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10,900 | The WORLD Is Terrified Of Trump’s Foreign Policy Speech, Here’s What They Had To Say | One thing has been made abundantly clear: Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump has no idea what he is talking about when it comes to foreign policy and diplomatic leadership. And whoever is in his ear and/or writing his speeches clearly doesn t either.After Trump made his foreign policy speech on Wednesday, not only did America react, but so did the rest of the world, with a number of foreign dignitaries speaking up and out against the real estate mogul s ineptitude.Germany s foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said: I can only hope that the election campaign in the USA does not lack the perception of reality The world s security architecture has changed and it is no longer based on two pillars alone. It cannot be conducted unilaterally. No American president can get round this change in the international security architecture . America first is actually no answer to that. Former Swedish prime minister Carl Bildt believes Trump s speech is abandoning both democratic allies and democratic values. Also adding, Trump had not a word against Russian aggression in Ukraine, but plenty against past U.S. support for democracy in Egypt. Former South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Sung-han seems outright terrified viewing Trump as the first isolationist to be U.S. presidential candidate, while in the post-war era all the U.S. presidents have been to varying degrees internationalists. Adding: Saying the U.S. will no longer engage in anything that is a burden in terms of its relationships with allies, it would be almost like abandoning those alliances. It will inevitably give rise to anti-American sentiment worldwide. Then there s the U.S. and Americas Programme at Britain s Chatham House think tank s Xenia Wickett, who said Trump s rhetoric, it suggests Trump would make America s allies less secure rather than more. He talked about allies being confident but all of his rhetoric suggested that America should be unpredictable and that America s allies needed to stand up for themselves. This has been the sentiment internationally for quite some time now from every corner of the globe. A Trump presidency would be bad news for everyone, not just in the United States, but worldwide. He simply has no idea what he s doing. If he were to become president, the damage made from his incompetence and inexperience in regards to foreign policy and international diplomacy could be so severe it could damage ties for decades to come. We cannot allow this to happen.Trump talks a good game to his imbecilic group of followers because, quite honestly, they don t know any better, and sounding big, tough and filled with nationalistic isolationist pride sounds good to them. Mostly because most of them don t even know the world beyond their front porch.America is strong when is stands together with its allies. Isolating ourselves is not only dangerous, but stupid. Saying our military is going to be the strongest ever in the world isn t only dangerous, but stupid. Making false claims about our international allies isn t only dangerous, but stupid. And stupid is as stupid does and stupid votes Trump.We must make sure we do all we can to make sure Donald J. Trump doesn t get anywhere near the Oval Office no matter who, vote blue. Not only for yourself and the nation, but the world.Featured Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images | 0 |
10,901 | Ex-Christie associates guilty in New Jersey 'Bridgegate' scandal | NEW YORK (Reuters) - Two former associates of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie were convicted on Friday for their roles in the “Bridgegate” lane closure scandal, following a six-week trial that served to further tarnish the Republican’s damaged reputation. Bridget Kelly, the governor’s former deputy chief of staff, and Bill Baroni, former deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, were found guilty in Newark federal court on all counts. They were convicted of fraud, conspiracy and depriving the residents of Fort Lee, New Jersey, of their civil rights. Christie, who is in charge of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s transition team, has not been criminally charged, but the scandal has torpedoed what was once seen as a promising political career. Christie on Friday again denied having had any advance knowledge of the scheme to choke traffic heading for the busy George Washington Bridge, which links New Jersey and Manhattan. “I had no knowledge prior to or during these lane realignments, and had no role in authorizing them,” Christie said in a statement following the verdict. “Anything said to the contrary over the past six weeks in court is simply untrue.” The scandal has dogged Christie, once seen as a potential presidential nominee before his campaign for the White House failed this year. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman John Podesta said on Friday Trump should ask Christie to resign as head of his transition team. Legal experts have said it is unlikely Christie would face any criminal consequences based on the trial testimony. Baroni and Kelly were accused of shutting down access lanes to the bridge in September 2013 in Fort Lee, New Jersey, creating a massive days-long traffic jam to punish the town’s mayor, Mark Sokolich, a Democrat, for declining to endorse Christie’s reelection campaign. The Port Authority, which runs the bridge, says it is the world’s busiest, carrying 102 million vehicles a year on the I-95 interstate highway, a major east coast traffic artery. Lawyers for Kelly and Baroni vowed to appeal. “This is not over,” Kelly’s lawyer Michael Critchley said outside the courthouse, with his arm around his weeping client. He said the judge had erred during jury instructions. Defense lawyers were furious when U.S. District Judge Susan Wigenton told jurors in response to a question they could convict Kelly and Baroni on conspiracy even if the act itself was not “intentionally punitive toward Mayor Sokolich.” Wigenton said prosecutors did not have to prove motive, even though their case had revolved around the political retribution. “By answering the way you’re answering, you’re directing a verdict of guilty,” an angry Critchley told Wigenton on Tuesday. Baroni’s lawyer, Michael Baldassare, told reporters the case was a “disgrace” and said the conviction would be overturned. “I am innocent of these charges,” a smiling Baroni said. Kelly and Baroni’s co-conspirator, former Port Authority official and confessed mastermind David Wildstein, had earlier pleaded guilty and appeared as the government’s star witness, detailing how the three schemed to pay back Sokolich. But Wildstein also implicated Christie, saying he and Baroni discussed the lane closures with the governor while they were ongoing. Christie, Wildstein testified, laughed at the notion that Sokolich was frustrated by the traffic. At the time, Christie believed that securing the backing of Democratic officials would burnish his national reputation, according to trial testimony. Kelly, who took the stand in her defense, testified she had discussed the lane closures with Christie a month beforehand, though she said she thought at the time they were part of a legitimate traffic study. “I take no pleasure in this verdict,” said U.S. Attorney of New Jersey Paul Fishman, a successor of Christie in that position. Fishman, whose office prosecuted the case, said he was saddened by the conduct of top government officials. Kelly and Baroni’s lawyers argued that Wildstein had orchestrated the plot himself and told them he was conducting a traffic study. Wildstein said on the stand the three of them knew all along that the study was a bogus cover story. Prosecutors showed jurors numerous exchanges that Kelly and Baroni each had with Wildstein, who operated as liaison between Baroni at the Port Authority and Kelly in the governor’s office. Those included Kelly’s now-infamous email to Wildstein that prosecutors said launched the scheme, in which she wrote, “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee.” Kelly and Baroni are scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 21. Each faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison on the most serious charge of fraud, though it is unlikely they would receive such a lengthy term. | 1 |
10,902 | Mexican police arrest suspect in crime journalist's murder | MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A man alleged to be behind the murder this year of a crime reporter in northern Mexico has been arrested by federal police, Chihuahua state Governor Javier Corral said in a statement on Monday. The suspect, identified as Juan Carlos Moreno Ochoa, alias El Larry , was detained in the neighboring border state of Sonora on Monday and was allegedly the intellectual author of the murder of journalist Miroslava Breach, the statement said. Breach was shot several times as she drove out of her garage on March 23. One of her children was with her in the car, but was not hurt. A man alleged to be the gunman in Breach s murder, Ramon Andres Zavala, was assassinated last week in Sonora, Corral s statement said. Moreno Ochoa was scheduled to be brought before a judge later on Monday to begin proceedings against him, the statement said. Reuters was unable to locate Moreno Ochoa s lawyer. At least 16 journalists have been killed in Mexico in the last three years, and 43 since 1992, making Mexico one of the world s most dangerous countries for reporters, according to the Committee to Project Journalists. | 1 |
10,903 | U.S. officials try to ease concerns Trump may quit Iran deal | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senior Trump administration officials said on Sunday that the United States was committed to remaining part of the Iran nuclear accord for now, despite President Donald Trump’s criticisms of the deal and his warnings that he might pull out. Nikki Haley, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said that Tehran is complying with the 2015 nuclear accord intended to increase Iran’s accountability in return for the lifting of some economic sanctions. “I think right now, you’re going to see us stay in the deal,” Haley told NBC’s “Meet the Press.” In a speech on Friday, Trump laid out an aggressive approach on Iran and said he would not certify it is complying with the nuclear accord, despite a determination by the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog that Tehran is meeting its terms. The Republican president threw the issue to the U.S. Congress, which has 60 days to decide whether to reinstate U.S. sanctions. He warned that if “we are not able to reach a solution working with Congress and our allies, then the agreement will be terminated.” So far, none of the other signatories to the deal - Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China, Iran and the European Union - have cited serious concerns, leaving the United States isolated. In her “Meet the Press” interview, Haley said the United States was not saying that Iran was in breach of the agreement, but she raised concerns about its activities that are not covered by the pact, including weapons sales and sponsorship of militant groups such as Hezbollah. Haley said that other countries were “turning a blind eye” to these Iranian activities in order to “protect” the nuclear agreement. She said the United States needed to weigh a “proportionate” response to Tehran’s actions on the world stage. “The goal at the end of the day is to hold Iran accountable,” Haley said in the interview, which mainly focused on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, as the nuclear deal is formally known. Haley and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson hammered away at the need to address what they see as shortcomings in the two-year-old international accord while simultaneously placing pressure to rein in Iranian activities outside the scope of that deal. Tillerson, alluding to other signatory countries’ opposition to reopening the Iran pact, raised the possibility of “a second agreement” to run parallel to the existing one. Among the “areas of concern” he mentioned were its sunset provisions and Tehran’s ballistic missile program. Haley also said the reason the United States was looking closely at the Iran nuclear deal is because of escalating tensions over North Korea’s nuclear weapons development. “What we’re saying now with Iran is don’t let it become the next North Korea.” On Friday, Trump also said he was authorizing the U.S. Treasury to sanction Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, and on Sunday Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he was planning to move ahead. Mnuchin, interviewed on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” said he has spoken about Iran with his counterparts attending World Bank and International Monetary Fund meetings in recent days. He did not provide any details on possible sanctions. U.S. Senator Susan Collins, appearing on ABC’s “This Week,” noted that Trump could have taken a more extreme step by withdrawing from the agreement. But in words of support for Trump, the moderate Republican lawmaker said, “Instead, he put a spotlight on two troubling deficiencies in the agreement,” referring to a lack of limitations on Iran’s tests of ballistic missiles and a “pathway to developing a nuclear weapon” down the road. While many U.S. allies strongly criticized Trump’s decision not to recertify the Iran deal, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the move, saying the current terms of the Iran nuclear accord would allow it to have a nuclear stockpile within a decade. “We cannot allow this rogue regime 30 times the size of North Korea’s economy to have a nuclear arsenal,” Netanyahu said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” | 1 |
10,904 | No breakthrough in Supreme Court dispute between Obama, Republicans | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican leaders of the Senate on Tuesday rebuffed President Barack Obama’s appeal for hearings and a vote on his U.S. Supreme Court nominee during a face-to-face meeting that failed to budge them from their vow to block any nominee he offers. Obama, planning to name a replacement for the late Justice Antonin Scalia in the coming weeks, huddled with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley in the White House Oval Office for less than an hour. “Senator Grassley and I made it clear that we don’t intend to take up a nominee or to have a hearing,” McConnell told reporters after the meeting. The meeting failed to produce any progress on how to proceed with finding a replacement for Scalia, a long-serving conservative justice who died on Feb. 13. McConnell and Grassley are insistent that Obama not pick a nominee and leave the decision to his successor, who takes office next January after the Nov. 8 U.S. presidential election. Obama is insistent that it is the Republican-led Senate’s constitutional duty to act on his nominee. “They made clear in their meeting with the president that they’re not going to change their mind just because the president says so,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said of the Republicans. Earnest said Obama still believes it was worthwhile to consult with the lawmakers before making his nomination. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid said Obama stated during the meeting he would be willing to consider candidates for the Supreme Court proposed by the Republicans, but McConnell and Grassley offered no names. “We killed a lot of time talking about basketball and other stuff,” said Reid, who attended along with the Judiciary Committee’s top Democrat, Patrick Leahy. Under the Constitution, the president nominates Supreme Court justices and the Senate must confirm them. Without Scalia, the court has four conservative and four liberal justices, meaning any potential Obama nominee could tip the court to the left for the first time in decades. McConnell and Grassley have said allowing the next president to pick the new justice would let voters have a say in the selection when they elect a new president. “Whether everybody in the meeting today wanted to admit it, we all know that considering a nomination in the middle of a heated presidential campaign is bad for the nominee, bad for the court, bad for the process and ultimately bad for the nation,” Grassley said in a statement. | 1 |
10,905 | Fox News Host Jesse Watters Takes ‘Vacation’ After Disgusting Comments About Ivanka Trump | Remember when Bill O Reilly took a vacation after his sexual harassment payoffs went public? Well, let s hope Jesse Watters vacation is permanent, too.Watters is a product of Bill O Reilly s former Fox News program. The racist and sexist segments known as Watters World often targeted specific groups in a sick and twisted version of right-wing humor. From there, Watters was promoted as a guest host and just days after beginning a full-time gig on The Five, he is already taking time off after making a crude oral sex joke about Ivanka Trump on the air.While discussing Trump being jeered and booed in Germany for hypocritically talking about empowerment of women, Watters complained about liberals attacking Ivanka and characterized those attacks as anti-women even though what liberals are criticizing for is her blatant hypocrisy. Ivanka claims to be a champion for women s rights but stands idly by while her father signs executive orders reducing protections for women. In short, she is complicit by staying silent.Anyway, Watters couldn t control himself and ended up making a sex joke about Ivanka only days after Bill O Reilly was fired for sexual harassment. And his joke came just after whining about how liberals are supposedly disrespecting women by booing Ivanka. I really like the way she is speaking into that microphone, Watters said while gesturing with his hands, implying that he s talking about oral sex.Here s the video via YouTube.Watters later tried to cover his ass by claiming that he was merely talking about her voice. On air I was referring to Ivanka s voice and how it resonates like a smooth jazz radio DJ, Watters wrote. This was in no way a joke about anything else. Viewers of Watters words and actions drew sharp criticism, especially from conservative writer John Podheretz, who referred to Watters as a disgusting creep. You are so full of shit it s coming out your ears, you disgusting creep. https://t.co/1cnrfc8rDC John Podhoretz (@jpodhoretz) April 26, 2017And now Watters is going on a vacation for the rest of the week.Again, Watters was only on his third day on the job as a full-time host of The Five and he couldn t control himself from making a crude sex joke about a woman. He demonstrated perfectly that the sexist environment at Fox News has not changed at all. It s merely been taken over by younger frat boys.If Fox News is serious about changing the culture at their network, they should make sure Watters stays on vacation. Featured Image: Screenshot | 0 |
10,906 | Iraqi forces take control of Kurdish-held areas in Mosul's Niveveh's province | BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi forces have taken control of areas previously held by Kurdish forces in Mosul s Nineveh province in northern Iraq, a military statement said on Wednesday. The areas were evacuated by Kurdish Peshmerga fighters before the arrival of the Iraqi forces on Tuesday, the statement said. The Peshmerga had taken them over the past three years as part of the war against Islamic State militants. The Mosul Dam, northwest of the city, is among the positions retaken from the Peshmerga, the military statement said. Responding to a Kurdish referendum on independence held last month, Iraqi government forces backed by Iranian-trained paramilitary groups captured the Kurdish-held oil region of Kirkuk on Monday, transforming the country s balance of power. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered the retaking of Kirkuk on Monday, as well as all disputed areas claimed by both the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government and the central authorities in Baghdad. | 1 |
10,907 | Russia expresses deep concern about North Korea nuclear test | MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Russian foreign ministry said on Sunday it was deeply concerned about a reported nuclear test by North Korea. The ministry said on its website that the test was a defiance of international law and deserved condemnation. It urged all sides involved to hold talks, which it said was the only way to resolve the Korean peninsula s problems. | 1 |
10,908 | Former Obama Advisor Rips Debbie Wasserman-Schultz Apart For Attacking Sanders (VIDEO) | If you ask members of the Democratic Party who is to blame for the rift in the party many of them will place the blame on Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz including former Obama advisor Van Jones.As the leader of the party, the last thing Schultz should be doing is criticizing one of our candidates, but she did. On Tuesday, Schultz told CNN s Wolf Blitzer that Bernie Sanders was condoning violence after the Nevada Convention erupted in chaos: [Sanders ] response was anything but acceptable. It certainly did not condemn his supporters for acting violently or engaging in intimidation tactics and instead added more fuel to the fire. It is never OK for violence and intimidation to be the response to that frustration. That s what happens with the Trump campaign. We can never resort to the tactics that they engage in. On Tuesday evening, Van Jones slammed Wasserman-Schultz s comments and said she is making the rift in the party worse: If you re gonna come out, you re gonna talk about violence, and you re the DNC chair, you ve gotta be fair about it. I think she made it worse. We need to bring these people together that did not happen First of all, Bernie did say in his statement that he was against the violence. Also, if you want to talk about violence, only one person s been arrested; it was a Hillary Clinton supporter, Wendell Pierce, arrested for assaulting a Sanders supporter. Jones is spot on. First of all, as I said, the only thing she should be doing is bringing our party together and frankly, she has failed miserably. Second, can Sanders supporters be obnoxious? Yes, but so are Clinton s. To say that Bernie Sanders is anything like Trump is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. Trump actually tells his supporters that he would hit someone if he could. He encourages violence at his rallies.As a person who has been to a Trump rally and a Sanders rally, I can tell you that the difference between the two atmospheres is like night and day. Bernie s was peaceful while Trump s was full of people hurling insults. The Nevada Convention got a little heated, but it was still nothing like a Trump rally. Schultz comments are a perfect example of why some people believe she favors Clinton over Sanders. Did she compare Hillary to Trump because one of her supporters hit a woman? No she did not. So, she should have kept her mouth shut about Bernie.I hate do not believe in the Bernie or Bust movement, but I do know that the leader of the DNC damn sure isn t helping matters. We are never going to get through to Busters with this kind of divisive nonsense.Watch Jones comments below:Featured image via Leigh Vogel/Getty Images | 0 |
10,909 | LOL! CNN Host Don Lemon Tells Viewers: “We will not insult your intelligence” By Reporting On Susan Rice Spying Scandal [VIDEO] | The most laughable news network in America just proved how unreliable they are when it comes to honestly covering the news. CNN s leftist propagandist host Don Lemon actually told viewers they would not be covering the most important story in the news because fake news publication The Washington Post says, there is no evidence that the Trump team was spied on illegally. He also claimed the story is nothing more than a diversion . In other words, we don t want you to believe that this scandal is real so we re not going to report about it Watch: | 0 |
10,910 | Saudi Arabia arrests 46 for stirring divisions: state media | DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi authorities said on Wednesday they had arrested 22 people, including a Qatari national, for using social media to spread dissent. Another 24 people were detained in the northern Hail region for stirring tribal divisions, the state news agency SPA reported. Neither report went into the details of the offenses. The announcements came days after a order from King Salman lifting a ban on women driving in the conservative Islamic kingdom. Saudi Arabia, alongside the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt, has also cut diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar accusing it of supporting militants and Iran - charges Doha denies. Citing a source in the newly-created Presidency of State Security, the counter-terrorism and domestic intelligence body, SPA said the 22 had been detained after authorities spotted videos on social media inciting against public order . The online postings stirred up feelings towards issues that are still under consideration, and incited people to commit crimes, SPA said. Separately, SPA carried a statement from the interior ministry saying that during unspecified investigations in Hail, people linked to the case were promoting lies and exaggerations about their circumstances in order to provoke sedition and tribal tensions . Soon after the two reports, Saudi Arabia s top clerical body, the General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Religious Scholars, issued a statement saying: Anyone who tried to harm the kingdom security and the unity of its people has committed a dangerous crime . | 1 |
10,911 | WATCH: Kellyanne Conway Says Worldwide Chaos Is A ‘Small Price To Pay’ For Banning Muslims | Donald Trump stooge Kellyanne Conway attempted to defend the unconstitutional Muslim ban on Sunday and failed miserably.On Friday, Trump signed an executive order banning immigrants from Yemen, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Syria, Somalia, and Libya from entering the United States.The order instantly caused mass chaos as businesses rushed to call back employees from overseas and airports became detention centers. Even people with green cards, which makes them American citizens, are being barred from entering the country.During an interview with Fox News host Chris Wallace, Conway ignored the worldwide chaos and actually had the gall to call it a good thing that somehow makes America safer. You re talking about 325,000 people from overseas came into this country just yesterday through our airports, Conway said when Wallace asked if Trump made a mistake by not thinking about the consequences of the order. You re talking about three hundred and some who have been detained or are prevented from gaining access to an aircraft in their home countries and must stay for now. That s 1 percent. And I think in terms of the upside being greater protection of our borders, of our people, it s a small price to pay. Here s the video via YouTube:Except that Trump s Muslim ban does not make America safer at all. In fact, it makes us less safe because extremists will use the ban as proof that America hates Muslims, which will be the perfect recruitment tool for terrorist organizations.For instance, this is how Iran responded to the order. While respecting the American people and distinguishing between them and the hostile policies of the U.S. government, Iran will implement the principle of reciprocity until the offensive U.S. limitations against Iranian nationals are lifted. The restrictions against travel by Muslims to America are an open affront against the Muslim world and the Iranian nation in particular and will be known as a great gift to extremists. So we can expect terrorist organizations like ISIS to use Trump s ban as a recruiting tool to persuade more people to align with them and commit acts of terrorism against the United States and nothing Trump does will stop them because his administration is far too incompetent to do so.The ban also would not have prevented any of the mass shootings conservatives point to as justification for the ban such as shootings in Ft. Hood, Orlando, and San Bernardino, because all of the shooters were natural born United States citizens.And Trump s ban did not include nations that are actually responsible for killing American citizens, such as Saudi Arabia, where the 9/11 hijackers were from and received funding.This Muslim ban is totally unconstitutional and targets people because of their religion. It goes against our values as a nation and every American should be horrified by what Trump has done. Our reputation around the world has just been sullied and we are going to pay a price in blood for it.Featured image via screenshot | 0 |
10,912 | Lebanese president says PM Hariri has been 'kidnapped': official | BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon s president has told foreign ambassadors that the country s prime minister Saad al-Hariri, who resigned suddenly last week in Saudi Arabia, has been kidnapped and must have immunity, a senior Lebanese official told Reuters on Saturday. President Michel Aoun has been convening high-level meetings with Lebanese politicians and foreign diplomats since Hariri resigned in a surprise broadcast from Saudi Arabia last week. Aoun made the remark in a meeting on Friday, the official said. | 1 |
10,913 | This 19 Second Video Of Trump Shows Why Democrats Should Not Support Israel (VIDEO) | Like all other presidents since George H.W. Bush President Obama has worked to build a closer relationship with Israel while still pushing them publicly to stop the development of their Jews only settlements that have all but made a 2 state solution impossible. The progressives in the Democratic party have pushed for accountability with Israel due to its horrific human rights violations against the Palestinians, which rules over them and denies them the most basic of human rights in the West Bank and Gaza. Yet, despite the billions of dollars of tax payer money we give but can t afford to give to Israel, politicians are tripping over each other to grovel to the American Israel Public Affairs committee (AIPAC), the powerful pro-Israel lobby group that can make or break a political career.That s why all the political candidates lined up to speak at the AIPAC conference yesterday (minus the only Jewish candidate Bernie Sanders) to see who can kiss Israel s a** the best; each of the Republican presidential candidates using Israel as a cudgel to hammer President Obama for not sufficiently bowing to the needs of the Israel first AIPAC conference.It was quite embarrassing to watch American leaders grovel to a group whose sole reason for being is to push the interests of a foreign country. Out of all of the pandering and ass kissing that happened at AIPAC there was one moment that brought a long ovation from the crowd. And this one moment really encapsulates the sense of entitlement for Israel.Trump s best line: with President Obama in his final year, yay! And the crowd erupts. One would think there was a Rosh Hashanah celebration with the kind of applause heard in the crowd, but alas it was a group of right wing Americans applauding President Obama being in his final year in office.Because from their vantage point President Obama is secretly trying to destroy Israel. Despite the billions of dollars sent each year, the diplomatic cover the president has provided Israel at the United Nations for its war crimes and apartheid state they hate him. Despite the years of partisanship by Prime Minister Netanyahu where he inserted himself into the 2012 Presidential election to help Mitt Romney or the multiple years of public defiance over international agreements on the Iran peace deal having brokered a deal with the Republican party to speak to Congress behind President Obama s back they blame him.AIPAC is upset because of the president s deal with Iran over its nuclear weapons and would rather see America s kids go to war on Israel s behalf than have the diplomatic solution the president was able to broker, which the great majority of US military leaders have called a good deal. They are also upset because the president has refused to raise Israel s welfare check to $5 billion a year from the current $3 billion we give them, despite the fact that we can t afford clean water in Flint, Michigan.One good word to to describe AIPAC s reaction to Trump s condemnation of the president is: ungrateful.Watch video here: With Pres. Obama in his final year yay, @realDonaldTrump says to cheers at #AIPAC2016: https://t.co/ivrbx3iG0B https://t.co/8iTFpuMZt9 CBSN (@CBSNLive) March 21, 2016Featured image via video screenshot. | 0 |
10,914 | Palestinians tell Trump they are still committed to two-state solution | RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday demanded a halt to Israeli settlement expansion in occupied territory and said he was committed to a two-state solution to the conflict with Israel after U.S. President Donald Trump suggested he could be open to alternatives. Abbas’s office issued a statement after Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke at a news conference in Washington before a meeting. At the news conference, Trump said to Netanyahu: “I’d like to see you pull back on settlements for a little bit.” But Trump also dropped U.S. insistence on a two-state solution, a longstanding bedrock of Middle East policy, upending a position embraced by successive administrations and the international community and a U.S. commitment to the eventual creation of a Palestinian state. Abbas said he agreed with Trump’s call for Israel to refrain from settlement building in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. “The presidency demands that (Israel) agree to (Trump’s call), and that of the international community, to halt all settlement activities including in occupied East Jerusalem,” the statement said. But the Palestinians stressed that they wanted the two-state option. “The Palestinian presidency stressed its commitment to the two-state solution and to the international law and international legitimacy in the way that secures ending the Israeli occupation and establish the Palestinian State with East Jerusalem as its capital.” Giving a convoluted response to a question on whether he backed a two-state solution, Trump suggested that he could abide by whatever the two parties decided. “I’m looking at two states and one state, and I like the one both parties like,” he said as he stood alongside Netanyahu. “I can live with either one.” Abbas’ statement added that the Palestinians affirmed their “readiness to deal positively with the Trump administration to make peace”. Talks have been frozen since 2014. The Palestinians seek to establish an independent state in the Israeli occupied West Bank, territory captured in the 1967 Middle East war and the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by Islamist Hamas, with East Jerusalem as its capital. | 1 |
10,915 | Harry Reid Wants The Government To Lie To Trump – For Very Good Reasons | Harry Reid is frightened, as all Americans should be. Donald Trump is about to receive security briefings, and with Trump s apparent complete inability to censor himself, and with his apparent ties to Russia, that s a very dangerous thing. Reid wants Trump to get fake security briefings. How would the CIA and the other intelligence agencies brief this guy? How could they do that? I would suggest to the intelligence agencies, if you re forced to brief this guy, don t tell him anything, just fake it, because this man is dangerous, Reid said in an interview with The Huffington Post Wednesday afternoon. Fake it, pretend you re doing a briefing, but you can t give the guy any information. This guy, he s part of a foreign power, Reid continued. We knew he liked Putin before this, but this is quite ridiculous. While Trump s big mouth has long been a matter of concern when it comes to the security briefings, we ve known for a long time that Trump s top advisor, Paul Manafort, is in bed with the Russians. But more recently on Wednesday, as a matter of fact Trump asked Russia to hack us again and find Hillary Clinton s missing emails. Trump denies he does any business in Russia, but as Mother Jones reports, that might be because of Russia. Trump has been trying to open the Russian market since before the Soviet Union fell. In other words, Republicans, Trump was trying to do business with our enemies, the Commies.Reid fell short of calling Trump a traitor, but he does compare it to modern history s biggest political scandal: Watergate. I think Watergate was something that people understood. It was wrong, morally wrong, for the president of the United States to be involved in such trivia, he said. What Trump is talking about is much worse than Watergate. Absolutely. Trump hit back with his typical I know you are but what am I? answer. He wants Hillary Clinton to be prevented from receiving security briefings. I have a real problem when Hillary Clinton, who gives open access to a phony server, is allowed to get these [classified] briefings.How does Hillary Clinton get a national security briefing, when she s been probably hacked? Source: Real Clear PoliticsTrump doesn t seem to understand that what Clinton did was nowhere near what he is engaging in as we speak. Harry Reid is right. Trump is dangerous. If they brief him, they should tell him nothing.Featured image via Alex Wong at Getty Images. | 0 |
10,916 | Next round of Syria talks in Geneva set for Nov 28: U.N. envoy | UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The next round of talks between Syria s government and the opposition will be held in Geneva on Nov. 28 the United Nations envoy to Syria said on Thursday. Staffan de Mistura, speaking to the U.N. Security Council via teleconference from Geneva, said the next round of talks should focus on the drafting of a new constitution and on a path toward United Nations-verified elections. | 1 |
10,917 | WATCH Elizabeth Warren Hilariously Mock ‘Loser’ Trump on Colbert Show | Donald Trump thinks he s qualified to be president of the United States primarily based on what he always touts as his business acumen, continuously propagating the idea that he s a good deal maker and a great negotiator, traits that he and his blind followers believe make him qualified to be the most powerful person on the planet. Not so says Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, who appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to point out that Trump is not only a bad business man but a loser business man. The always passionate Warren said: You inherit that kind of fortune from your father. Do you know what some of the analysts say? If all the money he d inherited from his dad, he d just put it into index funds, he d be just about as rich as he is today. In other words, he wasn t out there doing these fabulous deals. He started out rich, he cheated his way to getting richer. That is not going to build an America for hard-working people. Warren makes excellent points. According to analysts, if Trump, who is the ideal trust fund baby just left his inherited wealth alone in index funds, he would be worth the same today. Thus, his supposed dealings and negotiating skills are all a bunch of bulls**t in an attempt to present himself as qualified to be president.The hope is that people can see through the buls**t come November to ensure that this nutjob, who is the likely nominee for the nuttier Republican party never gets to the Oval Office.Watch video here:[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7rWXURt6PI] Featured image via video screenshot. | 0 |
10,918 | Bomb kills bomb disposal expert in Somalia's Puntland, al Shabaab suspected | BOSASO, Somalia (Reuters) - An army colonel in the semi-autonomous Puntland region who also headed the region s bomb disposal unit was killed on Tuesday after a roadside bomb he was defusing exploded, a military official said. The incident occurred on a road that links Bosaso, Puntland s second biggest city, with Galgala Hills which is controlled by al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab group. Colonel Osman Abshir Omar was killed after he started dismantling the bomb on Tuesday, one of his colleagues said. We were with the Colonel. He stopped the car, got down and started dismantling a bomb but it suddenly went off and killed him on the spot, Major Abdirizak Mohamed, who was among thesoldiers accompanying Omar, told Reuters. Al Shabaab claimed responsibility. We targeted the Colonel. We exploded the bomb, Abdiasis Abu Musab, al Shabaab s spokesman for military operations, said. Militant attacks in Puntland are rare compared to the rest of Somalia mainly because its security forces are relatively regularly paid and receive substantial U.S. assistance. Al Shabaab, which aims to topple Somalia s government and impose its strict version of Islam on the Horn of Africa state, has become more active in Puntland after being pushed out of its stronghold further south by African Union peacekeepers and the Somali army, officials say. This year there has been rise in violence in Puntland by a splinter group linked to Islamic State have attacked government troops. | 1 |
10,919 | Airlines limit Bali flights to guard against volcanic ash | DENPASAR, Indonesia (Reuters) - A window appeared to be closing on Friday for travelers stranded on the Indonesian holiday island of Bali as airlines cut back on flights, fearing a return of plumes of volcanic ash. An erupting volcano closed the airport for most of this week, stranding thousands of visitors from Australia, China and other countries, before the winds changed and flights resumed. Australian budget airline Jetstar said it would cancel nine flights on Friday after meteorological officials warned the ash could hit operations at Bali airport, about 60 km (37 miles) southwest of the Mount Agung volcano. Malaysia s AirAsia Bhd said it would only operate out of Bali during the day, as the ash could impair visibility at night and wind conditions in the area were unpredictable. They don t have an answer if they have space for us for the next flight, said Martim Cazado, a traveler who was trying to get home to Portugal via Singapore but had been unable to get a flight. He was worried he might be stuck waiting in front of the Bali airport s departure hall for a few days, he added. A column of white smoke and ash hung above Mount Agung, where tremors continued, meteorological officials said, although with decreasing frequency, while lava sparks flash at night. Ash was visible to the southeast of Mount Agung, the Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre said on its website. Volcanological sources indicate a larger eruption is still possible, it said. The wind was blowing the ash toward the east and the airport was clear for normal operations, Indonesia s transport ministry said in a statement. Jetstar and its parent, Qantas Airways Ltd, had planned up to 18 flights on Friday to ferry 4,300 passengers home to Australia, including one by a Qantas 747 jet. But Jetstar will cancel nine flights after a sudden change in today s forecast for this evening in Bali, it said in a website update. Other airlines with regular Bali flights, including Singapore Airlines Ltd and Garuda Indonesia, have not posted website updates on Friday evening s flight plans. Airlines avoid flying through volcanic ash as it can damage aircraft engines, clogging fuel and cooling systems, hampering pilot visibility and even causing engine failure. A tropical cyclone south of Java island altered wind direction in the area, including for Bali, where it could bring heavy rains and strong winds until Saturday, the Indonesian Meteorological, Climatological and Geophysics agency said. About 10,700 foreign and 6,400 domestic tourists left Bali on Thursday, airport data showed. Thousands of residents remain in a 10-km (6-mile) danger zone around the volcano, reluctant to leave for religious reasons or unwilling to abandon homes and livestock. A rescue team escorted 10 people off its southwestern slope on Friday, some of whom said they had endured days of falling ash and feared potentially deadly volcanic mud flows. An estimated 90,000 to 100,000 people live in the danger area near the volcano in eastern Bali. | 1 |
10,920 | Trump says he is working on plan to bring down drug prices | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he is developing a plan that will encourage competition in the drug industry and bring down prices for medicines, as the House of Representatives leadership unveiled a new health care plan. “I am working on a new system where there will be competition in the Drug Industry. Pricing for the American people will come way down!” Trump said in a Twitter post. | 1 |
10,921 | Kremlin says Putin, Erdogan discuss Syria in phone call | MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan discussed an upcoming meeting of the Astana process on the Syrian conflict in the Kazakh capital in late October, the Kremlin said on Saturday. During their phone conversation, Putin and Erdogan talked about joint efforts within the Astana process, including the creation of de-escalation zones in Syria, and further coordination towards resolving the Syria situation, the Kremlin said in a statement. The Astana talks are brokered by Russia, Turkey and Iran. In mid-September, the three countries agreed to post observers on the edge of a de-escalation zone in northern Syria s Idlib region largely controlled by Islamist militants. Putin and Erdogan also said the agreements reached between Russia and Turkey in Ankara in late September were being successfully implemented, particularly in trade and economic relations. Overall, the conversation was business-like and constructive, directed at strengthening bilateral cooperation and interaction on the regional agenda, the Kremlin said. The Russian-Turkish trade relationship has been affected by their dispute over supplies of Turkish tomatoes to Russia which Moscow is yet to fully restore. This dispute has been adding risks to Russian grain trade with Turkey. Russia, once the largest market for Turkish tomato producers, said this week it will allow purchases of 50,000 tonnes of Turkish tomatoes from only four Turkish producers from Dec. 1. The announcement came several days after Turkey, the second largest buyer of Russian wheat, said it had imposed a requirement for additional approval of Russian agriculture supplies by the Turkish authorities. | 1 |
10,922 | WATCH: Fox Anchor Chris Wallace Rips NRA Stooge A New One For Lying About Gun Control | Chris Wallace tore this prick apart.It s only been a week since a gunman shot and killed 58 people and wounded nearly 500 in Las Vegas with a fully automatic assault weapon.On Sunday, National Rifle Association executive director Chris Cox appeared on Fox News Sunday and began by appearing to suggest that the NRA is only calling for regulating bump stocks because NRA members were shot at the concert. You know, because non-NRA members apparently don t matter.Anyway, Cox went on to once again say that we should not be discussing gun control after this latest mass shooting and that we should wait in the name of common decency. Host Chris Wallace had a problem with that. You say common decency, let s wait, what s enough time? Wallace asked. I mean, here were 58 people killed, almost 500 injured. Is it common decency to wait a day, two days, a week, a month. I mean, it is understandable I know you don t agree with their solution but what s wrong with saying we need to address this? Of course, rather than answer the question, Cox turned the discussion into an attack on Hillary Clinton and other Democrats, all while whining about them have armed guards. Is that a sensible way to have this conversation, to try to turn it into class warfare, where if you re for gun control somehow you re part of an elite? Wallace responded.Indeed, after the numerous death threats directed at her during the 2016 campaign, including one by Trump in which he called for Second Amendment people to do something if she had won, it s understandable why Hillary Clinton would want security. It s not class warfare, Cox replied. It s what the American people want. And that s when Wallace buried him. That s not actually true. If you talk about background checks, if you talk about automatic weapons there are a lot of people, in fact a majority of people according to the polls who would like to see those gun controls. I have to say that I m put off at the argument, if you believe in gun control, you re an elite. I have to tell you, Mr. Cox, I know very few people who have armed body guards. One of the few people I know who has armed body guards is Wayne LaPierre. We can argue about the merits of it. But I think to dismiss people and say, Well, that s just the elite and they have armed guards, it seems to me does a disservice to your argument. Here s the video via YouTube.A CBS poll last year found that 57 percent of Americans support an assault weapons ban.And polls consistently show that 80 percent to 90 percent of Americans, including 74 percent of NRA members, want background checks for all gun sales.So, Cox was clearly lying and Wallace rightfully called him out for it.Featured Image: Screenshot | 0 |
10,923 | U.S. tip-off helped Russia thwart 'major' terrorist plot: White House | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. intelligence agencies provided advanced warning to Russia about a major terrorist plot in St. Petersburg, allowing Moscow to thwart an attack that could have killed large numbers of people, the White House said on Sunday. President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia called President Donald J. Trump today to thank him for the advanced warning the United States intelligence agencies provided to Russia concerning a major terror plot in Saint Petersburg, Russia, the White House said in a statement. | 1 |
10,924 | Obama: U.S., Southeast Asia can advance 'shared vision' on maritime disputes | RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Monday that the United States and Southeast Asian nations can advance a shared vision of rules and norms for resolving maritime disputes peacefully. Obama made the reference to the South China Sea, where China and several Southeast Asian states have conflicting and overlapping claims, at the beginning of a summit with leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). | 1 |
10,925 | Trump Goes DISGUSTINGLY Low With Assault On Hillary’s Family (VIDEO) | During the first presidential debate, Donald Trump threatened to attack Hillary Clinton with her husband s extramarital affairs. He has spent every day since bragging about how much credit he deserves for not pulling out Bill s infidelities as a weapon against his opponent.In an interview on Thursday, Trump said he would have had the right to take aim at the former president and his scandals for two reasons. First of all, said the GOP nominee, Hillary is a big meanie who has said horrible and false things about him. Second, Bill is fair game because he has been campaigning on his wife s behalf.Trump also tried to claim that the reason he chose to take such a high road is because Chelsea Clinton was sitting in the front row at the debate and he is such a classy, upstanding guy that he just couldn t bring himself to say those awful things in front of such a sweet young lady.When the reporter asked him why Bill s scandals reflected poorly on Hillary, since she wasn t the one who had actually done anything wrong, Trump s response was as disgusting as every other vile, misogynistic thing that comes out of his mouth. Well, you ll have to figure that out. I think it s pretty simple to figure that out, Trump replied.Featured image via Spencer Platt/Getty Images | 0 |
10,926 | Opposition says 150 civilians killed in Russian, Syrian raids on Idlib | AMMAN (Reuters) - Russian and Syrian jets killed at least 150 civilians and injured dozens in over a week of heavy bombing that shattered a six-month halt in intensive aerial raids in opposition-held northwestern parts of Syria, opposition rescue workers said on Wednesday. The renewed bombing campaign came after an array of jihadist rebels led by the former Qaeda offshoot in Syria last week waged a wide-scale offensive against government-controlled areas in northern Hama. We have pulled 152 bodies and we have rescued 279 civilians since the Russian and regime bombing campaign, said Salem Abu al Azem, a senior rescue worker from the opposition-run Civil Defence in Idlib, adding bodies were still being pulled out of the wreckage of buildings flattened by air raids. Russia s defense ministry says it is attacking hard-line Islamist militants. It denies accusations it has targeted infrastructure and medical centers to force rebels into local truces that effectively restore President Bashar al Assad s grip on the country. Civil defense officials and other humanitarian aid workers have documented the destruction of six hospitals, five defense centers, and power stations in the first few days of the bombing campaign alongside hitting camps where displaced civilians have been sheltering. Rebels and witnesses differentiate easily Russian jets from Syrian planes with the former flying in sorties at high altitudes making drops with devastating impact. The strikes began with intensive bombing of towns and cities in southern Idlib where the jihadists have a large presence but in recent days have spread to most towns across the province that borders Turkey. Thousands of families have fled from towns such as Jisr al Shqour and Jabal al Zawya to rural areas less exposed to daily bombing and shelling, aid workers said. The bombing campaign however comes shortly after a tripartite deal struck by Moscow, Ankara and Tehran to deploy an observer force in Idlib, a province where the former al Qaeda Syrian offshoot has cemented its control after it crushed opponents. The Kremlin said earlier this week Russia s president Vladimir Putin was expected to meet his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan on a visit to Ankara on Thursday. Syrian rebel officials says Turkey wants to get the approval of Moscow, the power with the dominant role in Syria, to press ahead with its widely anticipated plan to deploy troops in Idlib. | 1 |
10,927 | Clinton leads Trump by 12 points in Reuters/Ipsos poll | NEW YORK (Reuters) - Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton leads Republican rival Donald Trump by 12 percentage points among likely voters, her strongest showing this month, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on Tuesday. The Aug. 18-22 poll showed that 45 percent of voters supported Clinton, while 33 percent backed Trump ahead of the Nov. 8 election. Clinton, the former U.S. secretary of state, has led Trump, a New York businessman, throughout most of the 2016 campaign. But her latest lead represents a stronger level of support than polls indicated over the past few weeks. Earlier in August, Clinton’s lead over Trump ranged from 3 to 9 percentage points in the poll. The poll also found that about 22 percent of likely voters would not pick either candidate. That lack of support is high compared with how people responded to the poll during the 2012 presidential election between Democratic President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney. “Those who are wavering right now are just as likely to be thinking about supporting a third-party candidate instead, and not between Clinton and Trump,” said Tom Smith, who directs the Center for the Study of Politics and Society at the University of Chicago. During the latest polling, Clinton faced renewed scrutiny about her handling of classified emails while serving as secretary of state from 2009 to 2013, and Trump’s campaign chief, Paul Manafort, resigned after a reshuffle of the candidate’s campaign leadership team. Clinton held a smaller lead in a separate four-way poll that included Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson and Jill Stein of the Green Party. Among likely voters, 41 percent supported Clinton, while 33 percent backed Trump. Johnson was backed by 7 percent and Stein by 2 percent. The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online in English in all 50 states. Both presidential polls included 1,115 respondents and had a credibility interval, a measure of accuracy, of 3 percentage points. | 1 |
10,928 | SHOCKING REPORT: 99.5% Of Professors From Top 50 Liberal Arts Colleges Donated To Only Two Presidential Candidates | These leftist professors aren t just donating chump change either. The average donation from these leftist professors to Hillary s campaign is a whopping $1,043.75.Only Hamilton College History Prof. Robert Paquette has donated to a Republican candidate in the current election cycle from the top 50 liberal arts colleges in America.According to FEC third quarter reports released October 16, 47 professors at the top 50 liberal arts colleges in the country, as ranked by U.S. News & World Report, have given to presidential campaigns. Of those 47 professors, Hamilton College History Professor Robert Paquette was the sole donor to a Republican candidate, giving $150 to Carly Fiorina s campaign.The remaining 99.51 percent went to Democrat candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. The 46 other professors collectively donated $20,875 to Hillary Clinton and $8,417 to Bernie Sanders. Professors donating to Clinton have given an average of $1,043.75. Those giving to Sanders donated an average of $323.73. I do believe these numbers give an accurate representation of the political leanings of faculty on most college campuses, Paquette wrote in an e-mail to Campus Reform, especially allegedly elite liberal arts colleges like Hamilton College, where he claims to be the only out-of-closet conservative in a faculty of 200. After 35 years of experience in higher education, Paquette believes that the business has become a racket monopolized by the academic left. Paquette argues that with cover from spineless or sympathetic administrators, leftist faculty are able to keep their campuses liberal. Conservatives like himself can be prohibited from participating in searches for their own department and large endowment funds are lavished on faculty activists and their programmatic agendas. Paquette says that trustees know about the problem but [prefer] not to hear, see, or speak any evil to protect the elite brand of the college. When the search is expanded to include students, graduate/law professors, and administrators at the elite group of colleges, Paquette s donation is joined by an additional $6,150 to Jeb Bush, $150 to Ted Cruz, $2,000 to Carly Fiorina, $540 to John Kasich, and $250 to Scott Walker.Even so, only 10.84 percent of donor affiliates gave to Republican candidates, and their donations amount to less than 15 percent of total contributions.Historical giving patterns reveal a strong bias toward liberal candidates, especially at the nation s most elite colleges. In 2012, Campus Reform reported that 96 percent of Ivy League donations went to the Obama campaign. So far this cycle, over 95 percent of Ivy League affiliates have donated to Democrat candidates. Via: Campus Reform | 0 |
10,929 | EU to ban business ties with Pyongyang over nuclear tests | BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union is set to agree on Monday to ban business ties with North Korea, part of a new package of sanctions to isolate Pyongyang over its nuclear and missile programs. The practical impact of the moves is likely to be mostly symbolic: Brussels will impose an oil embargo and a ban on EU investment, but it sells no crude to North Korea and European companies have no substantial investments there. North Korean workers in the EU, of which Brussels estimates there are about 400 mainly in Poland, will face a lower limit on the amount for money they can send home and their work visas will not be renewed once they expire. The measures to be agreed by EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg go further than the latest round of multi-lateral sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council. The North Koreans appear to be uninterested in having the EU get involved as a peace mediator, said an EU diplomat. The North Koreans want direct talks with the United States, but President (Donald) Trump has ruled that out, the diplomat said. The sanctions will add three more top North Korean officials and six businesses to a blacklist banning them from travel to the EU and freezing their assets. That will take the total of those sanctioned by the EU to 41 individuals and 10 companies, a senior EU official said. Separately, U.N. sanctions target 63 people and 53 companies and institutions. We have in place everything that we possibly could do to try to get the DPRK to change their behavior, the EU official said, using North Korea s official name of the Democratic People s Republic of Korea. Although the EU does not export crude to North Korea, its aim is to push other countries to ban oil exports, either unilaterally or at the United Nations. The U.N. Security Council last month capped North Korean imports of crude oil, but China and Russia resisted an outright ban. Diplomats said that if Pyongyang launches more missiles, the EU could consider imposing sanctions on non-EU firms doing business with Pyongyang, as the United States has done. However, such secondary sanctions need clear evidence to avoid legal challenges and the bloc is reluctant to anger China, a top trading partner, by targeting Chinese people and firms. | 1 |
10,930 | House Democrats press Trump to release tax returns | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives ramped up their efforts to force the release of President Donald Trump’s tax returns, calling it a critical issue of transparency and national security. House Democrats said they would use a parliamentary procedure to file a petition aimed at forcing a vote on legislation requiring U.S. presidents to disclose multiple years of federal income tax filings. Representatives for the White House and House Speaker Paul Ryan did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Trump, a Republican and New York real estate developer who touted his business acumen in the 2016 presidential campaign, defied decades of precedent by candidates when he refused to release his tax returns, saying they were under audit. The Internal Revenue Service says audits pose no obstacle to releasing tax returns. Democrats, for their so-called discharge petition to move forward, would need to obtain signatures of support from the majority of the 435 lawmakers in the Republican-controlled House. Such a move could be a long-shot given that just two Republicans, Representatives Mark Sanford and Justin Amash, have signed on to sponsor the proposed bill that would then see a vote. The petition is the latest effort by Democrats on the issue as just two glimpses of Trump’s taxes have surfaced in media reports on his 1995 and 2005 filings. Democrats say Trump’s taxes are a national security issue given congressional investigations into possible ties between Russia and his campaign. They also cite concerns over potential conflicts of interest with his privately held global businesses. “How do we know when he makes policy decisions or, you know, trade deals ... with foreign countries that he is looking out for the American people and not lining his own pockets?” Democratic Representative Bill Pascrell said to reporters. | 1 |
10,931 | Egged off: EU summit venue switched after noxious fumes | BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Toxic fumes from kitchen drains forced the European Union on Wednesday to switch the venue of its summit in Brussels less than 24 hours before leaders were due to begin the two-day meeting. The Europa Building, also known as The Egg and opened only in January amid controversy over its cost, was evacuated for the second time in a week on Wednesday after catering staff were taken ill due to fumes suspected to be leaking from the drains. As a precautionary measure , the summit will now take place next door in the Justus Lipsius Building, an anonymous 1990s glass and stone-clad structure, which housed Europe s councils until the opening of the 321-million-euro ($378 million) Europa. The new building incorporates an exterior of jumbled salvaged window frames, a summit chamber painted a psychedelic patchwork, and an illuminated lantern containing several stories of offices that is visible from the street and known to locals as Van Rompuy s Egg after the Belgian former summit chair. About 20 kitchen staff were treated in hospital on Friday and an EU official said the Council and Belgian safety bodies were working on the assumption that Wednesday s incident was due to the same source. It was unclear how many staff were made ill on Wednesday. Highlights of the summit are likely include an address by British Prime Minister Theresa May to the other 27 on her Brexit plans over dinner on Thursday and a statement to be agreed by the 27 on Friday that will demand London offer tens of billions of euros more on its withdrawal in 2019 if it wants to start negotiating a future relationship based on a free trade pact. | 1 |
10,932 | BREAKING: Photo Of Terrorist Who Threatened To Kill 16 “White Devils” At U of Chicago Is Released | This is not a joke. I am to do my part to rid the world of the white devils. Jabari Dean (c.) leaves the U.S. Dirksen Federal Courthouse Tuesday with his lawyer (l.). (DNA Info)The black student was released today after threatening to murder 16 white kids. DNA Info reported: A college student who threatened to kill 16 white students or staff members at the University of Chicago leading the school to cancel classes Monday was ordered released from federal custody Tuesday.Jabari Dean, a 21-year-old electrical engineering student at the University of Illinois at Chicago, left the federal courthouse Tuesday afternoon with his mom and lawyer. He was charged Monday with transmitting a threat in interstate commerce, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.Dean posted threats from his mother s phone on the website Worldstarhiphop.com on Saturday and then later deleted it, but not before a tipster sent the comments to federal agents in New York, according to the FBI. I will be armed with a M-4 Carbine and 2 Desert Eagles all fully loaded, the online post states, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court. I will execute approximately 16 white male students and or staff, which is the same number of time Mcdonald was killed. I then will die killing any number of white policemen that I can in the process. This is not a joke. I am to do my part to rid the world of the white devils. Jabari posted this threat on the World Star Hiphop website:Via: Gateway PunditOf course, CNN reports the news of the campus shutdown at Univ. of Chicago without once mentioning the actual threat to kill 16 white devils in retaliation for the shooting death of Laquan McDonald:Here are a few tweets from #BlackLivesMatter mocking the decision of University Of Chicago for shutting down the campus in an effort to protect the lives of the 16 White Devils. #SAFETYISFORWHITEFOLKS because #UChicago literally is surrounded by an area where black people face a threat of gun violence every day. Francis (@DerekCaquelin) November 30, 2015A year ago @Olivia_A_Ortiz was publicly threatened with rape as was the entire class of '17. @UChicago shut ZIP down https://t.co/rHOQqdkS1f Ursula Wagner (@UrsulaCWagner) December 1, 2015And then there s this poor soul who s doing his part to stay on top of his intersectionality and white privilege game https://twitter.com/ira/status/671451417798819840That s not all that was on the mind of #BlackLivesMatter terrorists today. They spent quite a bit of time threatening any black pastor who even thinks about supporting white candidate, Donald Trump.If these Pastors start pushing Trump to our community there will be WAR. A lot of us ain't gonna let that shit ride. https://t.co/GlTg2L81bK Elon James White (@elonjames) November 30, 2015So who's gonna compile a list of every Black pastor that met with Donald Trump "on the behalf of the African American community?" Clarkisha Kent (@IWriteAllDay_) December 1, 2015Trump's peeping over dude's shoulder like an overseer https://t.co/RsyBxMaxMC Ctrl Alt Right (@lezzietechie) December 1, 2015Black preachers about to go cash they trump checks. https://t.co/mTKb57OXhX Frank Fontaine. (@ChillnCliffSide) December 1, 2015Because of course, the #BlackLivesMatter crowd is apparently down with the old white socialist dude, for no reason in particular other than the D after his name.I am running for president because 11 million undocumented people cannot continue living in the shadows. Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) November 30, 2015And just for fun, we re throwing in a micro and macro aggression tweet, because Russia, ISIS, and an invasion of unchecked Muslim refugees aren t nearly as important as microagressions https://twitter.com/krennylavitz/status/671481401984724992 | 0 |
10,933 | COP LAUNCHES BIKE AT ANTI-TRUMP TERRORIST In Philadelphia, As Masked Antifa Cowards Wage War On Trump Supporters [VIDEO] | Somebody buy that cop a beer Antifa protesters have allegedly waged war on Trump supporters in Philadelphia this afternoon, prompting police to step in.Popular conservative personality Jack Posobiec appears to be at the scene and is reporting on the clashes via his Twitter page.Images shared by Posobiec show members of Antifa clad in their trademark black hoodies and face masks burning American flags and attacking both police and peaceful rallygoers by setting fires and throwing smoke bombs.Here are photos and videos of anti-Trump thugs burning American flags and generally causing chaos in Philadelphia:Right now in Philadelphia, a massive black bloc is shutting down a pro Trump rally pic.twitter.com/QGqRFTbFB7 agitator in chief (@soit_goes) March 25, 2017Philly chanting "any time, any place, punch a nazi in the face!" | via @jpegjoshua https://t.co/1CbcjEdQMJ agitator in chief (@soit_goes) March 25, 2017This video shows the cowardly (masked) Antifa scum attacking innocent Trump supporters:Antifa Running Toward Trump March, Clashing with Philly Police pic.twitter.com/hgHdpFo1CJ Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) March 25, 2017Watch Philadelphia police officer launch his bike at Antifa coward:VIDEO: Philly Police Officer Hits Antifa Rioter With Bicycle pic.twitter.com/j6Rc9l5520 Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) March 25, 2017-Milo | 0 |
10,934 | experimental gm crops from dow chemical and dupont fail to repel pests | youtube censoring videos on censorship share in education google journalism youtube has yet again censored another educational video from prager university the content of the banned video criticism of censorship hopefully the irony of their choice to remove it isnt lost on youtubes executives the video titled the dark art of political intimidation was released last week and features kimberly strassel strassel is a wall street journal columnist who explains tactics commonly used by the leftists to shut down free speech from the right this included blackmail harassment and intimidation back in the irs started to target conservative nonprofit organizations intentionally groups were experiencing heavy delays when trying to aquire tax exempt nonprofit status this was an attempt to curb their political involvement in the election explained strassel a democratic prosecutor in wisconsin launched a shadow campaign of financial investigation against conservatives their houses were raided before sunrise with accompanying gag orders to keep them quiet about the raids the reason for all that was revenge for supporting the republican governor scott walker kimberly strassel highlights even more examples in the fiveminute video showing censorship of political opponents youtube placed the video into restricted mode which is a common filter used by schools libraries and parents to shield their children from outrageously obscene and graphic content newsbusters reports conservative radio host dennis pragers idea for prageru is to give students alternative nonprogressive takes on history civics and other issues theres no cursing no violence or any kind of indecency in any of them prager universitys videos including those that have been censored are all g rated this leaves questions about why the popular video platform is placing restrictions on them at least additional videos produced by the conservative not for profit educational organization that is prager university have been placed into restricted mode by youtube there is a petition circulating to stop the censorship which has aquired over signatures so far hopefully youtube will get its act together about restricting videos that pose no threat to children better yet they should make some key changes to their algorithms to prevent this from happening in the future a youtube statement given to wall street journal stated video restrictions are decided by an algorithm that factors in community flagging and sensitive content basically progressives tripped the algorithm in an attempt to limit free speech and political involvement from conservatives youtube has lifted the restriction on the dark art of political intimidation this past weekend thanks to the wall street journal giving them a very hard time over the censorship sources | 0 |
10,935 | Factbox: Trump on Twitter (July 12) - Hillary Clinton, Trump Jr., Bastille Day | The following statements were posted to the verified Twitter accounts of U.S. President Donald Trump, @realDonaldTrump and @POTUS. The opinions expressed are his own. Reuters has not edited the statements or confirmed their accuracy. @realDonaldTrump : - My son Donald did a good job last night. He was open, transparent and innocent. This is the greatest Witch Hunt in political history. Sad! [0619 EDT] - Remember, when you hear the words “sources say” from the Fake Media, often times those sources are made up and do not exist. [0632 EDT] - ISIS is on the run & will soon be wiped out of Syria & Iraq, illegal border crossings are way down (75%) & MS 13 gangs are being removed. [0805 EDT] - @WashTimes states “Democrats have willfully used Moscow disinformation to influence the presidential election against Donald Trump.” [0812 EDT] - Why aren’t the same standards placed on the Democrats. Look what Hillary Clinton may have gotten away with. Disgraceful! [0927 EDT] - The W.H. is functioning perfectly, focused on HealthCare, Tax Cuts/Reform & many other things. I have very little time for watching T.V. [0939 EDT] - "After 14 years, U.S. beef hits Chinese market. Trade deal an exciting opportunity for agriculture." bit.ly/2uiXGI2 [1620 EDT] - Getting rdy to leave for France @ the invitation of President Macron to celebrate & honor Bastille Day and 100yrs since U.S. entry into WWI. [1835 EDT] - Stock market hits another high with spirit and enthusiasm so positive. Jobs outlook looking very good! #MAGA [1906 EDT] - JOBS, JOBS, JOBS! #MAGA bit.ly/2ugaYbl [1912 EDT] - Big WIN today for building the wall. It will secure the border & save lives. Now the full House & Senate must act 45.wh.gov/5L8g1q [1924 EDT] - The 3 bills passed today by the House are important steps forward to end the horrific crime of human trafficking: 45.wh.gov/GKbrVi [1733 EDT] -- Source link: (bit.ly/2jBh4LU) (bit.ly/2jpEXYR) | 1 |
10,936 | People Are Now Hilariously Trolling Marco Rubio By Showing Up To Rallies Dressed As Robots (IMAGE) | Marco Rubio sounded so robotic during the last GOP debate that people are now trolling him by dressing up as robots.As you ll recall, Rubio had a terrible performance on Saturday night thanks to the efforts of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. Christie nailed Rubio for repeating the same line over and over again in a matter of minutes as if the Florida Senator malfunctioned and became a broken record. Let s dispel once and for all with this fiction that Barack Obama doesn t know what he s doing, Rubio said in response to Christie s charge that Rubio lacks the experience to be president. He knows exactly what he s doing. Rubio would go on to repeat the line several more times. Let s dispel with this fiction that Barack Obama doesn t know what he s doing. He knows exactly what he s doing. Here s the bottom line. This notion that Barack Obama doesn t know what he s doing is just not true. He knows exactly what he s doing. Christie didn t let Rubio get away with it either. Christie accused Rubio of being scripted. This is what Washington D.C. does, Christie said. The drive-by shot at the beginning with incorrect and incomplete information and then the memorized 25-second speech. That is exactly what his advisers gave him. It was a disaster for Rubio, especially since he looked to be rising in the New Hampshire polls. But now, he s seen as a robot who is pre-programmed to say certain things.And he s not going to able to forget about his robotic blunder any time soon.Some clever people had the brilliant idea to troll Rubio by dressing up as robots. In the Twitter image below, you can see two guys in their robot gear. One is named Marco Roboto and the other is called Rubio Talking Point 3000.Outside Rubio s 1st NH event today, per @InesdLC: Marco Roboto + Rubio Talking Point 3000, from @American_Bridge pic.twitter.com/ISqYoSg9cP Ben Siegel (@benyc) February 7, 2016As if the Republican primary couldn t get any stranger, we now have robots trolling the candidates and we have Marco Rubio to thank for it.Domo arigato, Marco Roboto. Featured image from Digital Journal | 0 |
10,937 | BREAKING: Trump Buildings Go On Lockdown As THOUSANDS Protest Trump’s Electoral Victory (VIDEOS) | Across the nation, thousands of upset American citizens are protesting Donald Trump s victory in the 2016 presidential election. Despite losing the popular vote, the deeply disliked candidate is poised to be the next President of the United States, and people aren t happy. Security teams and barricades have been deployed at various Trump properties as fear of damage escalates. Hundreds of people have gathered outside of his Chicago and New York buildings, and protests are happening in major cities from Oregon to Massechusetts.Dozens of other protests have also happened, centered at universities around the nation.Flags have been reported to be burned during protests in Portland, Oregon, with protestors marching and chanting fuck Donald Trump! The Mirror reports that People also burned an effigy of the President-elect, who will be officially sworn into office in January. As they go on to report, the protests aren t just domestic hundreds also gathered to protest the American embassy in London, as further evidence of the divide we have driven between us and our allies with this disasterous election.In Chicago, New York, DC, San Francisco, Seattle, Oakland, Philadelphia and elsewhere, live protests are happening right now. Various clips can be seen below.Trump Tower:San Francisco:Protestors chanting: Racist, sexist, anti-gay, Donald Trump go away pic.twitter.com/6PQu5waZ0p Nicole Nguyen (@itsnicolenguyen) November 10, 2016DC:Right now at the Trump Hotel in our Nation s capital. Shame on him. #election2016 #werestillwithher pic.twitter.com/pS6svMHPR3 daphne kiplinger (@daphnekiplinger) November 10, 2016The Guardian has live updates on the ongoing protests, and this article will be updated periodically.Featured image by Spencer Platt/Getty Images | 0 |
10,938 | Honduran candidate says Nasralla won, urges president to concede | TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Luis Zelaya, the third-placed candidate in Sunday s Honduran presidential election, said on Monday that Salvador Nasralla was the country s new leader, and urged the U.S.-friendly incumbent Juan Orlando Hernandez to accept defeat. | 1 |
10,939 | 'Nonsense': Powerful Republican denounces White House information shut-out | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An already contentious move by Republican President Donald Trump to block opposition Democratic lawmakers from getting information about his administration received its most scathing criticism yet on Friday - from one of the most powerful Republican members of the U.S. Senate. Judiciary Committee chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa, in a more than 2,100-word letter to the White House, asked Trump to rescind unprecedented guidance that told executive agencies they do not have to honor requests for information from lawmakers in the minority party, currently the Democrats. This week in hearings all over Capitol Hill members of both parties have criticized the information block. Democrats have posited that the Trump administration is trying to hide mistakes, problems or wrongdoing from them. Grassley, who has served in the Senate since 1981, called the guidance “nonsense” and described it as “a bureaucratic effort by the Office of Legal Counsel to insulate the executive branch from scrutiny by the elected representatives of the American people.” The Judiciary Committee has jurisdiction over the Justice Department and its Office of Legal Counsel, which published the guidance last month. Grassley said it goes against the U.S. Constitution by misrepresenting how Congress functions and trying to tell the legislative branch how to do its job. It also impedes Democratic lawmakers’ ability to check up on the president, a responsibility also laid out in the constitution, Grassley wrote in a letter replete with footnotes and case citations. “I know from experience that a partisan response to oversight only discourages bipartisanship, decreases transparency, and diminishes the crucial role of the American people’s elected representatives,” he wrote. “Oversight brings transparency, and transparency brings accountability.” The Justice Department declined to comment on Grassley’s letter or the guidance. The White House did not return a request for comment. The Office of Legal Counsel has not explained the impetus for publishing the opinion. The guidance did not single out Democrats by name. Instead, it addressed information requests to executive agencies from the highest-ranking lawmaker from the minority party sitting on congressional committees, called ranking members. The Republicans hold the majority in both the Senate and U.S. House of Representatives and therefore chair all the committees, with Democrats as ranking members. The opinion said that agencies only have to respond to information requests from committee chairs. Ranking member requests “do not trigger any obligation to accommodate congressional needs and are not legally enforceable through a subpoena or contempt proceedings,” it said. | 1 |
10,940 | Trump, Clinton court Ohio as White House race enters final 2 months | CANFIELD, Ohio/CLEVELAND (Reuters) - Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton opened a final two-month sprint to the Nov. 8 election on Monday with the Republican presidential nominee suddenly looking stronger as he and his Democratic rival took their bitter fight to Ohio. Both Trump and Clinton made overtures to a news media that each candidate sees as often hostile to them, talking to reporters on their private planes. Clinton’s session with reporters was her first news conference since last December. After eating a gyro at a diner in the Cleveland area, Trump rallied thousands of cheering supporters at a county fair in Canfield, and Clinton visited a brewery in Cleveland. For a time, their planes were parked about 200 yards apart at the Cleveland airport, a sign of Ohio’s importance in the election. Ohio is considered one of four swing states - those that are not clearly in the Democratic or Republican camp - that could prove decisive in the Electoral College vote that will ultimately determine the winner. The other swing states are Florida, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Trump was buoyed by more polls showing him in a competitive position. The latest Reuters-Ipsos poll showed Trump with 40 percent support vs 39 percent for Clinton, effectively ending Clinton’s bump up in the polls after the Democratic nominating convention. Other polls showed Clinton’s lead had shrunk. “I think we’ve had a great month,” Trump said. Clinton remained in a strong position to win the White House race, but Trump and his team cited his growing strength in opinion polls nationally and in several states where the election is likely to be decided to argue that his message is breaking through to voters. Clinton, who emerged into the public eye after days of raising money from wealthy donors behind closed doors, said she always knew the race would be close. “We’re just going as hard and fast as we possibly can to be organized for turning out the vote, because we’ve always thought this was going to be hard, and that’s why, you know, I’m not worried, I’m just working,” she said. Trump, shaking his fist triumphantly, plunged into a crowd at the Mahoning County Fair where supporters had built a replica of the wall that the Republican nominee has pledged to build along the U.S.-Mexico border. “This has been an unbelievable reception!” Trump said after maneuvering through a crowd of people who shouted his name, against a backdrop of food stands offering fare ranging from chicken on a stick to Italian sausages, fudge and fresh corn. Inviting reporters onto his plane for the first time since accepting the Republican presidential nomination, Trump said his focus going forward will be on how to create jobs for middle-class Americans. He has spent most of the past two weeks trying to clarify his position on illegal immigration, first flirting with a softening, then reinforcing his hardline approach, and then, on his plane, saying undocumented people might ultimately get on a path to a legal status once border enforcement steps are taken. “I’m all about the jobs now,” he said, saying his position on the immigration issue was now well known. He also pledged to participate in all three televised presidential debates, ending speculation that he might sit out one or more if he was not happy with the format. His first face-off with Clinton is at Hofstra University in New York state on Sept. 26. Clinton made her stop at a brewery in Cleveland before heading to a nearby Labor Day parade and rally, where she tested a new jab at her opponent: “Friends don’t let friends vote for Trump.” The Labor Day holiday traditionally kicks off the last stretch of campaigning ahead of the November election. Speaking to reporters on her new campaign plane, she took credit for Trump’s overture to the news media. Clinton, buffeted by controversy over her use of a private email server as U.S. secretary of state, has been criticized by Republicans and the news media for months for failing to hold a news conference. “I heard now that we’ve got this great plane, that Donald Trump actually invited his press on his plane where I’m told he even answered a few questions,” said Clinton. Trump’s rebound from a series of self-inflicted wounds follows the hiring of a new campaign management team, and the Republican nominee is showing more discipline on the stump. Trump has been helped by what his campaign said was a positive week last week, highlighted by a quick trip to Mexico, appearing side by side with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, and a visit to a black church in Detroit. But an immigration speech that Trump gave following his trip to Mexico drew criticism from some of his Hispanic supporters, and several backers advising him on the issue decided to part ways with his campaign. Trump aide Jason Miller said rising poll numbers showed that the campaign was moving in the right direction. “The trend lines are the important thing to point to,” Miller told Reuters. “The problem that Clinton has is there is no positive information flow for her campaign.” Clinton, who was President Barack Obama’s first-term secretary of state, appeared at few public campaign events during the latter half of August, instead raising funds at high-dollar events in the East Coast vacation spots of Martha’s Vineyard and the Hamptons, and with celebrities in Los Angeles and high-tech leaders in Silicon Valley. Clinton’s campaign announced that it had raised $143 million in August for her presidential bid and the Democratic Party. Clinton is again on the defensive over her use of a private email server and possible conflicts of interest with her family foundation while secretary of state, which have caused unease for some voters. But experts still see the Democratic nominee as the odds-on favorite to win the presidency. | 1 |
10,941 | “DIRTY JOBS” HOST MIKE ROWE Absolutely Destroys Guy Who Called Him A White Nationalist | Dirty Jobs host Mike Rowe went off on a guy who claimed Rowe is a white nationalist . The usual happy-go-lucky Rowe was clearly ticked when he wrote back to Chuck Adkins.Chuck Adkins asked Rowe: One of the tenants of white nationalism is that college educated people are academic elitists. Comment? No? I m not surprised. You never take a political stand because you don t want to alienate anybody. Its bad for business. I get it. But there is a current of anti intellectualism in this country promoted by Republicans. Those people love you, and they think your initiative is their initiative. Meanwhile, the rest of the world is kickin our ass academically. Rowe responded with a blistering rebuke of Adkins and the liberal media: Since we re being candid, allow me to say how much I dislike your post. Everything about it annoys me your smug and snarky tone, your appalling grammar, your complete lack of evidence to support your claims, and of course, the overarching logical fallacy that informs your entire position, Rowe wrote. What really bugs me though, is the fact that you re not entirely wrong. It s true; I haven t shared any political opinions this week, in part anyway, because doing so might very well be bad for business. What can I say? I work for half-a-dozen different companies, none of whom pay me to share my political opinions. I run a non-partisan foundation, I m about to launch a new show on Facebook, and I m very aware that celebrities pay a price for opening their big fat gobs. Gilbert Gottfried, Kathy Griffin, Colin Kaepernick, Milo Yiannopoulos even that guy from Google who just got himself fired for mouthing off. There s no getting around it the first amendment does not guarantee the freedom to speak without consequences. And really, that s fine by me, he continued. So no I m not going to share my personal feelings about Charlottesville, President Trump, or the current effort to remove thousands of statues of long dead soldiers from the public square. Not just because it s bad for business, but because it s annoying. I can t think of a single celebrity whose political opinion I value, and I m not going to assume the country feels any differently about mine, Rowe wrote. So, rather than blow myself up, or chime in with all the obvious observations about the cowardly scum in the pointy hats, I m going to talk instead about my belief that comments like yours pose a far greater threat to the future of our country than the existence of a memorial to Thomas Jefferson, or a monument to George Washington. Ready? Then Rowe started in on Adkins insinuations. You say that White Nationalists believe that everyone who goes to college is an academic elite. You then say that Republicans promote anti-intellectualism. You offer no proof to support either claim, but it really doesn t matter your statements successfully connect two radically different organizations by alleging a shared belief, Rowe said. Thus, White Nationalists and The Republican Party suddenly have something in common a contempt for higher education. Then, you make it personal. You say that Republicans love me because they believe that my initiative and their initiative are one and the same. But of course, their initiative is now the same initiative as White Nationalists. He continued Very clever. Without offering a shred of evidence, you ve implied that Republicans who support mikeroweWORKS do so because they believe I share their disdain for all things intellectual. And poof just like that, Republicans, White Nationalists, and mikeroweWORKS are suddenly conflated, and the next thing you know, I m off on a press tour to disavow rumors of my troubling association with the Nazis! Far-fetched? Far from it, Rowe continued. That s how logical fallacies work. A flaw in reasoning or a mistaken belief undermines the logic of a conclusion, often leading to real-world consequences. And right now, logical fallacies are not limited to the warped beliefs of morons with tiki torches, and other morons calling for more dead cops. Logical fallacies are everywhere. Not near done, Rowe wrote, As I type this, a Democrat on CNN is making an argument that says, because Thomas Jefferson owned slaves, those Republicans now opposed to tearing down his memorial are pro-slavery, and therefore aligned with the modern day KKK. That s a logical fallacy. Over on Fox, a Republican is arguing that any Democrat who has not yet condemned the Senator from Missouri for publicly wishing that Donald Trump be assassinated, is guilty of wishing for the exact same thing. That s a logical fallacy. Yesterday, on The Science Channel, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, a noted astronomer, tweeted that the ability of scientists to accurately predict the solar eclipse, was proof that predictions of global warming were also accurate. That s a logical fallacy. Then Rowe turned the tables on his accuser, continuing, Want to hear another one? Imagine something like this, unfolding over on MSNBC. Good Evening, America, our top story tonight Chuck Atkins is a racist! Why? Because he can t spell. Just look at his grammar! In a recent post on Mike Rowe s Facebook page, Mr. Atkins, while bemoaning America s global academic standing, not only misspelled elitist, he used tenants when he meant tenets. He neglected to use a hyphen in anti-intellectual, and he misplaced several commas and apostrophes! But why is he a racist, you ask? Simple. Because everyone knows racists are ignorant. Chuck Atkins is clearly a poor speller. Poor spelling and grammar are signs of ignorance. Ergo Chuck Atkins is a racist! Boom! The matter is settled! There s not much we can do about the news, but here on Facebook, I think we can do better. This isn t Twitter, Rowe said. We re not limited to a few inflammatory sentences and a flurry of emojis. Take a moment, Chuck. Think. Make a rational argument. Otherwise, just link us to a cat video. People love those, and they re almost never bad for business. (Unless of course, the cat gets hurt. People hate that.) Just don t assume that people will care about your beliefs, if you re not willing to back them up with some relevant facts and a rational conclusion. Here, for instance, are a few facts that matter to me, with respect to my foundation and the recurring charge of fostering anti-intellectualism. Rowe then defended his charitable work, writing, mikeroweWORKS is a PR campaign for the skilled trades. For the last nine years, we ve partnered with numerous trade schools, raised millions of dollars for work-ethic scholarships, and called attention to millions of jobs that don t require a four-year degree. But that doesn t mean we re anti-intellectual. We re not even anti-college. We simply reject the popular notion that a four-year degree is the best path for the most people. And we re hardly alone. Millions of reasonable people Republicans and Democrats alike are worried that our universities are doing a poor job of preparing students for the real world. They re worried about activist professors, safe spaces, the rising cost of tuition, a growing contempt for history, and a simmering disregard of the first amendment. These people are concerned that our universities once beacons of free speech now pander to a relatively small percentage of students who can t tolerate any political opinion that challenges their own. And they re concerned deeply concerned that millions of good jobs are currently vacant that don t require a four-year degree, or any of the catastrophic debt that comes with it. Returning to the original attack, Rowe concluded, Again these are not the concerns of anti-intellectuals. They are the concerns of people who care about the future of the country. I don t know how many of these people are Republicans, but I can assure you that no one who actually supports my initiative is remotely confused about my feelings on education, because I ve been crystal clear on that topic from the very beginning. To quote Thomas Jefferson, (while I still can,) If a nation expects to be ignorant and free and live in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be. On this point, my foundation does not equivocate. In other words, Chuck, I have no idea what The White Nationalists think about my efforts, or the Republicans, the Democrats, the elitists, the Italians, the Presbyterians, the unions, or the self-proclaimed anti-intellectuals. And really, I couldn t care less. My question is, why do you? Mike PS. Ok, I ve just re-read this, (in a desperate search for typos,) and I want to apologize for pointing out that you re a lousy speller. This is probably not the time to trot out The Grammar Nazi, but your tenor and tone pissed me off, and I responded in my own snarky way. Sorry, he wrote. PPS Maybe this is how political correctness begins? Maybe we start by correcting each other s grammar, and then move on to the business of correcting everything else? Today a missing hyphen, tomorrow a missing monument. Or, maybe not, he concluded. | 0 |
10,942 | Mattis reaffirms U.S. alliance with Japan 'for years to come' | TOKYO (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis wrapped up a visit to Japan on Saturday reaffirming Washington’s commitment to its defense treaty with Tokyo amid concerns about President Donald Trump’s approach to the region and the alliance. Mattis reiterated that provocations by North Korea, which is advancing its nuclear weapons and missile programs, as well as China’s growing assertiveness in the South and East China Seas, left no room for doubt about U.S. commitment to Japan’s defense. That was similar to the message that Mattis - making his first overseas trip since taking office - delivered in South Korea, Washington’s other key Asian ally, earlier in the week. He appeared eager to reassure Japan of U.S. resolve, after a 2016 election campaign in which Trump suggested both South Korea and Japan were benefiting from a U.S. security umbrella without sharing enough of the costs. “The U.S.-Japan alliance is critical to ensuring that this region remains safe and secure – not just now, but for years to come,” Mattis told a joint news conference with Japanese Defense Minister Tomomi Inada. But in what could been seen as a subtle prod to Japan to do more, he added: “But make no mistake: in my meetings with Japanese leaders, both our nations recognize that we must not be found complacent in the face of the emerging challenges we face. “As our alliance grows, it will be important for both our nations to continue investing in our defense personnel and capabilities.” Mattis said Tokyo’s financial support for U.S. troops in Japan had been a “model of cost-sharing” while Inada told the same news conference there had been no discussion of whether Japan should increase that funding. Mattis also noted that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has increased defense spending since taking office in December 2012, a move he said was “on the right track.” Japan’s defense spending is around 1 percent of gross domestic product, compared to around 2 percent for China and over 3 percent for the United States. DEEPER THREE-WAY TIES Mattis also repeated that Trump’s administration would adhere to Washington’s commitment to defend disputed East China Sea islands that are under Japanese control but claimed also by China, an assurance that Tokyo has been keen to hear. Inada said she told Mattis that Japan would play a proactive security role, in line with legal changes enacted under Abe that eased the limits of its pacifist constitution on its military’s operations overseas. At the start of her talks with Mattis, Inada said she hoped his visit to Seoul and Tokyo would deepen three-way security ties. Japan’s relations with South Korea have frayed recently due to a feud over wartime history, just as tensions over North Korea make cooperation vital. “South Korea is an important neighbor,” Inada said. “I want to link Secretary Mattis’ visit to Japan and South Korea to the further deepening of defense cooperation among the three countries.” Japan’s relations with South Korea have frayed recently due to a feud over wartime history, just as tensions over North Korea make cooperation between the two allies vital. Japan last month temporarily recalled its ambassador to South Korea over a statue near the Japanese consulate in Busan city commemorating Korean “comfort women”. The term “comfort women” is a euphemism for women forced to work in Japanese military brothels. Tokyo says the statue, put in place late last year, and another near the Japanese embassy in Seoul, violate a December 2015 agreement stating the issue - which has long plagued ties - would be “irreversibly resolved” if all conditions were met. | 1 |
10,943 | obamas secret muslim list | search form search from bad to worse obamas ransom payment to iran is just the tip of the iceberg in his bid to pursue a legacy obama charts disastrous course with reckless abandon november ari lieberman
most of us including several democratic lawmakers cringed when obama inked the iran deal but those of us who are familiar with the malevolent nature of the iranian regime recoiled in horror when we learned that obama transferred million to the iranians in exchange for four american citizens held captive by the mullahs on trumped up charges the million was part of a larger installment totaling billion ostensibly to settle claims iran had against the united states stemming from aborted iranian arms purchases dating back to the shah obama claimed that this was money that was owed to iran and the settlement which included billion in interest saved the us taxpayer billions because the iranians were demanding even more at the hague tribunal where the claim was being adjudicated
the timing and method of the cash transfers were disquieting to say the least and raised serious questions of legality as well as broader geopolitical concerns the americans were freed only after iran received its million the payment which was airlifted in the dead of night in an unmarked cargo plane was made in untraceable cash stacked on wooden pallets the iranians demanded swiss francs and euros rather than dollars and a pliant obama agreed to the islamic republics dictates gleeful iranian leaders were quick to announce victory and claimed that the payment was indeed a ransom contradicting the administrations adamant denials
even within the administration there was confusion about whether the payment was in fact a ransom state department spokesman mark toner came very close to acknowledging this fact when he noted that the million was used as leverage to ensure the americans safe return the white house however quickly repudiated the state departments characterization
even if one were to believe the story peddled by the administration the mere appearance of a quid pro quo payment potentially exposes the us to extortion and hostagetaking the iranians certainly believed it was a ransom payment and more likely than not every twobit dictator on the planet saw it that way as well
but there are deeper more troubling aspects to this convoluted story in his january address to the american people obama tried to put a positive spin on his dealings with the islamic republic but as noted by rick richman in an excellent article featured in mosaic the deal struck with the iranians was rotten to its core and the administration deliberately kept the american people in the dark about various aspects of the shady arrangement
the million that the us transferred to iran came from irans foreign military sales fms account with the pentagon the balance of billion ostensibly represented interest accrued since but obama neglected to note that when iran filed its lawsuit the us filed counterclaim against iran for million for iranian breaches of its obligations under the fms program the us could have conceivably won that counterclaim which would have meant wooden pallets of cash for the american treasury courtesy of the islamic republic
moreover american plaintiffs maintained sixteen us court judgments against the islamic republic stemming from that regimes involvement in terrorist activities those judgments totaled billion in compensatory and punitive damages
some plaintiffs sought to recover their judgments directly from irans fms account but their efforts were stymied by the clinton administration instead under a convoluted deal struck between congress and the clinton administration in the us treasury was to pay the holders of the judgments against iran for the amount of their compensatory damages and percent of their punitive damages up to the amount in the fms fund the judgments would then be subrogated to the united states which meant that judgments became direct us claims against the iranian government
iran ignored the judgments and never paid any of the plaintiffs under us law the million sitting in the fms account should have gone back to the us treasury which had already paid the judgment holders but the us treasury never collected a dime on the subrogated claims since obama shipped the money off on wooden pallets to iran essentially the us taxpayer ended up footing the bill for irans terrorism while the iranians were never held accountable for their maleficence
obamas actions represented blatant disregard for the law for the victims of terrorism and for the american taxpayer his claim of saving the taxpayer billions represents the zenith of mendacity
obama claimed that the payments had to be made in cash because existing sanctions prohibited normal banking procedures but as noted by richman the sanctions regimen expressly permits payments made to settle iranian claims instituted at the hague exposing yet another lie by the obama administration
there was one and only one reason why the iranians requested cash and all but the most disingenuous know what that reason is the iranians are the worlds foremost statesponsors of international terrorism they finance terrorist groups and proxy militias throughout the region and internationally but can only do so through illicit means that circumvent normal methods of financing hence they demanded untraceable cash the misery that we are currently witnessing in syria yemen and elsewhere is due in no small part to the obama administration which provided the iranians with the cash necessary to keep operations flowing
in addition to the billion in cash obama also authorized the release of seven convicted iranian felons and expunged warrants on others but this aspect of the transaction seems almost trivial when considering the sheer mendacity and illegality of nearly every other aspect of the deal
lastly the transfer of such a large sum to iran in settlement of an alleged legal claim required the attorney generals approval but the administration has yet to produce any document bearing loretta lynchs signature authorizing such payment on october sen marco rubio r fla and rep mike pompeo r kan presented lynch with a series of questions seeking clarification of various aspects of the deal lynch whose tenure as attorney general is proving to be as corrupt and partisan as her predecessor has inexplicably refused to answer the lawmakers queries
in a desperate attempt to establish a legacy obama pursued the iran deal with reckless abandon forfeiting positions previously regarded as red lines and signing the worst deal in us diplomatic history the ancillary deal struck with the iranians concerning american hostages was laced with outright lies and enabled the iranians to continue their reign or regional terror more importantly it may also have been in violation of existing us law and lynchs stonewalling only lends credence to that notion | 1 |
10,944 | U.S. lawmakers say Trump administration still lacks clear North Korea plan | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers said high-profile briefings by the Trump administration on North Korea on Wednesday failed to provide the firm strategy they had hoped for dealing with what they described as a major national security threat. As a standoff escalated over the reclusive Asian nation’s development of nuclear weapons and long-range ballistic missiles, President Donald Trump welcomed all 100 members of the Senate to a highly unusual meeting at the White House complex, with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and Marine General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. While administration officials often travel to the Capitol to brief lawmakers on national security issues, this time the entire Senate hopped on buses to the White House. Vice President Mike Pence and the four officials later briefed the House of Representatives. That classified meeting took place in a secure auditorium at the Capitol complex. The briefings came as Trump tries to put the best face on his first 100 days in office. He has signed executive orders to roll back Democratic policies but the period has been defined by an absence of any major legislative achievements. A few Democrats dismissed the Senate White House “field trip” as little more than a photo opportunity. Some Republicans were a little more enthusiastic. “It was an OK briefing,” Senator Bob Corker, the Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told reporters as he arrived back at the Senate. “I’m not certain I would have had the briefing today,” he said. Asked if the administration had a firm strategy, Senator John McCain, who chairs the Armed Services Committee, said, “They’re developing one.” This week, Trump has discussed North Korea with U.N. ambassadors, increased the U.S. military presence in the region, and leaned on China to pressure Pyongyang. Tillerson will chair a U.N. Security Council meeting on Friday to discuss tougher sanctions. After their briefing, members of the House expressed confidence in the administration officials who spoke, but some said they had real concerns. Representative Brad Sherman, a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he was not convinced that the administration would do enough to control Pyongyang. “I regard that level of resolve as very modest, weak and maybe even phony. The only way to put enough pressure on North Korea is to get China to do it,” Sherman told reporters. Mac Thornberry, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said the administration wants to use “a variety” of tactics to push North Korea to give up its nuclear ambitions and said he agreed that all options must be on the table. “We have to have incredible military presence in the region, including missile defense, especially for this regime,” he said. | 1 |
10,945 | George Lucas Gives Verdict on New Star Wars Spin-off ‘Rogue One’ | Jack Shepherd The IndependentDespite George Lucas selling the rights to Star Wars to Disney years ago, the creator remains integrally linked to the series.According to Rogue One director Gareth Edwards, Lucas has now seen the upcoming spin-off and, much to everyone s relief, thoroughly enjoyed the film.Speaking to an audience of journalists, Edwards told of how Lucas s opinion was the most important one, and his reaction meant he could die a happy man .According to Sunday World, Edwards said: Two days ago we got to show George the more, and we all had a phone call and I got to speak with him yesterday, and I don t want to put words into his mouth, but I can honestly say that I can die happy now Continue this story at The IndependentREAD MORE HOLLYWOOD NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Hollywood Files | 0 |
10,946 | France expects slow but massive impact from labor reforms: minister | PARIS (Reuters) - President Emmanuel Macron s labor reforms will be slow to bear fruit but eventually have a massive impact on France s stubbornly high unemployment, his labor minister said Tuesday after data showed a slowdown in new job creation. Though business and consumer confidence has been soaring, France s strengthening economy has so far only translated into limited labor market gains. Job creation was the slowest in two years in the third quarter, when the economy added 44,500 new jobs, the fewest since the third quarter of 2015 and down from 88,300 in the previous three months, statistics agency INSEE said on Tuesday. In his first major reform as president, Macron overhauled France s labor rules in September to give companies more freedom to set working conditions, a move aimed at encouraging them to hire more workers. We can t expect a massive effect in the very short term. It will only come in the medium term. However it will be robust and more massive, Labour Minister Muriel Penicaud told journalists in a quarterly update on the jobs market. Despite the improving economy, the unemployment rate ticked up to 9.7 percent in the third quarter from 9.5 percent in the previous three months. Economists say this was probably caused by the end of a hiring premium for small firms and a reduction in the number of government-subsidised job contracts. Only two percent of 1,000 French employers surveyed by staffing firm ManpowerGroup expect to expand their hiring plans in the first quarter of 2018, down from four percent expected for the final three months of this year. However, the outlook varies widely by firm size, with 19 percent of companies employing more than 250 people expecting a net increase in hiring in the first quarter, according to ManpowerGroup s survey. After the labor reform, the government next wants to overhaul the professional training system, which currently receives 32 billion euros annually in public and private funds ($37.67 billion) but has little impact on unemployment. Companies cannot find skilled labor even though their order books are full. I hear that every day, said Penicaud, who is a former human resources director at Danone. | 1 |
10,947 | Arabs, Europe, U.N. reject Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israeli capital | LONDON (Reuters) - Arabs and Muslims across the Middle East on Wednesday condemned the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel s capital as an incendiary move in a volatile region and Palestinians said Washington was abandoning its leading role as a peace mediator. The European Union and United Nations also voiced alarm at U.S. President Donald Trump s decision to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and its repercussions for any chances of reviving Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking. Major U.S. allies came out against Trump s reversal of decades of U.S. and broad international policy on Jerusalem. France rejected the unilateral decision while appealing for calm in the region. Britain said the move would not help peace efforts and Jerusalem should ultimately be shared by Israel and a future Palestinian state. Germany said Jerusalem s status could only be resolved on the basis of a two-state solution. Israel, by contrast, applauded Trump s move. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a pre-recorded video message that it was an important step towards peace and it was our goal from Israel s first day . He added that any peace accord with the Palestinians would have to include Jerusalem as Israel s capital and he urged other countries to follow Trump s example. [L8N1O660O] Trump upended decades of U.S. policy in defiance of warnings from around the world that the gesture risks aggravating conflict in the tinderbox Middle East. The status of Jerusalem is home to sites holy to the Muslim, Jewish and Christian faiths. Its eastern sector was captured by Israel in a 1967 war and annexed in a move not recognized internationally. Palestinians claim East Jerusalem for the capital of an independent state they seek. Israel deems Jerusalem its eternal and indivisible capital dating to antiquity, and its status is one of the thorniest barriers to a lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, in a pre-recorded speech, said Jerusalem was the eternal capital of the State of Palestine and that Trump s move was tantamount to the United States abdicating its role as a peace mediator. The last round of U.S.-brokered talks foundered in 2014 over issues including Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank and Israeli accusations of Palestinian incitement to violence and refusal to recognise it as a Jewish state. The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which has dominated Gaza since soon after Israel ended a 38-year occupation in 2005, said Trump had committed a flagrant aggression against the Palestinian people . Hamas urged Arabs and Muslims to undermine U.S. interests in the region and to shun Israel . Protests broke out in parts of Jordan s capital Amman inhabited by Palestinian refugees, with youths chanting anti-American slogans. In the Baqaa refugee camp on Amman s outskirts, hundreds roamed the streets denouncing Trump and urging Jordan to scrap its 1994 peace treaty with Israel. Down with America...America is the mother of terror, they chanted. Angry Palestinians switched off Christmas lights at Jesus traditional birthplace in the West Bank town of Bethlehem and in Ramallah. A tree adorned with lights outside Bethlehem s Church of the Nativity, where Christians believe Jesus was born, and another in Ramallah, next to the grave of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, were plunged into darkness. All Palestinian factions called for a general strike and protest rallies at midday on Thursday. The Saudi Royal Court issued a statement saying that the kingdom followed with deep sorrow Trump s decision and warned of dangerous consequences of moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem . The statement described the move as a big step back in efforts to advance the peace process , and urged the U.S. administration to reverse its decision and adhere to international will. Egypt, which forged the first Arab peace deal with Israel in 1979, brushed off Trump s decision and said it did not change Jerusalem s disputed legal status. Jordan said Trump s action was legally null because it consolidated Israel s occupation of East Jerusalem. Lebanese President Michel Aoun said Trump s Jerusalem decision was dangerous and threatened the credibility of the United States as a broker of Middle East peace. He said the move would put back the peace process by decades and threatened regional stability and perhaps global stability. Qatar s foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, said Trump s undertaking was a death sentence for all who seek peace and called it a dangerous escalation . Turkey said Trump s move was irresponsible . We call upon the U.S. Administration to reconsider this faulty decision which may result in highly negative outcomes and to avoid uncalculated steps that will harm the multicultural identity and historical status of Jerusalem, the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement. A few hundred protesters gathered outside the U.S. consulate in Istanbul, a Reuters cameraman at the scene said. The protest was largely peaceful, though some of the demonstrators threw coins and other objects at the consulate. Iran seriously condemns Trump s move as it violates U.N. resolutions on the Israel-Palestinian conflict, state media reported. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said earlier in the day that the United States was trying to destabilize the region and start a war to protect Israel s security. In Southeast Asia, the leaders of Muslim-majority Indonesia and Malaysia denounced Trump s action. This can rock global security and stability, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, leader of the world s largest Muslim-majority nation, told a news conference in which he called for the United States to reconsider its decision. British Prime Minister Theresa May disagreed with Trump s embrace of Jerusalem as Israel s capital before a final-status agreement as this was unlikely to help nurture peace in the region, her spokesman said. However, May s spokesman welcomed Trump s stated wish to end the conflict and his acknowledgement that the final status of Jerusalem, including boundaries within the city, must be subject to negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. French President Emmanuel Macron said he did not support Trump s unilateral move. The status of Jerusalem is a question of international security that concerns the entire international community. The status of Jerusalem must be determined by Israelis and Palestinians in the framework of negotiations under the auspices of the United Nations, Macron told reporters in Algiers. France and Europe are attached to a two-state solution - Israel and Palestine - living side by side in peace and security within recognised international borders with Jerusalem the capital of both states, he said. For now, I urge for calm and for everyone to be responsible. We must avoid at all costs avoid violence and foster dialogue, he said. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said there was no alternative to a two-state solution and Jerusalem was a final-status matter only to be settled through direct talks. I have consistently spoken out against any unilateral measures that would jeopardize the prospect of peace for Israelis and Palestinians, Guterres said. I will do everything in my power to support the Israeli and Palestinian leaders to return to meaningful negotiations. | 1 |
10,948 | BREAKING NEWS: REINCE PRIEBUS GONE! Trump Tweets Replacement | Establishment Republican Reince Priebus is gone The establishment Republican so many have blamed for White House leaks or ties to White House leakers met his fate today. After only 6 months as President Trump s White House Chief of Staff, Trump went around the media and announced on Twitter he was being replace with General John F. Kelly:I am pleased to inform you that I have just named General/Secretary John F Kelly as White House Chief of Staff. He is a Great American . Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 28, 2017 and a Great Leader. John has also done a spectacular job at Homeland Security. He has been a true star of my Administration Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 28, 2017Mr. Priebus, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, lost his job just hours after the president s signature drive to repeal his predecessor s health care program collapsed on the Senate floor and a day after an ugly feud with the new communications director erupted in a public airing of the deep animosities plaguing the White House.The announcement capped a fraught 24 hours in which the president s advisers waited for a change they had long anticipated. Mr. Priebus accompanied Mr. Trump on Air Force One for a day trip to Long Island as his fate was being decided. Making for a tense flight, his rival, Anthony Scaramucci, the communications director who had publicly vowed to force Mr. Priebus s resignation, was also on the plane and in the motorcade.Was Priebus the leaker? According to a report by Mediaite, Fox s The Five host and friend to the president, Kimberly Guilfoyle told President Trump on Wednesday night he was Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle appears to have echoed Anthony Scaramucci s sentiments on Reince Priebus to President Donald Trump during a Wednesday night dinner at the White House, only without the profanity.The Five co-host was invited, along with her colleague Sean Hannity and former Fox News Executive Bill Shine, to the White House Wednesday night to dine with the president. And a report from The New York Times alleges that Guilfoyle told Trump that his Chief of Staff was a problem and a leaker during that dinner. According to an anonymous source who was briefed on their conversation, Guilfoyle also told the president that Priebus was someone who was not serving his agenda. On Thursday night, Guilfoyle confirmed to her co-hosts on The Five that she did have dinner with the president. And while she refrained from going into detail about her conversations with Trump, she claimed that he was in a very, very good mood and was enthused about his agenda going forward.Guilfoyle didn t go after Priebus on-air, but she did say that something needs to be done regarding to the numerous White House shakeups. MediaiteIn barely half a year on the job, Mr. Priebus never won the full confidence of the president nor was granted the authority to impose a working organizational structure on the West Wing. Always seeming to be on the edge of ouster, Mr. Priebus saw his fate finally sealed a week ago when Mr. Trump hired Mr. Scaramucci, an edgy Wall Street financier, over the chief of staff s objections. Mr. Priebus s ally, Sean Spicer, the press secretary, resigned in protest. NYT | 0 |
10,949 | UK foreign secretary says Hariri should return to Lebanon | BEIRUT (Reuters) - British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said on Sunday he hopes Saad al-Hariri, who announced last week from Saudi Arabia that he was resigning as prime minister of Lebanon, returns to Beirut without further delay . In a statement, Johnson said he had spoken with Lebanese foreign minister Gebran Bassil on Sunday and reiterated Britain s support for Lebanon. Johnson said Lebanon should not be used as tool for proxy conflicts and its independence should be respected. | 1 |
10,950 | MSNBC’s CHRIS MATTHEWS Compares Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner To Saddam Hussein’s Murderous, Rapist Sons…”Couldn’t Have Eye Contact With Them Without Getting Killed” [VIDEO] | To say the leftists in the media are completely unhinged would be an understatement During his latest segment, MSNBC s unhinged Chris Matthews compares Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner, two of President Trump s most trusted confidants, to the murderous, kidnapping, rapist, thug sons of deceased Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.While discussing Ivanka and Jared Kushner with Politico reporter Annie Karnie, Matthews expresses his concern over the (clearly dangerous and threatening <sarcasm>): Uday and Qusay working for Saddam Hussein, you couldn t go to restaurant and have eye contact with one of those guys without getting killed. These people are really powerful. Imagine getting into a fight in the office with Jared or Ivanka. They have enormous power and they re always gonna be there. Watch: | 0 |
10,951 | Comey Drops BOMBSHELL On Sessions: I Don’t Want To Be Alone With Trump (VIDEO) | The entire nation is now waiting with bated breath for fired FBI Director James Comey to testify in open session Congress in what might be the biggest political event since election night. That will not take place until Thursday, and in the meantime, bombshells keep dropping from the White House especially on the subject of just how troubled Comey was by Trump s behavior. In fact, it seems that Comey was so uneasy that he actually told Attorney General Jeff Sessions not to leave him alone with Trump.The New York Times is reporting that Trump s inappropriate requests for Comey and the FBI to drop certain elements of the Russian hacking investigations made him uncomfortable enough that he went to Sessions and told him that he and his agency needed him to be a firewall of protection from investigation meddling from the West Wing of the White House. Comey, however, never told Sessions specific details of just what had him so worried when it came to Trump; after all, Sessions and Trump are notoriously close, and it is not a certainty that Sessions is completely trustworthy in these matters, either.When asked about these conversations with the now-former FBI Director, the Department of Justice only said: The attorney general doesn t believe it s appropriate to respond to media inquiries on matters that may be related to ongoing investigations. So, in other words, there s no denial here that these conversations took place. This is quite a development, considering that the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation was so deeply concerned about the behavior of the nation s chief executive that he simply could not bring himself to be alone in a room with him.Trump s problematic behavior causes Obama Justice Department Official Matthew S. Axelrod to weigh in. He said: You have the president of the United States talking to the director of the F.B.I., not just about any criminal investigation, but one involving his presidential campaign. That is such a sharp departure from all the past traditions and rules of the road. Indeed, if this behavior is not illegal, it is, at the very least, wildly inappropriate and unethical. Thursday should be a goldmine of new revelations from Comey. Hopefully, said revelations get us at least a step or two closer to being rid of this Trumpster fire of an administration. Here is video reporting of these revelations, via the New York Times:Featured image via screen capture from the New York Times | 0 |
10,952 | [VIDEO] #BlackLivesMatter Terrorists Storm Dartmouth Library, Threaten Students: ‘F*ck You, You Filthy White F*cks!’ | They were probably just looking for a safe space to study Protesters at Dartmouth University disrupted students studying in the library, reportedly directing profanity towards white students and physically pushing others.In a critical editorial, the conservative Dartmouth Review listed some of the epithets hurled by the protesters: Fuck you, you filthy white fucks! F*ck you and your comfort! F*ck you, you racist shits! In addition, the Review reports that some of protesters became physically violent: Men and women alike were pushed and shoved by the group. If we can t have it, shut it down! they cried. Another woman was pinned to a wall by protesters who unleashed their insults, shouting filthy white bitch! in her face. Campus Reform managed to obtain video showing the protesters walking through the library shouting as others try to study. One of the protesters can be seen flipping off the cameraman. Another gets in the face of those who are studying demanding they say that black lives matter.One of the protesters posted online, saying they were ashamed of what the protest turned into. After making a girl cry, a protester screamed Fuck your white tears, he reports. I was startled by the aggression from a small minority of students towards students in the library, many of whom were supporters of the movement. Watch above, via Campus Reform. Via: Mediaite | 0 |
10,953 | LIBERAL SMACKDOWN! Sean Spicer Zings Reporter Over Trump’s Comey Tweet [Video] | The faux outrage from the press over any and every move that President Trump makes is getting so old! Just ask Sean Spicer He showed his awareness of the ridiculousness of the press with this SMACKDOWN of a reporter during his press conference today:I love how Spicer dismisses the biased media and moves on. This is exactly how you have to deal with them. #PressBriefing pic.twitter.com/q5E50HZPXb Alex (@SoCal4Trump) May 12, 2017HERE ARE SOME OF OUR FAVORITE SPICER MOMENTS:Everyone who has ever watched a Sean Spicer press conference has witnessed the melt down and completely childish behavior of the leftist media. This video perfectly illustrates how childish our media acts and how Sean Spicer responds to them, as though he s talking to a group of kindergarten students.Hilarious!This is by far the funniest video I've EVER seen showing WH reporters behaving like kindergartners. LMAO #FlashbackFriday pic.twitter.com/X9PO7oOnOg Cris (@ThePatriot143) April 7, 2017WE THINK SEAN SPICER LEADS THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION FOR THE BEST ZINGERS HERE ARE A FEW OF OUR FAVORITES:SHE GOT SPICED! White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer zinged Alexis Simendinger after the Real Clear Politics reporter whined to Spicer to call on her fellow commie from the New York Times.The mainstream media is clearly a leftist clique united against the Trump administration. On Thursday, Spicer called on Simendinger during a heated press briefing.Instead of asking her own question, Alexis snarked: Could you help us all by calling on Peter right now? Could you call on the New York Times, please? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dT68A4lQXUCNN continues to trail the other two news networks in ratings Here s why: Wolf Blitzer was interviewing the RNC s Sean Spicer and kept pushing the false narrative that Trump is tied to neo-Nazi groups. Spicer finally got sick and tired Blitzer asking the same question to push the narrative and blew up at him CNN is Disgusting!You ve Asked Me Eight Times!Sean Spicer Blows Up When Wolf Blitzer (Wolfie the blinker) Pushes on Neo-Nazis #CrookedMedia pic.twitter.com/Gf57Wv6WyI TRUMP ANOMALY (@ANOMALY1) November 23, 2016 | 0 |
10,954 | Rep. John Lewis Reminds Us All How Far We’ve Come With Chilling Bloody Sunday Tweets | Anyone who knows anything about the Civil Rights Movement and its highlights knows about Bloody Sunday. It was the Sunday in the late winter/early spring of 1965 where many civil rights leaders and protesters lost their lives at the hands of law enforcement and others who wanted to keep racism alive on a legal level. Roughly 600 people assembled in Selma, Alabama after a march from Montgomery that Sunday March 7, 1965 and today is the 51st anniversary of that March.Another widely known fact is that esteemed and celebrated U.S. Congressman John Lewis was there. Not only was he there, but he was beaten within an inch of his life for protesting for the civil rights of black people. Luckily, he survived to tell the tale, and has decided to tweet the timeline of what happened to him and others in the time leading up to that fateful day. Here are the highlights:I was arrested for the first time 56 years ago today during a nonviolent sit-in to protest segregated lunch counters pic.twitter.com/Xp2C9K8oLa John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) February 28, 2016He reminded us what he and others went through so that EVERYONE has the right to vote:The Vote is precious, it is almost sacred. I gave a little blood to guarantee that every American has the right to vote. Do your part. John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) March 1, 2016Jim Lawson friend, mentor was expelled from Vanderbilt 56 years ago today for his role in organizing the Nashville sit-ins #goodtrouble John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) March 3, 2016Jim Lawson is one of the great unsung heroes of the Movement. He freed me. He liberated me. We all owe him a debt. pic.twitter.com/z2tXkjwiOm John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) March 3, 2016It's good to be back in Selma one more time. https://t.co/eGB4W8jtW3 John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) March 6, 201651 years ago today, we said a prayer before setting out from Brown Chapel to march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. pic.twitter.com/bt2gJFDuPb John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) March 7, 2016At the apex of the bridge, high above the Alabama River, Hosea Williams asked if I could swim. I said no. #Selma51 pic.twitter.com/dlEXA8dJ6X John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) March 7, 2016Major John Cloud said, "This is an unlawful march. It will not be allowed to continue." #Selma51 pic.twitter.com/Gw5pHCHJDM John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) March 7, 2016The Major paused for a minute and then he said, "Troopers advance!" pic.twitter.com/rN8Br6bqse John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) March 7, 2016I was hit in the head by a State Trooper. I thought I saw death. I thought I was going to die. #Selma51 pic.twitter.com/N4CDxv2vJG John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) March 7, 2016I had a concussion there at the bridge, and I've never been able to recall how any of us made it back alive #Selma51 pic.twitter.com/TlJRfyrikO John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) March 7, 2016Finally, at the end of his harrowing tweeted story, Rep. Lewis reminded us just how much things HAVE changed, with a powerful photo of himself embracing President Obama, the first Black president:When people tell me nothing has changed, I say come and walk in my shoes and I will show you change. #Selma51 pic.twitter.com/y4WWtowIeZ John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) March 7, 2016And then, he made sure we realize just how very far we still have to go:We've come a great distance since Selma, but we still have miles to March if we are to build the beloved community. pic.twitter.com/Hb9c5M0pRV John Lewis (@repjohnlewis) March 6, 2016Thank you, Rep. Lewis, for sharing your story, and for all you sacrificed and did for all of us. Also, thank you for reminding us that it s nowhere near over just yet.Featured image via Rep. John Lewis Twitter | 0 |
10,955 | A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS: A Lone Socialist Takes This Ironic Message To Trump | We re gonna go out on a limb and guess that this young man s presence will only harden the resolve of most Trump supporters to support his campaign Lone Bernie fan before Trump appearance at OK State Fair. Tyler Woodfin, 21, OU student. pic.twitter.com/6YTAo4wYLr Rosie Gray (@RosieGray) September 25, 2015 | 0 |
10,956 | GOP Chairman Freaks Out Over This Trump Decision That Will Lose The Election | Despite the racial outbursts, the insistence that he keep attacking his former primary rivals even though the primaries are over, and the overall haphazard way he is campaigning, Republican chairman Reince Priebus insists that all is well between him and nominee Donald Trump.Of course, like so much in this campaign, that isn t the truth. Behind the scenes, Trump is making a critical error that could doom his attempt to win the presidency more than a simple racist comment, and it is driving the party chairman nuts.Meanwhile, the Trump high-dollar fund-raising operation is showing signs of duress, people here say. A joint fund-raising agreement was hatched last month to split proceeds between the RNC and the Trump campaign. And while the first joint fund-raisers have gone well, RNC chair Reince Priebus has phoned some associates expressing frustration that Trump wants to direct dollars to his own ambitious plans, according to a person who has spoken directly with Priebus, which includes quixotic bids to win deep blue states like California and New York.The RNC did not respond to a request for comment.There isn t any data to indicate that a win in traditionally blue states is remotely possible for Trump to pull off. Most polling has shown that his best shot would come with a winning streak in so-called purple states, the same states that both John McCain and Mitt Romney tried to target against President Obama that have swung between both parties with a difference of one percentage point or less.By comparison, no Republican has won California and New York since Ronald Reagan s epic landslide victory in 1984, which was 32 years ago. Both states have delivered huge, lopsided victories to Democratic presidential candidates for decades, and both also consist of the diverse electorates Latino, black that are the most opposed to Trump.Republican insiders know and understand this. Trump s ego insists that he should contend in the blue states, especially his home state of New York, but using any money to campaign there is a fool s errand for the Republican Party, made even worse since the GOP is so far behind the Democrats and Secretary Clinton on raising money.It has all the ingredients for an election disaster.Featured image via YouTube | 0 |
10,957 | Fundraisers make pitch for Trump at hedge fund conference | LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Top fundraisers for Donald Trump made pitches on Wednesday to prominent hedge fund investors to line up behind the presumptive Republican presidential nominee as he seeks to raise $1 billion for the general election campaign. The New York billionaire businessman was a topic of discussion as some 2,000 hedge fund managers, investors, lawyers and journalists gathered in Las Vegas for the SkyBridge Alternatives Conference, known as SALT, the industry’s most prominent annual meeting. Steven Mnuchin, Trump’s newly appointed national finance chairman and a private investor himself, met with some of the attending hedge fund managers and others, including oil investor T. Boone Pickens, Georgette Mosbacher and former Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown. In an onstage interview, Kenneth Griffin, the billionaire founder of powerful hedge fund firm Citadel who previously supported U.S. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, did not address the presidential campaign. A spokesman for Griffin did not respond to a request for comment. Also speaking at the event was former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who in an onstage interview, declined to endorse any presidential candidate. Earlier this year, Bloomberg flirted with an independent presidential candidacy, but decided against it for fear it would help Trump’s chances of getting elected. Some investors told Reuters they were disappointed Bloomberg did not enter the race. Trump is the last man standing in the Republican race after U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Ohio Governor John Kasich dropped out last week. Trump, who has never held elective office, is trying to unite Republicans behind his candidacy after a primary election campaign in which his fiery rhetoric on trade, immigration and Muslims rankled party elites. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday showed Trump had pulled even with Clinton, his likely opponent in the Nov. 8 presidential election. David Rubenstein, co-founder of private equity powerhouse Carlyle Group, kicked off the three-day conference by asking the audience which candidate they thought would move into the White House in January after November’s election. The vast majority did not express an opinion on either Trump or Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton. Away from panel discussions on how the industry can salvage a poor start to the year - the average hedge fund is off 0.8 percent this year, according to eVestment - powerful Trump backers were working smaller venues around the Hotel Bellagio. Anthony Scaramucci, who hosts the conference and runs hedge fund investment firm Skybridge Capital, said he was reaching out to his contacts to convince them Trump would run his candidacy like an entrepreneur, something he said America needed. “You have an opportunity now to bring an entrepreneur and a team of advisers that are entrepreneurial, out-of-the-box thinkers into Washington,” Scaramucci told Reuters. “That’s the sell to potential donors.” Scaramucci has long been a powerful Republican fundraiser who originally backed Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker in this year’s race and later Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor. He said there would be the Trump “Entrepreneurial Avenue” versus the “Clinton cul-de sac,” a suggestion that economic growth would be stronger under the likely Republican nominee. Scaramucci added that potential donors would soon get over any fears of publicly helping Trump. “Candidate Trump has said some things that some business people think: ‘Jeez, if I’m associated with some of those things, it could be perceived negatively for my business.’ I think that will wash away in the next two months,” Scaramucci said. Among big-name Trump backers at the conference were Pickens, an oil investor and hedge fund manager who previously supported Bush’s candidacy. “Yes, I’m for Donald Trump,” he said on stage, adding Trump was smart enough to get himself help where he needed it politically and that it would be refreshing to have a businessman instead of a politician in the White House. “Donald almost always overestimates how successful he is,” Pickens said, “but nonetheless he has been out there and he does know something about what he is talking about.” (This version of the story corrects paragraph three to remove reference to Mnuchin meeting with Griffin) | 1 |
10,958 | Trump nominates Democrat Rosenworcel to serve again as FCC commissioner | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate will again consider Jessica Rosenworcel, a Democrat, to be a commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission after Republican President Donald Trump nominated her late on Tuesday. Rosenworcel served as a commissioner for the regulator until the end of 2016 when lawmakers failed to take up her renomination under former President Barack Obama, handing Republicans a 2-1 majority on the five-seat commission. Rosenworcel did not immediately reply to a request for comment. The agency is working to reverse Obama-era regulations, including the former Democratic president’s landmark 2015 net-neutrality rules prohibiting broadband providers from giving or selling access to certain internet services over others. Rosenworcel, a former FCC official and congressional aide, backed the net neutrality rules in 2015 and put a significant focus on the plight of children without access to broadband service. She showed an independent streak from then-FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, who unsuccessfully sought approval for new rules to allow pay TV subscribers to ditch set-top boxes. In 2013, she also opposed allowing cellphone use in the air. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, tapped by Trump in January, has also said he wants to dismantle other significant regulations as part of a sweeping review he said would remove barriers to business and modernize rules. Pai has also proposed significant changes to local TV ownership limits and plans other changes to media regulations. If confirmed, Rosenworcel would join Democratic Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, whose term ends on June 30. It is not clear if Clyburn plans to stay on the commission. Industry and congressional officials also expect Trump to nominate Brendan Carr, a Republican who is currently general counsel at the FCC and an adviser to Pai, to an open seat. Republican Michael O’Rielly also serves on the panel. Democrats insisted Republicans had agreed in 2015 to reconfirm Rosenworcel as part of a deal to confirm O’Rielly. Republicans denied there was a deal but the standoff had delayed consideration of telecommunications legislation in the Senate. Pai would be forced to leave the commission if he is not reconfirmed by the end of the year. “Better late than never,” Senator Bill Nelson of Florida, a Democrat, said in a statement on Rosenworcel’s nomination. “The Senate should now move quickly to confirm her and fulfill the promise that was made two years ago.” | 1 |
10,959 | U.N.'s Zeid says Mladic 'epitome of evil', no escape from justice | GENEVA (Reuters) - Former Bosnian Serb army commander Ratko Mladic is the epitome of evil and his conviction on Wednesday for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes was a momentous victory for justice , U.N. human rights chief Zeid Ra ad al-Hussein said. Mladic is the epitome of evil, and the prosecution of Mladic is the epitome of what international justice is all about, Zeid said in a statement. Today s verdict is a warning to the perpetrators of such crimes that they will not escape justice, no matter how powerful they may be nor how long it may take. | 1 |
10,960 | Turkey's Erdogan says U.S. decision to suspend visa services 'upsetting' | KIEV (Reuters) - Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday a U.S. decision to suspend visa services in Turkey was upsetting, adding that Turkish foreign ministry officials had contacted their U.S. counterparts over the issue. “Above all, the decision is very upsetting. For the embassy in Ankara to take such a decision and implement, it is upsetting,” Erdogan told a news conference during a visit to Ukraine. | 1 |
10,961 | White House Issues Scathing Response To Trump’s KKK Remarks, And It’s Perfect (VIDEO) | During a recent interview on CNN with Donald Trump, the real estate mogul denied knowing anything about former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke and the Ku Klux Klan. He was even asked by Jake Tapper if he would disavow any endorsements by white supremacists and white supremacy groups. Trump responded: I don t know anything about David Duke. I don t know anything about what you are even talking about with white supremacy or white supremacists. So, I don t know. I mean, did he endorse me or what s going on? Because I know nothing about David Duke, I know nothing about white supremacists. And so, you are asking me a question that I m supposed to be talking about people that I know nothing about. When pressed further, Trump had the audacity to say, regarding the KKK: Well, I have to look at the group. I mean, I don t know what group you re talking about. You wouldn t want me to condemn a group that I know nothing about. I d have to look. If you would send me a list of the groups, I will do research on them, and certainly I would disavow if I thought that there was something wrong. You can t acknowledge off the top of your head that what the KKK stands for is horrifying?Well, the White House has now offered their response to Donald Trump s pathetic answers surrounding David Duke and the KKK. Press Secretary Josh Earnest, during a press conference on Monday, stated: I think my observation is simply that, you know Mr. Trump says that there s more that he needs to learn about Mr. Duke before he can render an opinion. But I think we now know all we need to know about Mr. Trump to render our personal opinion of his candidacy. Earnest, in so many words, just pretty much insinuated that most sane-minded people should be able to surmise that Donald Trump not only embraces his racist base of support, but is likely racist himself. Who the hell doesn t know what the KKK is and who David Duke is? Trump s playing dumb, because he knows most of his base is in full support of open racism. It s how Trump has run his campaign from the start.And yes, Earnest is correct, we no know all we need to know about Donald Trump to render our own personal opinions. If you re a Trump supporter at this point, you re likely racist. That s just a fact. If you re not, WTF are you doing? He s not going to make America great again, he s going to make America hate again.Here s the video from the press conference:WATCH: @PressSec responds to Trump s David Duke comments: We now know all we need to know about Mr. Trump https://t.co/WPgd5fYrem ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) February 29, 2016Featured image: screengrab | 0 |
10,962 | CHRISTIAN HIGH SCHOOL Told By State They Are No Longer Allowed To Pray Before Games | The drip drip drip of communism Leftists are stealing our rights and freedom while Americans can t be bothered with politics because they re too busy watching the Kardashians The Florida High School Athletics Association recently denied a request by two Christian schools to broadcast a prayer before a championship game at Orlando s Citrus Bowl Stadium.Cambridge Christian School in Tampa and the University Christian School out of Jacksonville are playing in the District 2-A high school football championships today and coaches from both teams submitted a request to ensure a 30-second prayer over the loudspeaker before kickoff, Bay News 9 reports.But Roger Dearing, director of the Florida High School Athletics Association, denied the request for two main reasons. The facility is a public facility, predominantly paid for with public tax dollars, makes the facility off limits under federal guidelines and precedent court cases, Dearing wrote in an emailed response to the teams. In Florida Statutes, the FHSAA (host and coordinator of the event) is legally a State Actor, we cannot legally permit or grant permission for such an activity. Cambridge head of school Tim Euler doesn t agree with Dearing s ruling. We ve played 13 football games this year, he told Bay News 9 We ve prayed before every one of them. Here s the problem, Euler told WTSP. The Florida Legislature is opened up with prayer in a building that is paid by tax dollars. What is the difference? If they can pray there, we can pray here, and I want them to be able to pray there and I want us to be able to pray here, he added. So I think (Dearing s) reasoning is flawed at the core of it. Euler said Friday morning, hours before the game s 1 p.m. start time, that it s unlikely the teams would be able to reverse the decision, but believes it s important to highlight the problem, nonetheless. What we really want to do is raise awareness, he told Bay News 9. All we re asking for is an opportunity for two Christian schools to pray. WTSP attempted to contact the Florida High School Athletic Association about the ruling, but the agency ignored its request.WTSP reporter Mike Deeson posted about the controversy on Facebook. I was disappointed the Florida High School Athletic Association didn t return our calls, he wrote. I wanted to know how the legislature opens with a prayer in a taxpayer owned building with state employees, yet FHSAA maintains a prayer couldn t be said in a taxpayer funding facility the Citrus Bow that was sanctioned by state employees, members of FHSAA. Something doesn t make sense when you compare the two but they NEVER returned our calls, Deeson posted. In my opinion that was a BAD PR MOVE! Readers, of course, were enraged by the FHSAA s decision. I think it s absolutely ridiculous that they will not let two Christian schools pray before their game, Mary Salvatore posted to Facebook. And you wonder why we have so many mass shootings across the country! So PC and so tolerant that you become intolerant, Robert Rosengarten added. Let them pray, who gives a f. If they want to pray to Jesus, Allah, the flying spaghetti monster, let them, who cares. Who s to stop them? Daniel Suarez questioned. What if both teams come together before the game and pray? What if all in the stands begin to pray? Who would it hurt? Via: EAG News | 0 |
10,963 | North Korean embassy official in focus at Kim Jong Nam trial | KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Three men wanted for the killing of Kim Jong Nam were driven to the murder site in a car bought by a North Korean embassy official, a Malaysian court was told on Wednesday, bringing into focus the embassy s role in the sensational murder. Two women, Indonesian Siti Aisyah and Doan Thi Huong, a Vietnamese, are charged with conspiring with four North Korean fugitives to kill the North Korean leader s half-brother using banned chemical weapon VX, at the Kuala Lumpur international airport on Feb. 13. Defense lawyers say the women were duped into thinking they were playing a prank for a reality TV show. Closed circuit television recordings played in court on Wednesday showed three of the fugitives at the airport in a car registered to a North Korean suspect named Ri Jong Chol. Jong Chol, who was arrested and deported shortly after the murder, told investigators the car had been bought in his name by a North Korean embassy official named Chal Su in October 2016, lead investigator Wan Azirul Nizam Che Wan Aziz said. We made a request to the North Korean embassy to identify and question Chal Su, but did not receive any cooperation, Wan Azirul told the court. Airport video recordings screened in court earlier showed the embassy s second secretary and a manager for North Korean airline Air Koryo helping the four fugitives flee immediately after the murder. Wan Azirul on Wednesday named the two individuals as North Korean embassy second secretary Hyon Kwang Song and Air Koryo manager Kim Uk Il. Both men had gone into hiding at the embassy in Kuala Lumpur, along with Ri Ji U, a 30-year-old North Korean also known as James, after warrants were issued for their arrest, Wan Azirul said. Police took statements from the embassy s second secretary and the Air Koryo official before releasing them, but did not pursue Ji U or Chal Su in the absence of instructions to do so, Wan Azirul said. During this probe, which involves international issues, I faced many constraints in investigating and needed to refer to my superior officers before taking any action, he added. North Korea has vehemently denied accusations by South Korean and U.S. officials that Kim Jong Un s regime was behind the killing. Kim Jong Nam, who was living in exile in Macau, had criticized his family s dynastic rule of North Korea and his brother had issued a standing order for his execution, some South Korean lawmakers have said. The murder unraveled once-close ties between Malaysia and North Korea. Malaysia was forced to return Kim Jong Nam s body and allow the suspects hiding in the embassy to return home, in exchange for the release of nine Malaysians barred from leaving Pyongyang. | 1 |
10,964 | Russia says progress made towards cooperation on disputed islands | MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday progress had been made on confidence-building measures related to a territorial dispute between Moscow and Tokyo. The measures focused on easing access for Japanese visitors to the disputed islands in the Pacific, known in Russia as the Kurile Islands and in Japan as the Northern Territories, and boosting economic cooperation in the islands. Lavrov was speaking after talks in Moscow with his Japanese counterpart, Taro Kono. | 1 |
10,965 | Trump to order a study on abuses of U.S. trade agreements | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Saturday seeking to identify any problems caused by the nation’s existing trade agreements, including an examination of U.S. involvement in the World Trade Organization, a top trade official said. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said his department would work to issue a report in 180 days outlining challenges with these trade deals and possible solutions. Ross singled out the World Trade Organization as an entity that may need to make some changes, although he cautioned that the administration had not made any decisions yet. “There’s always the potential for amending organization’s charters like the WTO, particularly when you’re in the position we are,” he said. “We’re the number one importer in the whole world.” Ross raised concerns that the WTO is too bureaucratic and does not hold meetings often enough. He also argued that the WTO has an “institutional bias” in favor of exporters and against countries that are being “beleaguered by inappropriate imports.” Remaking U.S. trade relations has been a top priority for Trump, who has argued that the United States has been treated unfairly in international trade. Trump said on Thursday that he had been prepared to terminate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Canada and Mexico, but backed off after calls from the leaders of those two countries. The effects of NAFTA on the U.S. economy will also be examined in the new study. Last month, Trump also issued an order calling for a major review of the causes of all U.S. trade deficits. | 1 |
10,966 | All-Out War Just Occurred On ‘The View’ Between Whoopi, Carson and Trump (VIDEO) | Appearing on the The View Thursday morning was none other than former Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson. He, of course, spoke of his time running for office and even joked that his first choice for president went out the window the day he dropped out. Carson was then asked by the women of the show about his endorsement of Donald Trump. Which, in all honesty, doesn t make any sense, and it was discovered last week that Trump may have illegally offered him an advisory role in exchange for an endorsement.Whoopi Goldberg didn t hold back at all and laid it all out on the table for Carson: This guy he s a racist and he s not good for the country You re Ben Carson! You re so much better than this. Carson then explained that because he is better than this he s capable of looking past the racism to the broader picture. Which is the biggest load of BS I ve ever heard.Carson also said that we have to get away from the ruling class, and unfortunately it had to be explained to the sleepy doctor that Trump is very much a part of the ruling class.All in all, the ladies of The View, in particular, Whoopi Goldberg, tore Trump a new one, and laid into Carson for backing him.Watch here: And as per usual, Trump proves that he cannot handle criticism, especially if it comes from women. He quickly took to his Twitter account while the show was still airing to show everyone, once again, that he has the maturity level of a seven-year-old..@TheView T.V. show, which is failing so badly that it will soon be taken off thr air, is constantly asking me to go on. I TELL THEM "NO" Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 24, 2016Explain how the women on The View, which is a total disaster since the great Barbara Walters left, ever got their jobs. @abc is wasting time Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 24, 2016Well, the women of The View, while still on air, called him out on these tweets, and told him that they d love to have him on, but he s terrified they ll be mean to him and ask him tough questions. You see, Trump only wants to be part of interviews where he can control the conversation and be adored by the media. Being surrounded by strong, successful women interrogating him is pretty much his worst nightmare.Oh, and The View has been on for 20 years now and is doing just fine with or without Trump as a guest. He s the last person to talk about a failing television show.Good on Whoopi for calling both Carson and Trump out. Carson on his hypocrisy and aversion to reality, and Trump on his utter horseshit. Well done.Featured image via video screen capture/Twitter | 0 |
10,967 | U.S. Commerce's Ross says hopes to trigger NAFTA talks countdown by next week | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Thursday he hopes to start the 90-day countdown clock to launch a renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement before Congress takes its spring recess at the end of next week. Ross told CNBC in a live interview that he needs leaders of the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee to sign off on the notification letter before a 90-day consultation period can start. The administration has sent them a draft letter that lays out some of its negotiating priorities. “There’s no change in our thinking,” Ross told CNBC. “This letter simply describes in very broad outline the topics that we will be discussing. So I don’t think there’s any great reason for you to overthink it.” | 1 |
10,968 | Rape Kit-Opposing Sheriff Gives Non-Apology For Calling Most Rapes ‘Consensual Sex’ | When people think of rape, they generally imagine some masked man grabbing a woman and dragging her into a dark alley or the woods and assaulting her. However, it generally doesn t happen that way. Most sexual assault occurs at the hands of someone the victim knows this is usually referred to as date rape, or acquaintance rape. That is what makes these cases so difficult to prosecute. That is also what makes things like the processing of rape kits and other physical evidence following an assault so vital. However, one Idaho sheriff has gotten the idea in his head that most rapes are consensual sex, and thanks to that, he doesn t think his state needs laws making sure rape kits get processed.However, following rightful public outrage, Bingham County Sheriff Craig Rowland is backpeddling. He took to the Sheriff Department s Facebook page to try to explain just why he made the outrageous and despicable assertion that most rapes are actually, to use his words, consensual sex. Here is this neanderthal s Facebook apology : I want to explain what I was trying to say in the interview. I misspoke when I said the majority of our rape cases are consensual sex. The meaning behind my statement that has been misunderstood is that when a case is called into the dispatch center each and every one is thoroughly investigated. A Deputy is sent to every one of these cases and that Deputy then in turn contacts the on-call detective to help with the investigation. In some of these cases through the investigation it may be determined that the sex was consensual, but not always. In these types of cases after the investigation is complete and it was determined that the sex was consensual. I don t believe that those kits should be sent to the lab. Then, as if that sorry excuse for an apology weren t enough, Rowland then went on to go down the old I m sorry if you were offended road, and then proceeded to paint HIMSELF as a victim here, talking about cyber-bullying : I know that it is hard for victims to come forward on sexual assault cases. I spoke to a rape victim today and told her that I knew it was hard for her to come forward. I want to apologize to anyone who I might have offended with my statement as my main responsibility is to the public s safety and well being and maintaining their trust., he wrote. I can also say with regret that I now know what it is like to be cyber bullied. Not only have I been threatened but so has my family. I hope that this will clear things up a bit. Sure, it clears things up, Sheriff Rowland, but not in the way you think. What you ve said here is no different from what you said before. You re victim-blaming. Nine times out of ten, if a woman says she was raped, she was. You say yourself that it s hard for victims to disclose. So, why the hell would anyone make something like that up? It s men like you, Sheriff Rowland, who keep rape culture alive and well.You have no business in law enforcement, and I sincerely feel for the rape victims for whom you are their only source of so-called help. Featured image via video screen capture | 0 |
10,969 | comment on have you swallowed the red pill take the test by why do people become cuckservatives | the myth of male privilege the myth of male privilege november comments culture
what happens when a woman doesnt want a baby she aborts it she can go to the doctor for a minor procedure that inconveniences her for a day the man who impregnated her has no legal right to prevent her from doing so
what happens when a man doesnt want a baby assuming the woman wants to keep it he is ordered by a court to provide payments if he chooses not to money will be automatically garnished from his salary if garnishment is not an option he is sent to prison
a woman can kill life and she is empowered while receiving no interference from the state a man can choose to merely ignore life and he can be imprisoned his life ruined and we live in a society of male privilege nov roosh valizadeh | 1 |
10,970 | Three more states refuse Trump commission's voter data request | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Maryland, Delaware and Louisiana on Monday joined a growing number of U.S. states that have refused to hand over voter data to a commission established by President Donald Trump to investigate possible voting fraud. More than 20 states, including Virginia, Kentucky, California, New York and Massachusetts, have declined to provide some or all of the information that the panel requested, saying it was unnecessary and violated privacy. Republican Trump created the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity in May after making unsubstantiated claims that millions of people voted illegally for his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, in last November’s election. Calling the request “repugnant,” Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh said in a statement that his office had advised the State Board of Elections that the commission’s request was illegal. The request “appears designed only to intimidate voters and to indulge President Trump’s fantasy that he won the popular vote,” Frosh said. The commission sent a letter to the 50 states asking them to turn over voter information including names, the last four digits of Social Security numbers, addresses, birth dates, political affiliations, felony convictions and voting histories. Louisiana Secretary of State Tom Schedler said the presidential commission could purchase the limited information legally available to candidates running for office. “You’re not going to play politics with Louisiana’s voter data,” he said in a statement. Delaware Elections Commissioner Elaine Manlove said in an interview with Milford’s WXDE-FM radio that her office would not comply since some of the information was confidential. Manlove said she was working with the attorney general’s office to see if the request could be denied completely. Trump has blasted the states who have refused to turn over the data. He said in a tweet on Saturday, “What are they trying to hide?” Trump won the White House through victory in the Electoral College, which tallies wins in states, but he lost the popular vote to Clinton by some 3 million votes. He has claimed he would have won the popular vote had it not been for voter fraud. Civil rights activists say the commission will encourage voter suppression by justifying new barriers to voting, such as requiring identity cards to vote. | 1 |
10,971 | Glowing profile cracks door open on private life of China's Xi | BEIJING (Reuters) - A workaholic keen swimmer with an extensive knowledge of foreign literature China s state news agency Xinhua on Friday cracked open the door to President Xi Jinping s private life in an unusual and glowing profile. The private lives of senior Chinese leaders have traditionally been shrouded in secrecy, and tell-all books with juicy gossip strictly off limits. But since Xi took power five years ago the government has on occasion released personal details, as it seems both to burnish his image as an approachable man of the people who will lead China to greatness, and control the narrative about who he is. Xi emerged from a twice-a-decade Communist Party Congress last month with his power ever further cemented and key allies appointed to top new positions. In a lengthy story published in Chinese and English in the early hours of Friday, Xinhua hailed Xi as the unrivalled helmsman , a term more frequently used to refer to the founder of modern China Mao Zedong rather than any other leaders. Wherever he works, he makes a remarkable impact, Xinhua said. While some of the anecdotes have previously been reported by state media - like his 2014 stroll around old Beijing alleyways during one of the city s periodic smog crises - others were new. Xi personally reviews every draft of major policy documents, sentence by sentence, Xinhua said. Sources close to him told Xinhua that all reports submitted to him, no matter how late in the evening, were returned with instructions the following morning. But he also takes time out of his busy schedule to swim over 1,000 meters a time , it added, without saying how often he manages to fit this in. Xi can reel off the names of foreign, especially Russian, writers, and his extensive knowledge of literature and the arts makes him a consummate communicator in the international arena . Xi treats everyone with sincerity, warmth, attentiveness, and forthrightness, it said. However, underscoring China s sensitivities about more difficult parts of its recent past, the Chinese version of the profile skipped a description of the suffering inflicted on Xi s father Xi Zhongxun during the chaos of the Cultural Revolution, when Mao declared class war. In 1962, Xi Zhongxun s 16 years of suffering from political persecution began. However, he never gave in to adversity and ultimately helped clear the names of others who were persecuted, Xinhua said in its English profile. When his father was wronged, Xi Jinping went through some tough times, it added, without elaborating. Public discussion of the Cultural Revolution is generally taboo in China. | 1 |
10,972 | Niger Delta leader calls on Avengers to hold off oil attacks | ABUJA (Reuters) - A key community leader from Nigeria s tense Delta oil-producing region called on militants on Sunday not to resume their attacks until they had further time to negotiate their demands with the government. Chief Edwin Clark, who leads the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), which has been holding peace talks with the government since last year, called on the Niger Delta Avengers militant group to be patient. The Avengers, whose attacks last year wrought havoc on the nation s oil output, promised on Friday a brutish, brutal and bloody return to violence because they said they had lost faith in local leaders to get what they wanted from the government. This is not the time to resume hostilities, Clark said in a statement issued by the Presidential Amnesty Programme. It is true that the federal government has not been quite serious about the negotiations, but we are asking the Niger Delta Avengers to maintain the peace. He added that PANDEF was sending a delegation to meet the group s leaders. The Avengers, like many in the Niger Delta, say they want a greater share of Nigeria s energy wealth to stay in the impoverished swampland region, which produces the bulk of the oil but is largely underdeveloped. The statement came after a government delegation led by Brigadier General Paul Boroh, special adviser to the president on the Niger Delta, visited Clark at his Abuja home on Sunday. Clark said Boroh assured him that the talks were back on track , and that PANDEF leaders would meet soon in Warri. The 2016 attacks slashed oil output to close to 1 million barrels per day from roughly 2.2 million bpd. That along with low oil prices pushed the nation into its first recession in 25 years. | 1 |
10,973 | 88-Yr Old DEMOCRAT Congressman and Accused SEXUAL PREDATOR Reluctantly Steps Down From House Judiciary Committee…REFUSES To Resign | John Conyers, the 88-year old Democrat Congressman and Black Caucus member who used taxpayer dollars from one of the most impoverished districts in Michigan, to pay off accusers of sexual assault, is refusing to give up the power he s become accustomed to, as the longest sitting House member in America s history. The corrupt Congressman has, however, agreed to step down from his role on the House Judiciary Committee, pending an investigation into the multiple allegations of sexual harassment that have been levied against him.In a statement released through Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi s office on Sunday, Conyers said he would like to keep his leadership position but realized that he may undermine the committee s work if he stays at the helm. I have come to believe that my presence as Ranking Member on the Committee would not serve these efforts while the Ethics Committee investigation is pending, Conyers (D-Detroit) said in the statement. I cannot in good conscience allow these charges to undermine my colleagues in the Democratic Caucus, and my friends on both sides of the aisle in the Judiciary Committee and the House of Representatives. Conyers, 88, is the longest-serving House member. BuzzFeed reported last week the contents of the secret $27,000 settlement Conyers paid with taxpayer funds to a former staffer who said she was fired for rejecting Conyers sexual advances.Conyers has admitted to the payment but denied any wrongdoing. I deny these allegations, many of which were raised by documents reportedly paid for by a partisan alt-right blogger, Conyers said, referring to the settlement papers obtained by Mike Cernovich and passed along to the news site. I very much look forward to vindicating myself and my family before the House Committee on Ethics. With Conyers stepping aside, the next most senior Democrat New York Rep. Jerrold Nadler will become acting Ranking Member of the powerful committee. Even under these unfortunate circumstances, the important work of the Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee must move forward, Nadler said in a Sunday statement. I will do everything in my power to continue to press on the important issues facing our committee, including criminal justice reform, workplace equality, and holding the Trump Administration accountable. Nadler added: Ranking Member Conyers has a 50 year legacy of advancing the cause of justice, and my job moving forward is to continue that critical work. New York Rep. Kathleen Rice was the first House Democrat last week to call for Conyers resignation from Congress, and Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-Queens) said Conyers should at least give up his perch as the House Judiciary Committee s ranking member, pending the outcome of the ethics probe.Earlier Sunday, Pelosi defended Conyers on NBC s Meet the Press by not calling for his resignation and insisting the icon deserves due process. NYP | 0 |
10,974 | Too early to talk about Lebanon's government resigning: parliament speaker | BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon s parliamentary speaker said on Monday it was too early to talk about the country s government having resigned or the formation of a new government after Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri said at the weekend he would stand down. President Michel Aoun said on Sunday he will not decide whether to accept or reject the prime minister s resignation until Hariri returns to Lebanon from Saudi Arabia, from where he made the announcement. Speaker Nabih Berri said in a televised statement he agreed with Aoun s statement. | 1 |
10,975 | Mugabe, wife, top allies holed up in 'Blue House' compound: source | JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, his wife Grace and two key figures from her G40 political faction are under house arrest at Mugabe s Blue House compound in Harare and are insisting the 93-year-old finishes his presidential term, a source said. The G40 figures are cabinet ministers Jonathan Moyo and Saviour Kasukuwere, who fled to the compound after their homes were attacked by troops in Tuesday night s coup, the source, who said he had spoken to people inside the compound, said. | 1 |
10,976 | Wall Street bearish on Trump's call to scrap financial reform law | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. banking lobbyists said on Wednesday they disagree with presidential candidate Donald Trump’s call for a wholesale repeal of President Barack Obama’s financial reform law, even though they share his view that it is overly burdensome. U.S. banks do want changes to the 2010 Dodd-Frank law but after spending millions of dollars to bring themselves into compliance with it, they are wary of Trump’s call for it to be essentially scrapped. Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, vowed on Tuesday to dismantle most of the law. “Dodd Frank has made it impossible for bankers to function,” he told Reuters in an interview. Richard Hunt, head of the Consumer Bankers Association, a Washington trade group, said he appreciated Trump’s interest in changes to the financial regulatory system. “It certainly needs some perfecting,” he said. “To have an outright repeal of Dodd-Frank I don’t think would serve the banking industry or consumers,” Hunt said, adding that it would create a messy regulatory environment. For instance, he said repealing Dodd-Frank would end the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which was created by the law, and it would be unclear which agency would take over its oversight of consumer products such as mortgages. The wariness within the industry about gutting Dodd-Frank came as critics of Wall Street slammed Trump’s proposal as a gift to big banks. Congress passed Dodd-Frank in response to the 2007-2009 financial crisis. In addition to creating the new consumer agency, the law restricted banks’ ability to make risky investments and gave regulators new power over Wall Street executives’ pay. In addition to seeking legislative changes to Dodd-Frank, the U.S. financial industry has spent much of the last six years wielding its clout in a quieter way by trying to push regulatory agencies to implement the law in ways they consider manageable. Banks still want tweaks to the rules, such as simpler capital requirements - which limit banks’ reliance on debt for funding - and carve-outs from the toughest rules for small- and mid-sized institutions. There could be risks for the banking industry should Trump or a Democratic successor to Obama push for a reopening of Dodd-Frank following the Nov. 8 election. Anger at Wall Street has been a potent theme in the election so far and resonates strongly with both Democratic and Republican voters. One reason banks fear pushing for a complete overhaul of the Dodd-Frank law is the possibility that it could be replaced by even tighter regulations, said Jaret Seiberg, a policy analyst with Guggenheim Partners, in a note to clients on Wednesday. For instance, some bank critics on both sides of the political spectrum have called for replacing Dodd-Frank’s litany of regulations with much tougher restrictions on banks’ debt. “The odds favor Trump’s solution being even more onerous for large financial firms than the status quo,” Seiberg said. A source who has advised banks on regulatory issues told Reuters that Trump’s scathing critique of Dodd-Frank far overstated the problems with the law. “Most thinking people in the industry would dispute these characterizations,” the source said. “Are some pieces of Dodd Frank problematic? Yes. But there is, on balance, more good than bad.” Former U.S. Representative Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat for whom the law is named, said Trump’s comments could backfire because of voter antipathy toward Wall Street. “He says he’ll be enemy of Wall Street, and he’s giving Wall street what it most wants,” Frank told Reuters. | 1 |
10,977 | BREAKING: SECRET RECORDINGS About Clinton Foundation Caused Hostility, In-Fighting Between FBI Agents | Wow Peter Schweizer, author of the chilling Clinton Cash book better make sure he has bodyguards wherever he goes, because his book could be the reason for the collapse of the Clinton Crime family s house of cards .Secret recordings of a suspect talking about the Clinton Foundation fueled an internal battle between FBI agents who wanted to pursue the case and corruption prosecutors who viewed the statements as worthless hearsay, people familiar with the matter said.Agents, using informants and recordings from unrelated corruption investigations, thought they had found enough material to merit aggressively pursuing the investigation into the foundation that started in summer 2015 based on claims made in a book by a conservative author called Clinton Cash: The Untold Story of How and Why Foreign Governments and Businesses Helped Make Bill and Hillary Rich, these people said.The account of the case and resulting dispute comes from interviews with officials at multiple agencies.Starting in February and continuing today, investigators from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and public-corruption prosecutors became increasingly frustrated with each other, as often happens within and between departments. At the center of the tension stood the U.S. attorney for Brooklyn, Robert Capers, who some at the FBI came to view as exacerbating the problems by telling each side what it wanted to hear, these people said. Through a spokeswoman, Mr. Capers declined to comment.The roots of the dispute lie in a disagreement over the strength of the case, these people said, which broadly centered on whether Clinton Foundation contributors received favorable treatment from the State Department under Hillary Clinton. Senior officials in the Justice Department and the FBI didn t think much of the evidence, while investigators believed they had promising leads their bosses wouldn t let them pursue, they said.These details on the probe are emerging amid the continuing furor surrounding FBI Director James Comey s disclosure to Congress that new emails had emerged that could be relevant to a separate, previously closed FBI investigation of Mrs. Clinton s email arrangement while she was secretary of state.On Wednesday, President Barack Obama took the unusual step of criticizing the FBI when asked about Mr. Comey s disclosure of the emails.Amid the internal finger-pointing on the Clinton Foundation matter, some have blamed the FBI s No. 2 official, deputy director Andrew McCabe, claiming he sought to stop agents from pursuing the case this summer. His defenders deny that, and say it was the Justice Department that kept pushing back on the investigation.WSJ The political organization of Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, an influential Democrat with longstanding ties to Bill and Hillary Clinton, gave nearly $500,000 to the election campaign of the wife of an official at the Federal Bureau of Investigation who later helped oversee the investigation into Mrs. Clinton s email use.Campaign finance records show Mr. McAuliffe s political-action committee donated $467,500 to the 2015 state Senate campaign of Dr. Jill McCabe, who is married to Andrew McCabe, now the deputy director of the FBI.The Virginia Democratic Party, over which Mr. McAuliffe exerts considerable control, donated an additional $207,788 worth of support to Dr. McCabe s campaign in the form of mailers, according to the records. That adds up to slightly more than $675,000 to her candidacy from entities either directly under Mr. McAuliffe s control or strongly influenced by him. The figure represents more than a third of all the campaign funds Dr. McCabe raised in the effort.Mr. McCabe s supervision of the Clinton email case in 2016 wasn t seen as a conflict or an ethics issue because his wife s campaign was over by then and Mr. McAuliffe wasn t part of the email probe, officials said.Much of the skepticism toward the case came from how it started with the publication of a book suggesting possible financial misconduct and self-dealing surrounding the Clinton charity. The author of that book, Peter Schweizer a former speechwriting consultant for President George W. Bush was interviewed multiple times by FBI agents, people familiar with the matter said.The Clinton campaign has long derided the book as a poorly researched collection of false claims and unsubstantiated assertions. The Clinton Foundation has denied any wrongdoing, saying it does immense good throughout the world.Mr. Schweizer said in an interview that the book was never meant to be a legal document, but set out to describe patterns of financial transactions that circled around decisions Hillary Clinton was making as secretary of state. As 2015 came to a close, the FBI and Justice Department had a general understanding that neither side would take major action on Clinton Foundation matters without meeting and discussing it first. In February, a meeting was held in Washington among FBI officials, public-integrity prosecutors and Leslie Caldwell, the head of the Justice Department s criminal division. Prosecutors from the Eastern District of New York Mr. Capers office didn t attend, these people said.The public-integrity prosecutors weren t impressed with the FBI presentation, people familiar with the discussion said. The message was, We re done here, a person familiar with the matter said.Justice Department officials became increasingly frustrated that the agents seemed to be disregarding or disobeying their instructions.Following the February meeting, officials at Justice Department headquarters sent a message to all the offices involved to stand down, a person familiar with the matter said.The FBI had secretly recorded conversations of a suspect in a public-corruption case talking about alleged deals the Clintons made, these people said. The agents listening to the recordings couldn t tell from the conversations if what the suspect was describing was accurate, but it was, they thought, worth checking out.For entire story: WSJ | 0 |
10,978 | No. 2 House Republican says healthcare bill debate to start Friday: CNN | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The No. 2 Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives said on Thursday lawmakers would begin debating a bill to roll back Obamacare on Friday, admitting the votes were not yet in place to secure passage. Representative Kevin McCarthy, the House majority leader, made the comments in an interview with CNN. | 1 |
10,979 | Iraqi forces capture North Oil Co. from Kurdish forces; no disruption to oil production | BAGHDAD/KIRKUK, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi on Monday forces captured the headquarters for the North Oil Company, northwest of Kirkuk, and a nearby refinery from Kurdish forces, without fighting, an Iraqi oil official said. Iraq forces moved into the premises of Iraqi state-owned North Oil after taking the nearby K1 airbase, the Kirkuk-based official told Reuters. They were also deploying in the nearby Baba Gurgur field and the North Oil refinery. Oil and natural gas production from the Kirkuk region is proceeding normally despite the ongoing Iraqi military operation to seize the region form Kurdish forces, another Iraqi Oil Ministry official told Reuters in Baghdad. Kurdish leaders we consider as our brothers have agreed to hand over control of North Oil and North Gas company facilities who belong to the state, said a military commander involved in the operation. We have an agreement with some Kurdish leaders that the oil and gas facilities should stay out of the conflict, the ministry official said. North Oil contributes a small part of Iraq s overall crude production, pumped mainly from fields in the south. | 1 |
10,980 | From blind date to Botswana's stars, Prince Harry charts love for U.S. actress Meghan Markle | LONDON (Reuters) - Just four weeks after a blind date with U.S. actress Meghan Markle that left him beautifully surprised , Britain s Prince Harry took his wife-to-be on a trip to Botswana to camp under the stars in his tent. Harry, 33, Queen Elizabeth s grandson and fifth-in-line to the British throne, and Markle, 36, best known for her role in the U.S. TV legal drama Suits , got engaged this month at their cottage in London over a roast chicken dinner. In their first broadcast interview since announcing the news earlier on Monday, Harry and Markle held hands as they discussed the moment of their proposal and their courtship. It was just an amazing surprise. It was so sweet and natural, and very romantic. He got on one knee, Markle said. I could barely let you finish proposing. I said, can I say yes now? Harry said that he had not watched the show which made Markle s name, and Markle too was relatively unfamiliar with Britain s royal family before meeting Harry. I had never watched Suits , I had never heard of Meghan before and I was beautifully surprised when I walked into that room and saw her. I was like, OK well I m going to have to really up my game here , Harry said. It was I think about three maybe four weeks later that I managed to persuade her to come and join me in Botswana and we camped out with each other under the stars. Harry and Markle, who is a divorcee, met in July 2016 after they were introduced through a friend who set them up on a blind date. But it was not until September that they made their first public appearance together at the Invictus Games in Toronto, a sports event for wounded veterans. They are due to marry in the spring of next year. The fact that I fell in love with Meghan so incredibly quickly was confirmation to me that all the stars were aligned, everything was just perfect, Harry said. This beautiful woman just tripped and fell into my life, I fell into her life. The prince, the younger son of heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles and his first wife Diana, publicly confirmed their relationship months later in a rebuke to the media over its alleged intrusion into Markle s private life. As she got to know Harry, Markle learnt about the huge amount of public scrutiny that the royals face, and she said she was not prepared for the level of attention their relationship would have. I did not have any understanding of just what it would be like, she said, saying there was a misconception that because she was an actress she would be used to being in the media spotlight. In his office s warning to the media, Harry referred to the sexism and racism directed at Markle, whose father is white and her mother African-American. Harry said he had to warn his future wife about the media attention they would face. Any the end of day I m really just proud of who I am and where I come from and we have never put any focus on that, she said. We were just hit so hard at the beginning with a lot of mistruths. Markle said she had met Queen Elizabeth, who she said was an incredible woman. Harry quipped that the queen s corgis had taken to her straight away despite barking at him for years. Markle showed off her three-stone engagement ring set in yellow gold, which features a diamond from Botswana and two other gems from the collection of his mother, Diana, who died in a car crash in 1997. It s beautiful, and he designed it. It s incredible ... obviously not being able to meet his mum, it s so important to me to know that she s a part of this with us, Markle said, turning to Harry as she spoke about the ring. It s incredibly special to be able to have this, which sort of links where you come from, and Botswana, which is important to us, it s perfect. | 1 |
10,981 | Germany's jubilant far-right has Merkel in its sights | BERLIN (Reuters) - Swept into parliament by those Germans angered at the arrival of more than a million refugees and migrants, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) had a stark message for Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday. We will hound her. We ll get our country and our people back, Alexander Gauland, 76, one of the party s two leading candidates, told supporters to wild applause at a post-election celebration in a Berlin nightclub. The first far-right party to enter Germany s parliament in more than half a century, the AfD - which has been likened by Germany s own foreign minister to the Nazis - won around 13 percent of Sunday s vote, according to early projections. That puts it on course to be the third biggest party in the new parliament after Merkel s conservatives and the centre-left Social Democrats, both of whom saw their share of the vote fall amid the AfD surge. Its campaign provoked controversy with posters featuring a pregnant women under the slogan: New Germans? We ll make them ourselves and women in traditional Bavarian dress holding wine glasses with the words: Burqa? I m more into Burgundy . The party did particularly well in the former communist east Germany, where it won 22.9 percent of the vote - up 17 points from the last election in 2013, according to projections. In the west it won 11.3 percent, up 6.8 points from back then. Although all established parties refuse to work with the AfD, its forecast 87 parliamentary seats mean it will now have a voice in the lower house of Europe s richest country and become eligible for government funding tied to the size of its vote. It rejects any comparison to the Nazis, instead insisting it raises valid concerns about immigration and what it calls the Islamisation of the West which are not being addressed by Europe s mainstream politicians. Alice Weidel, the AfD s other leading candidate, promised supporters the AfD would do constructive work in opposition. The first thing we ll do is keep our first promise to launch a committee to investigate Angela Merkel, said the 38-year-old former investment banker, who argues Merkel s 2015 decision to allow one million migrants into Germany was illegal. Georg Pazderski, a member of the AfD s executive board, told Reuters before Sunday s election his party would use parliament speeches to draw attention to the cost of immigration and the shortcomings both of the single currency euro zone - which the AfD wants Germany to leave - and of the European Union. He said he expected other parties to shun the AfD for a year or two but ultimately to work with it. He pointed to the regional assembly in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt where the AfD and Merkel s Christian Democrats together voted to set up a committee to investigate left-wing extremism. A recent study by the Ruhr University Bochum found that of the 235 candidates running for the AfD, 98 belonged to the wing that supports party official Bjoern Hoecke, who has courted controversy by denying that Adolf Hitler was absolutely evil . It found 40 candidates were part of the party s more moderate wing around co-leader Frauke Petry. She herself was once considered radical for overseeing the AfD s transformation from a party set up by academics in 2013 to protest euro zone bailouts into a staunchly anti-immigrant party. The other 97 candidates have been so inconspicuous up until now that their political orientation was not known, it said. The AfD s candidates include a judge who called Germany s remembrance of the Nazi murder of six million Jews a cult of guilt , a 77-year-old who once called the Holocaust an effective tool for criminalizing Germans and a lawyer who said police should be allowed to shoot at illegal migrants. | 1 |
10,982 | You’re Not Going To Believe What Trump Just Stopped A Press Conference For (VIDEO) | Republican front runner Donald Trump has stopped events for strange reasons before let s not forget that the business mogul once hijacked and paused an entire GOP debate, just so that he could assure America that there was no problem with the size of his penis. He s at it again, and this time is just as bizarre.CNN had wisely decided to cover President Barack Obama s press conference with Raul Castro instead of Trump s address to the press after his meeting with Republicans in DC, but when the network turned back to Trump s press conference things got really weird. While taking questions from the audience at the construction site of the Trump International Hotel, the candidate decided to stop the show and give a woman a job interview on the spot while cameras were rolling and everyone else awkwardly looked on.The woman identified herself as a 9/11 survivor and an Iraq and Afghanistan War veteran, telling Trump: I love the policy that you have for the military. I wanted to know if Trump towers would be part of the veterans job Trump cut the woman off and said, What are you talking about here? We are doing some of that actually already. We have it very much involved. Why what are you looking for? What kind of a position? Then Trump invited her to come up here on stage with him.As the woman joined him, Trump asked the crowd gathered at his soon-to-be hotel, Do you mind if I do a job interview right now? We need good people. For this job interview , Trump instructed the woman to tell everyone about about her experience with design and decorating. In those few seconds, Trump decided that she would be a great employee and passed her off to the men in charge of the building, saying that if they could negotiate a great deal on her salary, she would probably have a job in no time.You can watch this strange, impromptu interview below:WATCH: Donald Trump conducts impromptu job interview during press conference.https://t.co/KNb43kll8c CSPAN (@cspan) March 21, 2016The interview was so weird and uncomfortable to watch, Trump got grilled by the next reporter he chose to take questions from. The reporter asked Trump why he would offer a job to a complete stranger. Trump responded: I felt good about her. I ll tell you what, I looked at her, I said she, you know, I have gut instincts, OK? And we re allowed to have that. And I looked at her and she asked a question and it was a very positive question she just seemed like a good person to me. Featured image via Gage Skidmore | 0 |
10,983 | Saudi Arabia lifts cinema ban, directors and movie chains rejoice | RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia lifted a 35-year-old ban on cinemas on Monday, prompting celebrations from film fans, directors and movie chains eyeing the last untapped mass market in the Middle East. The first theaters could start showing films as early as March, the government said, part of a liberalizing reform drive that has already opened the door to concerts, comedy shows, and women drivers over the past year. Cinemas were banned in the early 1980s under pressure from Islamists as Saudi society turned towards a particularly conservative form of the religion that discouraged public entertainment and public mixing between men and women. But reforms led by 32-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have eased many of those restrictions, as the government tries to broaden the economy and lessen its dependence on oil. Opening cinemas will act as a catalyst for economic growth and diversification, said Minister of Culture and Information Awwad bin Saleh Alawwad. By developing the broader cultural sector we will create new employment and training opportunities, as well as enriching the Kingdom s entertainment options. In a nod to conservatives, the government said the films would be censored to make sure they remain in line with values and principles in place and do not contradict with Sharia Laws and moral values in the kingdom. The details of that censorship were not announced, but could be extensive in a country where images of women are often crossed out on advertising. There was no immediate reaction from the kingdom s Wahhabi clergy and conservative groups, who have responded to past suggestions about bringing back cinema with outraged social media campaigns. Public objections to the reforms have been more muted in recent months, after authorities launched a spate of arrests clamping down on critics of the program. Up to now, the kingdom s film pioneers have had to focus on foreign markets to get their works shown. Saudi Arabia is always in the news, but it s nice to be in the news in this way, said Los Angeles-based Saudi director Haifaa Al Manour, who released the first full-length feature shot entirely in the kingdom, Wadjda, in 2012. I feel like we re about to relive what Egypt was like in the 50s, she said, referring to the explosion of film-making in what is now the epicenter of Arabic popular cinema. Prince Mohammed has also sought to promote a more tolerant form of Islam and crack down on extremism, a cause Mansour said would be furthered by films. If you want to fight terrorism, you need to give people a love of life. A love of life comes from joy, and cinema is joy. Thousands of Saudis currently travel to Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and other countries for their entertainment. The government has said it wants to retain the money spent on those trips. Regional cinema chains have also been eyeing the Saudi market, keen to tap the spending power of the young people who make up roughly 70 percent of the kingdom s population. Dubai-based mall operator Majid Al Futtaim, which owns the VOX Cinemas chain, said it wanted to open the first movie theater there. We are very happy about this announcement, as you can imagine, we have been waiting for it for quite some time, said chief executive Alain Bejjani. The government said it expected to open more than 300 cinemas with more than 2,000 screens by 2030, building an industry that would contribute more then 90 billion riyals ($24 billion) to the economy and create 30,000 permanent jobs over the same period. A commission chaired by Alawwad will announce details of licensing and regulations over the next few weeks, it added. Locations for the first cinemas are still under study, but would likely be in top population centers, Fahad al-Muammar, the supervisor of cinema in the kingdom s General Commission for Audiovisual Media, told state TV al-Ekhbariya. ($1 = 3.7502 riyals) | 1 |
10,984 | North Carolina Drug Tested Welfare Recipients And The Results Are Surprising | Republicans must be shocked. And taxpayers should be pissed.Republicans were so sure that welfare recipients are on drugs, that they desperately tried to humiliate poor people by quickly passing a bill forcing applicants to take a drug test in order to get government aid.The governor vetoed the legislation but Republicans refused to be denied their chance to persecute poor people, so they overturned the veto.The process of testing so many applicants, of course, took awhile because more than 7,600 people needed to be screened.The results are finally in and Republicans are not going to like the numbers.Despite being so convinced that welfare recipients must be drug addicts that they were willing to use taxpayer money to institute a program to prove it, all they got was egg on their face.As it turns out, only 21 of the people tested positive for drug use. That s 0.3 percent of those tested, which is far below the national average of 8 percent.North Carolina Democratic state Senator Gladys Robinson blasted the GOP for wasting time and money. They found very few applicants. Plus, the process is already in place in terms of asking questions and making those referrals. So, we just wasted state dollars, in terms of that piece of legislation and in terms of the time and staff all across the state. Taxpayers should be furious at Republicans right now for wasting money attacking the poor instead of using it to help lift people out of poverty in the first place so that less people have to rely on the government to get by.Perhaps they should be forced to take a mandatory drug test to continue being an elected official. Because they had to be high on something when they insisted that part of the population who pay their own ridiculous salaries were abusing the system.Featured Image: Cagle | 0 |
10,985 | Mike Pence’s New DC Neighbors Are HILARIOUSLY Trolling Him For Being A Homophobic Bigot | Mike Pence is a huge homophobe. He supports ex-gay conversion therapy, opposes hate crimes protections for LGBTQ people, is staunchly against marriage equality, and once said that he believes that same-sex couples will lead to societal collapse. To that end, the folks who are being forced to live near the now- vice president-elect near his newly rented house in Washington, DC are none too happy with their new neighbor. However, instead of protesting him with rallies in the streets, they ve decided to troll him instead.The residents in the Chevy Chase neighborhood are hanging large rainbow flags on their homes to send a signal to Mike Pence that his homophobia is not welcome in their neck of the wood. According to local station WJLA: A respectful message showing, in my case, my disagreement with some of his thinking, said Ilse Heintzen.The he Heintzen is referring to is Vice-President Elect Mike Pence. Pence moved into a house on Heintzen s block where he will stay on-and-off until he moves into the Vice-President s mansion on the grounds of the Naval Observatory next year.Neighbors started hanging the pride flags after the VP-Elect moved in because the LGBTQ community has criticized Pence s policies regarding LGBTQ rights.Here are a couple images of the collective rainbow F-YOU to Pence, via Twitter:#Pride flags sending message to @mike_pence outside temporary #DC home. Neighbors say more are coming. @NewsChannel8 @ABC7News #LGBTQ #LGBT pic.twitter.com/a2bfKfJ0yL Tim Barber (@ABC7TimBarber) December 1, 2016Residents on NW Washington Street where VP Elect Pence is renting a house are sending him a symbolic message. More residents may hang flags pic.twitter.com/fldYsMoP6i Suzanne Kennedy (@ABC7Suzanne) November 30, 2016There are more flags to come, too, according to locals. These people are doing a great thing by letting Pence know that his bigotry is not welcome, and that he d best not attempt to display it in their presence. On the other hand, this likely will cause another meltdown from Trump, who will undoubtedly accuse these people of harassing Pence for his bigoted views, just as happened with the Hamilton staff.Either way, this signals that there will be absolutely no tolerance for their bigotry, no matter how hard they push. Hopefully, their heads explode on this one before they even take office.Featured image via Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images | 0 |
10,986 | German minister threatens action against EU states over refugees | BERLIN (Reuters) - German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere threatened on Wednesday to take action against EU members who refused to abide by a ruling from the EU s top court which demanded each member state accept their share of refugees. I now expect the countries concerned to fulfill their obligations ... to accept their allotted number of refugees and ensure that they stay in their respective countries. If that does not happen, then a treaty violation procedure can be used, he said. The court earlier dismissed complaints by Slovakia and Hungary on the EU s migrant policy. | 1 |
10,987 | Someone Posted A Photo Of Steve Bannon’s Giant Face Zit And The Internet Just Can’t Handle It (TWEETS) | You know, for being a member of the master race, President Steve Bannon sure fails to look the part. On Wednesday, Argentinian-American comedienne Tamara Yajia posted a photo of Steve Bannon that highlighted a rather glorious pustule on his face. Yummy, she wrote to accompany the horrifying image.Yummy pic.twitter.com/8r0aKIfhJW Tamara Yajia (@DancesWithTamis) February 24, 2017Naturally, the internet gods accepted this offering gleefully and their servants amassed to join together in mockery of the white supremacist who is for some reason allowed to act as President while The Donald plays with his toys and tweets like a middle schooler.@DancesWithTamis that's the plastic bottle gin trying to escape his body Lyle Clip Art (@Kyle_Lippert) February 24, 2017@DancesWithTamis @DanKCharnley That can't be unseen. thatsmetrying (@CAcannotsleep) February 24, 2017@DancesWithTamis "master race" ?? Adam ??? (@fastjohnny) February 24, 2017@DancesWithTamis That is the most disgusting thing you have ever posted. Dave Davington ? (@TenSpeedDave) February 24, 2017@DancesWithTamis Evil comes out of his pores as well as his mouth. Juice (@juicesixtysix) February 24, 2017@DancesWithTamis he hasn't washed his face in 35 years and his skin is dying to escape his face. Marjie Cunningham (@missmarjiec) February 24, 2017@DancesWithTamis Please don't tease that 60 year old alcoholic teenager about his acne. He's very sensitive. Hootie the HOTY (@babygandolfini) February 24, 2017@DancesWithTamis Doesn't he look like he stinks? I bet he stinks. Denise (@DDavis2) February 24, 2017@DancesWithTamis I would rather eat your thyroid than look at close-ups of Bannon's rosacea-infused facial hair. Dean (@plugzero) February 24, 2017@DancesWithTamis @Anomaly100 Probably smells of Johnny Walker and stale farts .@margaretcho Donna DJD (@ddicorcia) February 24, 2017@DancesWithTamis @Anomaly100 My uterus just fell out. CarmenBella 2.0?? (@LaLaBellaxo) February 24, 2017@DancesWithTamis mmmm skin tags, liver spots, rosacea, open sores. He's a real fucking delight this one is. Arak (@rickydilly1949) February 24, 2017Apparently, not everyone was happy with the tweet but Yajia was perfectly happy to tell them exactly where they can fuck which is off. The idiots who unfollowed me for posting a pic of Steve Bannon s pus zit will never know that I m about to masturbate to glory hole p*rn, she wrote to the triggered little snowflakes who couldn t handle seeing Bannon s face besmirched.The idiots who unfollowed me for posting a pic of Steve Bannon's pus zit will never know that I'm about to masturbate to glory hole porn Tamara Yajia (@DancesWithTamis) February 24, 2017Bannon describes himself as a Leninist who wants to destroy the state who wants to bring everything crashing down, and destroy all of today s establishment. More revently, he admitted that all of Trump s his cabinet picks were intended to destroy the institutions they were chosen to lead.In short, fuck him and the monster living on his face.Featured image via screengrab | 0 |
10,988 | Trump Isn’t Going to Invade Venezuela, But What US is Planning Could Be Much Worse | Andrew Korybko The DuranTrump was more aggressive than usual yesterday when he said that he s not ruling out a military option in Venezuela, and the international media went haywire speculating that the President was considering an invasion. Nothing justifies what Trump said, but taking aside all moral considerations, his statement shouldn t have been surprising, and interestingly enough, it might even backfire on him.All US Presidents routinely restate the rhetoric that all options are on the table when dealing with the crises that their country provoked abroad, which in this case is the Hybrid War on Venezuela that seeks to attain proxy control over the world s largest oil reserves in the Orinoco River Belt and smash the socialist-multipolar ALBA grouping.Venezuela s preexisting socio-political vulnerabilities and institutional weaknesses were exploited by the US economic machinations against the country in order to trigger a Color Revolution against the government. When that failed, the regime change movement transformed into an urban insurgency and recently expanded its operations by staging a terrorist attack against a military base in the central part of the country.It s very likely that the situation will devolve into an externally triggered civil war with the eventual intent of sparking a military coup attempt against President Maduro, but the odds of the US directly intervening in this scenario are slim. Rather, Trump s threatened military option probably relates to the Lead From Behind role that the US is slated to play in using Colombia as its regional partner for funneling weapons and other forms of assistance to the moderate rebels in Venezuela just as it used Turkey to do vis-a-vis Syria for the past six years. Additionally, it can be confidently assumed that the CIA is hard at work trying to engineer its desired military coup, though the chances of its success are unlikely unless the Hybrid War becomes a full-fledged externally triggered civil war like in Syria. These two interconnected reasons explain what Trump meant by refusing to rule out a military option , though there s admittedly the extreme case that can t be discounted whereby a humanitarian intervention of varying scale is unleashed in the final stages of the crisis in order to decisively topple the government at its weakest moment.No matter what the US ultimately does or doesn t do, however, Trump s braggadocious statement might actually backfire on him by increasing President Maduro s appeal among the on-the-fence members of the so-called opposition . It s one thing to detest an elected leader and hope for his downfall, but it s another to actively support the foreign invasion of one s country by the hemisphere s traditional hegemon, especially given the US bloody history of military activity in the Americas across the past century.Trump s comments therefore put the US regime change proxies in a bind because they re now caught in a dilemma between supporting what the world at large perceives to be a threat to invade their country or to support its legitimate leader whom they ve been rioting against for months already. The average anti-government supporter can be presumed to be equally against Maduro, a speculated US invasion of their country, and the opposition s riots, wanting only to hold snap elections in the hope of peacefully carrying out regime change.They ve been backing the opposition up until this point, however, because they saw them as the least-bad option available, but Trump s implied military threat essentially exposes them in acting as the tip of the spear in a possible invasion, seeing as how the chaotic civil war conditions in which the US could conventionally intervene in Venezuela would be due to their intensified Hybrid War actions.This fact should rightly give pause to self-identifying patriotic opposition members and prompt them to reconsider their least-bad normative assessment that they previously gave to the opposition . If they engage in some serious self-reflection, they ll see that it s actually President Maduro who s the least bad of the two, and that the best way to achieve their objective of regime change is to begrudgingly wait until the next democratic vote is scheduled to be held.Continuing to throw one s weight behind the opposition at this point is tantamount to openly supporting the steps that are needed to create the conditions for Trump s media-hyped military options against their country, up to and including a humanitarian intervention . It s not known what proportion of the opposition satisfies the patriotic criteria that these points would apply to, but if their numbers are large enough, then their passive defection from the anti-government movement s ranks in response to Trump s threat could deal a blow to the regime change effort.On the other hand, and approaching the subject from a cynical angle as the devil s advocate , it might not tangibly change much at all if the US already has its mind dead-set on escalating the Hybrid War on Venezuela to a Syrian-like level, though it would nevertheless represent an important moral victory for the legitimate government by further exposing the opposition s treasonous connivance with the US.In any case, regardless of what Trump really meant in his military options comment and despite whatever the patriotic opposition members decide to do, all indications suggest that Venezuela is at a fateful turning point and that the coming weeks will decide its future for what might end up being the years to come.*** Author and geopolitical analyst Andrew Korybko and contributor to 21st Century Wire. He studied international relations at the Moscow State University of International Relations (MGIMO), and is as a member of the expert council for the Institute of Strategic Studies and Predictions at the People s Friendship University of Russia. He also works as a current affairs writer for Sputnik News and is host of Trend Storm on Sputnik Radio. His book, Hybrid Wars: The Indirect Adaptive Approach To Regime Change , extensively analyzes the situations in Syria and Ukraine and claims to prove that they represent a new model of strategic warfare being waged by the US.DISCLAIMER: The author writes for this publication in a private capacity which is unrepresentative of anyone or any organization except for his own personal views. Nothing written by the author should ever be conflated with the editorial views or official positions of any other media outlet or institution.READ MORE VENEZUELA NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Russia FilesSUPPORT OUR WORK BY SUBSCRIBING & BECOMING A MEMBER @21WIRE.TV | 0 |
10,989 | Romania's ruling party endorses government reshuffle plan | BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Romania s ruling Social Democrats endorsed on Thursday a government reshuffle proposed by Prime Minister Mihai Tudose in a move that could strengthen his position within the party and lend his cabinet credibility within the European Union. Three ministers will resign, party senior members said, including Deputy Prime Minister Sevil Shhaideh, a close ally of party leader Liviu Dragnea, who holds a tight grip over party ranks but cannot be prime minister because of a previous conviction in a vote rigging case. Earlier this week, Tudose said that corruption allegations surrounding Shhaideh and European Funds Minister Rovana Plumb had created problems for his government with the European Commission. Both will resign, as will Transport Minister Razvan Cuc. The party will decide their replacements on Friday. Transparency International ranks Romania among the European Union s most corrupt states and Brussels is keeping its justice system under special monitoring. We have a reality and a perception, Tudose told reporters on Wednesday. The reality is the presumption of innocence, but the perception in Brussels is completely different. On Thursday, Tudose said he hoped Shhaideh would choose to stay in public administration in a different position. Some analysts have said Tudose was using the corruption allegations to gain more control over government decisions. The government is under pressure from the party to enforce an ambitious governing program that includes tax cuts, public sector wage and pension hikes, as well as a judicial overhaul that could threaten magistrates independence that has raised concerns with the European Commission. We communicated badly with each other, Dragnea told reporters after a six-hour senior party meeting. We cannot make that mistake again, put the party and the government at risk. Anti-corruption prosecutors said in September they were investigating Shhaideh for suspected abuse of office in a land transfer case, and have asked parliament to approve an investigation into Plumb linked to the same case. Both have denied wrongdoing. The reshuffle comes a little over three months since the cabinet was sworn in after the ruling coalition toppled its first prime minister at end-June. Tudose has said he was not afraid to resign, which would have automatically toppled the cabinet. Analysts said the Social Democrats accepted the reshuffle rather than risk going with a third prime minister proposal to centrist President Klaus Iohannis, a rival, who must approve premiers. If this government were to fall as well, then I would certainly ask myself very seriously whether the PSD still has the capacity to govern, Iohannis told reporters earlier on Thursday. For now, we are not in this position. | 1 |
10,990 | DEMOCRATS THREATEN KIDS EDUCATION: CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION DEMANDS RAISES AS Chicago Public Schools Run Out Of Money In One Week | It s painful to watch the stupidity and irresponsibility of the Democrats who run the city of Chicago along with Chicago Teachers Union president, Karen Lewis, one of the most hard-core radical, leftist s in the business. It s T-minus one week for Chicago Public Schools.As schools let out for the summer, CPS administrators are scrambling to come up with a more than $600 million teacher pension payment due at the end of the month and the district has zero reserves, according to media reports.The problem is further compounded by a more than $1 billion school budget shortfall for the next fiscal year and an angry teachers union hell bent on securing another raise the district can t afford. With no plan, no money and no where to turn, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel seems to be focused solely on a state bailout as the solution. Springfield has to step up and help in this case, not only as it relates to just the pension payment, (but also) the educational opportunities of our children, Emanuel said, according to the Chicago Tribune. Because a payment will then begin to impact the classroom. And CTU could soon partner with its mortal enemies at City Hall to lobby state lawmakers for more money. Right now, the district needs us, CTU VP Jesse Sharkey told the news site. The politics of (Chicago Mayor) Rahm Emanuel going to Springfield are a lot different than the politics of Rahm Emanuel and (CTU President) Karen Lewis going to Springfield. The dire financial situation comes amid a federal investigation into a $20 million no-bid contract to a previous employer of former CPS superintendent Barbara Byrd-Bennett, who resigned this month. It feels like a complete mess, Better Government Association senior editor Sarah Karp told ABC 7.Karp doesn t think recently elected Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, who ran on a platform of fiscal restraint and criticized union influence in Illinois, is receptive to calls for a bailout. He previously suggested that bankruptcy may be the best way out for CPS, ABC 7 reports. Now, Chicago Public Schools does not have somebody in the State House that is a Democrat or is seemingly sympathetic at all to what s going on here, Karp said.Meanwhile, school ended for the summer on Friday, and principals around the city are left scratching their heads in planning for next school year. Normally you do your planning in the summer and you can t do too much planning without the actual dollar amount, Coles Language Academy principal Jeff Dase told ABC 7.Dase said many Chicago principals are concerned that the budget turmoil, and looming possibility of layoffs and program cuts, could convince many of the city s teachers to seek jobs elsewhere.The Tribune reports the city council could authorize CPS to increase taxes on residents, or secure some sort of bailout, or negotiate concessions with CTU, but not even all three combined could put the budget back on track. And then there s another $228 million payment coming due for costs related to interest rate swaps on the district s debt. (E)ven if CPS wins concession from the City Council, state lawmakers and CTU, the district won t be able to close its annual $1 billion budget gap, according to a May 22 report by Ernst & Young, which spent four weeks meeting with school finance officials and analyzing budget documents, the Tribune reports. The report shows that even with a capital improvement tax, a separate, even-larger property tax increase, additional state aid, increased state funding of teacher pensions, concessions from the CTU and $150 million with of budget cuts, CPS would still face an annual $350 million shortfall. Next June s teacher pension payment is set to balloon to $700 million. Via: EAG News | 0 |
10,991 | FBI deputy director to sit for closed interview with House panels | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The FBI’S deputy director, Andrew McCabe, will appear for a closed-door interview on Thursday with two key U.S. congressional committees, after Republicans asked him to discuss the bureau’s handling of its Hillary Clinton email probe. The Justice Department confirmed in a letter on Wednesday to the chairmen of the House of Representatives Judiciary and Oversight committees that McCabe will sit for a transcribed interview, but said McCabe will not be permitted to discuss anything related to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. It said the interview must be conducted in a classified setting and that the transcript should not be publicly released. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is part of the Justice Department. The Republican-led House Judiciary and Oversight committees announced in October they were launching fresh probes into a number of long-standing political grievances, including concerns over the FBI’s handling of the investigation of Clinton’s use of a private email server when she was secretary of state. Republicans have said they want to get to the bottom of why former FBI Director James Comey, who was fired by President Donald Trump, publicly discussed the Clinton investigation and announced that the bureau would not seek to bring charges. Comey also publicly revealed, just 11 days before the 2016 presidential election, that he was reopening the matter after the FBI discovered a new batch of Clinton emails. The case was closed shortly after the emails were reviewed, and no new information was uncovered. Critics say the Republicans’ focus on Clinton is merely a tactic to distract from Mueller’s investigation and whether members of Trump’s campaign colluded with Russia. Since the new Clinton probe was announced, Republicans have also turned up the pressure on Mueller and attacked the FBI’s integrity, after anti-Trump text messages surfaced between two FBI employees who worked on Mueller’s team. One of the employees, agent Peter Strzok, was reassigned after the texts were discovered. The other, FBI lawyer Lisa Page, completed her temporary 45-day detail assignment with Mueller in mid-July. Republican have also asked the Justice Department to make Page, who works in the FBI’s general counsel’s office, available for interviews. Trump has openly attacked the FBI, saying its reputation is in “tatters.” Russia has denied meddling in the election, and Trump has said there was no collusion. | 1 |
10,992 | Palestinians resume security ties with Israel, eye Gaza enforcement | RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas s administration said on Wednesday it had resumed security coordination with Israel in the occupied West Bank, frozen in July, and sought sole security control of the Gaza Strip, where Hamas Islamist forces dominate. The remarks, by the Palestinian police chief, left open the question of how Abbas might bring his former rivals in Hamas to heel given their refusal to disarm as demanded by Israel and the United States. An Egyptian-brokered reconciliation deal last month formally restored Abbas s administrative control of Gaza after a 10-year schism with Hamas, though the details of implementation have yet to be worked out fully. Palestinians hope the pact will ease Gaza s economic woes and help present a united front in their drive for statehood. The vision includes the West Bank, where Palestinian security forces have tried to tamp down violence, often sharing intelligence and cooperating across jurisdictions with Israel, despite a three-year impasse in diplomacy between the sides. Under interim peace deals with Israel, Abbas Palestinian Authority exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank. Abbas halted security coordination with Israel on July 21, demanding it remove metal detectors it had installed outside a Jerusalem compound housing Al-Aqsa mosque in response to the killing of two of its police guards by gunmen holed up there. Amid Palestinian and Jordanian unrest, and U.S. mediation efforts, Israel dismantled the walk-through gates within days and said it would install less obtrusive security measures. Police chief Hazem Attallah told foreign reporters in a briefing that the suspension of ties had ended two weeks ago. Security coordination between Palestinian and Israeli services have resumed as it used to be before it stopped, Attallah said, adding that he was referring to joint efforts to prevent militant attacks, as crime-fighting police cooperation between the sides had never stopped. Attallah said his police forces were ready to impose order in Gaza, likening the situation there to the West Bank a decade ago, where the Palestinian Authority set about disarming and dismantling Hamas and other armed factions. We will have one gun in Gaza, Attallah said. How can I do security when there are all these rockets and guns? This is possible? This doesn t work. In Gaza, Hamas has a guerrilla army believed to include tens of thousands of fighters and rockets. Hamas continues to police Gaza with nearly 13,000 security personnel. Fatah plans to discuss security responsibility further in talks with Hamas and other factions in Cairo on November 21. | 1 |
10,993 | WATCH: President Obama Urges Americans To Reject Trump’s Bigotry And Hate | In the aftermath of Great Britain voting to leave the European Union, President Obama urged Americans to reject xenophobia by voting against Trump and his bigotry in November.President Obama made the remarks during a fundraising speech in support of Washington Governor Jay Inslee on Friday.Driven by fear and xenophobia, 52 percent of voters in the United Kingdom opted to leave the European Union, which had serious repercussions on world markets as Donald Trump and other Republicans cheered the decision.President Obama had hoped the people of Great Britain would reject fear and hate but that didn t happen, which is why his hopes now rest with the American people to do in November what the UK did not. That s the choice you face this November, President Obama said. Between dividing ourselves up, looking for scapegoats, ignoring the evidence, or realizing that we are all stronger together. If we turn against each other, whether it s divisions of race or religion, we re not going to build on the progress we ve started. If we get cynical and just vote our fears or we don t vote at all, we won t build on the progress we ve started. America has been a story of progress but has not gone in a straight line. There have been times when we ve gone forward and there have been times when we ve gone backwards. And what s made the difference each and every time is citizens voting, and caring, and committing to our better selves. In other words, voting matters and it s never been more important to exercise our right to vote than it will be this November.President Obama capped off his speech by slamming the bigoted, divisive, and hateful values of Donald Trump and urged Americans to reject those values for the sake of our children and the future of our country. Coming together around our common values and our faith in hard work and our faith in each other and the belief in opportunity for everybody and assuming the best in each other and not the worst. Because whatever our differences we all love this country and we all care fiercely about our children s futures. And we don t have time for charlatans and we don t have time for hatred and we don t have time for bigotry and we don t have time for film-flam and we don t have the luxury of just popping off and saying just whatever comes to the top of our heads. Don t have time for that. Here s the video via MSNBC.The people of Great Britain made a terrible mistake by voting to exit the European Union. They let fear dictate their decisions and that is incredibly disappointing. America must once again lead by example and reject the fear and xenophobia that is tightening its grip on Europe. We need to be better. The stakes are too high to sit at home on Election Day. We must not give in to the blind fear and hate that Republicans are hoping will give them complete control over the nation. If we do, all the progress we have made over the last century will have been for nothing and the people who want to watch the world burn will achieve their goals.Featured image via screen capture | 0 |
10,994 | Zimbabwean activist pastor arrested for criticizing Mugabe government | HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwean police arrested activist pastor Evan Mawarire of the #ThisFlag movement as he stepped down from his pulpit, accusing him of subversion for a series of social media posts that charged Robert Mugabe s government had wrecked the economy, his lawyer told Reuters on Sunday. Lawyer Harrison Nkomo said Mawarire was arrested and charged with subversion, which carries a maximum term of life imprisonment, for a Facebook video he posted on Saturday lambasting the government over its economic policies. Over the last few days, shortages of basic goods and fuel have emerged, resulting in panic buying by consumers. Prices of imported products are also going up, which businesses blame on shortages of foreign exchange. Mawarire has been at the heart of a protest movement against Mugabe s 37-year rule. In 2016, he led a stay-at-home demonstration that resulted in the first of his now three arrests for what the state says are attempts to overthrow the government. Mawarire was already due to face trial of subversion over the 2016 protests at a High Court trial on Monday. He is due to appear in court tomorrow on subversion charges emanating from last year. So we really don t know how the state will proceed, said Nkomo. Press and social media reports, including Mawarire s post, on shortages of basic goods and foreign exchange were meant to cause alarm in the country, said Ignatius Chombo, minister of home affairs, the ministry in charge of the police, said in a statement. Government is closely monitoring the press and social media reports in question with a view to taking decisive action to deal a telling blow to the perpetrators of the crime in terms of the laws of the country s justice system, Chombo said. A statement on the website of the United States embassy in Harare published on Friday said it would be monitoring the pastor s trial, and called for an end to arbitrary arrests and intimidation for political purposes. Mugabe, 93, has held power since independence from Britain in 1980. He is under mounting pressure from angry Zimbabweans, as well as his war veterans allies, who last year rebuked him as a manipulative dictator and called for him to step down. | 1 |
10,995 | Argentina judge says death of prosecutor Nisman was murder | BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Alberto Nisman, the Argentine prosecutor who was found dead days after accusing former President Cristina Fernandez of covering up Iran s role in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center, was murdered, a federal judge said on Tuesday. In a 656-page ruling, judge Julian Ercolini said there was sufficient proof to conclude that the shot to the head that killed Nisman in January 2015 was not self-inflicted. That marked the first time any judge has said the case was a murder. Fernandez and others had suggested the death was a suicide, but a prosecutor investigating the case last year recommended it be pursued as a murder probe. Nisman s death could not have been a suicide, Ercolini wrote in Tuesday s ruling, which also charged Diego Lagomarsino, a former employee of Nisman s, with accessory to murder. Lagomarsino has acknowledged lending Nisman the gun that killed him the day before he was to appear before Congress to detail his allegation against Fernandez. But he has said Nisman asked him for the gun to protect himself and his family. Fernandez, now a senator, was indicted for treason earlier this month over Nisman s allegations that she worked behind the scenes to clear Iran of blame for the attack on the AMIA Jewish center, which killed 85 people, in an effort to normalize relations and clinch a 2013 grains-for-oil deal with Tehran. Human rights groups and the former head of Interpol have criticized that indictment. Tehran has denied links to the attack. | 1 |
10,996 | China's Xi vows to 'open wider' while defending jobs | BEIJING (Reuters) - President Xi Jinping vowed to further free up China s economy, again urging Asian countries to work closely together in a speech at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Vietnam. The comments echo Xi s call to support a multilateral trading system and contrast with those delivered at the weekend by U.S. President Donald Trump, who pulled out of the regional Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal and told the meeting the U.S. would pursue bilateral trade deals instead. Xi said his government would continue to prioritize domestic employment and ensure economic development at home supports job creation , according to a text of his remarks published by the official Xinhua news agency late on Saturday. China will open still wider and its development will deliver even greater benefits to the rest of the world, Xi told the APEC leaders. China has created 13 million new jobs in cities and towns in recent years, Xi added. Economic restructuring does not have to come at the expense of employment, Xi said. On the contrary, stable employment would allow greater leeway for reform and development. (This story has been refiled to include the timing of Xinhua s publication.) | 1 |
10,997 | The Best Hillary Clinton Gaffe Ever Just Happened And It’s A Whopper [Video] | Hillary was speaking to the NAACP on 10/30/15 and was promoting the Obama program to Ban the Box . The program bans federal employers from asking if a potential employee has a criminal record. This is supposed to give criminals a fair shot at employment. So Hillary is jumping on this because it plays to her base, right? She is all for criminal justice reform ESPECIALLY for Former Presidents? Get ready for the biggest Freudian slip ever! Earlier today I announced that as president I will take steps to ban the box, so former presidents won t have to declare their criminal history at the very start of the hiring process. DID YOU CATCH THAT SLIP OF THE TONGUE? WELL, SHE DIDN T, AND SHE DIDN T CORRECT HERSELF! | 0 |
10,998 | Swedish opposition party to call vote of no-confidence in PM | STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Sweden s anti-immigration Sweden Democrat party on Wednesday tabled a parliamentary vote of no confidence in Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, demanding his resignation in the aftermath of a scandal over leaks of sensitive material. Lofven is almost certain to ride out the vote, which will take place on Sept. 15 at the earliest, as the main, center-right opposition bloc has said it will not give its support. But it will damage his standing just a year before the general election and ratchet up pressure on him to get rid of Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist, who has also been targeted by the Sweden Democrats over the IT scandal. The Prime Minister has talked about a breakdown, but he has not talked about the breakdown within his own government, Parliament member Paula Bieler said. If the Sweden Democrats attempt to unseat Lofven fails, they will call for a no-confidence motion in Hultqvist. The center-right Alliance bloc has also said it will table a motion of no-confidence in Hultqvist. If Hultqvist is forced to resign, he would be the third minister to fall victim to the IT scandal. No-confidence motions are rare in Swedish politics. Since 1980, only seven have taken place and none one has succeeded. | 1 |
10,999 | HERE’S WHY You Should Boycott The NFL Starting Today…#BoycottNFL | The disgraceful behavior of multi-millionaire NFL players continued last night during the national anthem. Players took a knee while others raised their fist.These pictures are all you need to see to make you boycott the NFL!Squandering the goodwill of fans by doing things like this will be the death of the NFL. Fans of all races support the teams year after year with their hard earned dollars only to see a sideshow of divisiveness like the sideline display above. These players have a job to do and part of that job is to behave like a team. They ve been taught that from pee wee football on up. The old adage that there s no I in TEAM still holds true for football and it should for America. How can we move forward together to make America better if we re so stuck in victimhood. Everyone has their cross to bear and some wrong they wish to right. Every race and culture could reach back and be angry about something. The big question to the black community is when is it time to move on? When will YOU take responsibility for some of the wrongs in your community? Until you do so, your protests will fall on deaf ears. What matters more than your silly protest is the SERIOUS AND VERY REAL issue of black on black crime. It s epidemic yet you ve all but ignored it Why don t you try pointing your finger at yourself for once and GET REAL about what s REALLY wrong in your community.Until then BOYCOTT THE NFL | 0 |
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