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1,900 | Europe could be next mission for Merkel's 'Mr Fix It' | BERLIN (Reuters) - Peter Altmaier once said he would never rise to the top tier of German politics because of his appearance he is a huge man who seems perpetually dishevelled, with shirt untucked and tie askew. But Chancellor Angela Merkel s chief of staff and stand-in finance chief could become the most influential minister in her next coalition government, senior officials say. In recent years, Merkel has often turned to Altmaier, who is known as her Allzweckwaffe (all purpose weapon), to carry out the most sensitive and complex tasks, from securing majorities for unpopular Greek bailouts to coordinating the government s response to the 2015 refugee crisis. Since a Sept. 24 election, he has also emerged as a bridge builder between the disparate parties in coalition talks. If the talks succeed, some officials believe Merkel will try to keep him at the finance ministry so he can tackle what may be the biggest challenge of her fourth term: brokering a deal with French President Emmanuel Macron on a reform of the European Union. If Merkel made him finance minister for this transition period, then it is a sign that she trusts him to do this job in the future, a senior aide to the chancellor told Reuters. Henrik Enderlein, head of the Delors Institut in Berlin, a think tank, said it would send a very strong signal to France if Altmaier continued in the finance ministry post. The liberal Free Democrats (FDP) are expected to have first choice of ministry in the new government. But if their leader Christian Lindner does not claim the finance ministry for himself, Altmaier could be in pole position. Although the FDP and members of Merkel s Christian Democrats (CDU) are skeptical about some of Macron s proposals - notably his idea to create a budget and finance minister for the euro zone - some believe Altmaier s tone alone would inject new momentum into the relationship between Berlin and Paris. Altmaier, who declined to speak to Reuters for this story, has not said publicly whether he is interested in becoming finance minister permanently After meeting French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire last week, he said not all proposals from Paris would be greeted with unlimited enthusiasm . But he added: I never made it a secret that I m an advocate of Franco-German cooperation. A jovial 59-year-old from the state of Saarland on the French border, Altmaier stands out among politicians and the officials in Merkel s close entourage, dominated by technocrats. The son of a coal miner and a nurse, Altmaier was the first prominent German politician to actively embrace Twitter. He hosts extravagant dinners at his vast apartment in west Berlin, cooking Gefilde a Saarland specialty of potato dumplings filled with liverwurst and soaked in a bacon-cream sauce for guests of all political stripes. Altmaier speaks fluent English, French and Dutch and, unlike his boss, is a master communicator. He also likes to make fun of himself, particularly his weight, which he estimated several years ago at 140 kilos (309 pounds) but now describes as a state secret . I may not be the wichtigste (most important) minister but I am the gewichtigste (heaviest), he has joked. After years as Merkel s Mr Fix It , some CDU officials see him as a dark horse candidate to succeed the chancellor one day. As parliamentary whip for the CDU, he won over skeptics about the Greek bailouts with home-cooked meals and red wine. The thinner the majority, the fatter Altmaier gets, Bundestag members used to quip. Later, as Merkel s environment minister, he brought order to her nuclear power phase-out and was appointed her chief of staff in 2013. Two years later, she turned to Altmaier for help over the arrival of hundreds of thousands of refugees and again this year to write the CDU s election program. In coalition talks between Merkel s conservatives, the FDP and Greens, Altmaier has been a mediator, gently nudging the parties closer together, participants say. Like Merkel, he is a CDU moderate. After joining the Bundestag in 1994, he incurred the wrath of traditionalists by pushing for a reform of strict German citizenship laws and the rehabilitation of World War Two deserters. He was part of the Pizza Connection , a group of young lawmakers from the CDU and Greens who met regularly at an Italian restaurant in Bonn, when the environmentalist party was viewed as a radical, fringe group by many conservatives. Before entering German politics, Altmaier studied European law and worked at the European Commission, later participating in the European Convention that led to the EU s Lisbon Treaty. Altmaier is one of a small number of top-tier German politicians who has real experience in Brussels, said Martin Selmayr, chief of staff to European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, who worked with Altmaier in the Convention in 2002. He is a committed European and would be a powerful pro-European voice in any German government. | 1 |
1,901 | Former Hong Kong student leader escapes jail sentence for campus protest | HONG KONG (Reuters) - The former leader of the Hong Kong University student union on Thursday received a court sentence of community service for his role in a campus protest, escaping the fate of a growing list of young activists put behind bars. The activists, many still university students, have been at the forefront of the former British colony s fight for democracy which peaked during the months-long Umbrella Movement street occupations in late 2014. But after failing to convince Beijing to allow full democracy in Hong Kong, many lost confidence in the city s one country, two systems arrangement, and began to call for total independence. Billy Fung, 23, who helped lead a protest last year by about 200 students seeking talks over the governance structure of the University of Hong Kong (HKU), was given 240 hours of community service for disorderly conduct in a public place, criminal damage and attempted forcible entry. I understand you have ideals and hope to change what is unjust in society, said magistrate Ko Wai-hung. But when you think these ideals are the absolute truth, you may neglect that other people have the right and reasons to hold different opinions. Wearing ties with the university emblem, both Fung and another student leader, Colman Li, 22, who is to serve 200 hours of community service, looked calm when the sentences were handed down, while about 100 young people in the courtroom applauded. Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997, with the promise of a large degree of autonomy and civil liberties not permitted in mainland China. In the past few years, police have charged up to 100 activists, most of them young, over anti-government protests, a list compiled by activist groups shows. Fung s sentence came one month after the jailing of youth activist Joshua Wong, who had helped lead tens of thousands onto Hong Kong s streets. The issue of academic freedom has flared in recent weeks, after a campus display of pro-independence banners drew the ire of Chinese state media and Hong Kong officials, triggering heated standoffs between local freedom advocates and pro-China students and groups. In Fung s case, the governance issue drew scrutiny after the university council blocked a prominent HKU law school dean and human rights advocate, Johannes Chan, from taking the post of pro-vice-chancellor. (This story has been refiled to insert dropped word sentence in headline) | 1 |
1,902 | Exclusive: Italy plans big handover of sea rescues to Libya coastguard | ROME/TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Italy wants Libya s coastguard to take responsibility within three years for intercepting migrants across about a tenth of the Mediterranean even as Libyan crews struggle to patrol their own coast and are accused of making deadly mistakes at sea. Six years after the revolution that overthrew Muammar Gaddafi, Libya is split between rival governments in the east and west while ports and beaches are largely in the hands of armed groups. For a graphic on Italy's handover of sea rescues to Libya, click tmsnrt.rs/2o1wLC6 Migrant smuggling has flourished, with more than 600,000 making the perilous journey across the central Mediterranean in four years. Migrants transiting through Libya often endure appalling conditions, including rape, torture and forced labor. The Italian plan, outlined in a slide presentation seen by Reuters, shows that Italy and the European Union are focusing on rebuilding Libya s navy and coastguard so they can stop boats. But aid groups say the Libyans are poorly trained and accuse them of mishandling a rescue last month in which some 50 people are thought to have died. The Libyans return all migrants, including refugees, to Libya even though the situation on the ground there is far from resolved. Italy has been coordinating rescues off the Libyan coast since 2013. The 30 slides show spending of 44 million euros ($52 million) to expand Libya s capacity by 2020, equipping the coastguard and enabling it to establish its own rescue coordination center as well as a vast maritime search-and-rescue region. It also foresees a pilot project for monitoring Libya s southern border. The project draws on European Union and Italian funds, and needs EU approval. The plan was presented by the Italian coastguard at a conference hosted by the EU s anti-trafficking mission, Sophia, in Rome last month. Representatives from the EU, non-governmental groups and various Mediterranean navies and coastguards attended the closed-door presentation, said a source who was present. Libya s coastguard has already been pushing further into international waters, often firing warning shots or speeding close to charity boats. Over the summer, three charities abandoned rescue operations in part because of fears of the increasing Libyan sea presence. Arrivals to Italy have fallen by two-thirds since July from the same period last year after officials working for the U.N.-backed government in Tripoli, Italy s partner, persuaded human smugglers in the city of Sabratha to stop boats leaving. The Libyan coastguard also increased the rate of its interceptions, turning back about 20,000 this year, though it still only stops a portion of the boats. The crisis remains a major issue in Italy. State shelters for asylum seekers are nearly full, and with elections looming politicians across the spectrum insist the flows from North Africa be stopped, which the new scheme is likely to address. Italy s coastguard did not reply to a request for comment. The prime minister s office referred questions to the interior ministry, which is spearheading the effort to fight people smuggling in Libya and also had no comment. Each nation has the right to declare its own search-and-rescue zone, and to carry out search-and-rescue operations, a Defence Ministry spokesman said, citing international law. Ayoub Qassem, a Libyan coastguard spokesman, said he did not have details of the plan, but both sides recognized the need to cooperate in tackling irregular migration. Recently the Italian side has been eager to cooperate with Libya because it s more effective than working without Libya that s natural, he said. Italy has supplied Libya with four refurbished vessels so far, and six more have been promised, while the EU has trained about 220 Libyan coastguards. But rights groups and aid workers say partnering with Libya s unprofessional coastguard risks exposing migrants to drowning during rescues or to further rights abuses if sent back to detention centers inside Libya. From the testimony we hear from the migrants, we know that people intercepted at sea have then re-entered the circle of violence and imprisonment and abuse that they were fleeing, said Nicola Stalla, search-and-rescue chief for SOS Mediterranee, one of the charities still operating off Libya. Activists also point to incidents such as one on Nov. 6, when crew members of the German humanitarian ship Sea Watch 3 witnessed a Libyan naval vessel draw alongside an inflatable migrant boat. When people fell into the water, Sea Watch used small rubber speedboats to pull people from the water while the Libyans looked on. Some migrants who climbed on board the Libyan vessel were whipped with ropes, and the Libyan boat sped off with a man still dangling in the water, according to videos shot by Sea Watch and crew member Gennaro Giudetti, who pulled the body of a lifeless 2 1/2-year-old Nigerian boy named Great from the water. They watched us and shot videos. They even threw potatoes at us. That s not how you save lives, said Giudetti. Libya s naval coastguard accused Sea Watch of obstructing the rescue and trying to lure away migrants who had already boarded their ship. Some migrants jumped into the water to try to reach Sea Watch rescuers. The Libyans said their smaller speedboats, which are mounted on larger patrol vessels and are the safest to use for rescues, were broken. We have only one or two of these boats and they do not work, so how we can put them into the water? Qassem, the coastguard spokesman, told Reuters. The expansion of Libyan patrols has led to confusion and competition over who should take the lead during rescues. Some charity ships say they have been directed to hold off rescues to allow the Libyans to arrive, putting migrants at risk. Libya s search-and-rescue region extends 90 miles from shore in some places, and 200 miles in others, Qassem said. This summer the Libyans notified the International Maritime Organization about plans to take over a large search and rescue region, but withdrew the notification this month, saying it would resubmit a new one soon, an IMO spokeswoman said. It would be the first time Libya has set up a search-and-rescue region, she said. The Italian plan proposes helping Libya formally declare such a zone. It would also provide for training, maintenance, new cars, ambulances and buses, communications equipment and clothing. Full operation capability is seen by the end of 2020. | 1 |
1,903 | City of Oxford strips Aung San Suu Kyi of human rights award | LONDON (Reuters) - Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been stripped of a human rights award by the City of Oxford, where she was an undergraduate, as British institutions increasingly distance themselves from the beleaguered former rights icon. Oxford City Council voted unanimously this week to recommend Suu Kyi s Freedom of the City award be withdrawn, citing deep concerns over the treatment of Rohingya Muslims under her watch. The city s reputation is tarnished by honoring those who turn a blind eye to violence, local councilor and Labour party member Mary Clarkson said in a speech proposing the motion. Over 500,000 members of Myanmar s Rohingya minority have fled across the border to Bangladesh since late August, when militant Rohingya attacks led to a violent crackdown by the army. Myanmar s de facto leader Suu Kyi, previously renowned for her human rights activism, has been widely criticized for her silence on the subject. While the UN calls the situation a textbook example of ethnic cleansing , Aung San Suu Kyi denies any ethnic cleansing and dismisses numerous claims of sexual violence against Rohingya women as fake rape, Clarkson said. In a speech in late September, her first public statement on the subject since the exodus of refugees began, Suu Kyi said her government condemned all human rights violations and promised to punish perpetrators. But she did not address accusations of ethnic cleansing and did not criticize the army s actions. Her speech was described as little more than a mix of untruths and victim-blaming by Amnesty International director for the region, James Gomez. A similar Freedom of the City award is being considered for withdrawal by Sheffield city council in the north of England, after residents submitted a petition last month. The award will likely be reviewed by councillors this month, the council s democratic services team, which handles petitions, told Reuters. Oxford University college St Hugh s, Suu Kyi s alma mater, removed her portrait last week from public display while Unison, Britain s second-largest trade union, announced last month it would suspend her honorary membership. | 1 |
1,904 | Lebanon president says stability is 'red line' after PM quit - justice minister | BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon s president stressed that stability is a red line after the prime minister s shock resignation, Justice Minister Salim Jreissati said on Monday after meeting the president. Saudi King Salman received Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri in Riyadh on Monday, two days after he quit, Saudi-owned al-Arabiya television reported, without elaborating. In a televised speech, Hariri had said he feared an assassination plot against him and accused Iran along with its Lebanese ally Hezbollah of sowing strife in the Arab world. His resignation stunned Beirut s political establishment, brought down the coalition government and sparked a new political crisis. It has thrust Lebanon into the front line of the regional rivalry between Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia and Shi ite Muslim Iran that has also buffeted Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Bahrain. Lebanese President Michel Aoun convened a meeting with ministers and top security officials at the Baabda palace on Monday to assess the security situation. Aoun told them political leaders had been responsive to calls for calm, strengthening security and national unity, his office said. The president will take no steps regarding the prime minister s resignation before Hariri returns from abroad, the justice minister said at a press conference after the meeting. Aoun said security, economic, financial, and political stability is a red line , Jreissati said. The president is waiting for Hariri s return to hear from him personally. This indicates a sovereign vision...and that the resignation must be voluntary in every sense. Aoun was also set to meet the finance minister and central bank governor later on Monday. | 1 |
1,905 | Amid Spain attacks, Trump says U.S. ready and borders secure | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States was prepared for any possible “trouble” and its borders were secure, as authorities in Spain grappled with an attempted attack near Barcelona one day after another attack left more than a dozen dead. “Homeland Security and law enforcement are on alert & closely watching for any sign of trouble. Our borders are far tougher than ever before!” Trump wrote in a post on Twitter on Friday. | 1 |
1,906 | NSA – ‘Top Secret’ Arsenal Released In Protest Of ‘Trump Betrayal’ | 21st Century Wire says Out of all the intelligence agencies in the United States, we ve come across stories where not everyone is on the same page . Indeed we ve also heard about factions embroiled in competition, and rivalry. Moral compass, personal principles, and ethics being challenged which lead to inner conflict; just some of the reasons that gave us former NSA whistleblower William Binney and more recently in the last few years, Edward Snowden.You might not have heard of them, but The Shadow Brokers came on the scene last year. A previously unknown collective, the Brokers hacked and released legitimate hacking tools from the NSA s own special-ops entity, the Equation Group . The initial speculation, the Russians, of course. Everything is Russia by proxy these days. The Shadow Brokers released a certain amount of the Equation Group hacking tools asking for one million bitcoins, roughly $568 million at the time.The Shadow Brokers are back and since their initial hack it is assumed that this could be the work of a disgruntled in house employee. Furthermore they re not happy at all with President Donald J. Trump for numerous reasons, including his recent decision to launch 59 Tomahawk missiles into Syria.More on this report from Zerohedge Tyler Durden ZeroHedgeLast August, the intel world was abuzz following the news that a previously unknown hacker collective, The Shadow Brokers had hacked and released legitimate hacking tools from the NSA s own special-ops entity, the Equation Group , with initial speculation emerging that the Russians may have penetrated the US spy agency as suggested by none other than Edward Snowden. The Shadow Brokers released a bunch of the organization s hacking tools, and were asking for 1 million bitcoin (around $568 million at the time) to release more files, however failed to find a buyer. Attention then shifted from Russians after some speculated that the agency itself may be housing another mole insider. At the time, a former NSA source told Motherboard, that it s plausible that the leakers are actually a disgruntled insider, claiming that it s easier to walk out of the NSA with a USB drive or a CD than hack its servers. As famed NSA whistleblower William Binney who exposed the NSA s pervasive surveillance of Americans long before Snowden confirmed it said, My colleagues and I are fairly certain that this was no hack, or group for that matter, This Shadow Brokers character is one guy, an insider employee. In a subsequent Reuters op-ed by cybersecurity expert James Bamford, author of The Shadow Factory: The Ultra-Secret NSA From 9/11 to the Eavesdropping on America, and columnist for Foreign Policy magazine, he said that seemed as the most probable explanation, and that Russia had nothing to do with this latest and most provocative yet hack.Since then, the Shadow Broker group, whose origin and identity still remains a mystery, disappeared from the radar only to emerge today, when in an article posted on Medium, the group wrote an op-ed, much of it in broken English, in which it slammed Donald Trump s betrayal of his core base , and the recent attack on Syria, urging Trump to revert to his original promises and not be swept away by globalist and MIC interests, but far more imporantly, released the password which grants access to what Edward Snowden moments ago called the NSA s Top Secret arsenal of digital weapons. The article begins with the group explaining why it is displeased with Trump.DON T FORGET YOUR BASEDear President Trump,Respectfully, what the fuck are you doing? TheShadowBrokers voted for you. TheShadowBrokers supports you. TheShadowBrokers is losing faith in you. Mr. Trump helping theshadowbrokers, helping you. Is appearing you are abandoning your base , the movement , and the peoples who getting you elected.Good Evidence:#1 Goldman Sach (TheGlobalists) and Military Industrial Intelligence Complex (MIIC) cabinet #2 Backtracked on Obamacare #3 Attacked the Freedom Causcus (TheMovement) #4 Removed Bannon from the NSC #5 Increased U.S. involvement in a foreign war (Syria Strike)The peoples whose voted for you, voted against the Republican Party, the party that tried to destroying your character in the primaries. The peoples who voted for you, voted against the Democrat Party, the party that hates, mocks, and laughs at you. Without the support of the peoples who voted for you, what do you think will be happening to your Presidency? Without the support of the people who voted for you, do you think you ll be still making America great again? Do you be remembering when you were sitting there at the Obama Press Party and they were all laughing at you? Do you be remembering when you touring the country and all those peoples believed in you and supported you? You were those peoples hope. How do you be thinking it will be feeling when those people turn on you? Will they be laughing at you, hating you, and mocking you too?TheShadowBrokers doesn t want this to be happening to you, Mr. Trump. TheShadowBrokers is wanting to see you succeed.The hackers then ask Trump whose war is he fighting:If you made deal(s) be telling the peoples about them, peoples is appreciating transparency. But what kind of deal can be resulting in chemical weapons used in Syria, Mr. Bannon s removal from the NSC, US military strike on Syria, and successful vote for SCOTUS without change rules? Mr. Trump whose war are you fighting? Israeli Nationalists (Zionist) and Goldman Sachs war? Chinese Globalists and Goldman Sachs war? Is not looking like you fighting the domestic wars, the movement elected you to be fighting. You not being in office three months and already you looking like the MIIC s bitch with John McCain and Chuck Schumer double dutch ruddering each other in the corner over dead corpses.The post continues by exposing what the ShadowBrokers believe is the general mindset of Trump s support base;Your Supporters: Don t care what is written in the NYT, Washington Post, or any newspaper, so just ignore it. Don t care if you swapped wives with Mr Putin, double down on it, Putin is not just my firend he is my BFF . Don t care if the election was hacked or rigged, celebrate it so what if I did, what are you going to do about it . Don t care if your popular or nice, get er done, Obama s fail, thinking he could create compromise. No compromise. Don t want foreign wars, Do want domestic wars, drain the swamp , destroy the nanny state Don t care about your faith, you sound like a smuck when you try to say god things DO support the ideologies and policies of Steve Bannon, Anti-Globalism, Anti-Socialism, Nationalism, IsolationismIn the article, the ShadowBrokers also touch upon what until recently was the primary topic of the daily news cycle, namely the whether Russia is behind this (and any other black hat intel hacking operation):For peoples still being confused about TheShadowBrokers and Russia. If theshadowbrokers being Russian don t you think we d be in all those U.S. government reports on Russian hacking? TheShadowBrokers isn t not fans of Russia or Putin but The enemy of my enemy is my friend. We recognize Americans having more in common with Russians than Chinese or Globalist or Socialist. Russia and Putin are nationalist and enemies of the Globalist, examples: NATO encroachment and Ukraine conflict. Therefore Russia and Putin are being best allies until the common enemies are defeated and America is great again.The report than goes on to suggest that the hacking group is in fact comprised mostly of former US spies: President Trump, theshadowbrokers is offering our services to you and your administration. Did you know most of theshadowbrokers members have taken the oath to protect and defend the constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic . Yes sir! Most of us used to be TheDeepState everyone is talking about Continue this report at ZeroHedgeREAD MORE SCI-TECH NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire SCI-TECH FilesSUPPORT OUR WORK BY SUBSCRIBING & BECOMING A MEMBER @21WIRE.TV | 0 |
1,907 | Trump: I Couldn’t Have Divided America Because ‘I’m Not President Yet’ (VIDEO) | Despite having run one of the most disgusting campaigns most of us have ever witnessed, the not-my-president-elect told Matt Lauer of the Today Show that he s not to blame for the division in America. Of course he did. Trump was featured as Time Magazine Person of The Year on the cover Wednesday, which named him President of the Divided States of America. It is a great honor. It means a lot especially me growing up reading Time Magazine, Trump told Lauer. I have been lucky enough to be on the cover many times. Which is an odd statement considering he blasted Time magazine in Dec. 2015 on Twitter when he was not chosen. Lauer was quick to point that out. When you say divided states of America, I didn t divide them, Trump continued to say. They re divided now. I think putting divided is snarky, but again, it s divided. I m not president yet. So I didn t do anything to divide. SURE, he didn t. The future Demagogue-In-Chief called his Democratic opponent Crooked Hillary at every campaign rally, working the crowd into a frenzy. Lock her up! chants commenced at each of his campaign stops. Hate crimes have increased. Every white supremacist group across the board endorsed the acidic alleged billionaire. But he s not a divider. Just ask him.At that point, Lauer grilled him over his use of Twitter, a social site in which he has dished out conspiracy theories to his nearly 17 million followers. I think I am very restrained, and I talk about important things, he said. That s a modern day form of communication. I get it out much more faster than a press release. I get it out much more honestly than dealing with dishonest reporters, Trump added.Well, if by restrained he means attacking Saturday Night Live and the cast of the musical Hamilton, then he has a point. Otherwise, he s so full of shit we re going to have to attach a toilet flush to his jaw. As for not being sworn in yet, that s true. But he s the president-elect and needs to put his big boy pants on so he can get to work. It s going to be a loooong four years.Photo by Scott Olson via Getty. | 0 |
1,908 | WATCH: A GOP Candidate Just Released This Amazingly Racist Ad | Republican congressional candidates have been the source of some of the most outrageous campaign ads over the last few years. A new ad from Kentucky 1st district candidate Mike Pape is one of the most racist examples of this that has come across in a long time.In the ad, three apparent Mexicans approach a border fence wearing t-shirts that say, Stop Trump Stop Ted Cruz and Stop Pape . The subtitled, heavily-accented actors explain that Pape will work to build Trump s wall or help Cruz repeal Obamacare, before saying they must stop him and charge into the country illegally. Pape then appears in the foreground to say he approves the message.The ad builds on Donald Trump s racially charged campaign rhetoric and his bizarre promise to build a wall between the United States and Mexico, paid for by the Mexican government.On the very first day of Trump s campaign, he blamed Mexicans for bringing crime like rape to America, as well as drugs.Gaskins is currently running in the Republican primary for his district against three other candidates, for the seat that will be opened up due to the retirement of Rep. Ed Whitfield. It is a heavily Republican district, with 73 percent of the vote going to the GOP in the 2014 election.The ad is a symptom of the problems plaguing the Republican Party nationally. As the country becomes more diverse, especially with Latinos, the GOP s hardcore base demands that candidates stick to racist and sexist appeals that reliably get voters to the polls.And when Republicans attempt to slightly moderate themselves even with candidates who are otherwise hard conservatives they are ostracized and excluded. For instance, while former Florida Governor Jeb Bush was an orthodox conservative, he argued in favor of immigration policy that was harsh but not as draconian as other candidates. As a result, Bush was utterly destroyed in the 2016 primaries and caucuses, even though he had more money than everyone else.This ad reflects the current state of the Republican Party, and it isn t a good look.Featured image via YouTube | 0 |
1,909 | Boiler Room EP #81 – Halloween Fireside Book of Suspense Vol. 1 | Tune in to the Alternate Current Radio Network (ACR) for another LIVE broadcast of The Boiler Room starting at 6:00 PM PST | 8:00 PM CST | 9:00 PM EST for this special broadcast. Join us for uncensored, uninterruptible talk radio, custom-made for barfly philosophers, misguided moralists, masochists, street corner evangelists, media-maniacs, savants, political animals and otherwise lovable rascals.Join ACR hosts Hesher and Spore along with Randy J and Stewart Howe from 21Wire, Andy Nowicki from Alt Right Blogspot, Jay Dyer of Jays Analysis and Jamie Hanshaw (host of Happy Hearts) for the 81st episode of BOILER ROOM. Dim the lights, dawn the headphones and indulge in a Halloween Special broadcast of Boiler Room with the crew. This week we re boiling up some media maniac conversation with blend of topics that ONLY the Boiler Room can pull off.Please like and share the program and visit our donate page to get involved!BOILER ROOM IS NOT A POLICTALLY CORRECT ZONE! LISTEN TO THE SHOW IN THE PLAYER BELOW ENJOY!Listen to Boiler Room #81 Halloween Fireside Book of Suspense Vol. 1 on Spreaker.Reference Links: | 0 |
1,910 | Obama says not worried about being last Democratic U.S. leader for a while | LIMA (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama on Sunday said he is not worried about being the last Democratic U.S. president for a while, noting democrat Hillary Clinton won the popular vote and his own approval rating remained high. He added, however, that the Democratic Party needed to organize better and better convey its message. | 1 |
1,911 | TEMPERS FLARE IN DC: BIKERS FOR TRUMP Break Through Protester Line…Rioters Trap Wife Of Trump Supporter…Trump Bikers Brawl With Masked Protesters [VIDEO] | https://youtu.be/ZfRYj2ZX3dE#Trump supporter gets past #DisruptJ20 barricade but couldn't get back to his wife #Inauguration pic.twitter.com/JFHOcgcT9c Alex Rubinstein (@RealAlexRubi) January 20, 2017Finally, these bikers are caught in a brawl with a DisruptJ20 protester:Bikers For Trump guy fights with #DisruptJ20 protester pic.twitter.com/JVUpuDBsQZ Alex Rubinstein (@RealAlexRubi) January 20, 2017 | 0 |
1,912 | Trump Just Asked For The Public’s Opinion. A Former Obama Official Had The PERFECT Response (IMAGE) | Donald Trump might want to stop creating public polls it s never going to end well for him as he is the most hated POTUS in history.It s no secret that even before Trump stepped foot in the White House, the nation was mourning the loss of President Barack Obama, stunned and heartbroken that a truly great POTUS would be replaced by an incompetent reality television star.We re now several weeks into Trump s presidency and we still can t get over it. If the average American is upset about Trump being in the White House, you can only imagine what Obama s former officials feel, having worked closely with a truly great man and leader. Today, former Obama official Chris Lu gave us a look at some major resistance to the new president.Lu was Obama s top liaison to federal departments and agencies, and clearly showed that he was fiercely loyal to the former POTUS. Trump made the mistake of asking the public what agencies he should cut and it went horribly wrong thanks to Lu. Lu answered the question by proposing that Trump s White House be eliminated!Trump was looking for a way to make the Federal government more efficient, effective, and accountable to you and we can all agree that our government would be far more effective without Trump and his corrupt administration. Here s Lu s hilarious response to Trump:Lu wrote: The President seems more interested in visiting his own properties instead of fulfilling his constitutional duties. But if he wants to stay in office, he should disclose his tax returns, eliminate all conflicts of interest, and disclose who is visiting the White House. That s something we all could agree on. We have all seen how miserably Trump fails whenever he tries to get something done four years under this administration will be detrimental to the country.Featured image via Feng Li / Getty Images | 0 |
1,913 | Mom PERFECTLY Responds To Anti-Science Idiot Telling Child She’s Being Kept Autistic (IMAGES) | A mother is outraged after her autistic daughter came home in tears because another parent told her that her mom doesn t want to cure her autism.If you are a parent with a heart and a brain, you re going to be just as pissed off as this little girl s mom.According to a Facebook post provided by A Science Enthusiast, a parent actually had the audacity to tell a little girl that her mother doesn t want to cure her of her autism, and then gave the child a brochure advertising a natural cure company.So, the little girl s mom took to Facebook to give the anonymous parent a deserved severe tongue-lashing. To the PARENT who today told my daughter with autism that is can be CURED- through specific diet, avoiding chemicals (IDIOT) and essential oils. FUCK YOU. My brilliant science minded, but incredibly naive child who embraces her individuality, came home extremely upset and confused as to why I m not trying to cure her. THIS BITCH gave my kid a brochure for a direct sales company that sells natural and organic foods and spices and told her give it to your mom if she s interested in learning more about a cure. The mother destroyed the brochure, but The Science Enthusiast did provide an image from the company website.After reading about Wildtree, it s clear that they do not claim to be able to cure autism or any other disorders. Wildtree is simply a company that offers organic meals to people who have dietary restrictions due to medical conditions or to those who just want to eat more healthy. So it appears the parent who spouted this nonsense about a cure for autism either misread what the company is about or is truly just an idiot.But that doesn t make this mom any less angry about what this other parent did. My kid now wonders if I m PURPOSELY keeping her sick. I want to beat the shit out of this psycho. My arthritis be damned. Here s the full post via Facebook.// < ![CDATA[ // < ![CDATA[ // < ![CDATA[ (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); // ]]>This is so fucked up.Posted by A Science Enthusiast on Wednesday, March 9, 2016This is one of the most evil things to tell a child and this so-called parent should be investigated and kept as far away from kids and civilization as possible.For the record, there is no cure for autism. But there are treatments available such as therapies and behavioral interventions that have proven to be a great help to autistic adults and children.Featured image via Pinterest | 0 |
1,914 | HASTA LA VISTA Arnold! Guy Whose Affair With Housekeeper Produced Son, Destroyed 25 Yr. Marriage Says Trump Has Too Much “Baggage”…. Quits Celebrity Apprentice | Arnold Schwarzenegger, who replaced Donald Trump as host of Celebrity Apprentice, is calling it quits:In remarks Friday, the former California governor cited President Trump, who has repeatedly mocked the ratings of his reality TV replacement, as his reason. Even if asked [to do it again] I would decline, Schwarzenegger told Empire . I learned a lot, I had a great time, it was a really great opportunity. But under the circumstances I don t want to do it again. With Trump being involved in the show people have a bad taste and don t want to participate as a spectator or sponsor or in any other way support the show. It s a very divisive period right now and I think the show got caught up in all that division. NYT s TV reporter John Koblin made the announcement on Twitter:Arnold Schwarzenegger told NBC he's leaving "The Celebrity Apprentice." Here's his statement: pic.twitter.com/HXS6w1vqlb John Koblin (@koblin) March 3, 2017While Schwarzenegger is blaming Trump, Twitter users are blaming the ratings:Or the bad ratings? Booga 7 (@commonsensemom2) March 3, 2017https://twitter.com/SJCLawStudent25/status/837742613318914049One Twitter user suggested that it might be a good time for Ivanka to take her father s phone away LOL!.@IvankaTrump You should probably take Dad's phone away. https://t.co/uHfczRBtJh Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) March 3, 2017 Twitchy | 0 |
1,915 | ESTABLISHMENT GOP END TIMES? Why Republican Candidates Are Kicking RNC To Curb | In the real world, if your boss is damaging your ability to achieve your full potential, you start looking for a new place of employment. Why should these candidate settle for an organization who isn t representing their best interests? The 2016 GOP presidential campaigns agreed on Sunday evening to cut the Republican National Committee (RNC) out of the debate negotiation process and instead deal directly with networks moderating debates, Breitbart News has learned.Corey Lewandowski, the campaign manager for frontrunner Donald Trump, confirmed to Breitbart News via phone on Sunday that the biggest consensus of five separate points the GOP campaigns agreed on was cutting the RNC out of the negotiations with the networks, as the campaigns would each like to negotiate with the networks directly.In response to the revelation that the RNC will be cut out of the process, RNC chief spokesman Sean Spicer the party s point man on handling debates until now said the RNC stands ready to help the candidates in any way they can. The RNC is fully committed to serving the interests of our campaigns, Spicer told Breitbart News. We support the best format to present their vision to lead America forward. A campaign manager with another campaign who wished not to be identified confirmed to Breitbart News that the RNC will no longer be handling debate format and that the campaigns will take the lead on that. The RNC will still handle basic logistics, though, that campaign manager said.The second point of agreement was that they want information from the networks on things such as qualification criteria earlier than before, Lewandowski said, and third was they want greater parity and greater integrity in questions. A fourth point of agreement, according to Lewandowski, was they want debates to last no longer than two hours including commercials and a fifth is they want each candidate to get at least 30 seconds apiece for opening and for closing statements. Mr. Trump has won the last three debates, and he is willing to continue to debate his opponents, Lewandowski told Breitbart News. However, the moderators of the debates should not be the story. Instead, the candidates responses to questions is what the American public should hear. The meeting happened at the Hilton in Alexandria, Virginia, in Old Town on King Street just outside Washington, D.C.Most of the details of what various campaigns wanted was already made public heading into the meeting. Ben Carson s campaign manager, Barry Bennett, was hopeful that the group could agree on one two-hour debate with every candidate onstage, the Washington Post s Bob Costa and Dave Weigel reported.They also quoted former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee s campaign manager Sarah Huckabee Sanders, laying out a previously public demand from campaigns. One of the big goals is allowing for more substance and equal time, Sanders said. It does make that difficult if there are multiple candidates but the debate s capped at two hours. But the revelation that the RNC will no longer be a part of the debate process has not yet been reported until now.During the meeting, too, according to Costa and Weigel, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush s campaign manager Danny Diaz pushed unsuccessfully for Telemundo to get reinstated as a moderator something Trump would boycott. Bush campaign manager Danny Diaz recommended that Telemundo be reinstated after being dropped along with NBC, Costa and Weigel wrote. But the campaign of businessman Donald Trump, represented by manager Corey Lewandowski, threatened to boycott a debate if the Spanish-language network that Trump has clashed with was granted one. Telemundo was supposed to partner with NBC News, but after CNBC s horrendous moderating job in Boulder, Colorado, last week lost its upcoming debate along with partner network NBC News.This revelation also means a last-ditch effort by the RNC to keep control of the process has failed.Via: Matthew Boyle, Breitbart News | 0 |
1,916 | WATCH: Elizabeth Warren Skewers Donald Trump For Cheering For Financial Setbacks That Benefit Him | Senator Elizabeth Warren continued her crusade against Donald Trump on Monday and she she did not hold back.Upon voting to exit the European Union last week, Britain sparked a $2.1 trillion loss across global markets as the Republican nominee cheered. And Warren did not like that one bit, because the financial downturn will affect ordinary Americans more than it affects him.So during a stop in Ohio with Hillary Clinton, Warren tore into Trump in defense of all the Americans who may experience setbacks of their own due to the Brexit vote. Donald Trump says he ll make America great again, she began. It s stamped on the front of his goofy hat. You wanna see goofy, look at him in that hat. When Donald Trump says great, I say, Great for who, exactly? For millions of kids struggling to pay for an education? For millions of seniors barely surviving on Social Security? For families that don t fly to Scotland to play golf? she asked rhetorically. When he says Make America Great he means make it great for rich guys just like Donald Trump. Great for the guys who don t care how much they ve already squeezed from everyone else. Great for the guys who always want more. Because that s who Donald Trump is, the guy who wants it all for himself. And watch out, because he will crush you into the dirt to get what he wants. And then she blasted him for being happy about financial crises that hurt millions of Americans. Donald Trump cheered on Britain s current crisis which has sucked billions of dollars out of your retirement accounts because he said it might bring more rich people to his new golf course. He cheered on the 2008 housing crash because he could scoop up more real estate on the cheap. And he cheered on students desperate enough to sign up for his fake university so he could bleed them dry and turn a profit for himself. What kind of a man does that? What kind of a man roots for people to lose their jobs, to lose their homes, to lose their life savings? I ll tell you what kind of a man. A small insecure, money-grubber who fights for no one but himself. A nasty man who will never become President of the United States. She then introduced Hillary Clinton to thunderous applause, thus making it clear that she would be a great choice if she is picked as Hillary s vice-presidential running mate.Here s the video via YouTube.Hillary Clinton would be wise to choose Warren as her VP. Not only would it be an all-female ticket, it would help solidify her status among progressives who haven t fallen in line to support her. And if this speech foreshadows anything it s that Donald Trump is about to get his ass handed to him in November by two women instead of just one.Featured image via screenshot | 0 |
1,917 | Agencies dither over who leads A380 engine explosion probe | PARIS/TORONTO (Reuters) - Air accident investigators from both sides of the Atlantic have been struggling to decide who should lead a probe into an engine explosion that forced an Air France A380 to make an emergency landing in Canada, people familiar with the matter said. Two days after the damaged superjumbo landed at Goose Bay in Labrador with more than 500 people on board, a formal investigation had yet to be announced, a step that typically takes hours. Experts from the United States and France, as well as planemaker Airbus and U.S-based engine maker Engine Alliance, have been sent to Goose Bay. But a spokesman for France s BEA air accident agency said no investigation had yet been formally launched. Canada s Transportation Safety Board (TSB) said it was currently leading the work of investigators from Canada, France and the United States. It s a long process and we re still gathering data and assessing. Many significant elements remain to be determined at this point, TSB spokesman Alexandre Fournier said by phone from Ottawa. Fournier said a formal accident investigation had not been launched and jurisdiction remains to be confirmed. The flight data recorder and cabin voice recorder will be arriving in Ottawa on Tuesday for analysis, he added. The decision on who should lead an investigation depends on a number of factors including, first and foremost, the country where the incident took place. Airline sources said an uncontained explosion, which ripped off the outer-right engine s three-metre-wide fan together with its housing from the front of the engine, happened over Greenland, which comes under Danish jurisdiction. Under aviation law, Denmark would officially own the investigation but it can delegate it to another country, such as Canada. Denmark s accident agency was not available for comment. France and the United States would automatically be part of any investigation, since the aircraft and engine were made in those countries respectively. Nobody was injured in the incident, in which Air France Flight 66, originating in Paris and bound for Los Angeles, declared a mayday and diverted to Canada. Airbus has issued an alert to all operators of the aircraft that use the same type of engine, confirming the low-pressure compressor fan had been separated. No cause had yet been identified, it said, according to one recipient. In 2010, a Rolls-Royce engine on a Qantas A380 suffered mid-air damage after taking off in Singapore. An investigation blamed a leak from a badly made engine pipe. | 1 |
1,918 | Israeli police resume interview of Netanyahu in corruption probe | JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli police officers on Sunday questioned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the sixth time in a corruption probe, a police spokeswoman said. Investigators arrived by car in late afternoon to Netanyahu s official residence in Jerusalem where past interrogations have taken place, and disappeared behind security gates. Police said Netanyahu was questioned for several hours at his residence in an ongoing fraud investigation under the oversight of the state attorney, the country s chief prosecutor, and with the authorisation of the attorney-general. No charges have been brought against Netanyahu, who has been in power since 2009 and has denied wrongdoing. He is a suspect in two cases, one involving the receipt of gifts from businessmen and the other related to alleged conversations he held with an Israeli newspaper publisher about limiting competition in the news sector in exchange for more positive coverage. Police said earlier this month that a top Netanyahu confidant had been questioned as part of a different investigation into a $2 billion submarine deal with Germany. | 1 |
1,919 | Trump aide Greenblatt returning to Israel for peace talks: official | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump s Middle East peace negotiator, Jason Greenblatt, is returning to Israel to continue the peace track after the president met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas last week in New York, a White House official said on Sunday. While President Trump had productive meetings with Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas at the United Nations, we always said that the UN would not focus on peace conversations and that those conversations would be happening on a separate track, the official said in a statement. (Greenblatt) will have follow-up meetings in advance of a private trip in the region with his family for Sukkot. The meetings are part of the Administration s quiet, steady discussions toward peace, he said. Sukkot is a Jewish holiday. | 1 |
1,920 | In stinging attack, France's Macron says Poland isolating itself in Europe | VARNA, Bulgaria/WARSAW (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday Poland was isolating itself within the European Union and Polish citizens deserve better than a government at odds with the bloc s democratic values and economic reform plans. Macron said Warsaw, where a nationalist, eurosceptic government took office in 2015, was moving in the opposite direction to Europe on numerous issues and would not be able to dictate the path of Europe s future. Poland rejected the accusations, saying Macron was inexperienced and arrogant. Europe is a region created on the basis of values, a relationship with democracy and public freedoms which Poland is today in conflict with, Macron said in Bulgaria on the third leg of a trip to central and eastern Europe to generate support for his vision of a Europe that better protects its citizens. He described Poland s refusal to change its stance on a revision of the EU s directive on posted workers - cheap labor from eastern countries posted temporarily to more affluent western countries - as a mistake. Macron has said the practice leads to unfair competition. In no way will the decision by a country that has decided to isolate itself in the workings of Europe jeopardize the finding of an ambitious compromise, he said. In a scathing attack that could drag relations between western EU powers and the European Commission in Brussels on one side and Poland s Law and Justice Party (PiS) government on the other to a new low, he said the Polish people deserved better. Poland is not defining Europe s future today and nor will it define the Europe of tomorrow, Macron said at a joint press conference with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev in the Black Sea resort city of Varna. In response, Poland s Prime Minister Beata Szydlo said Macron, 39, a former investment banker elected in May as France s youngest president, lacked political experience and accused him of undermining the EU. I advise the president that he should be more conciliatory ... Perhaps his arrogant comments are a result of a lack of (political) experience, Szydlo said in a statement emailed to Reuters. I advise the president that he should focus on the affairs of his own country. Perhaps he may be able to achieve the same economic results and the same level of security for (French) citizens as those guaranteed by Poland. Her comments were an indirect reference to her government s insistence that it will not accept migrants from the Middle East, despite pressure from Brussels, because it believes they pose a threat to national security. France has been hit hard by deadly Islamist militant attacks in recent years. The Polish Foreign Ministry said in a statement it had urgently summoned the French charg d affaires to express the Polish government s indignation about the arrogant words of Macron. It quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Marek Magierowski as saying Poland expects that France will abandon language that is divisive and which damages the unity of the EU . Relations between Szydlo s Law and Justice (PiS) party and the French government deteriorated soon after it won election in late 2015. In October 2016, Poland abruptly canceled a nearly $4 billion military procurement deal with Airbus. Macron s election deepened the rift, with the French globalization advocate fanning worries in Warsaw that his vision of a multi-speed Europe would undermine Polish influence within the European Union. French officials have expressed concerns about Poland, and Hungary, drifting towards authoritarianism and said Macron would also make a defense of the rule of law and democratic principles one of the priorities of his mandate on the European stage. On his three-day tour Macron sought backing for his plans to tighten EU rules on the employment abroad of labor from low-pay nations. Poland strongly opposes this initiative. While posted workers comprise less than 1 percent of the EU work force, it is a political hot potato that has exacerbated the divide between the bloc s poor east and rich west for years. Macron managed to enlist the broad support of Czech Republic and Slovakia, and the lukewarm backing of Romania, all countries which fear being sidelined in a multi-speed EU, whereas Poland and Hungary remain defiant of what they see as an out-of-touch EU elite based in Brussels and Western capitals. Poland is at loggerheads with the European Commission, the Brussels-based EU executive, over issues ranging from its refusal to accept EU migrant relocation quotas to the ruling conservatives tightening grip on the judiciary and media. Macron shunned both Poland and Hungary on his trip through the region. He said he wanted Bulgaria - like Poland, Hungary, Romania, the Czech Republic and Slovakia a former communist state that joined the EU much later than western counterparts - to be at the negotiating table on European integration. On the posted worker rules, Bulgaria s Radev said the EU needed to balance the interests of countries in the rich west and the poor east. It is important that changes are made in a way that unites rather than divides Europe, he said. Current EU rules allow workers to be posted from low-salary countries to other EU states on contracts that must guarantee the host country s minimum wage, but under which taxes and social charges are paid in the home nation. Poland and Hungary say increased restrictions on such contracts would flout the principles of the European single market and cost hundreds of thousands of jobs. | 1 |
1,921 | Let me come back, Catalan leader tells Spain | BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Catalonia s separatist leader Carles Puigdemont called on Spain s government on Saturday to allow him to return home in time for the opening session of the Catalan parliament so that he can become the region s next president. Puigdemont, who ruled in Catalonia until October and faces arrest in Spain for his role in organizing an illegal referendum on independence and proclaiming a Catalan republic, is currently in self-imposed exile in Belgium. Separatist parties secured a parliamentary majority in a regional election on Thursday, though it is still unclear whether Puigdemont and other jailed leaders of the movement will be able to attend assembly sessions. I want to come back to Catalonia as soon as possible. I would like to come back right now. It would be good news for Spain, Puigdemont told Reuters in an interview. Asked if he would be back in time for the opening session which has to take place at the latest on January 23, he said: It would be natural. If I am not allowed to be sworn in as president, it would be a major abnormality for the Spanish democratic system. I am the president of the regional government and I will remain the president if the Spanish state respects the results of the vote, he also said. Puigdemont, who has called for dialogue with the Spanish government to resolve the current tensions between the turbulent region and the authorities in Madrid, said he was ready to listen to any proposal from Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy even if this offer fell short of an offer of independence. If the Spanish state has a proposal for Catalonia, we should listen, Puigdemont said, asking for a dialogue of equals. Rajoy on Friday said he was open to dialogue but implicitly rejected Puigdemont s demand to meet soon, saying he would talk with whoever was Catalonia s president only once they have been elected by the new regional parliament. Before that, his first interlocutor should be Ines Arrimadas, whose centrist, anti-independence party scored most votes on Thursday, he said. Arrimadas does not have enough seats or allies to form a government, while separatist parties put together have a narrow majority. Past calls for dialogue on both the separatist and unionist side in the past have failed to yield concrete results and the crisis is likely to keep haunting Madrid, as well as EU leaders, for a long time. Negotiations to form a government in Catalonia are likely to open after Jan. 6 following the holiday break. Parliament must vote by Feb. 8 on putting a new government into place. | 1 |
1,922 | France, keen to avoid student anger, plans 1-billion euro university reform | PARIS (Reuters) - France announced a one-billion-euro plan for universities on Monday, promising to offer more places on popular courses, cut drop-out rates and build more accommodation, in a bid to assuage the concerns of politically powerful students. President Emmanuel Macron s government has already faced down street protests over labour reform and risks more industrial action over plans to reform the pension and unemployment insurance systems. It wants to avoid confrontation with students who have forced past governments into policy u-turns with protracted rallies. The government said the 1 billion euros ($1.16 billion) will be spent over the five years of Macron s term in office. Students in France who pass high school exams have the right to go to university in their home area. But this has led to popular subjects such as law and psychology being heavily oversubscribed and prompted the introduction of an unpopular lottery system where demand is highest. That lottery system will now be scrapped and the most pressed universities will be allowed to select students on merit. The proposal stops short of a blanket UK-style selection system that student unions had opposed. France s biggest student union, the moderate Fage, welcomed the plan. Two other unions, including the left-wing Unef, the second largest, were critical. Unef has said it will join CGT-led protests against government reforms on Nov.16 and urged students to make their voice heard against the education reform. Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of the far-left France Unbowed party, has also urged students to mobilise after his early attempts to get workers onto the streets against the easing of unemployment laws failed. Macron has got the advantage for now, let s not hide it, Melenchon told franceinfo radio. If youths got moving, things would be different, but it s not the case for now. The reforms also include 60,000 new student housing units over the next five years and promise to scrap student s social security contributions and increase tutoring. Only 40 percent of students complete the first year of university, the government said. Our aim is to ensure equal opportunities, said University Minister Frederique Vidal. We want to make university more accessible by accompanying students, in all their diversity. | 1 |
1,923 | UK's May appeals to EU leaders to signal movement in Brexit talks | BRUSSELS (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May called on EU leaders on Thursday to move forward with Brexit talks, underlining their shared support for free trade and promising to remain a strong partner on security. Hours before the European Union will rule that the Brexit talks have not made enough progress to move to a discussion of the two sides future ties, May appealed to leaders over a dinner to signal that the negotiations will move forward. We should be optimistic and ambitious about what we can achieve as we share the same set of fundamental beliefs in free trade, rigorous and fair competition, strong consumer rights and high regulatory standards, she told the leaders, according to a British government official. Alongside this I want to be very clear, the United Kingdom is unconditionally committed to maintaining Europe s security. | 1 |
1,924 | (Video) Lie, Lie, Lie: State Department Speaks With Forked Tongue On The Rise Of Radical Islam | Last week it was reported that intelligence reports were being altered to favor Obama s claims that ISIS is a jv team. Playing down the danger of the growing terror network does nothing but give people false security. | 0 |
1,925 | Clinton Lists The 9 Things Trump Accuses Her Of Doing – That He Actually Does Himself | Trump s way of handling the heat is simple: deflect, and blame everything on everyone else. He is a master of pointing the finger and saying look, they do it too! The evidence couldn t be more clear with how he accuses Hillary Clinton of everything from pay-for-play, to corruption, to even murder.And for some reason, the media lets him get away with it.But luckily for us (and bad for Trump once the debates come around), Hillary Clinton isn t letting him get away with anything.Sick of the never ending accusations and silence by the media elites, Clinton listed on her website nine difference instances in which Trump accused her of doing something he actually does himself. From real pay-for-play to ties to Russia, Clinton proves that it really is Trump, and not her, that is the shady candidate.Let s take a look:So there you have it. While Trump continues to accuse Clinton of everything under the sun, he himself is actually the real culprit in all of these scenarios. But because he s loud and entertaining and gets them good ratings, the media ignores the glaring contradictions and hypocrisy, and let s him a free pass.Bottom line: Trump literally does everything he accuses Clinton of doing.Once the debate season heats up, you ll see Donald Trump be put in his rightful place.Featured image via Justin Sullivan/Getty Images | 0 |
1,926 | Key House lawmaker sees progress allaying tax deduction concerns: Fox | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Republican head of the tax-writing panel in the U.S. House of Representatives said on Friday progress was being made in efforts to allay concerns among some Republicans about the potential elimination of a federal deduction for state and local income taxes as part of a tax-reform push. Some lawmakers from states where state and local taxes are high and people benefit most from the federal income tax deduction are reluctant to contemplate such an elimination. It would be one of several measures aimed at offsetting lost revenue under sweeping tax cuts planned by President Donald Trump and the Republican leadership in Congress. “We’re working with these lawmakers. We are making progress, but we aren’t there yet,” House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady told Fox News Channel. “I’m hopeful at the end of the day we can find a good solution for them.” A budget blueprint central to Republican efforts to enact the tax cut package - because it will enable easier passage of the package through the Senate - barely squeaked through the House on Thursday, with Democrats solidly opposed and a number of Republicans voting no in an effort to protect the deduction. Republican leaders had sketched out a tax cut plan that would eliminate the tax break, although detailed legislation will not be unveiled until next Wednesday. Brady also said lawmakers were exchanging ideas with Trump over how to handle 401(k) retirement savings plans. In another measure to offset lost revenue, House Republicans have considered eliminating or capping the ability to contribute to the plans on a pre-tax basis, but Trump has said he wants to protect the popular tax-deferred savings program. “We want to increase the amount that you can give to your 401(k) or IRA (individual retirement account), for 401(k)s up to $20,000 or more,” Brady told Fox, without specifying whether that would be on a pre-tax or after-tax basis. “We’re actually exchanging ideas with the president on how we help people save more and save sooner in their lives.” The current cap on pre-tax 401(k) contributions is $18,000 a year, and that is set to rise to $18,500 next year. | 1 |
1,927 | Kremlin: Syria peoples' congress being 'actively discussed' | MOSCOW (Reuters) - A proposal to convene a congress of all Syria s ethnic groups is a joint initiative which is being promoted by Russia and others and is now being actively discussed, the Kremlin said on Friday. It is premature, however, to discuss the time and venue for the congress, which is seen as a mechanism to assist Syria s post-war development, Putin s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a conference call with reporters. Putin mentioned the idea of holding such a congress at a forum with foreign scholars on Thursday. | 1 |
1,928 | Hurricane Irma moves away from Barbuda: NHC | (Reuters) - The eye of the potentially catastrophic Category 5 hurricane Irma has moved away from Barbuda and is heading towards St. Martin, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in an advisory. Hurricane Irma is about 145 miles (235 km) east of St. Croix with maximum sustained winds of 185 mph (295 km/h), the NHC said. The core of Irma is likely to move over portions of the northern Leeward Islands, and move near or over portions of the northern Virgin Islands on Wednesday, it said. (This story corrects headline to fix sourcing to U.S. NHC, not NRC) | 1 |
1,929 | Obama Finally Admits: ‘We Had No Plan After Libya Regime Change’ | 21st Century Wire says Not quite a mea culpa, but at least it s something. Still, as the leader of the US and with the US as NATO s leading player, President Obama is completely responsible for over 30,000 deaths, as well as a failed state in Libya which has since descended into war-lording chaos and ISIS maniacs now running amok almost guaranteeing a redeployment of western forces in the region. Job done.And then there s the role of Hillary Clinton in this unspeakable crime RTFailing to plan for the aftermath of the US-led military intervention in Libya was President Barack Obama s worst mistake during the eight years in the White House, Obama himself confessed to US media.When asked in a quick Q&A preview for an interview with Fox News Sunday what his worst mistake as a president had been, the US leader answered: Probably failing to plan for the day after what I think was the right thing to do in intervening in Libya. Given Libya s proximity to the European continent, he expected his counterparts to invest more in the follow-up to the military campaign, the US President claimed.'S**t show': Obama blames UK & other European states for post-Gaddafi Libya 'mess' https://t.co/wLirmVGQXQ pic.twitter.com/1yFcdToxji RT (@RT_com) March 11, 2016In March of 2011, the UN Security Council (UNSC) adopted a resolution on Libya authorizing the international community to take all necessary measures to protect the civilian population. The US-led coalition then proceeded to intensively bomb the Libyan army, eventually toppling the country s leader, Gaddafi, who was killed in October of the same year.The role of Hillary Clinton in the White House s decision to go to war in Libya has recently been exposed, with former US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates claiming that the input of the then Secretary of State had played a major role in influencing President Obama s decision Continue this story at RTREAD MORE LIBYA NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Libya Files | 0 |
1,930 | Germany's Seehofer invites Trump to Bavaria: source | MUNICH (Reuters) - Bavarian state premier Horst Seehofer has invited U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to visit the southern German state, possibly as soon as February for the Munich Security Conference, a source familiar with the invitation said. Seehofer, who heads the Christian Social Union (CSU), sister party to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative Christian Democrats (CDU), extended the invitation in a letter of congratulations to Trump after his victory, said the source. The Feb. 17-19 conference, a forum for debate about international security, often draws senior officials from around the world. Trump will be inaugurated on Jan. 20. It was not immediately clear when a sitting U.S. president last participated in the event, and the security conference organizers could not immediately be reached for comment. Seehofer’s CSU and Merkel’s CDU, which form a bloc in the German parliament, have been at odds over Merkel’s migrant policy, which saw nearly 900,000 people enter Germany last year, an issue likely to play a major role in elections in September. During the U.S. election campaign Trump called Merkel’s refugee policy a “disaster” that had boosted crime rates. Statistics compiled by the German Interior Ministry showed the number of crimes reported in 2015 - excluding visa and other immigration violations - remained essentially unchanged from the previous year at 5.9 million. Seehofer told the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper in an interview published on Thursday that his party would only participate in a coalition government in 2017 that agreed to its demand for an upper limit on migration. Merkel, who on Sunday announced her decision to run for a fourth term, has rejected setting an upper limit for migration. | 1 |
1,931 | California lawmakers consider spending billions to fix housing | SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Affordable housing advocates are closely watching a package of bills currently under consideration by California lawmakers that would invest billions of dollars in helping to alleviate the state’s severe housing crisis. For years, California residents have struggled to afford surging real estate and rental prices in many of the country’s most expensive housing markets. Nearly one-third of California renters pay more than 50 percent of their income toward rent. If passed, the bills would create a permanent $300 million-a-year fund for affordable housing, streamline the approval process for housing construction in cities and authorize a $3 billion bond for the 2018 ballot, the first housing bond in California for over a decade. The state’s Senate has approved the package, but the Assembly, which is expected to vote next week, has shown more reticence over costs. Lawmakers worked closely with Democratic Governor Jerry Brown, who in July announced his support for a general obligation bond, a permanent funding source for affordable housing and regulatory reform. “This comprehensive approach does what’s long been needed in California,” Brown said in July. “Astronomical housing costs are straining family budgets and stressing employees who can’t afford to live where they work. That’s unacceptable.” On Thursday, California Treasurer John Chiang urged state lawmakers to quickly pass the package as well as to increase the general obligation bond to between $6 billion and $9 billion to kick-start construction. “We have the opportunity now to move decisively to ease a 1.5 million-unit shortfall in affordable housing. But we must think big and act boldly,” Chiang in a statement. Senate President Pro Tempore Kevin de León and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon have also expressed support for a housing deal. Homeownership rates in California are at their lowest since the 1940s and the lack of supply is seen as a major contributor to the problem. Production of new homes across the state averaged less than 80,000 annually over the last decade, far below the projected need of 180,000 additional homes annually, according to the California Department of Housing and Community Development. | 1 |
1,932 | Hispanic Rep Just Told Trump Where He Can Shove His ‘Border Wall’ – And It’s Epic | Now that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has crossed the Rubicon of racism, the people are starting to lash out, and rightfully so.After disqualifying the Trump University judge because of his race, Republicans and Democrats alike have been holding Trump s feet to the fire some more so than others. Most Republicans have simply disavowed his comments while some have flat out called him a fraud (and of course Democrats have been saying these things since June of last year).But the most glaring critique from any official came from Democratic Representative Filemon Vela of Texas, who penned a scathing open letter to Trump. Starting out by agreeing that Mexico should do more to deter cartel violence, Vela quickly amps up his attack, saying, Your ignorant anti-immigrant opinions, your border wall rhetoric, and your recent bigoted attack on an American jurist are just plain despicable. Pretty standard criticism. But it gets so much better. Vela beats Trump at his own purity game, and notes that his ancestry is more American than Trump s, and that his family weren t chicken hawks: Before you dismiss me as just another Mexican, let me point out that my great-great grandfather came to this country in 1857, well before your own grandfather. His grandchildren (my grandfather and his brothers) all served our country in World War I and World War II. His great-grandson, my father, served in the U.S. Army and, coincidentally, was one of the first Mexican federal judges ever appointed to the federal bench. But the most telling and poignant line from Vela s letter was a good, old fashioned smackdown: Mr. Trump, you re a racist and you can take your border wall and shove it up your ass. This is by far the best response to Trump from any elected official. You know they all want to say it, but finally someone had the guts to actually come out and do it.And that s exactly what Donald Trump can do. Even if he were to be elected, there is no feasible way a wall would be built on the Mexican border and be financed by the Mexican government.Vela represents Texas 34th Congressional District, which makes up Corpus Christie and Brownsville. According to Census data, 60 percent of Corpus Christie s population is of Hispanic or Latino descent. In Brownsville, a border city, the Hispanic/Latino population accounted for 93 percent of its citizens.The proud people of Hispanic and Latino heritage of Texas 34th district can take solace in knowing they are being represented by a man who speaks for them to the fullest extent. If only this country had 100 more Filemon Vela s.Featured image a screen capture | 0 |
1,933 | China top graft buster says corruption fight 'world class hard' | BEIJING (Reuters) - Fixing the corruption problem in China s ruling Communist Party is world class hard and the battle will never end, the country s top graft-buster told Singapore s prime minister in a rare meeting with a visiting foreign leader. Wang Qishan, who heads the party s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, has been at the forefront of President Xi Jinping s fight against deep-seated corruption, and speculation has swirled about whether he will retire or stay on at next month s key party Congress. Meeting Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the central leadership s Zhongnanhai compound in Beijing, Wang said the party s anti-corruption campaign and efforts to supervise itself had been highly effective. Carrying out an operation on yourself to cure an illness is world class hard, the commission cited Wang as saying, in a statement late on Wednesday. The party has long insisted it has no need for an independent anti-corruption mechanism, in a country where the party also controls the legal system. Wang said that the final aim in the graft fight was to find an effective route to self-supervision for a party that has been in power for a long time, and to always maintain the party s progressiveness and cleanliness . The party s efforts have won the trust of the people and demonstrates the party s confidence in its system, he added. The anti-corruption effort is always on the road , Wang said, using a frequently used party expression to refer to how the campaign will not end. Singapore s Straits Times said that the meeting with Wang had been requested by Lee, and that Wang told Lee he was surprised but happy the request had been made. So I sought permission and I am here meeting you and your delegation today, Wang told Lee, the newspaper reported. Wang, who is 69 and sits on the party s elite ruling Standing Committee, should retire at next month s party Congress according to unwritten party rules on age limits, but he is close to Xi and could stay on in some capacity, sources with ties to the leadership have said. | 1 |
1,934 | Biographer Says Trump Might Not Actually Be A Billionaire: ‘He Just Makes It Up’ (VIDEO) | Donald Trump s lies are catching up to him one by one, and the latest person to call him out is Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and biographer David Cay Johnston.Some of you may not know who Johnston is, but he is the author behind The Making of Donald Trump so he knows quite a bit about who the erratic business mogul is and isn t. In a newly released video, Johnston claims that there is absolutely no proof that Trump is the billionaire he says he is adding another layer of deceit and fraud to Trump s already horrendous track record.The clip was published by Business Insider, where Johnston goes through Trump s bragging claims and compares them to the actual data on the business mogul s court records and bank filings. For example, Johnston says that last year, Trump said his net worth was $8.7 billion, $10 billion, $11 billion and higher, even though there was nothing going on in the economy that would suggest that kind of gyrations of net worth. The truth is, Trump is lying though his teeth. Johnston said: The fact of the matter is that Donald Trump just makes it up. Johnston also brought up a court testimony where Trump said he uses his gut feelings and emotional state to determine his net worth. Johnston joked about how nuts it was, and imitated Trump s strategy: By the way, I m having a great day today. I think my net worth must be at least a billion dollars. Johnston has been trying to get America to believe that Trump s billionaire status was fake since 1990. During that time, a net worth statement by Trump s bankers said that the GOP nominee s net worth was actually negative $295 million.Johnston is still standing by the claim that Trump isn t as successful as he seems, and continues to insist that although Trump is well off, there is no evidence that he is a billionaire. You can watch Johnston call out Trump s lies below:Featured image via Spencer Platt / Getty Images | 0 |
1,935 | BOOM! Trump Allows Pro-Illegal Alien Heckler To Ask Question, Then Destroys Her With This Response [VIDEO] | Performances like the one in the video below by Trump in NH, are why people are lining up for hours to see him appear at his rallies Businessman Donald Trump OWNED a heckler today at his sold-out event in New Hampshire.There were so many people at the rally reporters were locked out and there was a line of cars stretching outside the city limits. Illegal immigrants are the backbone of our country? I don t think so, darling, Donald J. Trump responded to a heckler who interrupted his campaign rally. You know what the backbone of our country [is]? People that came here, and they came here legally. People that came here to this country legally, and they worked their ass off, and they made this country great. Via: GP | 0 |
1,936 | Trump supporters see Iraqi, Syrian refugees as major threat: report | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Supporters of Donald Trump, the presumptive U.S. Republican presidential nominee, see refugees arriving from Iraq and Syria as one of the greatest threats to the United States, according to a study released on Thursday by the Pew Research Center. Eighty-five percent of respondents who said they supported Trump saw the refugees fleeing the Islamic State militant group as a threat, compared with 74 percent of Republicans overall, said the study. Only 40 percent of Democrats viewed the refugees from the region as a major threat. Trump’s campaign said in a statement last December that he was “calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.” His comments followed fatal attacks in Paris claimed by Islamic State and a deadly shooting spree in San Bernardino, California, by a Muslim couple who the FBI said had been radicalized. U.S. President Barack Obama’s promise to admit 10,000 Syrian refugees by the end of the year has sparked a backlash from Republicans, concerned that violent militants could come into the United States posing as refugees. More than 30 governors have tried to block refugees from their states. There are nearly 5 million registered Syrian refugees according to the United Nations, a result of a war in which more than 250,000 people have been killed. The Pew report, based mostly on telephone interviews with about 2,000 U.S. adults from April 12 to 19, found that 65 percent of Trump supporters also saw the U.S. involvement in the global economy in a negative light. There were also contradictions among Americans when asked about U.S. defense spending and foreign military action. Although 35 percent of all respondents said they were in support of increasing defense spending, the highest level of support since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, almost 60 percent said other countries should deal with their own problems. Respondents overall saw Islamic State as the top foreign policy concern, followed by cyber attacks and global economic instability, according to the report. | 1 |
1,937 | MAJOR COSMETIC Company Announces Plans To Release ANTI-TRUMP Hair Product…#BOYCOTT | Cosmetics brand Lush, popular among young girls and hipsters for their bath bombs, is launching a new anti-President Trump hair care product.According to Cosmopolitan, Lush announced plans to release a hair treatment called Yuge, a play on the way Trump pronounces the word huge, alongside an orange faced, tiny-handed man at their 2017 Lush Summit.The Yuge product is reportedly a hot oil treatment that will add volume and softness to your hair. Cosmopolitan notes the product is not currently available as it is being tested on humans in the U.K. (Lush opposes animal testing).Here is an excerpt from the article that appears on Lush s homepage:The United States is in the midst of a trying political and social time that is being felt throughout North America and the world. Intolerance, hostility, racism and fear have been pushed to the forefront and emotions are running high. Because of this divisiveness, it s now more important than ever to stand up for inclusivity, compassion and respect for all people.Lush has always been, and will always be, a safe space for everyone regardless of immigration status, gender, race, age, sexual orientation, religion or political affiliation. We love and encourage individuality, and our employees and customers are as diverse as the products we create. That s what makes the Lush community so special.Lush s Welcome Refugees statement encourages people to share the hashtags #refugeeswelcome and #nobannowall and to visit the website for the International Rescue Committee to take action. Lush s political stances haven t always been explicit through statements on their website. This Valentine s Day, Lush featured photos of same-sex couples in baths throughout their website.-MRCTV | 0 |
1,938 | Bigot Cashier LOSES IT On Gay Customer, Refuses Service (VIDEO) | A customer at a New Orleans Family Dollar store was forced to endure a bigoted, anti-LGBT rant by a cashier on Friday, turning what should have been an ordinary shopping trip into a nightmare.Melissa Langford was simply minding her own business when she heard the cashier making a not-so-subtle announcement that she hated gay people. Langford recalled the experience on Facebook: It started off with the cashier loudly voicing her opinion on how much she hates gay people. After five or six minutes (or at least it felt like that long) of listening to her yell and preach to each customer about how gay people need to get the fuck , they got somethin wrong in they head, *edit* that she had the right to refuse service to anyone she wants, gays are sick etc. Hearing this level of bigotry and hate broke Langford s heart, and she quickly became emotional and decided to speak up. I started to writhe away internally. I wanted to cry right then and there. In fact, I m crying right now cuz yall didn t hear the hateful passion in her voice. She was so loud, so cruel, so uneducated selfish and just outright mean anyways .I spoke up.I said, excuse me, but im very very gay and you re really offending me. Think what u want but keep it to yourself. And then, the cashier flipped out. While carrying on her homophobic rant, the woman behind the counter refused to serve Langford, and even denied service to the customer in front of her because they were both defending the rights of the LGBT community. At this point, Langford began recording the encounter with her cell phone. Langford said that when she started filming, the cashier calmed down slightly, as far as leaving the counter and goin by the exit just to not serve my gay ass. In the video, you can see the chaos unfold as Langford and the other customer argue with the cashier. You can hear the man in front of Langford shouting You ignorant! Why are you going to hate on people for who they are, and they re spending their money here just like everybody else? as the cashier continues to refuse service and rail against gay people.Here s what Langford was able to record:The encounter devastated Langford. She said: Im really upset. This is the worst antigay s t ive ever had to deal with in my 34 years. In the interview below, Langford shares her feelings on the awful incident: Featured image is a screenshot Now Langford wants an apology, but she hasn t gotten it yet. She had contacted Family Dollar headquarters, but hasn t gotten a response. According to NOLA.com, a manager at the store refused to do something about the cashier s behavior and said I can t control nothing. [The employee] can say and do what she wants. Hopefully now that Langford s video and post has been shared thousands of times, the store will be forced to do something about this cashier s horrendous behavior. Featured image via screenshots | 0 |
1,939 | Armed White Thugs Hunt Down Black Teen Until He Collapses And Dies | A 16-year-old is dead after a group of white thugs threatened to gun him down and chased him until he collapsed and died from an asthma attack.Dayshen McKenzie and his friend Harry met up with the group behind a restaurant and an argument over a girl escalated into threats of violence and a chase that had McKenzie running for his life.According to Harry, The guy said, You got a problem? And my (friend) said, You got a problem? and it went on. They left, and they came back three cars deep. The guy in the first car had a gun. The white thugs literally tried to hunt McKenzie down like a wild animal but he forgot his inhaler that day so when he needed it he didn t have it. But he wouldn t have had an asthma attack in the first place had he not been chased down by a bunch of gun-wielding racists.Former police officer Diane Fatigati came forward as a witness after trying to save McKenzie with the use of CPR. But she was unable to revive the teen. To me, it s murder, she said. They were chasing him that s a crime. You re hunting them because they re black You re calling them a n****r. To me, it s a hate crime. McKenzie s mother, Tisha Richardson is sad and angry over the senseless killing of her son. I want justice for him. Somebody should be held accountable, she said.Needless to say, police are investigating McKenzie s death but yet another young black man is dead at the hands of racists in 21st century America.But we can likely expect even more of these killings if Donald Trump becomes president. After all, he encourages violence and intimidation of black people and has even promised to pay the legal bills for supporters who are arrested when they actually do what Trump tells them to do.In addition, Trump has made racist rhetoric more of a norm that is no longer shocking people like it once did in political campaigns of the past.You can bet white supremacists are salivating at the thought of Trump becoming president because they think they ll have a license to intimidate and kill black people whenever they want without consequences. Because right now, the only way they can do that is to get hired by the police.Featured Image: New York Daily News | 0 |
1,940 | WHY LET THE ATHEISTS Run All Over You? City Removes Bench Honoring Veterans | A city in Pennsylvania is removing a park bench with a religious quote in order to placate angry atheists. The atheists wants to put their own bench there instead: This bench was put there to honor veterans! Is nothing sacred anymore? The site reads: The quote by William Penn, appearing on the Tyrants Bench, honors Pennsylvania s founding father, as well as the men and women who gave their lives to protect the rights of all U.S. citizens Men who aren t governed by God, will be governed by tyrants Does anyone else see the irony in this quote? OIL CITY, Pa. An atheist group in New Jersey is seeking the removal of a bench at a Pennsylvania park that is meant to honor veterans due to an inscription of a quote attributed to the state s founder that mentions God. American Atheists (AA) recently sent a letter to the mayor of Oil City to request that the Justus Park bench, which was donated in 2003 by a local branch of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), be removed out of its belief that its inscribed text violates the U.S. Constitution. Men who aren t governed by God, will be governed by tyrants, the bench reads, paraphrasing a quote that is often attributed to Pennsylvania founder William Penn, a Quaker who wrote a number of theological books and who once stood trial for causing a tumult in preaching in the streets. AA contends that the quote violates the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which instructs that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion. The group also says the text is disrespectful to non-Christians. The Tyrants Bench contains an overtly religious message which endorses one particular religious viewpoint: Christianity. The statement that Men who aren t governed by God will be governed by tyrants not only has absolutely nothing to do with honoring our service members, but is derisive toward the all non-Christian American service members who have served and died for this country, its letter asserted. It offered to provide a secular bench in exchange for the current display.Read more: Christian News | 0 |
1,941 | What Cards Against Humanity Did With Your Black Friday Money Is The Best Thing Of The Year (VIDEO) | Capitalism is a crazy system. On Black Friday, we celebrate consumerism at its finest but Cards Against Humanity has typically refused to be part of the most insane shopping day of the year, whether they are peddling literal bull shit, raising their prices for the shopping holiday, or literally selling nothing at all. This year, the gaming company decided to let people throw their money into a gigantic hole in the earth. The holidays are here, and everything in America is going really well. To celebrate Black Friday, the company writes on their website. Cards Against Humanity is digging a tremendous hole in the earth. They have vowed to keep paying some people to dig a hole in the ground for absolutely no reason as long as people are willing to throw their money away on such nonsense.At the time of writing, people have been willing to spend around $40,000 on a gigantic hole in the ground on corporate America s most profitable day. According to the company, the hole which is real is in America. And in our hearts. Some companies take a stand against Black Friday in small ways, but there s nothing better than actually dumping people s money into a hole in the ground.You can watch the hole being dug below. WARNING: it s inexplicably addictive.Featured image via screengrab | 0 |
1,942 | MUST WATCH: SEN TED CRUZ Tells SEN BERNIE SANDERS To “Curb Your Enthusiasm” In Hilarious Moment During CNN Debate | Two US Senators who couldn t be more ideologically opposed, Republican Senator Ted Cruz and Independent (Socialist Party) Senator Bernie Sanders came together for what ended up being a very entertaining debate on the subject of the GOP tax plan during a debate hosted by CNN.The polarizing topic has been at the center of Capitol Hill, as lawmakers have attempted to reform the tax code. Republicans, in an effort to pass the tax code, have explored trying to pass tax reform without Democratic support; while Democrats have complained that they have been left out of a crucial, bipartisan process in governing.Included in the GOP tax plan is a 20% corporate tax rate, the elimination of the estate tax, and the implementation of three tax brackets.Cruz defended the plan, saying on CNN, Republicans want to lower the taxes for each and every person watching this debate, and said that lowering the corporate tax rate would allow businesses to create more jobs.Sanders, however, said the GOP s tax plan is about giving tax breaks to people who don t need it. The senator said he supports a tax cut for the middle class and working families. Throughout the evening, the two senators threw several verbal jabs at each other s expense.At one point, Cruz claimed that his 2016 presidential campaign tried to strengthen social security and said politicians in Washington were recklessly letting it careen towards insolvency. There are no changes at all, Cruz said. Every dollar, every penny of benefit is protected, but for young people, people my age You re not so young anymore, Sanders replied. You d be surprised, Cruz said.Cruz also joked about the impersonation that comedian Larry David, star of HBO s Curb Your Enthusiasm did of Sanders on an episode of Saturday Night Live. I m not interrupting you, Sanders said, waving his hand as a sign for Cruz to hurry. Come on, come on. You know, as some might say, curb your enthusiasm, Cruz quipped. By the way, the impression that Larry David does of you is spectacular and uncanny. Business InsiderWatch: Ted Cruz to Bernie Sanders: "As some might say, 'curb your enthusiasm'" #CNNDebateNight https://t.co/m8N0COvcew CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) October 19, 2017No one does socialist curmudgeon Bernie Sanders like Larry David. If you ve never seen the liberal actor Larry David imitating Senator Sanders on SNL, the video below is a MUST watch. | 0 |
1,943 | Russian and Chinese heads of state to meet in first half of November | MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday held a telephone conversation with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, and the two leaders agreed to meet in the first half of November, the Kremlin said. The meeting will take place on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific summit to be hosted by Vietnam, it said. | 1 |
1,944 | Al Gore says 'ethical reasons' could end Trump presidency early | BERLIN (Reuters) - Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore suggested on Tuesday that the presidency of Donald Trump could end prematurely for “ethical reasons,” drawing laughter from a packed movie theater at the European premiere of his latest film on climate change. “We’re only six months into the experiment with Trump. Some experiments are ended early for ethical reasons,” Gore said, acknowledging the “provocative” nature of his comment. Gore said he was convinced that U.S. cities, states and business executives would meet U.S. obligations under the 2015 Paris agreement to fight climate change, despite Trump’s decision in June to withdraw from the global pact. “We have a global agreement and the American people are part of this agreement in spite of Donald Trump,” he told hundreds of moviegoers at Berlin’s Zoo Palast cinema after a showing of his new film, “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power.” “We can win this ... All we need is the political will,” he said, adding his hope that the United States would “soon once again” have a leader who was committed to halting global warming. The film argues that fighting climate change is a just, moral battle, on a par with social movements such as the civil rights movement in the United States or the fight for gay rights. Gore’s first documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth,” is credited with bringing climate change into mainstream political discourse in the United States a decade ago. Gore said he was confident the American and German people would remain united in their commitment to reversing the devastating effects of climate change already visible around the world on a daily basis. He said he was “heartsick” about Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris deal, but said it could trigger an even stronger commitment by other nations to reduce greenhouse gases as an act of defiance. He lauded Germany’s leadership in moving toward alternative energy sources, and said global moves to shift to solar and wind power would drive economic growth and create many new jobs. The U.S. State Department last week officially informed the United Nations that it would withdraw from the Paris deal, but left the door open to re-engaging if the terms improved for the United States. But, in a diplomatic cable, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told U.S. diplomats to sidestep questions from foreign governments on what it would take for the U.S. government to re-engage in the Paris climate deal, Reuters reported earlier on Tuesday. | 1 |
1,945 | Russia says bellicose rhetoric on North Korea is 'over the top' | MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday the risks of a military conflict over North Korea’s nuclear program are very high, and Moscow is deeply worried by the mutual threats being traded by Washington and Pyongyang. “Unfortunately, the rhetoric in Washington and Pyongyang is now starting to go over the top,” Lavrov said. “We still hope and believe that common sense will prevail.” Asked at a forum for Russian students about the risks of the stand-off escalating into armed conflict, he said: “The risks are very high, especially taking into account the rhetoric.” “Direct threats of using force are heard... The talk (in Washington) is that there must be a preventive strike made on North Korea, while Pyongyang is threatening to carry out a missile strike on the U.S. base in Guam. These (threats) continue non-stop, and they worry us a lot.” “I won’t get into guessing what happens ‘if’. We will do whatever we can to prevent this ‘if’.” “My personal opinion is that when you get close to the point of a fight breaking out, the side that is stronger and cleverer should take the first step away from the threshold of danger,” said Lavrov, in remarks broadcast on state television. He encouraged Pyongyang and Washington to sign up to a joint Russian-Chinese plan, under which North Korea would freeze its missile tests and the United States and South Korea would impose a moratorium on large-scale military exercises. “If this double freezing finally takes place, then we can sit down and start from the very beginning - to sign a paper which will stress respect for the sovereignty of all those parties involved, including North Korea,” Lavrov said. | 1 |
1,946 | WHY Did Hillary Use FAKE NAME “Diane Reynolds” For Chelsea In Newly Released Emails That PROVE She Lied About Benghazi? [VIDEO] | What a role model for mothers in America or at least for the ones who have FAKE NAMES for their daughters when they use private servers to cover up their corrupt behavior Wikileaks found 67 emails between Hillary Clinton and daughter Chelsea under her fake name, Diane Reynolds .In one email Hillary tells Chelsea (Diane) she is sitting in a meeting on Libya waiting for the other shoe to drop. Don t all parents write to their children at a fake email account during foreign policy meetings?In another email Hillary wrote Chelsea during the Benghazi attacks telling her Americans were killed by an al-Qaeda like group.Hillary later lied and blamed the attack on a YouTube video. GPHere s Hillary lying about a video being reason for the attack on the unsecured Benghazi compound, even though she ALWAYS KNEW (see email above) that it had NOTHING to do with the attack:Here s Hillary s Benghazi victim, Sean Smith s mom, Pat Smith telling how Hillary lied to the parents about the cause of the attack being a video:Here s Hillary saying Pat Smith is a liar during one of the Democrat debates:Via: Gateway Pundit | 0 |
1,947 | Senate confirms Huntsman as ambassador to Russia | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate confirmed former Utah governor Jon Huntsman on Thursday to be President Donald Trump’s ambassador to Russia, sending an experienced diplomat to fill the crucial post in Moscow. The Senate confirmed Huntsman, who also served as ambassador to China under former Democratic President Barack Obama, by voice vote. Huntsman served as ambassador to Singapore under former Republican President George H.W. Bush. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee had approved Huntsman unanimously earlier this week, as members from both parties praised his qualifications and experience. The Senate also confirmed three other diplomatic positions by voice vote: John Bass, currently the U.S. ambassador to Turkey, to be envoy to Afghanistan; career diplomat Justin Siberell to be ambassador to Bahrain and Wess Mitchell, a think-tank founder, to be Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs. Huntsman takes on the post in Moscow as congressional committees and special counsel Robert Mueller investigate allegations that Russia sought to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election on Trump’s behalf, as well as potential collusion with Moscow by Trump associates. Moscow denies such activity and Trump dismisses any talk of collusion. Huntsman said at his confirmation hearing that there was no question Russia interfered during the 2016 campaign. | 1 |
1,948 | Everyone KNEW Trump Would Be Golfing Again – So Protesters Were Totally Ready When He Showed Up | There are only three things for certain in this world: Death, taxes, and Trump golfing every weekend. Today featured all three in a way.Two days ago, Trump spent around $90 million in tax dollars to bomb an empty airbase in Syria. The symbolic attack did little to stop the Syrian government s ability to bomb its citizens bombers were reportedly back to using the airstrip just hours later but it had the effect of inflaming already high tensions between the United States and supporters of the Syrian regime in Russia and Iran.So covering death and taxes, Trump moved onto golf.The fact that he would go on vacation just days after creating an international crisis was so painfully obvious that protesters planned for it. When Trump s motorcade was spotted on route to his golf course in Florida, the signs came out to greet him. According to reporters riding with Trump, the stuff Trump saw should put to rest any notion that he isn t aware that much of the country despises him.Pool: Motorcade passed "group of about a dozen protesters w/ signs reading "Resign," "Loser," and "Impeach Trump" outside the golf course." Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) April 8, 2017It s not clear yet whether Trump plans to lie about his golf outing as he s done in previous weeks. By a rough count, Trump has golfed around 15 times since becoming president 11 weeks ago. Many of those vacations were done in secret, with his staff covering for him with claims that he was in meetings. Inevitably, pictures of Trump in golf attire hitting the links turn up online exposing just how shameless this administration is.The fact that protesters can be so certain that Trump will be golfing even after committing America to a possible war in Syria is incredibly disheartening. You can plan your day around the assumption that the most powerful person in the country will be slipping into golfing shoes every single weekend. Hilariously, this criticism was most clearly leveled by one of Trump s biggest defenders: Sean Hannity.In 2013, Hannity hypocritically slammed Obama of playing golf during the Syrian civil war.The war in Syria rages on but so far Hannity hasn t complained about any one of Trump s 15 golf outings. Odd. And further undermining Hannity s complaint: Trump has spent so much time golfing that he s now spent a quarter of Obama s total cost in travel expenses in just his first 11 weeks. By the end of his first year, he will have cost the American taxpayer over $100 million.Report: Obama's travel expenses were $97m over eight years. Trump is at $23m in 10 wks https://t.co/7PmdQryBmO Brandon Pope TV (@BpopeTV) April 8, 2017Featured image via Ian MacNicol/Getty Images | 0 |
1,949 | Donald Trump Doubles Down On Korea Threat; Says He Wasn’t Tough Enough | If you ve been hiding under your bed since Donald Trump threatened North Korea with fire and fury unlike the world has ever seen, grab something hard (a drink, a prescription, a rock) and go into your basement for this one. Trump says his words weren t strong enough. Maybe it wasn t tough enough, the president told reporters on Thursday at his golf club in Bedminster, N.J. It s about time someone stuck up for the people of our country. Source: PoliticoNorth Korea s leader, Kim Jong Un, the other petulant man-child in this pissing match, hasn t yet responded, but he has twice, as a response to Trump s fire and fury threat, threatened to nuke Guam.The intelligence community believes that North Korea has developed a miniaturized nuclear warhead that is small enough to fit into a long-range missile, leading to speculation that if Kim John Un wanted to attack the United States, he could.Even Trump s own White House is conflicted on how to handle it, though. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has tried to mitigate Trump s irresponsible and irrational threat. Nothing that I have seen and nothing that I know of would indicate that the situation has dramatically changed in the last 24 hours, he said, adding that Americans should sleep well at night. But he also defended Trump s comments. I think what the President was doing was sending a strong message to North Korea in language that Kim Jong Un would understand, because he doesn t seem to understand diplomatic language, Tillerson said. Source: CNNTrump advisor Sebastion Gorka quickly refuted Tillerson, saying: You should listen to the president; the idea that Secretary Tillerson is going to discuss military matters is simply nonsensical, Gorka said in a recording shared with The Washington Post. It is the job of Secretary Mattis, the secretary of defense, to talk about the military options, and he has done so unequivocally. He said, Woe betide anyone who militarily challenges the United States, and that is his portfolio. That is his mandate. Secretary Tillerson is the chief diplomat of the United States, and it is his portfolio to handle those issues. Mattis is hoping for diplomacy, but he s ready to go to war at any moment.Even if Trump is blowing smoke up Kim Jong Un s posterior, this is a dangerous line of talk, especially when dealing with a mentally unstable narcissist with daddy issues. Then we have to worry about North Korea.Read more:Featured image via Pool/Getty Images | 0 |
1,950 | DRAMATIC VIDEO RELEASED: Brave Soldier Tries Escaping North Korea Under Gunfire [Video] | The American-led UN Command just released very dramatic video showing a North Korean soldier trying to escape across the border into South Korea. The tricky thing is that four soldiers were firing on him the entire time The video starts with a lone soldier driving a dark olive-green jeep down a straight, tree-lined road, past drab, barren fields and, headlights shining, across the replacement for the Bridge of No Return, which was used for prisoner exchanges during the Korean War, the Associated Press reported.Fellow North Korean soldiers realize that one of their comrades is trying to defect to South Korea and start chasing the jeep through the Korean Demilitarized Zone, or DMV, until the defector crashes and exits the vehicle under fire. He then sprints across the border before hitting the ground in critical condition but alive.The four soldiers unloaded an estimated 40 rounds from multiple types of firearms.The defector a 24-year-old soldier surnamed Oh, according to CNN was taken to a South Korean hospital in critical condition from the gunshot wounds and lost nearly half of his blood. Oh s surgeon, Lee Cook-jong, said that he found four major wounds on the soldier, who received four pints of blood.The soldier underwent multiple surgeries to repair damage, and in doing so, surgeons found dozens of parasites including a 10.6-inch roundworm, possibly indicating improper nutrition in North Korea s military. His condition has become much better since yesterday. We ve turned on the TV for him since yesterday, Lee told reporters.Read more: WFB | 0 |
1,951 | FBI INVESTIGATION Into HILLARY’S Email Server Entering “Very, very dangerous phase” [VIDEO] | Perhaps the pundits should start changing course and measuring Trump s chances of defeating Bernie Sanders in the general The investigation into Hillary Clinton s private email server is entering a very, very dangerous phase for the Democratic presidential front-runner, Judge Andrew Napolitano said on Varney & Co today.As federal prosecutors prepare to interview several of Clinton s closest aides, it s a sign that they re finished gathering and corroborating evidence, Judge Napolitano explained.He said that most criminal defense attorneys will not let their clients be interviewed by the FBI and federal prosecutors, because the government is not obligated to reveal what evidence they have. Via: FOX News | 0 |
1,952 | TRUMP MAKES BIG ANNOUNCEMENT After FOX News Says They’ll Keep Megan Kelly On As Debate Moderator | Do you agree with Trump s decision? Will Trump s non-appearance at the upcoming debate hurt him in the polls?Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump said on Tuesday night that he is backing out of Thursday s primary debate in Des Moines, Iowa, which will be broadcast by Fox News Channel. The decision comes with just days until the Iowa caucuses, which polls show very competitive between Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.)Trump had been publicly mulling the move for a few days, complaining that Fox News host Megyn Kelly, one of three moderators for the event, is biased against him.Via: Washington Post | 0 |
1,953 | As racial politics loom over election, Obama's legacy is seen as mixed | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When Barack Obama became the first African-American to win the White House in 2008, his victory was a turning point in U.S. race relations that set high expectations for progress to come. Nearly eight years later, with Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton attacking each other over racial politics, the legacy of Obama’s presidency looks decidedly mixed, black leaders said. To some, the tone of the Republican presidential nominee’s campaign, as well as a recent series of racially charged shootings involving police, show that the United States has come no closer to overcoming its history of racial strife. Having a black president, two attorneys general and a chief of homeland security did not result in basic fairness for victims of racially charged violence, said Cornel West, an academic and former Obama supporter who has become a high-profile critic of the Democratic president. “How many policemen who have murdered unarmed innocent black civilians have gone to jail with that kind of black power at the top? Zero,” West said. Obama could have acted more directly while in office to help blacks, West added, citing persistently high childhood poverty among African-Americans. “The (economic) recovery has not filtered over into black and working poor communities,” he said. Others said Obama showed leadership on race while making real achievements on healthcare and the economy that helped Americans of all ethnicities. Al Sharpton, a civil rights leader with close ties to the White House, described Obama as a “transformative” president held back by the need to serve varying constituencies and compromise with lawmakers who had different priorities. “He tried to be as balanced and respectful as he could, to the chagrin of many in the black community, who felt that he was leaning over backwards,” Sharpton said. Unemployment among African-Americans fell by half under Obama, Sharpton noted, while Obama’s remarks on race elevated the issue. In 2012 at the White House, Obama referred to Trayvon Martin, a black youth gunned down by a white Hispanic man, as a boy who would have resembled the son he did not have. “We’ve never had a president do that,” Sharpton said. Andrew Young, a former Atlanta mayor, congressman, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and adviser to slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., said Obama, as a black leader, had to seek compromise more than previous white presidents. “It was easier for (Jimmy) Carter or Lyndon Johnson, even Bill Clinton as southern whites to do things specifically for black people,” Young said. Backlash from white working class voters had contributed to Trump’s rise, Young said. “We really haven’t had a complete psychological adjustment to a multi-racial society,” he said. “That’s what’s rallying people behind Trump. They’re frustrated by the complexities of this day and age. And (Trump), like others, gives a simple answer and blames it on somebody else.” Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee, blasted Trump on Thursday as a divisive candidate who was stoking racist groups. Trump criticized Clinton, saying she had let black Americans down and was falsely labeling Republicans as bigoted. Clinton supporters were more likely to want to address race relations than Trump supporters, a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll of more than 2,800 people found in late March. Obama has said race relations are not as bad as some suggest. Friends say he never expected his presidency to wipe away centuries of racism and slavery’s legacy. “To expect to erase all of that legacy of injustice or racism and discrimination in eight years is unrealistic,” said Valerie Jarrett, a White House adviser and close Obama friend. “Were there people who probably had a false sense of progress based just on an election? Sure,” she said. The administration wants to advance criminal justice reform legislation before Obama leaves office, aiming for a win on an issue watched closely in the black community. But prospects of passage in Congress during an election year are uncertain. Obama, who has made clear his disdain for Trump and his frustration with Congress, has said he hoped his own voice on race would help improve things for future generations. “We plant seeds, and somebody else maybe sits under the shade of the tree that we planted,” Obama said at a news conference in July. | 1 |
1,954 | WILL VILE LEFTISTS Turn Democrats Away?…WATCH Angry Leftists Openly Bully Americans Engaged In Peaceful Prayer [VIDEO] | A group of mostly pro-life college students came together in Detroit last weekend to stand up for the most vulnerable among us. They were praying to end abortion when a group of loud, vile protesters approached them and and start screaming, My body is true, don t like it, f*ck you! in their faces. While protesters screamed at them, the pro-lifers remained calm and peaceful, while praying and doing their best to ignore them. The more they prayed the rosary, the louder the vile protesters screamed at them, Not my ovaries, screw your rosary. These pro-abortion advocates are doing exactly what Democrats are encouraging and even paying them to do. Party leaders like our former President Barack Obama and now Hillary are becoming more and more engaged and vocal in their support of these nasty people. Hillary just released a video of herself telling Democrats to, Keep fighting! against Trump and the opposition.Democrats are bullying innocent people simply because they have an opposing view. They re attempting to shut down free speech and freedom of religion by threatening people who don t agree with them. Is this really how they plan to save their party? Is this how they prove they re the party of tolerance or compassion and love? Is this the future of the Democrat party?:Watch protesters interrupt a pastor during his opening prayer in a town hall meeting being hosted by Republican Senator Cassidy of LA. We all know that these people are being paid, but are they really doing the Democrat Party any favors by behaving in such a vile and disrespectful way during an opening prayer? | 0 |
1,955 | Obamacare repeal could take months; replacement, years: Republican aides | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Repealing Obamacare could take months and developing replacement health insurance plans could take years, senior Republican aides in the U.S. Congress said on Thursday, discouraging talk of a quick end to the program after President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20. Trump has promised to repeal Obamacare, and Republican lawmakers have said repealing President Barack Obama’s signature domestic initiative will be the first thing they take up in the new year, saying it should be rushed to Trump’s desk for signing into law. But the project is going to take time, said senior Republican aides in the House of Representatives, asking not to be named. “We are talking a matter of weeks, in two months - but not a matter of many months” for Congress to pass a repeal, one aide said, adding that Republicans “certainly” hope Trump will sign the repeal into law in the first half of 2017. Congressional Republicans are consulting with the Trump transition team on when the effective date of the repeal should be, another aide said. Setting it a few years out will provide lawmakers time to debate whether and how to replace some elements of the Obamacare law. The effective date of repeal “can be as short as two (years), it can be as long as three or four. We have to see where the Trump administration wants to go in terms of how much time they need on this,” the second House aide said. Some 20 million previously uninsured Americans gained health coverage through the Affordable Care Act, as Obamacare is officially called. Coverage was extended by expanding Medicaid and through online exchanges where consumers can receive income-based subsidies. Republicans have launched repeated legal and legislative efforts to dismantle the law, criticizing it as government overreach. They say they want to replace it by giving states, not the federal government, more control. Talk that the Republican-majority Congress could repeal the program in January was not based on careful consideration of the process or politics, said Joe Antos, a health policy expert at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. “I can see repeal relatively quickly,” Antos said, although not within a few weeks, “but replace is harder.” “Democrats will put up every procedural hurdle they can (to repeal),” said Tevi Troy, head of the American Health Policy Institute. Stuart Butler, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, noted that a four-year effective date of repeal could fall after the next presidential election. “Somehow I doubt people will see that as a fulfilled campaign promise,” he said. | 1 |
1,956 | Traveling abroad, Trump struggles to escape crisis | RIYADH (Reuters) - President Donald Trump was taking off on Air Force One when the latest bad news pinged into the inboxes of his besieged staff - a report that he had told Russian officials that fired FBI Director James Comey was “a nut job”. Officials on board the Riyadh-bound presidential plane scrambled to coordinate with staff in Washington and those who had just landed in the Saudi capital for a response to the New York Times story about Comey. A second bombshell came from the Washington Post, which reported that a federal investigation about Russian contacts with the Trump campaign last year had reached a current White House official, who was not named. White House chief of staff Reince Priebus sought to play down the reports of disarray. Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Priebus said Trump had spent the flight reading newspapers, meeting with national security advisers and other staff, getting briefed about the trip and getting a little sleep. But the sense of frustration was clear. Presidential aide Dan Scavino captured the mood of confrontation, seizing on a comment from Trump’s nemesis in the 2016 Republican presidential race, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, who called Trump a “chaos president” for all the bad headlines of late. Scavino fired back by reviving the derogatory nickname Trump had given Bush last year to raise doubts about his energy level and ultimately defeat him. “LOW ENERGY JEB is out of stock on Jebbity JEB Jebbers. Perhaps @RedBull or @MonsterEnergy could help out. ¯\_( ツ)_/¯” Scavino tweeted. Trump’s nine-day tour takes him to four countries. White House staffers, shell-shocked from the daily barrage of bad news, were soldiering on, trying to keep the focus on a trip that could bring some significant achievements. “We’re focused on that. The media will talk about what they talk about and people will get hysterical about what they get hysterical about but there’s a lot of people who are not focused on the day-to-day horse race and they are just making sure that the president’s objectives are followed through on,” a senior aide told Reuters. It will be Trump’s longest time away from the White House since he took office on Jan. 20. He is joined on the trip by some aides who have squabbled in the past but who have sought to set aside their differences to try to advance the president’s agenda, such as his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and senior strategist, Steve Bannon. Trump’s agenda has been sidetracked by the hubbub over his firing of Comey and the appointment of a special counsel to investigate the Russia ties. “I think this foreign trip is something they’re all looking forward to because it changes the narrative. It buys them a little time,” said a Republican close to the White House. While Trump has privately vented about his staff, the source doubted there would be a major staff shakeup in the near-term. The source said there might be some adjustments in the communications team to enable the White House to respond much more swiftly to the news. | 1 |
1,957 | Repeal of individual mandate would increase uninsured, premiums: CBO | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Congressional Budget Office said on Wednesday that repealing the Obamacare individual mandate would increase the number of uninsured by 13 million by 2027 and reduce the federal budget deficit less than initially forecast. The CBO, the nonpartisan budget-scoring agency, said that eliminating the Obamacare mandate that all Americans purchase health insurance or else pay a fine would lower the deficit by $338 billion over the next decade, not $416 billion as it estimated in December. The agency found that health insurance premiums would rise by about 10 percent in most years over the next decade in the individual market created by the Affordable Care Act, former Democratic President Barack Obama’s signature domestic policy achievement. It noted that markets in most areas of the country would remain stable. President Donald Trump and some Republicans favor including a repeal of the mandate in tax overhaul legislation. But lawmakers, Republican aides and lobbyists have said it would be difficult to include a repeal in a tax effort complicated by intraparty differences and intense business lobbying. The U.S. House of Representatives unveiled its tax plan last week, and the Senate’s plan is expected to be released on Thursday. The individual mandate is a central tenet of Obamacare that health policy experts and proponents say is essential to making the law work. It compels young and healthy people to join health insurance markets and help lower premiums by offsetting the costs of sicker patients. Americans must note on their tax returns whether they have health coverage. Yet it has proved to be among the most controversial portions of the law as Republicans, who say Obamacare is too expensive and an example of government overreach, argue that the federal government should not be able to require people to buy health insurance if they do not want it. The CBO said in its December report that the individual mandate increases the federal deficit by encouraging people to buy subsidized coverage, either through Medicaid, the government health insurance program for the poor and disabled, employer-provided plans, or through the Obamacare individual health insurance market. Eliminating the mandate would lower the deficit by reducing federal spending on subsidized health insurance coverage, it said. The CBO said abolishing the requirement would cause premiums to rise because healthier people would be less likely to purchase insurance. It found that the resulting increases would cause more people to forego insurance. | 1 |
1,958 | Minnesota Senate may halt operations on Dec. 1 due to funding dispute | (Reuters) - The Minnesota Senate will furlough its workers and suspend operations as soon as Dec. 1 due to an ongoing funding dispute with Governor Mark Dayton, the chamber’s Republican leader announced on Wednesday. Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka said his chamber will run out of money by next month unless the state courts restore funding for the legislature that was vetoed by Dayton. He added that the Senate plans to seek certain funds from the Legislative Coordinating Committee which would keep the chamber operating through Jan. 12. “We don’t take the suspension of operations of the Minnesota Senate lightly – this is not a game – but we really have no other choice today,” Gazelka said in a statement. The chamber’s workforce includes dozens of lawyers, analysts, researchers and assistants who work with committees and on legislation. The Democratic governor’s office blamed Gazelka for the impending shutdown. “Despite sitting on nearly $45 million in available state funding for his operations, he and other legislative leaders are choosing to lay off their own employees, rather than admit that they have misled the courts, the press, and the public about their true financial situation,” said Matt Swenson, the governor’s assistant chief of staff. Dayton in May vetoed funding for the Republican-controlled legislature from the state’s new two-year budget in an effort to pressure lawmakers to revise tax measures that he said will harm the state’s financial stability. The move touched off a legal battle with lawmakers, who claimed the elimination of nearly $130 million in funding was unconstitutional. While a Ramsey County District Court judge sided with the legislature in July, the state Supreme Court on Sept. 8 determined that the governor’s action was constitutional. However, the high court raised concerns over the ability of the legislature to survive without funding and ordered the two sides into mediation, which ended in an impasse. Gazelka said it was imperative for the court to step in again. “The people of Minnesota will no longer have a voice in the legislative branch after the first of the year, not to mention the pain inflicted on our employees,” he said. In a September court filing, the House of Representatives said it anticipated running out of money on Feb. 1. | 1 |
1,959 | Appeals court ruling will let some Kansas voters register, for now | (Reuters) - Thousands of Kansas residents who signed up to vote at motor vehicle offices but were kept off the rolls by a state law requiring proof of citizenship could be allowed to cast ballots in the November general election, under a ruling on Friday by a U.S. appeals court. Kansas’ secretary of state, Kris Kobach, a Republican who has become a national leader in pushing for voting changes, had asked the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to place on hold a decision last month by a lower-court judge ordering the state to begin registering 18,000 residents affected by the law. In requesting the stay, the state said the order to begin to register voters would “result in extraordinary confusion on November 8, 2016.” The Denver-based federal appeals court, however, rejected the argument. “We conclude that defendant-appellant has not made the requisite showing for a stay pending appeal so we deny that motion,” a panel of the appeals court said in its ruling. The appeals court has not yet ruled on the merits of the case. It did not say when it expected it would make a decision, but it granted expedited review. The Kansas law will not affect the state’s status as a safe Republican stronghold in November’s presidential election, but it has thrust Kansas into a national debate over voting restrictions. Representatives for Kobach could not be reached for comment. The ruling comes in a lawsuit brought by Kansas residents who submitted voter applications through state motor vehicle offices but failed to provide proof of citizenship. Under a state law that took effect in 2013, they were required to present a document such as a birth certificate. The American Civil Liberties Union, which represents the plaintiffs, argued in their lawsuit that the statute conflicts with a federal law designed to make it easier to register to vote while getting a driver’s license. U.S. District Court Judge Julie Robinson, in her May 17 ruling ordering Kansas to begin to register more than 18,000 applicants at Division of Motor Vehicle offices who were kept off the rolls, noted that Kansas could identify only three non-citizens who voted between 2003 and 2013. Under Robinson’s ruling, Kansas residents placed on the rolls can vote in federal but not state elections. Kansas will hold its primaries for state and local elections in August. | 1 |
1,960 | Egyptian ex-PM Shafik arrives in Cairo, say airport sources | CAIRO (Reuters) - Former Egyptian prime minister Ahmed Shafik, whose family say was deported from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), arrived in Cairo on Saturday, airport sources said. In a surprise announcement from the UAE where he has been based, Shafik, a former air force commander, said on Wednesday he would run for president in an election set for around April 2018. | 1 |
1,961 | Jordan rejects Trump's move on Jerusalem as legally 'null' | AMMAN (Reuters) - Jordan on Wednesday rejected the U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, calling it legally null because it consolidated Israel s occupation of the eastern sector of the contested city. Government spokesman Mohammad al-Momani told state news agency Petra that the announcement by U.S. President Donald Trump violated long-standing U.N. Security Council resolutions that stipulated the non-recognition of the Israeli occupation of the city s eastern sector and the adjacent West Bank. The staunch U.S. ally considered all unilateral moves that seek to create new facts on the ground as null and void , the spokesman added. Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said later in a tweet that the move frustrated peace efforts, adding that the status of Jerusalem must be determined in direct negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis. Jordan rejects the decision and all its implications and will continue to work for an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, Safadi added. Jordan lost East Jerusalem and the West Bank to Israel during the 1967 war and says the city s fate should only be decided at the end of a final settlement. Palestinians claim East Jerusalem for the capital of a future state. Israel regards Jerusalem as its eternal and indivisible capital. Jordan s King Abdullah warned of the repercussions of Trump s expected move in talks last week in Washington with top administration officials and warned of a backlash across the Middle East. The king s Hashemite dynasty is the custodian of the Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem, making Jordan sensitive to any changes in the status of the city. A government source said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was due to hold talks with the monarch on Thursday in a stepped-up diplomatic offensive to counter Trump s plan. Several protests broke out in areas of Jordan s capital, Amman, inhabited by Palestinian refugees in response to Trump s announcement. Youths chanted anti-American slogans in Amman, while in the Baqaa refugee camp on the city s outskirts, hundreds of youths roamed the streets denouncing Trump and calling on Jordan s government to scrap its 1994 peace treaty with Israel. Down with America. America is the mother of terror, they chanted. Jordanian deputies in a special parliamentary session on Wednesday condemned the move and urged the government to expel the U.S. ambassador and boycott U.S. goods. A dozen activists staged a sit-in near the gates of the U.S. embassy. Many people in Jordan are descendants of Palestinian refugees whose families left after the creation of Israel in 1948. Jordan s powerful mainstream Islamist movement, the country s largest political party and opposition group, said it would stage several major rallies across the country in the next few days and after Friday prayers. | 1 |
1,962 | NRA Terrorist Organization Remains Silent After Worst Mass Shooting In American History | It s time to shut them down. Permanently.On Sunday evening, 64-year-old Stephen Craig Paddock poured gunfire on a concert at the Harvest Festival in Las Vegas, Nevada from his hotel room at Mandalay Bay.22,000 people were in attendance. 50 were killed and over 400 were wounded.Paddock fired clip after clip after clip from his assault rifle and the carnage stopped when police shot him dead.In Nevada, machine guns are legal and can be openly carried.Stricter gun laws might have prevented Paddock from acquiring the weapon he used to kill so many people.But the National Rifle Association has continued defending gunmen like Paddock for years by arguing that guns of any kind should be in the hands of every American.Thousands of Americans have died because of this irresponsible stance, and you can bet that the NRA will say that now is not the time to discuss our gun laws while at the same time only offering thoughts and prayers to the victims and their families instead of doing something that will actually prevent future mass shootings.It s a script that we have witnessed time and time again, and it has to be stopped.The NRA has become nothing more than a for-profit terrorist organization that makes money every time an American is killed by a gun. The NRA claims that good guys with guns will stop the bad guys from killing us. Tell that to the 50 human beings who were killed.They were just attending a concert when a man started firing from a hotel window. No good guy with a gun could have stopped him, but stricter gun laws could have kept the gun he used out of his possession in the first place. The NRA andThe NRA and their bought and paid for Republican lawmakers, including Donald Trump, will claim that stricter gun laws won t prevent such shootings. They are lying, pure and simple.Thus far, the NRA has remained silent about this mass shooting, and Americans across the country are severely pissed off at them.Ya. Fuck you if you ever once opened your mouth against gun control. Fuck you GOP. Fuck you NRA. Fuck ALL you old white terrorists #lasvegas Katharine Isabelle (@Katie_Isabelle) October 2, 2017ONLY in America: GOP offering condolences to victims of gun violence while lining their pockets with NRA s blood money. Mark Schweitzer (@MarkSchweitzer) October 2, 2017The NRA is a terrorist organization. Robot Steve (@RobotSteve2016) October 2, 2017Come on @DLoesch and @NRA let s see another one of your Call To Arms Videos today. #LasVegas (((NotMyAmerica))) (@S1PPi) October 2, 20174) Don t let the @NRA or lawmakers tell you this week that more guns and fewer guns laws are the answer. It s a lie. pic.twitter.com/tBkg5cgOZn Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) October 2, 2017The NRA s silence on Las Vegas is almost as deafening as the roar of automatic gunfire. Unconscionable. Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) October 2, 2017Americans are sick of political hacks talking about condolences and sympathy while stuffing NRA blood money in their pockets. Do sonething. Richard W. Painter (@RWPUSA) October 2, 2017Don t call him a Lone Wolf . He had plenty of help from the NRA & their republican politicians who passed laws allowing automatic guns Cheri DelBrocco (@cdelbrocco) October 2, 2017Hey @NRA ! Waiting for your coments, you cowardly crew of right wing arrogant paranoid white men. Blood on your hands. SHAME! Brenda Iannucci MD (@bjimd) October 2, 2017The bottom line is that it s time to end the NRA and its influence on our government and laws. They put the gun in Paddock s hands. They have repeatedly had the chance to support common sense gun control laws that would not have infringed on their gun rights. Now they need to pay the price.Featured Image: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images | 0 |
1,963 | GOP Freak Show? Watch Ted Cruz Have The Uncanny Ability To Speak Out Of His Ass (VIDEO) | While speaking in Fargo, North Dakota, Ted Cruz pandered directly to his audience by fear-baiting them with absolute malarkey. He went on and on about the Supreme Court and who the next justice needs to be to replace the recently departed Antonin Scalia.His words are absolute BS, but unfortunately you know so many eat it up out of fear and simply not knowing any better. After all, the Republican party needs its base as uniformed as possible to fill their minds with vile nonsense so they vote against their best interests.Regarding the Court, Cruz said: You know, just a few weeks ago with the passing of Justice Scalia, it underscored the stakes of this election, and it is not one, but two branches of the federal government that hang in the balance. We are one liberal Justice away from a radical five justice majority the likes of which this country s never seen. Because you know, a five Justice conservative majority hasn t at all been radical . Cruz continues: We are one justice away from the Supreme Court effectively stripping religious liberty from Americans all across this country. What? No, seriously what? Unless someone from the government were to come into your home as a private citizen or protected place of worship and tell you not to worship how you do, religious liberty is still there. No one is stripping anything, except for the freedom to use religion to legally discriminate. If you serve the public, you abide by public laws, including equal protection under the law.Cruz didn t stop there though, he continues: We are one justice away from the Court effectively erasing the Second Amendment from the Bill of Rights. Abiding by the well-regulated part of the Second Amendment and holding true to its truest intent is not erasing the Second Amendment. However, if we re gonna get real about the necessity of the Second Amendment, which was originally written to amend Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution so that all state-run militias will have the capability of being armed and trained when called forth by the Republic in time of need (see also: Whiskey Rebellion), perhaps we should look if the Second Amendment should either be amended or replaced to fit modern needs. That s just common sense, though, and something many would rather ignore.Cruz s pi ce de r sistance is when he says: We are one Justice away from the Supreme Court making us subject to the world court and the United Nations and international law and giving up U.S. sovereignty. What the actual f*ck? How is abiding by international law and treaties to be well-respected around the world giving up U.S. sovereignty? Does he want to rule with an iron fist? Does he want to be dominant and bully nation s we need to continue diplomatic relations with? Cruz is proving now, more than ever, that he s not ready to be Commander-in-Chief, because he literally doesn t know how to be a world leader.Cruz s talk is dangerous and it holds no place in reality. He is talking out of his ass like some bizarre GOP freak show and he needs to be held accountable for his words and actions. How do we do that? Make sure he doesn t win the White House vote blue no matter who..@tedcruz: "We are one justice away from the Court effectively erasing the 2nd Amendment from the Bill of Rights."https://t.co/rbJle5NtMm Fox News (@FoxNews) April 2, 2016Featured image via video screen capture | 0 |
1,964 | BRILLIANT! Why “Democratic” Socialism Doesn’t Work [Video] | This is Stephen Crowder at his best So smart and so funny! | 0 |
1,965 | BREAKING WIKILEAKS BOMBSHELL! Murdered DNC Staffer Seth Rich Was DNC LEAKER: “He Was My Whistleblower” | Conspiracy theories have been surrounding the murder of Seth Rich. They reached a new frenzy after the hacking of DNC e-mails led to the resignation of its chairwoman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz.Rich was beaten, shot and killed early on the morning of July 8 while he was walking home and talking on the phone to his girlfriend. Police have said they haven t determined if his murder was a botched robbery or something else. The killer or killers appear to have taken nothing from their victim, leaving behind his wallet, watch and phone.Wikileaks just confirmed murdered DNC staffer Seth Rich was the source of the DNC leak.Wikileaks released a series direct messages from US alleged Russian spy Guccifer 2.0 to actress model Robbin Young (according to Young).In the stream of texts the discussion leads to the DNC leaker.His name is Seth ** In November Julian Assange said Russia did not hack into the DNC servers. -h/t GP Here s the proof:Direct Messages from U.S. alleged Russian spy @GUCCIFER_2 to actress-model @robbin_young (according to the latter) https://t.co/uMsB9WgxRQ WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) April 8, 2017Actress Robbin Young claims she had given this information she received from Guccifer 2.0 to the authorities but, no one cared :https://twitter.com/Robbin_Young/status/850743524953702404Actress Robbin Young states that Guccifer 2.0 told her, i m eager to find facts about seth, i m sure it wasn t just a robbery. seth was assassinated. :Guccifer 2.0 said, "i'm eager to find fact about seth, i'm sure it wasn't just a robbery. seth was assassinated." #SethRich Robbin Young (@Robbin_Young) March 29, 2017In June 2016,the hacker Guccifer 2.0 claimed responsibility for breaking into the Democratic National Committee s servers, lifting opposition research the DNC had gathered, including a 200-page document focused on presumptive Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.The hacker s moniker is an homage to Guccifer, the nom de guerre of Romanian hacker Marcel Lazar who claimed a previous hack into Hillary Clinton s private email server and is now awaiting prosecution for cybercrimes. RTWhile Wikileaks Julian Assange was being interviewed by John Pilger, he brought up the death of Seth Rich. Watch Assange s strange and somewhat cagey reply.Here is part of the conversation:Julian Assange: Whistleblowers go to significant efforts to get us material and often very significant risks. As a 27 year-old, works for the DNC, was shot in the back, murdered just a few weeks ago for unknown reasons as he was walking down the street in Washington.Reporter: That was just a robbery, I believe. Wasn t it?Julian Assange: No. There s no finding. So I m suggesting that our sources take risks.Watch it again in slow motion below:Watch Assange answer question about Seth Rich s murder again in slow-motion: THE RUSSIA HOAX: Julian Assange acknowledges murdered DNC staffer Seth Rich was Wikileaks source. Why is MSM covering this up? #Trump pic.twitter.com/FS297JooQI ViveLaFrance (@vivelafra) December 11, 2016Seth Rich s parents explain what happened only moments before his death. He was the Voter Expansion Data Director for the DNC. His parents say he was, Making sure everyone who wanted to vote, had the opportunity :Shortly after the killing, Redditors and social media users were pursuing a lead saying that Rich was en route to the FBI that fateful morning, apparently intending to speak to special agents about an ongoing court case possibly involving the Clinton family.More recently, Wikileaks s thousands of DNC emails and voice mails have piqued Reddit s interest, with Redditors combing through years of communications looking for any clue to Rich s murder.The theory is apparently based on Julian Assange s recent ITV appearance, where he scoffed at the idea that Russian hackers could be responsible for the data dump, and said that anyone within the Democrats organization could easily have sent Wikileaks the offending messages.Given that Rich as a DNC staffer presumably would have had some access to its servers, Reddit is absolutely positive Rich paid the ultimate price for exposing Debbie Wasserman Schultz and the DNC s crusade against Bernie Sanders. HeatstreetGo HERE for fascinating timeline of events leading up to the brutal murder of DNC staffer Seth Rich. | 0 |
1,966 | Republican tax plans gain speed; Fitch warns on deficit | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives forged ahead on Tuesday with legislation to reshape the federal tax code, while a top credit-ratings agency said the bill would balloon the budget deficit and give only a temporary boost to the economy. As the House tax committee weighed amendments to a bill that Democrats have blasted as a give-away to corporations and the rich, the Washington tax reform debate was fast shifting to the Senate, where Republicans hold only a slim majority. Senate Republicans are expected to unveil their own tax bill at the end of the week, and early indications suggest it could differ significantly from the House legislation. The House is aiming to vote on its bill next week, a senior Republican said. Tax reform has been a priority for President Donald Trump, who says it will stimulate economic growth. But Republicans have yet to score a major legislative accomplishment since Trump took office in January, even though the party controls both chambers of Congress as well as the White House. Trump made another pitch for Democratic support on Capitol Hill, where his top aides met with about a dozen Senate Democrats and Trump himself phoned in from his Asia trip. “He said, ‘Look … I want to do it in a bipartisan way,’” Senator Joe Donnelly told reporters. Fitch Ratings predicted that a Republican tax plan would win passage in both chambers, but did not see it offering long-term benefits. “Such reform would deliver a modest and temporary spur to growth. ... However, it will lead to wider fiscal deficits and add significantly to U.S. government debt,” Fitch said, revising up its medium-term U.S. government debt forecast. The U.S. national debt now exceeds $20 trillion. Republicans once firmly opposed adding to the debt, but their emphasis has changed. Congress’ Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) said the House bill would add nearly $1.5 trillion to the national debt from 2018 through 2027. Trump and congressional Republicans say the proposed tax cuts would boost economic growth enough to generate new revenues that would offset the tax cuts. Few economists agree. The House bill slashes tax rates for large corporations, small businesses and wealthy Americans, while sharply reducing or eliminating tax breaks that benefit many middle-class Americans such as deductions for state and local taxes, college tuition and home mortgage interest. JCT estimates that the House bill could raise taxes on as many as 38 million people who earn between $20,000 and $40,000 per year, beginning in 2023. House Republicans, who have an overwhelming majority, drafted their bill in secret, ignoring Democrats. But the House bill is unlikely to be taken up in the Senate, where Republicans have a 52-48 seat majority and they need to pay heed to moderates within their own ranks as well as Democrats, lobbyists and analysts said. Two conservative Republican senators, Ted Cruz and Rand Paul, have already voiced concern that the House tax bill could raise taxes on some middle-class Americans. The Senate bill could delay the proposed corporate tax cut by one year, may not allow any deductions for local property taxes, and may not collapse the current seven individual brackets to the four proposed by the House, according to the Washington Post. Republican leaders have pushed for the House to vote on the tax bill before the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday on Nov. 23. “My donors are basically saying, get it done or don’t ever call me again,” Republican Representative Chris Collins said. U.S. tax legislation must begin in the House. “We’ll bring it to the floor next week,” House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady told Fox News. In party-line votes on Tuesday, Brady’s tax committee voted down eight Democratic amendments that would have preserved or expanded tax breaks for the middle class, nullified the tax legislation if it increased the deficit in future years and maintained taxes on foreign profits of U.S. corporations. Brady offered a sweeping amendment on Monday that tweaked at least half a dozen provisions of the 425-page bill. One related to carried interest income, a share of an investment fund’s profits paid out to the fund’s general partners and which represents a large portion of many fund managers’ incomes. Carried interest currently is taxed at the capital gains rate, which is substantially lower than the personal income tax rate for higher earners. Brady’s amendment would lengthen to more than three years from one the time period assets must be held in order to be eligible for the capital gains tax rate. The amendment would also reduce the amount of carried-interest income eligible for the lower rate. | 1 |
1,967 | Sarah Palin And Donald Trump Are NOT Going To Like Today’s NY Daily News Cover (IMAGE) | The New York Daily News is becoming well-known for its political, controversial and not-so-subtle covers, especially when it comes to the Republican party. So when former Alaska governor and ex-vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin endorsed GOP front runner Donald Trump, the Daily News certainly didn t disappoint.TwitterOn its front page, the NYDN blasted Palin for endorsing such an imbecile, showing a photo of the two conservatives with enormous text that read, I M WITH STUPID. Implying that it was a match made in heaven, the smaller text read, Hate minds think alike: Palin endorses Trump. Judging from the reactions on social media, there were a lot of people who felt the same exact way.TwitterTwitterTwitterWhen you consider the things Palin has said in the past, as well as her more recent comments when she announced her support for Trump as president, the I m with stupid reference makes absolute sense. Especially when you consider this statement, in which Palin talked Trump up: He builds things, he builds big things. Things that touch the sky. Big infrastructure that puts other people to work. He has spent his life looking up and respecting the hard hats and the steel-toed boots and the work ethic that you all have within you. He, being an optimist, passionate about equal opportunity to work. This self-made success of his, you know that he doesn t get his power, his high, off of opium other people s money like a lot of dopes in Washington do. They re addicted to opium, where they take other people s money and then their high is getting to redistribute it, right? The NYDN has never been a fan of The Donald when the real estate mogul announced that he was running for the White House, the Daily News published a cover that said CLOWN RUNS FOR PREZ with Trump s face covered in clown makeup.While Palin has put in her completely nonsensical endorsement of Trump, it s probably safe to say that NYDN won t be.Featured image via Twitter | 0 |
1,968 | Cruz says would deport illegal immigrants, sharpens immigration stance | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz vowed to deport immigrants living illegally in the United States and build a wall to keep others out, sharpening his stance on the issue a week before presidential contests in several southern states. Cruz’s comments on the eve of Tuesday’s Nevada caucuses came hours after the public firing of his main spokesman over misleading social media postings involving rival Marco Rubio. Rubio won endorsements on Monday from prominent Republicans as he sought to become the party’s mainstream alternative to front-runner Donald Trump after Jeb Bush dropped out of the race for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. Cruz was asked on Fox News’ “O’Reilly Factor” if he would round up the 12 million illegal aliens in the country, and how. “Listen, we should enforce the law. How do we enforce the law? Yes, we should deport them. We should build a wall. We should triple the Border Patrol,” Cruz said. “And federal law requires that anyone here illegally that’s apprehended should be deported.” Asked if he, like real estate tycoon Trump, would go out and look for them, Cruz replied, “Of course you would. That’s what ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) exists for. We have law enforcement that looks for people who are violating the laws.” The comments marked a shift from last month, when Cruz rejected sending authorities to find immigrants as “police state” tactics. “I don’t intend to send jackboots to knock on your door and every door in America. That’s not how we enforce the law for any crime,” Mr. Cruz told CNN in an interview on Jan. 10. Cruz has repeatedly criticized Rubio for having embraced a sweeping immigration reform bill he characterizes as amnesty. Cruz and other Republican candidates vying to represent their party in the Nov. 8 presidential election have been under pressure to toughen their stance on immigration by Trump’s ferocious rhetoric on the issue. Trump responded to Cruz’s comments with a trademark Twitter taunt on Tuesday, referring the U.S. senator from Texas’ third-place finish in South Carolina’s primary on Saturday. “Ted Cruz only talks tough on immigration now because he did so badly in S.C. He is in favor of amnesty and weak on illegal immigration,” Trump said. The New York billionaire has said he would deport all undocumented immigrants, build a wall and rescind U.S. President Barack Obama’s executive orders on immigration. | 1 |
1,969 | Illinois governor signs higher education stopgap funding bill | CHICAGO (Reuters) - Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner on Monday signed into law a bill to send $600 million to cash-starved state universities and community colleges, calling the measure “a first step toward compromise between Democrats and Republicans.” An impasse between the Republican governor and Democrats who control the legislature has left Illinois without a budget 10 months into fiscal 2016. In bipartisan votes in the House and Senate on Friday, lawmakers approved $600 million, or 34 percent, of the $1.7 billion Democrats had earmarked for higher education spending for the whole fiscal year, which began July 1. “Now is the time to build on this bipartisan momentum and focus on enacting a truly balanced budget for fiscal years 2016-2017 alongside meaningful reforms that create jobs and free up resources for education, social services and infrastructure,” Rauner said in a statement. Illinois Comptroller Leslie Munger said on Friday that her office would immediately start processing payments for the universities, colleges and for college student grants funded by the legislation. | 1 |
1,970 | House Speaker visits White House ahead of healthcare vote | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan made a trip to the White House on Friday to meet with President Donald Trump as the healthcare legislation was being hotly debated on Capitol Hill, its fate uncertain. A White House official said Ryan and Trump would discuss Republican efforts to get enough votes to secure passage of the bill that aims to repeal and replace Obamacare. | 1 |
1,971 | Philippine ferry capsizes with 251 on board, four dead | MANILA (Reuters) - Four people were killed and seven were missing after a Philippine ferry with 251 people on board capsized during bad weather on Thursday near the capital, Manila, disaster officials and a coastguard spokesman said. Accidents involving boats sailing between the many islands of the Philippines are common. Vessels are often overloaded but the coastguard said that was not the case on Thursday and the ferry had the capacity to carry 286 people. A total of 240 people were rescued from the sea by fishermen and rescue boats sent out by the coastguard hours after the ferry capsized and sank, about eight miles off Real town in Quezon province. Search and rescue operations will continue until all crew and passengers are accounted for, said coastguard spokesman Captain Armand Balilo. Most of the rescued passengers were brought to Dinahican port. Two men and two women drowned, he said. The ferry set sail at around dawn from a port in Real. Survivors told reporters the weather turned bad three hours later with strong winds and huge waves. The ferry began taking in water and in minutes it capsized and sank, they said. Disaster officials said search and rescue operations were hampered by heavy rain and huge waves caused by a tropical storm affecting the southern Philippines. A tropical storm is expected to make landfall on the southern island of Mindanao late Thursday or early on Friday. The weather bureau has warned of extensive flooding and landslides as the storm, packing center winds of 65 kph (40 mph), approaches the Philippines. | 1 |
1,972 | CNN Panelists Laugh In Trump Advisor’s Face After He Says THIS About Hillary (VIDEO) | One of Donald Trump s advisors thought he was going on CNN to smear Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton, but instead he was embarrassed on national television for spewing more of Trump s lies.On Friday afternoon, Trump had spoken at an event for the National Rifle Association, where he attacked Clinton s positions on guns so that the right-wing organization would endorse him. Later that day, Trump advisor Stephen Miller echoed Trump s words on CNN, only to be met with hysterical laughter.Host Don Lemon brought up Trump s pandering NRA speech and called the presumptive Republican nominee out for telling lies about Clinton wanting to get rid of the 2nd Amendment. Lemon said: I want to talk about the 2nd Amendment. Because Donald Trump continues to say that Hillary Clinton wants to abolish the 2nd Amendment. That is false. That is false by every fact-checker, by the campaign, by her, by everyone who is listening but Donald Trump. Why does he continue to say that? Miller could barely finish Because it s true before the entire panel Lemon included erupted into laughter at the ridiculous statement. Once the laughter had died down, Miller continued to claim that Clinton wanted to overturn the Supreme Court s District of Columbia v. Heller decision that shot down a law that made carrying an unregistered gun illegal, and prohibited the registration of handguns while other weapons were allowed.Miller said that if this decision was overturned, the 2nd Amendment would no longer exist. Guest Sally Kohn jumped in and countered that there had been restrictions on guns long before the Heller decision, and that even Constitutional originalist Antonin Scalia believed that guns should have some restrictions and regulations.You can watch Trump s advisor humiliate himself in the video below:Trump says Clinton wants to end the 2nd amendment, despite PolitiFact rating the claim false. @donlemon has more. https://t.co/GVpoTVIzY8 CNN Tonight (@CNNTonight) May 21, 2016Featured image via screen capture | 0 |
1,973 | Republican healthcare bill would harm state finances: Moody's | SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The Republican-proposed bill to replace Obamacare would be a credit negative for U.S. states, according to Moody’s Investors Service, because it would shift a greater share of the cost of Medicaid to the states. The bill, known as the American Health Care Act, aims to replace the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare. The bill proposes to shift federal funding for Medicaid, the government insurance program for the poor, from a state-match to a per capita cap, resulting in a greater financial burden on states, Moody’s reported. The proposal would also phase out funding for expanded Medicaid by 2020, leaving states to pick up the difference or to drop enrollees from their Medicaid programs. The Congressional Budget Office estimated the proposed reform would cut federal spending by $880 billion between 2017 and 2026, reaching a 25 percent lower level by 2026 compared to current-law projections. “States will face difficult decisions in this regard,” Moody’s reported on Friday. “If states maintain the expansion programs for non-elderly adults with incomes up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level, they will be on the hook for a larger portion of expenses related to new enrollees.” Already, state Medicaid spending is expected to consume a larger portion of state revenues, growing by 28 percent of tax revenue by 2025, up from 24.5 percent in 2017, the rating agency estimated. | 1 |
1,974 | China says South China Sea not an issue between China, United States | BEIJING (Reuters) - The South China Sea was not an issue between China and the United States, and Washington is expected to make a positive contribution instead of stirring up trouble, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang said on Friday. Zheng was speaking at a briefing about next week s visit to China by U.S. President Donald Trump. | 1 |
1,975 | U.S. investigators seek to turn Manafort in Russia probe: sources | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. investigators examining money laundering accusations against President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort hope to push him to cooperate with their probe into possible collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russia, two sources with direct knowledge of the investigation said. Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team is examining Manafort’s financial and real estate records in New York as well as his involvement in Ukrainian politics, the officials said. Between 2006 and 2013, Manafort bought three New York properties, including one in Trump Tower in Manhattan. He paid for them in full and later took out mortgages against them. A former senior U.S. law enforcement official said that tactic is often used as a means to hide the origin of funds gained illegally. Reuters has no independent evidence that Manafort did this. The sources also did not say whether Mueller has uncovered any evidence to charge Manafort with money laundering, but they said doing so is seen by investigators as critical in getting his full cooperation in their investigation. “If Mueller’s team can threaten criminal charges against Manafort, they could use that as leverage to convince him to cooperate,” said one of the sources. Manafort’s spokesman, Jason Maloni, said, “Paul Manafort is not a cooperating witness. Once again there is no truth to the disinformation put forth by anonymous sources and leakers.” Manafort is seen as a key figure in the investigation because of his senior role in the campaign and his participation in a June 2016 meeting that included the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., close adviser Jared Kushner and Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya. The meeting was called after the lawyer offered damaging information about Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Mueller’s team asked the White House on Friday to preserve all of its communications about that meeting. Mueller is examining contacts between Russian officials and Trump associates during and after the Nov. 8 presidential election as part of a broader investigation into whether Russia tried to sway the election in favor of Trump. Manafort became Trump’s campaign manager in June 2016 but was forced to resign two months later amid reports of his business relationship with the Kremlin-backed former Ukrainian leader, Viktor Yanukovich. Manafort previously worked as a consultant to a pro-Russia political party in Ukraine and helped support Yanukovich. According to a financial audit reported by the New York Times, he also once owed $17 million to Russian shell companies. Former Southern District of New York U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara was investigating Manafort’s real estate dealings before he was fired by Trump in March, and Mueller has now assumed control of that investigation, one of the sources said. Bharara was not available for comment on his investigation on Friday. | 1 |
1,976 | China foreign minister says wants to manage disputes with U.S. | BEIJING (Reuters) - China wants dialogue with the new U.S. administration to manage disputes and promote bilateral relations, but only on the basis of respecting each other’s core interests, like the “one China” principle, China’s foreign minister said. U.S. President Donald Trump, who was inaugurated on Friday, upset Beijing before taking office by casting doubt on the “one China” principle, under which Washington acknowledges Beijing’s position of sovereignty over self-ruled Taiwan. China views Taiwan as a wayward province, to be brought under its control by force if necessary. However, proudly democratic Taiwan has shown no interest in being ruled by Beijing. Speaking at a reception for the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the future direction of Sino-U.S. ties had “attracted attention”. “We are willing, on the basis of strictly abiding by the ‘one China’ principle and respect of each other’s core interests, to have dialogue with the new U.S. government,” Wang said, in comments posted on the ministry’s website late Tuesday. China is willing to “increase mutual trust, focus cooperation, manage and control disputes and promote the healthy development of China-U.S. relations, to bring even greater benefits to both peoples”, he added. Separately, state news agency Xinhua quoted Chinese ambassador to Washington, Cui Tiankai as saying that while the Trump administration has yet to formulate a China policy, the general trend of China-U.S. cooperation cannot be reversed as it is “the only right choice” for both. In any trade war, both countries would suffer, he added. “Currently, the world economy needs a strong engine to lead to stronger development and faster growth, it’s inescapable responsibility for China and the United States to do this, rather than heading toward a trade war,” Cui said. With Trump’s decision to quit the Transpacific Trade Partnership (TPP), Cui said China cannot take over the U.S. role as the global leader who makes trade rules. “I think this is a misleading notion, because international trade rules cannot be made by the United States or China alone, and rather, they should be made and implemented by all nations in the world,” Cui said. | 1 |
1,977 | China offers support to Spanish government amid Catalonia crisis | BEIJING (Reuters) - China understands and supports the Spanish government s efforts to protect the country s unity and territorial integrity, China s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday, amid moves by Catalonia to declare independence. The wealthy region s intention to break away has plunged Spain into its worst political crisis since an attempted military coup in 1981, with Madrid threatening to sack the Catalan government if it goes ahead. China was paying close attention, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a daily news briefing. China understands and supports the Spanish government s efforts to protect national unity ... and its territorial integrity, Hua said. China believes Spain has the ability to guarantee social order and people s interests in accordance with the law, she added. China says it adheres to a policy of non-interference in other countries internal affairs, but it generally takes a dim view of independence or secessionist movements around the world. At home, it contends with what it says are separatist movements in its western regions of Tibet and Xinjiang, and also insists that the self-ruled island of Taiwan belongs to China. Though it generally remains officially agnostic on such issues abroad, Beijing has expressed more openness toward independence votes when both sides have agreed to them, such as Scotland s unsuccessful 2014 referendum to leave the United Kingdom, and South Sudan s 2011 vote in favor of independence from Sudan. | 1 |
1,978 | Australia to send more troops to help Philippines fight Islamist militants | Sydney - (Reuters) - Australia will send troops to assist Philippine forces in the ongoing battle against Islamic State fighters in the southern city of Marawi, Australia s Defense Minister Marise Payne said on Friday. Small contingents of Australian soldiers will be sent to train Philippine troops, Payne said during a press conference with her counterpart, Delfin Lorenzana in Manila. We are very committed to supporting the Philippines in its efforts to defend itself against terrorist threats, Minister Payne said. This is a threat to the region (that) we all need to work together to defeat. But no Australian troops will be actively involved in the fighting, Lorenza said. It would not look good if we would be needing troops to fight the war here. We are happy with the assistance we re getting from Australia. The militants swept through Marawi on May 23 and have held parts of it despite sustained ground attacks by hundreds of soldiers and daily pummeling by planes and artillery. The southern Philippines has been marred for decades by insurgency and banditry. But the intensity of the battle in Marawi and the presence of foreign fighters fighting alongside local militants has raised concerns that the region may be becoming a Southeast Asian hub for Islamic State as it loses ground in Iraq and Syria. The Australian troops will compliment those from their country already sent to the Philippines to train local personnel, Payne said. Philippine troops fighting Islamic State-linked rebels in a southern city have encountered armed resistance from women and children who were likely family member of militants, the Phillipine military said on Monday. A spokesman for Payne said further details of the training contingent would be determined in coming days. | 1 |
1,979 | Trump on Twitter (Feb 16) - Stock market, NYT, fake news, Russsia | 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 : -Stock market hits new high with longest winning streak in decades. Great level of confidence and optimism - even before tax plan rollout! [0634 EST] -Leaking, and even illegal classified leaking, has been a big problem in Washington for years. Failing @nytimes (and others) must apologize! [0658 EST] -The spotlight has finally been put on the low-life leakers! They will be caught! [0702 EST] -FAKE NEWS media, which makes up stories and “sources,” is far more effective than the discredited Democrats - but they are fading fast! [0910 EST] -The Democrats had to come up with a story as to why they lost the election, and so badly (306), so they made up a story - RUSSIA. Fake news! [0939 EST] -- Source link: (bit.ly/2jBh4LU) (bit.ly/2jpEXYR) | 1 |
1,980 | Trump National Security Pick Monica Crowley’s Book No Longer For Sale Over Plagiarism | Conservative columnist Monica Crowley is set for a top role in Donald Trump s administration and it s just been revealed that she plagiarized a massive portion of her 2012 book, stealing from journalists, notable Republicans and even from Wikipedia. Who plagiarizes from Wikipedia, by the way? She even plagiarized from a statement made by Dick Cheney. Crowley plagiarized more than 50 times in her book What the (Bleep) Just Happened, according to an analysis. She literally had to plagiarize in order to be critical of President Obama in her book.We re pretty sure Crowley didn t plagiarize her tweet last year when she wrote, I guess Putin is going to have to do it. RT State Dept Won t Release Clinton Fdn Emails for 27 Months. Crowley was picked by the president-elect to serve as senior director of strategic communications for the National Security Council.On Tuesday, publisher HarperCollins said that it will stop selling Crowley s book after the investigation revealed the massive amount of plagiarism in it. The book, which has reached the end of its natural sales cycle, will no longer be offered for purchase until such time as the author has the opportunity to source and revise the material, HarperCollins said.CNN Money reports:A request for comment from the Trump transition team was not immediately returned. A spokesperson for the Trump transition team told CNN s KFile Saturday when the initial report was published that they were standing by Crowley. HarperCollins one of the largest and most respected publishers in the world published her book which has become a national best-seller. Any attempt to discredit Monica is nothing more than a politically motivated attack that seeks to distract from the real issues facing this country, the spokesperson said.It s not just her book. Yesterday, it was revealed that Crowley also lifted, with little to no changes, from other scholarly works without proper attribution in her PhD dissertation at Columbia University and the evidence is overwhelming.Last year, the right wing pundit tweeted out a picture suggesting that the existence of the Berlin Wall was a good thing. Ronald Reagan must be spinning in his grave. That wall symbolized inhumanity and political failure.Republicans are no longer the party of Lincoln or Reagan.Image via screen capture. | 0 |
1,981 | Trump may visit DMZ between North and South Korea: Yonhap | SEOUL (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump may travel to the heavily fortified demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating North and South Korea when he visits South Korea next month, the South s Yonhap news agency said on Tuesday, citing a defense source. The White House sent an advance team of working-level officials in late September to check candidate sites for Trump s special activity in South Korea, the source was quoted as saying. Trump was expected to send a significant message to North Korea, either verbally or kinetically , during his first trip to the peninsula as U.S. commander-in-chief, the source said. The truce village of Panmunjom and the observation post, both inside the DMZ, were among locations Trump was considering visiting, the source said. Yonhap did not elaborate and the White House did not comment. Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have been engaged in an increasingly bellicose exchange of rhetoric, with Trump suggesting the military option was the only way to halt the North s missile and nuclear programs. A trip to the DMZ, following in the footsteps of his predecessor, Barack Obama, and Vice President Mike Pence, would bring Trump within yards of North Korean soldiers, who stand eyeball to eyeball with their South Korean enemies, and likely be regarded by the North as highly provocative. In recent weeks, North Korea has launched two missiles over Japan and conducted its sixth nuclear test, all in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions, and may be fast advancing toward its well publicized goal of developing a nuclear-tipped missile capable of hitting the U.S. mainland. Trump repeatedly has made clear his distaste for dialogue with North Korea. Last week, he dismissed the idea of talks as a waste of time, a day after Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Washington was maintaining open lines of communication with Kim Jong Un s government. Our country has been unsuccessfully dealing with North Korea for 25 years, giving billions of dollars & getting nothing. Policy didn t work! the U.S. president said in a Twitter post on Monday. Reclusive North Korea and the rich, democratic South are technically still at war because their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. The North regularly threatens to destroy the South and its main ally, the United States. Trump is scheduled to visit Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines starting from Nov. 3. | 1 |
1,982 | House committee to hold Puerto Rico hearing Feb. 25 | NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources is to hold a hearing on Puerto Rico on Feb. 25, it said in a statement, as Congress tries to come up with a solution for the debt-ridden U.S. territory. The oversight hearing will be about the U.S. Treasury’s analysis of the situation in Puerto Rico, the statement said. The island has around $70 billion of debt and has defaulted on some of its borrowings. | 1 |
1,983 | Factbox: Contenders for senior jobs in Trump's administration | (Reuters) - The following people are mentioned as contenders for senior roles as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump puts together his administration before taking office on Jan. 20, according to Reuters sources and other media reports. Trump already has named a number of people for other top jobs in his administration. * Chuck Conner, a former acting secretary of the U.S. Agriculture Department and current head of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives * Tim Huelskamp, Republican U.S. representative from Kansas * Sid Miller, Texas agriculture commissioner * Sonny Perdue, former Georgia governor * Navy Admiral Mike Rogers, director of the National Security Agency * Ronald Burgess, retired U.S. Army lieutenant general and former Defense Intelligence Agency chief * Robert Cardillo, director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency * Pete Hoekstra, Republican former U.S. representative from Michigan * John Allison, a former chief executive officer of regional bank BB&T Corp and former head of the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank * Paul Atkins, former SEC commissioner * Thomas Hoenig, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp vice chairman and former head of the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank * Dr. Scott Gottlieb, a venture capitalist, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and former Food and Drug Administration deputy commissioner * Jim O’Neill, a Silicon Valley investor who previously served in the Department of Health and Human Services * Debra Wong Yang, a former U.S. attorney who was appointed by former President George W. Bush * Ralph Ferrara, a securities attorney at Proskauer Rose LLP * Paul Atkins, a former SEC commissioner who heads Trump’s transition team for independent financial regulatory agencies * Daniel Gallagher, Republican former SEC commissioner The Trump transition team confirmed the president-elect would choose from a list of 21 names he drew up during his campaign, including Republican U.S. Senator Mike Lee of Utah and William Pryor, a federal judge with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. * Dan DiMicco, former CEO of steel producer Nucor Corp * Robert Lighthizer, former deputy U.S. trade representative during the Reagan administration * Wayne Berman, senior executive with private equity and financial services firm Blackstone Group LP * David McCormick, president of investment manager Bridgewater Associates LP * Pete Hegseth, CEO of Concerned Veterans for America and Fox News commentator * Navy Admiral Michelle Howard * Scott Brown, former Republican U.S. senator from Massachusetts * Sarah Palin, former Alaska governor and Republican nominee for vice president in 2008. * Jeff Miller, former Republican U.S. representative from Florida who was chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee * Larry Kudlow, economist and media commentator | 1 |
1,984 | Before Scalia’s Body Is Even Cold, Republicans Vow To Obstruct ANY Obama Nominee | Moments after learning that long-time Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia had died in his sleep, Congressional Republicans were already vowing that they would spend the next 361 days preventing Obama from appointing a new justice as is required in the Constitution.Sen. Ted Cruz, who bills himself as a constitutional scholar, boldly demanded that the country wait a year before appointing a new justice simply because he doesn t like Obama.Justice Scalia was an American hero. We owe it to him, & the Nation, for the Senate to ensure that the next President names his replacement. Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) February 13, 2016A staffer for Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) also swore he would never allow President Obama to fulfill his job of appointing a new justice. In a series of shameless tweets, sent almost immediately after Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts confirmed his 79-year-old colleague had passed away, Conn Carroll said there was a less than zero chance that Republicans would let Obama pick a new nominee.What is less than zero? The chances of Obama successfully appointing a Supreme Court Justice to replace Scalia? Conn Carroll (@conncarroll) February 13, 2016If anything this will put a full stop to all Obama judicial nominees going forward. Conn Carroll (@conncarroll) February 13, 2016Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell also endorsed the idea of preventing Obama s nominee:McConnell goes there: "this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new President." Rick Klein (@rickklein) February 13, 2016For anyone who has followed politics in recent years, the idea that Republicans would openly express a desire to prevent President Obama from doing his job is nothing new. However, with the Supreme Court, the stakes are even higher than usual. Until today, the court was divided 5-4 in favor of Republicans. This meant that things like Citizens United and the infamous Hobby Lobby decision went in favor of conservative interest groups. With Obama s chance to appoint a new justice, the court is poised to flip. Liberals, for the first time in years, will have the majority.For a bit of perspective, the longest Congress ever took to confirm a nominee is 125 days. If Republicans succeed in preventing President Obama from his right to make an appointment, it will clearly be due to obstructionism and political underhandedness. Already we see they are vowing to not confirm his choice and they have absolutely no idea who it is yet. That s a level of partisanship that should shock and disgust you, regardless of what side of the aisle you re on.Feature image from Flickr/Flickr | 0 |
1,985 | WATCH: Fox Anchor Forced To Admit He Lied About A ‘Likely’ Clinton Indictment | You know all that buzz you are hearing about a likely Hillary Clinton FBI indictment? This may be the shocker of all shockers, but it s completely made up.Before right-wing pundits popped the corks on their champagne bottles, this lie was uttered by Fox News Bret Baier, who claimed that two separate sources with intimate knowledge of the FBI investigations ha confirmed not only that the Clinton Foundation investigation is far more expansive than anybody has reported so far but that there is a lot of evidence and that the sources say it will end in likely an indictment. This would be a bombshell revelation if it were true. On Thursday, however, Baier explained that his claims were inartful :MARTHA MACCALLUM (CO-HOST): The FBI sources that you spoke with suggest that an indictment is likely. That would prove go ahead.BRET BAIER: I want to be clear I want to be clear about this, and this was came from a Q and A that I did with Brit Hume after my show and after we went through everything. He asked me if, after the election, if Hillary Clinton wins, will this investigation continue, and I said, yes absolutely. I pressed the sources again and again what would happen. I got to the end of that and said, they have a lot of evidence that would, likely lead to an indictment. But that s not, that s inartfully answered. That s not the process. That s not how you do it. You have to have a prosecutor. If they don t move forward with a prosecutor with the DOJ, there would be, I m told, a very public call for an independent prosecutor to move forward. There is confidence in the evidence, but for me to phrase it like I did, of course that got picked up everywhere, but the process is different than that.That s his way of saying he was lying. The next time one of your right-wing friends (if you have any left at this point) parrots his ridiculous claims, show them his retraction that their absolute best argument against Hillary Clinton is based on a lie.Watch it below:Featured image via screengrab | 0 |
1,986 | Clinton, Trump escalate fight in dramatic week on national security | WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton clashed over national security again on Friday, with Trump calling his Democratic rival “trigger-happy” and Clinton arguing his proposals would make the world a more dangerous place. The two White House hopefuls have waged a running battle this week over who is best placed to command the world’s most powerful military, with both touting their support from retired military leaders and attacking their opponent’s temperament and judgment. Trump also injected drama into the national security debate this week by wholeheartedly endorsing Russian President Vladimir Putin as a strong leader who has fared better than U.S. President Barack Obama. Clinton, many Democrats and even some in his own Republican party balked. Trump, speaking on Friday at the conservative Value Voters summit in Washington, painted Clinton as a “massive failure” while she was America’s top diplomat from 2009 to early 2013, blaming her for the current turmoil in the Middle East. “The problem is, Hillary Clinton is trigger-happy. Her tenure has brought us only war, destruction and death. She’s just too quick to intervene, invade, or to push for regime change,” he said at the summit. Meanwhile in New York, Clinton met with national security and foreign policy experts who are supporting her campaign to discuss terrorism. She touted the bipartisan nature of the meeting and vowed to work across the aisle as president to tackle national security challenges. “The nominee on the other side promises to do things that will make us less safe,” Clinton told reporters at a news conference on Friday afternoon. “National security experts on both sides of the aisle are chilled by what they’re hearing from the Republican nominee.” Both candidates are hoping to capitalize on concerns about national security and paint their opponents as unqualified leading into the Nov. 8 presidential election. Trump’s speech on Friday comes after the candidate took the unusual step of criticizing U.S. policy in a program aired on Thursday night on Russian government-funded television network, RT, a 24-hour news channel that broadcasts in both English and Russian. He said he disagreed with the U.S. decision to invade Iraq in 2003 and that Obama botched the withdrawal. “It’s a war we shouldn’t have been in, number one,” Trump said in the interview. “And it’s a war that, when we got out, we got out the wrong way. That’s Obama.” Critics of the network, which mostly targets audiences outside of Russia, have described it as a propaganda arm of Putin’s government. American presidential candidates are not prone to condemn their country before a foreign audience, even if they are fierce critics of the current administration while campaigning in the United States. Trump has said far worse about Obama in appearances on U.S. television networks. Clinton blasted Trump for appearing on the network and praising Putin, as he had done on Wednesday night during a televised national security forum. “Every day that goes by this just becomes more and more of a reality television show,” Clinton said. “It’s not a serious presidential campaign, and it is beyond one’s imagination to have a candidate for president praising a Russian autocrat like Vladimir Putin.” The White House said it had no comment on Trump’s remarks. The New York businessman also said on RT on Thursday he did not think Russia’s government was behind the hack of Democratic National Committee email servers, and doubted it was trying to interfere in the U.S. election. Experts inside and outside the government have pointed to Russian-backed actors as the source of the hack, which has been used to leak information in an attempt to embarrass Democrats. Trump, in his speech on Friday, stuck to his belief that the United States and Russia can work together to defeat Islamic State militants. He said any nation that wants to join the United States against ISIS is welcome. “That includes Russia,” he said. “If they want to join us in knocking out ISIS, that’s just fine as far as I’m concerned.” Trump also sought on Friday to blame Clinton after reports that North Korea had tested a nuclear weapon, arguing it was the fourth such test since the Democrat became secretary of state in 2009 and that she should have ended the nation’s nuclear program before her tenure ended. “It’s just one more massive failure from a failed secretary of state,” Trump said. Clinton called the North Korea test “outrageous and unacceptable,” saying she supports imposing additional U.S. and United Nations sanctions. “It will be on the top of my list in dealing with China on how we’re going to prevent what could very well be a serious conflict with North Korea,” she said. | 1 |
1,987 | interview nomi prins explains the central bankers game of thrones | podcast play in new window download embed
so reddit has banned the pizzagate subredditbut the investigation continues a pizzagate forum has sprung up on voatco and awareness of the scandal is spreading on youtube twitter and other social media outlets and now the corbett report community can collate information on the pizzagate scandal in this new open source investigation corbett report members are invited to login to the site and start posting collecting collating analyzing and discussing information related to the scandal in the comment section below
show notes | 0 |
1,988 | Italy's 5-Star Movement votes for leader, Di Maio seen winning | ROME (Reuters) - Members of Italy s anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, which leads most opinion polls before a national election early next year, began voting on Thursday to elect their leader and candidate for prime minister. Barring a colossal surprise the winner will be Luigi Di Maio, the 31-year-old lower house deputy who has been groomed as leader over the last few years by Beppe Grillo, the comedian who founded 5-Star as a protest movement in 2009. The party s supporters are voting online on a dedicated platform linked to Grillo s blog, reflecting 5-Star s credo of internet-based direct democracy. Voting will end at 7 p.m. (1700 GMT) on Thursday, but the result will not be known until Saturday, when it is announced at 5-Star s annual three-day gathering in the Adriatic coastal town of Rimini. There are eight candidates, but Di Maio s victory is considered a formality. He is one of Italy s most prominent and popular politicians and his seven rivals, mostly local councillors, are virtually unknown even to 5-Star supporters. The only people seen as having any chance against him decided not to run, opening the party up to accusations of failing to run a proper contest. Roberto Saviano, author of the best-selling novel Gomorra, said on Facebook that he wanted to run for the post to help 5-Star out of a pathetic situation . Saviano is not a party member and so is not eligible. Probably the only risk for Di Maio would be if voting were distorted by another hacking attack against 5-Star s internet platform. In August an anonymous hacker revealed he had broken into the system to obtain secret data on 5-Star s members and donors. | 1 |
1,989 | Somali man charged in Canada attack was ordered deported from U.S. | EDMONTON, Alberta (Reuters) - The Somali immigrant charged with attempted murder in connection with a weekend vehicle and knife attack in Edmonton, Alberta, was detained in the United States pending deportation before claiming refugee status in Canada, U.S. officials said on Tuesday. Abdulahi Hasan Sharif, 30, is accused of running down a police officer with his car on Saturday night and then stabbing him repeatedly. Police said he fled before driving a U-Haul truck into four pedestrians during an attempt to evade capture. Sharif was in custody in the United States for about four months in the summer and autumn of 2011, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokeswoman Lauren Mack said in a statement. He was ordered deported to Somalia but released on an order of supervision on Nov. 23, 2011. Sharif did not appear for a scheduled meeting in January 2012, and efforts to locate him were not successful, the statement said. Sharif had no known criminal history at the time of his encounters with ICE, the ICE statement added. Canadian Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said Sharif made a refugee claim at a Canadian border crossing in 2012 and obtained refugee status later that year. In 2015, a complaint led police to probe Sharif s alleged extremist ideology, but officers found no grounds for criminal charges after what the Royal Canadian Mounted Police described as an exhaustive investigation. Goodale said on Monday it would be wrong to blame the attack on any shortcomings in Canada s immigration and refugee vetting system. Sharif, who faces 11 charges including five counts of attempted murder, appeared via video in an Edmonton court on Tuesday wearing an orange jail uniform. He had a Somali interpreter, although he did not speak. He occasionally looked down or clasped his hands in front of him and still bore facial bruises that police say he sustained while evading capture. A community leader, Mahamad Accord, who did not speak to Sharif but learned about him from the local Somali community, said Sharif was from a Somali ethnic minority and little known in the community. Edmonton police did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Sharif s lawyer, Chady Moustarah, said he had stepped in on short notice to help someone without representation but that the accused would have to find another lawyer going forward. Sharif remains in custody until his next court appearance, scheduled for Nov. 14. | 1 |
1,990 | EU LEADERS PLEDGE EXTRA €1 Billion In Aid To Refugees…Slovakia Will Take EU To Court Over Forced Refugee Quotas | It won t lead to any solution. It s a kind of European Union dictatorship towards smaller members An extra 1 billion ( 733 million) has been pledged by EU leaders to help tackle the refugee crisis following an emergency summit in Brussels.It comes as Slovakia says it will go to court to challenge compulsory quotas for relocating 120,000 refugees approved by European Union ministers.Britain has not signed up to the plans, instead opting for a relocation scheme to take 20,000 Syrian refugees from countries in the Middle East over the next five years. Via: itvFour of the 28 EU countries voted against the quota system on Tuesday, with Finland abstaining. Slovakia, one of the loudest critics of the decision, which was advocated strongly by Germany and France, announced it would challenge it in court. We will go in two directions: first one, we will file a charge at the court in Luxembourg secondly, we will not implement the (decision) of the interior ministers, the Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico told reporters on Wednesday, before leaving for an EU leaders summit in Brussels. We have been refusing this nonsense from the beginning, and as a sovereign country we have the right to sue, he added, saying his country would not submit to the quota as long as he leads it.Slovakia, which has a population of 5.4 million, objects to the relocation of 120,000 migrants and refugees from Italy and Greece throughout the EU. It currently has only a small migrant community and the public opinion is against accepting Muslim asylum seekers, who make up the majority of those looking to enter Europe this year.Fico called the decision passed by a rare vote, rather than the accepted unanimous vote by all EU member states, a dictate of the majority and said the plan fails to address the core issues of the refugee crisis.Meanwhile, Jurgen Elsaesser, editor-in-chief of the German-based magazine Compact, told RT that the way the quota vote took place, threatens European unity, while it was also a total nonsense in practical terms. It won t lead to any solution. It s a kind of European Union dictatorship towards smaller members, he said, speaking to RT. Brussels tries to press them into accepting more refugees, but the people and the governments of these countries are not willing to do so. This will become a serious rift within the European Union. Via: RT | 0 |
1,991 | IF HILLARY GETS ELECTED…She’s Got Big Plans For Gropin’ Joe Biden | Vice President Joe Biden has reportedly been added to a potential shortlist of Hillary Clinton s choices for secretary of state if she were to be elected president in November.The Clinton campaign has not formally reached out to Biden but has put him at the top of its list, Politico reported, citing a source familiar with the matter.Biden, a former chair of the Senate Foreign Relations committee, has played an integral role in President Obama s foreign policy decisions and the Clinton team believes he would be a good fit for her administration.Biden and Clinton have known each other since her days as first lady and worked together while Clinton was secretary of state. Their relationship somewhat soured last summer, though, as Biden s political team gamed out a possible presidential run. | 0 |
1,992 | COLLEGE STUDENTS EXPRESS DISGUST In Trump’s “First 100 Days”…Until They Find Out Interviewer Was Talking About Obama [VIDEO] | Campus Reform Saturday will mark Donald Trump s 100th day in office, an important milestone for U.S. presidents ever since the flurry of panicked failings with which Franklin Roosevelt began his administration.While supporters of President Trump point to his slew of executive orders and the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch as markers of his success, detractors claim Mr. Trump has accomplished very little since taking office.Throughout the year, Campus Reform has shown how liberal professors and students across America have been quick to oppose the President s actions often without understanding important details about them.Hoping to tease out whether such reflexive opposition to Trump is based on policy disagreements or simply distaste for Trump himself, Campus Reform headed to George Mason University to ask students their opinions about the first 100 days.Watch George Mason student s reactions to questions that are actually about things Barack Obama did while in office, as the interviewer poses them as things President Trump accomplished: | 0 |
1,993 | Actor Michael Shannon’s Post-Election Anger Over Trump Victory Is EPIC | Kneel before Trump is not something you ll be seeing General Zod portrayer Michael Shannon do anytime soon.The Man of Steel actor made it clear on Friday during an interview on RogerEbert.com that the election of Trump put him in a bad mood and he had absolutely no problem ripping Trump and his supporters a new one. It s not one of my happier Fridays now that the Orange Man is running the world, Shannon told Nick Allen.Allen then asked Shannon to make sense of how Trump got elected. That s when Shannon unloaded on Trump supporters.Yeah, I ll tell you how to make sense of it: This country s filled with ignorant jackasses. The big red dildo running through the middle of our country needs to be annexed to be its own country of moronic assholes. You can call it the United States of Moronic Fucking Assholes.Sounds about right so far. I don t know how people got so goddamn stupid, Shannon continued. But it s really weird, because it s like the last eight years, now it feels like a lie. Like, this has been festering underneath the whole time. Racists, sexists. And a lot of these people, they don t know why the fuck they re alive. They know it. They re doing drugs, fucking killing themselves. Because they re like, Why the fuck am I alive? I can t get a job, I don t know anything about anything, I have no curiosity for life or the world. So this Trump thing is like getting a box of firecrackers, or something. It s like, Well, this will be fun for a little while, this ll kill some time. Because, y know, the jackass will be amusing on television, say stupid shit. Make everybody clap. Hillary would have been too boring, I suppose. It s the worst thing that s ever happened. It s the worst. This guy is going to destroy civilization as we know it, and the earth, and all because of these people who don t have any idea why they re alive.Now that s the perfect angry rant about Trump and his supporters that we ve been waiting for.And he is right.For a year and a half, Trump has used offensive and divisive rhetoric that should have disqualified him from seeking the presidency on day one of his campaign. His racism and sexism and ignorance should have lost him the election by a landslide. But he won anyway because stupid people voted for him because they want nothing more than to watch the world burn.Featured Image: Wikimedia | 0 |
1,994 | WATCH: Karma Strikes Disgusting Voyeur At Target When Woman Confronts And Chases Him | What would you do if you had a known video voyeur come up to you? Well, Candice Spivey of Jacksonville, Florida just laid a verbal smack down on one guy named Jeffrey Polizzi when he forgot he had approached her before. She took her own phone out, called him out on video and then proceeded to chase him right out of the Yulee, Florida Target.Spivey wrote in a Faceboo post: When he approached me yesterday he did not remember who I was, until I called him out on it in this video. Adding: He starts out his conversation with the same punch line he uses here in the very beginning of this video saying, Hey there I don t mean to bother you but I just bought this maxi dress for my wife at Ross and I was kinda worried about the sheerness of it. Spivey explains what happened the first time she got approached by Polizzi: Whiles he s asking these questions he s filming you with his cell phone, and I knew he was by the way he was holding his phone. I had this feeling there was way more to what he was doing than just asking questions, it was very routine for him like he s been doing this for a long time. So I went immediately to the front and reported him, they called the cops and he was banned from that publix. It was NOT illegal what he was doing. When Spivey was approached by Polizzi again in Target, she sprung into action. She confronted him, and as she was chasing him, shouted for someone to call the police. Unfortunately, he s still out there, so Spivey asks that if you run into him to contact the Nassau County Sheriff s Office, who is currently looking for possible victims.According to The Daily Mail: Police confirmed Polizzi has previously been charged with video voyeurism and issued an appeal last week for any other potential victims to come forward.Since then, scores of women have complained that they were approached by the man in similar scenarios. The biggest thing Spivey wanted out of this video and confrontation was to make sure this slimeball s face gets out there to the public to warn them. It s unbelievable, yet believable, that a man like this is free to walk around and not be taken into custody with several victims claiming it was him.Let s hope he gets caught soon by more than just Spivey, but by the police.Watch the confrontation here:Featured image via video screen capture | 0 |
1,995 | no title | shares
according to rai alyoum newspaper a bedouin jordanian poet has expressed his willingness to marry the daughter of donald trump the us presidentelect
falih aljabour wrote in a poem that jordanian officials are on their way to the white house to ask for the hand of tiffany trump the presidents youngest daughter he hoped the offer wouldnt be turned down
aljabour proposed to tiffany in his strange and humorous poem and even offered to pay a substantial price for the bride including camels thoroughbred horses and a acre field
this jordanian poet published his poem in social networks and asked the brides family not to reject him
falih aljabours only condition for the marriage is that after marrying him and going to his home land the bride has to wear burka because shes so beautiful otherwise there will be a chaos in the tribe
recommended for you saudi arabia warns trump on blocking oil imports and the risks for us economy saudi arabia has warned donald trump that the incoming us president will risk the health of his countrys economy if he acts o
by aht staff china warns trump against abandoning climate change deal increases climate change aid to developing countries to b china has warned donald trump that he will be defying the wishes of the entire planet if he acts on his vow to back away from t
by aht staff the unethicality of the sore loser during live us presidential election coverage on rt after it became clear that donald trump was going to secure the required number of el
by kim petersen | 0 |
1,996 | jaish alfatah leader admits receiving financial military aid from saudi arabia | shares
amateur footage emerged on saturday showing what appears to be turkish soldiers executing two female pkk insurgents at pointblank range
almasdar news that released the footage says they are not able to independently verify it
a ceasefire between turkey and the pkk ended last year and clashes have since claimed hundreds of lives on both sides
the pkk operates primarily in the mountanious terrain of southeastern turkey and often uploads footage of its kurdish fighters ambushing turkish government troops
more bombers stopped by police blew themselves up in turkey dispute over kurds and coup attempt threatens usturkey alliance the attempted coup détat made turkey band together erdogan vows heavy price for coup plotters the tension between kurdish fighters and turkish government have always been high in past years in yet one of the most recent cases a turkish court banned the coleader of turkeys prokurdish opposition from traveling abroad as part of a court case in which she has been accused of being a member of an armed terrorist group hurriyet daily reported on saturday reuters reported
figen yuksekdag cochair of peoples democratic party hdp is facing jail time up to years over comments she made last year in the southeastern border town of suruc the prosecutor of the case requested the ban
hdp described the courts decision to bar yuksekdag from foreign travel as political and arbitrary saying in a statement that it will make a formal appeal for its overturn
the move comes days after the comayors of diyarbakir the largest city in the southeast were detained as part of a security crackdown turkeys largely kurdish southeast has been rocked by violence following the collapse of a ceasefire between the state and the kurdistan workers party pkk last year
president tayyip erdogan has accused the hdp of being a political extension of the outlawed pkk and repeatedly called for the prosecution of its members he has also said the removal of elected officials and civil servants accused of links to the pkk was a vital part of the battle against it
several other hdp lawmakers including cochair selahattin demirtas are also being prosecuted largely over terrorism charges after the parliament earlier this year lifted the immunity of hdp deputies along with the immunity of mps from other parties
meanwhile three turkish soldiers were killed and five others were wounded by mortar fire from pkk militants near the southeastern town of cukurca security sources said
soldiers who were on an operation in cukurca in hakkari province bordering iraq and iraq returned the fire sources said operations were under way to hunt down the militants
the autonomyseeking pkk took up arms in and more than people have died in the conflict it is considered a terrorist group by turkey the united states and the european union | 0 |
1,997 | Trump rebukes South Korea after North Korean bomb test | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump admonished South Korea, a key ally, for what he termed a policy of “appeasement” after North Korea claimed to have tested an advanced hydrogen bomb for a long-range missile on Sunday. On Twitter, Trump said: “South Korea is finding, as I have told them, that their talk of appeasement with North Korea will not work, they (North Korea) only understand one thing!” It was the latest signal that Trump is losing patience with the international community’s response to the increasingly belligerent regime of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Last week, Trump tweeted that “talking is not the answer” in terms of dealing with Pyongyang. On Sunday, Trump also tweeted that North Korea’s “words and actions continue to be very hostile and dangerous to the United States” and said the regime “has become a great threat and embarrassment to China, which is trying to help but with little success.” The White House said Trump’s national security team was “monitoring this closely” and that the president would convene a meeting of his advisers later on Sunday. North Korea said it had tested an advanced hydrogen bomb for a long-range missile on Sunday, setting off a manmade earthquake near the test. Japanese and South Korean officials said that tremor was about 10 times more powerful than the one picked up after the nation’s last nuclear test a year ago. There was no independent confirmation that the detonation was a hydrogen bomb rather than a less powerful atomic weapon of the kind Pyongyang has tested in the past. In his tweet on Sunday, Trump appeared to be blaming South Korea for a policy it abandoned years ago of trying to soften North Korea’s posture through economic aid. South Korea’s new president, Moon Jae-in, has argued for continuing dialogue with its neighbor over its nuclear program, while also supporting international sanctions. Reports that the United States is considering pulling out of its trade deal with South Korea has also ratcheted up tensions with the country. Despite Trump’s tweets, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin suggested the United States would continue to attempt to pressure North Korea economically. Mnuchin said on Sunday that he would put together a package of new sanctions to potentially cut off all global trade with Pyongyang. “If countries want to do business with the United States, they obviously will be working with our allies and others to cut off North Korea economically,” Mnuchin said on “Fox News Sunday.” Trump’s cabinet has at times tried to show the president’s tweets are not shifts in official U.S. policy. Last week, after Trump said that “talking is not the answer,” Defense Secretary James Mattis followed up by saying: “We’re never out of diplomatic solutions.” Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson has previously suggested that the United States would be open to talks with North Korea if it ceased its missile tests and met other conditions. Senator Jeff Flake, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday that the United States had no good options when it came to North Korea. “Obviously the test yesterday shows they are further along than everyone figured,” said Flake, a Republican. He said sanctions did not appear to have slowed the advance of North Korea’s nuclear program, “but I don’t think harsh rhetoric does either.” Often critical of Trump, Flake declined to address his comment about South Korea’s “talk of appeasement,” but said: “I think South Korea will be with us whatever we decide.” | 1 |
1,998 | Austrian leader defends EU credentials in Brussels | BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Austria s new chancellor traveled to Brussels on Tuesday on his first foreign trip since being sworn in, aiming to dispel concerns that his coalition with the far right spells trouble for the European Union. Responding to a letter on Monday from European Council President Donald Tusk that underlined EU worries, 31-year-old conservative leader Sebastian Kurz tweeted back that his new government would be clear pro-European and committed to making a positive contribution to the future development of the EU . A day after he took office at the head of a coalition with the far-right Freedom Party (FPO), Kurz delivered that message in person to Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, whose EU executive has responded to October s election with little of the outrage that greeted the FPO s first taste of government in Austria 17 years ago. At a joint news conference in Brussels, Juncker said he would judge Kurz s government by its deeds. This government has a clear pro-European stance. That is what is important for me, Juncker said. The FPO has distanced itself from its Nazi-apologist, anti-Semitic past, while surges in irregular immigration and militant attacks have pushed the European political mainstream rightward, leading to a much more muted reaction than in 2000. But a French member of the Commission was wary: Things are doubtless different from the previous time, in 2000, tweeted Socialist former finance minister Pierre Moscovici. But the presence of the far right in government is never without consequences. Confirmation of the FPO s return to a share of power raises concern that small, wealthy Austria will be an intractable voice on EU asylum reform and efforts to increase the EU budget. The bluntest criticism has been south of the Alps, where a plan to offer Austrian citizenship to people living in Italy s German-speaking border region has rekindled worries over old territorial arguments. A junior foreign minister in Rome said the offer may be couched in a velvet glove of Europeanism but bore a whiff of the ethno-nationalist iron fist . Kurz assured Italians on Tuesday that he would consult Rome on the plan, which is a long-standing FPO policy, adding he would speak to Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni. For an EU battered by mounting nationalism that goes well beyond Brexit, there is concern too that criticism of Brussels in Vienna may help fuel the euroscepticism of former communist member states in Central Europe, including Poland, where the Commission is seriously considering imposing sanctions that were initially designed in response to the FPO s rise early this century. Speaking in Brussels, Kurz said he would make it Austria s task to bridge the gap between EU member states in the east and the west, adding his country would fight to stop illegal immigration into the EU. In a letter of congratulation to Kurz, Tusk made clear his concerns about the new coalition in Austria: I trust that the Austrian government will continue to play a constructive and pro-European role in the European Union, Tusk wrote, noting that Austria will from July enjoy six months of influence in Brussels as chair of EU ministerial councils. Germany and France, the EU s lead powers, also indicated a vigilance about Austria in their comments on Monday which highlighted Kurz s pledges to foster European cooperation. Kurz s visit to Brussels comes on the eve of an important Commission meeting on Wednesday, where Juncker s team will consider recommending sanctions on Poland for its continued defiance of warnings that its new laws on the judiciary are contrary to EU democratic standards. We are in a difficult process, which I hope will turn out to be a process of convergence. But not all bridges to Poland will be burnt tomorrow, Juncker said. | 1 |
1,999 | WATCH: Paul Ryan CONFIRMS That Trump’s Wiretapping Accusation Is A Complete Lie | House Speaker Paul Ryan just dropped the hammer on Donald Trump and his outrageous accusation against President Obama.Just over ten days ago, Trump took to Twitter to openly accuse President Obama of wiretapping him.Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my wires tapped in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 4, 2017How low has President Obama gone to tapp my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 4, 2017Of course, Trump provided absolutely no evidence to support his claims and still has not done so, even after Congress set a deadline for Trump s administration to provide them with it.Well, Trump missed the deadline and Congress extended it, but the writing is already on the wall. Trump lied when he claimed that Obama wiretapped him, and Republicans are admitting it.On Wednesday, House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Devin Nunes said there is no evidence to back up Trump s claim. We don t have any evidence that that took place and in fact, I don t believe just in the last week of time, the people we ve talked to I don t think there was an actual tap of Trump Tower, Nunes said.Rep. Adam Schiff concurred, saying, I ve seen no evidence that supports the claim that Trump made that his predecessor had wiretapped he and his associates at Trump Tower. Thus far, we have seen no basis for that whatsoever. And Paul Ryan buried Trump s claim once and for all during a talk with the press on Thursday. The intelligence committees in their continuing, ongoing, and widening investigation into all things Russia got to the bottom, at least so far with respect to our intelligence community, that no such wiretap existed. Here s the video via Twitter.Speaker Paul Ryan, asked about Trump s claim that former President Obama wiretapped him, says no such wiretap existed . pic.twitter.com/gTF62Dss7Y CNBC Now (@CNBCnow) March 16, 2017So even though Trump continues to insist that his accusation is accurate, Republicans in Congress have confirmed what the rest of us already know: Trump is full of shit.Featured image via screenshot | 0 |
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