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10,300 | U.S., Russia in extradition tug-of-war over bitcoin fraud suspect in Greece | ATHENS (Reuters) - A Greek court on Wednesday backed the extradition to Moscow of a Russian citizen who also faces being sent to the United States on allegations of laundering billions of dollars in bitcoin. Alexander Vinnik, the suspected mastermind of a $4 billion bitcoin laundering ring, is one of seven Russians arrested or indicted worldwide this year on U.S. cybercrime charges. Judges ruled last week that he should be extradited to the United States, a decision Russia criticized as unjust and illegal and which Vinnik is challenging at Greece s supreme court. Should it decide to uphold the ruling to extradite him to the United States, the final decision is in the hands of Greece s justice minister, who can approve extradition to one country and block the other. Vinnik denies all charges against him. But he has agreed to be returned to Russia where he is to be tried on lesser fraud charges. That is his wish - to be extradited to Russia and to give his account before the Russian judicial authorities, Alexandros Lykourezos, the lawyer leading Vinnik s defense, told reporters after the ruling in Thessaloniki. In the United States, where he faces up to 55 years in prison, Vinnik is accused of running BTC-e a digital currency exchange used to trade bitcoin to facilitate crimes ranging from computer hacking to drug trafficking since 2011. He has told Greek judges that he was a technical consultant to BTC-e and not its operator. Vinnik was arrested while on holiday in a seaside village in Greece in July. Russia then sought his extradition as it has done with other nationals wanted by the United States. The supreme court hearing is expected within the next three weeks, Lykourezos said. | 1 |
10,301 | No new ski boycott: EU changes tune on Austrian right | BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Seventeen winters ago, the European Union offered a very cold shoulder to a chancellor who brought Austria s far right into government, and some EU leaders even spoke of boycotting Tyrolean ski resorts in protest. On Monday, the strong chance Sebastian Kurz s center-right will invite the Freedom Party back into a Vienna coalition raised barely a murmur in Brussels. That said something about how the FPO has moved from its neo-Nazi past and a lot about how the rest of Europe has shifted rightward, especially on immigration. An Austrian government led by a man who campaigned on tough border policies and featuring the FPO would, two years ago, have been an earthquake for Europe, a senior EU official said. Now, following the crisis of 2015-16 in which over a million refugees and others came by sea to Greece and Italy, often then reaching Germany via Austria, critics of open doors have shifted Europe their way. Said another Brussels insider: They ve built the theater that we are all playing in now. A hard-nosed deal with Turkey to hold back Syrian refugees, tougher action on detaining and deporting failed asylum seekers, scaling back rescue boats and cooperation with Libyan forces have contributed to a substantial fall in new arrivals. In Germany, where fellow travelers of the FPO damaged Chancellor Angela Merkel in an election last month, her bold welcome for refugees in 2015 has given way to support for ramped up border defenses. Congratulating the 31-year-old Kurz on Sunday s election victory, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker alluded to concern about a eurosceptic government in Vienna. The Brussels chief executive wished him success in forming a stable, pro-European government . Juncker s spokesman would not say that the Commission was pressing Kurz to shun the FPO, as EU leaders did when Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel formed a coalition with the party then led by Joerg Haider in 2000. That February, nearly 18 years ago, Juncker as prime minister of Luxembourg was among the 14 EU leaders who barely spoke to Schuessel or his ministers for six months and later revised EU treaties to create powers to suspend renegade member states. There were harsh words. Belgium s foreign minister - father of its current premier Charles Michel - called on people not to take winter holidays in Austria. Yet current Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders was one of many attending an EU meeting who politely congratulated their absent young Austrian colleague and said they looked forward to working with his new government. None so much as mentioned those suspension powers which the EU gave itself after their failure to change Schuessel s mind. Fellow ministers chorused on Kurz s pro-EU credentials. His party colleague Johannes Hahn, who holds Austria s seat on Juncker s Commission said that whatever government Kurz formed would have a very pro-European agenda because all the major political parties are very much committed to the European Union . That reflects a shift in the FPO under Heinz-Christian Strache. He has toned down hostility to the EU and distanced the party from anti-Semitism while criticizing Islam. It took the far-left leader in the European Parliament to offer anything but a mild reaction. Gabi Zimmer said the vote should strike fear into everyone and accused Kurz of espousing bigotry and prejudices to beat a party led by a neo-Nazi . But Kurz faces a Europe very different from the one that ostracized Schuessel. Power has shifted to fellow conservatives, compared to 2000, when governments including those of Germany, France, Britain and Italy were in the hands of the left. EU enlargement to the ex-communist east has brought in many more leaders, such as in Poland and Hungary, who are open in their hostility to immigration, especially by Muslims. Kurz won a particularly warm tribute from his Hungarian counterpart. And more governments - French, Dutch, Nordic and now German - face the problem Schuessel had of a popular far-right party. That has contributed to a reluctance to criticize EU peers over strategies to contain such insurgencies - though leaders will be looking to Kurz to rein in the FPO, as they did when they needed to justify letting Schuessel back into their fold. That lesson, of having to climb down after rushing to the rhetorical barricades but failing to make Schuessel budge, shows up today in a hesitation to suspend Hungary or Poland for failings on democratic values. As one EU official put it: Austria in 2000 showed us how not to go in without an exit strategy. | 1 |
10,302 | Trump Whines About Late Night Hosts Making Jokes About Him, Accuses Them Of Conspiring With Democrats | Donald Trump put on his tin-foil hat and raged at Late Night television hosts on Saturday morning.Late Night television shows have seen a resurgence this year, especially The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, which has gotten more popular since Trump took office.Of course, after all the bullshit Trump has said and done over the last nine months, comedians have enough material to keep them busy for years to come.But Trump is now whining about being the main joke on Late Night, and he even threw a temper tantrum accusing them of conspiring with the Democrats.Late Night host are dealing with the Democrats for their very unfunny & repetitive material, always anti-Trump! Should we get Equal Time? Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 7, 2017More and more people are suggesting that Republicans (and me) should be given Equal Time on T.V. when you look at the one-sided coverage? Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 7, 2017Seriously, Trump literally complained that Democrats aren t being mocked equally.The problem is that Trump has been nothing but a giant punchline.He has embarrassed himself and America and everything he says and does is a joke. America has become an international laughingstock.There s also this thing called the First Amendment. You know, that constitutional right giving comedians the ability to joke about anything they damn well please.In other words, Trump cannot force comedians to stop making fun of him.You never heard President Obama whine about being joked about on Late Night comedy shows. But President Obama is an adult who is able to take a joke, while Trump is thin-skinned and petty.As for equal time, Republicans usually dominate the Sunday news cycle and Fox News is clearly not fair and balanced. You never hear Trump complain about Fox & Friends kissing his ass all the time.Furthermore, shouldn t Trump be focused on running the country instead of staying up late to watch television?Featured Image: Spencer Platt/Getty Images | 0 |
10,303 | Trump will reopen controversial Trump University after litigation ends | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Thursday said he will reopen the controversial Trump University real estate school at the close of litigation. “I have instructed my execs to open Trump U (University), so much interest in it! I will be pres (president),” he said in a tweet. Trump is fighting a lawsuit against the venture that accuses the school of misleading thousands of people who paid up to $35,000 for seminars to learn real estate investment strategies. | 1 |
10,304 | DIRTY POLITICS: HOW OBAMA’S INTEL RULES CHANGES Opened The Door For More Spying On Americans | As his presidency drew to a close, Barack Obama s top aides routinely reviewed intelligence reports gleaned from the National Security Agency s incidental intercepts of Americans abroad, taking advantage of rules their boss relaxed starting in 2011 to help the government better fight terrorism, espionage by foreign enemies and hacking threats, Circa has learned.Dozens of times in 2016, those intelligence reports identified Americans who were directly intercepted talking to foreign sources or were the subject of conversations between two or more monitored foreign figures. Sometimes the Americans names were officially unmasked; other times they were so specifically described in the reports that their identities were readily discernible. Among those cleared to request and consume unmasked NSA-based intelligence reports about U.S. citizens were Obama s national security adviser Susan Rice, his CIA Director John Brennan and then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch.Some intercepted communications from November to January involved Trump transition figures or foreign figures perceptions of the incoming president and his administration. Intercepts involving congressional figures also have been unmasked occasionally for some time.Read more: Circa | 0 |
10,305 | Qatar must protect workers from lethal heat, rights group says | DUBAI (Reuters) - Qatar must do more to protect construction workers from heat which often reaches levels that are potentially fatal, Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday. HRW and other rights campaigners are frequent critics of Qatar s treatment of migrant laborers whose working conditions have received additional scrutiny as the country prepares to host the 2022 World Cup. The group said existing regulations only set limits on outdoor work during the period June 15 to Aug. 31, and then only from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Climate data shows that weather conditions in Qatar outside those hours and dates frequently reach levels that can result in potentially fatal heat-related illnesses in the absence of appropriate rest, it said. HRW called authorities also to investigate the causes of migrant worker deaths and publish data on such incidents. In 2013, health authorities reported 520 deaths of workers from Bangladesh, India, and Nepal, HRW said. Like other wealthy Gulf Arab states, Qatar relies on vast numbers of migrant workers, mostly from the Philippines, South Asia and Africa. Around 2 million migrant workers live in Qatar, outnumbering the local workforce by nearly 20 to one. Some 800,000 work in the construction sector. Unions and labor protests are banned and authorities penalize dissent with jail or deportation. The Qatari government s Communications Office said: Qatar is committed to its labor reform program and is constantly reviewing its policies to ensure that migrant workers receive the necessary on-site protections. We continue to coordinate closely with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and international NGOs to implement reforms that will improve the health, safety and rights of migrant workers, Sheikh Saif Al Thani, head of the Communications Office, said in a statement sent to Reuters. | 1 |
10,306 | JOHN MCCAIN ATTACKS President Trump From Hospital Bed Only Days After Brain Cancer Diagnosis | Senator John McCain just couldn t help himself. While millions of Americans were praying for his recovery, after he was diagnosed with brain cancer earlier this week, McCain took to Twitter to admonish President Trump over his decision to end a failed program that was supposed to train, fund and arm Syrians to fight Assad and ISIS.The program has been a complete failure and cost Americans millions of dollars.The Hill In February, 2012, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who both serve on the Senate Armed Services committee urged that the United States arm opposition forces in Syria. War-hawks McCain and Graham argued that arming rebel fighters in the country could help beat back a Syrian government with close ties to Iran. Breaking Syria apart from Iran could be as important to containing a nuclear Iran as sanctions, Graham said at a press conference in Kabul, according to the New York Times. If the Syrian regime is replaced with another form of government that doesn t tie its future to the Iranians, the world is a better place. Where have we heard that strategy before? Oh yeah in Libya and in Iraq. How did that work out for America and for the Middle East John? McCain was apparently well enough by yesterday to warn tweeted his sparring partners in Congress that he d be back soon and told them to stand-by! Goodness knows, America couldn t survive without the votes and guidance of Trump-hater and leader of the Republican we don t have to do what the American voters elected us to do opposition party.I greatly appreciate the outpouring of support unfortunately for my sparring partners in Congress, I'll be back soon, so stand-by! John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) July 20, 2017Only one hour later, war-hawk McCain fired back with another tweet admonishing President Trump for ending the failed program created to assist the Syrian opposition. McCain accused President Trump of caving to Russia (proving once again that McCain is anything but a team player when it comes to our president).Reports admin ending prgm to assist Syrian opposition irresponsible, short-sighted& plays into Russia, Assad's hands https://t.co/N7KVqn1VD6 John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) July 20, 2017It s great to know that one of Trump s biggest opponents, who happens to also be a member of the same political party, isn t going to let a life-threatening diagnosis keep him from offering constant criticism of our president h/t Gateway Pundit | 0 |
10,307 | Suggestions Britain must be punished over Brexit are regrettable: minister | LONDON (Reuters) - Language suggesting that Britain should be punished for leaving the European Union is regrettable , as are any suggestions from London that officials do not want to negotiate a Brexit deal, trade minister Liam Fox said on Wednesday. Answering questions from lawmakers, Fox also said it was inconceivable that the open skies agreement between the United States and the EU would not continue to include Britain once it has left the bloc in March 2019. | 1 |
10,308 | U.S. should expand missile defense due to North Korea, Iran: lawmaker | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States should invest more in missile defense given missile testing by North Korea and Iran, the chairman of the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee said on Monday. The comments by Republican Representative Mac Thornberry followed new U.S. sanctions against Iran after Tehran’s recent ballistic missile tests. Washington is also concerned North Korea may be preparing to test a new ballistic missile. Thornberry’s position was a sign of support in Congress for military spending to counter North Korea after President Donald Trump during the 2016 election campaign raised doubts about future U.S. funding to defend allies like South Korea and Japan. “If you look at what’s happening around the world, I would mention Iran and North Korea, the importance of missile defense is increasing,” Thornberry said at a roundtable discussion with reporters. He said there was a need both to provide more systems and to improve missile defense technology. “Actors around the world are building missiles that are harder to stop,” he added. Jim Mattis, Trump’s defense secretary, told South Korea last week that Washington and Seoul would stand “shoulder-to-shoulder” to face the threat from North Korea. Both South Korea and the United States have recommitted to plans to deploy an $800 million advanced missile defense system in South Korea later this year. More broadly, Thornberry also said he expected an end to strict limits on defense spending now that Republicans control both Congress and the White House. The 2011 Budget Control Act imposed across-the-board cuts on government spending, and under former President Barack Obama, a Democrat, congressional Democrats were able to ward off Republican pushes to increase the defense budget without also raising spending on non-defense items such as education and medical research. “I think we have a tremendous opportunity to do the right thing,” Thornberry said. “There’s more of the federal budget being looked at, in play, if you will, than has been the case for many years.” The Trump administration is expected within weeks to send Congress a request for a supplemental bill to increase defense spending this year. | 1 |
10,309 | (VIDEO) TERROR THREAT ALERT: AMERICA CELEBRATES JULY4TH UNDER THE WATCHFUL EYE OF HOMELAND SECURITY | Be safe and enjoy the 4th! Homeland Security and our wonderful police officers all around the U.S. are looking out for us.The Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have issued an alert asking local authorities and the public to remain vigilant for possible threats following recent calls for violence by Islamic State leaders. DETAILS EMERGE ABOUT 4TH OF JULY TERROR THREATS: In New York City, the nation s biggest police force assigned about 7,000 officers and nearly all its counterterrorism personnel to handle security around Independence Day events. We re constantly seeking to be creative, to be proactive and not just be preparing to respond if something happens, New York Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said this week. The name of the game is to prevent it. Hundreds of thousands of people were expected to flood the National Mall in Washington, D.C., for a parade, concerts, and a fireworks display that uses 6,500 shells. The National Park Service is installing 3.4 miles (5.47 km) of chain link fencing, 14,000 feet (4,270 meters) of bike racks and almost 350 portable toilets to cope with the crowds.Read more: Yahoo | 0 |
10,310 | Trump, Ghani agree U.S. can help develop Afghanistan's rare earth minerals | (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Thursday backed having companies from the United States develop Afghanistan s reserves of rare earth minerals, despite formidable obstacles to industrial mining in the country. The comments, at a meeting in New York, were the latest in a series in which both U.S. officials and the Afghan government have emphasized the potential strategic value of Afghanistan s vast and largely untapped mineral reserves. Both leaders also reiterated their commitment to Trump s new South Asia strategy to defeat terrorism. But after 16 years in Afghanistan, the U.S. is looking for ways to offset the billions of dollars spent every year in propping up the government in Kabul and mining is increasingly being seen as a way to do that. They agreed that such initiatives would help American companies develop materials critical to national security while growing Afghanistan s economy and creating new jobs in both countries, therefore defraying some of the costs of United States assistance as Afghans become more self-reliant, the White House said. The U.S. Geological Survey has estimated the potential value of Afghanistan s minerals, including gold and gemstones as well as substances like lithium and rare earths vital in modern electronics, at as much as $1 trillion. But a lack of even basic transport and industrial infrastructure as well as a growing insurgency that has taken almost half the country out of government control has meant minerals have been impossible to exploit economically. Prices of some rare earths have shot up recently as demand for electric vehicle technology has grown, fuelling some talk that their value could compensate for the higher risks in getting them out of the ground. In addition, the rare earths sector is overwhelmingly dominated by China, causing some concern in Washington that Beijing has a stranglehold on raw materials vital to modern defense technology and prompting an interest in finding alternative sources. However, it remains unclear how a feasible development plan in Afghanistan could be developed in the future. Extracting the minerals remains a difficult and costly process and the fact that large parts of the economic reserves of rare earths in Afghanistan are located in Helmand province, now mostly under Taliban control, mean that miners are likely to look at easier opportunities elsewhere. Mike Harrowell, an analyst at research firm Harwind, based in Sydney, said attempting rare earths extraction in Afghanistan at the moment makes no sense on almost any level unless it were treated as a government-funded, nation-building project. It s not a simple business, and the technology is quite tightly held. It costs a lot, he said. There are so many well-studied projects in North America that were assessed during the rare earths boom after 2010 that still require funding. You would do any of those projects before you d do one in Afghanistan . | 1 |
10,311 | BOOM! #AT&T and #Boeing Step Up to Invest Billions and Give Employee Bonuses After Tax Cut Bill [Video] | THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A PRO-GROWTH PRESIDENT TAKES THE REINS: Boeing announces $300M employee-related and charitable investment as a result of TaxReform legislation to support our heroes, our homes and our future:#Boeing announces $300M employee-related and charitable investment as a result of #TaxReform legislation to support our heroes, our homes and our future. pic.twitter.com/ZNawbAW7AY The Boeing Company (@Boeing) December 20, 2017At&T Announces:.@POTUS announces that "AT&T plans to increase US capital spending $1B and provide $1,000 special bonuses to more than 200,000 US employee" as a result of the Republican tax reform bill. https://t.co/XtcvkW3NEW pic.twitter.com/JTrdfBOoLx FOX Business (@FoxBusiness) December 20, 2017AT&T's full statement: "With Tax Reform, AT&T Plans to Increase U.S. Capital Spending $1 Billion and Provide $1,000 Special Bonus to more than 200,000 U.S. Employees" pic.twitter.com/Mjttx3D1gI Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) December 20, 2017MAGA!Together, we are MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! pic.twitter.com/47k9i4p3J2 Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 20, 2017 | 0 |
10,312 | Obama statement on death of Supreme Court Justice Scalia | RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. (Reuters) - Following is the full text of remarks from President Barack Obama on Saturday on the death of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. THE PRESIDENT: Good evening, everybody. For almost 30 years, Justice Antonin ‘Nino’ Scalia was a larger-than-life presence on the bench - a brilliant legal mind with an energetic style, incisive wit, and colorful opinions. He influenced a generation of judges, lawyers, and students, and profoundly shaped the legal landscape. He will no doubt be remembered as one of the most consequential judges and thinkers to serve on the Supreme Court. Justice Scalia dedicated his life to the cornerstone of our democracy: the rule of law. Tonight, we honor his extraordinary service to our nation and remember one of the towering legal figures of our time. Antonin Scalia was born in Trenton, New Jersey to an Italian immigrant family. After graduating from Georgetown University and Harvard Law School, he worked at a law firm and taught law before entering a life of public service. He rose from Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel to Judge on the D.C. Circuit Court, to Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. A devout Catholic, he was the proud father of nine children and grandfather to many loving grandchildren. Justice Scalia was both an avid hunter and an opera lover - a passion for music that he shared with his dear colleague and friend, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Michelle and I were proud to welcome him to the White House, including in 2012 for a state dinner for Prime Minister David Cameron. And tonight, we join his fellow justices in mourning this remarkable man. Obviously, today is a time to remember Justice Scalia’s legacy. I plan to fulfill my constitutional responsibilities to nominate a successor in due time. There will be plenty of time for me to do so, and for the Senate to fulfill its responsibility to give that person a fair hearing and a timely vote. These are responsibilities that I take seriously, as should everyone. They’re bigger than any one party. They are about our democracy. They’re about the institution to which Justice Scalia dedicated his professional life, and making sure it continues to function as the beacon of justice that our Founders envisioned. But at this moment, we most of all want to think about his family, and Michelle and I join the nation in sending our deepest sympathies to Justice Scalia’s wife, Maureen, and their loving family - a beautiful symbol of a life well lived. We thank them for sharing Justice Scalia with our country. God bless them all, and God bless the United States of America. | 1 |
10,313 | BREAKING: OBAMA WILL VETO BILL Unanimously Passed By Congress Allowing 9-11 Victims To Sue Saudi Arabia | This should come as a surprise to no one Yesterday was the 15th anniversary of the worst terror attack in history, in which 15 Saudi citizens, among 19 Muslim hijackers, murdered nearly 3,000 Americans on 9/11.Barack Obama s White House announced today they are spitting right in 9-11 victims faces.The U.S. Congress passed a bill unanimously that would allow families of 9/11 victims to sue governments like Saudi Arabia who we now know for certain were involved in the attack.The bill went right to President Obama s desk.But today, the White House announced Obama will VETO the bill.Unbelievable.From CNN:President Barack Obama will veto a bill that would allow terror victims of the attacks on September 11, 2001, to sue Saudi Arabia, the White House said Monday. That s the plan, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said when asked if the President planned to veto the bill, saying it would complicate diplomatic relations. Earnest defended the administration s stance against the bill saying it is not an effective, forceful way for us to respond to terrorism. Lawmakers are expected to attempt to override the veto, and if successful, would mark the first time in Obama s presidency.Utterly disgraceful, even for Obama. Now his infamous bow to the Saudi king takes on a new, and sickening meaning.In April, a senior Saudi prince urged Americans not to vote for Donald Trump in the upcoming general election, after Trump promised to blow the lid off secret documents proving that the Saudi government helped plan the 9/11 Attacks.Via: Top Right News | 0 |
10,314 | Non-secessionist solution to Catalan crisis possible, says ex-leader | MADRID (Reuters) - Catalonia s deposed president said he might consider a solution to Spain s political crisis that did not involve the region s secession, appearing to soften the staunchly pro-independence stance that cost him his leadership last month. In an interview with Belgian daily Le Soir, Carles Puigdemont was asked if a non-secessionist option was on the table to resolve a crisis triggered when Spain took over control of the region after its parliament declared independence on Oct. 27. I m ready, and have always been ready, to accept the reality of another relationship with Spain ... It (another solution) is still possible, Puigdemont said. I have, being pro-independence all my life, worked for 30 years to have another way of Catalonia being anchored to Spain, he added, giving no details of what form such a relationship could take. He posted a link to the interview, which was published on Monday, on his Twitter feed. The former president is in self-imposed exile in Belgium after running an independence campaign that prompted authorities in Madrid to fire his cabinet, dissolve the regional parliament and call new elections for December. Puigdemont, who had previously insisted the independence declaration should form the basis of any political negotiations with Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, is under conditional release after an international arrest warrant was served against him. He and four other former members of the Catalan government with him in Belgium face charges of rebellion and sedition. Rajoy has said he was open to talks with Catalan leaders on resolving Spain s worst political crisis since its return to democracy four decades ago, but only within a legal framework and after the independence drive was dropped as a condition. In an interview with German newspaper Handelsblatt published on Monday, Rajoy said the position of the former Catalan leaders focused on the independence vote and gave little room beyond that for debate. Many blame me for not seeking political solutions. But I ve been in politics for a long time and ... there was no alternative, Rajoy said, adding that the Catalan crisis was the largest problem he had had to face as prime minister. He said had tried to reach a compromise with the regional government, but it was impossible. The government of Catalonia had only one goal - the independence referendum, he said. The Spanish government has called regional elections for Dec. 21, and Puigdemont s PDeCAT has failed to agree on a united ticket with other secessionist party, the ERC, denting the pro-independence camp s hopes of uniting behind the secessionist cause. The head of the ERC and former deputy to Puigdemont, Oriol Junqueras, will campaign for his party from a prison cell after being detained with other cabinet members who remained in Spain and pending trial on sedition and rebellion charges. According to an opinion poll released last week, independence supporters would win the election if they ran on a joint ticket, though probably short of a parliamentary majority. | 1 |
10,315 | Disgusting Trump Is Using Hurricane As An Opportunity To Deport People | A Category Four hurricane has hit Texas. It s set to be the most disastrous hurricane since Katrina hit Louisiana in 2005, yet Donald Trump is using it as an opportunity to deport people.Thousands of people are evacuating the affected areas, trying to beat the storm. Instead of helping ensure that evacuations go smoothly, the Trump administration is doing the exact opposite. They are creating checkpoints and forcing people to show their papers proving they are documented residents of the United States.The federal government is closing border patrol checkpoints in the path of the hurricane, but they re leaving checkpoints open outside the path. The Texas Tribune reports: Border Patrol checkpoints will not be closed unless there is a danger to the safety of the traveling public and our agents. Border Patrol resources, including personnel and transportation, will be deployed on an as needed basis to augment the efforts and capabilities of local-response authorities, the agency said in a statement.The Border Patrol is a law enforcement agency and we will not abandon our law enforcement duties. I m sure you can imagine the consequences. Sure, checkpoints will only be open outside the path of the hurricane, but they can still cause traffic to back up for miles. It will also all but ensure that undocumented immigrants and their families will stay behind, only to be potentially killed by the hurricane or the resulting floods.Civil rights agencies like the ACLU are furious. This is a disgusting move from the Border Patrol that breaks with past practices, American Civil Liberties Union director of immigration policy and campaigns Lorella Praeli said. The Border Patrol should never keep checkpoints open during any natural disasters in the United States. Everyone, no matter the color of their skin or background, is worth saving. Everyone, no matter the color of their skin or background, is worth saving. Except to Donald Trump, they really aren t. Trump doesn t care about anyone, but he does care about appeasing his racist, xenophobic base. John Edwards used to talk about two Americas. Today, we have the America that Donald Trump cares about (about 1/3 of the country) and we have the rest of us who could all die in the path of a hurricane for all he cares.Featured image via Pool/Getty Images. | 0 |
10,316 | Russia and Turkey to launch first Akkuyu reactor in 2023: Putin | SOCHI, Russia (Reuters) - Russia and Turkey plan to launch the first reactor at Turkey s Akkuyu nuclear power plant in 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday. Speaking alongside Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, Putin said the Russian state nuclear agency Rosatom would begin work at the Akkuyu site in the near future. | 1 |
10,317 | BREAKING! WIKILEAKS Releases Proof That Obama’s CIA Interfered In Frances’ 2012 Election | BREAKING BOMBSHELL! All of the major political parties in France were targeted by Obama s CIA with both human and electronic spies for the 7 months leading up to their 2012 Presidential election.In a document released by WikiLeaks today, the parties targeted and the goal of the operation are outlined in detail.RELEASE: CIA espionage orders for the last French presidential electionhttps://t.co/ARd8alUjMS #CIAFrance pic.twitter.com/15Q5ojw4L4 WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) February 16, 2017Via WikiLeaks:Specific tasking concerning his party included obtaining the Strategic Election Plans of the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP); schisms or alliances developing in the UMP elite; private UMP reactions to Sarkozy s campaign strategies; discussions within the UMP on any perceived vulnerabilities to maintaining power after the election; efforts to change the party s ideological mission; and discussions about Sarkozy s support for the UMP and the value he places on the continuation of the party s dominance .The targets specifically named in the document are: the French Socialist Party (PS), the National Front (FN) and Union for a Popular Movement (UMP), current President Francois Hollande, then President Nicolas Sarkozy, current round one presidential front-runner Marine Le Pen, and former presidential candidates Martine Aubry and Dominique Strauss-Khan.The CIA required that it s agents specifically discover Sarkozy s private opinions on other candidates along with how he worked with his personal advisors.The CIA seemed to have two prevailing goals according to WikiLeaks: What policies do they promote to help boost France s economic growth prospects, and what are their opinions on the German model of export-led growth. This resonates with a U.S. economic espionage order from the same year which required someone obtaining every prospective French export contract or deal valued at $200m or more.This travesty is another example of how our intelligence community ran amok during the Obama administration. | 0 |
10,318 | Myanmar blames Bangladesh for delaying accord on repatriating Rohingya | YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar insisted on Wednesday it was ready to set up a repatriation process for Rohingya Muslims even as more risked their lives fleeing the country, but it voiced fears Bangladesh was delaying an accord to first get international aid money. A senior Bangladesh home ministry official described the accusation as outrageous. More than 600,000 Rohingya have fled predominantly Buddhist Myanmar to neighboring Bangladesh since late August to escape violence that accompanied a brutal military counter-insurgency operation after Rohingya militant attacks on security posts in Myanmar s Rakhine State. Stung by international criticism and accusations of ethnic cleansing, Myanmar s de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has said Rohingya refugees who can prove they were resident will be accepted back. But for now, the flow of people is one-way, with Rohingya still preferring to risk being destitute in Bangladesh rather than stay in Myanmar in fear of their lives. Zaw Htay, a spokesman for Suu Kyi, said Myanmar was ready to begin the repatriation process any time, based along the lines of an agreement with Bangladesh that covered returns of Rohingya to Myanmar in the early 1990s. He said Bangladesh had yet to accept those terms. We are ready to start, but the other side did not accept yet, and the process was delayed. This is the number one fact, Zaw Htay, Director-General of the Ministry of the State Counsellor s Office, told journalists on Tuesday. A memorandum of understanding on border liaison posts was signed with Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan following talks in the Myanmar capital, Naypyitaw, last week, but there was no progress on reviving the old agreement. Zaw Htay linked the delay by Bangladesh to the money raised so far by the international community to help build gigantic refugee camps for the Rohingya. Currently they have got $400 million. Over their receipt of this amount, we are now afraid of delaying the program of deporting the refugees, he said in comments carried in a front-page article in the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper on Wednesday. They have got international subsidies. We are now afraid they would have another consideration as to repatriation, he said. A senior Bangladesh home ministry official gave a scathing response. Their claim is outrageous. We are stunned, the official told Reuters in Dhaka. How can they say this when everyone knows who are making the delay? The Bangladesh government issued a statement last Thursday saying that Myanmar had not agreed to 10 points put forward by its minister at last week s talks, including the full implementation of the recommendations of an Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, chaired by former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, for a sustainable return of Rohingya. Khan told Bangladesh media last Friday that the two sides were unable to form a joint working group but said it should be set up by the time Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali goes to Myanmar for further talks on Nov. 30. The United Nation s new interim resident coordinator for Myanmar began his new job on Wednesday. Knut Ostby, a Norwegian, has stepped into the key humanitarian and diplomatic role at a time of growing strains with the Myanmar government over the handling of the Rohingya crisis. Meantime, while Myanmar and Bangladesh work out how Rohingya can eventually go home, the grim exodus from Myanmar continues. Seven Rohingya, including three babies and two children, drowned making the perilous sea crossing up the coast from Myanmar to Bangladesh earlier this week. Given the horrors endured by many Rohingya now living in refugee camps it would be unsurprising if they were in no hurry to return to their old home. U.N. investigators interviewing Rohingya living in refugee camps in Bangladesh said on Friday they had gathered testimony pointing to a consistent, methodical pattern of killings, torture, rape and arson. A worry for Myanmar as it prepares to scrutinize any returnees is the risk of Islamist militants sneaking into the country, as several groups, including al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), have called for a jihad to fight for the Rohingya. (This version of the story fixes typo in second paragraph) | 1 |
10,319 | JIMMY FALLON Brings On “Little Donald” To Be His VP [Video] | This teen has a pretty good impression of Donald Trump:Jack Aiello, the Chicago-area teen who impersonated the presidential candidates during his 8th Grade graduation speech, appeared on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon Wednesday night as a little Donald Trump.Fallon impersonated Trump and stated, The only person good enough to be my vice president is me. Aiello then entered as a Little Donald and performed his spot on impression.Via: wgntv | 0 |
10,320 | Trump Goes On Insane Rant About Female News Anchor Bleeding; Here’s Her Response (TWEETS) | It can easily be said that there is a madman who has been allowed to take residence in the White House. A man with the maturity level of an awkward prepubescent pre-teen. A man who has been handed everything his entire life yet still feels entitled to bash others if they so dare criticize him and the work he supposedly does.As you all probably remember the horrible Megyn Kelly remarks he made about her bleeding out of her wherever, Trump has now decided to bash yet another news anchor and call her out on her bleeding, and this time it s MSNBC s Mika Brzezinski.In an early morning rage, clearly not happy with what was said about him on Morning Joe, albeit he says he wasn t watching yet clearly was, Trump tweeted: I heard poorly rated [Morning Joe] speaks badly of me (don t watch anymore). Then how come low I.Q. Crazy Mika, along with Psycho Joe, came to Mar-a-Lago 3 nights in a row around New Year s Eve, and insisted on joining me. She was bleeding badly from a face-lift. I said no! I heard poorly rated @Morning_Joe speaks badly of me (don't watch anymore). Then how come low I.Q. Crazy Mika, along with Psycho Joe, came.. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 29, 2017 to Mar-a-Lago 3 nights in a row around New Year's Eve, and insisted on joining me. She was bleeding badly from a face-lift. I said no! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 29, 2017Keep in mind all of this is being preserved as part of the national presidential record. Proud to be an American, huh?This isn t only bullying behavior, but sue-worthy behavior and hopefully Mika goes after him hard with a hefty lawsuit. Pardon my language, but wow, what an asshole.This is not how a *president is supposed to behave. This is not how any person is supposed to behave. Wow. Just wow. This is a dark time for the nation.Trump is a child and a mean child at that. He doesn t belong anywhere near the Oval Office and hopefully, Congress realizes that sooner rather than later.However, all that aside. Mika is getting the last laugh because her response is absolutely perfect:pic.twitter.com/8YhzcCUwM1 Mika Brzezinski (@morningmika) June 29, 2017Ha! Well played.(*pending investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 election)Featured image via Getty Images | 0 |
10,321 | BOOM! WATCH TRUMP IN FLINT: “Now, the Cars are Made in Mexico and You Can’t Drink the Water in Flint” | OUCH! Trump really put things in perspective while visiting the Democrat run city of Flint MI, plagued by unemployed auto workers and tainted water During Donald Trump s visit to Flint, Michigan on Wednesday, the Republican nominee commented on how the automobile manufacturing industry has moved to Mexico impacting trade and how people in Flint can t drink the water, much like the water in Mexico. It used to be cars were made in Flint, and you couldn t drink the water in Mexico, Trump stated. Now, the cars are made in Mexico and you can t drink the water in Flint. That s not good, he added, as people chuckled in response.Trump: "Now the cars are made in Mexico, and you can't drink the water in Flint" https://t.co/6OZtrfIwim https://t.co/XTy1fmvsHN CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) September 14, 2016Via: Breitbart News | 0 |
10,322 | In search of rebound, Trump ramps up attacks on Clinton | MANHEIM, Pa. (Reuters) - Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump closed out a rough week for his campaign on Saturday by escalating personal attacks on Democrat Hillary Clinton, questioning her stamina and saying she should be in prison for her handling of classified emails. After a week in which he drew wide criticism for a public feud with a former beauty queen, Trump sought to rebound with a highly negative attack on his opponent in the Nov. 8 election, with a second presidential debate against her looming in a week. At the same time, the New York Times reported it had obtained records showing Trump declared a $916 million loss on his 1995 income tax returns, a deduction so large that it may have allowed him to avoid paying any federal income taxes for years. Trump has refused to release his tax records, saying he is under a federal audit. At a rally in Manheim, Pennsylvania, Trump said he did not believe Clinton, who suffered a bout of pneumonia last month, was up to the task of being president. He tried to resurrect a tactic he employed against former Republican rival Jeb Bush, who Trump had derided as “low energy.” Clinton kept her pneumonia diagnosis private until she was seen nearly collapsing while getting into her vehicle at a ceremony marking the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in New York. Ticking off a list of world problems, Trump said, “She’s supposed to fight all of these things and she can’t make it 15 feet to her car. Give me a break.” “Folks, we need stamina, we need energy, we need people who are going to turn deals around,” Trump said. Trump has often told crowds who chant “lock her up” over her use of a private email server as U.S. secretary of state from 2009 to 2013 to instead help him defeat her. But on Saturday, Trump told thousands of supporters that Clinton’s handling of classified emails and destroying of 33,000 emails that she had deemed of a personal nature meant that “she should be in prison, let me tell you.” Trump did not stop there. He said he did not believe Clinton would be loyal to her supporters and chuckled, “I don’t even think she’s loyal to Bill, to tell you the truth. And why should she be, right? Why should she be?” In 1998, Clinton’s husband, former President Bill Clinton, was caught up in a sex scandal involving former White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Trump was widely seen as having lost his first presidential debate with Clinton last Monday although he cites online polls showing he won. In the days since the debate, Trump has been struggling to regain his footing, getting caught up in a back-and-forth with former Miss Universe Alicia Machado, who Trump had criticized for gaining weight. | 1 |
10,323 | Powerful Oscar Performance By Lady Gaga Brings Audience To Tears (VIDEO/TWEET) | Tonight s Oscars were filled with award winners and speeches. However, there was no moment that had a larger collective impact on those watching than Lady Gaga s performance, which brought a standing ovation and tears to the eyes of many in the audience.That s because she performed her Oscar nominated song Till it happens to you, from the documentary The Hunting Ground, which explores rape on college campuses in the U.S. Here s the video:Lady Gaga was introduced by Vice President Joe Biden, who spoke about the White House s It s On Us campaign, urging everyone to get on board. After receiving a standing ovation, Biden said: Lets change the culture so that no abused woman woman or man ever feels they have to ask themselves, What do I do? They did nothing wrong. Then it was Lady Gaga s turn to deliver one of the most memorable moments in Oscar history. Gaga performed while playing the piano and was joined by a group of sexual-assault survivors on stage, drawing a standing ovation and tears from members of the audience. Earlier this week, Gaga gave her support to pop star Kesha, who is currently involved in a legal battle with Sony. Kesha tweeted her thanks to both Lady Gaga and Vice President Joe Biden:thank u @ladygaga and VP @JoeBiden for bringing attention to sexual assault at the oscars. it hit very close to my heart for obvious reasons kesha (@KeshaRose) February 29, 2016Here s Lady Gaga s tweet:I never thought anyone would ever love me because I felt like my body was ruined by my abuser. https://t.co/6K0Xgf00kz Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) February 29, 2016Lady Gaga s performance reached the hearts and minds of tens of millions of people around the world and there s no doubt that she and the vice president have benefited humanity by addressing this issue. | 0 |
10,324 | CNN Publishes Inauguration Day Letter from Obama to Trump: ‘Keep International Order’ | CNN has published the Inauguration Day letter from Obama to incoming President Trump. The letter includes the usual pleasantries then asks Trump to keep the international order going. Hummm, that s a loaded demand because then-candidate Trump s stump mantra was to put America first. Um, yeah no May of 2010 is when Obama declared a new international order was needed: President Obama is facing criticism for his declaration over the weekend that he would seek a new international order, with some questioning how much U.S. sovereignty the administration is willing to cede in exchange for more global cooperation. Trump campaigned on upsetting the apple cart for this new globalism and liberal political hack Fareed Zakaria wrote about the end to this international order in a Washington Post OpEd in which he bashed Trump s America first policy:In his first days in office, President Trump has begun to reverse the domestic policies of the previous eight years. But with regard to the United States relations with the world, Trump seems far more radical. In word and deed, he appears to be walking away from the idea of America at the center of an open, rule-based international order. This would be a reversal of more than 70 years of U.S. foreign policy.CNN reports:During his final moments in the Oval Office, President Barack Obama folded into thirds a handwritten letter to Donald Trump, slid it into an envelope, and in neat capital letters addressed it to Mr. President. Now, the contents of that letter the last direct communication between the 44th and 45th presidents have emerged for the first time after CNN obtained a copy.Full text of the letter:Dear Mr. President Congratulations on a remarkable run. Millions have placed their hopes in you, and all of us, regardless of party, should hope for expanded prosperity and security during your tenure.This is a unique office, without a clear blueprint for success, so I don t know that any advice from me will be particularly helpful. Still, let me offer a few reflections from the past 8 years.First, we ve both been blessed, in different ways, with great good fortune. Not everyone is so lucky. It s up to us to do everything we can (to) build more ladders of success for every child and family that s willing to work hard.Second, American leadership in this world really is indispensable. It s up to us, through action and example, to sustain the international order that s expanded steadily since the end of the Cold War, and upon which our own wealth and safety depend.Third, we are just temporary occupants of this office. That makes us guardians of those democratic institutions and traditions like rule of law, separation of powers, equal protection and civil liberties that our forebears fought and bled for. Regardless of the push and pull of daily politics, it s up to us to leave those instruments of our democracy at least as strong as we found them.And finally, take time, in the rush of events and responsibilities, for friends and family. They ll get you through the inevitable rough patches. Michelle and I wish you and Melania the very best as you embark on this great adventure, and know that we stand ready to help in any ways which we can.Good luck and Godspeed,BOYou can read other letters from Bush to Obama and Clinton to Bush HERE | 0 |
10,325 | Illinois governor rejects school funding legislation | CHICAGO (Reuters) - Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner on Tuesday blocked hundreds of millions of new state dollars from going to cash-strapped Chicago Public Schools (CPS) by rewriting parts of a state school-funding overhaul bill, potentially imperiling the entire legislation and the flow of state money to all school districts. The Republican governor said he used his amendatory veto on the bill, which creates a new model for education funding, to remove “an unfair diversion” of money to help fund CPS teacher pensions. “Senate Bill 1, in its current form, took a significant increase in school funding I advocated for and diverted hundreds of millions of dollars from classrooms around the state to Chicago, unfairly hurting children across the state and unfairly advantaging one school district, a school district that has mismanaged its pension systems for decades,” Rauner told reporters in the state capitol. His action marks a return to the political gridlock that left Illinois without a complete budget for an unprecedented two-straight fiscal years. The Democratic-controlled legislature gave CPS, which is struggling with escalating pension contributions, a funding boost for pensions and state aid in the bill passed in late May. The governor’s office was not immediately able to say exactly how much money for CPS was cut by the veto action. The $36 billion fiscal 2018 state budget the legislature enacted in July over Rauner’s veto prohibits the flow of $6.7 billion in state money to schools in the absence of a funding overhaul like lawmakers approved. Rauner called for quick action by the General Assembly to accept his changes to the bill or to pass separate legislation reflecting what he wants so school operations will not be threatened. A failure by the House and Senate to muster a required three-fifths majority vote to override or accept the nine changes to the bill Rauner made would kill the measure. The governor has accused Democrats of jeopardizing the ability of schools to open later this month by not sending him the bill until Monday, two months after it was passed. The Illinois State Board of Education said it had not received any requests as of Tuesday from districts, which expect to receive their initial fiscal 2018 state funding by Aug. 10, to delay the start of their school year. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who controls the nation’s third-largest public school system, said Rauner was “ignoring the needs of Illinois’ school children” and school superintendents who supported the bill. | 1 |
10,326 | BREAKING: MEGYN KELLY INTERVIEWS PARENTS OF FAKE BLACK RACHEL DOLEZAL [VIDEO] | This whole public nightmare must be heartbreaking for her parents H/T Weasel Zippers | 0 |
10,327 | Minutes After Saturday Night Live Sketch Ended, Trump Was Already B*tching About It (VIDEO) | Now that it appears that Donald Trump is the inevitable next president, Alec Baldwin has job security at Saturday Night Live for at least four more years (unless Trump is impeached). Trump s not happy, at all.This week, Baldwin skewered Trump s Twitter obsession. The sketch showed the President-Elect as so distracted by his Twitter account that he just had to retweet a high school boy, rather than pay attention during a security briefing. Kellyanne, referring to campaign manager Kellyanne Conway, played by SNL s Kate McKinnon, I just retweeted the best tweet. I mean wow, what a great, smart tweet. When advisors reminded Trump that he was in a security briefing, Baldwin s Trump replied, He s 16, he s in high school, and I really did retweet him. Seriously, this is real. Trump s advisors tried to steer him back to the situation in Syria but Trump said, God, Seth seems so cool. His Twitter bio says he wants to make America great again. That s when McKinnon s Conway dropped the truth bomb about why Trump really tweets:Trump tweets to much to distract the media from his business conflicts and the scary people in his cabinet, but in Trump s words the real reason is because his brain is bad. But what s Donald Trump if he can t brag about something he had absolutely nothing to do with:As the adults in the room continued to admonish Trump for his incessant tweeting, he disputed the fact that it was preventing him from focusing on his work. I was elected 25 days ago and already unemployment is at a nine-year low, millions and millions of people have health care and Osama bin Laden is dead, he said. Next I m going to do what I promised my whole campaign and I m going to build that swamp. Here s the full video:Trump was not at all happy with the portrayal. Within minutes, he posted this:This thin-skinned compulsive tweeter, my fellow Americans, is our next president.Featured image via video screen capture. | 0 |
10,328 | [VIDEO] HOLLYWOOD ACTOR Scott Baio FED UP With Obama: “He’s a Muslim or a Muslim sympathizer” | I don t think there are too many people who would disagree with that sentiment, given Obama s obvious desire to make Americans believe Islam has nothing to do with Islamic terror. In the wake of yet another attack on American soil by a radicalized Muslin gunman, actor Scott Baio questioned whether President Barack Obama wants to eliminate the United States as it was created. Appearing on Fox Business, the former Happy Days star was asked if the president is reluctant to say Islamic terror. He s absolutely reluctant, Baio replied. I can t tell, Lester, if he s dumb, he s a Muslim or he s a Muslim sympathizer. And I don t think he s dumb. WATCH here:Baio, an ardent supporter of Donald Trump, was asked to explain Obama s actions. I have no idea, the actor replied. Like I said, either he s a sympathizer, a Muslim sympathizer or he s a Muslim to allow this to keep happening. He insisted that Trump is the only person who wants to do something about these attacks by Islamic extremists.Borrowing from Obama s 2008 promise of fundamentally transforming the United States of America, Baio speculated on what may be the end game for liberals like Obama and Hillary Clinton. Is it to totally eliminate the United States as it was created and founded and the way it is now? he asked.The actor went on to say he is baffled by the inaction from Obama and Clinton, saying the only time they get angry is at Republicans. Via: Biz Pac Review | 0 |
10,329 | So Much For Brussels Terror Victims…Let’s Play Ball! | Hey Barry, could you at least have enough respect for the terror victims in Brussels to remove your shades for the interview? President Obama was all smiles this afternoon as he watched an exhibition baseball game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cuban national baseball team just hours after ISIS terrorists killed at least 34 people in Brussels.Settling down with wife Michelle, daughters Sasha and Malia and Cuban dictator Raul Castro, Obama appeared carefree as he enjoyed the game ignoring calls to cut short his historic trip to return to Washington and lead the response.Indeed, despite criticism that he only devoted one minute of his speech earlier in the day to the Belgian atrocities, Obama took the time to give a somewhat surreal 15-minute interview to ESPN about the threat posed by ISIS keeping his $500 shades on throughout the spot.Here is Obama s surreal interview with ESPN:After observing a moment of silence for the hundreds of victims, a relaxed Obama said, This is just one more example of why the entire world needs to unite against these terrorists. When asked by ESPN why he had not returned to Washington, the president said to do so would show the terrorists they have the power to disrupt. It s always a challenge when you have a terrorist attack anywhere in the world, particularly in this age of 24/7 news coverage, said the president. You want to be respectful and understand the gravity of the situation, but the whole premise of terrorism is to try to disrupt people s ordinary lives. Recalling what he called one of his proudest memories during his time as president, the reaction of Boston Red Sox David Ortiz after the Boston bombings in April 2013, Obama said he felt the hitter spoke for the nation when he said, This is our f**king city and nobody is going to dictate our freedom. Probably the only time America didn t have a problem with somebody cursing on live TV was when he talked about Boston and how strong it was and wasn t gonna be intimidated, Obama said. That is the kind of resilience and the kind of strength that we have to continually show in the face of these terrorists. They cannot defeat America. The president then offered his thoughts and prayers to those affected by the terror attacks.Communist human rights violated Raul Castro wasn t able to release any political prisoners, but he was able to release doves at the historic baseball game with Comrade Obama Doves released from centerfield stands ahead of Rays-Cuba game pic.twitter.com/kVEJHjfyxn Edward-Isaac Dovere (@IsaacDovere) March 22, 2016Just after the game ended and Air Force One took off for Argentina for a two-day stint, the president ordered all federal flags to be flown at half mast as a mark of respect for those who were killed in Tuesday morning s attacks.Prior to his interview with ESPN, Obama had faced calls from Ted Cruz, Donald Trump and John Kasich to leave Cuba and return to the states.Meet the new Che We can only hope he retires there.Shepard Fairey mock-up for sale in Havana: Yes We Came pic.twitter.com/TgiHAvYqsu Edward-Isaac Dovere (@IsaacDovere) March 23, 2016The president did not heed their advice. He dedicated a brief portion of a planned speech to the attacks and went on about his day.Here s Obama and his new bestie doing the wave https://twitter.com/BKcolin/status/712342816685494273He met Cuban dissidents at the U.S. Embassy in Havana, then made his way to watch the baseball in casual khaki pants, white shirt, no tie, and sunglasses. Via: Daily Mail | 0 |
10,330 | Zimbabwe's Mugabe 'ready to die for what is correct', nephew tells Reuters | JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe and his wife Grace are ready to die for what is correct and have no intention of stepping down in order to legitimize this week s military coup, his nephew, Patrick Zhuwao, said on Saturday. Speaking to Reuters from a secret location in South Africa, Zhuwao said Mugabe had hardly slept since the military seized power on Wednesday but his health was otherwise good . | 1 |
10,331 | UNREAL! THE LEFT OUTRAGED AT TRUMP’S “Evil Losers” Reference “Not Presidential Enough” Claim Obama Was “Too Articulate” [Video] | Immediately after President Trump s speech about the horrible Manchester terror attack, the left decided to twist his words. Twitter and other social media be can saying what he said was unpresidential . Nice try by the left but you have to hear the ENTIRE context in which he spoke! He called the terrorists evil losers in life : HE S SO RIGHT! This tactic is an effort to change the narrative to make these guys evil losers in life .WATCH: Trump speaks out about #ManchesterBombing, calls terrorists evil losers https://t.co/VVtrrEKmGJ pic.twitter.com/42UN1H5Q1j TODAY (@TODAYshow) May 23, 2017Woopi Goldberg has the nerve to claim that President Trump was not presidential enough in his comments about the evil loser in life who slaughtered children. She goes on to claim that people complained because Obama was too articulate for people. This is laughable! Obama was a chameleon depending on what crowd he was talking to. He would go from arrogant to slang with the switch of who was in attendance. Would you rather have a president who speaks from the heart or someone who s a complete phony?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYWekrWKDtcIsn t it funny that these women are more concerned about the semantics of what we call terrorists than the horrible crime committed. | 0 |
10,332 | BUSTED: Marco Rubio And His Family Lied About Escaping Castro In the 50s — It Never Happened | Marco Rubio s staff had to exit the building they were working in when the senator began smoking from the trouser region. Alarms and sprinklers were set off, leading to an investigation the fire chief was able to dismiss as self-inflicted liar, liar pants on fire. The incident happened when Rubio, who tells a wonderful story about how his parents came to the United States to escape the Castro regime, meaning they would have come in 1959. Unfortunately, records have proven, and Rubio has himself admitted, that the actual date his parents migrated to Miami was 1956, when Castro was still living and plotting from Mexico.So why the discrepancy? Rubio says he was passing along the family s oral history. Yes, oral history. That s when you don t like your family s actual history so you make something up. My family, for example, landed in New Hampshire, but since nobody cares about anything in the 1620s but Plymouth, I am now a direct descendent of the Mayflower according to oral history. That was easy.Rubio s ridiculous answer fits in with the motif of the Republican party of derp. If something doesn t make sense, ignore it until it just goes away. Rubio comes along with his I appeal to Latinos mentality, some of which is a direct result of the lies he told. How much will those same Latinos respect his plight when they learn Rubio s parents came here voluntarily, not on a raft as refugees escaping life in prison or worse. They entered the country and asked to start working and were shown a path to citizenship.There is, of course, nothing wrong with that story. It s a similar story to almost every family if you go back to their first generation. For some reason, Marco Rubio and his family needed to add things that never happened to their lives for effect. Featured image from Gage Skidmore | 0 |
10,333 | U.S. outlines NAFTA objectives, includes currency provision | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Monday outlined a tough negotiating strategy for revising the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement and for the first time in a U.S. trade deal said it would seek to deter currency manipulation by trading partners. In a much-anticipated document sent to lawmakers ahead of talks expected next month, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said the Trump administration aimed to reduce the U.S. trade deficit by improving access for U.S. goods exported to Canada and Mexico, the two countries in NAFTA besides the United States. The document asserts that no country should manipulate currency exchange to gain an unfair competitive advantage. The 17-page summary of negotiations for NAFTA offers a glimpse into what a Trump administration trade agenda could look like. Until now, President Donald Trump’s agenda has been shaped by campaign rhetoric and tweets. While Canada and Mexico are not considered currency manipulators, the reference in the list of objectives could set a template for future trade deals such as a pending negotiation to modify a five-year-old U.S.-South Korea free trade deal. South Korea is on a U.S. Treasury monitoring list for possible signs of currency manipulation. Among the priorities, Lighthizer said the administration would seek to eliminate a trade dispute mechanism that has largely prohibited the United States from pursuing anti-dumping and anti-subsidy cases against Canadian and Mexican firms. It also plans to eliminate a range of non-tariff barriers to U.S. agricultural exports to Canada and Mexico. These include subsidies and unfair pricing structures. USTR said it would seek to strengthen NAFTA’s rules of origin to ensure that the pact’s benefits do not go to outside countries and to “incentivize” the sourcing of U.S. goods. It offered no details on such incentives and did not specify how much of a product’s components must originate from within North America. The demands that the Trump administration makes in the NAFTA talks could have far-reaching implications for U.S. trade relations across the globe, with China keen to make inroads with Mexico and Canada if the United States is seen to be retreating. Lighthizer said the negotiations would begin no earlier than Aug. 16, 2017. U.S. labor union leaders and Democratic lawmakers weighed in on the issue early, reminding Trump they expect him to keep 2016 election campaign promises to protect American workers in NAFTA talks. They stopped short of demanding termination of the 1994 trade pact with Canada and Mexico. Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, an umbrella organization of unions representing 12.5 million workers, said NAFTA had been an “unequivocal failure” and should be completely renegotiated. “We will do everything we can to make this a good agreement and to hold the president at his word and make sure we get a renegotiation,” he told a conference call with reporters. “If it comes out that it is not a good deal, no deal is better than a bad deal,” Trumka said. NAFTA has quadrupled trade among the three countries, surpassing $1 trillion in 2015. Over a decade to 2010, however, the United States lost nearly 6 million manufacturing jobs. The U.S. trade balance with Mexico also swung from a small surplus in 1994 to deficits that have exceeded $60 billion for most of the past decade. | 1 |
10,334 | France's Occitanie region calls for Spain and Catalonia peace talks | PARIS (Reuters) - Spanish and Catalan leaders should open talks as soon as possible to safeguard civil peace, the head of France s Occitanie region, which borders Catalonia, said on Saturday. Madrid on Friday sacked Catalonia s regional government to block its push for independence and called a snap election in the region on Dec. 21 in a bid to draw a line under Spain s worst political crisis in 40 years. Our region... has a special history with Spain, and we have had close ties with our neighbor Catalonia for decades, Occitanie president Carole Delga said in a written statement. Occitanie includes the Pyrenees-Orientales, whose territory was part of Catalonia until the signing of a treaty to end a war between France and Spain in 1659. The Catalan language is still spoken by a few people living in the French region. Faced with this deadlock situation, I want to stress the need to find a way to open talks as soon as possible, notably to safeguard the civil peace, Delga added. Occitanie is France s second-biggest region with a total population of more than 5 million people. It was created in January 2016 and comprises two former regions, including the cities of Toulouse and Montpelier. Separately, the nationalist president of the Corsican Assembly, Jean-Guy Talamoni, said on Twitter that he recognized the birth of the Republic of Catalonia but called for European authorities to mediate between Madrid and Barcelona. On the European side, what s troubling is this unfailing support for Madrid, which has used extremely violent means to prevent peaceful people from voting, Talamoni later said on France Info radio station. Spain s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy praised the police for carrying out their duties and upholding the law while they attempted to prevent the banned independence referendum taking place. | 1 |
10,335 | Eight Republican candidates qualify for Thursday's debate; Trump uncertain | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Eight Republican candidates have qualified for the prime-time Fox News/Google debate on Thursday, with Donald Trump winning the center-stage spot as the top-polling candidate, Fox News announced on Tuesday. But Trump said on Tuesday he likely will not attend the debate. This will be the last one before the Iowa caucuses on Monday marking the first contest in the nomination race for the Nov. 8 presidential election. Trump has been engaged in a public spat with Fox News that began at a debate last August in which he said he was subject to unfair questioning by moderator Megyn Kelly. “Let’s see how much money Fox makes without me in the debate,” Trump told the news conference in Marshalltown, Iowa. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, who failed to qualify for the main event in the last debate, made the cut this time. The other participants in the 9 p.m. EST debate will be Texas Senator Ted Cruz, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and Ohio Governor John Kasich. Former Hewlett-Packard Chief Executive Carly Fiorina, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum and former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore qualified for the 7 p.m. EST debate for low-polling candidates. After failing to qualify for a prime-time debate held earlier this month, Paul declined to participate in the so-called undercard debate. (Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by Eric Walsh) SAP is the sponsor of this coverage which is independently produced by the staff of Reuters News Agency. | 1 |
10,336 | watch cnn called clinton news network on air by fiery british conservative | wikileaks email hillary campaign struggles to reach fking dumb young people thats the crap that young people pay attention to paul joseph watson october comments a new email released by wikileaks as part of the podesta dump features hillary ally wendy bronfein advising clinton campaign chairman john podesta on how to reach fking dumb young people marketing executive bronfein tells podesta that clinton may not be the best face to attract younger voters and that she needs to utilize trending figures as par of an infusion to pull younger voters because thats the crap that young people pay attention to bronfein goes on to state its fking dumb but being cool counts for more than it maybe should she references bill clintons saxophone playing as an example of this before asserting i hate to generalize a generation but by social media nature they follow so if someone they identify as cool endorses they will likely fall in line with that candidate bronfein is introduced to john podesta in another email as someone who could be immensely helpful in improving hrcs connection to millennials the email is yet another example of the disdain that hillary insiders have for clintons own voters yesterday we highlighted how clinton ally brent budowsky accused hillary operative david brock of having a plan that relied upon black voters being stupid in an audio recording leaked earlier this month hillary clinton was caught on tape saying bernie sanders supporters are living in their parents basement and had bought into a false promise in another email clinton operative bill ivey spoke of the need to maintain political power by producing an unaware and compliant citizenry
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10,337 | BRITISH MUSICIAN Says If He Was Given The Chance, He’d Kill Donald Trump…Blames Press For Making Him President | If this so-called celebrity said that he would have killed former President Obama if he was given the chance, he would likely be sitting in a jail cell somewhere facing serious charges, but apparently when a celebrity says they d like to kill President Trump, foreign authorities, as well the leftist media, simply shrug their shoulders Just another day in the life of an unhinged, Trump-hating celebrity Yawn.British musician Morrissey says if given the chance, he d kill President Donald Trump to ensure the safety of humanity. The 58-year-old former Smiths frontman said in an interview with der Spiegel this week that if he were presented with a button that could instantly kill Trump, he wouldn t hesitate to press it. I would [push it], for the safety of humanity, Morrissey told the outlet. It has nothing to do with my personal opinion of his face or his family, but in the interest of humanity I would push. The singer also explained that it was the media, who so derided Trump during the 2016 campaign season, that ultimately created Trump, ensured consistent coverage of his campaign, and led to his victory over Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.The American media helped Trump, yes, they first created it, he explained, according to a translation of the interview by the Washington Times. Whether they criticize him or laugh at him, he does not care, he just wants to see his picture and his name. The American media have shot themselves in the leg. Watch Morrissey push for a Hillary presidency on Larry King Now prior to the election. Is there anything more heartwarming than watching a British musician tell an American host who Americans should vote for? Thank goodness no one listens to this unhinged overrated celebrity.Morrissey added that he never expected Trump to be elected president and has no faith in the political establishment anymore. Breitbart News | 0 |
10,338 | Chuck Todd Takes On Trump’s Media Attacks, This Is Going To Get Ugly (VIDEO) | Donald Trump s attacks on the free press continue to get worse, and the media is pushing back. On Monday, Chuck Todd of NBC s Meet The Press pummeled Trump for his latest disgusting tweets and comments against the fake news media, and it was exactly what the country needed to hear.Todd s words are incredibly timely, as Trump is now inciting violence against members of the media, directly tweeting videos of himself beating up a reporter from CNN. Todd made note of the fact that Trump has gotten increasingly hostile during his presidency, and his nasty attacks on reporters have hit a new low. Todd also pointed out that Trump s administration has gone to great lengths to restrict the press and prevent them from sharing crucial details with the American people.While presidents often face criticism from the press, Todd argued that Trump s relationship with the press is in an unprecedented league of its own and it s pretty scary. Todd said: If these actions and this language was being used by a leader in a different country, our State Department would be saying That country is inching towards authoritarianism. Because that s usually the first sign: when you try to delegitimize a free press. Todd also slammed Trump for dehumanizing people in the media. What the president does with his tweets, and I had this conversation with him, I said don t personalize it. Attack the entities all you want, but when you attack individuals, you dehumanize. Trump s bullying isn t anything new his racist, sexist policies and messages have long proven that Trump has the maturity of a child and is unable to have disagreements with people or process criticism like an adult. However, what Trump has now done to the media with these vicious attacks needs to be addressed as soon as possible, before someone gets hurt.You can watch Todd try to wake America up below:Featured image via video screenshot | 0 |
10,339 | Representative Scalise's condition upgraded to 'serious' after shooting | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Representative Steve Scalise, the No. 3 Republican in the House of Representatives, showed further improvement days after being shot by a man who opened fire on lawmakers at a baseball practice earlier in the week, his lead surgeon said in a statement on Saturday. Scalise’s condition was upgraded to “serious,” from “critical” after undergoing another surgery on Saturday, according to a statement from Dr. Jack Sava, the director of trauma at the MedStar Washington Hospital Center. “He is more responsive and is speaking with his loved ones,” the doctor said. Scalise, 51, sustained injuries to internal organs, broken bones and severe bleeding after being shot in his left hip early on Wednesday at a baseball field in a suburb of Washington. Four men, including Scalise, a police officer, a congressional aide and a lobbyist, were shot and wounded when a man identified as James Hodgkinson, opened fire on the lawmakers as they practiced for an annual charity baseball game between Republicans and Democrats. Sava earlier said the Louisiana congressman had been at “imminent risk of death” when he was first brought into the hospital on Wednesday, and he received many units of transfused blood. Hodgkinson 66, who was from the St. Louis suburb of Belleville, Illinois, died after being shot by police. | 1 |
10,340 | Obama to meet Michigan mayor to discuss contaminated water: White House | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will meet with the mayor of Flint, Michigan, on Tuesday to discuss the city’s problems in dealing with lead-contaminated water, the White House said. Obama, who on Saturday ordered federal aid for state and local response efforts in Genesee County, which includes Flint, will meet with Mayor Karen Weaver, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said. “The situation is anything but being ignored by the White House,” Earnest told a news briefing at the White House. | 1 |
10,341 | Trump, Australia's Turnbull move to clear air after tense phone call | NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump held his first-face-to-face meeting with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Thursday, and declared that they “get along great,” following an acrimonious phone call in January that strained ties between the two allies. “They said we had a rough phone call. We didn’t really have a rough phone call,” Trump said in dinner remarks. “It got a little bit testy. But that’s okay.” Dressed in tuxedos as they prepared to attend a dinner, the two leaders met on board the USS Intrepid, a World War Two aircraft carrier that is now a museum moored on Manhattan’s West Side. Joined by their wives, the two leaders later attended a gala to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Coral Sea. Turnbull was one of the first foreign leaders Trump spoke to after taking office on Jan. 20. The Republican president became irritated that he was expected to honor an agreement made by his Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama, to accept as many as 1,250 refugees held in Australian processing centers on remote Pacific islands. Trump had broken off what was supposed to be an hour-long call after 25 minutes and later tweeted that the refugee agreement was a “dumb deal” and vowed to study it. The call aroused criticism and raised questions about his diplomatic skills. Vice President Mike Pence visited Australia in April and made clear that while Trump was not happy about the refugee agreement, the United States would honor it out of respect for Australia. Under the agreement, Australia is to resettle refugees from three Central American countries. Thursday’s get-together with Turnbull was delayed because of Trump’s hastily arranged White House celebration with Republicans from the U.S. House of Representatives after they narrowly passed a healthcare bill that would repeal and replace the 2010 Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare. The measure has yet to come before the Senate/ Trump and Turnbull were all smiles as they answered questions about the January phone call and the refugee deal during a picture-taking session. “We get along great. We have a fantastic relationship, I love Australia, I always have,” Trump said. Turnbull added: “We can put the refugee deal behind you and move on.” Trump said the refugee deal had been “worked out for a long time” and that reporters had exaggerated the phone call. “We had a great call,” he said, adding, “I mean, we’re not babies.” “Young at heart,” added Turnbull. Trump vowed to visit Australia as president, calling it “one of the great, great places” and noted he had many friends there. One such friend, pro golfer Greg Norman, was among the attendees at the Intrepid dinner. In dinner remarks after their meeting, Turnbull celebrated the unity of spirit that brought the two countries together against Japan in World War Two, and said Australia and the United States are united against North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs and are fighting together in Afghanistan. “Today and together, we condemn and we resist North Korea’s provocation,” he said. It was Trump’s first trip back to New York, his home and where he made his name and fortune, since the former real estate executive moved into the White House in January. His motorcade passed hundreds of protesters as it arrived at the Intrepid in the early evening. Trump did not plan to visit Trump Tower, his home in midtown Manhattan where his wife, first lady Melania Trump, and their young son Barron still live, but instead was to spend the weekend at his golf resort in Bedminster, New Jersey. | 1 |
10,342 | Poll gives New Zealand's Nationals nine point lead after final TV debate before vote | WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand s ruling National Party regained a wide lead over the opposition Labour Party in an opinion poll on Wednesday after party leaders went head-to-head in the final debate before Saturday s election. It was the second poll in recent weeks to show Prime Minister Bill English s party, which has held power for a decade, holding a near double-digit lead. The poll boosted the New Zealand dollar to $0.7375 - its highest in over six weeks. The One News-Colmar Brunton poll showed the National Party jumped 6 points to 46 percent, while Labour slumped by seven points to 37 percent. But opinion polls have been very volatile and have largely indicated the race is still too close to call. The New Zealand First party, which could emerge as a possible kingmaker for the next government, saw support fall right to the threshold needed for a seat in parliament. Despite the fall in support for New Zealand First, led by Winston Peters, the debate still centered around its potential deciding role to English s frustration. I am suggesting to the voters that they cut the middle men, I don t like this view that Mr Peters has that he decides who the government of New Zealand is, English said. Both English and rival Labour leader Jacinda Ardern said their parties were neck and neck in the contest regardless of the latest opinion poll. I remain an absolutely optimistic person when it comes to this campaign, Ardern said during the debate. Having become leader in August the 37-year-old Ardern has invigorated Labour, and at times opinion polls have showed the party comfortably ahead. During the debate, Ardern at times appear to notch up points. She criticized the government for not having taken any measures to avoid the kind of infrastructure failure that caused widespread disruption to air travel this week, when a burst pipeline led to a fuel shortage. Minor parties often have an outsize role in New Zealand s proportional representation system, in which a party, or combination of parties, needs 61 of Parliament s 120 members - usually about 48 percent of the vote - to form a government. Support for New Zealand First dropped 1 point to 5 percent. The Green Party, with which Labour has a working agreement, rose 1 point to 8 percent. Together with the Greens, voter support for Labour was near that for National in the poll. More than any election since 1996, it s going to be the minor parties that ultimately decide which of Labour or National end up governing, Bryce Edwards, analyst at Wellington-based Critical Politics. Ardern reiterated her first call would be to the Green Party but that this did not necessarily mean a coalition with them. We ve said we ll have a phone call, that doesn t mean it s a stitched up, done deal, she said. | 1 |
10,343 | BILL CLINTON RECENTLY CAUGHT Making Racist Remarks: Obama’s Presidency Will Cause White Working Men To Die Sooner | The economic stagnancy of the Obama years is to blame for plummeting life expectancy rates among white, working-class Americans, according to former president Bill Clinton, who privately told Democratic donors that lower-income whites don t have anything to look forward to when they get up in the morning. Clinton made the remarks while speaking to at a November 2015 closed-door fundraiser for Hillary Clinton in Canton, Ohio.Echoing a theme of Republican nominee Donald Trump s campaign, the former president expressed his concern that white, working-class Americans have been left behind over the last eight years.Clinton expressed his frustration with the most recent (at that time) Democratic debate, which he said lacked a single mention of the fact that 84 percent of the American people, after inflation, had not had a raise of 1 cent since the financial crash. We have incredible debates all over America that shouldn t exist between people in different racial groups because they don t trust law enforcement anymore, he continued. And in the middle of all this we learned, breathtakingly, that middle-aged, non-college-educated white Americans life expectancy is going down and is now lower than Hispanics, even though they make less money. And the gap between African Americans and whites is closing, but unfortunately not because the death rate among African Americans is dropping but because the death rate among white Americans is rising. Clinton continued. Why? Because they don t have anything to look forward to when they get up in the morning. Because their lives are sort of stuck in neutral. Read more: Daily Caller | 0 |
10,344 | Israel’s Head Rabbi: Non-Jews Can Only Live In Israel If They’re Our Servants | There has been a consistent thread in Zionism that has called for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians for over 100 years, and this thread has dominated both secular and religious Zionists on the grounds of creating and maintaining a majority Jewish state. Theodore Herzl, an atheist Jew, who is considered the father of political Zionism, advocated for the expulsion of the Palestinian people when he helped launch the Zionist experiment. Over 100 years later, there are millions of displaced Palestinians and millions of others who are under a brutal Israeli military occupation, and the calls for ethnic cleansing continue not only by secular Israeli Jews but religious Israeli Jews.A novice on Israel would assume that these calls are by individuals on the fringes of Israeli society. However, the latest call comes from Israel s Chief Sephardi Rabbi, Yitzhak Yosef. Yosef said that non-Jews should be forbidden to live in the Land of Israel. Also striking is Yosef s views on non-Jews in the country, deeming them as inferior, a view shared by the vast majority of Israeli Jews toward the Palestinians. In fact, at the very most, Yosef believes that the Palestinians should be servants to the Jews. He said: If our hands were strong, if we had governing power, then non-Jews shouldn t live in the Land of Israel. But our hands aren t strong. We re awaiting our righteous Messiah, who will be the true and complete redemption, and then they ll do this. The reason some non-Jews are allowed to live in Israel is to serve the Jewish population. Who will be the servers? Who will be our assistants? Therefore, we leave them here in the land. It must be emphasized again that this is not an individual who is on the fringes of Israeli society. He is the chief rabbi of millions of Israelis who feel the exact same way. Moreover, just like Theodore Herzl and the early Zionists who set the seed of racism and ethnic cleansing, a majority of Israelis want Palestinians expelled from the land. That is alarming, given that the Israeli government has life and death power over the Palestinians and right wing crazy Israeli settlers walk around Palestinian neighborhoods brandishing their weapons and terrorizing Palestinians.Unfortunately, the United States is Israel s enabler and we give them billions of dollars in weapons every year. One only need look at the embarrassing way our politicians grovel to the influential pro-Israel lobby (AIPAC), which has a stranglehold over US politicians. Have you ever wondered why most politicians fawn over Israel? It is because AIPAC can make or break a candidate if it deems him/her to be nonconformist to anything Israel.Yet, Americans also have a strong social justice fabric and if Americans new the nastiness of Israel s treatment of the Palestinians, we would collectively call on the boycott, divestment and sanctioning of Israel until it conforms to international law.Featured image via video screen capture | 0 |
10,345 | Trump Just Caused A Diplomatic Crisis With China Because He Wants To Build A Resort In Taiwan | Donald Trump likely caused a diplomatic crisis with China when he decided he would talk to the president of Taiwan on Friday. The move left political observers scratching their heads and wondering how he could have possibly thought this was a good idea. The answer is simple. It s the same reason Trump does everything he thinks he can get something out of it. In this case, another luxury resort.In 1979, the United States severed all diplomatic ties with Taiwan and adopted a One China stance. Since that time, no president (or president-elect) has spoken with the country s president. As far as China is concerned, Taiwan is part of China. Trump s phone call with Tsai Ying-wen, the president of Taiwan, is likely to infuriate Beijing which regards the island as a renegade province. So why on earth would Trump do something like this? Go figure, the Trump Organization just happens to be looking at Taiwan as a location for their next luxury resort.The Shangiist, a publication that covers news in China, reported the following in November:The mayor of Taoyuan confirmed rumors on Wednesday that US president-elect Donald Trump was considering constructing a series of luxury hotels and resorts in the northwest Taiwanese city.A representative from the Trump Organization paid a visit to Taoyuan in September, expressing interest in the city s Aerotropolis, a large-scale urban development project aimed at capitalizing on Taoyuan s status as a transport hub for East Asia, Taiwan News reports. With the review process for the Aerotropolis still underway, Taoyuan s mayor referred to the subject of the meeting as mere investment speculation. Other reports indicate that Eric Trump, the president-elect s second son and executive vice president of the Trump Organization, will be coming to Taoyuan later this year to discuss the potential business opportunity.The dire consequences that could come from this simple phone conversation cannot be understated. The only thing less surprising than Trump s stupidity is his willingness to sacrifice the United States for his own selfish gains. His businesses and foreign financial ties have come under scrutiny for the conflicts of interest they create now that Trump is going to be president. He hasn t even been sworn in yet and already he is saying to hell with America for the sake of his own bank account. This is exactly why this man should not be the leader of the free world.Featured image via Ty Wright/Getty Images | 0 |
10,346 | PRICELESS! SEN CHUCK SCHUMER’S Childish Stunt To Bash Senate Healthcare Bill Backfires [Video] | This is hysterical! Senator Chuck Schumer can t even get a stunt right! He held a press conference to bash the Senate s healthcare bill and tried to pull a childish stunt. He had someone place a sign with the word mean on it and then took out a sharpie and added the letters E-R . The only problem is that you couldn t see the added letters AT ALL! He had to go back and try to fill it in STILL COULDN T SEE IT! Priceless! .@SenSchumer adds letters "E-R" to poster board next to him. "The Senate version of #TrumpCare is even meaner than the House bill." pic.twitter.com/u7r7l1sKyR CSPAN (@cspan) June 22, 2017 How childish that Schumer is fear mongering by calling the Senate healthcare bill meaner than the House bill. If being fiscally responsible with taxpayer dollars while trying to fix the disaster that is Obamacare is meaner then so be it. Someone needs to be the adult in the room and stop the madness and government waste that was happening during the Obama years. The Democrats just don t understand that the American people GET IT and are sick of the fear mongering from Democrats. We can also do without the class warfare from the Dems! People from all walks of life have figured out what the Democrats are all about. Schumer needs to get a clue! | 0 |
10,347 | Trump Literally Wanted A North Korea Style Military Parade At Inauguration Including Tanks And Missile Launchers | Donald Trump wanted to celebrate power like a dictator, but the military rejected his demands.We ve all seen how North Korea and Russia put on big flashy military parades in a desperate effort to get attention and brag about how tough they supposedly are. American presidents, however, have never really done that. Trump wanted to be the first.Apparently, Trump and his team wanted tanks and missile launchers to roll down Pennsylvania Avenue as if to threaten his critics and political opponents while trying to convince everyone that he s tough and doesn t have small hands.Thankfully, our military responsibly rejected Trump s idea in favor of giving him a rare military flyover instead.According to Huffington Post,During the preparation for Friday s transfer-of-power, a member of Trump s transition team floated the idea of including tanks and missile launchers in the inaugural parade, a source involved in inaugural planning told The Huffington Post. They were legit thinking Red Square/North Korea-style parade, the source said, referring to massive military parades in Moscow and Pyongyang, typically seen as an aggressive display of muscle-flexing.The military, which traditionally works closely with the presidential inaugural committee, shot down the request, the source said. Their reason was twofold. Some were concerned about the optics of having tanks and missile launchers rolling down Pennsylvania Avenue. But they also worried that the tanks, which often weigh over 100,000 pounds, would destroy the roads.20 military aircraft will fly over the Inauguration on Friday doubling as a training exercise so that Trump s ego can be stroked just enough to keep him happy.Such flyovers are rare. President Obama did not ask for one and the only president before Ronald Reagan to get one was Harry S Truman, who oversaw the end of World War II.But what Trump was asking for is literally something that dictators in North Korea and Russia do.So the fact that Trump wanted to be like Kim Jong-Un or Joseph Stalin does not help his tyrannical image at all.Here s video of a North Korean military parade via YouTube.Seriously, Trump wanted something very similar to this. Are you scared yet, America?Featured image via screenshot | 0 |
10,348 | Ricky Gervais SLAMS ‘Future President’ Donald Trump’s Racism At Golden Globes (VIDEO) | It s pretty much a well-known fact that real estate mogul, reality television star, and the current Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump is an unabashed racist. Of course, he ll say that he s not, as most racists do, but actions, and well, words his very loud words speak very clearly his disdain for pretty much everyone who isn t white. His rallies have become pretty much a who s who in white supremacy.Playing off Trump s frontrunner status and obvious racism was this year s Golden Globes host Ricky Gervais. While introducing actresses Eva Longoria and America Ferrera, both gorgeous, strong Latina goddesses women, Gervais was able to roast The Donald. He began his introduction saying: Eva Longoria and America Ferrera aren t just beautiful, talented actresses. They re also two people who your future president, Donald Trump, can t wait to deport. This was an obvious slam at Trump s position on Latinos, who he claims are rapists, murderers, etc., and he promises to deport them all. Well, the illegal ones, but really, his constant hatred of everything Latino is pretty much racism at its worst.Here s the introduction from Gervais:Then once the women were on the stage, Longoria and Ferrera seemed to poke fun at Hollywood and society in general who can t seem to tell one Latina actress from the next. And if you want to talk about under-representation in Hollywood, ask a Latina, Black or Asian actress about all the leading roles they get asked to play.The women begin, saying: Hi, I m Eva Longoria, not Eva Mendes. I m America Ferrera, not Gina Rodriguezz. And neither one of us are Rosario Dawson, Longoria continued. Well said, Selma, Ferrera noted. Thank you, Charo, Longoria responded.It was a subtle jab, but brilliant nonetheless.Here are the beautiful ladies via Vulture: In regards to Trump and his obvious racism, one person who made sure to thank the hotel magnate was America Ferrera herself. In a piece written for Huffington Post last summer, Ferrera wrote: You, Mr. Trump, are living in an outdated fantasy of a bigoted America. Last week, America celebrated some amazing milestones marriage equality, universal healthcare, removing of the confederate flag making it clear in which direction the country is moving. That is why racist remarks that play to extremists won t change the tide, no matter how hard you try. They will only serve to rally more Latino voters to the polls. Your negativity and your poorly thought out speech ignited a fire in our community. Thank you, Mr. Trump!Thank you for reminding us that there remains an antiquated and endangered species of bigots in this country that we must continue to combat. Thank you for reminding us to not sit complacently at home on election day, but to run to the polls and proclaim that there is no place for your brand of racial politicking in our government. Thank you for sending out the rallying cry.You have made your thoughts on the Latino community clear and you continue to stand by them. And in return, we will do more than tweet about our indignation and beat pi atas of your likeness. We will silence you at the polls. We will vote and use our growing position in U.S. politics. Our fellow Americans who understand and value our contributions will join us. We know there is nothing that scares you more.The truth is, Mr. Trump, that your comments mean that you fail to see that immigrants are what have made this nation. They are at the core of our ideals, and they are the foundation that keeps us afloat. No, Mr. Trump, you may not reduce us to drug dealers and rapists. We are moms and dads, sons and daughters. We are valedictorians and honor students. We are college graduates, bankers, police officers, entertainers, teachers, journalists, politicians and we are the future of America.Thank you for helping us in our work to energize the Latino vote and to usher in our shared future! Keep it up! So, while Trump s racism ignites the fire under a dying breed of racism in this nation of people who would clearly still like to own people as property, the rest of the United States in living in 2016, embracing equality of all races, genders and sexual orientations, and will absolutely wallop Trump at the polls if he happens to win the nomination.All in all, Trump deserves condemnation, he deserves to be made fun of, and most of all he deserves to lose.Video/Featured image: Hollywood Reporter | 0 |
10,349 | Harvard Republicans Disavow Trump, Call On The GOP To Abandon Him | Republicans are flocking away from the GOP s presidential candidate in droves. One group of Republicans just joined the ranks of those who cannot support Donald Trump. The Harvard Republican Club has decided that they cannot in good conscience support Trump s presidential bid.On Thursday, the Harvard Republican Club s editorial board published a press release that masterfully lays out the case as to why they cannot and nor should anyone else support Trump: In every presidential election since 1888, the members and Executive Board of the Harvard Republican Club have gathered to discuss, debate, and eventually endorse the standard-bearer of our party. But for the first time in 128 years, we, the oldest College Republicans chapter in the nation, will not be endorsing the Republican nominee.Donald Trump holds views that are antithetical to our values not only as Republicans, but as Americans. The rhetoric he espouses from racist slander to misogynistic taunts is not consistent with our conservative principles, and his repeated mocking of the disabled and belittling of the sacrifices made by prisoners of war, Gold Star families, and Purple Heart recipients is not only bad politics, but absurdly cruel. According to the Harvard Crimson, very few members of the Harvard Republican Club planned on supporting Trump. Only 10% of their membership indicated that they support Trump. An overwhelming majority 80% said that they will not support Trump. 10% of the club was still undecided at the time they were asked. You can read the full letter below.Dear Members and Alumni,In every presidential election since 1888, the members and Executive Board of the Harvard Republican Club have gathered to discuss, debate, and eventually endorse the standard-bearer of our party. But for the first time in 128 years, we, the oldest College Republicans chapter in the nation, will not be endorsing the Republican nominee.Donald Trump holds views that are antithetical to our values not only as Republicans, but as Americans. The rhetoric he espouses from racist slander to misogynistic taunts is not consistent with our conservative principles, and his repeated mocking of the disabled and belittling of the sacrifices made by prisoners of war, Gold Star families, and Purple Heart recipients is not only bad politics, but absurdly cruel.If enacted, Donald Trump s platform would endanger our security both at home and abroad. Domestically, his protectionist trade policies and draconian immigration restrictions would enlarge our federal deficit, raise prices for consumers, and throw our economy back into recession. Trump s global outlook, steeped in isolationism, is considerably out-of-step with the traditional Republican stance as well. The flippancy with which he is willing to abdicate the United States responsibility to lead is alarming. Calling for the US withdrawal from NATO and actively endorsing nuclear proliferation, Donald Trump s foreign policy would wreak havoc on the established world order which has held aggressive foreign powers in check since World War II.Perhaps most importantly, however, Donald Trump simply does not possess the temperament and character necessary to lead the United States through an increasingly perilous world. The last week should have made obvious to all what has been obvious to most for more than a year. In response to any slight perceived or real Donald Trump lashes out viciously and irresponsibly. In Trump s eyes, disagreement with his actions or his policies warrants incessant name calling and derision: stupid, lying, fat, ugly, weak, failing, idiot and that s just his fellow Republicans.He isn t eschewing political correctness. He is eschewing basic human decency.Donald Trump, despite spending more than a year on the campaign trail, has either refused or been unable to educate himself on issues that matter most to Americans like us. He speaks only in platitudes, about greatness, success, and winning. Time and time again, Trump has demonstrated his complete lack of knowledge on critical matters, meandering from position to position over the course of the election. When confronted about these frequent reversals, Trump lies in a manner more brazen and shameless than anything politics has ever seen.Millions of people across the country are feeling despondent. Their hours have been cut, wages slashed, jobs even shipped overseas. But Donald Trump doesn t have a plan to fix that. He has a plan to exploit that.Donald Trump is a threat to the survival of the Republic. His authoritarian tendencies and flirtations with fascism are unparalleled in the history of our democracy. He hopes to divide us by race, by class, and by religion, instilling enough fear and anxiety to propel himself to the White House. He is looking to to pit neighbor against neighbor, friend against friend, American against American. We will not stand for this vitriolic rhetoric that is poisoning our country and our children.President Reagan called on us to maintain this, our shining city on a hill. He called on us to maintain freedom abroad by keeping a strong presence in the world. He called on us to maintain liberty at home by upholding the democratic process and respecting our opponents. He called on us to maintain decency in our hearts by loving our neighbor.He would be ashamed of Donald Trump. We are too.This fall, we will instead focus our efforts on reclaiming the Republican Party from those who have done it considerable harm, campaigning for candidates who will uphold the conservative principles that have defined the Republican Party for generations. We will work to ensure both chambers of Congress remain in Republican hands, continuing to protect against executive overreach regardless of who wins the election this November.We call on our party s elected leaders to renounce their support of Donald Trump, and urge our fellow College Republicans to join us in condemning and withholding their endorsement from this dangerous man. The conservative movement in America should not and will not go quietly into the night.A longtime student of American democracy, Alexis de Tocqueville once said, America is great because she is good. If America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great. De Tocqueville believed in the United States. Americans are a decent people. We work hard, protect our own, and look out for one another in times of need, regardless of the color of our skin, the God we worship, or our party registration. Donald Trump may not believe in that America, but we do. And that America will never cease to be great.The Harvard Republican ClubGood going, Harvard Republicans. Now, hopefully the GOP leadership will follow suit.Featured image from Gage Skidmore/Flickr with text added | 0 |
10,350 | Two U.S. B-1B bombers join U.S.-South Korean military drills | (Reuters) - Two U.S. B-1B bombers took part in joint U.S.-South Korean military drills on Thursday, an official at Seoul s defense ministry told Reuters, exercises which North Korea has said are taking the peninsula to the brink of nuclear war. The planes, which scrambled from a U.S. air base in Guam, joined some 20 fighter aircraft of the two countries which have been staging a large-scale aerial exercise in South Korea since Monday, the official said. One bomber joined the exercises on Wednesday. | 1 |
10,351 | Trump vows to stay in race after lewd remarks surface | (Editors Note: Attention language that may be offensive to some readers in paragraphs 22, 23, 24) By Emily Stephenson and Ginger Gibson NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With his campaign in crisis, U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump vowed on Saturday to stay in the race despite calls from more than two dozen prominent Republicans for him to drop out following the release of a recording of him making lewd comments about women. Both Trump’s wife and his running mate criticized his words, saying they were insulting and indefensible. “The media and establishment want me out of the race so badly - I WILL NEVER DROP OUT OF THE RACE, WILL NEVER LET MY SUPPORTERS DOWN!” Trump wrote on Saturday afternoon on the social media website Twitter. The video was the latest calamity for Trump, who had hoped to revive his flagging campaign in the face of a recent drop in polls with less than a month until Election Day. Trump is due to appear alongside Democrat Hillary Clinton on Sunday in their second debate in the run-up to the general election. Clinton is not expected to address Trump’s video before then. The 2005 video of Trump talking on an open microphone showed the then-reality TV star speaking about groping women and trying to seduce a married woman. The video was taped only months after Trump married his third wife, Melania. In a statement, Melania Trump called her husband’s words “unacceptable and offensive to me.” “This does not represent the man that I know,” she said. “He has the heart and mind of a leader. I hope people will accept his apology, as I have, and focus on the important issues facing our nation and the world.” The backlash over the video was swift and widespread. More than 60 prominent Republican current and former officeholders issued statements condemning Trump’s remarks about women, including House Speaker Paul Ryan and John McCain, the party’s standard bearer in 2008. More than 20 called for Trump to end his presidential bid. In an unusual move, his vice presidential running mate Mike Pence issued a critical statement of Trump’s words, saying on Twitter that he “cannot defend them.” “As a husband and father, I was offended by the words and actions described by Donald Trump,” said Pence, who is governor of Indiana. Pence indicated he would continue to support Trump, despite calls from several Republicans for Trump to step aside and let Pence be the nominee. There is no precedent for a major party to replace its nominee this late in the campaign and it was unclear if there was an avenue to force him out. Voting has begun in several states, including swing states Virginia and North Carolina. A recorded apology by Trump early on Saturday did not stymie an avalanche of calls from members of his party to quit. Trump huddled on Saturday in Trump Tower with senior advisers, including New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Despite previous scheduling, Giuliani will appear on five major Sunday morning news programs, a rare round robin reserved for major news events - replacing Republican Chairman Reince Priebus on CBS’s “Face the Nation” and campaign manager Kellyanne Conway on “Fox News Sunday,” a last-minute switch. No reason was given for the bump of Conway. A CBS news release said the RNC asked to replace Priebus because Trump’s operation wanted “a campaign person” to appear on the program. Trump left the building briefly to greet a small crowd of supporters, saying “100 percent” he would remain in the race. Before returning to a bank of elevators, he told reporters, “Tremendous support.” He quickly moved to do damage control in Saturday’s video in which he declared himself a changed man and attempted to shift the focus to his opponent Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton. On Twitter, Trump posted critical statements from Juanita Broaddrick, a woman who has accused Bill Clinton of sexually assaulting her. “Anyone who knows me knows these words don’t reflect who I am. I said it, I was wrong, and I apologize,” Trump said in his video statement, posted on his Facebook page. Trump has struggled to win over women voters, and the video was expected to further feed Democratic criticism about his past behavior toward women. Trump’s support has suffered among suburban women and white, college-educated women, groups that Republicans have traditionally won. In the recording that triggered the firestorm, Trump said of one woman, “I did try and fuck her. She was married.” He went on to discuss his attraction to others. “I just start kissing them,” he said. “And when you’re a star they let you do it.” “Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything,” Trump said. On Saturday afternoon, CNN published a separate report detailing remarks Trump made over the course of several years while appearing on Howard Stern’s radio program. The remarks included discussing the size of his daughter’s breasts and that he once had sex with three women at the same time. Trump was asked if he would have sex with a black woman and responded, “It depends on what your definition of black is.” The remarks were the last straw for some Republicans who have stuck with him through a series of controversial remarks, including calling Mexican immigrants “rapists” and “criminals,” calling for a ban on Muslim immigrants, attacking a judge of Mexican descent, attacking the Gold Star family of a Muslim soldier killed at war and saying Senator John McCain was not a war hero because he had been a prisoner of war. House Speaker Paul Ryan disinvited Trump to a scheduled appearance on Saturday in Wisconsin. Pence declined to speak in his place. The list of Republicans announcing they would not vote for Trump or calling on him to step aside grew on Saturday: Senators Kelly Ayotte, Lisa Murkowsi, Dan Sullivan, Mark Kirk, Jeff Flake, John Thune, Mike Crapo, Shelley Moore Capito and Mike Lee; House members Jason Chaffetz, Mia Love, Joe Heck, Bradley Byrne, Martha Roby and Barbara Comstock; and Governors John Kasich, Dennis Daugaard and Gary Herbert. Additionally, former presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Carly Fiorina and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called on Trump to quit. “Donald Trump’s behavior this week, concluding with the disclosure of his demeaning comments about women and his boasts about sexual assaults, make it impossible to continue to offer even conditional support for his candidacy,” McCain said in a statement. While Democrats largely remained silent, opting to let Republicans attack one of their own, Vice President Joe Biden wrote on Twitter, “The words are demeaning. Such behavior is an abuse of power. It’s not lewd. It’s sexual assault.” Some prominent Republicans indicated they would stick with Trump. Ralph Reed, head of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, and Tony Perkins, head of the conservative Family Research Council, said they would continue to support him. “I think 10 years ago he was a different man,” said Representative Jack Kingston, a Republican from Georgia. “I am very glad that he quickly apologized.” | 1 |
10,352 | Ted Cruz hit with 'New York values'; Trump gets Giuliani backing | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas is getting a taste of the “New York values” he derided in Iowa as Republicans turn to the next big U.S. presidential contest in the home state of front-runner Donald Trump. The New York billionaire lost the Wisconsin Republican primary on Tuesday to Cruz and is seeking to rebound in New York on April 19. He won the backing on Thursday of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who was irked by Cruz’s values comments. “It’s New York City. We’re family. I can make fun of New York but you can’t,” Giuliani, who led the city through the trauma of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, told the New York Post. “I support Trump. I’m gonna vote for Trump,” he said. Ohio Governor John Kasich, running third in the Republican race, chimed in with an ad called “Values,” part of a seven-figure ad buy in New York and Pennsylvania, which votes on April 26. “New Yorkers aren’t stupid and they certainly won’t fall for Ted Cruz’s lame soliloquies and flattery after he slammed their values,” said Kasich spokeswoman Connie Wehrkamp. Trump canceled a Friday trip to California to focus on New York. He turned on Cruz Wednesday night during his first rally in the state since the double-digit loss in Wisconsin. “I’ve got this guy standing over there, looking at me, talking about New York values with scorn in his face, with hated, with hatred of New York,” Trump said, drawing a chorus of boos. Cruz credited his Feb. 1 Iowa caucuses victory in part to his attacks on Trump’s “New York values.” He told ABC on Thursday the phrase referred to the state’s liberal Democrats. Cruz took another hit in the Bronx, where a group of high school students protesting his stance on immigration threatened a walkout if their principal did not cancel his appearance. “Most of us are immigrants or come from immigrant backgrounds. Ted Cruz goes against everything our school stands for,” Destiny Domeneck, 16, told the New York Daily News. School authorities complied, the newspaper reported on Thursday. | 1 |
10,353 | Seven Rohingya refugees drown as crossing to Bangladesh ends in grief | COX S BAZAR, Bangladesh (Reuters) - Four Rohingya Muslims, a man, woman and two children, drowned when a small wooden fishing boat carrying dozens of refugees fleeing ethnic violence in Myanmar capsized off the Bangladesh coast on Tuesday, police said. Residents of the coastal strip south of the Bangladesh port of Cox s Bazar fished 37 survivors out of the water and 11 have been admitted to hospital in a critical condition, said police officer Mohammad Abul Khair of the area s Ukhiya police station. The boat had keeled over in choppy seas as rain fell. According to survivors they had paid 50,000 kyat ($37) to be taken to Bangladesh, having abandoned their homes in Buthidaung, in the strife-torn north of Myanmar s Rakhine State. In a separate incident at the southernmost tip of the Cox s Bazar district, three Rohingya infants drowned as they slipped from their mothers clutches when the boat bringing them from Myanmar reached the Bangladesh shore, police official Main Uddin Khan of the region s Teknaf police station told Reuters. The babies, aged between three and 10 months, were lost in the waves pounding the beach. The bodies of two were found on Monday evening, and the third on Tuesday. More than 600,000 Rohingya have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh since the military in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar launched a counter-insurgency operation after attacks on security posts by Rohingya militants in late August. United Nations officials have described the Myanmar military s action as ethnic cleansing , an accusation that Myanmar denies. Around 200 Rohingya refugees have drowned since late August, while making the perilous sea and river crossing to the safety of predominantly Muslim Bangladesh. | 1 |
10,354 | ‘Tehran Tom’ Cotton Says The U.S. Justice System Is ‘Anglo-American’ And We Don’t Jail Enough | The U.S. has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world, thanks to an awful lot of really bad conservative policies from the 1970s and 1980s designed to make us look tough on crime. Mandatory minimum sentencing, imprisonment for crimes that don t really require it, and more, has not only put millions of Americans in prison, but has had a disproportionate affect on minorities. Is crime down from 30 years ago? Sure. But Senator Tehran Tom Cotton thinks we re actually under-incarcerating. Seriously. You can t make this stuff up. He actually labors under the delusion that we aren t putting enough people in prison. Speaking to the Hudson Institute about a bipartisan crime reform bill currently before Congress, he actually said: First, the claim that too many criminals are being jailed, that there is over-incarceration, ignores an unfortunate fact: for the vast majority of crimes, a perpetrator is never identified or arrested, let alone prosecuted, convicted, and jailed. Law enforcement is able to arrest or identify a likely perpetrator for only 19 percent of property crimes and 47 percent of violent crimes. If anything, we have an under-incarceration problem. He slammed the pro-leniency crowd, and complained that just a tiny fraction of the federal prison population consisted of people incarcerated for something like drug possession. However, the Federal Bureau of Prisons says that nearly half their prison population is there for drug offenses, which are defined as use, sale, possession, or furnishing of illegal drugs. 16 percent of the state prison population is incarcerated for drug offenses.Cotton doesn t let pesky things like facts bother him, though. What s next? A three-year mandatory minimum sentence for unpaid parking tickets? Perhaps a five-year prison sentence for violating pet-limit laws? Who knows with this guy.Besides all of that, the U.S. has 5 percent of the world s population, and 25 percent of the world s prison population. 2.3 million people are in prison here, and nearly half of them are black.Any guesses as to what Tom Cotton thinks of that? He either hasn t noticed (unlikely), or he s got the racist idea in his head that there s something wrong with black people that makes them commit more crime (far more likely). Something else he said, about unjust sentences, could be interpreted that way: I don t discount the possibility of a manifestly unjust sentence, one so out of proportion to the crime that it shocks the conscience. But that s why the Anglo-American system of justice gives the pardon power to the executive. [emphasis mine]Anglo-American system of justice? There s really nothing to say about that other than, Wow, this man is racist. One question this brings up is how much he s getting paid by the private prison lobby to be this kind of a hardliner. Increasing mandatory minimum sentences and other nonsense to ensure high prison capacities is more at the behest of those people than it is a tough on crime policy.Cotton, who is the man behind the treasonous letter to Iran a year ago, seems to suffer from a delusion that he s actually studied the issue. His answer to crime is no answer at all it ll make our societal ills worse. But that s what Cotton lives for. He lives for making things worse.Featured image by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images | 0 |
10,355 | los brics plantan cara a la guerra financiera de estados unidos por ariel noyola rodríguez | just vote trump lets put the hag out to pasture she is a sellout liar | 1 |
10,356 | Donald Trump Learned A New Word And It Should Give You Chills (VIDEO) | Donald Trump isn t enjoying his time as President. In a series of interviews marking the first 100 days of his presidency, he s done an awful lot of whining and complaining, including saying that the job is much harder than he thought.One of the reasons the job is so hard for him is that he s not a dictator, as much as he d like to be one. His powers are limited by a document called the Constitution and that frustrates the hell out of him, even though he has an entirely Republican federal government.In an interview with Fox News on Friday, Trump appeared to have learned a new word, and he used it four times in reference to the Constitution. That word was archaic, and in his context, it was particularly disconcerting because it signaled his desire to completely do away with the constraints of the Constitution and with our system of checks and balances.Remember when White nationalist House stooge and millennial most likely to be punched Steven Miller said that that the powers of the president to protect our country are very substantial and will not be questioned? A collective chill went up the spines of thinking Americans. Be prepared to feel that chill again. Here s what Trump said on Friday.In an interview with Fox News to mark the 100-day mark, he declared himself disappointed with congressional Republicans, despite his many great relationships with them.He blamed the constitutional checks and balances built in to US governance. It s a very rough system, he said. It s an archaic system It s really a bad thing for the country. Here s the video:Mostly, Trump wants to get rid of the filibuster. He has no authority whatsoever over the rules of the Senate, and while the Senate leadership could change the rules, in theory, it would be quite short-sighted because it would mean that the next time Democrats have even a slim majority, Republicans would be powerless to get anything accomplished or to stop a Democratic agenda.When President Obama wasn t able to get past the filibuster, Donald Trump called him weak and ineffectual. Now that the loafer is on Trump s foot, it s the Constitution s fault. Do you have chills yet?Featured image via Getty Images/Pool | 0 |
10,357 | Trump, Sanders Win Big In Michigan – Trump, Clinton Take Mississippi | 21st Century Wire says Rich men love to gamble. Over the last few weeks, tens of millions of dollars have been spent by US elites to try and derail Donald Trump s Republican primary juggernaut. Tonight s election results showed what a colossal waste of money this was. Trump recorded pivotal wins in the rust belt and also in the deep south with GOP victories in both Michigan (36%) and in Mississippi GOP (48%). Tonight s double win helps Trump extend his delegate lead over his party competitors a strong sign heading into the next Super Tuesday contest March 15th.Ohio Gov. John Kasich had his strongest showing yet in Michigan effectively tying for second at 24% with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. Interestingly, the GOP establishment favorite Florida Senator Marco Rubio hardly registered on the tote board, finishing with only 9% of the vote in Michigan, and only 4% in Mississippi. Other states holding contests today are Idaho and Hawaii, with results still pending.He may not have won big in terms of margins, but Democrat challenger Bernie Sanders shocked the media and the Democrat Party operatives by edging the establishment favorite Hillary Clinton, 49% to 48%, in the key working class battleground of Michigan a state which everyone thought was a lock for the Clinton campaign.Hillary Clinton won comfortably in Mississippi with 82% of the vote. Her Mississippi win gives her a delegate lead with 685 pledged delegates for Clinton, and 477 for Sanders.Clinton has already secure an overwhelming lead, 461 -25, in the establishment s controversial Super Delegate sweepstakes a parallel system created by party insiders in 1982 in order to hedge against outsider candidates.SEE MORE ELECTION NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire 2016 Files | 0 |
10,358 | Key U.S. senator says time not right for new North Korea legislation | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Any U.S. response to North Korea s latest nuclear weapons test is unlikely to include new sanctions legislation from the U.S. Congress, at least in the short term, an influential lawmaker said on Tuesday. Senator Bob Corker, the Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the tensions with Pyongyang were so heightened that he thought it would be more appropriate for lawmakers to wait. I don t think rushing out right now legislatively is probably the place we need to be, Corker told reporters at the U.S. Capitol. As part of an agreement on a broad sanctions bill that passed in July, members of Congress had agreed to consider additional, more stringent, sanctions on North Korea after returning to Washington after their August recess. For example, some lawmakers have been pushing for legislation to impose secondary sanctions targeting banks that do business with North Korea. A top North Korean diplomat warned on Tuesday that his country was ready to send more gift packages to the United States as world powers struggled for a response to Sunday s weapons test, the latest in a series. Senior officials from President Donald Trump s administrations, including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, are due to hold classified briefings on Wednesday for the House of Representatives and Senate to discuss North Korea and Afghanistan. | 1 |
10,359 | Mitch McConnell Takes Aim At Trump For Praising Nazis | Donald Trump is going to throw a Twitter tantrum because of this.During his bonkers press conference at Trump Tower on Tuesday, Trump once again blamed both sides for the violence and murder white nationalists committed in Charlottesville, Virginia over the weekend.Trump also claimed that many of the people at the Unite The Right rally are good people, villified the counter-protesters, and attacked the media.The press conference that made it absolutely clear that Trump supports the white nationalists and the acts of domestic terrorism they are committing.Trump s words have been condemned by Democrats and Republicans alike, as well as across the mainstream media.And they were so bad that even Senator Mitch Make President Obama fail McConnell was forced to make a strong statement condemning the true perpetrators of the violence that Trump so badly wants to blame on liberals. The white supremacist, KKK, and neo-Nazi groups who brought violence to Charlottesville are now planning a rally in Lexington, McConnell wrote. Their messages of hate and bigotry are not welcome in Kentucky and should not be welcomed anywhere in America. We can have no tolerance for an ideology of racial hatred, McConnell continued. There are no good neo-Nazis. And those who espouse their views are not supporters of American ideals and freedom. We have a responsibility to stand against hate and violence, wherever it raises its ugly head. McConnell Statement on Hate Groups and Reports of Lexington Rally pic.twitter.com/lVejl2yVg4 Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) August 16, 2017Unfortunately, while McConnell s statement is much stronger than anything Trump has said, he still should have called Trump out by name.Trump s remarks are inexcusable and should be condemned in the strongest possible terms. Both sides are not to blame. The Nazis showed up in Charlottesville and began chanting Nazi slogans and racial slurs in a town that did not ask them to come there. And once they were confronted by protesters they violently attacked them and murdered a woman with a car. And now they believe that they are supported by Trump because he refuses to unconditionally condemn them.Trump is unfit to be president and he s a threat to our country. It s time for McConnell and Republicans to admit it and do something about it.Featured Image: Drew Angerer/Getty Images | 0 |
10,360 | Turkey to review 11,480 cases linked to app used by coup suspects | ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish prosecutors said on Wednesday they will review legal cases against 11,480 people after finding they had been re-directed unwittingly to a messaging app linked to suspects in last year s failed coup. Turkey has so far identified 215,000 users of the messaging app ByLock, which was believed to be used by supporters of a U.S.-based cleric blamed for the failed July 2016 coup attempt. It launched investigations against more than 23,000 of them. But on Wednesday the Ankara prosecutor s office said many of them had been re-directed to ByLock without their knowledge or consent, after downloading a different app which had functions for prayer times and music. As a result of a detailed examination, it has been determined that 11,480 GSM number users with similar properties in terms of connection data parameters were unwittingly re-directed to ByLock IPs, it said. State-run Anadolu news agency quoted Ankara chief prosecutor Yuksel Kocaman as saying that he would ask for nearly 1,000 people to be released unless there was other evidence against them. He said an arrest warrant had been issued for the developer of the other app which had re-directed users to ByLock. Authorities say ByLock was widely used by followers of U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, who the government blames for orchestrating the failed military coup in which 250 people were killed. Gulen has denied any involvement. Since the coup attempt, more than 50,000 people, including civil servants and security personnel, have been jailed pending trial and some 150,000 suspended or dismissed from their jobs. Rights groups say the crackdown has been exploited to muzzle dissent. The government says the measures have been necessary due to the security threats which Turkey has faced since the putsch. | 1 |
10,361 | Despite failed round, U.N. Syria talks only viable peace effort, France says | PARIS (Reuters) - France on Friday firmly backed U.N.-led peace talks on Syria in Geneva and said the responsibility of the failed negotiations since the end of November fell entirely on the government delegation. A round of Syria peace talks that ended on Thursday was a big missed opportunity, but there may be more talks in January if ideas can be found to encourage President Bashar al-Assad s government to engage, U.N. mediator Staffan de Mistura said on Thursday. There is no alternative to a negotiated political solution agreed by both parties under the auspices of the United Nations, deputy foreign ministry spokesman Alexandre Georgini told reporters in a daily briefing, reiterating Paris support for de Mistura. We deplore the attitude of the Syrian regime, which has refused to engage in the discussion. The Syrian regime is responsible for the lack of progress in the negotiations, he said. | 1 |
10,362 | Ivanka Trump Made Up Fake News About Albert Einstein And The Internet Will Never Let Her Live It Down (TWEETS) | This should have been a red flag.As we all know, Donald Trump is waging a war on facts and the truth. The lies from him and his administration just continue to pile up every day. Trump s war on science and good journalism are the most prominent example of Trump overall war against facts.Trump claims climate change does not exist and has done everything he can to turn government department such as the Environmental Protection Agency into anti-science institutions.And Ivanka Trump endorsed all of this back in 2013 by misquoting Albert Einstein. If the facts don t fit the theory, change the facts. Albert Einstein #quote #sunday Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) June 23, 2013The problem is that Albert Einstein, who would be horrified by Trump s alternative facts agenda, did NOT say it.And Twitter users mocked Ivanka so bad that she may never show her face in public again.Ivanka! You should be ashamed! Is this shit what you teach your kids? Einstein did NOT say that!!! STOP LYING. All Trump s just lie!!!! Christine Shaffer (@Christi63821088) July 23, 2017#Ivanka misquoting #Einstein: she really is that ignorant or she s deliberately undermining empirical science in favor of profitable chaos. Jesper Weigner (@jespernweigner) July 23, 2017 If real Einstein quotes don t say what you want, use a fake one. Ivanka Trump #FakeQuotes DBraden (@MecCoffee) July 23, 2017Behold! It s the 2013 birthplace of #alternativefacts! LiberalFish (@akemor) July 23, 2017The fact that Einstein never said any such thing only makes this tweet that much more perfect. https://t.co/ZCjViO1CpS Colin Dickey (@colindickey) July 23, 2017Even Albert Einstein s estate took to Twitter to confirm that the quote is fake.We can confirm that Albert Einstein never said this quote. Here s a worthy purchase via @PrincetonUPress: https://t.co/FdGWkO1qpz https://t.co/eWTUhskgvR Albert Einstein (@AlbertEinstein) July 24, 2017Ivanka Trump is never going to live this down. Her tweet will be considered the beginning of the Trump family s war on facts and the beginning of the alternative facts era that we are witnessing right now.Featured Image: Sean Gallup/Getty Images | 0 |
10,363 | Changes at helm of U.S. bank agency signal new Trump era | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration on Wednesday took its first step in replacing Obama-era banking regulators, naming a veteran financial lawyer as interim head of the watchdog for federally chartered banks. Keith Noreika, a partner at law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, will be first deputy comptroller at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and will run the OCC on an interim basis when Comptroller Thomas Curry leaves on May 5, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. Former banker Joseph Otting, who worked with Mnuchin at Californian lender OneWest, is considered the lead contender to permanently replace Curry, several people familiar with the matter have said. That appointment requires Senate confirmation and analysts said they expected Noreika to be in charge for much of this year. U.S. President Donald Trump wants to overhaul regulation of the financial services system to make it easier for banks to lend and has asked Mnuchin to review the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law by June 3. The OCC is one of several regulators that monitors the health of Wall Street banks but has a particularly influential role in scrutinizing lending practices. Under Curry, OCC bank examiners have clamped down on what they perceive as overly risky loans, particularly the type used to fund private equity buyouts. Curry used his position to warn banks when he thought they were talking on too much risk in loans to energy firms and property developers. “Curry did use the bully pulpit to warn banks against risky activity and I think you’re likely to see less of that going forward,” said Ian Katz, financial policy analyst at research firm Capital Alpha. The appointment of Noreika and the expected nomination of Otting meant limits on how much banks can lend to highly indebted companies may be loosened in the future, said Jaret Seiberg, analyst at Cowen Washington Research Group. “This is the most bullish sign yet for the biggest banks that the Trump administration will pursue a traditional Republican approach of financial regulation rather than adopt a more populist tone that could include high leverage capital requirements,” Seiberg said. Trump’s plans to overhaul regulation are being held up by the government’s current lean crew of regulators. While the Senate voted on Tuesday to confirm attorney Jay Clayton to head the Securities and Exchange Commission, the OCC’s changing of the guard might not be so smooth. Democrats have criticized practices at OneWest, the lender created by Mnuchin after the 2008 housing crisis that foreclosed on 36,000 California families. Mnuchin hired Otting as chief executive of the bank in 2010 and he held that role until it was bought by CIT Group in 2014. Noreika’s background as a lawyer who has advised banks on M&A, including Ant Financial’s acquisition of Moneygram, as well as on the Volcker Rule, which prohibits banks from making speculative bets, is also controversial. “It is disturbing that the President is rushing to replace Mr. Curry with an acting appointee who has clear conflicts of interest, and lacks any experience in running such an important agency,” Ohio Democrat Sherrod Brown, the ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, said in a statement. Noreika’s appointment does not require Senate approval. Curry, a career regulator, was appointed by the Obama administration for a five-year term that expired last month and has since been serving under an extension. While Curry took a tough line on risky lending, the agency did come under fire for its failure to tackle a sales practice abuse scandal at Wells Fargo & Co. The OCC is also trying to establish itself as a regulator of online lenders and financial technology firms. State authorities have argued that is their job and are suing the OCC, arguing it lacks the legal authority to offer a banking charter for technology companies. There are also three vacant spots on the Federal Reserve Board, including the post of vice chair of supervision, which will play a key role in any overhaul of bank regulation. Earlier on Wednesday, Mnuchin told a conference of community bankers that Trump had signed off on a nominee to fill the vice chair role but did not name the person. Reuters had previously reported that Randal Quarles, who worked as under secretary for domestic finance at the Treasury under President George W. Bush, was a leading candidate. Mnuchin said the administration was also close to naming the two other Fed selections. | 1 |
10,364 | Trump ally Christie calls criticisms of slain soldier's family 'inappropriate' | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Chris Christie, a close ally of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, distanced himself on Tuesday from Trump’s feud with the Muslim family of a slain U.S. Army captain, according to Politico. Christie, the governor of New Jersey, said criticisms of the family of Captain Humayan Khan, who was killed in Iraq in 2004, were “inappropriate.” “I didn’t see Mr. Khan’s speech at the DNC, but I’ll just say this: I’m a father and I just cannot imagine the pain of losing a child under any circumstances,” said Christie, who endorsed Trump after ending his own White House bid, according to Politico, which quoted Christie’s comments from a news conference at the New Jersey State House in Trenton. | 1 |
10,365 | ACTIVE DUTY SOLDIER’S Riveting Case Against Bringing Syrian Refugees To U.S. Goes Viral | This soldier s story is shocking and heartbreaking, but serves as a serious warning about what we, as a nation are getting ourselves into if we bring hundreds of thousands of people to our country whose beliefs are diametrically opposed to ours. These are also people who have no intention of assimilating in our country, as their actions are justified as part of their faith I don t typically go on rants or express my political beliefs here (Facebook), but I just have to get this off my mind.As some of you know, I m active duty Army. Aside from that, I am a medic. I ve spent 3 years of my life overseas in both Afghanistan and Iraq. I ve seen some pretty atrocious sites caused by war, from both sides. I ve picked up blown up body parts of friends and I ve saved the lives of guys who were trying to kill me and my guys right before I was keeping them from their 72 virgins or whatever they believe awaits them on the other side.Here is an unbiased truthful view to the Syrian refugee situation.My first deployment to Iraq, in 2006, my unit voluntarily ran a childrens burn clinic outside of the FOB. It was a constant target for attacks. You would think that people wouldn t shoot mortars or rockets at their own children, but you would be wrong. We saw hundreds of children, from infants to 18 year olds. The overwhelming majority of the kids we saw (90% or better) were clear cases of abuse. These parents were literally dunking their kids in boiling water, or throwing hot chai at their kids faces Yes, we re talking about babies, toddlers, kids not even old enough to understand why their parents would do these things to them. HUNDREDS of kids We saw quite a few of these kids that were sexually abused, both girls and boys. Their parents acted if nothing was wrong with this, even when confronted by our doctors.This is the mentality of their society, not the viewpoint of a few individuals these beliefs have been accepted to the vast majority of these people. Many were educated, well dressed, well spoken men, but yet, they still raped their own children, and kept chai boys (if you don t know what that means, google it.)During that deployment, we also captured the 3rd largest EFP cache that had ever been captured. There were hundreds of copper plates, homemade explosives, fake curbs to house the EFP s, hundreds of mortars and rockets and howitzer rounds, even an anti-aircraft gun. All of these things came from one place, Syria. Almost every single IED or EFP we found or hit could be traced back to Syria A lot of the terrorists we captured were from SYRIA Imagine that.Fast forward a couple years, and I find myself in Helmand Province, in Afghanistan We had a group of Afghani s that were paid to help guard our little mud hut in the middle of an Afghan village (I wasn t on a fob) These guys also kept a chai boy A boy, about 11 years old, who was there to serve these guys sexually. We heard him being sexually assaulted many times, but there was nothing we could do about it. We asked the police, the Afghan Army, and we were told the same thing every time . it s their culture, and accepted as the norm .Once again, we captured Syrian made explosives, weapons, and other items We found Syrian passports during raids And people out there want us to let these people into the US, with our kids, and near our wives. Near our schools, near our churches, synogogues, malls. Places where we should never have to fear being blown up, shot, kidnapped and tortured Don t forget what they did to the Egyptian Coptic Christians, or the Jordanian pilot Don t forget about what they do to rape victims! They stone these women to death for being raped! They behead their own people. Do you think they will show mercy to you?Look at the rape statistics in Denmark, Sweden, Belgium. Facts don t lie 97% of rapes committed in Sweden were committed by Muslim immigrants And you want 10,000 of these people here? Even if just 1% of these so called refugees were ISIS supporters or active ISIS terrorists, would that be acceptable to you?Chew on it think about it. Take a good look at your kids or your wife and decide if the risk is worth taking. Feel free to share this if you want.-Christopher Allard, Facebook post Nov. 16, 2015Christopher Allard posted this plea (below) for donations to the Scania Burn Clinic on Nov. 18, 2015, as a follow up to his Facebook commentary (which has since been removed). If you re so inclined, he would appreciate your donations.A little follow-up for you guys and gals. First, let me thank you guys for sharing my story. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate the support. Second. I forgot about this, but there is a video on Youtube of the burn clinic that I mentioned. It s an old video and the quality isn t great but here it is. You can see me throughout the video: | 0 |
10,366 | Malaysia arrests seven suspected of involvement with Abu Sayyaf militant group | KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia has arrested seven Philippine men suspected of involvement in activities of the Abu Sayyaf militant group, police said on Thursday, as concern grows in Southeast Asia over the possible expansion of militant Islamist activity. The Abu Sayyaf, whose members have pledged loyalty to Islamic State, is notorious for bombings, beheadings, extortions and kidnap-for-ransom activities in the Philippines volatile south. The men worked as security guards for private companies in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, and the surrounding state of Selangor, Inspector-General of Police Mohamad Fuzi Harun said. One suspect, a 22-year-old, was an Abu Sayyaf group member involved in clashes with the military and kidnapping of hostages in the southern Philippines, he said in a statement. An extremist faction of the Abu Sayyaf helped seize large parts of Marawi city in the southern Philippines in May, leading to a siege that has killed about 670 militants and 149 soldiers. Reuters could not reach the men to seek comment as they are in custody. It was not immediately clear if they have lawyers to represent them. Malaysian police said their arrests were based on information received after authorities thwarted a plan by an Abu Sayyaf member to stage an attack at the closing ceremony of the Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur last month. All seven men arrived in Malaysia in September 2015 through the town of Sandakan in the state of Sabah on Borneo island, off the southern coast of the Philippines, before traveling to Kuala Lumpur on forged documents, Mohamad Fuzi said. Since 2013, Muslim-majority Malaysia has detained more than 300 people with suspected links to Islamic State. This year, Malaysia has arrested 41 foreigners classified as foreign terrorist fighters, Mohamad Fuzi added. Governments in Southeast Asia have been worried over the possible expansion of Islamic State as the group loses ground in the Middle East. | 1 |
10,367 | Donald Trump’s Campaign Manager Was Just Arrested, And This Video Shows Why | Donald Trump s campaign manager Corey Lewandowski was arrested on Tuesday morning in Jupiter, Florida. Lewandowski has been charged with misdemeanor battery.Corey Lewandowski, Donald Trump campaign manager, was charged this morning with misdemeanor battery after allegations of forcefully grabbing a reporter at a Jupiter news conference, town police confirmed this morning.Following a March 8 conference at Trump National Golf Club, Michelle Fields, a 28-year-old reporter formerly with the online Breitbart News Network, said she was grabbed on the arm by Lewandowski, 41, after she asked Trump a question about affirmative action.The police report says that surveillance footage backs up the claim that Lewandowski put his hands on Fields, and Jupiter police released the video:Reporter Lulu Ramadan posted an image of the arrest report:.@bmaz @WesleyLowery note the highlighted "date of arrest" and "time of arrest" Call it what you want. It happened. pic.twitter.com/Lo3o6qyXcj Lulu Ramadan (@luluramadan) March 29, 2016Despite the video evidence, Trump s campaign issued a release claiming that their staffer is completely innocent. Trump campaign released statement on Corey Lewandowski battery arrest: He's "absolutely innocent" pic.twitter.com/DiWw5I154a Lulu Ramadan (@luluramadan) March 29, 2016In the immediate aftermath of the incident, Fields posted photos on Twitter showing the bruises caused by Lewandowski s actions.I guess these just magically appeared on me @CLewandowski_ @realDonaldTrump. So weird. pic.twitter.com/oD8c4D7tw3 Michelle Fields (@MichelleFields) March 10, 2016Lewandowski denied the claim, and linked to several websites that alleged that Fields was simply seeking attention and publicity. He also called the reporter delusional. Donald Trump himself said: Everybody said nothing happened. Perhaps she made the story up. Breitbart, who has faced allegations that it is financially allied with Trump, published a story casting doubt on Fields. Internal communications from staffers slamming Breitbart were leaked, and Fields and editor Ben Shapiro publicly resigned from the site.A few days later, Lewandowski was involved in another incident, in which he appeared to physically grab someone at a Trump rally. Here s video that moment:Here is Donald Trump's campaign manager in the Tucson crowd grabbing the collar of a protester. pic.twitter.com/JZ9RntWlHY Jacqueline Alemany (@JaxAlemany) March 19, 2016The Trump campaign again denied what happened.Trump campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks said Lewandowski wasn t the one responsible, instead placing the blame on a man standing to the left of Lewandowski. The man seen to the left of Lewandowski in the video is a member of Trump s private security.Despite these incidents, the mainstream media has shied away from directly asking and confronting Trump about his top staffer s apparent habit of manhandling people. Maybe they ll ask now?Featured image via Twitter | 0 |
10,368 | Britain raises security threat level to critical, PM May says | LONDON (Reuters) - Britain lifted its national security threat level to critical from severe on Friday, meaning an attack is expected, after a bomb on a London commuter train injured 29 people. Prime Minister Theresa May said in a televised statement that armed police and members of the military would be seen on the streets in the coming days. For this period, military personnel will replace police officers on guard duties at certain protected sites that are not accessible to the public, she said. | 1 |
10,369 | House reauthorizes Iran sanctions bill, sets Syria sanctions | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers passed bills on Tuesday renewing sanctions on Iran for 10 years and imposing new sanctions on Syria, underscoring their determination to play a strong role in Middle East policy no matter who occupies the White House. The House of Representatives voted 419 to one for a 10-year reauthorization of the Iran Sanctions Act, or ISA, a law first adopted in 1996 to punish investments in Iran’s energy industry and deter Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons. The House also passed by voice vote a bill that would sanction the government of Syria, and supporters including Russia and Iran, for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The Iran measure will expire at the end of 2016 if it is not renewed. It must still be passed by the Senate and signed by President Barack Obama in order to become law. The Obama administration and other world powers reached an agreement last year in which Tehran agreed to curb its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. But lawmakers said they wanted the ISA to stay in effect to send a strong message that the United States will respond to provocations by Iran and give any U.S. president the ability to quickly reinstate sanctions if Tehran violated the nuclear agreement. “Even after a hard-fought election here at home and power changing hands, American leadership on the global stage won’t falter,” said Representative Eliot Engel, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, a bill sponsor. Republican Representative Ed Royce, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, the bill’s lead sponsor, called the ISA “a critical tool.” “Its expiration would compound the damage done by the president’s dangerous nuclear deal and send a message that the United States will no longer oppose the destructive role of Iran in the Middle East,” said Royce. The vote took place one week after Republican Donald Trump was elected U.S. president. Congressional Republicans unanimously opposed the nuclear deal, along with about two dozen Democrats, and Trump has also strongly criticized it. Lawmakers from both parties said they hoped bipartisan support for a tough line against Iran would continue under the new president. There was no immediate word from Senate leaders on when the ISA and the Syria measure might be taken up in that chamber. Many Senate Democrats favor a “clean” renewal of the ISA, like the one that passed in the House. But other lawmakers have pushed to add new sanctions such as some specifically targeting Iran’s ballistic missile tests. | 1 |
10,370 | WHITE GUILT IDIOCY: Oscar Nominee EMBARRASSED To Be Part Of Hollywood “Whitewashing” | I m embarrassed that I know people who will actually pay money to go see a movie this dingbat actress is embarrassed to have taken part in. These people keep defining this insane progressive narrative, and the people who vehemently disagree with them keep lining their pockets. I ll never understand it Two-time Oscar-nominated actress Rooney Mara regrets playing the role of a Native American character in last year s Pan, as she said it put her on the wrong side of Hollywood s whitewashing debate.During a wide-ranging interview with The Telegraph that was published on Monday, the 30-year-old Carol actress acknowledged the backlash from her being cast to play Tiger Lily in the critical and financial flop, and expressed regret over having accepted the role. I really hate, hate, hate that I am on that side of the whitewashing conversation, she told the paper. I really do. I don t ever want to be on that side of it again. I can understand why people were upset and frustrated. Warner Bros. was heavily criticized for casting of mostly white actors in Pan, and a petition specifically targeting Mara garnered nearly 100,000 signatures. There were two different periods; right after I was initially cast, and the reaction to that, and then the reaction again when the film came out, she said of the backlash. She added: It was never my intention to play a Native American girl. Mara further stated that she enjoyed working on the film, but regretted its mostly white cast, which included her and actors Hugh Jackman, Garrett Hedlund, and Levi Miller. Do I think all of the four main people in the film should have been white with blond hair and blue eyes? she asked No. I think there should have been some diversity somewhere. Commenting on the debate surrounding the controversial lack of diversity in this year s Oscars nominees, Mara said, I have a lot to say and I have very strong opinions about it, but it is such a sensitive issue I don t want to reduce it to a sound bite. She concluded there is absolutely whitewashing in Hollywood, and she feels really bad and embarrassed to be a part of that. Mara is one of the 20 all-white performers who were nominated for Oscars this year, and is in contention for a Best Supporting Actress award.She was nominated for a Best Actress award in 2012 for her role in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Via: Breitbart Hollywood | 0 |
10,371 | Factbox: Italy's new electoral law offers a mix of systems | ROME (Reuters) - Italy s lower house of parliament on Thursday approved a new electoral law for use in the next national election, due by May 2018. The bill now passes to the upper house for further debate. Here are the main points of the bill. Italy gives Latin names to its electoral laws. This new proposal is called the Rosatellum, named after Ettore Rosato, the parliamentary party leader of the ruling Democratic Party (PD) who helped draft the legislation. The bill envisages that some 36 percent of parliamentarians in both the upper and lower houses will be elected on a first-past-the-post basis, with the rest chosen by pure proportional representation via party lists. Parties can stand alone or as part of broader coalitions. Single parties need to win at least 3 percent of the vote to gain seats, while coalitions need to take 10 percent. Unlike the previous Italian electoral law, the Rosatellum does not give an automatic majority to any party or group that wins more than 40 percent of the vote. With opinion polls split three ways between the center-right, the center-left and the maverick 5-Star Movement, there is unlikely to be a clearcut winner in the next election. Voters get two voting slips one for the Senate and one for the lower house. They can only put one cross on each slip, with that vote counted for both the first-past-the-post and PR segments. Under previous electoral systems, voters were able to split their vote between individual candidates and the parties. Candidates can put their name down for the first-past-the-post ballot in one constituency, and also be on five PR lists in locations of their choosing. There will be two to four names on each party PR list. The party leaders will have a major say in whose names go on the lists. In the lower house, 232 seats will be reserved for first-past-the-post winners, 386 will be reserved for the PR lists, and 12 will be reserved for overseas constituencies. In the Senate, 102 seats will go to first-past-the-post winners, 207 will go to the PR lists, and 6 will be for the overseas vote. No more than 60 percent of the candidates on any of the lists can be of the same sex. | 1 |
10,372 | Special prosecutor creation seen easing U.S. Congress partisanship: Senator Cornyn | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Justice Department’s decision to name a special prosecutor to investigate Russia’s involvement in the 2016 U.S. presidential elections could ease red-hot partisan tensions in Congress, Senator John Cornyn, the second-ranking Republican in the Senate, said on Wednesday. Cornyn, speaking to reporters immediately after ex-FBI Director Robert Mueller was named as the special prosecutor, also said the announcement could make it easier for the Senate to confirm President Donald Trump’s replacement of fired FBI Director James Comey and said former Senator Joe Lieberman would get widespread support among the 100 senators for confirmation, if he were to be nominated. (This version of the story corrects second paragraph to make clear that Lieberman has not been nominated) | 1 |
10,373 | Saudi clerics detained in apparent bid to silence dissent | (Reuters) - Several prominent Saudi clerics have been detained in an apparent crackdown on potential opponents of the conservative kingdom s absolute rulers amid widespread speculation that King Salman intends to abdicate in favor of his son. Saudi sources told Reuters that Salman al-Awdah, Awad al-Qarni and Ali al-Omary were detained over the weekend. Officials could not be reached or declined to comment. All three are outside the state-backed clerical establishment but have large online followings. They have previously criticised the government but more recently kept silent or failed to publicly back Saudi policies, including the rift with Qatar over supporting the Muslim Brotherhood. Awdah was imprisoned from 1994-99 for agitating for political change and leadership of the Brotherhood-inspired Sahwa (Awakening) movement. He later called for democracy and tolerance during the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011. Saudi officials have dismissed reports that the king may soon pass the throne to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who already dominates economic, diplomatic and domestic policy. But the al-Saud family has always regarded Islamist groups as the biggest internal threat to its rule over a country in which appeals to religious sentiment cannot be lightly dismissed and an al Qaeda campaign a decade ago killed hundreds. In the 1990s, the Sahwa demanded political reforms that would have weakened the ruling family. Mohammed bin Salman is very likely to be the next king but any dissenting voices that could challenge this succession could also be considered destabilizing from the regime perspective, said Jean-Marc Rickli, head of global risk at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy. You put that in the context of the Qatar rift and it is very difficult right now in the Gulf to have an opinion that is not considered biased or adversarial because the situation is so polarized on all sides. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic and transport links with Qatar in June over its alleged support for Islamist militants, a charge Doha denies. In the past two years, Crown Prince Mohammed has launched radical reforms to foster economic diversity and cultural openness, testing the kingdom s traditions of incremental change and rule by consensus. Resistance has not been met kindly, with the authorities increasingly silencing independent actors, said Stephane Lacroix, a scholar of Islam in Saudi Arabia. It s a much broader attempt to crush Islamists regardless of whether they act in opposition or not, he said. This (the arrests) would be [Prince Mohammed] and the regime trying to impose a much stricter political order. The crackdown is not limited to Islamists. Civil liberties monitors say freedom of expression is increasingly constrained in Gulf Arab states including Saudi Arabia. There is a general climate of being hypersensitive and almost paranoid, said Madawi al-Rasheed, visiting professor at the Middle East Centre, London School of Economics. There is no room for any kind of dissent at the moment. The government toughened its stance following the Arab Spring after it averted unrest by increasing salaries and other state spending but the Brotherhood gained power elsewhere in the region. The group represents an ideological threat to Riyadh s dynastic system of rule, and its use of oaths of allegiance and secret meetings are anathema to the Saudis. It was listed by Riyadh as a terrorist organization in 2014 and diplomats and analysts say there is little prospect that would change. Taking power in January 2015, King Salman initially appeared willing to allow the Brotherhood a role outside politics, for example by not stopping affiliated preachers such as Awdah from speaking publicly on religious or social issues. That appears to have changed in recent months, as a shift in the official discourse targeted Islamists and arrests increased, said Lacroix. What happened a couple of days ago is an acceleration of the process, he said, although it is unclear what specifically prompted the detentions. Awdah tweeted on Friday welcoming a report that suggested the row between Qatar and other Arab countries may be resolved. May God harmonize their hearts for the good of their people, he wrote after a telephone call between Crown Prince Mohammed and Qatar s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani. Awdah comes from Buraidah, heartland of the kingdom s ultra-conservative Wahhabi school of Islam. Criticism of the ruling family in the 1990s earned him praise from Osama bin Laden, whom he eventually denounced. His Sahwa movement was later undermined by a mixture of repression and co-optation. Some clerics, however, maintained large followings through YouTube sermons. Awdah has 14 million Twitter followers. He supported resistance to U.S. forces in Iraq as jihad , or holy war, but then emerged as an ally in the government s campaign against violent jihadists. In 2011, Awdah called for elections and separation of powers, principles antithetical to strict Islamist ideology. He has since been largely quiet on issues of domestic reform. Qarni, who was detained at home in Abha in Saudi Arabia s south, had also expressed support for reconciliation with Qatar, hopes for which were quickly dashed when Saudi Arabia ended any dialogue with Qatar, accusing it of distorting facts . It seems today in Saudi Arabia that not supporting openly and enthusiastically what is happening against Qatar basically makes you an agent of Qatar, said Lacroix. People who don t take a stance stand in the middle, and there s no middle ground for the Saudis now. | 1 |
10,374 | Trump to host Sept. 18 meeting of world leaders on U.N. reform | UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump, a frequent critic of the United Nations, will seek to gather global support for reforming the world body when he hosts an event at U.N. headquarters in New York on Sept. 18, a day before he formally addresses the 193-member organization. Countries will be invited to attend Trump s function if they sign on to a U.S.-drafted 10-point political declaration backing efforts by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to initiate effective, meaningful reform, according to a draft of the political declaration seen by Reuters on Friday. Trump has complained that the U.S. share of the world body s budget is unfair, pushed to slash funding and described it as a club for people to get together, talk and have a good time. Trump, who took office in January, has since described U.S. funding as peanuts compared to the important work of the organization. The United States is the biggest U.N. contributor, providing 22 percent of its $5.4 billion biennial core budget and 28.5 percent of its $7.3 billion peacekeeping budget. The contributions are agreed on by the 193-member General Assembly. Trump, Guterres, who also took office in January, and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley are scheduled to speak at the Sept. 18 event, diplomats said. The draft political declaration states: We support the secretary-general in making concrete changes in the United Nations system to better align its work on humanitarian response, development and sustaining peace initiatives. We commit to reducing mandate duplication, redundancy and overlap, including among the main organs of the United Nations, the draft declaration reads. The United States also is reviewing each of the U.N. peacekeeping missions as annual mandates come up for Security Council renewal in a bid to cut costs. The United States is a veto-wielding council member, along with Britain, France, Russia and China. Haley has said there is a lot of fat around the edges and some abuses that happen at the U.N. but I do think it is very important that we make the most of it. Ethiopia, which is president of the 15-member Security Council for September, said on Friday it would hold a high-level council meeting on peacekeeping reform on Sept. 20 that will be chaired by Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn. Ethiopian U.N. Ambassador Tekeda Alemu told reporters it was unclear if Trump would attend the meeting, which would be his first appearance in the Security Council, but that he expected about 10 heads of state or government to be present. | 1 |
10,375 | Justice Department affirms no evidence Obama wiretapped Trump | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department said it had no evidence to support the unsubstantiated claim made in March by President Donald Trump that his predecessor, Barack Obama, had ordered a wiretap of Trump Tower during the 2016 presidential campaign. There has never been any evidence to support Trump’s assertion on Twitter that “Obama had my ‘wires tapped’ in Trump Tower just before the victory,” despite continued insistence from some conservative websites and commentators. But in a court filing late on Friday, the Justice Department added itself to the list of entities debunking the allegation. The FBI and the Justice Department’s National Security Division “confirm that they have no records related to wiretaps as described” by tweets from Trump posted on March 4, the department said in a court filing in Washington. The filing was in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit brought by American Oversight, a government watchdog group. Trump Tower, a mixed-used New York skyscraper, is home to one of Trump’s private residences and served as his campaign headquarters during the election. The surveillance claim, which first appeared in conservative media before being picked up by Trump, prompted a rare rebuke by Obama, who responded at the time through a spokesman to denounce the idea that he had ordered surveillance against then-candidate Trump as “simply false.” In a statement, American Oversight said the Justice Department filing “confirmed in writing that President Trump lied when he tweeted that former President Obama ‘wiretapped’ him at Trump Tower.” Asked for comment, a White House spokeswoman said on Saturday, “This is not news. We answered this weeks ago.” Despite the lack of evidence, the White House for several weeks attempted to bolster the baseless claim, and it helped fuel an also unsubstantiated inquiry by Devin Nunes, the Republican chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives intelligence committee, into whether the Obama administration improperly “unmasked” surveillance intercepts of phone conversations Trump associates had with foreigners. | 1 |
10,376 | LOL! Leftist CA Congresswoman On Tonight’s Debate: Debate Moderator Needs To Help Hillary…Media Isn’t Doing Enough For Her [VIDEO] | The Democrats are in full panic-mode over Crooked Hillary as she continues to plummet in the polls. Liberal CA Congresswoman, Maxine Waters is hilarious in this interview with and MSNBC host Tamron Hall, as she attempts to blame Hillary s media cheerleaders because Americans don t trust Hillary! LOL There s a reason why people from all over the world will be tuning in tonight to watch what is certain to be an epic presidential debate. The match up between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump is so popular because it reminds us of an age-old formula that has been selling movies and books for years, the underdog vs. the evil villain. There s something very satisfying about watching the underdog take down an evil villainess who s managed to escape the law for decades.There s something equally as satisfying watching lying liberals attempt to circle the wagons around the most corrupt candidate to ever run for office and blame of all people wait for it the media! | 0 |
10,377 | Trump pulls out of Republican debate in Iowa | MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa/IOWA CITY, Iowa (Reuters) - U.S. Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump withdrew on Tuesday from a debate with party rivals this week out of anger at host Fox News (FOXA.O), leaving the last encounter before Iowa’s pivotal nominating contest without the front-runner. Trump’s campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, told reporters after a combative news conference held by the candidate that Trump would definitely not be participating in the debate scheduled for Thursday in Des Moines, Iowa, and co-hosted by Google (GOOGL.O). During the news conference before he addressed a large crowd in Marshalltown, Iowa, Trump expressed irritation that Fox News planned to leave in place as a moderator the anchor Megyn Kelly, whose questioning of Trump at a debate last August angered him. He also expressed displeasure at a Fox News statement on Monday night saying Trump would have to learn sooner or later that “he doesn’t get to pick the journalists” and that “we’re very surprised he’s willing to show that much fear about being questioned by Megyn Kelly.” “I was all set to do the debate, I came here to do the debate. When they sent out the wise-guy press release done by some PR person along with (Fox News Chairman) Roger Ailes, I said: ‘Bye bye, OK’” “Let’s see how much money Fox makes without me in the debate,” the billionaire businessman added. Trump has been engaged in a public spat with Fox News since the network hosted the first debate and Kelly asked Trump about his treatment of woman, prompting a stream of insults from the candidate. The debate is scheduled for just days before Iowa’s caucuses on Monday, the first nominating contest for the Nov. 8 presidential election. Trump’s campaign announced that instead of participating in the debate, he would hold a fundraiser for “Veterans and Wounded Warriors.” Fox News responded by releasing a statement charging Trump’s campaign manager with threatening Kelly, saying during a call Lewandowski had referred to her “rough couple of days” after the previous debate she moderated and added that he would “hate to have her go through that again.” “We can’t give in to terrorizations toward any of our employees,” Fox said in a statement. The network added that Trump remains welcome to participate in the Thursday night debate. Trump’s Republican rivals quickly criticized him for opting out of the debate. “The fact that Donald is now afraid to appear on the debate stage, that he doesn’t want his record questioned, I think that reflects a lack of respect for the men and women on Iowa,” Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who is in a tight race with Trump for first place in the state, said on Mark Levin’s radio program. “If Donald is afraid of Megyn Kelly, I would like to invite him on your show to participate in a one-on-one debate between me and Donald, mano-a-mano,” Cruz said, adding: “If he thinks Megyn Kelly is so scary, what exactly does he think he’d do with Vladimir Putin?” Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush criticized Trump on Twitter, saying: “exactly” in response to a conservative commentator who cast doubt on whether Trump could run against Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton if he were afraid of Kelly. In the Democratic contest, news channel MSNBC and the New Hampshire Union Leader newspaper sketched out plans to host a debate in New Hampshire among Clinton and challengers Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley, a few days before the state’s primary election on Feb. 9. But the Democratic National Committee raised doubts about whether it would proceed, saying in a statement it had no plans to sanction the debate. It left open the question of whether it would punish any participants by excluding them from the two remaining sanctioned debates. Spokesmen for Clinton, the former secretary of state who leads most polls, and O’Malley, a former Maryland governor, said their candidates would be happy to take part, at least in theory. The New York Times quoted the campaign manager for Sanders as saying the Vermont senator would sit out the unsanctioned debate. Trump’s blunt-spoken candidacy has boosted ratings for the Republican presidential debates. The August debate on Fox News drew 24 million viewers, a record for a presidential primary debate and the highest non-sports telecast in cable TV history. But a boycott could prove risky for Trump as Iowa Republicans seek to take one more look at who they want as their presidential candidate. Rivals like Cruz, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, Bush, and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson could reap the benefits. “How many debates do you have to do?” Trump told reporters. “The Democrats are finished with their debates. ... The Republicans go on forever and ever and ever with debates. We have people on the stand who have zero (percentage points in the poll), who have one, who have nothing. So it’s time that somebody plays grown up.” At his campaign event in Marshalltown, Trump expressed confidence in his position in the race, saying if he were to win Iowa, he could “run the table” and roll up subsequent victories in New Hampshire, South Carolina and beyond. “Iowa is very important. So you’ve got to get out, you’ve got to get out and caucus,” he told his supporters. | 1 |
10,378 | HILLARY’S TOP AIDE Is About To See Her Husband’s Scandalous Life Played Out On Big Screen: “WEINER” Debuts In May [WATCH TRAILER] | Dinesh D Souza s Hillary s America will debut in theaters in July. Clinton Cash is a documentary that investigates donations made to the Clinton Foundation by foreign entities, paid speeches made by Bill and Hillary Clinton, and the Clintons personal enrichment since leaving the White House in 2001. It also debuts this summer. And now, Weiner exploring the life of a world class narcissist who just happens to be married to Hillary s top aide and special friend who is also tied to Hillary s email scandal investigation, Huma Abedin. With so many scandalous movies surrounding the life of Corrupt Hillary debuting this spring and summer, it s hard to know what to see first. We only have one question. Did filmmaker, Mr. Kriegman credit Andrew Breitbart for exposing (pun intended) the truth about Anthony Weiner?Mr. Kriegman s careful chronicling of Mr. Weiner s campaign is poised to prompt a much broader reassessment of a tabloid-tarred politician. Weiner, a feature-length documentary by Mr. Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg, will be released on May 20, amid one of the most contentious presidential elections in memory, and it may be the most intimate and provocative portrait of a political race since The War Room. Mr. Weiner whose moth-to-the-flame instinct toward exposure led in part to his resignation from Congress in 2011 after admitting he had lied about online liaisons with women granted extraordinary access to Mr. Kriegman, in exchange for the occasional use of his footage during the campaign. The filmmaker agreed to step out of the room whenever Mr. Weiner asked.And yet there is Mr. Kriegman in the back of a sport utility vehicle, filming as Mr. Weiner tries to persuade his wife, Huma Abedin, to appear at a primary-night party where Sydney Leathers, Mr. Weiner s erstwhile sexting partner, is lurking outside. Mr. Kriegman is inside the couple s apartment at breakfast time as Ms. Abedin, a frozen smile on her face, confides to the camera that she is living a nightmare. There are startling moments of Mr. Weiner analyzing his own transgressions (he calls them the things ) and facing teary-eyed staff members. Hours after Mr. Weiner s campaign is stricken by revelations of new online infidelities, the film finds husband and wife alone in a conference room, staring at each other for what may be the longest and most painful onscreen marital silence this side of an Ingmar Bergman film. The door closes, and I m filming, and I m riveted by what s happening, Mr. Kriegman recalled in an interview last month. But I m definitely thinking to myself: I can t believe I m standing here right now. He almost never got the chance. Mr. Kriegman had known Mr. Weiner for years, serving as chief of staff in his district office. After a decade in politics, he began pursuing a film career, earning credits on MTV and PBS. He and Ms. Steinberg, who are both 36, and previously collaborated on a documentary about prison reform, came to view Mr. Weiner as an ideal subject.Via: NYT s | 0 |
10,379 | Reporter Gets Bush’s CIA Director To Admit Waterboarding Is Torture Using VERY Clever Trick (VIDEO) | George Bush s former CIA director, Michael Hayden, has always had a very uncomfortable position on waterboarding. At times he seems to acknowledge that the technique which, as described by human rights groups, is best summed up as simulated drowning, is inhumane and constitutes torture. He recently told Donald Trump (a yuge fan of waterboarding) if he wanted to reinstate the practice that he would have to bring your own damn bucket because the CIA wouldn t go down that road again. On the other hand, Hayden s tenure as Bush s CIA head meant he oversaw extensive use of the technique on terror suspects. How do you square that round peg? Stunning levels of cognitive dissonance, of course!Hayden was put on the hotseat in an interview with Al Jazeera, in which reporter Mehdi Hasan effortlessly walked through the former intelligence officer s walls of hypocrisy to get at the kernal of truth at the center: Hayden isn t stupid, and he knows that waterboarding is torture.How do you get a man who has spent the last seven years denying he did anything wrong to admit that he did? Flip the question around and ask whether other people should be using waterboarding. Hayden admits in that case it s completely different. Hayden: I m not giving an answer!Hasan: Okay. If [Syrian] President Assad waterboards Syrian rebels, you will not call that torture?Hayden: Oh, that s completely different.Hasan: Why? So if America does it it s fine, but if Syria does it it s bad.Hayden starts getting very defensive, arguing that Syria wouldn t waterboard safely (there s an oxymoron) and that when the CIA does it, they do it the proper way, which he then describes. Hasan isn t impressed. Good point, Hasan deadpans. Series of near drownings, bubbles rising through open full mouth. That is not torture in your view? Hayden concludes by saying the legal opinion at the time was no and that America had a right to use the method because they were careful. So for those keeping score at home, the logic is: America s use of waterboarding during the Bush presidency was not torture, but any use of waterboarding by other nations or by a current or future American president is torture. Spoken like a true member of the Bush Administration: It s never bad when we do it was their unspoken motto.// < ![CDATA[ // < ![CDATA[ // < ![CDATA[ // < ![CDATA[ // < ![CDATA[ (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); // ]]>Is waterboarding torture? Do you think [waterboarding] is torture? Mehdi Hasan asks former CIA Director Michael Hayden. Watch the full episode: aje.io/pr2dPosted by UpFront on Thursday, March 31, 2016Featured image via Al Jazeera screengrab | 0 |
10,380 | Here’s The Disgusting Propaganda The White House Plans To Use To Smear Sally Yates’ Russia Testimony (DETAILS) | The world is eagerly awaiting the testimony of former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates regarding the Trump/Russia connection. Of course, we all remember how she was promptly fired for refusing to defend Donald Trump and his bigoted administration s unconstitutional Muslim ban. Afterward, it also came out that Yates warned Trump and others in the White House that then-National Security Adviser Michael Flynn was possibly compromised by Russian operatives. He was only fired weeks later when it came out that he lied to Mike Pence about his conversations with the Russians. Now, it seems that the White House has two goals: Smear Sally Yates as some kind of Democratic political hack, and put as much distance as they can between the Trump Administration and Michael Flynn.Now that they cannot stop Sally Yates from telling Congress everything she knows about this Russia mess, it seems that Flynn will be the one to take the fall, and despite his previous loyalty to Trump, the White House is just fine with that. Perhaps this is why Flynn previously asked for immunity so he could tell Congress what he knows. Axios reports that the Trump White House strategy to make themselves look squeaky clean in all of this when they are clearly balls deep is as follows:Of course, the point of portraying Yates as some kind of Obama holdover is to make it seem like she s making the case for Trump s impeachment and the indictment of his officials. She isn t, though. Sally Yates is a career Department of Justice lawyer who has served under both Republican and Democratic administrations. Her only loyalty is to the law.This is all just more of the Trump Administration s lies and propaganda, in order to distract from the fact that this Russia mess is getting hotter and hotter by the day. Hopefully, there is something Sally Yates has to say that will warrant a few arrests starting in the West Wing of the White House.Featured image via Pete Marovich/Getty Images | 0 |
10,381 | Trump Kicks His Own Teen Supporter Out Of Rally ‘For Having Dark Skin’ (VIDEO/IMAGE) | It s no secret that Donald Trump has a hard time with not only attracting minority voters, but also the votes of millenials that have grown up in a less racist, more diverse and accepting country than the America that Trump wants to enforce if he wins this election.But there are still young voters that are attracted to Trump, like 18-year-old Jake Anantha from Charlotte, North Carolina. Rather than be thankful for Anantha s support at a time when Trump is basically dying in the polls, the Trump campaign decided to kick this young Republican out of a rally on Thursday because he wasn t white.Jake was more than excited to attend Trump s event and give Trump his first primary vote. He was even wearing a Trump shirt to the rally, but his joy quickly left him when he was removed by police from the Charlotte Convention Center because the Trump campaign had accused him of being a protester. Jake s only offense was having dark skin, according to Ramesh Anantha, Jake s father.Ramesh complained that as a young person of color, his son should have been been treated with respect especially since Trump s rally was about supporting minorities. Ramesh, whose parents immigrated from India, said, It s unbelievably ironic and argues that his son should have been looked at as a perfect Trump supporter. He should have been somebody they re putting up on stage. Screenshot of Jake being removed by securityAccording to the young supporter himself, this incident has changed his mind about supporting Trump, now that his campaign s true colors have shown. In an interview on Friday, Jake said that initially, he didn t mind Trump s brash campaign: When I saw him on TV, I personally didn t mind his rhetoric. I defended him. When people called him a racist, I said he s a critic of our flawed immigration system. He s strong on Islamic terrorism. Jake had gotten to the rally early and was able to get a position near the stage. He was just standing there innocently minding his own business when security tapped him on the shoulder and tried to escort him out. They said, We know who you are. You ve been at many other rallies. Jake tried to object and plea that it had been his first Trump rally and was not a protester, but police removed him anyway. The event had been private, so Trump s staff had full control over who could attend and Jake was apparently not white enough. Forced to stay outside the Convention Center or risk being arrested, Jake watched white people enter the rally effortlessly. He said: I thought (Trump) was for all people. I don t believe he is for all people anymore. Why are all these white people allowed to attend and I m not? The Trump campaign has failed to apologize to Jake, and the young voter says that this incident has made him change his mind about Trump. He is now planning to vote for Libertarian Gary Johnson.Jake was not the only minority to be ejected from this event. Rose Hamid, a Muslim who was peacefully protesting by handing out flower pens, was also removed when Jake was taken out of the rally. You can watch a video of Jake and Rose being removed below:Featured image via Mark Wallheiser / Getty Images | 0 |
10,382 | BOILER ROOM – Presidential Debate Simulcast Special | Tune in to the Alternate Current Radio Network (ACR) for another LIVE broadcast of The Boiler Room starting at 6 PM PST | 9 PM EST for this special broadcast. Join us for uncensored, uninterruptible talk radio, custom-made for barfly philosophers, misguided moralists, masochists, street corner evangelists, media-maniacs, savants, political animals and otherwise lovable rascals.Join ACR hosts Hesher, & Spore along with Stewart Howe and Randy J for a simulcast and commentary on the Presidential debate with Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Don t watch in despair, come join the BOILER ROOM gang while we eat pop corn to to the exercises in theater and futility known as the Presidential debate. Join us in the chat! The first embedded player is the debate itself. If you can t stomach the sound of the candidates or if once was enough with the debate audio, we understand and we ve broken out the Boiler Room analysis of the debate into a separate spreaker embed to reduce politically induced symptoms of nausea and vomiting.Please like and share the program and visit our donate page to get involved!BOILER ROOM IS NOT A POLICTALLY CORRECT ZONE! LISTEN TO THE SHOW IN THE PLAYER BELOW ENJOY! Part I The U.S. Presidential Debate SimulcastPart II Boiler Room Wrap Up Show | 0 |
10,383 | Pennsylvania governor to address budget amid bitter divide | (Reuters) - Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf is expected to unveil his proposal for the state’s 2017 budget on Tuesday even though state lawmakers have yet to fully agree on the current spending plan that has languished half-baked as political acrimony has escalated. The state still has only a partial $23.4 billion emergency budget in place nearly a year after Wolf made his 2016 budget proposal the first time, for $29.9 billion. Wolf, a Democrat, had said he would support a negotiated budget of $30.8 billion, but state House Republican leaders scuttled it at the last minute in December. “It’s a gigantic cloud hanging over this year’s process,” said Christopher Borick, associate political science professor at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania, of the impasse and partial budget. The incomplete deal, which Wolf called “garbage” and a “ridiculous exercise in budget futility” before stripping it down and signing it in December, was hammered out after school districts across the state threatened to close because of the lack of funding. One question now is whether Wolf will use that tone, or a more conciliatory one, during Tuesday’s budget address. “Wolf is committed to his agenda. I think he believes it’s the right thing to do,” said G. Terry Madonna, public affairs professor at Pennsylvania’s Franklin & Marshall College. Wolf took office in January 2015 pledging to restore education funding, to be paid for in part with a tax on natural gas extraction. He has already said his new budget will include $200 million of additional funding for K-12 public schools, on top of the $377 million increase proposed in the now-defunct compromise budget that Senate Republicans had supported. But while Wolf may view his clear win in 2014 over incumbent Republican Governor Tom Corbett as a mandate from voters, Republicans can point to how they increased their majorities in both houses of the state legislature in that election. Those results “represented very mixed messages from the voters of the state,” Borick said. “That sowed the seeds very much for the type of gridlock we saw last year, where both sides felt empowered.” The logjam makes fixes for the state’s now $2.3 billion structural budget deficit that much harder, Moody’s Investors Service said in October when it threatened to lower its Aa3 rating on Pennsylvania’s nearly $11 billion of outstanding general obligation debt. | 1 |
10,384 | 24 militants, six soldiers killed in attacks in Egypt's Sinai, military says | ISMAILIA,Egypt (Reuters) - At least 24 militants and six soldiers were killed on Sunday in attacks on military outposts in North Sinai, the Egyptian military said in a statement. The statement did not give details, but security and medical sources said about 20 members of the security forces had also been injured when more than 100 militants repeatedly attacked security outposts south of the border town of Sheikh Zuweid. The attackers used car bombs and rocket propelled grenades (RPG), the sources said. The militants also clashed with the security forces using light weapons, the sources added. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks. Hours later, air raid sirens went off in a part of southern Israel and the Israeli military said two rockets were fired from Sinai at Israel. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. On Friday, the militant group claimed an attack on security forces in the peninsula that killed at least six soldiers. Egypt is fighting an insurgency by militants affiliated with Islamic State in the Sinai Peninsula, where hundreds of soldiers and police have been killed since 2013, when the military ousted Islamist president Mohamed Mursi after mass protests. The militants have also extended their campaign to other parts of Egypt, most recently attacking churches in Cairo and other cities with the loss of dozens of lives. | 1 |
10,385 | WATCH: EBONY MAGAZINE EDITOR Destroy Hillary With One Embarrassing Question | For years now, Hillary has been able to avoid answering tough questions by simply cackling laughing. Ebony Magazine s editor-in-chief Kierna Mayo, doesn t appear to be willing to let Hillary off the hook so easily when it comes to her pandering for the Black vote. Enjoy the ride Hillary, it looks like this may finally be the end of the road for you and your U.S. Presidential aspirations https://youtu.be/ckJg7hZubMA | 0 |
10,386 | LOL! #FakeNews CNN’s April Ryan EMBARRASSES Herself On Thanksgiving Day Over Her Obsession With Legitimacy Of Sarah Sanders’ Pecan Pie | CNN political analyst just spent her Thanksgiving Day so consumed with hate for President Trump s White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, that she removed any doubt her Twitter followers may have had about the possibility of having an objective bone in her body.CNN political analyst and American Urban Radio Networks White House correspondent April Ryan suggested, without any evidence, Friday that White House press secretary Sarah Sanders actually didn t actually cook the pecan pie Sanders said she did.Here is Sanders tweet that got under April Ryan s skin:I dont cook much these days, but managed this Chocolate Pecan Pie for Thanksgiving at the family farm! pic.twitter.com/rO8nFxtly7 Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) November 23, 2017Ryan responded by actually demanding that Sanders do more than post a picture of the pie with a white background, and that she show Twitter users the pie on her table!Show it to us on a table. https://t.co/ifeSBlSZW7 AprilDRyan (@AprilDRyan) November 24, 2017Ryan then took it a step further and doubled down, letting her Twitter users know that the legitimacy of Sanders claim that she baked the pecan pie was no laughing matter.I am not trying to be funny but folks are already saying #piegate and #fakepie Show it to us on the table with folks eating it and a pic of you cooking it. I am getting the biggest laugh out of this. I am thankful for this laugh on Black Friday! https://t.co/ifeSBlSZW7 AprilDRyan (@AprilDRyan) November 24, 2017Ryan is frequently praised by liberals for being a nuisance in the White House press briefing room, but she failed to present any evidence Friday, except for the claims of random Twitter users, that Sanders faked the pie. Ryan did not respond to this reporter when asked for proof.A reverse image search did not find any other pictures of the pecan pie that Sanders posted.The White House press secretary responded to Ryan s criticism and said that she will make the journalist a pie of her own.-Daily CallerDon t worry @AprilDRyan because I m nice I ll bake one for you next week #RealPie #FakeNews https://t.co/5W3mGbKs4J Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) November 24, 2017While hundreds of liberal Twitter users jumped on Ryan s thread, as a way to drum up hate for the brilliant and witty conservative Press Secretary, Sanders definitely got her fair share of support. Conservative actor James Woods didn t make any secret about how he is thankful on Thanksgiving Day for Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the best thing to happen to modern American journalism. One final reason to be thankful today: @SarahHuckabee She is the best thing to happen to modern American journalism. The #CNN and other liberal minions melt before her intelligence, her wit, and her sheer fortitude like snowflakes in the desert. James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) November 24, 2017Twitter user, Vanessa Vega nailed it with her tweet in response to Sanders reply to Ryan s ridiculous claim:It burns them up. That a graceful intelligent woman like you holds the WH positions, rocks at it, is an amazing mother and baked a pie during a traditional American Holiday. keep doing you @PressSec !! We are grateful for you & the haters are entertaining to watch Vanessa Vega (@EscbrRoX2017) November 25, 2017 | 0 |
10,387 | At least 25 wounded in Israeli retaliation strikes in Gaza | GAZA (Reuters) - Israel s military said its aircraft bombed militant targets in Gaza on Friday and the Palestinian Health Ministry said at least 25 people were wounded in the strikes, including six children. The Israeli military said it had carried out the strikes on a militant training camp and on a weapons depot in response to rockets fired earlier from Gaza at Israeli towns. Witnesses said most of the wounded were residents of a building near the camp. At least one Palestinian was killed in clashes with Israeli troops earlier on Friday and dozens wounded in day of rage protests against U.S. President Donald Trump s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel s capital. | 1 |
10,388 | Tension grips Nigerian city as separatist leader goes missing | UMUAHIA, Nigeria (Reuters) - A secessionist leader seeking independence from Nigeria has been missing since an alleged military raid more than two weeks ago left his house in the city of Umuahia riddled with bullet holes, its windows smashed and doors hanging off hinges. The disappearance of Nnamdi Kanu, after the raid the army says did not happen, threatens to ignite separatist unrest capable of destabilizing southeastern Nigeria, a region where a million people died in a 1967-70 civil war over the short-lived Republic of Biafra. Kingsley Kanu, 48, said he was with his older brother Nnamdi, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, at their family home on the evening of Sept. 14 when soldiers stormed in. They were shooting everything they saw, he said, pointing to bullet holes in walls and windows. They came here just to kill everybody, he said, adding that around 20 IPOB members were shot dead but most of the bodies were taken by soldiers. Reuters witnesses - a reporter and TV cameraman - on Sept. 27 saw six corpses with bullet wounds in a morgue, who IPOB said were among their members. Two resembled men in photographs held by weeping relatives who told Reuters their brothers were killed in the raid, though nobody could verify the identities of the four others. The military did not raid Nnamdi Kanu s residence, a military spokesman told reporters in the capital, Abuja. Nnamdi Kanu is not in the custody of the military. The allegation and denial are the biggest flashpoint of a military deployment in the southeast that began in September. Civil society groups and analysts say the military presence, last month s designation of IPOB as a terrorist organization , and its leader s disappearance could prompt the separatists to abandon their policy of non-violence. President Muhammadu Buhari, a Muslim northerner, made a crackdown on secessionists the focus of his first speech in August after returning from three months of medical leave in Britain. He then held talks with armed forces chiefs who days later launched Operation Python Dance, which the military said was intended to reduce violent crime and secessionist agitations . Soldiers with rifles are present across Umuahia, capital of Abia state, in armored vans and at checkpoints where motorists are routinely questioned. Buhari is already contending with Boko Haram s jihadist insurgency in the northeast and seeking to maintain a ceasefire with militants in the southern oil-producing Niger Delta. But some say the former military ruler risks exacerbating the situation, just as militant attacks in the Niger Delta surged last year after troops were deployed. HEAVY-HANDED? The government s heavy-handed approach will only shore up local support for a radical group that previously struggled to broaden its base, said Malte Liewerscheidt of global risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft. Ryan Cummings, director of Africa-focused risk management company Signal Risk, said the Igbo ethnic group that dominates the region, and has long spoken of being marginalized, felt targeted. The government has allowed insecurity to burgeon in other areas of Nigeria without similar deployments, he said, citing attacks by Fulani herdsmen that have killed hundreds of people in central Nigeria over the last few years. Tension followed the arrival of troops in the southeast. Abia s governor imposed a curfew in the city of Aba last month. Several days of tension between IPOB members and troops led to claims by the group that Kanu s house had been besieged by soldiers, which the military denied. Videos circulating on social media including footage purportedly showing troops in Abia using sticks to flog men stripped to the waist, which the army said it was investigating, have heightened anger. The presence of the army scared our people. People spoke about what happened during the Biafran war, said Onyebuchi Ememanka, a special adviser to the state s governor who is a member of the opposition People s Democratic Party (PDP). There were no serious security challenges that would justify the deployment of troops, said Ememanka. He said he never saw IPOB s members carrying weapons, though he added that a uniformed national guard and secret service had held parades in the last few weeks, which he called a new dimension . Red, black and green paint - the Biafran flag s colors - daubed on walls and tree trunks across Umuahia follow calls for a referendum on independence. Kanu s release on bail in April, after being held for nearly two years on charges of criminal conspiracy and treasonable offences, brought attention back to the issue. However, talk of secession among people on the streets of Umuahia mostly hinged on whether or not they had the right to make a democratic choice about their future rather than aligning with IPOB s belief in a need for a separate state. Opinions tend to be divided along generation lines, with younger people born long after the war expressing an interest in a referendum while older people who remember the war or grew up hearing stories about the conflict are often wary of even discussing the subject. However, a pronouncement earlier this year by activists in the northern state of Kaduna that Igbos, who are mainly Christian, should be evicted stirred ethnic tensions. The dispute acted as a lightning rod for frustrations against Buhari, who fought in the civil war on the government side as a young soldier. A lack of development in the southeast for decades has cemented a belief among Igbos that they have been marginalized. Michael Ogbizi, Abia state police commissioner, said 74 IPOB members had been arrested since Sept. 12 and charged with offences including murder and arson. Many charges related to the burning down of a police station in mid-September in Aba where nine people died. Ogbizi said police had no records of IPOB members being killed. An IPOB spokesman denied the group was involved in the fire. Amid differing opinions about the group s past conduct, Kanu s disappearance has created uncertainty about its future. If they [the army] have killed him, let them give us the corpse, said the IPOB leader s brother, adding that his missing 82-year-old father and 67-year-old mother should be released if they are being held. Liewerscheidt said if Kanu were to die at the hands of the authorities parallels could be drawn with the origins of the Boko Haram insurgency that began after the death of Mohammed Yusuf, the Islamist militant group s founder, in police custody. This would likely transform IPOB into precisely the terrorist organization the military claims it already is, he said. | 1 |
10,389 | Obama’s ‘You Know It’s Black History Month When’ Joke Stole The Show, Made Michelle Blush (VIDEO) | The First Couple greeted an eager crowd celebrating Black History Month at the White House when the thing conservatives hate most about him became obvious once again. He s black. His wife, Michelle, is also black. They have black children. They are also wonderful parents and self-made role models as President and First Lady of the United States.The president knows it, so when the introductions included a Haaaaaaay Michelle, The President tossed a magnificent You know you re at Black History Month When joke that makes her go a bit shy. She managed to pull it off with the grace and style of the First Lady of the United States. It s important we remind the people who would use this episode to somehow call the president a race-baiter or that he is pandering to people celebrating black history:WATCH: POTUS: "We know it is black history month when we hear someone say 'heeey, Michelle! Girl. You Look so good!"https://t.co/3u36Y3iede ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) February 19, 2016Black History Month isn t just dedicated at the White House. It has been, for the eight time, dedicated by a black man holding the highest office in the land. Doing so under such incredible obstructionism as to make anything he could have accomplished nothing short of miraculous, he saw our country out of a financial crisis many of us thought would be the next Great Depression. He restored honor to the White House in the wake of a buffoon and his band of thieves and thugs. Who better to comment on what Black History Month means than that guy?The video is from the ABC News Twitter feed, and you can tell that ABC is hard at work deleting the racism, just by the leftover comments from people calling others out on it. The original posts about the tweet came from News One and Globalgrind, who have both disabled their comments for the story.Featured image from screen capture | 0 |
10,390 | ESPN Reporter Says Trump’s Supporters Are White Supremacists, They Use Her Facebook Page To Prove She’s Right (IMAGES) | Just a few days ago, SportsCenter anchor Jemele Hill made headlines due to her harsh but truthful comments about Donald Trump and his bigot followers.In several tweets posted on Monday, Hill trashed Trump s leadership, calling him unqualified and unfit for the White House. She tweeted: Donald Trump is a white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself w/ other white supremacists. Trump is the most ignorant, offensive president of my lifetime. His rise is a direct result of white supremacy. Period. He is unqualified and unfit to be president. He is not a leader. And if he were not white, he never would have been elected. Anyone who actually pays attention to Trump, his policies, and his values knows that this is 100% true. Unfortunately, ESPN has refused to stand beside her, stating that Hill s views are not shared by the network.On top of that, recent comments by Trump s White House Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders pretty much stated that Trump and his corrupt administration believe that stating the truth about a president should be a considered an offense that could get someone fired.It s clear that Trump and his minions hate being called out, especially when it s true. Proving that his supporters are just as horrible and racist as he is, Trump voters came out in droves to react to Hill s tweets and actually ended up proving her right. On her Facebook page, Trump supporters couldn t help but leave numerous disgusting, racist comments on the African American anchor s page, which makes what Hill said about Trump even more prevalent.You can see some of the most hideous remarks below: It is impossible to read through these awful messages and still argue that Trump and his fanbase are not white supremacists.Featured image via D Dipasupil and Alex Wong / Getty Images | 0 |
10,391 | Thousands of Rohingya flee for Bangladesh as fresh violence erupts in Myanmar | COX S BAZAR, Bangladesh/YANGON (Reuters) - Thousands of Rohingya Muslims fleeing violence in Myanmar are trying to cross the border with Bangladesh, Bangladeshi security officials said on Saturday, as fresh fighting erupted in Myanmar s northwestern Rakhine state. The death toll from widespread attacks staged by Rohingya insurgents on Friday has climbed to 96, including nearly 80 insurgents and 12 members of the security forces, the government said, prompting it to evacuate staff and villagers from some areas. The attacks marked a dramatic escalation of a conflict that has simmered since last October, when a similar offensive prompted a major military sweep beset by allegations of serious human rights abuses. The treatment of approximately 1.1 million Muslim Rohingya in mainly Buddhist Myanmar has emerged as the biggest challenge for national leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who late on Friday condemned the morning raids - in which insurgents wielding guns, sticks and homemade bombs assaulted 30 police stations and an army base. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate has been accused by some Western critics of not speaking out for the long-persecuted Muslim minority, and of defending the army s counteroffensive after the October attacks. Some 3,000 Rohingya arrived at the Naf river separating Myanmar and Bangladesh on Saturday, Manzurul Hassan Khan, a Bangladeshi border guard commander, told Reuters. About 500 Rohingya, mostly women and children, spent the last night in a marshy area waiting to cross over, said Khan. We protected them the whole night. Today they went back. Reuters reporters saw hundreds of Rohingya crossing into Bangladesh near the border village of Gumdhum as gun shots could be heard from the Myanmar side. They could be seen squatting in a marshy area, hiding in the bushes from border guards. We managed to escape the shooting in Myanmar and tried to enter Bangladesh. We waited all night after we were pushed backed by Bangladesh border guards last night. This morning, we managed to enter somehow, said Hamid Hossain, 42, who crossed into Bangladesh on Saturday with a group of three families. A 25-year-old man whose relatives said he had been shot by Myanmar security forces on Friday died as he was carried to Bangladesh for treatment. He was buried near a refugee camp close to the border on Saturday, according to camp resident Mohammed Shafi, who said he witnessed the burial. Bangladesh s foreign ministry on Saturday said it was concerned that thousands of unarmed Myanmar nationals had assembled near the border to enter the country. Rohingya have been fleeing Myanmar to Bangladesh since the early 1990s and there are now around 400,000 in the country, where they are a source of tension between the two nations who both regard them as the other country s citizens. In Myanmar, the government said there had been several large clashes involving hundreds of Rohingya across northwestern Rakhine on Saturday. The fiercest fighting took place on the outskirts of the major town of Maungdaw, near the Alodaw Pyae Buddhist monastery. Maungdaw resident Nay Myo Lin, 27, told Reuters by telephone that security forces opened fire on scores of what appeared to be Muslim men with guns near the monastery. Police shot at them to break up the group and then the men shot back in the direction of the entrance gate of the city, said Nay Myo Lin. As the fighting went on throughout the day, I was stuck in the monastery and didn t dare to go out. When the sound of gunshots stopped, I ran to my house, he said. Fearful Rakhine Buddhist residents in Maungdaw town gathered in homes while men stood guard by the windows, said Ohmar Lin, a female resident of the town. We don t go out of the house, but I am ready to fight - we are prepared with knives and sticks to protect ourselves if they come here, she said. The United Nations security team has sent an internal update to staff about the clashes, seen by Reuters, saying that Myanmar government officials had assured the U.N. about their readiness to provide troops to secure our compounds if it becomes necessary . The government said in a statement that: Extremist Bengali terrorists are attacking using man-made mines ... swords, sticks, guns. They also killed Islamic religious people of their own faith who were village administrators. The term Bengali is seen as derogatory by many Rohingya as it implies they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, although many can trace family in Myanmar for generations. The Myanmar army operation last year was heavily criticised internationally amid reports of civilian killings, rape and arson that a United Nations investigation said probably constituted crimes against humanity. Suu Kyi is blocking the U.N.-mandated probe into the allegations. Aid workers and monitors worry that the latest attacks, across a wider area than October s violence, will spark an even more aggressive army response and trigger communal clashes between Muslims and Buddhist ethnic Rakhines. Nearly 200 people were killed and around 140,000 displaced in communal violence in the state in 2012. In a statement late on Friday, Suu Kyi strongly condemned brutal attacks by terrorists on security forces in Rakhine State . I would like to commend the members of the police and security forces who have acted with great courage in the face of many challenges, she added. The government said it had evacuated officials, teachers and hundreds of villagers to army bases and main police stations. Some will be evacuated by helicopters and some will be taken out by the security forces, a military source based in Rakhine told Reuters. The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) which instigated the October attacks claimed responsibility for the offensive, presenting it as a defence against the Myanmar army. Myanmar declared ARSA, previously known as Harakah al-Yaqin, a terrorist organisation in the wake of the attacks. | 1 |
10,392 | WOW! Donna Brazile Was Warned To Protect Herself After Seth Rich Murder…When Brazile Asked Hillary To Use Some of Her Millions To Help Find Rich’s Murderer…Hillary Abruptly Ended Phone Call | Is former DNC Chair Donna Brazile attempting to tie Hillary to the murder of DNC staffer Seth Rich in her new book Hacks ? What does Brazile know? Is she in danger if she says too much? Is Brazile offering just enough information, so that authorities are pressured into looking into a connection with Hillary and Seth Rich s murder? From her book Hacks :I felt some responsibility for Seth Rich s death. I didn t bring him into the DNC, but I helped keep him there working on voting rights. With all I knew now about the Russians hacking, I could not help but wonder if they had played some part in his unsolved murder. Besides that, racial tensions were high that summer and I worried that he was murdered for being white on the wrong side of town. [My friend] Elaine expressed her doubts about that, and I heard her. The FBI said that they did not see any Russian fingerprints there.Daily Caller Brazile repeatedly returns to the subject of being haunted by Rich s murder, even though other Democrats have pounced on anyone who suggested that the murder was anything other than a robbery gone wrong. The DNC data staffer was killed days before Wikileaks began publishing its emails, and his valuables were not taken.100 Percent Fed Up The private investigator, Rod Wheeler, who was hired by the Rich family to get to the bottom of the murder of their son, DNC staffer Seth Rich, offered startling information on the Rich murder case when he appeared on the Sean Hannity show on May 15, 2017. Wheeler spoke about the mystery of why they can t locate the computer Rich used. They went on to discuss clues in the case that point to collusion between the DC police and the DNC. The most shocking information comes at the 4:20 mark when Wheeler says that a high ranking official at the DNC wanted to know why he was snooping around.Rod Wheeler: Here s one other thing that is going to be startling I m just gonna say this right now. I reached out to the police department way back in March when the family first hired me right..to get involved. I didn t hear anything from the police department for 2-3 days.Guess what I learned yesterday from the family of Seth Rich? The police department did not call me back because someone, a high ranking official at the DNC check this out a high ranking official at the DNC when I called the police department, they got that information and called the Rich family wanting to know, why was I snooping around? Shorty after WND wrote a story that outed Donna Brazile as the high ranking DNC representative who allegedly called the police to ask why a private investigator was snooping into Rich s death, Twitter SUSPENDED WND s account!Here s the title and an excerpt from the WND article:BOMBSHELL: DONNA BRAZILE WARNED OFF PRIVATE EYE ON SETH RICH MURDEREx-DNC chairwoman reportedly asked cops why investigator is snooping into mysterious case Alicia Powe and Liz Crokin wrote the story that was also posted to and deleted from the social media platform by Twitter: Former Democratic National Committee interim chairwoman Donna Brazile is the high-ranking DNC representative who allegedly called police and the family of murdered DNC staffer Seth Rich and demanded to know why a private investigator was snooping into Rich s death, the private eye revealed to WND Monday. The high-ranking DNC official that called the police after I inquired about Rich s case was Donna Brazile, veteran homicide detective Rod Wheeler told WND. Why shouldn t I reveal who it was? Brazile, who was also a CNN contributor and a Hillary for America donor at the time, was caught providing Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton with questions that would later be asked of Clinton at a televised CNN town hall. In an interview with Fox News before the election, Brazile denied leaking the questions to Clinton. But in a March 17, 2017, column for Time magazine, she finally admitted doing so, saying it was a mistake I will forever regret. According to WND, their Twitter account was suspended because of this Seth Rich investigation bombshell.Daily Caller But Brazile says she had a spook, with connections to the intelligence community, who told her after the killing that she needed protection for herself, including cameras, alarms and backup power at her house, and that she heeded his advice.I knew the campaign had over $3 million set aside in a legal fund. Could she help me get this lawsuit started? And don t forget the murder of Seth Rich, I told her. Did she want to contribute to Seth s reward fund? We still hadn t found the person responsible for the tragic murder of this bright young DNC staffer. You re right, she said. We re going to get to that. But she really had to go. She had made the call and checked it off her list, and I accepted after we said our goodbyes that I might never hear from her again. | 0 |
10,393 | Lebanon's finances can cope with PM resignation: finance minister | BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon and its financial institutions can cope with the impact of Prime Minister Saad Hariri s surprise resignation, Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil said on Monday. We are confident in the stability of the financial and monetary situation in the country. There are no very big challenges ahead of us, Khalil said in a televised statement after a meeting on the economy chaired by President Michel Aoun. The state is able to finance itself, he said. | 1 |
10,394 | U.S. appeals court sets May hearing on revised Trump travel order | (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court said on Monday it would hold a hearing in May over a Hawaii federal judge’s order that blocked President Donald Trump’s revised travel restrictions on citizens from six Muslim-majority countries. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals previously upheld a Seattle judge’s block of Trump’s first travel order. The appeals court did not say on Monday which three judges would preside over the latest appeal. Trump signed the revised ban last month, in a bid to overcome legal problems with his January executive order that caused chaos at airports and sparked mass protests before its enforcement was halted in February. Trump has said the travel ban is needed for national security. The state of Hawaii challenged the revised travel directive as unconstitutional religious discrimination. Hawaii and other opponents of the ban claim it is based on Trump’s election campaign promise of “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.” The Justice Department has also appealed a ruling from a Maryland judge against Trump’s revised executive order. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Virginia scheduled a hearing in that case for May 8. | 1 |
10,395 | Trump’s Administration Was Just Caught Up In Prostitution Scandal; Here’s How It Went Down (DETAILS) | While it can be said that no one is immune from punishment, a terrific example of that fact is how a Secret Service agent who was on Mike Pence s detail just got himself arrested.Why was he arrested? For getting caught soliciting sex from a prostitute.According to CNN: a Secret Service agent on Vice President Mike Pence s detail has been suspended from official duties after meeting a prostitute at a Maryland hotel. One law enforcement source says the agent was caught after police saw him exiting the hotel. Apparently, this is how it all went down: The police responded to a call from the hotel manager who became suspicious of activity in one of the rooms. The source said this was not a sting. Now, even though the agent was off duty and wasn t currently guarding the *vice president, it is still illegal to solicit sex.CNN reports: A Secret Service spokesperson, speaking on the record, acknowledges an alleged incident occurred and says it involved an off-duty Secret Service employee and said that the matter is under investigation by the Office of Professional Responsibility to determine the facts.According to the spokesperson, the employee was required to surrender his weapon and official gear and was placed on administrative leave. The employee s security clearance and access to all Secret Service facilities has also been suspended. Tsk tsk. You d think someone, especially in the Secret Service, would know better. Especially considering the history of prostitutes with agents in the Secret Service.Who can forget the Colombian prostitute scandal of 2012 when nine Secret Service agents had been discovered bringing hookers back to their rooms?Mike Pence s former Secret Service agent will be disciplined, but it still doesn t look good for the entire United States Secret Service, or the *vice president for that matter. And you can only guess the big guy in the Oval Office doesn t like it. No, not Bannon, the other big guy.(*pending investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election)Featured Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images | 0 |
10,396 | Despite expected U.S. troop hike, no end in sight to Afghan war | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - While President Donald Trump opened the door on Monday to beefing up U.S. forces in Afghanistan, he provided few details on how sending more troops will hasten a conclusion to America’s longest war. “There is no quick fix to this problem,” said Bill Roggio, an insurgency expert with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington-based policy institute, speaking before Trump’s speech. “Things will continue looking bleak for some time.” In his approximately 30-minute nationally televised address, Trump said he would “expand authority” for U.S. commanders to target militant networks that “sow violence and chaos throughout Afghanistan.” That paves the way to an increase in the 8,400 U.S. troop level in Afghanistan and broader rules of engagement as part of his plan to end a military conflict that began in 2001, U.S. officials said. But he declined to say how many more U.S. soldiers will be deployed or how long the U.S. force will be there. “Conditions on the ground, not arbitrary timetables” would guide the duration of U.S. military involvement, he said. His effective embrace of an open-ended U.S. deployment contrasts with the expectations of his political base that he would extract the United States from a war estimated to have cost more than $700 billion and claimed the lives of more than 2,400 U.S. service members. But Trump, who has railed against the war for years, finds himself boxed in. Taliban advances are raising the specter of a repeat of 1996, when Islamist militants seized power and provided al Qaeda with a sanctuary in which to plot the Sept. 11, 2011, attacks in New York and Washington. Moreover, the Afghan government is plagued by ethnic and political rifts and corruption and controls less than 60 percent of the country, similar circumstances that paved the way for the Taliban’s 1996 takeover. “The choice is between losing and not losing. Winning really isn’t an option,” said James Dobbins, who served as the U.S. special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan during the presidency of Barack Obama and is now a senior fellow at the RAND Corporation. “He (Trump) can lose quickly by withdrawing, he can lose slowly by standing pat” Dobbins said, adding that Trump “could not lose” by marginally increasing the U.S. force. The ostensible goal of Trump’s strategy is to help Afghan security forces reverse Taliban advances and create a military stalemate that eventually would compel rebel leaders to agree to a diplomatic resolution of the conflict. Yet Trump indicated that diplomacy would take a back seat to military operations, saying that, “Some day, after an effective military effort, perhaps it will be possible to have a political settlement that includes elements of the Taliban.” Sending more U.S. troops could “buy time for the Afghan government to increase its legitimacy and gain support for the Afghans, which will help them negotiate an end of the conflict,” said Scott Worden, an expert with the U.S. Institute for Peace. But Worden, also speaking before Trump’s speech, said more U.S. troops “alone are not going to outright defeat the Taliban. The military components of the strategy have to be coupled with an equal - if not greater - emphasis on managing the politics of Afghanistan and the politics of the region.” Obama tried and failed with what basically was the same approach. He presided over a far larger effort that at one point involved some 100,000 U.S. troops, considerable airpower, scores of CIA drone strikes on extremist sanctuaries in Pakistan, and billions of dollars for reconstruction and democratization programs. Obama also dedicated enormous diplomatic energy to ending the war, appointing a special envoy to coordinate negotiations. Not only has Trump eliminated that post, but the administration has proposed slashing the State Department budget by about 30 percent and has left scores of senior posts vacant. Obama freed five Taliban leaders from Guantanamo Bay and allowed the rebels to open an office in Doha. The Taliban freed captured U.S. soldier Bowe Bergdahl, but they refused to be drawn into talks. Trump signaled a tougher U.S. approach to Pakistan, warning that while it had “much to gain” by cooperating on Afghanistan, it would have to immediately stop “harboring” Islamist militants “who target” U.S. troops and officials. But again, he provided no details of how he planned to convince Pakistan to do so. U.S. officials have long accused Pakistan of failing to pursue top leaders of the Taliban and the allied Haqqani network and to end sanctuaries and support for the extremists from elements of the powerful military and army-run intelligence agency, an allegation Islamabad denies. | 1 |
10,397 | THAT’S GONNA LEAVE A MARK…Anti-Trump Punks Attack CA Police…Get BIG Surprise When Cops Hit Back! [VIDEO] | Are police officers finally getting sick and tired of walking around on eggshells while being disrespected and abused by the Obama-Soros F*ck The Police crowds? It s good to see our law enforcement officers actually doing what they re paid to do without coddling Bernie and Hillary s basement dwellers Watch: Protesters outside Trump rally start to attack SD police officers, who hit back. pic.twitter.com/4bSZHVQAck Jacob Rascon (@Jacobnbc) May 27, 2016Here s a video of a F*ck Trump sign carrier who was pepper sprayed by police. Watch the black man near the end of the video ask her, Was it worth it? Watch: Protester tries to recover after she is pepper sprayed in the face by a SWAT officer. pic.twitter.com/9nocgenykr Jacob Rascon (@Jacobnbc) May 28, 2016Here is a great time lapse video of thousands of Trump fans lined up to get into his San Diego, CA rally. It s interesting how there doesn t appear to be a single act of violence anywhere in this video:Time-lapse: Thousands of Trump supporters still in line for SD rally nearly five hours after doors opened. pic.twitter.com/fzcSpZAWV8 Jacob Rascon (@Jacobnbc) May 27, 2016Here are some of the responses to the YUGE San Diego Trump rally line by Twitter users:For the record and your future reporting: San Diego is NOT a big GOP area. Obama won SD County 55-44% in '08, 51.5-46.4% in '12! George Biagi (@hoyageorge) May 27, 2016https://twitter.com/nancyporras13/status/736351982521192448Here is a tweet from leftist San Diego councilman encouraging anti-Trump protesters. Saying San Diego will #StopTrump :This lady refuses to let go of the Trump pi ata. Says she will carry it until the end. San Diego will #StopTrump pic.twitter.com/BwTPqcGoq2 David Alvarez (@AlvarezSD) May 27, 2016https://twitter.com/realHJTrinity/status/736335102376955904 | 0 |
10,398 | Anti-Porn GOP Florida Lawmaker Was Just Caught Porning On Twitter | The GOP has a thing for porn. In 2016, Sen. Todd Weiler introduced legislation asking his state to recognize that porn is creating a public health hazard and Republicans thought that was a cool idea. Well, now it s 2017 and a Florida lawmaker who filed a similar proposal was just busted favoriting a porn tweet. You could say he got Ted Cruzed.Just a few days ago, State Rep. Ross Spano filed a bill to declare pornography a public health crisis in Florida, but from his Twitter account, it appears he liked a pornographic tweet.According to the Orlando Weekly, the Republican s list of likes on Twitter is typically football clips, Bible verses, and GOP-related content about how evil Islam is. But, nestled into his likes list is a tweet from Jan. 8 by the Goddess Lesbian Twitter account, which features a video clip from adult entertainment company Reality Kings. On that same day, Spano liked a Biblical quote-tweet from Franklin Graham but we re not sure if that was before or after he was watching lesbians having sexy-time in front of the camera.Screenshot!This wouldn t matter in the least except for the bill Spano filled, HR157, which the Orlando Weekly notes is incredibly harsh on adult content and he left that liked porn tweet up for nine months. It appears to be deleted now. Franklin Graham s liked tweet is still there, though.The bill, which is contrary to research, states that recent research indicates that pornography is potentially biologically addictive, resulting in the user consuming increasingly more shocking material to satisfy the addiction, and adds, Pornography has a detrimental effect on families and is linked to a reluctance to enter into marriage, dissatisfaction in marriage and marital infidelity. Spano says he didn t do it. It wasn t him being horny on Twitter.Obviously, I have a long social media history on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram since I was first elected in 2012. With a thorough examination of my accounts, it will be easy to see that this is not my doing. I have since gone back, once notified, and rectified the problem. And I m now looking into how it occurred in the first place.In addition, referencing my prior statement, I don t believe any of this takes the focus off of the fact that there is a direct correlation between pornography and a host of societal problems, including human trafficking, exploitation of children, sex slavery, and domestic violence.Sure, it wasn t Spano, it must have been that other Spano guy with the same Twitter account and password. Sounds legit!Image via YouTube screen capture. | 0 |
10,399 | South Korea conducts anti-terror drills ahead of Winter Games | PYEONGCHANG, South Korea (Reuters) - Set to host the Winter Olympics in February, South Korea conducted a series of security drills on Tuesday to prepare against terror attacks ranging from a hostage situation, a vehicle ramming a stadium and a bomb-attached to a drone. Police and firemen were among around 420 personnel participating in the exercise, held in front of the Olympic Stadium at Pyeongchang, just 80 km (50 miles) from the heavily fortified border with North Korea. During the simulated drills, members of a SWAT team shot down a drone with a bomb attached that was flying toward a bus carrying athletes. In another part of the mock exercise a terrorist took hostage athletes on a bus, and tried to ram the vehicle into the stadium before being gunned down by police. Officers in gas masks also removed a chemical bomb. Anxiety on the Korean Peninsula has been rising in recent months due to a series of missile tests by North Korea as it continues its pursuit of nuclear weapons in defiance of U.N. sanctions and warnings from the United States. Please keep in mind that accidents always happen where no one has expected, South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon said. Please check until the last minute whether there are any security loopholes. Lee did not mention North Korea, but South Korea s Defense Ministry on Friday flagged risks that North Korea could resort to terrorist or cyber attacks to spoil international events. Some 5,000 armed forces personnel will be deployed at the Winter Games, according to South Korean government officials and documents reviewed by Reuters. Pyeongchang s organizing committee for the 2018 Games (POCOG) has also hired a private cyber security company to guard against a hacking attack from the North, tender documents show. To minimize the risk of provoking an aggressive North Korean reaction during the games, South Korea has asked Washington to delay regular joint military exercises until after the Olympics, the Financial Times reported. A spokesman for South Korea s defense ministry said on Tuesday that nothing has been decided. | 1 |
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