump’s refusal to say that he would accept the outcome of the election. And he noted that in her concession speech, she had urged people to respect the vote results. “‘We have to accept the results and look to the future, Donald Trump is going to be our President,’” Mr. Trump wrote, quoting Mrs. Clinton. One person who spoke with Mr. Trump over the holiday weekend said the had appeared to be preoccupied by suggestions that a recount might be started, even as his aides played down any concerns. Another friend said Mr. Trump felt crossed by Mrs. Clinton, who he believed had conceded the race and accepted the results. In a post on Medium, Marc Elias, the Clinton team’s general counsel, said the campaign would participate in Ms. Stein’s recount effort with little expectation that it would change the result, partly out of a sense of duty to the millions who voted for Mrs. Clinton. “We do so fully aware that the number of votes separating Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in the closest of these states — Michigan — well exceeds the largest margin ever overcome in a recount,” Mr. Elias said, noting that Clinton campaign officials had found no “actionable evidence” of hacking or attempts to tamper with the vote. Late Sunday night, Mr. Elias responded on Twitter to Mr. Trump’s allegations, writing, “We are getting attacked for participating in a recount that we didn’t ask for by the man who won election but thinks there was massive fraud. ” In Wisconsin, Mr. Trump leads by 22, 177 votes. In Michigan, he has a lead of 10, 704 votes, and in Pennsylvania, his advantage is 70, 638 votes. Mr. Trump’s aides echoed his concerns about the recount effort in appearances on Sunday morning television news programs. Ms. Conway, who was his campaign manager, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Mrs. Clinton and her campaign advisers would have to decide “whether they’re going to be a bunch of crybabies. ” As for the debate over Mr. Romney, Ms. Conway, echoing comments she posted last week on Twitter, made clear that she opposed choosing Mr. Romney as secretary of state. “There was the ‘Never Trump’ movement, and then there was Gov. Mitt Romney,” she said on ABC. During the primaries, Mr. Romney called Mr. Trump a “fraud” and a “phony. ” Ms. Conway said it was important for Mr. Trump to seek to unify the Republican Party by making gestures to those who opposed his candidacy. But, she added, “I don’t think the cost of party unity has to be the secretary of state position. ” Moments after appearing on the show, Ms. Conway, who is under consideration to be Mr. Trump’s press secretary, wrote on Twitter that she had told Mr. Trump her opinion privately, “and I’ll respect his decision. ” On “Meet the Press,” she said people felt “betrayed” by the idea that Mr. Romney could get a top cabinet job. “I’m not campaigning against anyone,” she said. “I’m just a concerned citizen. ” “We don’t even know if he voted for Donald Trump,” she added. | 0fake |
CONVENIENT? ‘Active Shooter’ Kills 5 in Fort Lauderdale, CNN Claims Voices in His Head ‘Told Him to Join ISIS’ | 21st Century Wire says Incredibly, on the same day that US intelligence officials were due to meet President-Elect Donald Trump about the alleged Russian Hack report like clockwork, another Active Shooter event springs-up, this time at Fort Lauderdale International Airport in Florida. Very dramatic, great television drama on CNN and elsewhere. As a result, no US news channel covered the epic flop of the CIA s report debacle and Trump s reaction to it until the evening news cycle.Stay tuned to 21WIRE later on, for a full Daily Shooter report on today s Fort Lauderdale Airport attack.Thus far, we re told that the suspect got off a Delta Flight from Anchorage, Alaska, calmly collected his bags, went into a bathroom, loaded his gun (which we re told was stored legally in his check-on luggage) and stepped into the baggage claim area and began shooting and killing people.And just when you thought this story couldn t get any more ridiculous, we re meant to swallow this Just now, CNN reported that suspect Esteban Santiago was a member of the National Guard, served in Iraq, and was hearing ISIS voices in his head. Anchor Erin Burnett stated on air: The shooter went into FBI office in Anchorage (Alaska) and told officials he was hearing voices in his head telling him to join ISIS! Indeed, exactly as 21WIRE predicted yesterday:CIA #russianhacking report out Monday. Our guess: there's nothing in it. What will Obama do as distraction? New hack? #ISIS attack? 21st Century Wire (@21WIRE) January 6, 2017As expected, CNN is pushing the mental health angle, with panel experts talking-up the need for more gun control and mental health checks. Here s the official mainstream narrative (CNN) Five people were shot dead and eight wounded in a baggage claim area at Fort Lauderdale s airport, and law enforcement sources tell CNN the suspect, identified as Esteban Santiago, had brought the firearm in his checked luggage.Authorities said it was too early to understand why the suspect, who was taken into custody without incident, opened fire at the Florida airport.Florida Sen. Bill Nelson told CNN that Santiago had a military identification card, but he did not know whether it was current.Here s the latest on what we know: Thirteen people were shot and eight were taken to hospitals, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said. Five others died from their wounds. The suspect joined the National Guard in Puerto Rico in 2007. In April 2010, he went to Iraq for 10 months. A spokeswoman for the Alaska Army National Guard said Santiago was in the Army Reserves before he joined the guard there in November 2014. Lt. Col. Candis Olmstead said Santiago was discharged in August for unsatisfactory performance. The suspect showed up several months ago at the FBI office in Anchorage, law enforcement officials told CNN. He was interviewed and said he was hearing voices in his head, including some telling him to join ISIS. He was taken to a hospital for a mental health evaluation, voluntarily checked himself in, the officials explained. Law enforcement sources told CNN that the suspect flew to Florida on Friday from Alaska and had declared the firearm. When he arrived at the airport, the suspect retrieved a bag at baggage claim, took out the gun and started firing, the sources said. One source said he went to the bathroom to get the gun out of his luggage and emerged firing. Sheriff Israel said the gunman likely acted alone. The sheriff said it was too early to say whether terrorism was the motive. Gov. Rick Scott told reporters at the airport: The citizens of Florida will not tolerate senseless acts of evil. Whoever is responsible will held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. The governor said that now was time to mourn the dead and pray for hospitalized victims, not talk about gun laws. Multiple reports on social media including tweets from former White House spokesman Ari Fleischer described the shooting.Continue the mainstream story at CNNREAD MORE DAILY SHOOTER NEWS AT: 21WIRE Daily Shooter FilesSUPPORT 21WIRE SUBSCRIBE & BECOME A MEMBER@ 21WIRE.TV | 1real |
Hillary Personally Ordered ‘Donald Duck’ Troll Campaign | Email
Hillary Clinton personally ordered a consultant to use a nonprofit group to troll the Trump campaign with a ‘Donald Duck’ mascot, according to the Democratic operatives who say they arranged it with a nonprofit organization.
When Breitbart News’ Washington political editor, Matthew Boyle, confronted Mook about Creamer and his firm in the spin room after the third presidential debate, Mook claimed: “They’ve never worked for our campaign.” When asked if Clinton had ever discussed the controversial political operations with Creamer directly, Mook replied: “I don’t think so.”
Now, however, O’Keefe and Project Veritas have released video of Creamer claiming that Clinton directly approved one of his more bizarre plans — an effort to attract media attention and incite violence by dressing an activist in a Donald Duck costume and sending that activist into Trump events, emphasizing the argument that Trump was “ducking” releasing his tax returns.
The action, if true, would be a black-letter violation of federal election law, which prohibits presidential campaigns from coordinating activities with outside groups that can collect unlimited ‘dark money’ from contributors – and don’t pay taxes on what they collect.
Project Veritas Action video footage shows Robert Creamer, a convicted felon who was forced out of his executive role at the liberal consultancy Democracy Partners, saying Clinton chose the duck stunt.
‘In the end, it was the candidate, Hillary Clinton, the future president of the United States, who wanted ducks on the ground. So by God we would get ducks on the ground,’ Creamer says in the video. | 1real |
Egyptian activists detained by court for protesting Red Sea islands transfer | ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT (Reuters) - A court in Alexandria has ordered the detention of leading rights activist Mahienour el-Massry over charges of illegally protesting in June against the Egyptian government s decision to transfer two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia. El-Massry was detained in Egypt s second largest city along with activist Moatasim Medhat and both will be held pending their trial for illegal assembly on Dec. 30, the misdemeanour court said. The pair s lawyer, Taher Abo Nasser, said they denied the charges, adding that there was no evidence of a protest taking place. The decision came as a shock for us but Mahienour is remaining strong and accepting, Abo Nasser said. The plan to cede the islands to Saudi Arabia was announced last year and has become mired in political protest and legal action. Opponents of the plan say Egypt s sovereignty over the islands dates back to 1906, before Saudi Arabia was founded. Saudi and Egyptian officials say the islands belong to the kingdom and were only under Egyptian control because Riyadh had asked Cairo in 1950 to protect them. | 0fake |
Trump’s First Government Agency Visit: CIA | RT . President Donald Trump spoke at CIA Headquarters on his first stop as the newly inaugurated commander in chief telling the intelligence agency that despite media reports he is not at war with the intelligence community. The reason you re my first stop is as you know I have a running war with the media- they are among the most dishonest beings on earth, they say I have a feud with the intelligence community. The reason you re my first stop is exactly the opposite, Trump said. I am so behind you, he told CIA officials at Langley, Virginia.Trump continued with examples of the dishonest media claiming they skewed attendance figures for his inauguration citing lower numbers and showing images of an empty field.He also called out Time magazine for running a false story stating that he had removed Martin Luther King s bust from the Oval Office when it was in fact just blocked from view by a cameraman.Trump told the CIA that he has a great respect for the agency and believes it is going to be one of the most important groups in the country in making us safe again. URGENT: We will not impose our way of life, but we will shine for others to follow Trump https://t.co/cVbgG3xchI pic.twitter.com/a31zfkm3RX RT (@RT_com) January 20, 2017 There is nobody that feels stronger about the intelligence community and CIA than Donald Trump, he saidHe had nothing but praise for the agency highlighting their importance going forward. I love you, I respect you, we re going to start winning again and you will be leading the charge, he told some 400 officers who came in on their time off for the historic visit.READ MORE: Intelligence insiders call Russian dossier complete fraud TrumpTrump s favourable comments about the CIA come amidst a tense period with the intelligence community after he refused to accept US intel reports on Russia s alleged interference in the election.Just last week Trump branded outgoing CIA chief Brennan as the leaker of fake news after Brennan criticised him for tweeting and told him to understand the Russian threat.Trump questioned whether the CIA director had leaked a recent unsubstantiated dossier to the media that claimed Russia had collected compromising financial or personal information about him Continue this report at RTREAD MORE TRUMP NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Trump Files | 1real |
FBI Getting Warmer: Pay-to-Play | FBI Getting Warmer: Pay-to-Play October 31, 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton looks at her mobile phone as she leaves her house to attend Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's Phoenix Awards Dinner at the Washington convention center in Washington, U.S.,
Five FBI field offices in mayor cities are looking deeping into the Clinton Foundation, Allegations of Pay-to-Play.
Federal agencies in New York, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. and Little Rock, Ark., are investigating the Clinton Foundation regarding pay-to-play financial and political corruption . The Wall Street Journal reported the update on Sunday mirroring information provided by a former senior law enforcement official. The FBI field offices are coordinating with the U. S. Attorneys working in those cities. FBI agents in Miami are also joining the probe,. The Clinton Foundation has numerous programs operating in Haiti, the Caribbean, Latin America and South America. | 1real |
Obama, Argentina's Macri discuss Brazil's political crisis | BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama discussed Brazil’s political crisis in a bi-lateral meeting with neighboring Argentina’s President Mauricio Macri in Buenos Aires on Wednesday, saying he hoped it could be effectively resolved. “Their democracy is sufficiently mature, their systems of laws and structures I think are strong enough that this will get resolved in a way that allows Brazil ultimately to prosper and be the significant world leader that it is,” Obama said. | 0fake |
SANDERS SUPPORTERS Ready To Raise Hell At DNC After E-mail Leaks Prove Dems Stole Election From Bernie | Wow! What a week for the Democrats! Nothing like the truth to bring the Dems to their knees! With the start of the DNC Convention, it s looking like the Bernie supporters are going to put on a huge demonstration. This ll be interesting since their chairwoman has been ousted and Hillary just hired her. And they said the Republicans are divided? This gathering of leftists will show us what divided looks like get ready for chaos!PHILADELPHIA The Democrats convention kicking off Monday still faces the potential for rowdy protests from Bernie Sanders delegates and supporters, despite the ouster of Democratic National Committee leader Debbie Wasserman Schultz serving as somewhat of a peace offering to liberal factions of the party that have accused her of tipping the scales for Hillary Clinton.Sanders supporters were angry over leaked emails that show the Florida congresswoman and her team blasting Sanders and discussing ways to undermine him.While her resignation could calm that storm, the liberal wing still appears intent on protesting over other grievances including Clinton, the party s presumptive presidential nominee, picking Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia as her running mate.Norman Solomon, a Sanders delegate from California, said Sunday that Clinton picking a centrist like Kaine is an assault on the progressive agenda. He said the roughly 1,250 Sanders delegates connected to his Bernie Delegates Network are considering walking out during the Virginia senator s expected acceptance speech at the Wells Fargo Center, and they are even looking into contesting his nomination.Via: FOX | 1real |
50 Top Republicans Pen BRUTAL Letter Warning Trump Would Be A National Security Disaster | Donald Trump is nigh-universally recognized as a walking, talking, national security disaster. From The Donald s promise to our allies that we can t be trusted if he becomes President, to his threat to essentially throw out the Iran nuclear deal by modifying it until it is meaningless, to his almost salivating over the thought of pushing the big red button and unleashing our nuclear arsenal on, presumably, the first world leader to make him angry on Twitter, The Donald has succeeded in getting himself ranked as one of the top 10 global security risks.It s gotten to the point that fifty top Republican officials have now signed a letter acknowledging that Trump would put at risk our country s national security and well-being. According to these Republicans, many of whom were top aides or cabinet members for George W. Bush (so they are well aware that a President can be a top national security risk), Trump lacks the character, values and experience to be President and that he would be the most reckless president in American history. The NY Times reports:The letter says Mr. Trump would weaken the United States moral authority and questions his knowledge of and belief in the Constitution. It says he has demonstrated repeatedly that he has little understanding of the nation s vital national interests, its complex diplomatic challenges, its indispensable alliances and the democratic values on which American policy should be based. And it laments that Mr. Trump has shown no interest in educating himself. None of us will vote for Donald Trump, the letter states, though it notes later that many Americans have doubts about Hillary Clinton, as do many of us. Among the most prominent signatories are Michael V. Hayden, a former director of both the C.I.A. and the National Security Agency; John D. Negroponte, who served as the first director of national intelligence and then deputy secretary of state; and Robert B. Zoellick, another former deputy secretary of state, United States trade representive and, until 2012, president of the World Bank. Two former secretaries of homeland security, Tom Ridge and Michael Chertoff, also signed, as did Eric S. Edelman, who served as Vice President Dick Cheney s national security adviser and as a top aide to Robert M. Gates when he was secretary of defense.Robert Blackwill and James Jeffrey, two key strategists in Mr. Bush s National Security Council, and William H. Taft IV, a former deputy secretary of defense and ambassador to NATO, also signed. He is unable or unwilling to separate truth from falsehood, the letter says. He does not encourage conflicting views. He lacks self-control and acts impetuously. He cannot tolerate personal criticism. He has alarmed our closest allies with his erratic behavior. All of these are dangerous qualities in an individual who aspires to be president and commander in chief, with command of the U.S. nuclear arsenal. Many of the signatories declined to add their names to a similar letter in March, but say Trump s promise that Russia would be rewarded for hacking his political enemies and his vow to be selective with which allies we defend caused many to change their minds.John B. Bellinger III, who served as Ms. Rice s legal adviser at the National Security Council and the State Department and who drafted the letter, says that some of the signers will vote for Clinton, and some will not vote, but all agree Trump is not qualified and would be dangerous. Trump indeed would be dangerous, not just to our allies but to average Americans thanks to his proposed Muslim ban and his unabashed attempts to prop up the Ku Klux Klan by warmly embracing their support among, of course, other things.You can read the full letter below: Donald Trump National Security Letter by German Lopez on ScribdFeatured image via Getty Images/Scott Eisen | 1real |
Brooks Koepka Wins First Major at U.S. Open - Breitbart | ERIN, Wis. — Brooks Koepka proved too big, too strong, and too tough for both the course and his competitors, firing a final round 67 to run away with the 2017 U. S. Open. [Koepka overpowered the lengthy Erin Hills track and separated himself from the field after birdieing holes 14, 15, and 16. After that thunder strike, it was a coronation for a player who is living up to high expectations placed on him since he turned professional. The biggest disappointment was the lack of drama over the closing holes as early in the day it looked like it would be a photo finish among numerous golfers. From the start, Koepka imposed his will on the course birdieing the first two holes to take a lead he would never relinquish. His drove long and straight and his approach shots, when tracked by the Fox shot tracker, seemed to align with the digital pin position. His accuracy and distance was a sight to behold. A All American at Florida State, Koepka took the unusual route of starting his career on the European tour. After a couple of victories in Europe, he won his first title on the PGA tour with a win at the 2015 Waste Management Open. Koepka flew under the radar coming into the championship, with most prognosticators picking the other American big hitter in Dustin Johnson. Koepka put together four solid rounds of 67, 70, 68, and 67 to tie the lowest score ever in the U. S. Open at par. favorite Rickie Fowler again failed to score when he needed it most. Reminiscent of the 2014 PGA and 2017 Masters, Fowler just never got his round going and bogeys on 12 and 15 put him out of contention. When Rickie wins one, there will be a big celebration because so many people are rooting for him. Brian Harman hung in there for 13 holes before being run over by the Koepka freight train. Harmon had relied on precision ball striking and pinpoint putting, but that abandoned him on the back nine and he finished at an even par 72. Koepka was subdued when he sank the winning putt, giving only fist bump. He seemed a little overwhelmed when being carted to the scoring area with girlfriend Jena Sims. In his champion’s interview with Curtis Strange, he opened up and talked about his mindset coming into Sunday and the most important golf round of his life. ““I felt like I was playing really good,” he noted. “Obviously, the wind picked up and I felt like that played right into my hands — good good putter. And I felt confident all week. So, to feel as confident as I did on a Sunday of a major and coming down the stretch was pretty neat. ” Koepka will not be a wonder when it comes to winning big golf tournaments. In fact, this win could kickstart an excellent career. Brooks Koepka hits the ball too far and too straight to become an on the PGA Tour. Look for big things to come from this big man. | 0fake |
WATCH: Obama PERFECTLY Mocks Trump’s Insane Followers That Think He’s A Literal Demon | Conservative radio show host Alex Jones recently proclaimed that President Obama and Hillary Clinton are really demons, sent by Lucifer himself no doubt. No, he did not mean metaphorically. He meant literally. As proof of their evil origins, Jones claimed that they both smell like sulphur and hell. Apparently, somebody mentioned to this to the president. So, while speaking at an event on the campaign trail for Clinton, Obama decided to give himself a sniff test on Tuesday night, just to check for any suspicious demonic odors. we demonize each other. And I mean that literally, by the way. I was reading the other day, there s a guy on the radio who apparently, Trump s on his show frequently, he said me and Hillary are demons. Said we smell like sulphur. Ain t that somethin ? President Obama then performed his sniff test, smelling his hand as the crowd laughed at the absurdity of Jones bullsh*t. Now, the president began before he burst into laughter along with the crowd. I mean, come on, people! This is what the right wing nut jobs have reduced us to. Our president has to sniff himself to make sure he isn t actually a f*cking demon.This happened. Obama responds to Alex Jones saying he and Hillary are literal demons who smell like sulfur. Then he sniffs himself pic.twitter.com/GSxRsklRDf Colin Jones (@colinjones) October 11, 2016Featured image via video screen capture | 1real |
Coptic Victim of Attack on Egypt Christians Renovated Mosque for Free Before His Death | Among those killed last Friday in an attack on Coptic Christians that resulted in 30 deaths was Atef Mounir Zaki, who had recently renovated a local mosque for free. [According to Coptic academic Iz Tawfiq, who spoke with the website Al Arabiya, Zaki was a renovations contractor from the town of Abou Karkass in the Minia district where the attack on a bus of Coptic pilgrims occurred last Friday. Zaki was also used to provide equipment and workers to construction sites. Several months ago, when the Altaqwa Mosque in his city needed renovations due to cracks that endangered the structure, Zaki was asked by the mosque’s managers to do the required work. Zaki agreed and, according to witnesses, did the best job possible. Upon completion of the task, when the managers wanted to pay for the work, Zaki refused to take the money and said, according to Tawfiq, that he “contributed to the renovation of a house belonging to Allah” and his work “was a contribution for Allah. ” According to the report, he wasn’t killed in the bus itself because he traveled to the monastery where the Coptic pilgrims’ bus was headed in his private vehicle. During their escape from the area of the attack, and after a malfunction in their vehicle, a number of terrorists stopped Zaki and shot him and those with him in the car before stealing his vehicle and using it to flee. According to the Al Arabiya report, Zaki’s funeral was very large and attended by many Muslims. Copts, including many children, were killed in the attack. Almost all the deaths occurred after armed men disguised as Egyptian security personnel stopped the bus on its way to the St. Samuel the Confessor Monastery in the Minia district south of Cairo. | 0fake |
Evil Mum Kept Young Son In Closets For 3 Years Before He Died | A brave mother fought off a mountain lion that attacked her 5-year-old son outside their home in northwest Aspen, Colorado. (4 hours ago)
When people asked Veronica Aguilar where her son was, she told them he had been placed in an institution in Mexico, according to court records. Only her three other children — two of whom slept on a bed just outside the closet door — knew the truth, and they said they were forbidden by their mother from saying anything, authorities say.
Yonatan Daniel Aguilar’s tortured life came to an end in August. Police later found the 11-year-old’s battered, malnourished 34-pound body in the bedroom closet of the family’s tiny Echo Park home.
The grim details are laid out in records The Times obtained from Los Angeles County Juvenile Court this week. The records help explain how the people charged with his well-being — school officials, police, social workers and therapists — lost track of him despite earlier allegations of abuse. But they also raise new questions about whether more could have been done to save the boy who, court records suggest, might have been autistic and thus was treated differently.
Los Angeles police detectives investigating the case believed Aguilar’s efforts to hide the boy were so effective that even the boy’s stepfather, Jose Pinzon, didn’t know Yonatan lived with them all along.
The day of Yonatan’s death, Moses Castillo, the supervising LAPD detective on the case, placed Pinzon and Yonatan’s siblings together in a room “to see the reaction,” Department of Children and Family Services records state. As detectives and a county social worker stood by, Pinzon “immediately confronts the children that he had no idea that minor [Yonatan] was living in the house the whole time they were there,” records state. Recommended
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“How can you do this to me?” he asked.
One of the children replied: “You were always at work, so you didn’t know.”
Pinzon then started crying.
“I carry a photo of him in my wallet,” he said, according to the records. “I’m the only one that cared for him.”
On Aug. 22, Aguilar told Pinzon that Yonatan had died and asked him to care for her other children. He assumed she would be going to Mexico to bury the boy. Recommended VIDEO: The Woman Who Has Lived Off The Grid For 30 Years In A $3000 House
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Instead, she led him to the bedroom closet. According to authorities, Yonatan’s body was wrapped in a blanket and covered in pressure sores from lying on the tile floor. There was foam in his nose and medicinal cups of pink and red liquid near his body. He was going bald.
“I took care of the problem by ruining my life,” Aguilar told Pinzon, according to the court records. Police say Pinzon then ran out of the house to a nearby 7-Eleven, where he called authorities.
Aguilar, 39, is facing murder charges and has pleaded not guilty.
R. Lawrence Tripp, Aguilar’s public defender, said Thursday that he had not yet seen a completed coroner’s report and was awaiting more information about Yonatan’s death.
“My client is innocent until proven guilty,” he said. Recommended John Travolta Lookalike Evaded Justice For 34 Years
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The Times petitioned the court to release DCFS case records, as well as police and coroner’s reports regarding Yonatan. Michael Levanas, the presiding judge of L.A. County’s Juvenile Court, ordered the release of more than 160 pages of partially redacted records, saying they “shed light on what was going on in the family’s home” and why the boy was left in his mother’s care.
Yonatan’s family had been the subject of six reports to DCFS alleging possible abuse or neglect, records show. Yonatan’s risk of abuse at home had been marked as “high” four times from 2009 to 2012 by a computerized program intended to gauge social workers’ level of intervention. Social workers, records show, declined to open a case, saying the allegations of physical abuse were inconclusive or unfounded.
DCFS Director Philip Browning said that the department had investigated several reports of abuse and neglect and that everyone interacting with the child and his family, including medical workers, teachers and police, thought “the child was in a safe environment.”
“We talked to the school nurse, the school doctors, school counselors, the teachers, everyone, including the LAPD investigators, who all said everything was OK,” Browning said, “We were very surprised what occurred here. Our social workers were very distraught. … There is no way to predict this occurring.”
Under the law, he said, the department has the authority to investigate abuse and neglect, but the oversight comes to an end once a determination is made that there is no ongoing issue. Recommended Father & Son Spend 41 Years Hiding In Vietnam Jungle Fearing US Airstrikes
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“We don’t have the legal authority to follow up,” Browning said.
Officials with the LAPD’s Juvenile Division said that although allegations of physical abuse regarding Yonatan also were reported to police, no police investigation was launched.
The final contact DCFS had with Yonatan came in spring 2012, when teachers made two separate reports about him, saying that he had come to school with a black eye and that he was hungry and hoarding food.
After that, the boy disappeared. He was pulled out of school and kept hidden as the family moved from home to home, documents show. DCFS officials said they received no further reports about the boy and had no legal right to inquire about him without a report.
The department’s contact with the family began in 2002, before Yonatan’s birth. Aguilar had locked herself in a bathroom and cut her wrist because she was upset with her children’s biological father over his drinking, DCFS records state. Recommended 9/11 WTC Tower Had Power Turned Off For 36 Hours Weekend Before Attack
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In recent months, the four children lived with their mother and stepfather in the cramped one-bedroom house on Santa Ynez Street. Aguilar and Pinzon slept in the living room, and one child slept in a shed in the backyard. Two children shared a bed in the bedroom, while Yonatan — who was reportedly autistic — stayed in the bedroom closet, records state.
Pinzon told detectives that he had not seen the boy in several years and that Aguilar had told him she sent him to Mexico, according to a coroner’s investigator’s report. The day before Yonatan’s death, Pinzon went to a dollar store to buy school supplies for the children, DCFS records state. Aguilar asked him to buy purple-colored jarabe, Spanish for syrup.
“He said that any time he would go to the store, the mother would ask him to bring the syrup,” DCFS records state. “He would ask her why she was buying syrup, if they did not have money.”
Yonatan’s oldest brother, who is 18, told authorities that the family recently moved to the Echo Park home but that they were able to hide Yonatan in the closet at a previous home as well.
In an interview with police the day after Yonatan’s death, the brother initially lied about knowing Yonatan’s whereabouts, saying he worked a lot and wasn’t home much, the records show. Recommended Three Mile Island Nuclear Meltdown Happened 37 Years Ago
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“My mom does not talk about him because he is a troublemaker,” the brother told police. He accused Yonatan of acting out at school and pointed to a social worker observing the interview, saying: “You guys know about it. He has done so many crazy things.”
The older sibling, whose name is redacted in the records, told police Yonatan “was very smart” and “knew what he was doing.” When he was younger, a therapist came to the home almost daily to provide services to Yonatan, the brother said. Yonatan Daniel Aguilar | 1real |
Starbucks ‘Unity’ Cup Draws Criticism - The Onion - America's Finest News Source | Nation Puts 2016 Election Into Perspective By Reminding Itself Some Species Of Sea Turtles Get Eaten By Birds Just Seconds After They Hatch WASHINGTON—Saying they felt anxious and overwhelmed just days before heading to the polls to decide a historically fraught presidential race, Americans throughout the country reportedly took a moment Thursday to put the 2016 election into perspective by reminding themselves that some species of sea turtles are eaten by birds just seconds after they hatch. Cleveland Indians Worried Team Cursed After Building Franchise On Old Native American Stereotype CLEVELAND—Having watched in horror as their team crumbled after a 3-1 World Series lead, members of the Cleveland Indians expressed concern Thursday that the organization has been cursed for building their franchise on an incredibly old Native American stereotype. Report: Election Day Most Americans’ Only Time In 2016 Being In Same Room With Person Supporting Other Candidate WASHINGTON—According to a report released Thursday by the Pew Research Center, Election Day 2016 will, for the majority of Americans, mark the only time this year they will occupy the same room as a person who supports a different presidential candidate. Nurse Reminds Elderly Man She’s Just Down The Hall If He Starts To Die DES PLAINES, IL—Assuring him that she’d be at his side in a jiffy, local nurse Wendy Kaufman reminded an elderly resident at the Briarwood Assisted Living Community that she was just down the hall if he started to die, sources reported Tuesday. | 1real |
Trump Set To Rake In The Dough With MASSIVE Post-Election Tax Break | Concerns about Trump s conflict of interest reached a new level with the announcement that the National Park Service is finalizing plans that will give one of his companies $32 million in tax subsidies for the hotel he put in D.C. s Old Post Office building. While it s true that he spent the morning tweeting about getting out of his business entirely, he will very likely get this break, which puts those millions in his pockets, before he actually divests (if he actually divests).Trump, Ivanka, and his two sons together own Trump Old Post Office, LLC., and the tax break comes from the Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits program, which provides breaks to companies and investors that rehab historic properties.Ordinarily, this would be something we might mutter and mumble over, because really, does Trump need a tax credit of any kind? We might have muttered and mumbled a little louder if this had happened before he was elected, too. But now, with him actually being the president-elect, and the Park Service technically working for him even if not officially, there s a major problem.They just gave their new employer a break on his taxes.Trump s lease on the Old Post Office strictly prohibits any elected official of the Government of the United States, from participating. The General Services Administration would be wise to break their contract if Trump doesn t disappear from that hotel post-haste.A professor of government procurement at the George Washington University School of Law agrees that this is a massive conflict of interest: This is a classic or textbook example of a conflict of interest. The decision-maker here, the National Park Service, works for the party that stands to benefit from a favorable decision. Trump s announcement that he s going to divest himself of his business interests entirely does little to change this, because he s still insisting that his kids will run his empire for him. Generally, placing assets in a blind trust means turning them over to someone who has no direct involvement with you, let alone the relationship of parent and child.Divesting means getting out of them completely.Trump doesn t seem to have any intention of doing either, given that his children are top members of his transition team. He does plan to hold a news conference in two weeks where he ll supposedly give details of his divestiture. That will also give them time to actually figure out how to extricate him from all his businesses.That doesn t stop the fact that he s set to get a massive tax break very soon, possibly before he s fully divested (if that s even his plan). $32 million is not pocket change to the average American taxpayer, and it doesn t look good going into the president s own pocket.Featured image by Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images | 1real |
Death of a Red Carpet Reporter - The New York Times | Jeffrey Slonim didn’t shout. While the other red carpet reporters tried to get the attention of celebrities by yelling their names, he usually waited for them to come to him. And they usually did. Although Mr. Slonim specialized in light journalistic fare, he took it seriously. He wrote out his questions in advance and avoided the clichéd “Who are you wearing?” As a result, the quotations he gleaned had some charm. Kim Kardashian West marched straight to his side. Anne Hathaway greeted him with a kiss on the cheek. Gwyneth Paltrow and Melissa McCarthy breezed past the other reporters to speak into the recorder that seemed permanently attached to his hand. “He was this little island of sanity at every red carpet,” said Andy Cohen, the Bravo talk show host and author. “When I read the news, I just thought, ‘Wow, how sad. ’” From the 1990s until it all came to a blunt and violent end on Oct. 13, Mr. Slonim, who died at age 56, was a steady and affable presence on the circuit, always neatly turned out and professional as he chronicled the endless balls and premieres. So when he jumped from the roof of a Lincoln Center building, it came as a shock to his relatives, friends and not to mention the celebrities who considered him a gentleman among brutes. “It still doesn’t register,” said Mr. Slonim’s brother, the artist Hunt Slonem (who spells the family name differently). “It’s like, How? What happened? It’s just so shocking. ” He paused. “Anyway, he really made up his mind. ” Mr. Slonim’s writing for Allure was his main source of income from the until late 2015, when he lost his special correspondent position at the Condé Nast monthly. The change came as part of a cutback that followed the firing of the magazine’s founding editor, Linda Wells. A few months later, Lena Dunham stopped on the red carpet to tell Mr. Slonim she missed his page. He appreciated that. “What a doll,” he wrote on Facebook. In the last year of his life, he was trying to piece together a living by turning out items for Gotham, Architectural Digest, Hamptons, the New York Post Page Six column and other outlets. “I don’t want to say that’s what he lived for,” his wife, Fiona Moore, a school administrator, said, “but he really loved his work. ” He cut a stylish figure, never failing to dress for the occasions he covered, which meant crisp tuxes for galas and preppy seersucker suits for summertime Hamptons fetes. He wore his eyeglasses low on the bridge of his nose as he worked, and the J. Press scarf completed the look of someone who might have stepped out of a novel he loved, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Tender Is the Night. ” But the man who might have struck casual onlookers as just another partygoer would inevitably leave the night’s affair for his desk, where he stayed until his copy was ready to file. “Hardest working man in the business,” said George Wayne, a veteran journalist. “The thing about Jeff is, unlike some of us — and I’m one of them — he didn’t want to be part of the story. He was always the humble wretch. He waited at the ropes with everybody else, in the herd. He didn’t mind that. He was so unaffected and so good at his job. ” On a typical day, after working the carpet and filing his items, he would get into bed with his wife at 5 a. m. in their railroad apartment on the Upper East Side and sleep until 7:30. “He wasn’t a great sleeper,” Ms. Moore said. After spending time with his two sons, he would take a nap — then it was back to the job. “I just couldn’t believe the pace he kept,” his brother, Mr. Slonem, said. “He’d be up writing until 5, 6 in the morning. He seemed to have deadlines all the time. He’d always say, ‘I’m on deadline — I’ve got to have this done in two hours.’ For years this went on. ” To those who saw him only when he was in his element, Mr. Slonim seemed to lead a charmed life, unruffled in a milieu peopled with celebrities and publicists. He joined the media scrum at Interview magazine in 1984, when Andy Warhol was overseeing it, thanks, in part, to an introduction from his cousin, the writer Tama Janowitz. Mr. Slonim, a Yale graduate, class of 1982, took the job after an unhappy stint at IBM in Florida, where his habit of moonlighting as a cocktail pianist in a hotel bar suggested he was not cut out for corporate life. He spoke French, Italian, Spanish and Swedish. As a young man he banged out short stories on a portable typewriter. Friends fondly recalled him as an expert orchestrator of parties who sometimes entertained guests with his renditions of Scott Joplin rags and Cole Porter standards. What he did for a living gave him a seat for the passing celebrity parade. He dined with Warhol at the Odeon. He stood nearby when Tommy Hilfiger got into a fistfight with Axl Rose in the V. I. P. area of the Chelsea club the Plumm. He saw Tom Cruise roar into a Vanity Fair Oscar party on a black Ducati motorcycle. When Prince held an impromptu, at Lily Pond, a cozy East Hampton nightclub, Mr. Slonim stayed among the dozen or so select guests until 5 a. m. A son of the naval officer and nuclear engineer Capt. Charles E. Slonim, whose career took the family to Hawaii, New Hampshire, Virginia and Washington State, Mr. Slonim early on developed a knack for putting strangers at ease, a skill that came in handy on the red carpet. He met Fiona Moore, the woman who would become his wife, on the Greek island of Ios in the early 1990s. She was on vacation with friends, one of whom had just given her “The Andy Warhol Diaries” as a birthday present. He let her know his name appeared as part of the entry for Thursday, Feb. 12, 1987: “And Jeff Slonim from Interview, he’s Tama’s cousin, and he has perfect teeth, a beautiful toothpaste smile. ” In 1993, Ms. Moore moved into his Lexington Avenue apartment, which is still home for her and their two teenage sons. Their 1995 wedding took place in Cork, Ireland, not far from where Ms. Moore grew up. They found a priest who spoke Hebrew to officiate, as if to provide some middle ground for Mr. Slonim, who was Jewish, and the Roman Catholic Moore family. In his toast, the bride’s father mentioned the Warhol line about Mr. Slonim’s smile, adding that you could judge a horse by the quality of its teeth. Early in the marriage, there was a complication: Mr. Slonim had blood clots and difficulty walking. The diagnosis was polycythemia vera, a rare and blood cancer that may be present for years before symptoms show up. To treat it, he was prescribed the drug Interferon, which he took at regular intervals from the time of his diagnosis until June of this year, according to three relatives. Ms. Moore saw how the changes in New York’s night life and media business affected her husband’s routine and fortunes. Things turned hectic in the giddy late 1990s, with Mr. Slonim working five nights a week soon after the birth of their first son and the onset of his health problem. But the end of the last decade produced a queasiness for Mr. Slonim and others who relied on magazines for their incomes. Blowback from the economic collapse, which coincided with the rise of digital media, made itself felt at Condé Nast Publications, the owner of Allure, in 2009. That is when a McKinsey Company report led to a budget cut of 25 percent at several Condé Nast magazines. The company rid itself of Cookie, Details, Domino, Men’s Vogue and Portfolio. Toward the end of 2015, amid layoffs at GQ, Glamour, Self and Teen Vogue, Mr. Slonim and 14 other Allure contributors lost their yearly contracts. The cutback occurred at roughly the same time as the firing of Ms. Wells. “People were terrified and upset,” Ms. Moore said. “I think Linda being fired was devastating for him. ” The job of celebrity and society reporter, even one at the top of this rarefied field, seemed no longer enough for a family breadwinner. As Mr. Slonim grappled with this, his health issue came to the fore. In June, he stopped taking Interferon. He told his brother that his doctor had taken him off the drug because it was no longer effective for him. Ms. Moore said he started taking a new drug, in the same family as Interferon, but it left him in a low mood. Ray Rogers, an editor who worked with Mr. Slonim at Interview, BlackBook and other publications, was concerned when he saw his friend at an East Hampton benefit over the Labor Day weekend. “I said to him: ‘Jeff, what’s wrong? Are you O. K.?’” Mr. Rogers said. “He looked despondent. He was not himself. And he was like, ‘I’m fine, I’m fine.’ And I said, ‘Jeff, what’s wrong?’ I must have asked him that in three different ways. ” Mr. Slonim’s work often took him to Lincoln Center, where the red carpet is rolled out dozens of nights every year. On Sept. 20, on assignment for Gotham magazine’s website, he interviewed Sarah Jessica Parker and her husband, Matthew Broderick, at a Lincoln Center benefit for the New York City Ballet. On Oct. 7, also on assignment for Gotham, he covered the premiere of Pedro Almodóvar’s “Julieta,” part of the 54th New York Film Festival. Earlier that day, he called his sister, a psychiatric social worker and professor, Anne Slonim Rafal, and said he was having dark thoughts. After she laid out counseling options for him, he said, as she recalled it, “You know, I’m just being dramatic. ” At home, he told his wife about the call to his sister, and the two of them discussed the possibility of his going on an antidepressant. But Mr. Slonim was against the idea, partly because he did not like the way people looked when they were medicated. “And then I said, ‘Well, if you’re on medication, you’re actually going to feel so much better, so you’re not going to care,” Ms. Moore said. But her argument did not sway him. “And that, I think, was probably the problem,” she added. “Maybe he should have started taking something. ” They spent the weekend in East Hampton, and things seemed to be looking up. “It was a lovely time,” Ms. Moore said. “Hurricane Matthew was coming in, and we went to the beach and all of that. He kept saying, ‘I feel so much better,’ so of course I believed him. ” After the Hamptons idyll, Mr. Slonim went to Cornell Medical Center to see his hematologist. He apparently spoke of his recent thoughts, and the hospital placed him under observation. His wife said he called from the hospital, saying he wanted to leave. Mr. Slonim also called his sister, Dr. Slonim Rafal, who advised him to be honest with staff members and to follow their recommendations. “They never admitted him,” she said. “They just observed him for, I would say, 36 hours, maybe 48. ” “He wanted out of there, big time,” Ms. Moore said. “He compared it to like the seven rings of hell, basically. ” (A public affairs officer at the hospital said that “regarding Jeffrey Slonim,” she had “no information available. ”) Mr. Slonim was released and made his way home on the evening of Oct. 11, his wife said, and he seemed in good spirits. The next morning, they went for a run together, and he said, as she recalled it: “I can see color for the first time. This is amazing. ” He was also making plans — lunches for the following week and a meeting at the Condé Nast human resources department. “He felt he needed to reinvent himself, that print was dying,” Ms. Moore said. “So he was working on his résumé. ” On the morning of Oct. 13, he went to Lincoln Center. The Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Lawn was closed, but he slipped past a chain gate and made his way to its northern edge, above the West 65th Street sidewalk. The lawn, which serves as the roof for the Lincoln Ristorante, has become an architectural showpiece and neighborhood attraction since it opened to the public in 2010. At the time of the unveiling, the New York Times architectural critic Nicolai Ouroussoff singled out the lawn for praise in his review of the Lincoln Center renovations: “The project’s most dazzling space, the lawn warps up on two sides, so that climbing it can make you feel as if you were about to float off into the air on a carpet of green. ” At its high point, the expanse of grass is 23 feet above the sidewalk. At 10:52 a. m. someone called 911. Documents from the New York Police Department note “a male who’s observed pacing on a roof and sitting on a ledge. ” A crowd formed outside the entrances to the restaurant and the nearby Elinor Bunin Film Center. Two Lincoln Center security guards were talking to Mr. Slonim, and it seemed to be working. At one point, he turned around and moved away from the ledge — only to come back. People screamed “No!” when he made his move and hit the sidewalk below. “At 11:05 a. m. the unit was on scene,” a spokeswoman for the Fire Department of New York said in an email. “The unit departed the scene at 11:13 a. m. with one patient to Hospital. ” Despite the doctors’ efforts, Mr. Slonim died later that day, his wife said. “Here’s a guy who spent his whole career covering high society — and to take his life, he walked over to Lincoln Center and jumped,” his friend Mr. Rogers said. “It seemed intentional to me. It seemed pointed. ” Back in the apartment, Ms. Moore found a note on the computer. “He’s rambling and stuff,” she said, “but he thanks a couple of people, and he thanks Linda Wells. It’s really sweet. ” With tears streaming down her face during an interview in her apartment, she went on: “I understand the whole concept of — not that he committed suicide, but suicide took him. I know that he didn’t have a choice. Because it wasn’t him that did this. I know he would never dream of doing that and leaving us. And I know that. ” Julianne Moore was another movie star who made a beeline toward Mr. Slonim at red carpet events. Their relationship went back to the when they were each other’s dates for a homecoming dance at J. E. B. Stuart High School in Falls Church, Va. On the rainy, dark afternoon of Dec. 18, Ms. Moore was among the roughly 350 mourners crowded into the Fourth Universalist Society church on Central Park West. Nearby sat Mr. Slonim’s wife and their sons. Speakers included his two sisters, who recalled the Superman costume he wore as a boy his Dominic Moore, who described his generosity with the swag bags he picked up at parties the film producer Bruce Cohen, who reminisced about his days with Mr. Slonim in middle school, at Yale and on the red carpet and the former Allure editor Ms. Wells, who spoke last. “Jeffrey hit the red carpet and he loved it,” she said. “Which sounds hard to believe, now that the red carpet is so often a shouting match and a total fame orgy. But he did, and he respected it, too. ” After describing his amusing encounters with Roseanne Barr, George Clooney and Donald J. Trump, she continued: “You could tell he had a genuine connection with the subjects, many of whom made a ritual out of greeting him with a kiss. He gave as much time and attention to the Oscar winner as he did to the guy who was voted off ‘Survivor: Borneo. ’” A montage of still photographs projected onto a small movie screen gave glimpses of Mr. Slonim from babyhood to adulthood. After the clergyman said a few final words, the mourners stayed in place for a long moment, silent and not quite ready to leave. | 0fake |
’Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands’ - Launch Trailer - Breitbart | Take on the Santa Blanca Cartel as elite special forces operators in the Wildlands of Bolivia in Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands. [Developed by Ubisoft Paris, Wildlands brings the tactical action of the Ghost Recon series into a massive open world, where players can either team up cooperatively or play solo as they fight to dismantle the created by a brutal cartel. “Journey through Ubisoft’s largest open world and discover the diverse landscapes of the most beautiful (and dangerous) place on Earth, from the arid mountains to the lush jungles,” Ubisoft declares. “Explore Bolivia on and off road, in the air, on land, and at sea with over 60 different vehicles. ” Wildlands features a Faction Influence System, where the player’s actions will impact the game world around them: “Turn each dangerous situation into an advantage by seizing control of the cartel’s traffic patterns, patrols, and movements. ” Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands is available now for Xbox One, Playstation 4, and PC. | 0fake |
Trump has resigned from Trump Organization: White House | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump has resigned from the Trump Organization and his sons Don Jr. and Eric are in charge of the business, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said on Monday. “He has resigned from the company as he said he would before he took office. Don and Eric are fully in charge of the company,” Spicer told reporters at a news briefing. | 0fake |
Ahead of Trump trip, China urges U.S. not to allow Taiwan president in | BEIJING/TAIPEI (Reuters) - China urged the United States on Friday not to allow Taiwan s president to travel through U.S. territory en route to the island s diplomatic allies in the Pacific, a sensitive visit shortly ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump s trip to Beijing. China considers democratic Taiwan to be a wayward province ineligible for state-to-state relations and has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control. China regularly calls Taiwan the most sensitive and important issue between it and the United States, and Beijing always complains to Washington about transit stops by Taiwanese presidents. President Tsai Ing-wen leaves on Saturday on a weeklong trip to three Pacific island allies - Tuvalu, the Solomon Islands and the Marshall Islands - via Honolulu and Guam. In a statement on Friday, a Taiwanese government spokesman said Tsai s trip was aimed at strengthening ties with friendly nations and also to provide support for the island s frontline diplomats. It said Taiwan was grateful to the United States for helping to arrange the stopovers in accordance with comfort, safety, convenience and dignity principles. Grace Choi, the State Department spokeswoman for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said Tsai would transit Hawaii Oct. 27-29 and Guam Nov. 3-4. Choi said Tsai s transits would be private and unofficial and were based on long-standing U.S. practice consistent with our unofficial relations with Taiwan. She noted the transits were out of consideration for the safety and convenience of the traveler and there was no change to the U.S. one-China policy. Ambassador James Moriarty, chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan, the organization that carries out unofficial U.S. relations with Taiwan, will greet Tsai in Hawaii and Guam, Choi said. Trump is due to visit China in less than two weeks. He angered Beijing last December by taking a telephone call from Tsai shortly after he won the presidential election. China has made stern representations to the United States over the matter, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang, urging the United States to strictly abide by the one China policy. China hopes the United States does not allow Tsai to transit, not send any wrong signals to Taiwan independence forces and take real actions to protect the overall picture of China-U.S. relations and peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait , Geng told a news briefing. The trip to the United States will be Tsai s second this year. In January she stopped over in Houston and San Francisco on her way to and from Latin America, visiting the headquarters of micro-messaging service Twitter Inc (TWTR.N), which is blocked in China, while in California. In Houston, she met Republican U.S. Senator Ted Cruz and Texas Governor Greg Abbott. She also spoke by telephone with U.S. Senator John McCain, head of the powerful Senate Committee on Armed Services. China suspects Tsai wants to push for the formal independence of Taiwan, a red line for Beijing. Tsai says she wants to maintain peace with China but will defend Taiwan s democracy and security. China has pressured Taiwan since Tsai took office last year, suspending a regular dialogue mechanism and slowly peeling away its few remaining diplomatic allies. Just 20 countries now maintain formal ties with Taiwan, instead of China, mostly small states in Central America, the Caribbean and the Pacific. The United States has no formal ties with Taiwan but is bound by law to help it defend itself and is the island s main source of arms. Tsai s call with Trump was the first between U.S. and Taiwan leaders since President Jimmy Carter switched diplomatic recognition to China from Taiwan in 1979. | 0fake |
U.S. lawmakers to press AOL for Powell's State Department emails | NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers said Thursday they will seek to recover the missing emails of Colin Powell from his time as U.S. secretary of state by going directly to AOL Inc, whose email service he used for his work. The decision came a few minutes after U.S. State Department officials testified in a hearing that the department never contacted AOL to recover the missing records, despite repeated requests by the National Archives and Records Administration over the last year. The hearing, by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, was the latest in the fallout from Hillary Clinton’s decision to use an unauthorized private email system for official email while secretary of state. Clinton, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, has said her decision was wrong, but it has continued to dog her effort to defeat Republican rival Donald Trump in the Nov. 8 election. Her defenders have pointed to some similarities in Powell’s earlier use of private email, which drew fresh scrutiny at Thursday’s hearing. “I don’t get this, it’s ridiculous,” said Democrat Stephen Lynch, a committee member. “This is the National Archives asking you to contact AOL, but you didn’t do that.” Patrick Kennedy, the State Department’s most senior management official, said that Powell, a Republican, never replied to the department’s request to ask AOL to attempt to recover his work emails, which were not properly archived at the agency. He said the department’s lawyers decided to decline the National Archives’ requests that the department go to AOL directly. “We cannot make a request for someone else’s records from their provider,” Kennedy said in his testimony. “That request has to be made by them.” Jason Chaffetz, the Republican who chairs the committee, then agreed to a request by the committee’s most senior Democrat, Elijah Cummings, to try to recover the emails from AOL, using a subpoena if necessary. AOL is owned by telecommunications provider Verizon Communications Inc. A spokeswoman for Powell did not respond to a request for comment. AOL did not immediately respond to questions, and has previously said the its privacy policy precludes it from discussing a customer’s emails. The State Department did not have a fully functioning email system when Powell joined it in 2001, according to agency officials. Powell has said he told technology officials to set up a computer with his AOL account in order to become the first secretary of state to use email. In contrast, Clinton eschewed the official state.gov email system when she took office in 2009. Department officials have said she would not have received permission for this had she asked. | 0fake |
Asked Why He’s Defending Abortion Group Pro-Bono, Lawyer Drops Truthbomb Pro-Lifers Will HATE | After the release of a series of fraudulent hidden camera videos purporting to show Planned Parenthood engaged in illegal body part trafficking, Republican lawmakers pounced. In red state after red state, Republican governors demanded investigations into the allegations. (In fact, they had been waiting for this moment for some time. The pro-life activist group responsible for the videos had been coordinating with conservative politicians for months and the bedfellows Republicans and activists worked together to create anti-Planned Parenthood legislation timed with the release of the tapes.)Ultimately, not a single investigation found evidence of wrongdoing. Planned Parenthood clinics around the country were exonerated one by one. In a twist, the anti-abortion group that made the tapes, Center for Medical Progress, did get indicted for criminal charges stemming from using fake identification.But while it s certainly a victory for justice that Planned Parenthood came out squeaky clean and the anti-abortion group s leaders are facing prison time, it wasn t a total victory. Planned Parenthood devotes almost all of its budget to helping men and women have affordable access to healthcare. They don t have the money to waste on endless witch hunts. Given the lack of evidence of wrongdoing, it s pretty clear that Republicans were hoping to bankrupt them on trumped up charges, rather than actually catch them in a criminal act.Thankfully, the unsung heroes in this story are the lawyers who agreed to represent Planned Parenthood and other abortion groups. They didn t do it because they were going to get rich, in fact, they ll get nothing; they did it because it was the right thing to do.Highlighting that point is Derek Foran, a partner at a corporate law firm named Morrison & Foerster. In an interview with the New York Times, Foran walks us through his thought process when he was asked to represent the National Abortion Federation pro-bono.The organization, the National Abortion Federation, had trouble finding a law firm to represent it pro bono. Morrison & Foerster, which previously handled abortion-rights cases, received the request and emailed lawyers at the firm about the inquiry. Mr. Foran raised his hand and, soon after, secured a court order stopping the group from releasing information from the organization s meetings.Why would he stick his neck out for a group that had no way of paying him? His answer is both uplifting and brutally honest. I don t like bullies, Mr. Foran, who was born and raised in Ireland, said in an interview this week. And these guys were not only trying to bully women, they were trying to bully poor women. Foran isn t exaggerating. Planned Parenthood predominately helps the poorest women in the country. Aside from providing women access to their constitutional right to have an abortion, the clinics also do life-saving medical check-ups and tests. Shutting them down is a clear message from Republican lawmakers to American women: We do not care about you. It s bullying.Foran, representing NAF, decided to hit the bullies back to protect the vital work that Planned Parenthood was doing. They filed a lawsuit against Center for Medical Progress in San Francisco. Thankfully, his job was made a bit easier because Fox News in its rush to praise the anti-abortion activists was giving the fraudsters a ton of airtime all of which was being used to build a case against them. I turned on Fox News and they were open right away about what they did, Foran told reporters.Unlike the lawsuits and investigations directed at Planned Parenthood, Foran s goals were never malicious. He didn t intend to destroy any side of the issue based on a fanatical belief in his own ideological superiority. He was simply standing up for what was right. Our lawsuit is not about pro-choice versus pro-life, he said. What you can t do is defraud people, lie and go about manufacturing tales. These guys are accountable under the law just like everybody else. And that s the missing piece in many of the stories covering the Planned Parenthood videos. They are lies, carefully fabricated to achieve an agenda. No matter where you stand on the issue of abortion, this type of smear campaign is just wrong.Pro-life activists are, of course, despondent over their recent change in fortune. After scoring a victory with the release of those tapes, Planned Parenthood continues to thrive, and the videos and the group which produced them have been thoroughly discredited. The lawmakers who once thought they could defund and bankrupt women s clinics are losing every battle. Things have gone just about as badly as they possibly could have on nearly every front.Feature image from Flickr | 1real |
Boiler Room EP #110 – A Deeper Game: Masters of Chaos Strike Again | Tune in to the Alternate Current Radio Network (ACR) for another LIVE broadcast of The Boiler Room tonight 6:00 PM PST | 8:00 PM CST | 9:00 PM EST for this special broadcast. Join us for uncensored, uninterruptible talk radio, custom-made for bar fly philosophers, misguided moralists, masochists, street corner evangelists, media-maniacs, savants, political animals and otherwise lovable rascals.Join ACR hosts Hesher and Spore along with Jay Dyer from Jays Analysis, FunkSoul (21WIRE & ACR contributor), and Basil Valentine (21WIRE & ACR contributor) for the hundred and tenth episode of BOILER ROOM. Turn it up, tune in and hang with the ACR Brain-Trust for this weeks boil downs and analysis and the usual gnashing of the teeth of the political animals in the social reject club. This week on the show we re talking about the terror event in Manchester, what do you think? Blowback? False Flag? Gladio 2.0? Hoax? A deeper esoteric combination of the options presented? Join us for a discussion on the unfolding of these events, one thing is for sure, regardless of where you stand in your own analysis of these and similar events, the result is higher tensions, social chaos and more police/surveillance state manifestations as civil liberties erode.Direct Download Episode #110Please like and share the program and visit our donate page to get involved! Reference Links: | 1real |
‘Time in the Box’: Young Rikers Inmates, Still in Isolation - The New York Times | At the time, it was a momentous announcement: New York City officials said they would eliminate solitary confinement at Rikers Island for all inmates under age 22. The declaration, made in January 2015, put the city’s Correction Department in the vanguard of national jail reform efforts. But a year and a half later, the administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio is still struggling to pull it off. The city missed another deadline last week, and it is now requesting a second extension. City officials had originally promised to end the use of the punishment for young adults by January 2016. Most of the 78 young adults who were in isolation at the beginning of the year have been moved out. But while the city has now eliminated segregation for the to there are some older, more difficult inmates remaining who cause such serious disciplinary problems, according to the correction commissioner, Joseph Ponte, that at least for now segregation is still needed. As solitary confinement has been emptied, the violence in the jail for young adults has significantly increased, Mr. Ponte wrote in a letter to the city jail watchdog agency last week. The correction officers’ union has long argued that ending the use of segregation would endanger guards and lead to greater violence. Eliminating solitary confinement is an expensive, proposition. To replace it, the city has created enhanced supervision units, with two officers and one counselor for every 12 inmates. Not long ago, a typical cellblock was overseen by one guard for every 50 inmates. A few weeks ago, The New York Times interviewed several of the nine remaining inmates under age 22 still in isolation at the part of the jail complex known as 3 South Segregation Unit. A correction officer and a member of the commissioner’s press office were present for the interviews the inmates were shackled to a wall. “My first week I was in the box. I broke a guy’s jaw. He was big, too, so, you know, that boosted my ego. ” Since arriving at Rikers in March 2015, Mr. Delgado says he has spent about 40 days in solitary. At times, he said, life in the box could be a relief from the violence of the regular population. “I was fighting the whole week,” he said. “So, I’m like, damn, finally a break. I used to wake up, and breakfast is like 4, 5 in the morning. So you got to fight for your cereal, so I’m like I didn’t even brush my teeth. My heart is pumping, and I got to get ready. I don’t know what’s about to happen but it’s about to go down. I was exhausted. ” That feeling of safety lasted for only a few hours, he said. Other inmates yelled constantly, and he missed privileges like commissary and three daily phone calls. Mr. Delgado has been in and out of Rikers since he was 16, mostly short stints for drugs and other minor crimes. This time he is potentially facing a sentence for the murder of a man in Queens. “I think about it — damn this could be the rest of my life,” he said. “That’s why I got to have a radio or something to keep my mind off that, talk to someone. ” He looks forward to his girlfriend’s visits. “She keeps me at peace. She reminds me of what I got in the town. ” Because he is constantly in trouble, he and his girlfriend are separated by a glass partition during visits. He has not kissed her since September. “I forgot how her lips taste. ” Mr. Busgith has done several stretches in isolation during his six stays at Rikers, the longest for six months in 2014, when he was 18. He said he had no choice but to fight so he would not be seen as weak. “I don’t want to do time in the box, but eventually, due to the circumstances, I had to. ” The entire time he was being interviewed, an inmate nearby in Cell 11 screamed profanities. Mr. Busgith said he did not hear it anymore. “He do that all the time,” he said. “He’s just killing time. ” Mr. Busgith tries to speed up time. “You take your medication so you just sleep all day,” he said. “You talk with your peers, your colleagues. I’ve been locked up a long time. Lot of colleagues. You’ve got to be crazy to be in a cell 23 hours a day. Some people get locked up for shelter and food. I’m not one of those type people. I got a life outside. ” He has an older brother, Michael, serving time upstate at Southport Correctional Facility, in Pine City, N. Y. a prison where all of the inmates are held in solitary. “He in the box right now, too,” Mr. Busgith said. “He’s got to do a year and a half. ” Though Mr. Busgith has never been upstate, he says his brother has told him it is better doing time there than at Rikers. Mr. Busgith said that at upstate prisons, “you get longer visits” and more recreation time. “You get to do better, you get commissaries better. Everything’s better upstate. It’s open, you in the open. Fresh air. You don’t breathe none of this Rikers Island stuff. ” “If we had the same privileges as general population, I wouldn’t mind staying here,” Mr. Waddy said. “It’s quiet, you get to stay to yourself. You’re safe. Got your own space, your own bed, your own toilet. You get to have your ‘me’ time. Get in population, you’ve got to worry about different personalities and everything else that comes with jail. ” Mr. Waddy had been in solitary confinement for about 30 days. This is his first stint at Rikers. He has been there for two and a half years awaiting trial and spends a lot of his days reading books, “like gangster stuff,” and working out: “Fifty then 50 situps, 50 dips, 50 jumping jacks. Relieves stress. ” When he looks through the small window of his cell, he says, he can just barely see a television that hangs on a support column in the center of the cellblock, though there is no sound. He said he did not care about the closing of the solitary unit. “I’m just trying to go home,” he said. “I don’t pay attention to what’s going on. ” Though Mr. Martinez has been in this country only three years, he is on his fourth stint at Rikers. He fled to the United States from Honduras, he said, after a group of men murdered his father. “I saw when they killed him,” Mr. Martinez said. “I was there. ” To break the solitude, inmates lean against the steel cell doors — “getting up on the gate,” they call it — and shout back and forth to one another. They yell through the vents. During their one hour outside, spent alone in a bare recreation pen, they talk through the chain link fencing. Mr. Martinez speaks only Spanish, isolating him more than most. In solitary, inmates are at the mercy of guards for their most basic needs — meals, a shower, a sick call. They scream and bang their cell doors to get a guard’s attention. “I can’t talk to people someone has to translate,” Mr. Martinez said in Spanish. “It’s stressful. Sometimes the guards shout at you. It’s hard to use the phone, get things. ” He thinks it is good that the city is ending solitary confinement for inmates his age. “It gives people a second chance,” he said. “Someone gets brought here, they might not understand it. ” To pass time, he reads if he has a book or magazine National Geographic is a favorite. And he thinks about his case. “I’m facing an offer of three and a half years,” he said, “and I have to choose it or not. ” | 0fake |
MUSLIM CLOCK BOY’S LIE EXPOSED [Video] Expert Proves Boy Who Received Invitation To White House And Thousands In Donations Story Was A Hoax | Everything about this muslim boy s story is a lie. From the first lie that he made the clock to the lie about him being unfairly targeted by the school. But in the Muslim faith, it s okay to lie (taqiya)as long as you re promoting your faith. In Shi a Islam, taqiya ( taqiyyah/taq yah) is a form of religious veil, or a legal dispensation whereby a believing individual can deny his faith or commit otherwise illegal or blasphemous acts, especially while they are in fear or at risk of significant persecution.Our President Barack Obama brazenly supported and promoted the persecution of this poor Muslim boy:Cool clock, Ahmed. Want to bring it to the White House? We should inspire more kids like you to like science. It's what makes America great. President Obama (@POTUS44) September 16, 2015 Cool clock, Ahmed. Want to bring it to the White House? We should inspire more kids like you to like science. It s what makes America great. President Barack Obama, September 16, 2015It was a Hoax.Ahmed Mohamed s claims that he assembled a clock at home that he took to school is starting to unravel.Two investigators who have studied the image of Mohamed s device provided by Irving, Texas police have concluded that Mohamed did not make the clock. Both conclude that Mohamed disassembled a manufactured clock and installed it in a large pencil box without its casing. And both say it is possible it was done to provoke suspicion or to resemble a bomb.Update: Clock has been identified as being sold in a 1986 Radio Shack catalogue by an Art Voice reader. The headline and text for this article has been changed to reflect the update.14-year-old Mohamed, a Muslim, was briefly arrested and investigated for bringing a hoax bomb to MacArthur High School in Irving, Texas on Monday. He was subsequently cleared.Thousands of dollars have been donated to Ahmed Mohamed in just the past few days, reported CNN. On Monday, 14-year-old Mohamed was arrested for taking a homemade clock to school that his teachers thought was a bomb. So crowdfunding platform LaunchGood started a campaign to raise $100,000 for the Muslim teen. In just one day, the site had raised over $10,000 from more than 200 backers. It s hoping to raise $100,000 by October 13. The support for it has been amazing, said Chris Abdur-Rahman Blauvelt, CEO of LaunchGood, which supports projects started by Muslims or ones that are tied to the history and study of Islam. Blauvelt said his campaign has the approval of Mohamed s family. He said half of the money donated will go toward a scholarship fund for Mohamed and the rest to efforts that foster creativity and inventiveness in kids. In addition to LaunchGood, crowdfunding platform Gofundme has also launched a campaign for Mohamed. It s raised more than $4,000 with a goal of $60,000 that will go toward Mohamed s future college tuition. Thomas Talbot posted a video to YouTube explaining the various parts in the photo of Mohamed s briefcase clock belong to a manufactured alarm clock. Anthony , writing at the blog Art Voice, detailed how Mohamed s device is actually a 1980s digital alarm clock sold by Radio Shack.Via: Gateway Pundit | 1real |
Re: America Is The Loneliest Country In The World – Is It Because We’ve Abandoned The Traditional Family Structure? | America Is The Loneliest Country In The World – Is It Because We’ve Abandoned The Traditional Family Structure? 13th, 2013
Of all the nations on the entire planet, the United States is the most lonely place to be. We have the highest percentage of one person households on the entire globe, and the average size of our households has been steadily decreasing. Studies have shown that the number of close friends that Americans have is falling, and we have the highest divorce rate in the world by a wide margin. So why is this happening? Does this have anything to do with the fact that America is abandoning the traditional family structure? Back in the 1960s, the “sexual revolution” fundamentally changed the way that millions of Americans viewed sex and love. By throwing out all of the old boundaries, many Americans believed that they would ultimately be able to have more sex and more love. Today, this manifests itself in a “hookup culture” that is constantly being promoted as “healthy” in our popular music, in our television shows and in our movies. But instead of this “hookup culture” resulting in more sex and more love, most Americans are discovering that it leads to just the opposite. We have become a nation of desperately lonely people that have very few real ties to others.
Never in the history of our nation have Americans been so isolated from one another. Most people get up in the morning, drive to work or school, perhaps do a little shopping afterwards, and then drive home again. The rest of the evening is typically spent in front of the television or on some sort of electronic device.
In addition, most Americans spend precious little time attending social gatherings of any sort these days. Church attendance is at historic lows , and most people don’t take the time or the effort to get involved in other types of social groups.
And even when Americans do go out and try to meet people, the relationships that are formed are very much “on the surface” at best. The truth is that most Americans have very few “close friends”. Just take a moment and consider how many people outside your immediate family actually “love you” and would be there for you no matter what. For most Americans that number is depressingly low.
In a desperate attempt for human love and interaction, an increasing number of Americans have turned to social networking websites such as Facebook to fill that void. For the desperately lonely, some human contact is better than none. In fact, a growing number of people are so desperate for people to talk with them that they will pretend to be someone else online. Many will even use an attractive picture of someone else in an attempt to try to lure others. This has become so common that this phenomenon has even been given a name. It is known as “ catfishing “, and it has grown to epidemic levels.
Other Americans deal with their loneliness by recklessly indulging in food, drugs, gambling, shopping or other addictions. We are a fundamentally unhappy nation, and this is reflected in the fact that we lead the world in antidepressant use. In fact, the total number of Americans taking antidepressants doubled between 1996 and 2005.
Could a lot of this have been avoided if we would have just fully embraced the traditional family structure as a nation?
Wouldn’t most of us be doing a lot better if we lived in homes that were filled with happy, healthy families?
Just consider what the consequences of “free love” and the “hookup culture” have been for America…
*At 26 percent, America has the highest percentage of one person households on the entire planet.
*100 years ago, 4.52 were living in the average U.S. household, but now the average U.S. household only consists of 2.59 people .
*Back in 1950, 78 percent of all households in the United States contained a married couple. Today, that number has declined to 48 percent .
*The marriage rate in the United States has fallen to an all-time low. Right now it is sitting at a yearly rate of 6.8 marriages per 1000 people .
*Today, an all-time low 44.2 percent of Americans in the 25 to 34 year old age bracket are married.
*According to the Pew Research Center, only 51 percent of all Americans that are at least 18 years old are currently married. Back in 1960, 72 percent of all U.S. adults were married.
*In the United States today, more than half of all couples “move in together” before they get married.
*The divorce rate for couples that live together first is significantly higher than for those that do not.
*America has the highest divorce rate on the globe by a wide margin.
*In 1970, the average woman had her first child when she was 21.4 years old . Now the average woman has her first child when she is 25.6 years old .
*The birth rate for American women in the 20 to 24 year old age bracket has fallen to 85.3 births per 1,000 women . That is a new all-time record low.
*Approximately one out of every three children in the United States lives in a home without a father.
*For women under the age of 30 living in the United States today, more than half of all babies are being born out of wedlock.
For most Americans, marriage has come to be viewed as a temporary agreement that can be abandoned the moment that it no longer makes them happy any longer. This “me-centered” approach to love and marriage has had a whole host of negative consequences for us as a nation.
As the National Marriage Project puts it, a marriage in America now “depends for its survival on the happiness of both spouses”…
Over the last four decades, many Americans have moved away from identifying with an “institutional” model of marriage, which seeks to integrate sex, parenthood, economic cooperation, and emotional intimacy in a permanent union. This model has been overwritten by the “soul mate” model, which sees marriage as primarily a couple-centered vehicle for personal growth, emotional intimacy, and shared consumption that depends for its survival on the happiness of both spouses. Thus where marriage used to serve as the gateway to responsible adulthood, it has come to be increasingly seen as a capstone of sorts that signals couples have arrived, both financially and emotionally—or are on the cusp of arriving.
And our young people are no longer taught to value marriage. Instead, they are told to put off marriage and to go out and “have some fun”. This message is constantly being reinforced by popular culture. For example, posted below is an actual pro-Obamacare ad . Yes, I know that this ad is almost too bizarre to be true, but it is actually a real ad. And as you can see, the messages that it is sending to our young people are not very subtle at all…
We have become a nation where “anything goes”, and most Americans seem to like it that way.
So what do you think?
Is America the loneliest country in the world because we’ve abandoned the traditional family structure?
Please feel free to share your opinion by posting a comment below… What Are The Off-White Boxes That Are Going Up On Utility Poles All Over Seattle? » K
The lack of family structure is part of it. But there is something far more basic, that has died in this Country. The dog eat dog business attitude, the money is the most important thing attitude,and the I come before everyone else attitude, All these things killed this precious concept. What is it? Trust. You can not have a good marriage, or friendship without it. Ask yourself, how many people you know, would you trust with your life? For most it is a rather small number. Sadly for some the number is 0. ISA
o here. I dont trust, nor really care for, most any of you. I learned this in childhood, by watching the true nature of adults. Adult Humans are the virus of the World, of rotting flesh, that is a parasite. This can be proven empirically. Aston Martin
Adult humans except “# Godschosenones?” because saying that all humans are viruses inclusing the shoes is # antisemitic? I see where you are going.. rbolo29 .
It’s because of the apathy of realizing there is no God; so the children play and do what they want. Kim
Probably why so many people attach themselves to their animals. I know people that treat their dog like their child. It’s because it’s all they have. ISA
Some dont treat their animals that way out of loneliness, but a dog just makes a better friend than Humans. Thats the truth. Take it or leave it. Humans are rather crappy things. Kim
Some humans, not all of them. Don’t get me wrong, I love my pet as much as anybody. But some people go overboard. A Dodgy Bloke
I think a number of components go into this. A big one is the sexual revolution I have seen personally how it’s a great thing for guys but a disaster for women. The tragic part is most women don’t see it, the want the same sexual freedom as men, but ignore the damage done. The damage is kids with no father, and a woman who has several children by different guys. The woman wakes up forty alone, has no control over her life dependent on welfare but has ultimate responsibility for what happens under her roof. Everybody wants to be loved in one form or another. I think the culture produces high expectations in what people want or expect in a spouse. Men want somebody young good looking with no issues. Woman are looking foe the same, but some have a attraction to bad boys who they find exciting. People don’t get to and know each other before they wind up in bed. They get caught up in the newness get married and wake up one morning look at their spouse and wonder ‘What did I see in you.” But I have hope that the coming hard times will reverse this because people will have to adapt, or not survive. rbolo29 .
It really doesn’t matter; because we all die in the end and if there is no God to save us; then it’s a total lost cause to even try to be moral and good. Some Dude
fix yourself and become the change you seek in others for those others are all the reflections of the changes you made from within, granting them the permission to let their own light shine.
only then will humanity rise above the din of the dark ages that still reigns with a rationale leading it only to extinction Dedalius Stanton
About to graduate from college within a short timeframe, this fearsome yet truthful article details some chilling events experienced in my academic career. Up unto this point, many of students within my campus follow a self-centered, selfish attitude, unaware that their destructive attitudes harm only but themselves. The idea of “STFU and leave me alone” concept continues to be pushed forth by faculty, peers, and the social environment. Having lived in the dorms, I’ve been through numerous roommates who refuse to talk to anyone, especially to me, stating that I’m too weird or someone who should just drop dead, yet later claim they have no friends and spend most of their time wasting it away, allowing their academic careers reach at a stag point. The same applies to my classes. I know about 70 students by name who will graduate this semester, but how many do I personally know and trust? Sadly, that number is zero. This is not because I don’t engage in conversations, but it’s rather the experiences that others around me only care only for themselves, while ignoring those that may be able to provide lasting friendships and improving the overall quality of life. rbolo29 .
It’s ok; because they will graduate and find there are no jobs waiting for them; except being a manager at McDonalds. Jim Davis
Asst. Manager at best. Aston Martin
The gullible femaleist women from colelge will probably go on dating websites to find elderly rich and wealthy men who are desperate enough to date goods which were expired a long time ago.
I agree I had similar experiences. Most people had their own little groups of friends and never really mingled with others. I think the problem is too, many people don’t know HOW to make friends. Everyone is so self-absorbed. MichaelfromTheEconomicCollapse
I am sorry to hear that you had such negative experiences with roommates. Finding a good roommate these days can be a real challenge. I am glad that I don’t have to worry about that anymore.
Michael John Doe
71 percent of young men between the ages of 18 to 34 in America are not interested in marriage:
71% of young men in America do not want to get married
I guess feminism killed marriage. Kim
They can’t afford it. They are barely scraping by on their own. Ditto
Bingo. I live just as the fine article says: I get up in the morning, drive 28 miles to work, drive 28 miles home again, do some shopping, then spend the other three or four hours of my day watching TV or surfing the web. No time or money for anything else. MichaelfromTheEconomicCollapse
You probably burn up a lot of gas money too. I certainly don’t miss the days when I had very long commutes to work.
Michael ISA
Cant afford it, and who would want to be married today? Even the boomer generation is throwing in the towel. If Americans can evolve, which they cant, then its over with soon. You all are still stuck in the model of 60 years ago, if not more, and are dying on the inside.
Good riddance. Lars Lonte
I totally agree with you – just compare Women from Eastern Europa or even Asia with the average Women from the East Coast or Europe (especially (West-) Germany and Great Britain as most US like states and cultures….there is a reason, why Eastern European men usually do not want to marry women from western Germany…. King Mercury
Because American women have literally priced themselves out of the dating market! American women show that they want only guys with big, wide luxury sports Ferraris with all of the latest technology, gigantic mc mansions at least 5 times the size of the Home Alone house, three quarter million dollar or higher incomes, a growing number of them are even going for gangsters and thugs that get that kind of luxury through violent crime and illegal drugs. Jonathan
Women are uncooperative, don’t care, too busy, incompetent at love and domestic life and think it’s cool to emotionally, psychologically, financially, and in every way abuse men and never receive any reciprocation for their bad behavior, nor offer any reciprocation for men’s gifts. The egomania in women has exploded, and the genie can no longer fit in the bottle. rwinkel
It’s a no brainer. Lookup “hisanic paradox” on wikipedia. The abuse of infants in this country is an important factor in the rise of sociopathy and broken families. Infants imprint just like every other mammal on the planet, and American obstetrics is unique in its disregard for children’s dignity and human rights. P.F.
America is in this state because it has turned to sin rather than YAHWEH’S HOLY LAW. Only in our LORD JESUS/YESHUA do we find fulfillment, peace, and joy. When people are filled with joy they share truth and love–when people are moaning miserably inside they become cold and detached. You can’t depend on people to bring you happiness first—you have to seek JESUS/YESHUA who teaches us how to love one another the right way, and then, and only then, will people know joy. america depends on itself to create its own happiness and you’re seeing the negative effects. Back in the 1950’s Biblical values were held strongly in the homes. That’s why you see your grandparents who were married during that time either still alive and married and buried next to each other. What you’ll see in the coming years are old ladies and men wondering around alone who are not married and who will be buried in single graves while the children carry on the negative tradition of their failed ways. Way to go america, you’re doing just fine. David McElroy
Sad, but true, P.F. If it weren’t for hope in Jesus, there’d be no hope at all! MichaelfromTheEconomicCollapse
Michael David McElroy
As the oldest of 12 children from an Irish father who stayed married to our mother, I can testify as to the merciless bombardments of anti-family messages delivered to us. My mother was urged to abort many of my siblings. Teachers and other “counselors” urged us not to spend so much time together, as we were “clannish”. I fell for the encouragement to go to college and make something of myself and “get ahead” before marriage and children. Even our church was discouraging, openly saying we took too much pew space and gave too little money. (Even though we physically labored to help build the building!) I went to college, became a journalist and, after a disasterous cohabitation I thought would lead to marriage, eventually a chaplain. But I also ended up an old bachelor who thought he would have a wife and grandkids by now. My computer is my companion! CollGen2
You are a wonderful person. Your parent’s stuck together. That is the way God’s original design was. Your writing touched my heart today, thank you! All things will work out for good to those who LOVE God and are called according to HIS purpose. HE created each one of us and He also beckons us. He put an end to sin by being the perfect sacrifice on that cross. He beckoned me and I did it my way…..til trouble hit! I have a husband, 3 children and 4 grandchildren. I am alone most of the time at home, answering the phone for my small business. But, most of the time, I am immersing myself in the King James Bible and fellowshipping with my Father. He is the only one who will never leave me nor forsake me. How do I know that? I was in a coma many years ago when He beckoned me. I have tried to do things the “me” way but every road was a disaster until I surrendered my life to Him! The suffering I go through here is nothing compared to the GLORY that awaits me.”! Tim
There are good, faithful men out there who want a family. David McElroy
I’m with Tim, I was one of those guys who wanted to be a faithful husband and father. But I made the mistake of being smitten with a conniving woman who had no maternal domestic interests, being the “modern” sort. Jenn
I’m sorry that happened to you. Not all of us women are that way, but many of them seem to be these days. :-( Aston Martin
Modern westernized women are victims of the you-know-who….research who founded and promoted the femaleist movement and the truth shall make you afraid while you struggle to set free of the international bankers. SafetyViking
Good. Why buy the book when there’s a library in town? godozo
Ugly analogy. Knowledge is meant to be shared, women…not. Even the Founding Fathers and many of the old-school Robber Barons would agree (Carnegie anyone? He funded a nation’s worth of libraries.).
Try “Why buy the cow when the milk is free?”. Lifelong Mates (both male and female) ARE a limited resource, and like milk is worth paying for to keep (or keep the flow coming, depending on the item). wombleranger
I don’t like to be the one to say this but….if you remove spirituality and morals from a society you end up with the western world. America isn’t the only western power suffering this condition come to Canada where anyone with a problem gets a Prozac prescription and it’s free!!! We would be wise to remember the former Soviet Union and it’s devastation of the churches and religions. Now we must ask ourselves are we staring to become a communist nation? To quote William Penn ” .Those who will not be governed by God will be ruled by tyrants”-certainly is food for thought! A lonely mind is a dangerous mind. Eileen Kuch
Very well put, wombleranger. Indeed, if you remove spirituality and morals from a society, that society starts to fragment. Just look at America today. It’s barely recognizable as the God-fearing nation it used to be.
I don’t know about your Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, but Barack Obama is the worst Presidents we ever had. He’s hell-bent on destroying the old America and turning it into a USSA, a near image of the early 20th Century USSR, where Orthodox Christian Churches were devastated and the religion driven underground.
Those who will not be governed by God will be ruled by tyrants – William Penn
Great quote, too. wombleranger
Thanks Eileen. It’s comforting to see there are still moral people in this world, now we just need to wake-up the good souls from the deep sleep. It’s an uphill battle to be sure, but as long as i breath i will never forsake my dignity, morals and most of all my God. nilro
Too many nut cases out there, Animals are a better bet. Truman Golden | 1real |
Senate panel sets November 28 confirmation hearing for Fed chair nominee Powell | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate Banking Committee will hold a confirmation hearing on Nov. 28 for Jerome Powell, President Donald Trump’s nominee for chairman of the Federal Reserve, the committee said in a statement on Wednesday. Trump last week tapped Powell, 64, a Fed governor since 2012, to become head of the U.S. central bank, breaking with precedent by denying Janet Yellen a second four-year term but signaling a continuation of her cautious monetary policies. Powell is quickly garnering support from Republican lawmakers, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who met with Powell on Tuesday and said he looked forward to “supporting his nomination.” Republican Senator Mike Crapo, who chairs the Banking Committee, said on Wednesday that Powell was “well-equipped to lead our economy and the country in a positive direction.” Powell is widely expected to continue to raise interest rates gradually, as Yellen began to do in late 2015, and to shrink the central bank’s $4.5 trillion balance sheet. | 0fake |
The Devaluation of Higher Education | Posted 10/31/2016 3:05 pm by PatriotRising with 0 comments 70% of PhDs unable to find alternative employment
Government programs (such as subsidies and student loans) designed to inflate both the supply and demand for higher education have driven a wedge between universities, students, and employers.
Like any other economic good, the value of a higher education degree is determined on the market, at the intersection of the subjective valuations and appraisements of those constituting the supply and demand of that particular good. The parties interested in these transactions are not just education providers and students, but also—or even primarily—employers looking to hire graduates into their companies. At least, that’s how things should be, with entrepreneurs at the forefront, driving and shaping up the content and quality of the education and training of their future employees.
But with the government interfering now for decades with this precarious balance, it is not unexpected to find that the essential link which allowed the market to work efficiently has been fractured. The result is that higher education degrees no longer hold any value for employers.
Recent evidence suggests that in the UK, for example, a record number of university graduates— one in four —face only a choice between unemployment and taking a job that does not require a degree. This shows that their degrees are not demanded on the market or, alternatively, that young people are malinvesting high student loans into degrees which, once obtained, will not offer them better employment alternatives than before—thus having a rate of return too low to justify the initial investment. Similarly, an investigation by The Economist has revealed that worldwide, BAs, BSCs, but also master programs such as MBAs are no longer considered to offer a candidate a competitive edge in the marketplace.
Another facet of the devaluation of higher education is the record high number of specialised degrees, a trend which began with masters and MBAs, but has now peaked into PhDs.The mismatch between supply and demand (academic positions) is even wider in this case. A 2013 paper published in Nature Biotechnology has found that “Each year, there are seven times more PhDs awarded in science and engineering than there are newly available faculty positions.” In fact, the authors show that
Since 1982, almost 800,000 PhDs were awarded in science and engineering (S&E) fields, whereas only about 100,000 academic faculty positions were created in those fields within the same time frame. The number of S&E PhDs awarded annually has also increased over this time frame, from ~19,000 in 1982 to ~36,000 in 2011. The number of faculty positions created each year, however, has not changed, with roughly 3,000 new positions created annually.
A part of these graduates, especially in economics, end up working for the government when they eventually fail the market test. But the trend is also extending further to postdoctoral fellowships, which are sought after by the 70% of PhDs unable to find alternative employment.
Taking the government out of higher education and letting universities compete in providing market-relevant, profitable degrees is only one part of the solution. The market for education won’t be entirely healthy until the government is also taken out of primary, secondary, and high school curricula and finances, allowing parents and pupils to become informed consumers of education and good judges of their investments.
Carmen Dorobăț has a PhD in economics from the University of Angers, and is assistant professor in International Business at Coventry University. Contact: . | 1real |
Trump on Twitter (Dec 27) - Trump, Iraq, Syria | The following statements were posted to the verified Twitter accounts of U.S. President Donald Trump, @realDonaldTrump and @POTUS. The opinions expressed are his own. Reuters has not edited the statements or confirmed their accuracy. @realDonaldTrump : - “On 1/20 - the day Trump was inaugurated - an estimated 35,000 ISIS fighters held approx 17,500 square miles of territory in both Iraq and Syria. As of 12/21, the U.S. military estimates the remaining 1,000 or so fighters occupy roughly 1,900 square miles...” via @jamiejmcintyre [1749 EST] - Just left West Palm Beach Fire & Rescue #2. Met with great men and women as representatives of those who do so much for all of us. Firefighters, paramedics, first responders - what amazing people they are! [1811 EST] - “On 1/20 - the day Trump was inaugurated - an estimated 35,000 ISIS fighters held approx 17,500 square miles of territory in both Iraq and Syria. As of 12/21, the U.S. military est the remaining 1,000 or so fighters occupy roughly 1,900 square miles..” @jamiejmcintyre @dcexaminer [2109 EST] - "Arrests of MS-13 Members, Associates Up 83% Under Trump" bit.ly/2liRH3b [2146 EST] -- Source link: (bit.ly/2jBh4LU) (bit.ly/2jpEXYR) | 0fake |
Obama Just Made A Surprise Appearance At A Rap Show And Twitter Can’t Handle It | While Donald Trump and his brownshirts are busy destroying the country, President Obama is committing his time and energy to making the country a better place.On Saturday, the former President made a surprise video appearance at a Chance the Rapper show in Chicago where he did his usual thing and delivered a positive message.Obama thanked the performer for serving as the grand marshal of Chicago s annual Bud Billiken parade (the largest and oldest African-American parade in the country) and thanked him for helping provide school supplies to Chicago s students. The Hill notes that:Chance the Rapper s charity, SocialWorks, and Brooklyn-based backpack company STATE bags reportedly donated 30,000 backpacks filled with school supplies to Chicago students at the parade, the news outlet reported, adding that the rapper also handed out free tickets to his concert. He previously donated more than $1 million to the Chicago Public Schools foundation.Chance the Rapper in a recent interview said his platform and voice are bigger than President Trump s. I have a bigger voice than Donald Trump, you know what I m saying? Than literally anybody that works in politics, he said. We want to make sure our kids are safe, we want to make sure that they are ready to go back to school. We want to make sure that we are nurturing and protecting and encouraging and loving the next generation of leaders all throughout the city of Chicago, Obama says in a video posted to Twitter by Black Owned Chicago. So Chance, I m grateful for everything that you ve done on behalf of the young people back home. President @BarackObama had some words of encouragement for @chancetherapper tonight at his #BBBash concert. #BlackOwnedChicago pic.twitter.com/aebsFgk4Pd Black Owned Chicago (@blackownedchi) August 13, 2017This has many Americans nostalgic for when they had a President they could respect:.@nastywomanatlaw You seein this shit?! Why wasn't I there? Jared Rogers Martin (@Jaredrog) August 13, 2017 pic.twitter.com/ckvwYyMIKS Michael ? (@maxmc785) August 14, 2017It made me so proud to watch this video of President @BarackObama we need him back in the White House. Tiamat (@EvaTiamatMedusa) August 13, 2017COME BACK OBAMA!! We need you now more than ever!! Ritchie K. Blackmore (@Ritchie_1966) August 13, 2017OBAMA, THIS NATION REALLY NEEDS,YOU MORE THAN EVER BEFORE Vero/Roni/Vee (@prettywings24) August 13, 2017Unfortunately, President Obama can t come back no matter how much the country wants him to but we can get rid of Donald Trump, who is currently destroying education, safety net programs, and the world s sense that Americans have any sense of decency.Featured image via screenshot | 1real |
Russian nuclear bombers fly near North Korea in rare show of force | MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian nuclear-capable strategic bombers have flown a rare mission around the Korean peninsula at the same time as the United States and South Korea conduct joint military exercises that have infuriated Pyongyang. Russia, which has said it is strongly against any unilateral U.S. military action on the peninsula, said Tupolev-95MS bombers, code named Bears by NATO, had flown over the Pacific Ocean, the Sea of Japan, the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea, prompting Japan and Seoul to scramble jets to escort them. The flight, which also included planes with advanced intelligence gathering capabilities, was over international waters and was announced by the Russian Defence Ministry on the same day as Moscow complained about the U.S.-South Korean war games. The U.S. and South Korea holding yet more large-scale military and naval exercises does not help reduce tensions on the Korean peninsula, Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the foreign ministry, told a news briefing in Moscow. We urge all sides to exercise maximum caution. Given the arms build-up in the region, any rash move or even an unintended incident could spark a military conflict. In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying did not comment specifically on the Russian mission when asked, reiterating China hoped all sides could quickly return to talks and appropriately and peacefully resolve the situation. The United States and South Korea began the long-planned joint military exercises on Monday, heightening tensions with Pyongyang which called the drills a reckless step towards nuclear conflict. Some military experts regard the hulking Russian turboprop bombers which made the flight near the Korean peninsula as a relic of the Cold War. But Russia has upgraded the aircraft since the Soviet fall and, since 2007, has used the planes to back its diplomacy with shows of force and to probe other countries airspaces. Moscow said the bombers had been accompanied by Sukhoi-35S fighter jets and A-50 early warning and control aircraft. The A-50s, the Russian equivalent of the Boeing E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft, are designed to track aerial and ground targets at a long range, among other capabilities. Moscow did not say how many aircraft had taken part or when the mission had taken place. Our long-range aviation pilots, according to an established plan, regularly carry out flights over neutral waters over the Atlantic, the Arctic, the Black Sea and the Pacific Ocean from their bases and from tactical airfields, the defense ministry said in the same statement. It said the TU-95MS bombers were refueled in mid-air during the mission, and that during parts of the route they had been escorted by South Korean and Japanese military jets. Russia, which shares a border with North Korea, has repeatedly voiced concerns about rising tensions on the Korean peninsula caused by Pyongyang s nuclear missile program, and has also complained about possible plans by Japan to deploy a U.S. anti-missile system on its soil. Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Zakharova said on Thursday that if Tokyo did go ahead and opt to deploy such a system it would be disproportional to the North Korean missile threat and could upset wider strategic stability in the region. Japan has at least twice before this year been forced to scramble its jets to intercept Russian aircraft. The daily Izvestia newspaper reported in October last year that Russia was close to finishing setting up a new division of heavy bombers to patrol the Japan-Guam-Hawaiian Islands triangle . | 0fake |
Chinese state tabloid warns Trump, end one China policy and China will take revenge | SHANGHAI/TAIPEI (Reuters) - State-run Chinese tabloid Global Times warned U.S. President-elect Donald Trump that China would “take revenge” if he reneged on the one-China policy, only hours after Taiwan’s president made a controversial stopover in Houston. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen met senior U.S. Republican lawmakers during her stopover in Houston on Sunday en route to Central America, where she will visit Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador. Tsai will stop in San Francisco on Jan. 13, her way back to Taiwan. China had asked the United States not to allow Tsai to enter or have formal government meetings under the one China policy. Beijing considers self-governing Taiwan a renegade province ineligible for state-to-state relations. The subject is a sensitive one for China. A photograph tweeted by Texas Governor Greg Abbott shows him meeting Tsai, with a small table between them adorned with the U.S., Texas and Taiwanese flags. Tsai’s office said on Monday she also spoke by telephone with U.S. senator John McCain, head of the powerful Senate Committee on Armed Services. Tsai also met Texas Senator Ted Cruz. “Sticking to (the one China) principle is not a capricious request by China upon U.S. presidents, but an obligation of U.S. presidents to maintain China-U.S. relations and respect the existing order of the Asia-Pacific,” said the Global Times editorial on Sunday. The influential tabloid is published by the ruling Communist Party’s official People’s Daily. Trump triggered protests from Beijing last month by accepting a congratulatory telephone call from Tsai and questioning the U.S. commitment to China’s position that Taiwan is part of one China. “If Trump reneges on the one-China policy after taking office, the Chinese people will demand the government to take revenge. There is no room for bargaining,” said the Global Times. Cruz said some members of Congress had received a letter from the Chinese consulate asking them not to meet Tsai during her stopovers. “The People’s Republic of China needs to understand that in America we make decisions about meeting with visitors for ourselves,” Cruz said in a statement. “This is not about the PRC. This is about the U.S. relationship with Taiwan, an ally we are legally bound to defend.” Cruz said he and Tsai discussed upgrading bilateral relations and furthering economic cooperation between their countries, including increased access to Taiwan markets that would benefit Texas ranchers, farmers and small businesses. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang on Monday urged “relevant U.S. officials” to handle the Taiwan issue appropriately to avoid harming China-U.S. ties. “We firmly oppose leaders of the Taiwan region, on the so-called basis of a transit visit, having any form of contact with U.S. officials and engaging in activities that interfere with and damage China-U.S. relations,” Lu said. In a dinner speech Saturday to hundreds of overseas Taiwanese, Tsai said the United States holds a “special place in the hearts of the people of Taiwan” and that the island via bilateral exchanges has provided more than 320,000 jobs directly and indirectly to the American people, her office said on Monday. Tsai said Taiwan looked to create more U.S. jobs through deeper investment, trade and procurement. Tsai’s office said James Moriarty, chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan, which handles U.S.-Taiwan affairs in the absence of formal ties, told the Taiwan president in Houston that the United States was continuing efforts to persuade China to resume dialogue with Taiwan. China is deeply suspicious of Tsai, who it thinks wants to push for the formal independence of the island. The Global Times, whose stance does not equate with government policy, also targeted Tsai in the editorial, saying that the mainland would likely impose further diplomatic, economic and military pressure on Taiwan, warning that “Tsai needs to face the consequences for every provocative step she takes”. “It should also impose military pressure on Taiwan and push it to the edge of being reunified by force, so as to effectively affect the approval rating of the Tsai administration.” | 0fake |
Asterix-Comics wegen Verherrlichung von Doping aus dem Handel genommen | Samstag, 5. November 2016 Asterix-Comics wegen Verherrlichung von Doping aus dem Handel genommen Berlin (Archiv) - Ist das das Aus für die unbeugsamen Gallier? Wie der Ehapa-Verlag am Mittwoch mitteilte, werden alle Bände der beliebten Asterix-Reihe von Autor René Goscinny und Zeichner Albert Uderzo umgehend aus dem Handel genommen. Damit reagiert der Verlag auf eine Untersuchung der Nationalen Anti-Doping Agentur Deutschland (NADA), die jahrelanges flächendeckendes Doping bei den beliebten Comicfiguren nachweisen konnte. Bereits Ende letzter Woche hatte die NADA entsprechende Ergebnisse veröffentlicht. Demnach konnten die Kontrolleure die Verwendung einer euphemistisch als "Zaubertrank" bezeichneten Substanz in allen Heften nachweisen. Mit Hilfe des berüchtigten Doping-Arztes Miraculix aka "Der Druide" sollen somit sämtliche der Schlachten- und Prügelergebnisse der Gallier gegen römische Patrouillen, Feldlager und Legionen ganz offenkundig und ungeniert manipuliert worden sein. Unsportlich. Von einem fairen Wettkampf keine Spur. "Wir befürchten, dass durch die Verherrlichung des Dopingmittels als Zaubertrank ohne Nebenwirkungen die Hemmschwelle für den Konsum leistungssteigernder Substanzen sinkt", heißt es in einer Erklärung der Agentur. Gerade jüngere Leser seien gefährdet. Besonders erschütternd: Ein Charakter soll gar als Kind in das Dopingmittel gefallen sein und seitdem über übermenschliche Kräfte verfügen. Beim Ehapa-Verlag gibt man sich derweil zerknirscht und lässt die Zukunft der beliebten Comics offen. Zwar sei ein "cleaner" Neustart der Reihe in Planung, so ein Sprecher des Verlages. Doch ob der neue Band "Asterix und die Zerstörung des kleinen Dorfs durch selbstverständlich haushoch überlegene Römer" am Ende tatsächlich den Weg in deutsche Buchhandlungen finde, sei noch nicht sicher. dan, khi; Idee: khi; Fotos: Ehapa-Verlag; Hinweis: Erstmals erschienen am 31.7.14 Artikel teilen: | 1real |
NEWT GINGRICH HITS THE NAIL ON THE HEAD: Here’s Where The REAL Influence and Money Is With The Russians [Video] | All of the real evidence of real money and real influence buying by the Russians relates to Democrats. Newt Gingrich Leave it to Newt to cut through all of the BS! .@newtgingrich: "All of the real evidence of real money and real influence buying by the Russians relates to Democrats." #SundayFutures pic.twitter.com/niWt9bLrZJ Fox News (@FoxNews) April 2, 2017 | 1real |
Why Are We Sending $38 Billion to Rich and Powerful Israel? |
Last week’s announcement of a record-breaking US aid package for Israel underscores how dangerously foolish and out-of-touch is our interventionist foreign policy. Over the next ten years, the US taxpayer will be forced to give Israel some $38 billion dollars in military aid. It is money we cannot afford going to a country that needs no assistance to maintain its status as the most powerful military in the Middle East.
All US foreign aid is immoral and counterproductive. As I have often said, it is money taken from poor people in the US and sent to rich people overseas. That is because US assistance money goes to foreign governments to hand out as they see fit. Often that assistance is stolen outright or it goes to the politically connected in the recipient country.
Just as bad is the fact that much of what we call “foreign aid” is actually welfare for the wealthy here at home. The aid package to Israel is a very good example. According to the agreement, this $38 billion will all go to US weapons manufacturers. So the real beneficiaries are not the American people, and not even Israeli citizens. The real beneficiaries are the US military-industrial complex. Perhaps the money won’t even leave Washington – it may simply go across town, from the Fed to the Beltway bomb-makers.
While even US government aid to desperately poor countries should be opposed on moral and practical grounds, it is even harder to understand US aid to relatively rich countries. At a nominal per capita GDP of over $35,000, Israel is richer than Japan, Italy, and South Korea. Not long ago Business Insider published a report by the Institute for the Study of War showing that the Israel is the most powerful military force in the Middle East. We know they have hundreds of nuclear weapons, a sophisticated air force, drones, and even nuclear weapons-equipped submarines.
So why is the US giving a rich and incredibly well-armed country a record amount of military aid? Part of it is that the US government believes it can coerce Israel to do Washington’s bidding in the Middle East. History shows that this is a foolish pipe dream. If anything, US aid subsidizes Israeli human rights abuses in Gaza and elsewhere.
Another reason is a very powerful lobby in Washington, AIPAC, that pressures Members of Congress to focus on Israel’s interests instead of US interests. Members of Congress should look at our economy, with effectively zero interest rates, an anemic non-recovery from the 2008 crash, historically low participation in the work force, and inflation eroding the value of the dollar and conclude that this might not be the best time to start handing out billions of dollars in foreign aid. Unfortunately most Members of Congress find it impossible to say no to special interest groups like AIPAC.
Here’s a better aid package for Israel: free trade, travel, friendly relations, and no entangling alliances. Israel should be free to pursue its national interests and we should be free to pursue ours. If individual Americans feel compelled to provide assistance to Israel or any other country or cause overseas they should be allowed. But the rest of us should not be forced to do so. Trade, not aid. | 1real |
Massive copper mine tests Trump's push to slash regulation | SUPERIOR, Arizona (Reuters) - Rio Tinto’s proposed Resolution Copper Mine in Arizona would tunnel 7,000 feet underground, where rocks radiate heat from the earth’s molten core. It would suck up enough water to supply a city and leave a crater a mile and a half wide and 1,000 feet deep. Planned for more than a decade, the project would be a prototype for a looming era of more invasive U.S. mines as companies run out of easy-to-reach deposits, geologists say. It is also the project President Donald Trump’s Commerce Secretary, Wilbur Ross, had in mind as he began crafting a “hit list” of regulations that should be killed to speed industrial permitting. “A company shouldn’t have to be hundreds of millions of dollars into risk money without knowing whether there is a real chance it is going to get approved,” Ross told Reuters in a May 9 interview, referring to the mine. The massive project - which would be among the world’s largest copper mines - underscores the dangers of weakening America’s rigorous permitting process at a time mining endeavors are becoming increasingly complex and environmentally risky. And Ross’s citation of Resolution as a poster child for suffocating regulation reflects how far the Trump administration is willing to go to advance economic growth. Sorting out the mine’s potentially negative impacts is anything but simple, and many local residents, along with Native American and environmental groups, say Resolution is exactly the kind of development that cries out for intense public scrutiny - no matter how long it takes. “The companies have to mitigate their risks - mitigate what people are losing,” said Mila Besich-Lira, the mayor of Superior, the town closest to the project. A federal government review of the project has drawn about 130,000 comments from concerned constituents - more than 10 times the number who gave input on the smaller Rosemont Copper Mine nearby. The Resolution mine would also give the region a big economic boost, employing 1,400 people and injecting $20 billion into public coffers, Rio Tinto (RIO.L) estimates. It could supply the United States with a quarter of its copper, putting this small town at the epicenter of the global metals market. Trump has vowed sweep away regulations he says cost America trillions of dollars with no public benefit. The regulatory review by Ross, due for release as soon as this month, is one of several parallel efforts to slash red tape. Trump has also started dismantling Obama-era climate change regulations through executive orders, for example, and directed agencies to kill two rules for every one they create. In the meantime, Congress could set the tone. A Republican bill introduced early this year - and supported by Rio Tinto - would set a two-and-a-half-year deadline on mine permitting, a standard similar to that seen in Australia and Canada. Rio Tinto - along with the Australian mining company BHP Billiton (BLT.L), which owns a 45 percent stake in Resolution - says it has spent 16 years and $1.3 billion on the project, including a decade acquiring acreage in the Tonto National Forest overlying the copper deposit. It is now four years into the federal regulatory review to approve new mines, a process that can take seven to 10 years. Victoria Peacey, a senior manager for environmental permitting at Rio Tinto, said the mine up probably won’t begin operating for another decade. Rio Tinto acknowledges the vast scope and sensitivity of its plans. “There are mines this deep; there are mines this hot; and there are mines this big; but there are no other mines this deep, this hot and this big all together,” said Carl Hehnke, a geologist for Resolution. Resolution will take copper from a zone where temperatures run 180 degrees Fahrenheit. With help from remotely controlled machines, miners will set off explosions to shatter sections of the deposit. The ore will be milled with a combination of sulfuric acid and as much as 6.5 billion gallons of water a year - enough to supply more than half the homes in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe. It would eventually render more than 2,400 acres of what is now the Tonto National Forest off limits to visitors. Under the forest, in a process called “block cave mining,” Rio Tinto will excavate material from underground, making the material above sink and creating the expected one-and-a-half-mile-wide crater. That area will include a site considered sacred to the San Carlos Apache Tribe, which has been holding annual protests against the project. If Resolution’s copper deposit had been discovered under private land – and not a national forest – Rio Tinto might have been spared the federal review and faced only state regulators. Instead, the U.S. Forest Service is leading the study, which will consider jobs, recreation, public health and wildlife. Despite its substantial economic benefits to the nearby town of Superior, where many homes and businesses are boarded up, residents still have their concerns. “What am I going to tell my great-grandkids - how this place was totally destroyed?” said Anna Jeffries, a Superior resident, during an April 2016 public meeting with Forest Service officials at Superior High School. Mining industry lobbyists counter that they are only seeking an efficient and reasonable approval process. “We are not talking in any way, shape or form about any environmental rollbacks here,” said Katie Sweeney, general counsel for the National Mining Association, a trade group. “We’re talking about bureaucracy.” The NMA wants to see deadlines for permitting, along with rules requiring agencies to conduct studies simultaneously rather than consecutively. The NMA and Rio Tinto back the bill - introduced in January by Republican Congressman Mark Amodei of Nevada - that would give regulators the two-and-a-half year deadline to approve or reject mining projects. Mining companies in Canada and Australia applaud similar time limits in those countries, but a May 2016 report by a government watchdog in the Canadian province of British Columbia found Canada’s mine regulation had “major gaps in resources, planning and tools” that led to “inadequate” inspections and “increasing environmental risks.” Commerce Secretary Ross told Reuters in a June 23 phone message he believed the U.S. Forest Service was doing “a good job in terms of Rio Tinto.” But he added, “The rest of the process has been so abysmal that Rio Tinto actually testified before the U.S. Congress [about] how bad the process was.” Ross and his spokesman did not respond to additional questions seeking examples of problems that occurred between Resolution and permit-issuing agencies. But his office said he was referring to Congressional testimony given by Rio Tinto’s Managing Director for Copper and Diamonds, Nigel Steward, in March. Steward called the U.S. permitting process “inefficient” and said it “presents a major barrier to the domestic sector’s ability to perform to its full potential.” Rio Tinto is advocating for more certainty in permitting timelines and improved coordination among agencies involved - along with more money for agencies “to ensure that experienced and highly skilled people are devoted to complex technical aspects of permitting,” said Todd Malan, Rio Tinto’s vice president for external affairs and communications for the Americas. While the company supports permitting deadlines, at least one Rio Tinto official acknowledges that it would be hard to address the issues raised by the Resolution mine in less than years. “I’m not necessarily saying time frames would not be helpful, but three years? ... That’s a tight time frame,” said Peacey. While uncertain permitting timeframes raise financial risks for Rio Tinto, she said, the sometimes lengthy process also protects the public. “Those are people’s rights,” she said. (This version of the story was refiled to add dropped word “to” in paragraph 9) | 0fake |
Italy's Berlusconi takes fight against ban from office to European court | STRASBOURG, France (Reuters) - Lawyers for Silvio Berlusconi argued on Wednesday at the European Court of Human Rights against his ban from holding public office, hoping for a green light that will allow him to run for prime minister at Italy s election early next year. In a hearing before the Strasbourg court, the four-times prime minister appealed against his banishment from holding public office that followed a 2013 tax fraud conviction. It is supposed to remain in place until 2019. The billionaire media tycoon was widely written off after he quit as prime minister in 2011 amid a sex scandal involving his bunga bunga parties, while Italian bond yields surged to unsustainable levels at the height of the euro zone debt crisis. However, the 81-year-old Berlusconi has made a remarkable comeback after open heart surgery last year and his Forza Italia (Go Italy!) party is now the lynchpin of a center-right coalition which leads in opinion polls ahead of the election. The Berlusconi versus Italy case is being heard by 17 judges who make up the court s Grand Chamber, which is used for particularly important and complex matters. Berlusconi has hired a top London law firm to represent him. At the end of the hearing Edward Fitzgerald, a lawyer for Berlusconi, told reporters an injustice had taken place in the Italian courts. Basic procedural guarantees were lacking for doing something as massive and draconian as depriving an elected official of his electoral mandate, and the people who elected him of their right to be represented by the person they chose. The court will not issue a verdict on Wednesday, and even if it eventually decides in favor of Berlusconi the ruling may not come in time for him to run in the election, which must be held by May next year. In an interview on Wednesday with la Repubblica newspaper, Berlusconi said he would still be campaigning for his party whether he can stand for office or not. Irrespective of whether I can stand, I ll be a player and I ll bring the center-right to power, he said. Berlusconi was not present at the hearing. Berlusconi argues that because the tax fraud took place many years before the 2013 Italian law that bars him from running for office was passed, the legislation is being applied retroactively and is therefore illegitimate. Berlusconi received a four-year prison sentence in August 2013 for organizing a complex scheme to illegally lower the tax bill of his Mediaset media company. Three of the four years were immediately waived due to an amnesty to relieve prison overcrowding, and he was allowed to serve the remaining year in community service, helping out in an old people s home. After the conviction, Berlusconi was expelled from Rome s Senate, or upper house of parliament. With or without Berlusconi, the election is expected to produce a hung parliament. The anti-establishment 5-Star Movement leads in opinion polls with around 28 percent of the vote, followed by the ruling center-left Democratic Party on about 25 percent. The center-right bloc is made up of Forza Italia and the anti-immigrant Northern League, each on around 14 percent, and the right-wing Brothers of Italy, with around 5 percent. | 0fake |
A Stony Silence at Fox News After Ailes’s Departure - The New York Times | PHILADELPHIA — The Fox News skybox here turns into a hive of activity as the network’s star anchors analyze the Democratic National Convention for millions of viewers. When the cameras blink off, however, the banter has been replaced by something rarely heard in the television news business: silence. Megyn Kelly and her including Bret Baier and Brit Hume, have not been speaking during commercial breaks, according to two people with direct knowledge of the anchors’ interactions, who described the atmosphere at Fox News as icy. During ads, the hosts are often absorbed with their smartphones. Even as Fox News goes about broadcasting as usual, scoring its highest convention ratings in 20 years, interviews this week with network employees show an organization grappling with internal division after the abrupt exit of Roger Ailes, the chairman at the center of a sexual harassment investigation. Nearly a dozen Fox News employees, who work in front of and behind the camera, were granted anonymity to speak candidly about highly sensitive matters inside a network where privacy is still prized. The hosts’ interactions have improved slightly since last week’s shows at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, which were broadcast immediately after Mr. Ailes’s departure. Still, employees say there is a continuing split inside the network, with one camp of Fox News loyalists — some of whom owe their careers to Mr. Ailes — upset at his ouster. Some are resentful toward Ms. Kelly for cooperating with lawyers brought in by the network’s parent company, 21st Century Fox, to investigate Mr. Ailes’s behavior. (About a dozen women have reported improper behavior by Mr. Ailes to investigators.) Another contingent inside Fox News is equally dismayed by the responses of stars like Kimberly Guilfoyle, Greta Van Susteren and Jeanine Pirro, who were quick to publicly defend Mr. Ailes after he was accused of harassment in a suit filed by the former anchor Gretchen Carlson. Ms. Kelly has told colleagues that she was disappointed with those who stepped forward to vouch for Mr. Ailes before knowing the full extent of the allegations against him. Some of her colleagues have also spoken out, including the Fox contributor Kirsten Powers and the meteorologist Janice Dean, who praised Ms. Kelly on Facebook, writing: “Strong women stand up for themselves. Stronger women stand up for others. ” Mr. Hume, the anchor, wrote in an email on Wednesday that any reports of tension between himself and Ms. Kelly were exaggerated. “Yes, I am upset about Roger’s departure. I love the guy,” Mr. Hume wrote. “I don’t think this episode was about political correctness,” he added. “And I think Megyn Kelly did what she felt she had to do, and I am not upset with her. ” Looming over the Fox News operations is a battle for succession to Mr. Ailes, who over 20 years established his position as one of the most powerful in television. And dozens of the network’s major stars and executives have been on the road for convention coverage since before Mr. Ailes resigned, forced to keep up from afar with developments at corporate headquarters in Manhattan. “There’s no doubt this has been a challenging time,” Rupert Murdoch, the network’s new chairman and media mogul, who started Fox News with Mr. Ailes, wrote in a memo to the staff on Tuesday, in an attempt to bolster morale. Internally, Mr. Murdoch has signaled that he is in no rush to name a successor, and as acting chief executive he plans to be closely involved with the newsroom the process for a replacement could take months, a person briefed on the plans said on Wednesday. In Philadelphia, an army of Fox workers has been clustered in a small warren of tents and trailers — known as the “Fox compound’’ — outside the Wells Fargo Center. Employees are commuting from a hotel in Mount Laurel, N. J. about 30 minutes away. The heavy humidity here and grueling schedule have left staff members fatigued as they wait for bursts of news about the network. In terms of news coverage, the week has had ups and downs. An comment by Bill O’Reilly — that slaves who built the White House were “well fed and had decent lodgings provided by the government” — prompted the kind of outcry that the provocative and unapologetic Mr. Ailes often relished. But in a surprise, the network also announced that Hillary Clinton would be interviewed on the network on Sunday, her first postconvention television appearance and her first time on “Fox News Sunday” in nearly five years. Chris Wallace, the anchor who once memorably clashed with her husband, President Bill Clinton, said he spent 15 months securing the interview. Bill Shine, a top Ailes lieutenant who is now considered a potential successor, is monitoring convention coverage from New York. Jay Wallace, the network’s executive vice president of news and editorial, is overseeing operations in Philadelphia. (Mr. Shine and Mr. Wallace are running the network in partnership with Mr. Murdoch.) Mr. Wallace took on his current job in April, replacing Michael Clemente, who was given a position overseeing news specials, a move viewed internally as a demotion. Earlier this week, Mr. Clemente was dismissed by Mr. Shine. The move was unrelated to harassment issues, according to Nathaniel Brown, a spokesman for 21st Century Fox. Mr. Clemente had been criticized within the network by rival executives, according to people who witnessed their discussions, but his departure took some employees by surprise: Fox had recently created a new office for Mr. Clemente in its Avenue of the Americas headquarters, converting a former conference room, one employee said. | 0fake |
NBA Politely Tells North Carolina To F*ck Right Off Over The ‘Fix’ For Their Bathroom Law | North Carolina is in a world of trouble. Their bathroom law, which tells transgender people that they must use the bathroom of the gender on their birth certificate, has led to businesses fleeing or avoiding the state so they don t sully their own brands. That includes the NBA and the 2017 All-Star Game, which forced the state s legislature to come up with a fix so they could keep the All-Star game.The All-Star Game was supposed to be in Charlotte next year. Charlotte wants to be friendly, compassionate and inclusive, and they re upset with the state legislature overriding the law they put in place that allowed transgender people to use the bathroom that went with their gender identity without making them feel like they have to produce documentation just to take a piss. The NBA feels the same way, and issued the following statement on the matter:.@NBA and the Charlotte Hornets come out swinging against #HB2, saying they re not pleased with the amended version: pic.twitter.com/OHNwAJbhCg Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) June 30, 2016 We have been engaged in dialogue with numerous groups at the city and state levels, but we do not endorse the version of the bill that we understand is currently before the legislature. We remain committed to our guiding principles of inclusion, mutual respect and equal protections for all. We continue to believe that constructive engagement with all sides is the right path forward. There has been no new decision made regarding the 2017 NBA All-Star Game. Well, isn t that a nice way of saying, You re still a bunch of bigots, now kindly go fuck yourselves. The fix is actually no fix at all, and it does reveal North Carolina s GOP as the stodgy bigots they are. It actually makes things worse. Transgender people have to obtain a certificate of sex reassignment in order to use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity. Imagine all the hoops they ll have to jump through just to get that certificate. Then there are all the transgender people who haven t yet had, or aren t able to (for whatever reason) have reassignment surgery. This fix doesn t include them at all.The GOP thinks they re playing both sides though anything to be able to continue policing people s genitals and dictating where they can pee while ignoring real problems and avoiding real work.The problem is that these hidebound Neanderthals in Republican legislatures want to eat their cake and have it, too. They re either discriminating or they re not there s no two ways about it. North Carolina wants to appease the LGBT community and all their allies while still being able to push them down. Give it up, N.C.Featured image by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images | 1real |
Black caucus members urge U.S. Representative Conyers to resign: sources | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Some of Democratic U.S. Representative John Conyers’ colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) are pressing the 88-year-old lawmaker to resign amid sexual harassment allegations against him, two senior House Democratic aides said on Tuesday. The aides, who asked not to be identified, did not say how many lawmakers were involved in the effort but confirmed a report by CNN that it was under way. One aide said Democratic Representative Cedric Richmond, the CBC chairman, was active in the move to get Conyers to step down and end a House of Representatives career that began with his first election in 1964. Richmond issued a statement after meeting with Conyers on Tuesday that said: “Any decision to resign from office before the ethics investigation is complete is John’s decision to make.” Richmond said he had a “very candid conversation” with Conyers “about the seriousness of the allegations against him, which he vehemently denies.” “The Congressional Black Caucus calls on Congress to treat all members who have been accused of sexual harassment, sexual assault, and other crimes with parity, and we call on Congress and the public to afford members with due process as these very serious allegations are investigated,” Richmond said. The Michigan congressman is the longest-serving House member and the dean of the CBC. Aides to Conyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. On Sunday, Conyers said he was stepping down as the senior Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee pending a congressional ethics investigation. He has denied allegations that he made unwanted sexual advances to some women who worked for him, but said his office had resolved a harassment case with a payment and no admission of guilt. Conyers’ troubles come as sexual harassment accusations in recent weeks have ensnared former Hollywood executive Harvey Weinstein and other politicians, including Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore of Alabama and Democratic Senator Al Franken of Minnesota. The CBC was founded in 1971 and has 49 members in the House and Senate. It is an influential voice within the Democratic Party. Following Conyers’ announcement on Sunday that he was stepping down as the ranking House Judiciary Committee Democrat, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi called for “zero tolerance” on sexual harassment. If Conyers were to resign, a special election would be held to fill his seat. | 0fake |
FBI Cops Out on Pressing Charges Against Hillary | FBI Cops Out on Pressing Charges Against Hillary November 07, 2016 FBI Cops Out on Pressing Charges Against Hillary
Democrat Hillary Clinton heads into the final day of a tight White House race against Republican Donald Trump on Monday with new momentum after the FBI said no criminal charges were forthcoming in an investigation of her email practices. Both Clinton and Trump will spend the day racing across a handful of battleground states that could swing Tuesday's election, which polls show is close but tilting toward Clinton. FBI Director James Comey again sent shockwaves through the race by telling Congress on Sunday that investigators had worked around the clock to complete a review of newly discovered emails and found no reason to change their July finding that Clinton was not guilty of criminal wrongdoing in her use of a private email server while secretary of state. It was uncertain whether the announcement came in time to change voters' minds or undo any damage from days of Republican attacks on Clinton as corrupt. Tens of millions of Americans had cast early votes in the 10 days since Comey first told Congress of the newly discovered emails.
"Nothing's going to change between today and tomorrow to help [Clinton] win back" undecided voters," Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway said on ABC's "Good Morning America."
Trump, who has not said whether he will respect the results of Tuesday's election, questioned the thoroughness of the FBI review and said the issue would not go away.
Clinton did not mention the FBI finding during her last two campaign events on Sunday.
"That's behind us now," campaign manager Robby Mook told CNN on Monday.
On Monday, Trump will hit five battleground states - Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Michigan - and close with a late-night rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Article by Doc Burkhart , Vice-President, General Manager and co-host of TRUNEWS with Rick Wiles Got a news tip? Email us at Help support the ministry of TRUNEWS with your one-time or monthly gift of financial support. DONATE NOW ! DOWNLOAD THE TRUNEWS MOBILE APP! CLICK HERE! | 1real |
Nearly All Wild Animals Face Mass Extinction By 2020 | Sean Adl-Tabatabai in News , World // 0 Comments
A disturbing new report suggests that over two-thirds of wild animals living on Earth are set to become extinct by the year 2020.
The comprehensive report by the WWF and Zoological Society of London says animal populations across the globe will continue to plummet by 67% by 2020 due to a mass extinction that is killing the natural world.
Thegaurdian.com reports:
The creatures being lost range from mountains to forests to rivers and the seas and include well-known endangered species such as elephants and gorillas and lesser known creatures such as vultures and salamanders.
The collapse of wildlife is, with climate change, the most striking sign of the Anthropocene, a proposed new geological era in which humans dominate the planet. “We are no longer a small world on a big planet. We are now a big world on a small planet, where we have reached a saturation point,” said Prof Johan Rockström, executive director of the Stockholm Resilience Centre, in a foreword for the report.
Marco Lambertini, director general of WWF, said: “The richness and diversity of life on Earth is fundamental to the complex life systems that underpin it. Life supports life itself and we are part of the same equation. Lose biodiversity and the natural world and the life support systems, as we know them today, will collapse.”
He said humanity was completely dependent on nature for clean air and water, food and materials, as well as inspiration and happiness.
The report analysed the changing abundance of more than 14,000 monitored populations of the 3,700 vertebrate species for which good data is available. This produced a measure akin to a stock market index that indicates the state of the world’s 64,000 animal species and is used by scientists to measure the progress of conservation efforts.
The biggest cause of tumbling animal numbers is the destruction of wild areas for farming and logging: the majority of the Earth’s land area has now been impacted by humans, with just 15% protected for nature. Poaching and exploitation for food is another major factor, due to unsustainable fishing and hunting: more than300 mammal species are being eaten into extinction, according to recent research.
Pollution is also a significant problem with, for example, killer whales and dolphins in European seas being seriously harmed by long-lived industrial pollutants. Vultures in south-east Asia have been decimated over the last 20 years, dying after eating the carcasses of cattle dosed with an anti-inflammatory drug. Amphibians have suffered one of thegreatest declines of all animals due to a fungal disease thought to be spread around the world by the trade in frogs and newts.
Rivers and lakes are the hardest hit habitats, with animals populations down by 81% since 1970, due to excessive water extraction, pollution and dams. All the pressures are magnified by global warming, which shifts the ranges in which animals are able to live, said WWF’s director of science, Mike Barrett.
Some researchers have reservations about the report’s approach, which summarises many different studies into a headline number. “It is broadly right, but the whole is less than the sum of the parts,” said Prof Stuart Pimm, at Duke University in the US, adding that looking at particular groups, such as birds, is more precise.
The report warns that losses of wildlife will impact on people and could even provoke conflicts: “Increased human pressure threatens the natural resources that humanity depends upon, increasing the risk of water and food insecurity and competition over natural resources.”
However, some species are starting to recover, suggesting swift action could tackle the crisis. Tiger numbers are thought to be increasing and the giant panda has recently been removed from the list of endangered species.
In Europe, protection of the habitat of the Eurasian lynx and controls on hunting have seen its population rise fivefold since the 1960s. A recent global wildlife summit also introduced new protection for pangolins, the world’s most trafficked mammals, and rosewoods, the most trafficked wild product of all.
But stemming the overall losses of animals and habitats requires systemic change in how society consumes resources, said Barrett. People can choose to eat less meat, which is often fed on grain grown on deforested land, and businesses should ensure their supply chains, such as for timber, are sustainable, he said.
“You’d like to think that was a no-brainer in that if a business is consuming the raw materials for its products in a way that is not sustainable, then inevitably it will eventually put itself out of business,” Barrett said. Politicians must also ensure all their policies – not just environmental ones – are sustainable, he added.
“The report is certainly a pretty shocking snapshot of where we are,” said Barrett. “My hope though is that we don’t throw our hands up in despair – there is no time for despair, we have to crack on and act. I do remain convinced we can find our sustainable course through the Anthropocene, but the will has to be there to do it.” | 1real |
REVEALED: The Dark Agenda Behind Globalization and Open Borders | The T.I.N.A. Doctrine There Is No Alternative Brandon Smith Alt-MarketWhen people unfamiliar with the liberty movement stumble onto the undeniable fact of the conspiracy of globalism they tend to look for easy answers to understand what it is and why it exists. Most people today have been conditioned to perceive events from a misinterpreted standpoint of Occam s Razor they wrongly assume that the simplest explanation is probably the right one.In fact, this is not what Occam s Razor states. Instead, to summarize, it states that the simplest explanation GIVEN THE EVIDENCE at hand is probably the right explanation.It has been well known and documented for decades that the push for globalism is a deliberate and focused effort on the part of a select elite; international financiers, central bankers, political leaders and the numerous members of exclusive think tanks. They often openly admit their goals for total globalization in their own publications, perhaps believing that the uneducated commoners would never read them anyway. Carroll Quigley, mentor to Bill Clinton and member of the Council on Foreign Relations, is often quoted with open admissions to the general scheme: The powers of financial capitalism had (a) far-reaching aim, nothing less than to create a world system of financial control in private hands able to dominate the political system of each country and the economy of the world as a whole. This system was to be controlled in a feudalist fashion by the central banks of the world acting in concert, by secret agreements arrived at in frequent meetings and conferences. The apex of the systems was to be the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, Switzerland; a private bank owned and controlled by the world s central banks which were themselves private corporations. Each central bank sought to dominate its government by its ability to control Treasury loans, to manipulate foreign exchanges, to influence the level of economic activity in the country, and to influence cooperative politicians by subsequent economic rewards in the business world. Carroll Quigley, Tragedy And HopeThe people behind the effort to enforce globalism are tied together by a particular ideology, perhaps even a cult-like religion, in which they envision a world order as described in Plato s Republic. They believe that they are chosen either by fate, destiny or genetics to rule as philosopher kings over the rest of us. They believe that they are the wisest and most capable that humanity has to offer, and that through evolutionary means, they can create chaos and order out of thin air and mold society at will.This mentality is evident in the systems that they build and exploit. For example, central banking in general is nothing more than a mechanism for driving nations into debt, currency devaluation, and ultimately, enslavement through widespread economic extortion. The end game for central banks is, I believe, the triggering of historic financial crisis, which can then be used by the elites as leverage to promote complete global centralization as the only viable solution.This process of destabilizing economies and societies is not directed by the heads of the various central banks. Instead, it is directed by even more central global institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the Bank for International Settlements, as outlined in revealing mainstream articles like Ruling The World Of Money published by Harpers Magazine.We also find through the words of globalists that the campaign for a new world order is not meant to be voluntary. When the struggle seems to be drifting definitely towards a world social democracy, there may still be very great delays and disappointments before it becomes an efficient and beneficent world system. Countless people will hate the new world order and will die protesting against it. When we attempt to evaluate its promise, we have to bear in mind the distress of a generation or so of malcontents, many of them quite gallant and graceful-looking people. HG Welles, Fabian Socialist and author of The New World Order In short, the house of world order will have to be built from the bottom up rather than f rom the top down. It will look like a great booming, buzzing confusion, to use William James famous description of reality, but an end run around national sovereignty, eroding it piece by piece, will accomplish much more than the old-fashioned frontal assault. Richard Gardner, member of the Trilateral Commission, published in the April, 1974 issue of Foreign Affairs The New World Order cannot happen without U.S. participation, as we are the single most significant component. Yes, there will be a New World Order, and it will force the United States to change its perceptions. Henry Kissinger, World Action Council, April 19, 1994I could quote globalists all day long, but I think you get the general idea. While some people see globalism as a natural offshoot of free markets or the inevitable outcome of economic progress, the reality is that the simplest explanation (given the evidence at hand) is that globalism is an outright war waged against the ideal of sovereign peoples and nations. It is a guerrilla war, or fourth generation warfare, waged by a small group of elites against the rest of us.A significant element of this war concerns the nature of borders. Borders of nations, states and even towns and villages, are not just lines on a map or invisible barriers in the dirt. This is what the elites and the mainstream media would like us to believe. Instead, borders when applied correctly represent principles; or at least, that is supposed to be their function.Human beings are natural community builders; we are constantly seeking out others of like-mind and like-purpose because we understand subconsciously that groups of individuals working together can (often but not always) accomplish more. That said, human beings also have a natural tendency to value individual freedom and the right to voluntary association. We do not like to be forced to associate with people or groups that do not hold similar values.Cultures erect borders because, frankly, people have the right to vet those who wish to join and participate in their endeavors. People also have a right to discriminate against anyone who does not share their core values; or, in other words, we have the right to refuse association with other groups and ideologies that are destructive to our own Continue this story at Alt-MarketREAD MORE NWO NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire NWO Files | 1real |
Even Trump’s Own Ex-Organizer Accuses Him Of Discriminating Against Women | Just a day before the Iowa caucuses, a former field organizer for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has come forward with accusations that Trump s campaign grossly discriminated against women, paying them less than the male employees doing the same exact work.These completely believable accusations were made by Elizabeth Mae Davidson and published by The New York Times. The 26-year-old staffer had been working for Trump s campaign in Davenport, Iowa but was fired a month ago despite being previously described as one of the campaign s most effective organizers.On Thursday, Davidson filed a complaint about the discrimination with the Davenport Civil Rights Commission. Aside from the gender pay discrimination, Davidson reported that she was also given less opportunities to advance her career and skills. To make matters worse, female staffers were also subjected to inappropriate comments about their appearance from Donald Trump himself. The Times wrote:[Davidson] said in a discrimination complaint that men doing the same jobs were paid more and were allowed to plan and speak at rallies, while her requests to do so were ignored. She also said that when she and a young female volunteer met Mr. Trump at a rally last summer, he told them, You guys could do a lot of damage, referring to their looks.In an interview, Davidson revealed that she was paid $2,000 per month. Because she was also working as a paralegal, she was considered a part-time staffer by the campaign. However, one of her male peers with the exact same role in the campaign was paid almost double despite the fact that he also has another job! Trump s campaign public filings state that several men filling the same role as Davidson were being paid between $3,500 to $4,000 a month.According to Dorothy A. O Brien, Davidson s attorney, the complaint will trigger the Davenport civil rights agency to investigate Trump s campaign, and after 60 days Davidson can choose to let the agency continue its investigation or follow suit in state court.Considering Trump s horrible track record of sexist, misogynistic comments toward women, it s not a big surprise to hear that his campaign was discriminating against its female staffers. When Davidson was asked if she would be attending Monday s caucuses, she was undecided. She said: Some of the bad things about him I dismissed, because I was working for the candidate. Now I m more critical, especially how he treats women. We don t blame her.Featured image via Gage Skidmore | 1real |
Donald Trump Threatens to Cancel Berkeley Federal Funds After Riots Shut Down Milo Event | President Donald Trump reacted to the massive rioting at in response to a scheduled campus speech by Breitbart News editor Milo Yiannopoulos. [“If U. C. Berkeley does not allow free speech and practices violence on innocent people with a different point of view — NO FEDERAL FUNDS?” Trump wrote on Twitter early Thursday morning. News of the rioting made cable news last night as students smashed ATMs and bank windows, looted a Starbucks, beat Trump supporters, pepper sprayed innocent individuals, and set fires in the street. Others spray painted the words “Kill Trump” on storefronts. The speech was canceled by police as security failed. Yiannopoulos was evacuated from the area. “The left is profoundly antithetical to free speech these days, does not want to hear alternative points of view, and will do anything to shut it down,” Yiannopoulos told Fox News host Tucker Carlson in an interview on Wednesday night. “My point is being proven over and over and over again. ” | 0fake |
WATCH JUDGE ORDER PUNK WEARING “POLICE LIE” T-SHIRT TO LEAVE COURTROOM…Or Face Contempt Charges | The hate for our law enforcement is at an all time high. The blame for the injuries suffered and murders of innocent law enforcement officers falls squarely on the shoulders of Eric Holder, Eric Sharpton and Barack Hussein Obama | 1real |
Obama pushing to diversify federal judiciary amid GOP delays | In Florida, President Obama has nominated the first openly gay black man to sit on a federal district court. In New York, he has nominated the first Asian American lesbian. And his pick for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit? The first South Asian.
Reelected with strong support from women, ethnic minorities and gays, Obama is moving quickly to change the face of the federal judiciary by the end of his second term, setting the stage for another series of drawn-out confrontations with Republicans in Congress.
The president has named three dozen judicial candidates since January and is expected to nominate scores more over the next few months, aides said. The push marks a significant departure from the sluggish pace of appointments throughout much of his first term, when both Republicans and some Democrats complained that Obama had not tried hard enough to fill vacancies on federal courts.
The new wave of nominations is part of an effort by Obama to cement a legacy that long outlives his presidency and makes the court system more closely resemble the changing society it governs, administration officials said.
“Diversity in and of itself is a thing that is strengthening the judicial system,” White House Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler said. “It enhances the bench and the performance of the bench and the quality of the discussion . . . to have different perspectives, different life experiences, different professional experiences, coming from a different station in life, if you will.”
But Obama’s biggest obstacle is the Senate, where Republicans have frequently blocked judicial confirmation votes for months or, in some cases, years. Obama has 35 nominees currently awaiting votes by the Senate — including several holdovers from 2012 who have been renominated this year — and there are more than 50 additional vacancies awaiting nominees, according to the Federal Judicial Center.
Some conservatives are skeptical of the push to name more women and minorities to the bench, arguing that it amounts to unjustified affirmative action. Curt Levey, an outspoken Obama critic who runs the advocacy group Committee for Justice, said the White House may be “lowering their standards” to nominate more nonwhite judges.
“If they’re talking about achieving [diversity] through aggressive identification of minority candidates, then that’s their prerogative,” Levey said. “If they’re talking about doing it through preferences, having a lower threshold of qualifications for minorities, then I don’t approve. And it’s hard to know which they’re doing. Unlike a college admissions system, where it’s easy to quantify, this is difficult.”
During Obama’s first term, judicial nominations often fell by the wayside in the face of the economic crisis and other policy priorities at the White House. Many liberal allies complained that the president did little to champion nominees once they were named.
“Republicans will throw up every roadblock they can,” said Nan Aron, president of the liberal Alliance for Justice. “We’re counting on the White House and Senate leadership to be more assertive in getting nominees confirmed.”
The White House said it intends to aggressively push for more judicial nominees during Obama’s second term and is hopeful that changes in filibuster rules will help speed up the process. The Senate decided in January to limit debate for district court nominees from 30 hours to two hours, although the restrictions do not apply to nominees for the Supreme Court or federal appeals courts.
Obama has already broken more barriers with his judicial appointments than any other president, aides said. At the circuit court level, four states now have their first female justices, five have their first black justices and two have their first Hispanics. Sonia Sotomayor also became the first Hispanic to serve on the Supreme Court.
“There’s a leveling-the-playing-field goal that is kind of a frame that overrides the whole endeavor,” Ruemmler, who oversees the nominating process, said in an interview.
Obama, a former constitutional law professor, has long argued for a broad set of criteria in selecting judges. When he picked Sotomayor in 2009, Obama said “experience being tested by obstacles and barriers, by hardship and misfortune” was an important qualification for any jurist because it imparts a sense of compassion for ordinary citizens.
The diversity of Obama’s judicial nominees stands in contrast to staff selections at the start of his second term that have been dominated by white men, including White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, Secretary of State John F. Kerry, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew.
By contrast, 17 of the 35 pending judicial nominees are women, 15 are ethnic minorities and five are openly gay, according to White House statistics. Six are straight white men.
During Obama’s first term, 37 percent of his confirmed judges were nonwhites, compared with 19 percent for President George W. Bush and 27 percent for President Bill Clinton. The trend is similar on gender: 42 percent of Obama’s first-term judges were women, compared with 21 percent for Bush and 30 percent for Clinton.
Of the 874 federal judgeships, 39 percent are held by women and 37 percent are held by non-whites, according to data kept by the Federal Judicial Center.
“It’s very, very important that these courts reflect the diversity of what’s coming in terms of demographics,” said Nancy Zirkin of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, an advocacy group. “It will be his most long-lasting legacy. . . . Obama, by putting on a diverse number of judges, we believe will shape the courts for years to come.”
Obama nominated Mary H. Murguia for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. Murguia’s parents emigrated from Mexico to Kansas, where she was born.
Others include the first Haitian American, Afro-Caribbean, Vietnamese American and Korean American judges nominated to their respective positions.
One senior Republican Senate aide, who requested anonymity in order to discuss the nomination process, said, “We are going to continue to insist on a level of quality” among nominees.
“We’re not advocating or opposing his diversity goals,” the aide said. “But that should not override the substantive qualifications of the nominees, which are professional competence, judicial temperament, respect for the law, understanding the Constitution.”
Liberal groups have been pressuring the White House to look for diversity not just in race, gender or sexual orientation, but also in professional experience. They want fewer corporate lawyers from white-shoe firms and more public defenders and lawyers from outside what is sometimes called the “judicial monastery.”
“That’s a completely different view than somebody who has only represented General Motors,” Zirkin said.
The Obama judges, many of them in their 40s, also establish a diverse bench of progressives whom Obama or future presidents could tap for Supreme Court vacancies.
One such nominee was Goodwin Liu, Obama’s pick in February 2010 for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. As a Taiwanese American, Liu was an historic selection. But Republicans stalled his nomination for 15 months, saying that his past writings showing a broad interpretation of the Constitution and his sharp criticism of conservative Supreme Court justices John G. Roberts Jr. and Samuel A. Alito Jr. were so liberal that he did not deserve an up-or-down vote.
“Goodwin Liu should run for elected office, not serve as a judge,” Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) said in a May 2011 statement. “Ideologues have their place, just not on the bench.”
According to the White House, Obama’s first-term nominees took an average of 225 days to be confirmed, compared with 175 days for Bush and 98 days for Clinton.
Ruemmler said that there has been “very, very little substantive opposition to any of the president’s judicial nominees.” She pointed to the case of Robert E. Bacharach, a district court judge from Oklahoma whom Obama nominated last year for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit.
Bacharach’s home-state senators, Tom Coburn and James M. Inhofe, both Republicans, supported him. “I like the guy,” Inhofe told the Oklahoman. “I told him that it’s not very often the White House and I agree on anything.”
Still, Senate Republicans filibustered Bacharach’s nomination. They gave no specific reason other than a vow to block all of Obama’s circuit court nominees because 2012 was a presidential election year. In 2004 and 2008, Senate Democrats did much the same to Bush’s election-year nominees.
After 263 days of waiting, Bacharach’s nomination came to the floor for a vote on Feb. 25. It passed, 93 to 0. | 0fake |
The Vatican Is Controlling History | posted by Eddie History has been suppressed in the biggest, long-term cover-up ever and the Vatican knows all the secrets. The Vatican is constantly monitoring things with the Lucifer device and they are secretly preparing for the arrival of alien savior. They seem to be intentionally creating something that is going to position the Roman Catholic Church to be at the forefront of an official disclosure multi-value get easy above the ufology ways that they can’t even imagine. History has been literally rewritten and the archaeological establishment as well as the as well as the educational establishment would like us to believe that thousands of years ago mankind was in the anthology and that we were in the infancy of our species and we were banging stones together and barely able to build a mud hut let alone the amazing megalithic structures that are present all over the earth standing in testimony testifying in themselves of a superior race society. Those who control the past control the future and no organization on earth has a tighter grip on the official history than the Roman Catholic Church. Connect the dots and present evidence of a long plot to cover up the history of the pre-flood world and to prepare humanity for the arrival of our space brothers bringing a different gospel. Timothy Alberino, director and host of the new documentary ‘True Legends: The UnHoly See’, discusses evidence that the Vatican is behind a vast cover-up of pre-Flood history.
source: | 1real |
Mexico replaces top U.S. diplomats, citing hostile climate | MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico’s government on Tuesday unexpectedly changed two of its top officials responsible for U.S. relations, citing concerns about an increasingly anti-Mexican climate across the border. Carlos Sada, previously the consul in Los Angeles, was named ambassador to the United States while Paulo Carreno, one of President Enrique Pena Nieto’s communications chiefs, was appointed the deputy foreign minister for North America. The new ambassador must still be approved by the Senate. “We have been warning that our citizens have begun to feel a more hostile climate,” Foreign Minister Claudia Ruiz Massieu told local radio after the announcement. “This (anti-Mexican) rhetoric has made it clear that we have to act in a different way so that this tendency being generated doesn’t damage the bilateral relationship,” she added. Mexican government officials have expressed concern about the rise of Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump due to his repeated verbal attacks on Mexico, and his insistence that Mexico should be made to pay for a border wall. Trump on Tuesday threatened to block remittances from undocumented Mexican migrants if elected president unless the country pays billions for his planned wall. Trump also called Ford’s announcement that it would build more cars in Mexico “an absolute disgrace.” | 0fake |
COLLECTING THE MONEY FOR THE WALL? MEXICO STARTS CHARGING AMERICANS A FEE TO ENTER | Don t you just love the absolute boldness of the Mexican government in this move to charge people coming across their border in Tijuana? Unreal!Walking into Mexico at the nation s busiest border crossing with the United States is no longer an uninterrupted stroll for foreigners.Starting late Wednesday, pedestrians going to Tijuana from San Diego at the San Ysidro crossing must choose between a line for Mexicans who get waved through, and a line for foreigners who must show a passport, fill out a form and if staying more than a week pay 322 pesos, or roughly $20, for a six-month permit.About a dozen foreigners stood in line Wednesday night, directed by English-speaking agents to six inspection booths where they got passports stamped. It took about 10 minutes from start to finish.Travelers have long followed similar protocol at Mexican airports, but the new border procedure marks a big change at land crossings that weren t designed to question everyone. Pedestrians and motorists have generally entered Mexico unencumbered along the 1,954-mile border with the United States. This is about putting our house in order, said Rodulfo Figueroa, Mexico s top immigration official in Baja California state, which includes Tijuana. | 1real |
Here's What Ivanka Trump Posted on Instagram During Her Father's Biggest Controversies | Getty - Mark Makela
Ivanka Trump's Instagram account stands apart from her father's candidacy. It's the public feed of Ivanka, the brand. “American wife, mother & entrepreneur. EVP at the Trump Organization. Founder of IvankaTrump.com and #WomenWhoWork,” her bio says.
Scrolling through, it sometimes feels like an alternate reality. When Donald Trump's presidential campaign is in free fall, or facing controversy, Ivanka is posting a mix of inspirational quotes, family pics, and the occasional selfie. Photos of her on the campaign trail are far and few between.
That's on purpose.
“My Women Who Work initiative and my brand, was launched far before the presidential cycle commenced and will continue long afterwards,” she said this month at the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit.
Still, the Donald Trump campaign and Ivanka Trump brand do coexist, and it's often jarring to witness them side-by-side. This is the story of the 2016 campaign, juxtaposed with @ivankatrump.
June 16, 2016:
Donald Trump announces his presidential campaign at Trump Tower in New York City. Ivanka introduces him as “a man who needs no introduction.” Actors are paid to wear shirts and pretend to be supporters. Trump accuses Mexico of sending drugs, rapists, and murders across the border and promises to build a wall on the southern border.
Ivanka posts a photo of her introduction. See her speech on IvankaTrump.com (link in profile). A photo posted by Ivanka Trump (@ivankatrump) on Jun 16, 2015 at 4:55pm PDT
December 7, 2015:
Donald Trump calls for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States” following an ISIS-inspired shooting in San Bernardino.
Ivanka posts five black and white photos to promote her Ivanka Trump Jewelry campaign. “I love the idea of elevating an otherwise simple look with stunning accessories,” she writes. A photo posted by Ivanka Trump (@ivankatrump) on Dec 7, 2015 at 10:56am PST
February 18, 2016:
Donald Trump calls Pope Francis “disgraceful” after his comment that anyone who wants to build a wall is “not Christian.”
“No leader, especially a religious leader, has the right to question another man’s religion or faith,” Trump says.
Ivanka posts a photo with the (Link in profile) to her next #dinner #menu. “The #recipes are sure to warm you up when it's cold outside!” she writes. A photo posted by Ivanka Trump (@ivankatrump) on Feb 18, 2016 at 2:15pm PST
March 13, 2016:
Donald Trump says he will pay the legal fees of a man accused of assaulting a protester at his rally in North Carolina.
“From what I heard, there was a lot of taunting and a certain finger was placed in the air,” he says on “Meet The Press.”“I don't condone what he did. But you know what, not nice for the other side, either.”
Ivanka posts that she finally [email protected] the previous night and was blown away.
“Definitely a must-see!” she writes, with two thumbs up emoji. A photo posted by Ivanka Trump (@ivankatrump) on Mar 13, 2016 at 6:58pm PDT
March 30, 2016:
Donald Trump defends his then-campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, who the day before was charged with battery after being accused of grabbing then-Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields. Trump tells “Today” Fields lied.
Ivanka posts an inspirational #WomenWhoWork quote from Dorit Jaffee about tranquility. A photo posted by Ivanka Trump (@ivankatrump) on Mar 16, 2016 at 6:37am PDT
September 30, 2016:
Donald Trump goes on an early morning tweetstorm, attacking Hillary Clinton and Alicia Machado, a former Miss Universe contestant Trump once called “Miss Piggy” and “Miss Housekeeping,” between 3 a.m. to 5 a.m. He accused Machado of being in a sex tape, which she was not.
Ivanka posts a photo of a woman with a card in her purse that reads “Women Who Do It All” and writes “The weekend is calling your name! #WomenWhoWork.” A photo posted by Ivanka Trump (@ivankatrump) on Sep 30, 2016 at 11:03am PDT
October 22, 2016:
During a policy speech in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Donald Trump threatens to sue the women who have accused him of sexual misconduct.
“Every woman lied when they came forward to hurt my campaign,” he says. “Total fabrication. The events never happened. Never. All of these lill be sued after the election is over.”
Ivanka posts a looping video of her feet in front of a toasty fire. Oct 22, 2016 at 7:52pm PDT | 1real |
Matteo Salvini: Europe ’Soft’, Islam Incompatible with Our Values | “If you want to live in peace, you have to prepare for war” Lega Nord leader Matteo Salvini has said, stating that Europe must rethink its migration policies following the terror attack at a Christmas market in Berlin. [The head of the Italian Eurosceptic party also told Die Welt he’s proud to be a populist and, noting that Europe has never been so “soft” warned that the continent is in danger of losing its identity and values. Speaking to the German broadsheet, Salvini said the charge of populism is nothing to be ashamed of, and confirmed his status as a fan of Donald Trump. The Lega Nord (Northern League) leader said accusations of populism are a “compliment” and a “reason to be proud”. “I have a shirt [emblazoned on which are the] words ‘I am a populist’” he revealed, dismissing Die Welt’s assertion that the term is an insult. “Originally, the term meant one who is close to the people, and speaks the common language,” Salvini added. The mass sex attacks by mobs of migrants in Cologne last New Year “were in a sense a forewarning” of the truck attack in Berlin that went unheeded, the Italian politician said. “We are being attacked and so must resolutely expel all those who have no right to live [in Europe]” he said, and argued that Germany’s lacklustre response to the mass sexual assaults was a mistake. “If you want to live in peace, you have to prepare for war,” the Lega Nord leader added. “Europe is losing its values and identity, it’s lacking security and has lost its sense of pride” Salvini said, and spoke of a “culture war” taking place on the continent. “Christmas is Christmas because Jesus Christ was born. Why should we be ashamed of our traditions?” the populist Italian said, and criticised how, in many Italian schools, Christmas festivities have been replaced with multicultural ‘peace’ festivals. Salvini said there should be no room for “fanatics” in Europe, and noted that “only the law of Allah is valid” for a number of Muslim migrants who reject secular laws. “The problem is not with individuals but the culture of Islam” the migration politician stated, adding: “It’s backward, and not compatible with our society. ” Noting that 95 per cent of the new arrivals in Italy are economic migrants from Africa, Salvini said the money Italy is spending on putting them up in hotels is being “thrown out of the window”. Far better, he asserted, that the money go towards deals with African governments in which Italy invests in infrastructure in return for an end to migrant flows and easy return of illegal infiltrators. More than half a million migrants arrived in Italy by boat in 2016. In response, the globalist, social democratic government has seized hotels across the country, using them to house migrants against the wishes of their owners. In November, Breitbart London reported on how locals in Turin were left terrified when migrants squatting in the city’s former Olympic village, now a hotbed of crime, took to the streets to protest “racist Italians”. Screaming threats and throwing projectiles, the migrants hailed the Bataclan massacre, in which 89 people were murdered, as a “revenge of the excluded”. | 0fake |
Halloween, Instagram Style - The New York Times | Last night Eleven from “Stranger Things” and the Snapchat deer filter may have dominated the Halloween streets, but at parties beforehand a number of celebrities went their own way. Following, our survey of the most creative costumes. Beyoncé and Blue Ivy Carter have worn costumes for the last three years, but this time, they invited Grandma to join their cover band. The former Destiny’s Child member also looked to the ’90s for costume inspiration, dressing as Dionne from “Clueless. ” The fashion designer took on the form of a female bodybuilder named Stacie while his boyfriend Charlie Defrancesco played his fitness counterpart, Larry, at Bette Midler’s Halloween party. Another throwback costume came in the form of Christina Aguilera’s 2002 “Dirrty” music video look, replicated all the way down to the crotchless pants. Kim Kardashian is on a social media hiatus. Her sister, on the other hand, posted plenty of photos of her couple costume, Storm and Black Panther. Ms. Alba and her friend Kelly Sawyer dressed as Edina and Patsy of “Absolutely Fabulous” — Champagne included. Ryan Lochte’s silver Olympic hair, among his other Rio 2016 antics, made the swimmer a star of the Halloween costume rotation, with Mr. Lautner, Nina Dobrev and more assuming his guise. Katy Perry, who sang at the Democratic convention this summer, attended a Halloween party dressed as Hillary Clinton, accompanied by Michael Kives as Bill Clinton. Ms. Perry’s boyfriend, Orlando Bloom, followed behind as Donald Trump. Ms. Schumer’s boyfriend was one of many Elevens, while the comedian costumed herself as another “Stranger Things” character: Dustin. The lifestyle expert Instagrammed a photo of J. Seward Johnson’s Marilyn Monroe statue in Los Angeles last week, asking, “Think I can do it?” Is there anything she can’t do? | 0fake |
Area Dad Informs Busboy He’s Ready To Order - The Onion - America's Finest News Source | New Parenting Trend Involves Just Handing Children Bulleted List Of Things To Accomplish By 30 NEW YORK—Saying the popular new practice appears to be growing in popularity particularly in coastal states and within more affluent suburbs, several family experts confirmed Friday that the latest parenting trend involves just handing children a bulleted list of things they need to accomplish by the age of 30. Family Thought Grandfather Might Enjoy Watching Worst Little League Game Imaginable BOWLING GREEN, KY—Saying it would be a great opportunity for some sunshine and fresh air, members of the Ostby family reportedly came to the conclusion Friday that their grandfather, Earl Ostby, might enjoy going outside and watching the worst Little League baseball game imaginable. Michael Phelps’ Fiancée Gives Birth To Healthy 6-Pound Tadpole TEMPE, AZ—Saying that he is “so overjoyed, excited, and thankful,” 18-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps announced Sunday that his fiancée has given birth to a healthy 6-pound tadpole. | 1real |
BREAKING: Right Wing Supreme Court Justice Found Dead | Reports out of Texas are saying that Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was found dead while visiting the luxury resort at the Cibolo Creek Ranch just south of Marfa, Texas. He was apparently on a hunting trip, and it looks at though his death was from natural causes, but his death is still under investigation.The 79-year-old justice was found in his hotel room after he didn t appear for breakfast. He was attending the ranch with about 40 other people.Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued this statement after the news of Scalia s passing: He was the solid rock who turned away so many attempts to depart from and distort the Constitution. We mourn his passing, and we pray that his successor on the Supreme Court will take his place as a champion for the written Constitution and the Rule of Law. Cecilia and I extend our deepest condolences to his family, and we will keep them in our thoughts and prayers. While there are definitely differing opinions of the Reagan appointed justice, many of whom believe the justice a harsh critic of equality and justice for all, it is still a very sad day in America with the passing of Justice Scalia.Featured image: Flickr | 1real |
Trump favors ex-pharma executive Azar for health secretary: Politico | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump is leaning toward naming former pharmaceutical industry executive Alex Azar as his pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Politico reported on Tuesday, citing two White House officials. He would replace Republican Tom Price, who resigned last month amid controversy over his heavy use of private and government jets for travel at taxpayer expense. Azar was deputy secretary at HHS during the administration of President George W. Bush before joining drugmaker Eli Lilly and Co, first as senior vice president of corporate affairs and communications and later as president of Lilly USA, its U.S. affiliate, according to his LinkedIn page. He left the company in January to form an Indianapolis-based healthcare consulting firm, his Linkedin entry says. Azar also clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia and was a partner at Washington law firm Wiley, Rein and Fielding, the Linkedin page says. The White House declined comment on the report. Azar did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Politico said. | 0fake |
Rainbow celebrations as Australians vote for same-sex marriage | SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australians have voted overwhelmingly for same-sex marriage, paving the way for legislation by the end of 2017 and sparking rainbow celebrations on Wednesday, with people wearing wedding dresses and sequined suits and declaring our love is real . Australia will become the 26th nation to formalize the unions if the legislation is passed by parliament, which is expected despite some vocal opposition within the government s conservative right wing. Thousands of people in a Sydney park broke into a loud cheer, hugged and cried as Australia s chief statistician revealed live over a big screen that 61.6 percent of voters surveyed favored marriage equality, with 38.4 percent against. Australian Olympic swimmer Ian Thorpe, who came out as gay three years ago, said the result was a huge relief. It means that the way you feel for another person, whoever that may be, is equal, Thorpe told reporters at the Sydney celebrations. The voluntary poll is non-binding but Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull immediately said he would fulfill a pledge to raise a bill in parliament with the aim of passing laws by Christmas. Turnbull played down concern of a split in his coalition government over the policy as the conservative faction presses for amendments to protect religious freedoms that discriminate against same-sex couples. It is unequivocal, it is overwhelming. They have spoken in their millions and they have voted overwhelmingly yes for marriage equality, Turnbull told reporters in Canberra after the survey results were announced. They voted yes for fairness, yes for commitment, yes for love. A marriage equality bill was introduced into parliament later on Wednesday. The result marks a watershed moment for gay rights in Australia, where it was illegal in some states to engage in homosexual activity until 1997. It s a g day. Way to go Australia, tweeted U.S. TV host Ellen DeGeneres, who is married to Australian actress Portia de Rossi in the United States. Almost 80 percent of eligible voters took part in the survey - a higher turnout than Britain s Brexit vote and Ireland s same-sex marriage referendum. Mark Barry, 59, wiped away tears as he took in the result with his partner of 35 years, Gerrard Boller. I know a celebrant who is going to be very happy about this, Barry told Reuters. Irish-born Qantas Airways Chief Executive Alan Joyce, one of the few openly gay business leaders in Australia, told the Sydney crowd, many of whom sheltered from the sun under rainbow umbrellas, that the result was an amazing outcome and urged Turnbull to move quickly on legislation. Turnbull has been under pressure amid a citizenship crisis that has cost him his deputy and the government s majority in parliament and political analysts said the resounding yes vote presented him with his first opportunity in months to exert decisive control. Nick Economou, a political scientist at Monash University, said Turnbull should feel emboldened by the result and this is the sort of thing he has been looking for to show some assertive leadership . The no campaign had sought to leverage powerful religious organizations in a survey campaign that was criticized by some in the yes camp as divisive and aggressive. Catholic Archbishop of Sydney Anthony Fisher said he was deeply disappointed that the likely result will be legislation to further deconstruct marriage and family in Australia . On the strength of the yes vote, conservatives dropped a plan for a competing bill that would have allowed private businesses to refuse services like wedding cakes for same-sex weddings by objecting on religious grounds. | 0fake |
Islamic State claims responsibility for rocket, mortar fire on Kabul airport | CAIRO (Reuters) - Islamic State claimed responsibility for several explosions that targeted the area in and around Kabul airport on Wednesday hours after U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis arrived in the Afghan capital, the group s AMAQ news agency said. The news agency said infiltrators used SPG-9 rockets and mortars for the attack. There were no reports of casualties or damage and Mattis was not near the airport when the rockets hit. | 0fake |
Timeline: Zika's origin and global spread | The following timeline charts the origin and spread of the Zika virus from its discovery nearly 70 years ago: 1947: Scientists researching yellow fever in Uganda’s Zika Forest identify the virus in a rhesus monkey 1948: Virus recovered from Aedes africanus mosquito in Zika Forest 1952: First human cases detected in Uganda and Tanzania 1954: Virus found in Nigeria 1960s-80s: Zika detected in mosquitoes and monkeys across equatorial Africa 1969–83: Zika found in equatorial Asia, including India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Pakistan 2007: Zika spreads from Africa and Asia, first large outbreak on Pacific island of Yap 2012: Researchers identify two distinct lineages of the virus, African and Asian 2013–14: Zika outbreaks in French Polynesia, Easter Island, the Cook Islands and New Caledonia. Retrospective analysis shows possible link to birth defects and severe neurological complications in babies in French Polynesia March 2, 2015: Brazil reports illness characterized by skin rash in northeastern states July 17: Brazil reports detection of neurological disorders in newborns associated with history of infection Oct. 5: Cape Verde has cases of illness with skin rash Oct. 22: Colombia confirms cases of Zika Oct. 30: Brazil reports increase in microcephaly, abnormally small heads, among newborns Nov. 11: Brazil declares public health emergency November 2015-January 2016: Cases reported in Suriname, Panama, El Salvador, Mexico, Guatemala, Paraguay, Venezuela, French Guiana, Martinique, Puerto Rico, Guyana, Ecuador, Barbados, Bolivia, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Curacao, Jamaica Feb. 1: World Health Organization (WHO) declares public health emergency of international concern Feb. 2: First case of Zika transmission in United States; local health officials say likely contracted through sex, not mosquito bite Feb. 5: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says virus being actively transmitted in 30 countries, mostly in the Americas Feb. 8: U.S. President Barack Obama requests $1.8 billion to fight Zika Feb. 12: Brazil investigating potential link between Zika infections and 4,314 suspected cases of microcephaly. Of those, 462 confirmed as microcephaly and 41 determined to be linked to virus Feb. 17: Brazil investigating potential link between Zika and 4,443 suspected cases of microcephaly. Of those, 508 confirmed as microcephaly and most of those cases are linked to the virus. WHO seeks $56 million to fight Zika. Feb. 18: CDC adds Aruba and Bonaire to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 32. Feb. 23: CDC investigating 14 cases of possible sexual transmission of Zika. CDC also adds Trinidad and Tobago and Marshall Islands to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 34. Feb. 25: Brazil says confirmed microcephaly cases number more than 580 and considers most of them to be related to Zika infections in the mothers. Brazil is investigating an additional 4,100 suspected cases of microcephaly. Feb. 27: France detects first sexually transmitted case of Zika. Feb. 29: CDC adds St. Maarten, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 36. March 1: Brazil says confirmed microcephaly cases rose to 641 and considers most of them to be related to Zika infections in the mothers. Brazil is investigating an additional 4,222 suspected cases of microcephaly. March 8: WHO advises pregnant women to avoid areas with Zika outbreak and said sexual transmission of the virus is “relatively common.” March 9: CDC adds New Caledonia to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 37. March 15: Cuba reports first case of Zika contracted in the country. March 16: Cape Verde identifies first case of microcephaly. March 18: CDC says during Jan. 1, 2015 to Feb. 26, 2016, 116 residents of the United States had evidence of recent Zika virus infection based on laboratory testing. Brazil says confirmed microcephaly cases rose to 863 and considers most of them to be related to Zika infections in the mothers. Brazil is investigating an additional 4,268 suspected cases of microcephaly. March 19: CDC adds Cuba to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 38. March 21: South Korea confirms first case of Zika. March 22: CDC adds Dominica to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 39. Bangladesh confirms first case of Zika virus. Brazil says confirmed microcephaly cases rose to 907 and considers most of them to be related to Zika infections in the mothers. Brazil is investigating an additional 4,293 suspected cases of microcephaly. March 29: Brazil says confirmed microcephaly cases rose to 944 and considers most of them to be related to Zika infections in the mothers. Brazil said the number of suspected cases of microcephaly dropped slightly to 4,291. March 31: According to the World Health Organization, there is a strong scientific consensus that Zika can cause the birth defect microcephaly as well as Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that can result in paralysis, though conclusive proof may take months or years. April 1: CDC adds Kosrae, Federated States of Micronesia to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 40. April 4: CDC adds Fiji to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 41. April 5: Vietnam reports first Zika infections. April 6: Brazil says confirmed microcephaly cases rose to 1,046 and considers most of them to be related to Zika infections in the mothers. The number of suspected cases of microcephaly dropped to 4,046. April 7: St. Lucia confirms first two cases of Zika, contracted locally. April 12: Brazil says confirmed microcephaly cases rose to 1,113 and considers most of them to be related to Zika infections in the mothers. The number of suspected cases of microcephaly dropped to 3,836. It was the second week in a row that the overall total figure fell. April 13: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concluded that infection with the Zika virus in pregnant women is a cause of the birth defect microcephaly and other severe brain abnormalities in babies. The CDC said now that the causal relationship has been established, several important questions must still be answered with studies that could take years. CDC adds St. Lucia to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 42. April 14: Colombia confirms two microcephaly cases linked to Zika. April 18: Peru reports first case of sexually transmitted Zika virus. CDC adds Belize to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 43. April 19: Chilean authorities find Zika mosquito for first time in decades. April 25: Canada confirms first sexually transmitted Zika case. April 26: Brazil says the number of confirmed cases of microcephaly climbed to 1,198 from 1,168 in the week through April 23, but suspected ones under investigation continued to decline to 3,710 from 3,741 a week ago. Brazil registered 91,387 likely cases of the Zika virus from February until April 2, the health ministry said, in its first national report on the epidemic. April 29: Puerto Rico reports first death related to Zika, according to the CDC. The country also confirmed 683 Zika cases, including 65 pregnant women, and five suspected cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome from Zika, the CDC reported. May 4: Panama confirms four microcephaly cases tied to Zika. May 6: Spain gets first case of Zika-related brain defect in a fetus. May 9: CDC adds Papua New Guinea, Saint Barthelemy and Peru to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 46. Honduras suspects first case of microcephaly in Zika patient. May 11: Brazil says the number of confirmed cases of microcephaly dropped to 1,326 in the week through May 7 as doctors and Brazilian health officials find that some suspected cases of microcephaly are not the disorder. Suspected ones under investigation continued to decline to 3,433. May 12: CDC adds Grenada to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 47. May 13: Puerto Rico reports first case of Zika-related microcephaly. May 20: WHO says an outbreak of Zika virus on the African island chain of Cape Verde is of the same strain as the one blamed for birth abnormalities in Brazil. May 24: Brazil reports the number of confirmed cases of microcephaly at 1,434 for the latest week to May 21. Suspected ones under investigation declined to 3,257. May 26: CDC adds Argentina to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 48. June 9: WHO issues updated guidelines on prevention of sexual transmission of the Zika virus, including advising women living in areas where the virus is being transmitted to delay getting pregnant. June 14: El Salvador confirms first case of microcephaly linked to Zika. June 23: CDC reports seven babies in the United States with microcephaly or other Zika-related birth defects such as serious brain abnormalities, and five lost pregnancies from either miscarriage, stillbirth or termination. June 28: First baby with Zika-related birth defect microcephaly born in Florida. June 30: CDC adds Anguilla to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 49. Guinea-Bissau confirms three cases of Zika, government says. Spain records first case of sexually transmitted Zika virus, health authorities said. July 8: CDC confirmed that a Utah resident’s death last month is the first Zika-related death in the continental United States. July 14: CDC adds Saint Eustatius to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 50. July 15: New York City’s health department reports the first female-to-male transmission of the Zika virus. July 18: CDC reports that caregiver of Utah man who died of Zika tested positive for virus. July 19: Florida health officials are investigating a case of Zika virus infection that does not appear to have stemmed from travel to another region with an outbreak. July 21: CDC reports 400 pregnant women in U.S. with evidence of Zika infection, up from 346 a week ago. The health agency also reports three more babies born in U.S. with birth defects linked to the Zika virus, bringing total to 12. Florida Department of Health said it was investigating a non travel-related case of Zika in Broward County, marking the second such case in the U.S. July 22: New York City health officials reports first baby born with Zika-related birth defect. July 25: Spain reports first case in Europe of baby born with Zika-related defect. CDC issues updated recommendations for preventing and testing for Zika infection, warning that the virus can be transmitted through unprotected sex with an infected female partner. July 26: Honduras detects 8 cases of babies with Zika-related defect. CDC adds Saba to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 51. July 27: Paraguay reports first cases of microcephaly linked to Zika. July 29: Florida authorities report what is believed to be the first evidence of local Zika transmission in the continental United States. Aug. 1: Florida identifies 10 more cases of Zika virus caused by mosquitoes, bringing total to 14. CDC issues guidelines for pregnant women who live in and traveled to affected area in a Miami neighborhood. Aug. 2: Health authorities in Florida add one more case of locally transmitted Zika, bringing total to 15. CDC adds Antigua, Barbuda, and Turks and Cacos to countries and territories with active outbreaks, bringing total to 54. Aug. 3: U.S. researchers said they launched Zika vaccine clinical trial. Aug. 4: Cuba reports two cases of locally transmitted Zika. Aug. 5: Florida health authorities report another locally transmitted case, bringing total to 16. Aug. 9: Texas health officials said death of infant born with microcephaly is linked to Zika, the first casualty in the state associated with the virus. Cayman Islands reports first locally transmitted Zika case. SOURCES: World Health Organization, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Reuters | 0fake |
Dem Wingnut James Carville Melts Down, Says 'KGB' Controls FBI - Edmund Kozak | People over profits Dem Wingnut James Carville Melts Down, Says 'KGB' Controls FBI
The Democratic strategist calls reopened Clinton probe an 'attack' on American democracy in a MSNBC tantrum PoliZette
Famed Democratic strategist James Carville may be the first Clinton surrogate to have officially lost his mind over the FBI’s decision to reopen its investigation into Clinton’s private email server.
In an appearance on MSNBC on Monday, Carville relentlessly — and repeatedly — attacked the FBI’s decision to reopen the investigation, asserting it is part of a conspiracy to subvert American democracy.
Apparently the fact that the Soviet security agency was disbanded in 1991 does not preclude its involvement in this vast, anti-Clinton, FBI-organized conspiracy, according to Carville. Poor Carville was clearly apoplectic at the news of Comey’s announcement, describing it as an assault or attack on American democracy multiple times.“This is in effect an attempt to hijack an election,” Carville claimed. “It’s unprecedented … the House Republicans and the KGB are trying to influence our democracy,” he said.
He was also adamant about who was responsible. “Comey was acting in concert and coordination with the House Republicans,” Carville said. “We also have the extraordinary case of the KGB being involved in this race and selectively leaking things from the Clinton campaign that they hacked,” he added.
Carville was very upset that Comey's announcement thrust Clinton's behavior back into the spotlight. "It would seem to me that the FBI shouldn't be getting rolled by the House Republicans, that's what happened here — there's nothing else that's going on — and in the meantime … democracy is under assault by the KGB," he said. "To me that's something we ought to be talking about."
Unfortunately for Carville, fanciful tales about time-traveling Soviet spies and an FBI in the GOP's pocket certainly make for interesting entertainment — but they pale in importance to the real-life stories of Clinton's brazen lawlessness.
When the MSNBC anchor dared raise the fact that Democrats were praising Comey only a few months ago when he announced the FBI's decision not to recommend indictment, Carville went into a stuttering, sputtering fit.
"When the facts change I change my mind," Carville said. "Why are you defending this, why are you sitting here as American democracy is under assault?" he asked.
"This is an unprecedented event that was done on behalf of the House Republicans," Carville repeated. "And as we know the KGB is all over this election and this is what we are talking about? We ought to be talking about [how] our democracy is under assault right now and what we are going to do about it, not [what somebody said in July] about James Comey." | 1real |
Billionaire Branson targeted in $5 million scam 'straight out of le Carre' | LONDON (Reuters) - Richard Branson, billionaire founder of the Virgin group, has revealed he was targeted by a fraudster posing as Britain s defense minister who tried to get him to contribute $5 million to a supposed secret ransom payment. Appealing for information to help identify the conman, Branson said he suspected the same person had later impersonated him to steal $2 million from a friend of his by pretending to raise funds for people affected by Hurricane Irma. This story sounds like it has come straight out of a John le Carre book or a James Bond film, but it is sadly all true, Branson wrote in a blog. Instantly recognizable with his wavy blond hair and beard, Branson is one of Britain s best-known businessmen. The Virgin brand is licensed for use by a range of businesses from airlines to train companies to telecoms and gyms. Branson wrote that six months ago, after an elaborate set-up involving a note on fake government notepaper, he spoke on the phone to someone purporting to be Defence Secretary Michael Fallon. The man told Branson that a British diplomat had been kidnapped and was being held for ransom by terrorists. He said that while the government did not pay ransoms, there was a particularly sensitive reason why the diplomat had to be saved, and the government was confidentially asking a syndicate of British business people to step in. I was asked to contribute $5 million of the ransom money, which he assured me the British government would find a way of paying back, Branson wrote. Feeling suspicious, Branson checked with the government and was told that Fallon had not spoken to him. The matter was reported to the police. Six months on, Branson learnt that a friend, whom he described as a very successful businessman in the United States, had been called by a conman posing as him. When the call happened, the conman did an extremely accurate impression of me and spun a big lie about urgently needing a loan while I was trying to mobilize aid in the BVI (British Virgin Islands), he wrote. Branson owns a small island in the BVI archipelago which, as was well publicized, was devastated by Hurricane Irma. The caller took advantage of that context. They claimed I couldn t get hold of my bank in the UK because I didn t have any communications going to Europe and I d only just managed to make a satellite call to the businessman in America, Branson wrote. The business person, incredibly graciously, gave $2 million, which promptly disappeared. A spokesman for Fallon said he was aware of two attempts, one not involving Branson, to impersonate the minister for illicit gain, and Fallon s office were assisting the police in their efforts to try to catch those responsible. | 0fake |
House G.O.P. May Seek to Punish Democrats for Gun Control Sit-In - The New York Times | WASHINGTON — Representative Kevin McCarthy, the House majority leader, said Tuesday that Democrats who essentially seized the House floor last month to protest the lack of votes on gun legislation might be punished for breaking House rules. The behavior was not “becoming of the U. S. Congress,” Mr. McCarthy told reporters. He said he had been told that Democrats had mistreated House staff members and had perhaps even damaged congressional furniture during their protest. Mr. McCarthy said that he and the House speaker, Paul D. Ryan, would soon meet with the House to discuss investigative paths and possible ramifications for the Democrats. “This is not the way the House should work,” Mr. McCarthy said. “You first have to know all the facts. Action has to be taken on behavior taken toward professional staff. ” But Mr. McCarthy’s comments seemed more indicative of the gulf between the parties than of any real likelihood of punishment for Democrats. Censure of individuals seems very unlikely, given how many participated, and any attempts to penalize them could backfire, with Democrats wielding any such penalty as a badge of honor for their willingness to take on the majority. Filming and streaming video in the House — which the Democrats did after the regular television feed ended when Republicans gaveled the House into recess — are violations of the chamber’s rules. Other potential violations include standing in the well of the House floor and cutting off debate. An outside group has made a referral to the Office of Congressional Ethics regarding solicitations issued during the . As Democrats considered their next steps on gun legislation, Mr. Ryan was to meet Tuesday evening with Representatives John Lewis of Georgia and John B. Larson of Connecticut, the organizers of the . But the outcome seemed predetermined: Mr. Ryan, who has dismissed the protest as “a political stunt,” suggested in an interview on a Wisconsin radio program earlier Tuesday that he would not bring up Democratic proposals for a vote. Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the minority leader, scheduled a news conference with advocates for Wednesday morning to keep pushing Republicans, who could face significant risks in voting on gun legislation in a contentious election year. Republicans said they intended to hold a vote this week on a measure to prevent terrorists from obtaining guns. Under the bill, the government could block the sale or transfer of a gun if it demonstrated to a judge within a few days that an individual may have links to terrorism. Similar legislation recently failed in the Senate after Democrats panned it as toothless. “The lengths the House Republican leadership will go to follow the N. R. A. ’s marching orders know no bounds,” said Drew Hammill, Ms. Pelosi’s spokesman. House Democrats made it clear that they would not stand down and were keeping their options open as they returned from the Fourth of July recess. Last week, more than 60 Democrats participated in rallies, news conferences and other events around the country on a declared “national day of action,” trying to energize supporters and keep up pressure on Republican leaders. Speaking from the House floor before their meeting, Mr. Larson called on Mr. Ryan to hold votes on measures that would restrict access to guns for those on the government’s list and expand background checks. Urging him to remember that “he is, indeed, speaker of the entire House,” Mr. Larson said that “we’re prevailing upon the decency of the other side, their understanding of the Constitution, their understanding of the rules of the House. ” Representative Tom McClintock, Republican of California, said Democrats had engaged in “one of the most disgraceful and childish breaches of the institution” by seizing the House floor on June 22. “They certainly have a right to their opinions,” he said. “They have a right to express those opinions on the House floor, and they have a right to use all of the procedures of the House to act on their opinions. What they do not have is the right to prevent those with different views from exercising the same rights, and yet that is precisely what they did. ” | 0fake |
null | Part 3 Mary Worship https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=752IX2wWouU | 1real |
Trump Just TOTALLY Screwed Our Military And Their Children | One by one, Donald Trump is screwing over everyone he promised to help when he wanted their votes. Today, it was our military veterans and their small children who got the shaft, thanks to Trump s policies. A memorandum was leaked online explaining to Army families with young kids that the early education programs they have come to rely on are coming to an end just one week from today as a result of Trump s hiring freeze. The memo announced that United States Army Garrison (USAG) Wiesbaden CYS Part-Day Programs would no longer be available as of March 1. These programs include the Strong Beginnings, Part-Day Preschool, and Part-Day Toddler programs.Printed on Army letterhead, the document clearly states that this closure is a result of staff shortage due to the Federal hiring Freeze. This Hiring Freeze prevents CYS from replacing staff who depart for any reason to include normal rotation. Because they are unable to hire new teachers, thanks to Trump s hiring freeze, they have found themselves with only enough staff to operate mandatory core programs. According to the memorandum, Part-Day programs are being closed to sustain Full-Day programs that are essential for military readiness. The last day for these Part-Day programs will be February 28. It is with deep regret that USAG Wiesbaden CYS must take this action; however, mandated core services that support Soldier readiness must be maintained and this can only be done by moving staff into the core programs from the Part-Day programs, the memo reads. It is our intention to once again offer these Part-Day programs as soon as we are authorized to hire and have sufficient trained staff on board. On the campaign trail, Trump swore up and down that he was going to take care of the men and women who serve in our military. But, like most other things he has said, this has turned out to be just one more broken promise. And now, it is the children of those who are willing to give their lives for this country that are ultimately getting screwed.If you don t think @realDonaldTrump s #hiringfreeze hurts our military, and military families, think again. This just leaked online. pic.twitter.com/H69Uh8Fukq VoteVets (@votevets) February 21, 2017Featured image via Christopher Furlong/Getty Images | 1real |
WATCH: CNN Host RIPS Kellyanne Conway A New One For Not Taking Russian Hack Seriously | Kellyanne Conway is not taking Russian interference in our political process seriously, so CNN host Kate Bolduan called her out for it.During an interview on Thursday night, Bolduan asked Conway about Donald Trump s reaction to President Obama slapping sanctioned against Russia, including the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats, in retaliation for hacking the DNC and meddling in the election on Trump s behalf.Trump insisted that we move on and blamed computers instead of the Russians for the attack because computers have complicated our lives greatly. Conway, as usual, brushed off the question and began whining about the New York Times and Hillary Clinton all while once again claiming that Trump won a huge victory. She also accused President Obama of hitting the Russians with sanctions as a political maneuver against Trump.Let s not forget that Clinton won the popular vote and Trump electoral win is one of the smallest margins of victory in the last 100 years.But while President Obama s actions against Russia may make it harder for Trump to kiss Putin s ass, it s hardly politically motivated. The CIA and 17 other intelligence agencies agree that Russia interfered in our election, and there needed to be consequences because Trump sure as hell was not going to do anything about it himself.Conway, however, continued her obsession with talking about Hillary Clinton to dodge Bolduan s questions and whined about people questioning Trump s legitimacy, which forced Bolduan to call Conway out for not taking the Russian hacking seriously. This is serious, Bolduan said. This is about a foreign country hacking into the United States electoral process. Regardless, it doesn t even have to do with the result, even. It is more that they tried to and did. Conway replied by blaming the DNC for the hack instead of the Russians who did the hacking and then proceeded to accuse the intelligence community of trying to interfere with the election results.Here s the video via YouTube:It sure sounds like there will be a lot of friction between Trump s team and the intelligence community, and frankly, they should tell Trump he s on his own. Because you know he s going to blame them for whatever happens anyway.Featured image via screenshot | 1real |
Senate passes funding bill, Obama signs into law | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate passed legislation on Friday to fund the government through April and President Barack Obama promptly signed it into law, after Democrats who had sought more generous healthcare benefits for coal miners stopped delaying action on the measure. Many government services and operations would have been closed or suspended at midnight, when current funding authority expired, if the Senate had not approved the bill. The vote was 63-36. The House of Representatives passed the legislation on Thursday. Obama signed the measure, the White House said in a statement issued about 90 minutes after the Senate passed it. Democrats from coal-producing states, led by West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, had delayed the Senate vote on the funding bill in a failed attempt to get a bigger extension of miners’ healthcare benefits that expire at the end of this year. The Democratic senators, many of whom are up for re-election in 2018, seemed eager to court blue-collar voters who flocked to Republican President-elect Donald Trump in elections last month. Some of the senators also appealed to Trump to help the miners. Trump “won coal country big, that’s for sure,” incoming Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor. “So we are simply asking our president-elect, to communicate to the people in his party, to get on board, live up to the promise we made the miners many years, decades ago,” Schumer said. The legislation provided financial support for four more months of healthcare benefits for coal miners, through April, but Manchin and other Senate Democrats wanted at least a year. Senate Republicans refused to reopen the issue. But Schumer said that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had promised Manchin he would work next year to continue the benefits beyond April. Manchin and the other Democrats then stopped objecting to holding the vote, although they still opposed the measure. “I was born in a family of coal miners,” Manchin said. “And (if) I’m not going to stand up for them, who is?” Manchin, a moderate Democrat who has been touted as a possible member of Trump’s cabinet, is scheduled to see Trump in New York on Monday. Manchin told reporters, however, that “I’m not looking for a job.” The government funding bill would keep federal agencies funded until April 28. It freezes most spending at current levels. Flint, Michigan, which has endured a two-and-a-half-year struggle with lead-contaminated drinking water, would get access to a $170 million fund for infrastructure improvements and lead poisoning prevention under the bill. The Senate also passed a separate bill authorizing water projects around the country that included directions for spending the Flint money and provisions to provide relief to drought-stricken California. This measure was also approved by the House on Thursday. A provision in the government funding bill would make it easier for Trump to win confirmation of General James Mattis to be defense secretary early next year. Republicans demanded it to help Mattis get around a requirement that the defense secretary be a civilian for seven years before taking the job. Mattis retired from the military in 2013. | 0fake |
I beat the ban in Berkeley – still censored in Sacramento | Motorola is Dead but Donbass lives on ‹ › Dr. Kevin Barrett, a Ph.D. Arabist-Islamologist, is one of America’s best-known critics of the War on Terror. He is Host of TRUTH JIHAD RADIO ; a hard driving weekly LIVE call in radio show. He also has appeared many times on Fox, CNN, PBS and other broadcast outlets, and has inspired feature stories and op-eds in the New York Times, the Christian Science Monitor, the Chicago Tribune, and other leading publications. Dr. Barrett has taught at colleges and universities in San Francisco, Paris, and Wisconsin, where he ran for Congress in 2008. He currently works as a nonprofit organizer, author, and talk radio host. I beat the ban in Berkeley – still censored in Sacramento By Kevin Barrett on October 26, 2016
by Kevin Barrett , Veterans Today Editor
Thanks to members of the Social Justice Committee of the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, a large and enthusiastic crowd turned out for my talk on “Recent False Flags” yesterday. It was a triumph of free speech in the city that gave the world the Free Speech Movement.
But unlike last year’s talk (watch it here ) this one wasn’t held at BFUU.
Why not? One member of the BFUU Social Justice Community, a certain Holly Harwood, demanded that my scheduled event be canceled because (she libelously claimed) I am a “Jew hater” and “homophobe.”
Not one member of the Social Justice Committee supported her.
So Holly Harwood started inundating the BFUU Board with lies and distortions about me and my books. The Board, which apparently includes some “stealth Zionists” who got themselves elected by concealing their pro-Israel loyalties, went along with her.
Harwood’s vicious vilification campaign only succeeded in increasing the turnout for my talk, which was held at Redwood Gardens instead of BFUU. But Harwood didn’t get the message. Now she has managed to censor another Berkeley free speech institution: Bonnie Faulkner’s legendary Guns and Butter radio show.
Today’s broadcast, which goes out on KPFA Berkeley and other Pacifica stations, features most of an interview Bonnie recorded with me last week. Unfortunately, after more mendacious complaints from Holly Harwood, Bonnie was apparently forced to cut the final six minutes of the interview, which features me explaining how and why I was banned at BFUU. Here is the censored “Guns and Butter” segment (please spread it far and wide so the censorship backfires):
The last place on earth I would ever expect ANY censorship of ANYTHING is Berkeley, California. And the last two places in Berkeley I would EVER expect to be censored are the Unitarian Church and the Guns and Butter radio show!
Did I fall into a black hole and emerge into a Bizarro World counter-universe where Berkeley Unitarians are authoritarians and censors, and it’s the Bible-thumping Baptists of Alabama who are at the cutting edge of free speech, free thought, and unfettered intellectual inquiry? Memo to the Association of Alabama Baptists: Please invite this “radical Muslim conspiracy theorist” to speak at your freedom-loving church!
And it gets worse. I will be speaking in Sacramento tonight, and guess who’s blocking the news? The main local leader of the 9/11 truth movement!
David Kimball, who runs Sacramento 9/11 Truth, has sponsored and/or helped publicize all of my previous talks in the area. Yet this time he wouldn’t return my repeated phone calls. Finally, weeks after I had started calling him, I got this email:
From: David Kimball <…> Sent: Friday, October 21, 2016 11:42 PM Subject: Re: Sacramento event October 26th
Hi Kevin.
I’ve received your phone messages and email, and my apologies for this late response.
In recent years I’ve continued to research 9/11 more thoroughly, and although you and I are still in agreement that the “official narrative” of 9/11 cannot be true and that the media perpetuates the Big Lie, my views about 9/11 are no longer in agreement with yours.
Therefore, I cannot in good conscience promote your upcoming speaking event.
Sincerely, | 1real |
Russian Investigation Landing Very Close To Trump; Jared Kushner Now ‘Person Of Interest’ | While Donald Trump is on a whirlwind world tour, the Russian investigation is beginning to land uncomfortably close to home for Trump. A member of his own family, his son-in-law Jared Kushner, is now reportedly a person of interest. The Washington Post said a senior adviser to Mr Trump was among people investigators wanted to speak to. A New York magazine reporter then said the person in question was Mr Kushner, 36, who is married to Mr Trump s eldest daughter and who flew out of Washington on Friday night to accompany the President on his first official foreign trip.The Post said the person under investigation was close to the President, but did not identify them. However, the number of people who fit such a profile would be very small.Source: IndependentAnnnd another bomb: Russia probe sees a current Trump official as a significant person of interest, WaPo reports. https://t.co/mhFonUx1Wv pic.twitter.com/xjMPuELXVO Daniel Dale (@ddale8) May 19, 2017WashPo reports:-person of interest is a WH official 3 officials had confirmed Russia contact 1 of them works at WH, Jared Kushner Ari Melber (@AriMelber) May 19, 2017Jared is the person of interest in the West Wing that the Feds are looking at. What an amazing end to the week! Eric Schmeltzer (@JustSchmeltzer) May 19, 2017Does this mean that an arrest of Kushner is imminent? No. While things have begun escalating rather quickly, The Washington Post reports that criminal charges are likely not near.Right now, all of this is speculative, but when you connect the dots, they connect right to Kushner. It could be that people behind the investigation believe that Kushner is vulnerable and likely to talk. We already know that he made a lie of omission on his security clearance application and forgot to mention a meeting with Russians. This makes him a fairly easy target in the investigation and as one of the few people to have the ear of Trump, he likely knows a lot about all of the Russian ties. He knows where all the bodies are buried, so to speak.Featured image via Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images | 1real |
Insult Comedy as Blood Sport: The Rise of the Roast Battle - The New York Times | When the comedian Jeff Ross started flinging insults at the Friars Club in the the comedy roast was mostly seen as a relic. “It was like jousting or some lost art,” he said, recalling that comics poked fun at him for participating. “It was corny. ” Two decades later, what was once nostalgic has become cool again. The roast battle, which pits comics against each other in gladiatorial combat, has become the hottest new form in comedy today, with dozens of shows across the country and abroad. This week, it’s the focus of a special on Comedy Central called “Jeff Ross Presents Roast Battle. ” At a time when rap battles have become popular online and onstage, the roast battle uses a similar format to update the ancient art of dueling . It probably began in Los Angeles in 2013, when a dispute between two comics was settled onstage at the Comedy Store in three rounds of insults after midnight. The organizers (the comics Brian Moses and Rell Battle) brought it back the next week, and buzz quickly built, turning the roast battle format from a cult hit among to a frequently affair. When Mr. Ross, who had become known as the Roastmaster General because of his performances on Comedy Central’s celebrity events, attended his first battle, he became rapidly convinced that the form was the next wave of roasting. The early Comedy Store shows, however, were too raw for television. “We had fights at the start,” Mr. Ross said. “The cops were called one time when a woman poked another in the chest. ” Along with coaching roasters between rounds and recruiting friends like Dave Chappelle and Sarah Silverman to judge, Mr. Ross established three rules: Use only original material, no physical contact and always end with a hug. Today there are battles from Vancouver to Johannesburg (and two different regular live shows in New York) with many variations. There was even a naked roast battle. What convinced Comedy Central that it would translate to television, said Jonas Larsen, a senior vice president at the network, was a tournament at the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal last year, which was repeated and filmed this year. On the TV special, 16 comics will compete for the crown. One early favorite, Mr. Ross said, is Jimmy Carr, a popular British comic, largely unknown here, who has a jarringly elegant style. “He brings a notebook onstage and cradles it like a baby and reads his material as if he’s addressing British Parliament,” Mr. Ross said. “It’s disarming. ” If the early rounds, which were broadcast last weekend, are any indication, the finals will feature less delicate styles. When the New York comic Mike Lawrence told his opponent, Scott Chaplain, that Mr. Chaplain’s father had spent “59 years in the Garden State and three in a vegetative one,” Mr. Chaplain retorted: “At least I know my dad’s watching this from heaven. Your dad won’t even watch you on Seth Meyers. ” While roast battle borrows elements from and even reality television — as with “American Idol,” the judging can be the most entertaining part — its knowing, personal jokes are a return to the clubby roots of the roast. The Comedy Central celebrity roasts focused on a star who was usually a stranger to the comics, and often an easy target, like Charlie Sheen. “We drifted into territory of trainwrecky,” Mr. Larsen said. “We’ve worked to change that. ” (David Spade hosts the next Comedy Central celebrity roast, of Rob Lowe, on Aug. 27.) “Roast Battle” is less than the traditional roast. In live shows, the participants often know each other and are of roughly similar career stature. As a consequence, the jokes are more specific and even a bit inside baseball, like a fight at the family dinner table. Just as important as the prepared jokes is the interplay, the improvised retort, the way you take a punch. The most entertaining insult humor has always depended on the chemistry of a double act (Don Rickles was funniest cracking wise at Johnny Carson) but that’s even more evident in “Roast Battle. ” Some roasters win through intimidation, and others lose before they utter their first joke. In two recent live shows I attended, the contenders leaned heavily on jokes about appearance and unfunniness (the harshest cut for a comic) and on transgressive humor, which went wrong when a combatant at the New York Comedy Club referred to the Orlando shooting the week of the tragedy. Rory Albanese, one of the judges, said it was too soon. The Stand puts on Roastmasters NYC, a better show with sharper comics and a D. J. interjecting sound effects like a Homer Simpson “D’oh. ” The judges are also funnier and more involved, a gantlet the comics have to run before they even get to each other. When a lanky roaster named Sean McCarthy took the stage recently, Mark Normand, one of the judges, said, “Wow, I didn’t know anyone still had scurvy. ” Then the other judges piled on. By the time his friend and competitor for the round, Ross Parsons, joined him, Mr. McCarthy looked defeated, stammering out his jokes. At “Roast Battle,” where comics perform in front of their peers, bombing can be brutal, and killing appears euphoric. Where does roasting go from here? Mr. Ross points to the election: “This is where the roasts have gone — to politics,” he said, adding that he has roasted Donald J. Trump twice. Mr. Trump, he said, was a good sport, and the only jokes he was sensitive about referred to finances. The Comedy Central writers sent him a list of jokes before the event, and Mr. Trump took issue with only one punch line, crossing out a reference to his wealth as $2 billion and replacing it with $10 billion. When the writers pushed back, they settled on $7 billion. Today’s political language sounds so much like insult comedy that a Hillary Clinton line in a speech about Mr. Trump (“He’s written a lot of books about business, but they all seem to end at Chapter 11”) was similar to one that Mr. Ross uttered at a Trump roast. “I read your book. It had four Chapter 11s,” he told Mr. Trump in a bit that was shot for the 2006 Comedy Central roastfest but was edited out of the final show. When our politics increasingly traffic in pointed insults, perhaps it’s no surprise that roasts have become more popular. Mr. Ross sees the lines blurring, saying he thinks that when Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Trump debate, it will resemble “Roast Battle. ” “They want to humiliate each other,” he said, adding that the funnier “one might win. ” | 0fake |
Islamic State attack west of Baghdad kills seven: security sources | BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Islamic State militants holed up west of Baghdad launched their biggest attack on Iraqi troops in months on Wednesday, security sources said, killing at least seven soldiers before being forced to retreat. The fighting, near the city of Ramadi in Anbar province, continued for several hours after the militants attacked with suicide car bombs, mortars and machine guns, the sources said. Bolstered by reinforcements, Iraqi forces killed 16 militants, state TV said, citing military commanders. Warplanes chased those who fled, it said. According to a preliminary toll from security sources, the attack killed at least seven soldiers and wounded 16, making it one of the biggest since government troops recaptured Ramadi from Islamic State in December 2015. A low-intensity guerrilla war has continued in the region. The jihadist group remains in control of a pocket north of Baghdad, Hawija, and a stretch of land across the Syrian-Iraqi border, where Iraqi forces launched offensives this month supported by a U.S.-led international coalition. The caliphate that Islamic State declared over parts of Iraq and Syria effectively collapsed in July, when Iraqi forces captured its de facto capital Mosul. | 0fake |
BHP disappointed by Trump withdrawal from Paris climate pact | LONDON (Reuters) - BHP, the world’s largest miner, said on Friday it was disappointed the United States had decided to withdraw from the Paris Agreement on climate change, but it did not affect its support for the deal and other countries should stay in. CEO Andrew Mackenzie held talks with Donald Trump in January shortly before he took office as president and tried to persuade him to stick with the pact agreed in December 2015 in Paris. Trump on Thursday said he was withdrawing from the deal, rejecting the advice of Mackenzie and many others, including his daughter Ivanka. “We note, with disappointment, the decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Climate Accord,” BHP said in a statement. “However, it does not impact our long-held support for the agreement which we believe provides a solid foundation for a global response to climate change and for the transition to a less than 2°C outcome.”BHP is the world’s biggest producer of coking coal and a major producer of iron ore, both of which are used in steel-making, a major source of carbon emissions. It has lent its backing to a carbon price to help curb emissions, invested in carbon capture and storage technology to sequester emissions produced by burning fossil fuel and says it regularly updates its portfolio to assess its sustainability. While some small miners have said the Paris agreement could add to costs and limit options for exploration, other major miners, like BHP, have published sustainability reports that have explored the risk that investors could turn away from coal mines. Glencore, which is the biggest shipper of export quality coal, says the fuel is likely to remain the cheapest source of energy for many emerging economies, but it is seeking to use more renewable energy for its own operations. It had no comment on Trump’s decision. | 0fake |
Angela Merkel, Squeezed by Far Right, Now Faces a Rising Left - The New York Times | BERLIN — She is considered the indispensable European, yet one of the biggest questions looming over the Continent’s crucial elections this year is whether Germany still regards Angela Merkel as indispensable, too. Seven months before national elections in Germany, the prevailing wisdom has held that Ms. Merkel, now seeking a fourth term as chancellor, is most vulnerable to the rising popularity of the country’s far right, just as other populist, parties are gaining in coming elections in the Netherlands and France. Yet suddenly, Germany’s left has unexpectedly resurged, prompting Der Spiegel magazine this weekend to pose a question on its cover: “Will She Fall?” A reliable answer is not in sight. The shocks of 2016 — Britain’s vote to leave the European Union and the election of Donald J. Trump as president of the United States — have profoundly shaken Germany, which depends more than any other European nation on Pax Americana and global institutions set up after World War II. But on Sunday, the rebound of the left — along with the broad German distaste for Mr. Trump that has helped fuel it — was on full display. The Social Democrat Steinmeier, who has served in Ms. Merkel’s coalition government as foreign minister for seven years, won the presidency with 931 votes in the assembly that elects the president to a term. Despite being a largely ceremonial position, the presidency provides stature and an important platform for Mr. Steinmeier, a popular and charismatic politician. In his brief acceptance speech, he encouraged Germans to be bold in difficult times. “If we want to give others courage, then we must have some ourselves,” he said on a day when many other speakers evoked the country’s dark past and its emergence as a democracy after the Nazis’ defeat in World War II. One marvel of traveling the world, he said, was to realize that Germany has become a model. “Isn’t it wonderful that this, our difficult fatherland, is seen as an anchor of hope for many people in the world?” Mr. Steinmeier said. Before the vote, the conservative head of parliament, Norbert Lammert, gave a surprisingly fiery speech that — without mentioning names — attacked Mr. Trump and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia for trying to divide or weaken Europe. “Whoever champions a closed mind instead of openness to the world, whoever literally walls themselves in, bets on protectionism instead of free trade and preaches isolationism instead of states cooperating, and declares ‘We first’ as a program, should not be surprised if others do the same — with all the fatal side effects for international ties which we know from the 20th century,” Mr. Lammert said. That goes, he added, for individual European states “but also for our great partner country across the Atlantic. ” Once, it would have been rare for German politicians to lecture other democracies on values, especially the United States, but Germany is now regarded as a critical pillar in upholding the liberal Western order, which is one reason the Sept. 24 national elections are being watched so closely. It is also why some of Ms. Merkel’s fellow conservatives quietly grumbled that she was outfoxed when she agreed to put Mr. Steinmeier forward as the presidential candidate of her grand coalition government, which unites her conservative bloc with the Social Democrats. Even as the presidency stands above party politics, Mr. Steinmeier, 61, a lawyer and lifelong politician, is likely to be a boon for his party. His election coincided with a Social Democratic surge in polls since the chose Martin Schulz, a former president of the European Parliament, to lead them into battle against Ms. Merkel in the elections. Mr. Schulz grew up in a village in the Aachen area, becoming mayor of the nearby town of Würselen in 1987, and likes to tell stories from those days to portray himself as an ordinary guy. He first won election to the European Parliament in 1994, going on to become president in 2012. Most unusually for a German politician, he did not finish high school with a certificate, and trained initially as a bookseller. He outpolled Ms. Merkel in personal popularity, 50 percent to 34 percent, in the Infratest dimap survey this month, albeit with a slightly smaller degree of support than Ms. Merkel’s last Social Democratic challenger had at a similar stage of the 2013 race. Perhaps because he has spent most of his political career in European institutions in Brussels, Mr. Schulz can appear fresh to German voters. “What he is doing is filling a vacuum which has obviously arisen,” said Franz Müntefering, a veteran Social Democratic leader. “He is reaching people through emotions. ” In its weekend cover story, Der Spiegel described the current period as “the twilight of Merkel” and noted that she had appeared listless of late. Ms. Merkel’s conservative bloc appears somewhat rattled. Her respected finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, the member of Germany’s parliament, used an interview in Der Spiegel this weekend to accuse Mr. Schulz of populism. “When Schulz lets his supporters shout, ‘Make Europe great again,’ then it is almost word for word Trump,” Mr. Schäuble told the newsmagazine. Sigmar Gabriel, the Social Democrat who has replaced Mr. Steinmeier as foreign minister, swiftly retaliated: “The radical and mockery” in American politics “should not be swept in to Germany,” he said. Unquestionably, Mr. Trump’s election has so deeply altered the geopolitical landscape for Ms. Merkel. She has kept a cool distance, and the two leaders are expected to meet for the first time this spring. Domestically, Ms. Merkel is contending with a continuing political backlash to her 2015 decision to admit more than one million migrants, many of them Muslim, into the country. The Alternative for Germany party, which started as a movement against the euro currency, now carries an message and has leaders who have sympathy for Mr. Trump’s politics. Tellingly, Frauke Petry and other Alternative for Germany leaders did not applaud with everyone else during Mr. Lammert’s speech when he attacked isolationism or what he termed a “We first” attitude. Under pressure, Ms. Merkel has backpedaled somewhat in recent months, reducing the influx of migrants and taking a tougher line on deportations. As is often the case, people outside the bubble of national politics sounded considerably less stirred when asked about Ms. Merkel’s standing. Metin Elcivan, 41, who helps run a corner store in western Berlin’s Schöneberg district, was certain that German voters would prove conservative. “I think nothing will change at the elections,” he said, “and that we will have a grand coalition again, with Merkel as chancellor. ” | 0fake |
RUDY GIULIANI Won’t Accept Role In Trump’s Cabinet…Tells FOX News Why [VIDEO] | Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has removed his name from consideration for a position in President-elect Donald Trump s Cabinet, the transition team announced Friday.Giuliani, who is currently a vice chairman on the presidential transition team, had been rumored to be in consideration for secretary of state. My desire to be in the Cabinet was great but it wasn t that great and he had a lot of terrific candidates and I thought I could play a better role being on the outside and continuing to be his close friend and adviser, Giuliani told Fox News Neil Cavuto.Trump met with Giuliani on Nov. 29., when the matter was discussed. He confirmed to Fox News that he had only been interested in being secretary of state. Honestly, the other positions I didn t have an interest in, so that really was the only one I had any real interest in, he told Cavuto.Giuliani said he now intends to continue his work in the private sector. He also warned against the selection of Mitt Romney for the position, saying the former Massachusets governor had gone over the line in previous criticisms he made about Trump. I will support [Trump s] decision, but my advice would be that Mitt went a little too far. You can make friends and make up but I would not see him as a candidate for the Cabinet, Giuliani told Cavuto.Trump praised Giuliani in a statement, calling him an extraordinarily talented and patriotic American. FOX | 1real |
UFO activates camouflage mode | Grey 25
The video appears to show a disc-shaped object flying behind a small gap in the clouds before it quickly vanishes. The footage is believed to have been filmed over North America – but no further details were provided. Tags | 1real |
OOPS! WATCH THE BRILLIANT TV AD Trump Made For Cruz | Brilliant | 1real |
Senator Warren to endorse Clinton Thursday night: Boston Globe reporter | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts will endorse fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton for president on Thursday night, a Boston Globe reporter said on Twitter, citing a Warren source. Warren, who has a strong following in the progressive movement, will declare her support on MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show” on Thursday night at 9 p.m. EDT, reporter Annie Linskey said. | 0fake |
Putin Begins Banning Clinton Cabal From Russia | . Putin Begins Banning Clinton Cabal From Russia Vladimir Putin has begun banning members of the corrupt Clinton cabal from Russia, just days after V... Print Email http://humansarefree.com/2016/11/putin-begins-banning-clinton-cabal-from.html Vladimir Putin has begun banning members of the corrupt Clinton cabal from Russia, just days after Vladimir Putin told President-elect Donald Trump he hopes the two nations can rebuild their relationship.Michael McFaul, a close Clinton ally and former US ambassador to Moscow under President Barack Obama, is the first of many to be banned from entering Russia, according to Russian Foreign Ministry sources .Mr McFaul, US ambassador in Moscow from 2012-2014, said he had learnt of the ban when applying for a visa to Russia last week. Asked what the purpose of his visit was, McFaul said it was to help presidential candidate Hillary Clinton prepare for what he assumed would be her transition to the White House.Now McFaul, currently a Stanford University professor, is banned from Russia and Kremlin sources say he is the first of many Clinton allies to be banned.Mr McFaul said: “I have hundreds of friends in Russia. I’m really sorry that these sanctions will make communicating with people harder. “I was told that I am on the Kremlin’s sanctions list because of my close affiliation with Obama.” The Russian Foreign Ministry did not publicly confirm the ban, but ministry sources told Russian news agencies McFaul had been added to the sanctions list.He was not banned because of his support for President Obama, a Foreign Ministry source told the TASS and RIA news agencies, but because of his “active participation in the destruction of the bilateral relationship and relentless lobbying in favour of the Clinton campaign to destabilize Russia.”President Putin was one of the first world leaders to congratulate Donald Trump following his election victory, telling the tycoon that he had followed the election closely.Russia is hoping for a “new understanding” and “restored Russian-American relations” according to Kremlin sources, with President Putin said to be “encouraged” by the American people voting to back themselves and reject the prospect of a New World Order totalitarian world government.According to sources, Putin believes that the result of the U.S. election proves the globalists’ destructive agenda is deeply unpopular with real people, and when given a chance they will instinctively reject it out of hand. “The American people stood up against the media, the banks, the establishment, everything was against them, but they said enough. They want change.” By Baxter Dmitry Dear Friends, HumansAreFree is and will always be free to access and use. If you appreciate my work, please help me continue.
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PRESIDENT TRUMP AND MELANIA Arrive in Poland to Cheering Crowds [Video] | The President and First Lady touched down in Warsaw, Poland today for a visit before traveling to Hamburg, Germany. They ll be in Hamburg for the G20 Summit where Trump is expected to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first time and discuss the nuclear threat of North Korea with world leaders. As they stepped off of the plane, Melania appeared in a beautiful green coat . She never misses! GO TO THE 10:15 MARK FOR THEIR DEPLANING:THE FIRST LADY WAVES AFTER ARRIVING IN WARSAW, POLAND:Melania Trump waves after arriving in Warsaw, Poland. How can anyone not love our First Lady? pic.twitter.com/6821k3dH2T Tennessee (@TEN_GOP) July 5, 2017POLISH CROWDS CHEERING AS PRESIDENT TRUMP ARRIVES IN WARSAW: CROWDS LINED THE ENTIRE ROUTE!Polish Crowds Cheering as President Trump Arrives in Warsaw pic.twitter.com/TGCHfb7Blc Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) July 5, 2017A FULL MILITARY ESCORT IN POLAND:The First Couple will leave Germany for Paris and Bastille Day ceremonies next Friday. We re looking forward to watching President trump move amongst world leaders. We have to admit that it s also going to be fun to see what the First Lady is wearing each time she makes a public appearance. | 1real |
Trump Shifting Authority Over Military Operations Back to Pentagon - The New York Times | WASHINGTON — President Trump is shifting more authority over military operations to the Pentagon, according to White House officials, reversing what his aides and some generals say was a tendency by the Obama White House to micromanage issues better left to military commanders. The change is at the heart of a of the National Security Council’s role under its new leader, Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster, and reflects Mr. Trump’s belief that the N. S. C. should focus less on military operations and tactics and more on strategic issues. A guiding precept for the president and his team is that the balance of power in the world has shifted against American interests, and that General McMaster should focus on developing foreign and economic policy options in concert with the Pentagon, State Department and other agencies to respond to that challenge. The new approach to managing military operations was evident this month when a Marine artillery battery and a team of Army Rangers — some 400 troops in all — arrived in northern Syria. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis signed off on the deployments and notified the White House. But General McMaster neither convened a meeting at the White House to discuss whether to send the forces nor presented the Pentagon with questions about where, precisely, the troops would operate or what risks they might confront. Though the streamlined has been welcomed by many in the military, it could raise questions about whether Mr. Trump, who has drawn heavily from current and former generals to fill key jobs in his administration, is exercising sufficient oversight. “For President Trump, it is very early days, but he appears to be going back to a model of greater delegation of authority,” said Michèle A. Flournoy, who was the Pentagon’s top policy official under President Barack Obama and is the chief executive of the Center for a New American Security, a policy group. “The benefit is that it allows the military campaign to go forward without undue pauses, interruptions or delays,” Ms. Flournoy added. “That enables it to create more momentum and to be more responsive to changes on the battlefield. But there is a risk if there is inadequate oversight and the president stops paying close attention. It can be detrimental, even dangerous, if a commander in chief does not feel ownership of the campaign or loses touch with how things are evolving on the ground. ” Mr. Trump has already drawn criticism for being quick to approve the military’s plans to carry out a raid in Yemen in January that led to the death of one American commando and at least several civilians. The United States also conducted an airstrike last week in Syria that the American military said killed dozens of Qaeda fighters but that local activists said hurt civilians. At the same time, Mr. Trump has yet to announce a new strategy to defeat the Islamic State, something he repeatedly said during the presidential campaign that he would do. That suggests that Mr. Trump’s main contribution may be to ensure that the basic strategy he inherited is carried out more quickly. General McMaster — who replaced a retired general, Michael T. Flynn, whose tumultuous tenure as national security adviser lasted less than a month — has a reputation as a strategic thinker. So far, he has not undertaken any fundamental restructuring of the N. S. C. according to White House officials who did not want to be identified because they were discussing internal planning. But he has made some appointments to assist in the effort to forge a new strategy. Dina Powell, Mr. Trump’s senior counselor for economic initiatives, has been named the deputy national security adviser for strategy to spearhead the preparation of policy options and oversee their execution once Mr. Trump decides on them. Nadia Schadlow, a former Pentagon official and the author of a recent book that examined cases in which the United States Army intervened abroad, was hired to draft a security strategy. In the past, that document has often been little more than a rehash of the White House’s policies, but for a Trump administration struggling to translate its promise to “make America great again” into a coherent foreign and economic agenda, it might emerge as an important statement. How General McMaster will navigate rival centers of power within the White House that have their own views on security policy remains to be seen. When Mr. Mattis hosted the Saudi defense minister at the Pentagon on Thursday, General McMaster was one of five White House officials who attended the meeting. The others were Stephen K. Bannon, who remains a full member of the National Security Council’s “principals” committee Jared Kushner, Mr. Trump’s Ms. Powell and Derek Harvey, the chief Middle East expert on the N. S. C. staff. “General McMaster’s problem is not how to deal with defense secretary and other principals it is how to deal with the many competing powers in the White House,” said Ivo Daalder, the president of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and the of a book on the National Security Council. “That was underscored when five senior White House officials traipsed over to the Pentagon for a meeting that normally might be attended by a single N. S. C. aide. ” An immediate focus for General McMaster, however, is making good on Mr. Trump’s vow during his speech to a joint session of Congress last month to “demolish and destroy” the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL. Mr. Trump, who claimed during the campaign to have a secret plan to defeat the militant group, instructed the Pentagon and other key agencies in late January to submit a preliminary plan within 30 days to do so. More than seven weeks later, no new strategy has been announced, and there has been some speculation that the White House will not decide one key question — whether to arm the Kurdish Y. P. G. militia in Syria — until after a Turkish referendum on April 16 on whether to expand the powers of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. While American commanders generally believe that the militia would greatly help what is expected to be a operation to take Raqqa, Syria, the capital of the Islamic State, Turkey has denounced the group as a terrorist organization. The steps the Trump administration has taken so far, such as deploying Marine artillery in Syria, generally reflect the Obama administration’s approach of providing firepower and advisers so local forces can do the main fighting on the ground. But while it still expects the White House to be consulted, the Trump administration is prepared to give the Pentagon more leeway in deploying forces than the Obama administration did. The Obama White House’s scrutiny of military deployments reflected its fear of being drawn into a quagmire, as well as strains with the military that went back to 2009 deliberations over Afghanistan strategy. While the approach the Obama administration took ensured that the president was on military details, it also meant that modest steps, such as resupplying arms to Syrian fighters battling the Islamic State or sending military teams to scout out a potential base in Iraq, often could not be taken without deliberations. “In defense of the Obama administration, every single time we went to the president and asked for something more, we eventually got it, though we often had to jump through a lot of hoops,” said Andrew Exum, a former Army Ranger who held a senior position at the Defense Department under Mr. Obama. “The episode that took the cake was toward the end of the administration, when we literally had cabinet secretaries debating the movement of three helicopters from Iraq to Syria. ” While it remains unclear whether the new administration will come up with a strategy significantly different from its predecessor’s, the Trump team may have an effect on how the one it inherited is carried out. “Potentially, by giving field commanders more leeway to exploit opportunities on the battlefield, the Trump administration can execute the Obama administration’s strategy more efficiently,” Mr. Exum said. | 0fake |
REVEALED: Trump Illegally Violated Embargo Against Cuba, Putting Money In ‘Killer’ Fidel Castro’s Hands | The law and order candidate broke the law again.Donald Trump recently declared that he would reverse President Obama s deal with Cuba to reopen diplomatic relations between our two nations after 50 years. All of the concessions that Barack Obama has granted the Castro regime were done with executive order, which means the next president can reverse them, Trump said earlier this month. And that is what I will do unless the Castro regime meets our demands. Those demands include freeing political prisoners and expanding religious liberty.That s funny, because the Republican nominee certainly didn t give a shit about either of those things when he violated the United States embargo against Cuba back in 1998.A Newsweek investigation revealed:A company controlled by Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for president, secretly conducted business in Communist Cuba during Fidel Castro s presidency despite strict American trade bans that made such undertakings illegal, according to interviews with former Trump executives, internal company records and court filings.Trump s company spent a total of $68,000 for the trip to meet with government officials, bankers, and businessmen in order to gain a foothold on the island just in case the American government ended the embargo. But Trump broke the law and he tried to cover up his crime by funneling the money to a consulting firm and making it look like a charitable effort.In 1999, Trump traveled to Miami for the first day of his presidential run as the Reform Party candidate and hypocritically told the Cuban-American crowd that he would keep the embargo in place because any money spent there goes to Fidel Castro. He s a murderer. He s a killer. He s a bad guy in every respect, and, frankly, the embargo must stand if for no other reason than, if it does stand, he will come down. And so, Donald Trump admitted that he gave $68,000 to a murderer and a killer who is a bad guy in every respect. Now to make things clear, President Obama only reopened diplomatic relations with Cuba, which is within his executive power. The embargo is still in effect. But Republicans have whined about Obama s Cuba policy ever since.So what will they say about Trump s blatant violation of the embargo itself and the fact that he spent $68,000 on the trip, money that dictator Fidel Castro must have appreciated?If Republicans don t condemn Trump for this they will be committing hypocrisy at the highest level. It will make it clear for every American that they don t care about law and order as much as they care about power. Donald Trump broke the law and tried to make a deal with Fidel Castro s Cuba and he was merely a businessman. Just imagine what laws he could violate and get away with as president.Featured image via Spencer Platt / Getty Images | 1real |
Twitter to brief Congress on possible Russia-backed ads: U.S. senator | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) is expected to brief U.S. congressional investigators soon on whether Russia used its advertising platform to promote divisive social and political messages during the 2016 election, Senator Mark Warner said on Thursday. The news came a day after Facebook (FB.O) said an operation likely based in Russia had placed thousands of U.S. ads with polarizing views on topics such as immigration, race and gay rights on the social media site during a two-year-period through May 2017. Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the suspected Russian placement of such ads may have gone far beyond what Facebook disclosed, and that Twitter and other technology companies should also examine the issue. “It was my belief that the Russians were using those sites to interfere in our elections, and the first reaction from Facebook was, ‘No. You’re crazy.’” Warner said at the Intelligence and National Security Alliance conference in Washington. “I think what we saw yesterday in terms of their brief was the tip of the iceberg,” Warner said. He also told reporters he expected Twitter to soon brief the Senate Intelligence Committee, one of the panels investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 election and whether members of President Donald Trump’s campaign colluded with Moscow. A Warner spokeswoman later confirmed that was expected to occur. Twitter declined to comment. Facebook briefed U.S. lawmakers on the issue on Wednesday and also turned over information about the ads to Robert Mueller, the special counsel who is leading his own investigation into alleged Russian interference in the election, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. That information included copies of the ads and data about the buyers, the source said. Warner said he wanted to have Facebook brief lawmakers again and that he wanted Twitter and other companies to do the same. “As you see for example in the case of Facebook, they denied that they were being used in any way. They didn’t do anything,” Warner said. “But by the time of the French elections, Facebook was working with the French” and they shut down 50,000 accounts. Warner said legislation may be required to change how social media platforms can be used for political advertising to bring federal disclosure rules in line with those governing television advertising. | 0fake |
Carly Fiorina says ‘higher than 90 percent’ chance she’ll run for GOP presidential nomination | Carly Fiorina, a former Hewlett-Packard chief executive, said her chances of running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016 are “very high.”
Speaking on “Fox News Sunday,” the 2010 Senate candidate said she is “higher than 90 percent” likely to enter the race, with an announcement coming in late April or early May.
Fiorina said she could appeal to voters with a “deep understanding of how the economy actually works, having started as a secretary and become the chief executive of the largest technology company in the world.”
She added that she has relationships with “many of the world leaders on the stage today” and that she understands executive decision-making, as well as how to change large bureaucracies for the better.
Discussing the economy, Fiorina said the government has “tangled people up from a web of dependence from which they can’t escape.” She also said the government is “crushing small businesses now.”
In a nod to the populist, anti-Wall Street themes of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Fiorina said big banks are thriving while community banks go out of business.
“If we want mainstream and the middle class going and growing again, we’ve got to get small and family-owned businesses going and growing again,” she said.
Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Fiorina was a 2010 California gubernatorial candidate. She actually ran as a U.S. Senate candidate that year. The article has been corrected. | 0fake |
YRC Worldwide has limited operations in Florida terminals | (Reuters) - YRC Worldwide Inc resumed limited operations at Florida terminals in Fort Pierce, Miami, Tampa, and West Palm Beach that were closed earlier on Thursday due to Hurricane Irma. Its terminal in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico remains closed, the company said. | 0fake |
Mark Levin: Open Letter to CNN’s Brian Stelter - Breitbart | The following is an open letter from conservative radio and television host Mark Levin to CNN host Brian Stelter, in response to Stelter’s article Monday at CNN. com, “Birth of a conspiracy theory: How Trump’s wiretap claim got started. ”[Did you listen to my show on Thursday, before President Trump tweeted? Did you watch my appearance on Fox and Friends Sunday morning? I know you are ticked I did not appear on your show, despite your numerous requests. Your ad hominem attacks about “right wing” radio host and conspiracy theory stuff … incredible. I simply put together the stories that YOUR profession reported, on the public record. Do you deny there were two FISA applications? Do you deny the first was turned down? Do you deny the second was approved? It’s called the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. It is about surveillance. The fact that we cannot discern all the details because of the secrecy, except for what the media have revealed and selective leaks by the government, should cause you to want to know more, not to trash those who point it out. And yes, we can make several logical implications based on events and experience. A FISA application is a big deal. One, or two in this case, that involve campaign surrogates, or a server or computer related to a candidate or campaign, etc. is a big deal. President Obama’s statement is not a definitive statement of anything, other than he, personally, did not order a wiretap, which I never claimed. But that does not mean he was unaware of surveillance activity by several of his departments, even through routine reports to the president, such as the Daily Intel Briefing or information conveyed to him or his staff via the Justice Department re the FBI activities. As for Clapper, despite his past dissembling before Congress, he may not have been aware of what was taking place since the FBI operation reportedly sought the warrant. The Daily Intel Briefing might provide useful information in that regard as well. Of course, the release of the FISA applications would also shed a lot of light on events, assuming YOU believe reports that they were filed. Furthermore, Clapper has said, as recently as yesterday, that no connections between the Russians and the Trump campaign have been found. I am extremely critical of Russia, Putin, and the efforts to influence our election, although I do not believe they succeeded. That said, how would Clapper know of no connections if he, as former Director of National Intelligence, didn’t look? On what is that based? Your lack of curiosity and dishonesty about such matters and in dealing with me demean you and your profession. You are free to circulate this communication to whomever you wish, as I am making it public. | 0fake |
Fed official says U.S. immigration crackdown could hit economy | NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigrants will likely weaken overall U.S. consumer spending and economic growth as those targeted for arrest increasingly choose to stay home and save more, a Federal Reserve policymaker said on Wednesday. Millions of immigrants “are not going out and shopping, they are staying home, they are afraid if they go out they are not coming home,” Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan said when asked about U.S. President Donald Trump’s months old directive. “On the margin - and it’s too soon for the data to pick it up, but you hear it anecdotally - I believe we are going to see it, I believe those people are more likely to save than to spend,” he added at the Council on Foreign Relations. “And those two effects have some muting effect on consumer spending and therefore GDP growth.” | 0fake |
Brian Williams Under Fire Over His Shifting Story Of Iraq Helicopter Attack | "On this broadcast last week, in an effort to honor and thank a veteran who protected me and so many others after a ground-fire incident in the desert during the Iraq War invasion, I made a mistake in recalling the events of 12 years ago," Williams said. "It did not take long to hear from some brave men and women in the air crews who were also in that desert. I want to apologize."
He clarified Wednesday that he had been in a helicopter following the one hit by an RPG. He recalled how his NBC News team and the air crew next "spent two harrowing nights in a sandstorm in the Iraq desert," a detail that is not in dispute.
The on-air apology, however, may not suffice. Williams' public recollection of the events that day has changed several times over the past decade, ranging from his being unaware of the lead helicopter having been struck when changing course, to his apparently witnessing the attack, to his most recently claiming that he was in the rocket-damaged helicopter.
The Iraq helicopter controversy is the first to shake Williams' decade-long tenure as anchor of "NBC Nightly News," the top-rated evening newscast. A network star, he may be able to ride out the unflattering press and social media swipes. But the same might have been said about then-"CBS Evening News" anchor Dan Rather, whose career at the network unraveled in 2004 after bloggers challenged documents he reported as detailing the young George W. Bush's service in the Texas Air National Guard.
"I don't know the particulars about that day in Iraq. I do know Brian," Rather said in a statement provided to The Huffington Post. "He's a longtime friend and we have been in a number of war zones and on the same battlefields, competing but together. Brian is an honest, decent man, an excellent reporter and anchor -- and a brave one. I can attest that -- like his predecessor Tom Brokaw -- he is a superb pro, and a gutsy one."
Williams, reporting from Kuwait City, described how the lead helicopter pilot of four Chinooks flying in formation had observed a man in a pickup truck fire an RPG and another man shoot a rifle. Williams didn't say in the report that the helicopter in which he was traveling had been hit. He noted that "all four choppers dropped their load and landed immediately."
"We quickly make our drop and then turn southwest," Williams said. "Suddenly, without knowing why, we learned we’ve been ordered to land in the desert. On the ground, we learn the Chinook ahead of us was almost blown out of the sky."
That version of the story, in which Williams doesn't witness the attack, matches what former crew members told Stars and Stripes. They described the anchor as being "nowhere near" the attack, having arrived in a fourth helicopter about an hour after the three helicopters in front were forced to make an emergency landing.
In a television segment on Downing's death, Williams said that the helicopters "we were traveling in at the start of the Iraq War were fired on and forced down for three days in a stretch of hostile desert in a sandstorm." He didn't distinguish between an RPG and small-arms fire, such as from a rifle.
A couple of months later, Williams again suggested that his helicopter had been fired upon. In a Sept. 12, 2007, interview with Gen. David Petraeus, he said that "at the start of the war, when I was flying in a Chinook with General Downing, that helicopter was shot at by a farmer."
Later that month, he recounted the story to David Letterman, saying that "two of our four helicopters were hit by ground fire, including the one I was in -- RPG and AK-47."
On Jan. 30 of this year, Williams recalled on the "Nightly News" that the "helicopter we're traveling in was forced down after being hit by an RPG." The segment was offering tribute to Sgt. Tim Terpack, who led the platoon that protected the NBC News crew in the desert that day. Williams and Terpack were shown at a New York Rangers game while the arena announcer described how the anchor's "Chinook helicopter was hit and crippled by enemy fire." | 0fake |
Trump denies Tillerson threatened to resign: Twitter | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump denied on Thursday that Rex Tillerson had threatened to resign after a news report that the secretary of state had called him a moron and had to be repeatedly persuaded not to leave the administration. “Rex Tillerson never threatened to resign,” Trump said in his most direct refutation of the resignation report. “This is Fake News put out by @NBCNews. Low news and reporting standards. No verification from me.” On Wednesday, the top U.S. diplomat, whose tenure has been dogged with rumors about unhappiness with Trump’s policies and rhetoric, said he was committed to the president’s agenda and had never considered resigning. NBC reported that, in a session with Trump’s national security team and Cabinet officials at the Pentagon, Tillerson had openly criticized the president and referred to him as a moron, citing three unidentified officials familiar with the incident. Tillerson sidestepped the issue when taking questions after making a televised statement to the media. Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway also tried to tamp down speculation that Tillerson was on the verge of leaving the administration. “He said he has never once thought of resigning,” Conway said on CNN. “We’re glad he’s the secretary of state.” Another Cabinet member, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, announced his resignation last week after acknowledging he used taxpayer funds to travel on private planes. | 0fake |
Indian journalists, activists protest murder of newspaper publisher | BENGALURU, India (Reuters) - Indian journalists and rights activists protested on Wednesday against the murder of an outspoken publisher of a weekly tabloid amid growing concerns about freedom of the press at a time of rising nationalism and intolerance of dissent. Gauri Lankesh, 55, the editor and publisher of the Kannada-language Gauri Lankesh Patrike newspaper, was shot dead on Tuesday by unidentified assailants near her home in the southern city of Bengaluru. She had parked her car outside her gate and was walking to the main entrance of her home when the attackers fired at least seven rounds, killing her, police said. The motive was not known. Lankesh was a fierce advocate of secularism and opposed hardline Hindu groups associated with Prime Narendra Modi s right-wing, nationalist ruling party. Her weekly, with a circulation of more than 5,000, is regarded as influential in the state, read by policy makers and politicians. Lankesh spent decades with various media outlets before taking over the newspaper started by her father. Several journalist groups, including the Editors Guild, Press Club of India and Press Association, held protests in cities across India, calling her murder a brutal assault on the freedom of the press . They said she was a critical, secular voice at a time when the country was being swept by a wave of right-wing, Hindu nationalism. She was an idealist and would take on the right-wing forces on several controversial issues, said Y.P. Rajesh, an executive editor at the news website The Print and a long-time friend of Lankesh. The U.S. embassy in New Delhi also condemned the killing. The murder is a new low in India s recent record of protecting journalists. The Committee to Protect Journalists has said that there have been no convictions in any of the 27 cases of journalists murdered in India because of their work since 1992. This year, the country of 1.3 billion people slipped three places to 136th in the World Press Freedom Index, compiled by Reporters Without Borders. The group said Hindu nationalists, on the rise since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept to power in 2014, were trying to purge all manifestations of anti-national thought . Journalists seen to be critical of Hindu nationalists are often insulted on social media, and some women reporters have been threatened with assault. People, including BJP members, have also openly insulted journalists, using terms like presstitute - a combination press and prostitute - to berate them. In recent weeks, Lankesh had posted videos on her Facebook page that were critical of Modi s economic policies and the rise of hardline Hindu groups since he came to power. Last year, she was sentenced to six months in jail after a defamation case was filed by a BJP member. She was released on bail. Ananth Kumar, a federal minister in the Modi government, said the state government must arrest those behind the killing. The state government in Karnataka, run by the Congress party, said it had set up a special investigations team to investigate and police were examining CCTV footage. M.N. Anucheth, a senior police official investigating the case, said Lankesh was shot in the head, neck and chest. This is an attempt to silence all of us all of those who believe in democracy and decency, Ramchandra Guha, a historian told the Indian Express newspaper. (This story has been refiled to fix spellng in paragraph 22) | 0fake |
WITCH HUNT: COMMUNIST CALIFORNIA Raids Home Of Man Behind Planned Parenthood Baby Parts Videos | Make no mistake about it, we are seeing tactics used by communist countries to shut down views that are contrary to those in positions of power in our government. SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) An anti-abortion activist who made undercover videos at Planned Parenthood clinics said in a social media posting that California Department of Justice agents raided his homeTuesday.Agents seized all video footage from his apartment, along with his personal information, David Daleiden said in a Facebook post. Daleiden, the founder of a group called the Center for Medical Progress, said agents left behind documents that he contends implicate Planned Parenthood in illegal behavior related to the handling of fetal tissue.Center for Medical Progress spokesman Peter Robbio confirmed the social media posting is authentic, but he declined further comment. He said Daleiden lives in Orange County.Rachele Huennekens, a spokeswoman for state Attorney General Kamala Harris, said in an email that she can t comment on any ongoing investigation.Harris said in July that she planned to review the undercover videos to see if center violated any state charity registration or reporting requirements. She said that could include whether Daleiden and a colleague impersonated representatives of a fake biomedical company or filmed the videos without Planned Parenthood s consent.Harris, a Democrat, is running for the U.S. Senate. Daleiden suggested in the social media posting that the raid was politically motivated because Harris has accepted campaign contributions from Planned Parenthood.Ms. Harris s support for Planned Parenthood is no secret: On Wednesday, she criticized an amendment to the federal highway bill submitted by Sen. Rand Paul, Kentucky Republican, to defund Planned Parenthood, which receives roughly $500 million annually in federal grants and reimbursements. The notion that some in DC want to hold CA highway funding hostage in order to defund Planned Parenthood is deeply troubling, said Ms. Harris on Twitter, as cited on the conservative website Twitchy.In a second email, Ms. Harris said, @PPFA serves more than 2 mil women a year, providing critical health care like cancer screenings, preventative care and birth control. That this cynical attempt to block women s access to health care is even being considered is yet another example of DC s dysfunction, Ms. Harris concluded. Washington TimesHer investigation prompted critics on social media to accuse her of shooting the messenger rather than attempting to determine whether Planned Parenthood has violated California law.Daleiden faces related charges in Texas. One of his Texas attorneys, Terry Yates, did not return telephone and email messages Tuesday.Texas authorities initially began a grand jury investigation of Planned Parenthood after the undercover videos were released in August.But the grand jury cleared Planned Parenthood of misusing fetal tissue and indicted Daleiden and a colleague, Sandra Merritt, in January on charges including using fake driver s licenses to get into a Houston clinic.Daleiden previously said his group followed the law in making the videos. His post Tuesday called the raid an attack on citizen journalism and said he will pursue all remedies to vindicate our First Amendment rights. Via: Sacramento CBS | 1real |
Illinois governor signs higher education stopgap funding bill | CHICAGO (Reuters) - Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner on Monday signed into law a bill to send $600 million to cash-starved state universities and community colleges, calling the measure “a first step toward compromise between Democrats and Republicans.” An impasse between the Republican governor and Democrats who control the legislature has left Illinois without a budget 10 months into fiscal 2016. In bipartisan votes in the House and Senate on Friday, lawmakers approved $600 million, or 34 percent, of the $1.7 billion Democrats had earmarked for higher education spending for the whole fiscal year, which began July 1. “Now is the time to build on this bipartisan momentum and focus on enacting a truly balanced budget for fiscal years 2016-2017 alongside meaningful reforms that create jobs and free up resources for education, social services and infrastructure,” Rauner said in a statement. Illinois Comptroller Leslie Munger said on Friday that her office would immediately start processing payments for the universities, colleges and for college student grants funded by the legislation. | 0fake |
Trump on Twitter (Feb 7) - Putin, Iran, Betsy Devos | The following statements were posted to the verified Twitter accounts of U.S. President Donald Trump, @realDonaldTrump and @POTUS. The opinions expressed are his own. Reuters has not edited the statements or confirmed their accuracy. @realDonaldTrump : -I don’t know Putin, have no deals in Russia, and the haters are going crazy - yet Obama can make a deal with Iran, #1 in terror, no problem! [711 EST] -An honor having the National Sheriffs’ Assoc. join me at the @WhiteHouse. Incredible men & women who protect & serve 24/7/365. THANK YOU!! [1125 EST] -It is a disgrace that my full Cabinet is still not in place, the longest such delay in the history of our country. Obstruction by Democrats! [2004 EST] -Senate Dems protest to keep the failed status quo. Betsy DeVos is a reformer, and she is going to be a great Education Sec. for our kids! [814 EST] -An honor having the @NationalSheriff Association join me at the @WhiteHouse. Incredible men & women who protect & serve 24/7/365. THANK YOU! [1125 EST] -Congratulations to our new Education Secretary, @BetsyDeVos! [1250 EST] -@BetsyDeVos sworn in as Secretary of Education by @VP Mike Pence moments ago. Congratulations! [1928 EST] -- Source link: (bit.ly/2jBh4LU) (bit.ly/2jpEXYR) | 0fake |
Keith Ellison as DNC Chair: Another High Place, Another Empty Black Face | Tweet Widget A Black Agenda Radio Commentary by BAR managing editor Bruce A. Dixon
In a decade on the House Financial Services Committee Keith Ellison hasn’t targeted the credit card racketeers, or the banksters who flooded the market with predatory home and student loans or federal officials who refuse to relieve underwater homeowners. Democratic party leaders need another empty black face to front the DNC, someone who blames Wikileaks and the Russians for Hillary’s defeat. Ellison will do just fine. Keith Ellison as DNC Chair: Another High Place, Another Empty Black Face A Black Agenda Radio Commentary by BAR managing editor Bruce A. Dixon
In the wake of Donald Trump’s election, Democratic party honchos are scrambling to reassure their funders and to shore up the careers of Democratic elected officials who serve those funders. They must justify and retain whatever hold they still have on the millions of nominal Democratic voters who actually have no voice whatsoever in what their party stands for.
At bottom, the two capitalist parties are owned by the same class of elite one percenter funders but with different voting bases At least one US party is always the self-declared White Man’s Party. Since the late sixties Republicans have reserved that slot for themselves, leaving Democrats to claim the allegiance of racial minorities and some other groups. The different voting bases of the two parties mean they have different campaign styles, but when the campaigns are over they’re both as Barack Obama affirmed, on the same team. Both parties deliver the mandate of their constituencies to their common funders, Big Ag, Big Oil, Big Insurance, Big Pharma, Big Real Estate, the military contractors and Wall Street.
After the departures of Debbie Wasserman-Schulz and Donna Brazile, both deeply implicated in the sabotaging of Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton’s loss, Democrats need a new face at the head of the Democratic National Committee, the national party’s executive body. Ideally it should be someone who reassures the funders and can help rally the base voters. The leading contender is Keith Ellison, just elected to his sixth term in Congress from Minneapolis.
Keith Ellison seems a good fit. He was the first Muslim ever elected to Congress, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus and current co-chair of the large and virtually impotent House Progressive Caucus. He was an early endorser of Bernie Sanders who did his duty trying to lead leftward strays back into Hillary’s big tent . In a decade on the House Financial Services Committee, Ellison managed not to deeply offend the banksters who flooded the market with predatory housing and student loans, or the payday lenders and credit card racketeers, and he didn’t embarrass or insult the colleagues who openly shill for them. In that target rich environment Ellison managed not just to keep from hitting anything, but not even to take aim.
By contrast, Senator Elizabeth Warren in 2014 made headlines when she grilled Ellison's former Congressional Black Caucus colleague Mel Watt , on why the agency he heads, despite a clear mandate from Congress to reduce the principals on potentially millions of unpayable predatory home loans, refused to reduce the principal on a single one. Three years later the news is that the agency may reduce principal on a mere 3,100 home loans at most . We’re still waiting to hear from Ellison and the other eight black Democrats on the committee on this failure.
But Ellison is black. He’s the first Muslim elected to Congress, he’s smart enough and telegenic. He votes infallibly to support the apartheid regime in Israel, and he says if it were up to him there’d have been a no-fly zone (and possible shooting war with the Russians) a long time ago.
Hillary’s indispensable firewall was supposed to be the black vote, for which she needed to do little else than mumble about “black lives mattering” and pose occasionally with the mothers of some of those murdered by police. Democratic shot callers seem to still believe that all they need is another empty black face in a high place. They won’t get another First Black President. It was Hillary’s turn and that didn’t work out. Now it’s Keith Ellison’s turn. He's another empty black face in a very high place.
For Black Agenda Radio I’m Bruce Dixon. Find us on the web at www.blackagendareport.com . Bruce A. Dixon is managing editor at Black Agenda Report and co-chair of the GA Green Party. He lives and works near Marietta GA and can be reached via email at bruce.dixon(at)blackagendareport.com. | 1real |
Trump and Putin speak for an hour about Syria, Ukraine, North Korea | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke on the phone for about an hour on Tuesday and covered topics including Syria, Ukraine, Iran, North Korea and Afghanistan, a White House official said. | 0fake |
Florida: Taco Trucks Used to “Lure” Democrat Voters to Polls | Information Liberation October 26, 2016
Video out of Florida shows the Clinton machine is busing people to the polls and luring them to vote using taco trucks.
Now we know what the DNC meant when they said they needed more “ taco bowl outreach .”
SEIU, which has endorsed Hillary Clinton, appears to be behind the scam.
WATCH: This article was posted: Wednesday, October 26, 2016 at 6:09 am Share this article | 1real |
All the president's women: Duterte's fiercest critics and a surly political heir | DAVAO, Philippines/MANILA (Reuters) - Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has a problem with women, says the woman who has known him longer than perhaps any other: his sister Jocellyn. He s a chauvinist, she told Reuters in a recent interview. When he sees a woman who fights him, it really gets his ire. Then Jocellyn ran through a list of Duterte s female critics that included his vice president, a prominent senator who is now in jail and the head of the Philippines Supreme Court. All three have sparred with Duterte after denouncing his brutal war on drugs, which has killed thousands of people in the Asian nation since he took office in June 2016. Duterte has joked about rape, insulted the Pope and baffled friends and foes with often contradictory public statements. Neither this, nor his profanity-laden reactions to women critics, seem to have dented his popularity among Filipinos. The 72-year-old president is a self-confessed womanizer who once told a large gathering of local officials, I can t imagine life without Viagra. On the campaign trail last year, he joked about the gang rape of an Australian missionary who was killed in a prison riot. Speaking to Philippine troops in May, he said he would take responsibility for any rape they might commit. But women s rights advocates also praise him for handing out free contraceptives in his hometown, Davao City, where he was mayor for 22 years, and for championing a reproductive health bill opposed by the country s influential Catholic Church. In a recent statement, even Human Rights Watch - a fervent critic of the drug war - acknowledged Duterte s strong support for legislation aimed at protecting and promoting women. After nearly 15 months in power, he remains highly popular with men and women alike, according to the latest survey by Manila-based pollster Social Weather Stations. While foreigners frown at Duterte s rape jokes, says Gina Lopez, a former environment secretary in Duterte s male-dominated cabinet, Filipinos judge him by his actions not his words. When I see him dealing with women in the cabinet or whatever, he has been very above-board, very decent, she told Reuters. She said this decency also once extended to Vice-President Leni Robredo, who has publicly fallen out with Duterte. She is from an opposition party and was elected separately. He really liked Leni. They got along and he was always flirting, said Lopez. That s what men do, right? In a statement to Reuters, the president s office called Duterte an advocate of women s rights who had launched a massive campaign against gender bias while mayor of Davao. As president, it added, he had hand-picked the best and brightest women for his cabinet. Three of the country s 25 cabinet secretaries or ministers are women. Duterte spends up to four days a week in his far-flung hometown Davao, ruling a nation of 100 million people not from the presidential palace in the capital, Manila, but from a modest house shaded by a jackfruit tree. Duterte was mayor of Davao for 22 years. He sleeps until lunchtime, holds cabinet meetings infrequently and sometimes announces major policies without forewarning senior officials, leaving them scrambling to catch up. Duterte s volatility has baffled Washington, which has long seen the Philippines as a bulwark against Chinese expansionism. He has courted Beijing and publicly berated the United States in rambling speeches. Much of Duterte s venom is reserved for women who oppose him. In August, he called Agnes Callamard, a U.N. special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings, a daughter of a whore after she condemned the police shooting of a teenage drug suspect. He s a misogynist, said Senator Leila de Lima, who spoke to Reuters at a police detention facility in Manila. De Lima was arrested in February on drugs charges she says were trumped up as part of a presidential vendetta. To him, women are inferior, she said. It s totally insulting to him that a woman would be fighting him. According to Jocellyn Duterte, Duterte is also fighting with the woman he hopes will cement his political legacy: his daughter Sara. Sara Duterte reluctantly replaced her father as mayor of Davao City in the southern Philippines when he became president. Father and daughter barely speak, said Jocellyn. I know in his quiet moments he considers himself a failure as a father because of Sara fighting with him, she said. Jocellyn said she had her own problems with her older brother but they now get along. They have two other brothers. Jocellyn, who refers to the president as the mayor, said Duterte still eats the same simple food their mother Soledad once cooked: cheap fish simmered in vinegar. She also traces Duterte s authoritarianism to Soledad, who punished her children with a horsewhip or made them kneel at an altar for hours. You can see that in the mayor, says Jocellyn. Sometimes people perceive it as arrogance or call it close to being a dictator. But we grew up in that atmosphere. Their father Vicente, also a politician, was often absent, and the young Duterte saw the bodyguards, police and soldiers around him as role models, his sister said. He grew up in a macho culture where wives and daughters were expected to be submissive, Jocellyn said. His daughter Sara is anything but. In 2011, during her first term as Davao s mayor, she was caught on camera punching a local official who angered her. In 2016, Sara ran as mayor again, but only because she was pressured by her father s supporters, she told Reuters. If it were up to me, I would not have run, she said. She said she now only saw her father on special occasions, such as birthdays and Christmas, but denied they had differences. He s very busy, she said. Duterte and his daughter have a normal Filipino parent-child relationship which has its own share of ups and downs, said the president s office in its statement. Like her father, Sara is blunt, down-to-earth and thronged by admirers at public appearances in Davao. She told Reuters she wanted to practice law and, once her three-year term as mayor was up, had no wish or intention to continue in politics. But in a country famous for political dynasties spanning many generations, Duterte wants his daughter to preserve what the family has done for the city, said Jocellyn. He is trying to instill in Sara that it is our legacy, she said. Maybe she needs more time. | 0fake |
Mark Crispin Miller, a professor at New York University, explains how US elections are stolen: | Mark Crispin Miller, a professor at New York University, explains how US elections are stolen:
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article45799.htm
He outlines what can be done, but those in power will not do it. Revolution is probably the only solution.
The post Mark Crispin Miller, a professor at New York University, explains how US elections are stolen: appeared first on PaulCraigRoberts.org . | 1real |
Airstrikes on Aleppo Resume as Russia Begins New Offensive in Syria - The New York Times | BEIRUT, Lebanon — Warplanes resumed airstrikes on the besieged sections of Aleppo, Syria, on Tuesday, as Russia began a major new offensive against insurgents battling Syria’s president, Bashar . Russia’s defense minister, Sergei K. Shoigu, said it had started “a big operation to deliver massive strikes” against the Islamic State and the Levant Victory Front, formerly known as the Nusra Front, in Idlib and Homs Provinces. Jets taking off from Russia’s aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, conducted their first strikes on Syria, the Russian military said, noting that its forces were hitting targets in the two provinces. It was unclear whether the strikes on Aleppo were by Russian or Syrian government warplanes. The fighting shattered the relative calm that had prevailed in the eastern parts of Aleppo for about three weeks. “Our house is being shaken,” Modar Sheikho, a nurse and antigovernment activist in Aleppo, said in a text message. “The warplane is still in the sky. ” He shared an audio recording with the roar of a plane and the sound of explosions. Residents reported airstrikes on at least five Aleppo neighborhoods. The extent of the casualties was unclear, but they appeared to include at least three civilians, including a woman, who were killed in the neighborhood of Masaken Hanano, and 10 others who were wounded. There were conflicting reports about whether the attack had consisted of barrel bombs, which are usually dropped from helicopters, or an assault by fighter jets. “Since this morning, until now, dozens of shells and rockets have bombed Aleppo,” Mohammad a resident of eastern Aleppo, said in a text message, adding that he believed the planes were Russian fighter jets. Mr. Shoigu, at a meeting in Sochi, Russia, with President Vladimir V. Putin, said that a Russian warship, the Admiral Grigorovich, was taking part in this operation, launching cruise missiles against insurgent targets. “For the first time in the history of Russian Navy, the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier took part in combat, too,” he said. “Today, our fighter jets began to work from this warship. ” Mr. Shoigu also briefed Mr. Putin on what he called the use of chemical weapons by the insurgents. The Russian military said that chemical weapons used by insurgents had caused three deaths of Syrian soldiers, and the hospitalization of dozens of soldiers. On Monday, a Russian fighter jet crashed off the Syrian coast as it tried to return to the Admiral Kuznetsov. The pilot ejected safely, and the Russian Defense Ministry blamed a technical failure. The fighting broke out a day after Mr. Putin spoke to Donald J. Trump and agreed to cooperate on fighting “international terrorism and extremism,” according to a Kremlin statement. That declaration echoed Mr. Trump’s recent comments that he would try to work with Moscow and with Mr. Assad to fight against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, ISIL or Daesh. Mr. Trump’s comments concerning Syria also received a favorable reaction on Tuesday from the United Nations special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura. “What he’s been saying is quite interesting,” Mr. de Mistura said, speaking on the BBC’s “Hardtalk” program. “The focus, the priority, is Daesh, fighting terrorism. Second to do, if possible, a deal with Russia. Both points make a lot of sense. ” The diplomat said he had yet to speak directly to Mr. Trump or his associates. He also emphasized that in his view, the Syria conflict still required “a completely new approach to what is a political solution. ” The Syrian government has tended to call all its opponents terrorists, and Russia makes little distinction among the different groups fighting Mr. Assad. A constant sticking point has been that some of the rebels that the United States has supported have made battlefield alliances with groups considered terrorists by Moscow and Washington alike. Mr. de Mistura has estimated that perhaps a few hundred of the 10, 000 or so fighters inside besieged eastern Aleppo are affiliated with Al Qaeda rebels say that number is lower and the government says it is higher. The Obama administration has said that fighting the Islamic State is the priority of the United States, not toppling Mr. Assad — though that is another stated American aim. Under Mr. Obama, the United States government has continued to support some rebel groups that Washington deems not to be extremist, and it has shunned direct cooperation with Moscow and Damascus, contending that their campaign in Syria has been focused less on defeating extremists and more on battling opposition groups fighting Mr. Assad. The Obama administration has also condemned what it says is indiscriminate bombing by the Syrian government and its Russian allies. A change in American policy under Mr. Trump, who is to take office in January, could involve a shift toward direct cooperation with Mr. Assad and with Russia against the Islamic State. | 0fake |
Royal Jordanian gets U.S. instructions lifting travel ban | AMMAN (Reuters) - Jordanian airline Royal Jordanian received instructions from the U.S. authorities on Saturday allowing travelers from Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Sudan, Somali and Iran to board its flights to the United States if they have the necessary visa. “These instructions are effective as of today and cancel the U.S. presidential decision that restricted the entry to America of these above mentioned nationalities,” Royal Jordanian spokesman Basel Kilani told Reuters. “The airline will resume flying passengers of these nationalities to the United States as long as they hold valid visas unless the airline gets contrary instructions from U.S. customs and homeland security,” he said. | 0fake |
MAJOR Latino Supporter Publicly Dumps Trump On CNN After Hearing Immigration Speech (TWEET/VIDEO) | While many racist Donald Trump supporters are praising the way the Republican nominee doubled down on his disastrous immigration policies yesterday in his speech, it has caused several conservative Hispanic supporters to rethink their decision to back the business mogul.Earlier today, Alfonso Aguilar, the president of Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles, made a public show of withdrawing his support for Trump on CNN, and elaborated on a tweet that said he d felt disappointed and misled by Trump s immigration speech:TwitterOn CNN, Aguilar told host Carol Costello that this major immigration speech had cost Trump Aguilar s vote, as well as many other Latino supporters. When he became the nominee, I thought it was important to give him a second chance. I m terrified about Hillary Clinton. And so I decided to support him and I thought that we could work with him and the campaign to move him to the center on immigration. And the initial response was very good. Aguilar pointed out the inconsistencies in Trump s message, as well as the harsh policy Trump was pushing now: He said he was going to treat undocumented immigrants without criminal records in a humane and compassionate way, he said he was going to soften his position. And then we heard yesterday and I was totally disappointed, not surprised, but disappointed and likely misled. Because he gave the impression, the campaign gave the impression until yesterday morning that he was going to deal with the undocumented in a compassionate way. And in that speech, he s basically saying, we deport you or we self-deport you. It s even worse than what he initially proposed. Trump s speech was so offensive, that Aguilar is taking back his endorsement of Trump: So today I m saying, not only am I considering withdrawing my support, I m telling you today, I m withdrawing my support from Donald Trump. And it s not only me. Many like me think the same way. I m so sorry, I just can t be part of that. Trump has flip-flopped on immigration several times over the last few weeks, but it seems that for many of his supporters, this is the final straw. It s about time.Featured image via screenshots | 1real |
No vote on healthcare bill this week in U.S. House | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House leaders have decided against holding a vote on a reworked healthcare system overhaul this week after failing to find the necessary support, congressional aides said on Thursday. White House officials had urged a floor vote on the legislation before President Donald Trump’s 100th day in office on Saturday, hoping to follow through on a campaign promise to repeal and replace the 2010 Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Advocates had hoped to raise enough support for the measure after a group of hard-line Republican conservatives endorsed an amended version on Wednesday. But by Thursday evening Republican leaders still had not collected enough votes from moderate Republicans whose backing was also needed for passage in the House, given united Democratic opposition. “We won’t vote this week,” said one House Republican aide, who asked not to be named. Next week was not ruled out, another indicated. “We’ll call a vote when we have the votes.” Representative Pete Sessions, a senior House Republican, also left the door open to a vote next week. Possibly referring to Trump, Sessions said that a lot of people had tried to rush the legislation to the floor, but House Republican leaders want to “allow the time to do it right. “I said it will find its time and I am satisfied we are moving at a pace, keeping people engaged,” he said at a late night session of the House Rules Committee he chairs. The Republican healthcare bill would replace Obamacare’s income-based tax credit with an age-based credit, roll back an expansion of the Medicaid government health insurance program for the poor and repeal most Obamacare taxes. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office had estimated 24 million fewer people would have insurance than under the original version. House leaders brought the bill to the floor last month after Trump demanded a vote, but yanked it after a rebellion by Republican moderates and the party’s most conservative lawmakers, in a major setback for Trump. An amendment drafted by Representative Tom MacArthur won over conservatives in the hardline Freedom Caucus this week, reviving some hopes that the bill could still pass. The amendment would allow states to seek waivers from some provisions. Among these are one mandating that insurers charge those with pre-existing conditions the same as healthy consumers, and that insurers cover so-called essential health benefits, such as maternity care. But a number of centrist Republicans still opposed the measure. “Protections for those with pre-existing conditions without contingency, and affordable access to coverage for every American, remain my priorities for advancing healthcare reform, and this bill does not satisfy those benchmarks for me,” Representative Ryan Costello of Pennsylvania said in a statement posted on social network Twitter on Thursday. Some outside groups like the American Medical Association weighed in against the legislation, saying it would cost millions their health care coverage. The bill’s future is further clouded in the Senate. | 0fake |
Australian PM says government at risk if it loses Sydney by-election | SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said on Wednesday his government s future was at risk if it lost a Sydney by-election this weekend and failed to regain its one-seat majority, forcing it to rely on independents to survive in power. Turnbull s conservative voter base in the harbourside seat of Bennelong, usually a safe blue-ribbon seat, has collapsed, according to an opinion poll on Tuesday. The Newspoll in The Australian newspaper said Turnbull s Liberal-National coalition and the opposition Labor each have a 50 percent chance of winning on a two-party preferred vote, with Liberal voters deserting to a newly formed conservative party. It is a tight race. It is very high cost. If Labor were to win in Bennelong, then (Labor leader) Bill Shorten would be very close to becoming prime minister, Turnbull told reporters in Sydney. If Turnbull loses Bennelong, it would only take the loss of support from key independents in a vote of no confidence to see his minority government topple. Centre-left Labor has not held power since 2013. Turnbull has led a minority government since October after his deputy prime minister was forced to quit parliament for holding dual citizenship. Under Australia s constitution, national politicians can only have Australian citizenship. The deputy prime minister was re-elected on Dec. 2 after renouncing his New Zealand citizenship, but Turnbull failed to regain his one-seat majority because Bennelong s Liberal incumbent, former tennis champion John Alexander, quit parliament because he believed he might hold dual Australian-British citizenship. Turnbull s future now rests on the voters of the affluent Bennelong electorate, where 13 percent of electors were born in either China or Hong Kong. But a strain in relations between Australia and China in the past week may cost Turnbull votes. Turnbull announced last week a ban on foreign political donations aimed at preventing external influence in domestic politics. He singled out China in announcing the ban, prompting a rebuke in China s People s Daily newspaper. Australia must recognise China is now leading the world. The government s attitude towards China will cost them votes, said Cao Gui Dong, a candidate for the Christian Democrat Party in Bennelong. A loss in Bennelong would also see Turnbull s grip on the prime ministership again come under scrutiny, with one Liberal politician already calling for him to quit before Christmas. Turnbull has fought off leadership speculation for most of 2017, amid a slump in polls as voters flock to far-right parties, but has vowed to lead his government to the next election due in 2019. (This version of the story fixes typo paragraph six) | 0fake |
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