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2,000 | CLASSIC! UNHINGED LIBERAL Loses It…Screams “Nooo!” As Soon As Trump Is Sworn In [Video] | An anti-Trump protester screams no as Donald Trump is sworn in as the 45th US President pic.twitter.com/qmsaFmMSkr ITV News (@itvnews) January 20, 2017 | 0 |
2,001 | Trump Indicates WH Previously Lied, Second Secret Putin Meeting Was ‘More Than Small Talk’ | Whenever the White House puts out a statement regarding Donald Trump, you can be sure of one thing: it s just a matter of time until Trump himself contradicts that statement. Over and over, Trump has thrown his spokespeople under the bus as he publicly says the opposite of what his surrogates have told the public. And he just did it again.According to the White House, Trump s second meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin was merely a brief conversation at the end of a dinner, nothing more than a perfectly innocent exchange of pleasantries and small talk. True to form, Trump blew this cover to smithereens shortly after the statement was made and revealed that the private meeting, which officials say lasted more than an hour, was actually a discussion about policy.Here is what Trump had to say to the New York Times about his second meeting with Putin:She [Melania Trump] was sitting next to Putin and somebody else, and that s the way it is. So the meal was going, and toward dessert I went down just to say hello to Melania, and while I was there I said hello to Putin. Really, pleasantries more than anything else. It was not a long conversation, but it was, you know, could be 15 minutes. Just talked about things. Actually, it was very interesting, we talked about adoption.We talked about Russian adoption. Yeah. I always found that interesting. Because, you know, he ended that years ago. And I actually talked about Russian adoption with him, which is interesting because it was a part of the conversation that Don [Jr., Mr. Trump s son] had in that meeting.And here s the problem with what he said. The whole topic of Russian adoption is far from just being casual small talk. Putin got mad when President Obama implemented the Magnitsky Act in 2012, which was meant to punish Russia for their blatant human rights violations. In retaliation, Putin banned the adoption of Russian children by U.S. citizens.So, by stating that he and Putin discussed Russian adoptions, Trump just inadvertently admitted that he discussed official policy in a private meeting with a foreign adversary. Whoops. This puts the U.S. government at a significant disadvantage because we have no record of what transpired conversationally between the president and Putin, former NATO commander James Stavridis explained.Yet again, Trump has chosen Russia and Putin over the American people. Sad.Featured image via Michael Reynolds Pool/Getty Images | 0 |
2,002 | Senate reauthorizes FDA to collect fees from drugmakers | (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Thursday passed a bill allowing the Food and Drug Administration to continue collecting fees from drug companies to review new product applications. The FDA Reauthorization Act renews an existing law that expires on Sept. 30 and which provides the majority of FDA funds used to review pharmaceuticals and determine whether they are safe and effective. The Senate passed the bill by a vote of 94-1. It was passed last month in the House of Representatives. Separately, the Senate passed a so-called right-to-try bill designed to allow terminally ill patients access to unapproved medications and to provide immunity for physicians willing to administer the treatments. The House has not yet passed that bill. | 1 |
2,003 | Police question Netanyahu for fifth time in corruption case | JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli police questioned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday for the fifth time over suspicions of corruption, Israeli media reported. A Reuters cameraman saw police investigators arrive by car late in the day to Netanyahu s official residence, where previous interrogations have taken place. Officials with the police and Netanyahu s office declined to comment to Reuters on their visit, but Israel media, without citing sources, widely reported he was being questioned again. 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 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 week that a top Netanyahu confidant had been questioned as part of a different investigation into a $2 billion submarine deal with Germany. | 1 |
2,004 | Senate diverges over renewal of internet spying law | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Senate panel on Tuesday approved legislation to renew the National Security Agency’s internet surveillance program, while other lawmakers pushed a competing measure seeking to end the ability to search for data on Americans without a warrant. The competing plans were likely to complicate congressional renewal of that law, known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, due to expire at the end of the year. The Trump administration supports a permanent renewal of the program without any changes. The Senate Intelligence Committee voted 12-3 to advance legislation renewing Section 702 until Dec. 31, 2025. The panel voted privately, meaning it did not immediately share the bill text, a common practice for the committee. Senators Richard Burr and Mark Warner, the panel’s Republican and Democratic leaders, said in a statement the bill would protect national security while improving privacy protections for Americans and adding transparency requirements about who can be targeted. The three no votes came from Democrats, including Senator Ron Wyden, an author of the alternative measure. U.S. intelligence officials value Section 702, calling it a vital tool for fighting national and cyber security threats and helping protect American allies. It allows U.S. intelligence agencies to eavesdrop on and store vast amounts of digital communications from foreign suspects living outside the United States. The panel unanimously adopted an amendment from Warner, requiring the Federal Bureau of Investigation to send any queries it makes for U.S. data to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, according to a source familiar with the vote. The court would have two days to review the query for legality, the source said. Privacy advocates have blasted the bill, saying it does not contain enough safeguards. Some complained that a version of the bill that had leaked might even expand the U.S. government’s surveillance powers. Fourteen other senators introduced legislation that would require the NSA to obtain a warrant for queries of data on Americans under an internet surveillance program. The effort, led by Wyden and Republican Rand Paul, would reform other aspects of the warrantless program. The surveillance program, classified details of which were exposed in 2013 by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, also incidentally scoops up communications of Americans, including if they communicate with a foreign target living overseas. Those communications can then be subject to searches without a warrant, including by the FBI. The USA Rights Act authored by Wyden and Paul would end that practice. The measure was introduced with support from more than 40 civil society groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and FreedomWorks. A companion bill was introduced in the House of Representatives. It would renew Section 702 for four years with additional transparency and oversight provisions, such as making it easier for individuals to raise legal challenges against the law and expand the oversight jurisdiction of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, a government watchdog. Earlier this month, a bipartisan group in the House introduced separate legislation to add privacy protections to Section 702, including partially restricting the FBI’s ability to access U.S. data when investigating a crime. Privacy groups criticized that plan as too narrow. | 1 |
2,005 | Why John McCain Will Never Vote to Repeal and Replace Obamacare | It s all about the money isn t that the way it is with these RINO politicians who ve sold out the American people to big business? Well, John McCain is no different and should be taken to the woodshed one final time for his role in repeatedly destroying any hope we have of getting rid of Obamacare.BEWARE THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has paid millions to the GOP to keep Obamacare on behalf of multinational corporations who exploit and erode the U.S. economy. The largest beneficiaries of those payments has long been the RINOS within the senate. McCain s position is not a surprise. INSURERS PROFIT FROM OBAMACARE NO VOTE:Shares of U.S. insurers gained after news that McCain would not support the bill. Insurers had fallen over the past week as investors worried about spending cuts.Centene Corp gained 1.6 percent to $92.22 while Molina Healthcare rose 4.5 percent to $65.32. Both specialize in government-funded healthcare.The insurance industry, hospitals, medical advocacy groups such as the American Medical Association, American Heart Association and American Cancer Society, the AARP advocacy group for the elderly and consumer activists oppose the bill.WASHINGTON (Reuters) U.S. Senator John McCain said on Friday he opposes the latest Republican bill to dismantle Obamacare, dealing the measure what could be a fatal blow given the party s slim Senate majority.With several other Republicans still undecided on the measure, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said earlier this week he intended to bring it to the Senate floor for a vote next week, though he did not promise to do so.A vote would set the stage for another dramatic Capitol Hill decision on the 2010 law that brought health insurance to millions of Americans and became former Democratic President Barack Obama s signature domestic achievement.Read more: Reuters | 0 |
2,006 | Trump adviser calls for tax reform as bipartisan 'jobs' bill | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A co-author of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s tax plan called on Congress Wednesday to pursue corporate tax reform as a bipartisan “jobs” bill that could finance a massive new infrastructure program while slashing business tax rates. Stephen Moore, a Heritage Foundation fellow who advised the Trump campaign, said he would recommend that Trump pursue tax reform along two tracks, by focusing on business taxes in his first 150 days and leaving the politically more challenging task of reforming individual taxes for later. Trump and Republicans in Congress are trying to hammer out a legislative agenda on tax reform. Moore, at a forum hosted by Politico, called for a plan that would attract Democratic support, suggesting an outcome that could deviate markedly from the House of Representatives blueprint promoted by Speaker Paul Ryan, a Republican. Trump’s proposal would reduce the official corporate tax rate to 15 percent from 35 percent, allow corporations to repatriate overseas profits at a 10 percent rate and reduce the top individual tax rate to 33 percent from 39.6 percent. Moore estimated that the cuts would lead to a revenue loss of about $3 trillion over 10 years, for which Trump would compensate with spending cuts. But he said it would broaden the tax base by adding 1 percent of growth to the U.S. economy. “That’s the plan: try to pass a tax cut ... and then make up the difference by cutting government spending,” he said. But some analysts warn of a bigger toll. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center forecasts that the Trump plan would cause the federal debt to soar by $7 trillion over its first decade, including added interest costs and macroeconomic effects. Trump and Congress would be able to sell the legislation as a job creation bill by linking corporate tax reform to infrastructure spending, Moore said. The combination would also increase the chances of gaining support from Democrats, who have favored such a link. “I would label this a jobs bill,” Moore said. Moore estimated that taxing repatriated overseas corporate profits could raise $100 billion to $150 billion for infrastructure spending. U.S. corporations are estimated to have $2.6 trillion in profits stashed overseas. He spoke to House Republican whip Steve Scalise and other lawmakers on Tuesday about using reform to fund infrastructure. “The disagreements, I think, on the Republican side of the aisle, are very easily reconcilable,” he said. | 1 |
2,007 | Trump Just Called A Fledgling Dictator To Congratulate Him On Expanding His Powers | It takes one to know one. Turkey just held a referendum that greatly expands the power of their president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. It passed by a very narrow margin, taking Turkey on its latest step toward brutal dictatorship, and here s Donald Trump, who sources say called Erdogan to congratulate him on winning the referendum vote.While we re busy justifying blowing up absolutely nothing in Syria because a brutal dictator used sarin gas on his people, Trump is busy calling someone who s working hard on becoming the region s next brutal dictator to congratulate him on furthering that goal.This referendum, according to The Daily Beast, moves Turkey away from a parliamentary democracy and towards one-person rule. But what he has already done there makes the referendum more of a formality. Erdogan had already managed to form a one-party government a move that greatly diminishes the voices of opposition.Last year, Erdogan asked Turkey s parliament to redefine the country s anti-extremism law to include politicians, journalists and members of academia. He claimed that pro-Kurdish politicians were inciting terrorism, and journalists and academics were spreading the info that allowed the politicians to do so. Therefore, they are all terrorists.Branding press as the enemy is something Trump has been trying to do here. As the Washington Post s front page motto says, Democracy dies in darkness. This is the darkness.And now, Erdogan is, more or less, the sole ruler of Turkey.But what does Trump care? It wouldn t be surprising to find that he wishes something like that would happen here, too, if for no other reason than it would help cement his overinflated opinion of himself as a great man who is beloved by all, with nobody left to shine a light on the truth, like, oh, say, a free press.The way the Turkey referendum was held has appalled international election monitors. According to them, voters were not provided with adequate information, opposition voices were muzzled and the rules were changed at the last minute. In short, this was not a truly democratic process.Good job continuing to support authoritarian rulers over true democracies, Trump. You re about as un-American as it gets.Featured image by Mark Wilson via Getty Images | 0 |
2,008 | More Democratic senators oppose Trump's U.S. Supreme Court pick | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Democrats on Friday stepped closer to having enough votes to block a confirmation vote on President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee with three more Democratic senators coming out against Neil Gorsuch for the lifetime job as a justice. Democrats are attempting use a procedural hurdle called a filibuster that requires 60 votes to allow a confirmation vote in the 100-seat U.S. Senate. Senate Republicans are hoping to vote on April 7 to confirm the conservative appeals court judge nominated by the Republican president in January. Democratic Senators Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Brian Schatz of Hawaii came out against Gorsuch on Friday and backed a filibuster. Republicans control the Senate 52-48. But if Democrats can muster 41 votes, they would be able to sustain the filibuster. As of Friday afternoon, 36 Democrats had indicated their support for such a move. Two Democrats have said they support Gorsuch. Another two have voiced opposition to Gorsuch but have not made clear whether they would support a filibuster to block a confirmation vote. Seven Democrats and one independent, Angus King of Maine, who usually votes with them, have not yet announced their position. If Democrats amass enough support to block a confirmation vote, it would force Republican Senate leaders to try to change the chamber’s long-standing rules and allow confirmation by a simple majority, a move backed by Trump that is sometimes called the “nuclear option.” If confirmed by the Senate to fill a vacancy created by the February 2016 death of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, Gorsuch would reinstate the nine-seat high court’s conservative majority at a time when Republicans control Congress and the White House. McCaskill said in a statement she could not support Gorsuch because a study of his legal opinions revealed “a rigid ideology that always puts the little guy under the boot of corporations.” McCaskill is up for re-election next year in a state Trump won in the 2016 presidential election. Blumenthal, a member of the Judiciary Committee that held a four-day confirmation hearing last week and will vote on sending the nomination to the Senate floor on Monday, said in a statement Gorsuch has not been forthcoming with senators about his views on key issues, leaving his core beliefs little known. “Instead he has evaded real answers at every turn,” Blumenthal said. “We must assume that Judge Gorsuch has passed the Trump litmus test - a pro-life, pro-gun, conservative judge.” Blumenthal said Gorsuch’s refusal to “distance himself from right-wing groups” raised questions about whether he may be “an acolyte of hard-right special interests.” Schatz said Gorsuch’s record as a judge was troubling and he had not shown he would challenge executive overreach. “His refusal to answer questions on long-decided cases or condemn attacks on the judiciary during the hearing demonstrates that he is outside of the legal mainstream,” Schatz said. Their statements came one day after Gorsuch won his first Democratic support, giving Republicans who control the chamber two of the eight Democratic votes they need to break a filibuster. Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Democrats who face re-election in states that voted for Trump last year, said they would vote for Gorsuch. Trump made the appointment of conservative jurists to the Supreme Court a key promise during the 2016 presidential election. Republicans have defended Gorsuch as well qualified to be a Supreme Court justice and praised his performance during the confirmation hearings. If the filibuster is beaten, the confirmation vote itself would require a simple majority. Some Democrats have accused Republicans of “stealing” a Supreme Court seat last year when the Senate refused to consider Democratic former President Barack Obama’s nominee to replace Scalia, appellate judge Merrick Garland. | 1 |
2,009 | Trump team struggles for cohesion on tougher China policy | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The incoming U.S. administration’s tough talk against China has set the stage for showdowns on everything from security to trade and cyberspace, but contradictory signals are sowing uncertainty over how far President-elect Donald Trump is prepared to go in confronting Beijing. Highlighting the contested South China Sea as a potential flashpoint, Trump’s Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson threw out an explosive challenge to Beijing on Wednesday by calling for it be denied access to artificial islands it is building in the strategic waterway. A Trump transition adviser told Reuters that Tillerson, Trump’s pick to be America’s top diplomat, did not mean to suggest the new administration would impose a naval blockade, which would risk armed confrontation with China, something the new administration was not seeking. But another official authorized to speak on behalf of the transition team pushed back on that view, saying Tillerson “did not misspeak” when he said China should be barred from its man-made islands. Amid the conflicting signals on policy, the team appears to be making progress on plans for a major naval build-up in East Asia to counter China’s rise. The transition adviser told Reuters about specifics under consideration, such as basing a second aircraft carrier in the region, deploying more destroyers, attack submarines and missile defense batteries and expanding or adding new bases in Japan and Australia. They are also looking at installing “air force long-range strike assets” in South Korea, bordering China’s nuclear-armed neighbor North Korea, said the adviser who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Trump, who succeeds President Barack Obama on Jan. 20, has vowed to greatly expand the U.S. Navy to 350 ships, but his transition team has not made clear how he will fund this, amid other massive spending plans. China’s Foreign Ministry said it could not guess what Tillerson meant by his remarks, which came after Trump questioned Washington’s longstanding and highly sensitive “one-China” policy over Taiwan. But an influential Chinese state-run tabloid warned on Friday that blocking Chinese access to South China Sea islands would require the United States to “wage war.” Trump’s pick for defense secretary, retired Marine General James Mattis, did not endorse Tillerson’s message on the South China Sea, which would seem at odds with Washington’s own longstanding commitment to freedom of navigation for all. Asked about the remarks at his confirmation hearing on Thursday, Mattis said China’s actions in the South China Sea were part of a broader attack on the world order, but said the State, Defense and Treasury Departments needed to put together an integrated policy “so we are not dealing with an incomplete or an incoherent strategy.” The conflicting messages underscore the incoming administration’s struggle in crafting an approach to one of the biggest foreign policy challenges facing Trump, who during his election campaign repeatedly bashed China, saying it was “killing” and “raping” America on trade. A former U.S. official who has informally advised Trump’s transition team said it may not have fully thought through the risks of any new U.S. military or trade pressure on China. “We should not underestimate China’s willingness to retaliate in kind,” the former official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters. As part of a drive to protect American jobs, Trump has threatened to declare China a currency manipulator - even though economists say Beijing has been seeking to prop up, not weaken, its currency. He has also threatened to slap punitive tariffs on Chinese goods, risking a trade war that could hurt both countries and the global economy. Trump has yet to name to his national security team high-level members with deep experience of the region, leading some analysts to question whether the new administration will have enough expertise to translate rhetoric on a more robust Asia policy into action. But Trump has appointed two harsh China critics to his trade team - Peter Navarro, an academic who authored a book entitled “Death by China,” and Robert Lighthizer, a former Reagan administration official. Trump advisers dismiss concerns their approach could prove risky or counterproductive, arguing that a “peace through strength” stance will put real muscle behind U.S. policy in the region after decades of under-resourcing due to U.S. distractions elsewhere in the world. “Once we start correcting the military imbalance, I actually think you will get more cooperation rather than less,” the Trump adviser said. Trump and his cabinet nominees have also vowed to step up pressure on China to rein in North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, including by holding out the possibility of “secondary sanctions” on Chinese entities found to be violating sanctions on Pyongyang. But analysts say China may be in no mood to cooperate if Washington is leaning on it on other issues. Those include U.S. pressure on Beijing to curb cyber hacking of U.S. entities. China’s official responses to recent broadsides have been measured so far as they wait to see how Trump will act once he takes office. “We have seen many conflicting messages from people within his prospective administration,” said Tu Xinquan, a trade expert at Beijing’s University of International Business and Economics. But analysts say confronting Beijing over hot-button nationalist issues like Taiwan and the South China Sea could trigger strong reactions, especially in a year when President Xi Jinping is seeking to further consolidate power at a congress of the ruling Communist Party held every five years. Zha Daojiong, a professor at Peking University, said the theme of clash of civilizations was becoming increasingly popular in Chinese circles and this was ominous. “This does not bode well at all ... And it means that the continued war drums from America on the South China Sea would not help matters at all.” | 1 |
2,010 | Human rights, killings not addressed in Duterte-Trump talks: spokesman | MANILA (Reuters) - The issue of human rights and alleged extrajudicial killings in the Philippines was not discussed during a meeting on Monday between U.S. President Donald Trump and counterpart Rodrigo Duterte, a Philippine spokesman said. Harry Roque, Duterte s spokesman, told a news conference Duterte had explained his anti-drugs policy at length to Trump, who seemed to be appreciative of his efforts . Roque described the relationship between Trump and Duterte as warm, friendly and candid and said they shared similar feelings about former U.S. President Barack Obama. Roque also said the plight of Myanmar s Rohingya Muslims was discussed between leaders of ASEAN and that Myanmar responded. | 1 |
2,011 | WATCH THIS DEMOCRAT Call For Trump’s Impeachment With No Credible Reason Why [Video] | Spewing falsehoods has become the favorite pastime of Democrats It s really pitiful to watch Last night, following the release of the Washington Post fake news on Trump and Russia, several videos immediately came out repeating the same fake news. It s uncanny that the media could be so coordinated in their reports on President Trump Of course, we believe there s something to that.Two Congresscritters have come out to call for the impeachment of President Trump .With ZERO evidence of ANY wrongdoing, it s laughable One of our favorites is Maxine Waters but this next Congressman runs a close second. Al Green claims Trump was hobnobbing with the Russians Haha!Congressman Al Green just released a statement on why he believes President Trump should be impeached. This statement is laughable. Was Al Green elected because of his name? Voters can be that way, ya know This guy is the definition of clueless! Who elects these brainiacs?Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) has suggested impeachment during TV interviews, but Green is the first member of Congress to formally call for impeachment hearings.Green said Trump s own public statements showed he fired Comey over the Russia investigation, which he said was grounds for impeachment:Waters and Green are a total joke! These are just two of the jokers running Washington. This is truly scary. | 0 |
2,012 | Zimbabwe's Mnangagwa says against any form of 'vengeful retribution' | HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe s incoming president Emmerson Mnangagwa has called on citizens to remain peaceful and desist from any form of vengeful retribution , days after Robert Mugabe resigned from power. Mnangagwa s supporters were angered by his dismissal early this month, a move that triggered the military to intervene. Some of the supporters have been calling for unspecified action against the G40 group that backed Mugabe and his wife. | 1 |
2,013 | Trump Is So Bad Hillary Is Telling Him How To Be President And He’s Doing What She Says | President Donald Trump has had some strong words for his fiercest political rival, Hilary Clinton, over the years, including having his supporters to chant Lock her up! at his political rallies, but now it seems that Trump has bitten off a little more than he can chew with this whole President thing and needs all the advice he can get Even if it comes from Clinton. To make matters more amusing, he is actually acting on what she says!As the carnage from Hurricane Maria becomes more evident, President Trump has been a little too preoccupied with perpetually tweeting abound NFL players not standing for the National Anthem, while hardly acknowledging the fact that American lives are in danger after a enduring a week without electricity or clean water in Puerto Rico. On Sunday, Hillary Clinton had had enough of this madness and took to what she assumed was the only platform for getting Trump s attention directly, Twitter, to deliver a very direct message to the President of the United States:President Trump, Sec. Mattis, and DOD should send the Navy, including the USNS Comfort, to Puerto Rico now. These are American citizens. https://t.co/J2FVg4II0n Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) September 24, 2017Clinton s call for action initially took place on change.org when she set up a petition that received 100,000 signatures in just three days, with critics showing their frustration with the hashtag #SendtheComfort. Both the hashtag and Clinton s tweet specifically mention the USNS Comfort, a hospital ship and, in what could be a simple twist of irony, although that is highly unlikely, Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Brock Long announced that that was exactly what the Navy was going to do just two days after Clinton s plea. We re dramatically increasing the federal footprint that s there, Long said outside the White House, a motion later confirmed by the Navy.Trump himself commented on the difficulty of getting aide to Puerto Rico, but it really didn t sound as if he knew much about the place, let alone where it is, but still claimed that officials were doing a really good job. It s very tough because it s an island, Trump said. In Texas, we can ship the trucks right out there. And you know, we ve gotten A-pluses on Texas and on Florida, and we will also on Puerto Rico. But the difference is, this is an island sitting in the middle of an ocean. And it s a big ocean; it s a very big ocean. The move to send the USNS Comfort came after days of criticism aimed at the US government for failing to truly offer any aide in Puerto Rico, a US territory of almost 3.5 million people, in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. Large areas of Puerto Rico face months without power and as well as having an exceptionally long rebuilding process ahead of them.President Trump plans to visit the area next week.Featured image via Alex Wong/Getty Images | 0 |
2,014 | BREAKING: IRAN Tests Cruise Missile…Trump WARNS…They’re “Playing with fire…They don’t appreciate how ‘kind’ President Obama was to them. Not Me!” [VIDEO] | Peace through strength President Donald Trump raised the stakes with Iran again this morning by dashing off a tweet.The tweet comes a day after the new president dramatically raised the possibility of military action against Iran over its missiles test on Thursday saying nothing is off the table amid news that a new round of sanctions could be coming within hours. Sources told the Associated Press that up to two dozen Iranian individuals, companies and possibly government agencies could be penalized as part of the move.Action could come as early as later Friday, said the officials and others with knowledge of the decision. The individuals weren t authorized to discuss the unannounced sanctions publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.Gen. Michael Flynn told reporters during a White House press briefing that the administration condemns such actions by Iran that undermine security, prosperity and stability throughout and beyond the Middle East that puts American lives at risk. As of today, we are officially putting Iran on notice, he said.Trump used the phrase when asked directly if military action was possible, and after a series of angry tweets about how the Islamic republic tested a ballistic missile something the nuclear bargain it struck with Barack Obama explicitly forbids. It also emerged Thursday that Iran has tested a cruise missile called Sumar that is capable of carrying nuclear weapons. The development was reported by German newspaper Die Welt reported Thursday, citing unspecified intelligence sources.Trump s personal involvement began earl on Thursday morning when he used social media to issue an explicit warning to Tehran.Trump has been openly hostile to the terms of the Obama-Tehran nuclear deal, saying during his presidential campaign that it was stupid, a disgrace, and the worst deal ever negotiated. His tweets likely stand as the first time a head of state has used social media to threaten a foreign country. They were met with contempt by the Iranian regime.A top adviser to the Iranian supreme leader said the country will not yield to useless US threats from an inexperienced person over its ballistic missile program.Ali Akbar Velayati said, who is a senior counsel to Iran s most powerful man Ayatollah Ali Khamenei hit back. This is not the first time that an inexperienced person has threatened Iran, he said. The American government will understand that threatening Iran is useless. The report of a cruise missile test in the German newspaper said the Sumar cruise missile was built in Iran and traveled around 375 miles in its first known successful test.The missile is believed to be capable of carrying nuclear weapons and may have a range of 1,200 to 1,800 miles, the paper said, citing intelligence sources.Cruise missiles are harder to counter than ballistic missiles since they fly at lower altitudes and can evade enemy radar, confounding missile defense missiles and hitting targets deep inside an opponent s territory.But the biggest advantage from Iran s point of view, a security expert told Die Welt, was that cruise missiles are not mentioned in any United Nations resolutions that ban work on ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons.There has been no explicit response from Iran or from Washington on the cruise missile disclosure.However, Trump s National Security Advisor had issued his own stern warning to Tehran s mullahs on Wednesday. Daily Mail | 0 |
2,015 | Mexico's strongest quake in 85 years kills dozens in the poor south | JUCHITAN, Mexico (Reuters) - At least 61 people died when the most powerful earthquake to hit Mexico in over eight decades tore through buildings and forced mass evacuations in the poor southern states of Oaxaca and Chiapas, triggering alerts as far away as Southeast Asia. The 8.1 magnitude quake off the southern coast late Thursday was stronger than a devastating 1985 temblor that flattened swathes of Mexico City and killed thousands. The tremor rattled Mexico City and shook Guatemala and El Salvador, but the Oaxacan town of Juchitan bore the brunt of the disaster, with sections of the town hall, a hotel, a church, a bar and other buildings reduced to rubble. Dalia Vasquez, a 55-year old cook, said she watched emergency workers haul the bodies of her elderly neighbor and her middle-aged son from their collapsed home. Her own house was badly damaged. Frightened by the possibility of aftershocks, she planned to sleep with dozens more in the streets and parks. We have nothing now. We don t have any savings, she said. President Enrique Pena Nieto flew to the battered town to oversee rescue efforts. The town s mayor, Gloria Sanchez, called it the most terrible moment in Juchitan s history. Facades of shattered buildings, fallen tiles and broken glass from shop fronts and banks littered the pavements of Juchitan while heavily armed soldiers patrolled and stood guard at areas cordoned off due to the extent of the damage. Startled residents stepped through the rubble of about 100 wrecked buildings, including houses, a flattened Volkswagen dealership and Juchitan s shattered town hall. Scores paced the terrain or sat outside warily, mindful of the frequent aftershocks and reliving the night s terror. It was brutal, brutal. It was like a monster, like a train was passing over our roofs, said Jesus Mendoza, 53, as he milled about in a park across from the damaged town hall. Alma Rosa, sitting in vigil with a relative by the body of a loved one draped in a red shroud, said: We went to buy a coffin, but there aren t any because there are so many bodies. All the deaths were in three neighboring states clustered near the epicenter that lay about 70 km (40 miles) off the coast. At least 45 people died in Oaxaca, many of them in Juchitan, while in Chiapas the count reached 12 and in Tabasco four people lost their lives, according to federal and state officials. In Chiapas, home to many of Mexico s indigenous ethnic groups, thousands of people in coastal areas were evacuated as a precaution when the quake sparked tsunami warnings, but only two-foot waves were produced by the quake. State oil company Pemex said there was no structural damage to it s 330,000 barrel-per-day Salina Cruz refinery, which it had shut down as a precaution, but it said it was checking problems in the electrical system before restarting the plant. At least 250 people in Oaxaca were also injured, according to agriculture minister Jose Calzada. Classes were suspended in much of central and southern Mexico on Friday to allow authorities to assess the impact. Dozens of schools were damaged, officials said. People ran into the streets in Mexico City, one of the world s largest metropolises and home to more than 20 million, and alarms sounded after the quake struck just before midnight. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake s epicenter was 54 miles (87 km) southwest of the town of Pijijiapan at a depth of 43 miles (69 km). John Bellini, a geophysicist at the USGS National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colorado, said it was the strongest quake since an 8.1 temblor struck the western state of Jalisco in 1932. Across the Pacific, both the Philippines and New Zealand were on alert for possible tsunamis. Windows were shattered at Mexico City airport and power went out in several neighborhoods of the capital, affecting more than 1 million people. The cornice of a hotel came down in the southern tourist city of Oaxaca, a witness said. Mexico City is built on a spongy, drained lake bed that amplifies earthquakes along the volcanic country s multiple seismic fault lines. The 1985 earthquake was just inland, about 230 miles from Mexico City, while Thursday s was 470 miles away. Authorities reported dozens of aftershocks, and President Pena Nieto said the quake was felt by around 50 million of Mexico s roughly 120 million population. Mexico is evaluating whether the quake will trigger a payout from a World Bank-backed catastrophe bond, Finance Minister Jose Antonio Meade said on Friday. Meade said the bond s coverage could reach $150 million, depending on magnitude and location. But he said Mexico has sufficient funds to pay for a cleanup whether the bond was triggered or not. | 1 |
2,016 | Zuma says South Africa and Morocco will resume diplomatic ties: media | JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa and Morocco will resume diplomatic ties more than a decade after Morocco withdrew its ambassador from Pretoria, South African President Jacob Zuma said in a newspaper interview published on Sunday. Morocco recalled its ambassador from South Africa in 2004 after former South African president Thabo Mbeki recognized a breakaway region in the Western Sahara which Morocco claims as part of its territory. Morocco is an African nation and we need to have relations with them, Zuma told City Press in the interview. We never had problems with them anyway; they were the first to withdraw diplomatic relations. Zuma met Morocco s King Mohammed last week on the sidelines of an African Union-European Union summit. They felt that even if we differ on the Western Sahara issues, the two countries should have a relationship, Zuma said about Moroccan officials position at the meeting. South Africa s official government position - as re-affirmed by Zuma in one of his state of the nation addresses - is to support self determination and decolonization for the Western Sahara . The decision to re-establish ties with Morocco is likely to go down badly with some members of South Africa s ruling African National Congress (ANC), of which Zuma is leader. The ANC - as one of Africa s oldest liberation movements - has long backed those seeking independence in the Western Sahara and has accused Morocco of occupying the region. The ruling party said in a statement it had unequivocal support for Western Sahara but that this did not mean it harbored enmity toward Morocco. There is also no ANC policy that says South Africa should isolate Morocco, the statement said. A spokesman for South Africa s foreign ministry could not be reached for comment on Sunday. Morocco has controlled most of the Western Sahara, which is rich in phosphates and has seen some initial oil exploration efforts, since 1975. A ceasefire in 1991 called for a referendum on self-determination for Western Sahara, but the vote has never taken place. | 1 |
2,017 | France's Macron picked moment to put EU proposals to Germany | PARIS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday said he deliberately laid out his vision for sweeping European Union reforms just after Germany s election and before coalition talks there are concluded in order for his proposals to have more influence. Some had said I should wait for the coalition talks to be concluded, Macron said, adding that had he done so, the reaction in Berlin would have been: Your proposals are great but it s too late, the coalition deal already lays out what will we do on Europe for the next four years. | 1 |
2,018 | KELLYANNE CONWAY Delivers KNOCK OUT Punch To Smug Jake Tapper At CNN Town Hall Forum [VIDEO] | When an audience member asks Kellyanne Conway if Trump will continue to use Twitter as a means to communicate with Americans, he ended his comment with a swipe at Trump not being entirely truthful with his tweets. Kellyanne Conway responded that it would be up to him and the Secret Service, and that he looks at it as a very good platform for him to convey his messages.Jake Tapper suggested that Trump s tweet about 3 million illegal aliens voting in the election was false. Of course Tapper has no evidence to back up his assertion. The state of California alone has over 2.6 million illegal aliens who could ve technically voted in the election. In fact, the two top counties where Hillary received the most votes, are coincidentally the same two counties who have the highest percentage of illegal aliens. In October, 2015, a California state bill was signed in to law by Gov. Jerry Brown, that registers and allows illegal aliens to vote in US Elections. So just in the state of California alone, over 2.6 million illegal aliens could have voted in the election. We haven t even talked about the illegal aliens who weren t caught voting in this election because of loopholes in states that allowed illegal aliens to register to vote when they obtained legal drivers licenses.But Tapper pressed on asking:Tapper: Is that really Presidential behavior? Conway: Well he s the President-Elect, so that s Presidential behavior, yes. Tapper: So the things that Bill Clinton did in the Oval Office, that you criticized, those weren t Presidential? Conway: Should we review for those who weren t born yet what President Clinton did in the Oval Office? Boom!https://youtu.be/t7tc3Gr0d5M | 0 |
2,019 | NC’s GOP-Run Board Of Elections Just Smacked Pat McCrory HARD Over His Bogus ‘Fraud’ Nonsense | North Carolina governor Pat McCrory lost his re-election bid to his Democratic challenger Roy Cooper three weeks ago. However, McCrory is trying every trick in the book to re-install himself as governor for another term against the will of the people of the state. One of those tricks is alleging widespread voter fraud, and McCrory filed several complaints in that direction.Now, remember the North Carolina Board of Elections is run by Republicans, not Democrats right now. Therefore, one would think this would give McCrory an edge in his crazy attempt to overturn this election by any means necessary, but not so. Even his Republican colleagues are sick of McCrory s nonsense, and they made the decision to toss his ridiculous voter fraud complaints. These complaints were designed to make it appear that people who were not eligible to vote had indeed voted, thus costing him the election. However, the Board of Elections said to get rid of the complaints that merely disputes the eligibility of a voter. Here is the response from Roy Cooper:All of this comes on the heels of obvious voter suppression efforts on the part of the North Carolina GOP. The complaints filed by McCrory include the 52 counties in the state where the North Carolina GOP at large started purging voter rolls, accusing people of voting without being eligible. Despite this, the GOP elections officials are still going against McCrory.McCrory needs to concede. Cooper now leads him by more than 9,000 votes and counting. The people of North Carolina do not want him to be their governor any longer. Instead of accepting that, he is whining and stomping his feet like a child. He s embarrassing himself, his state, and his Republican colleagues. This guy is like North Carolina s own Donald Trump in a way too childish and prideful to admit when he s wrong. If McCrory continues this nonsense, he should be forcibly removed from office when his term is officially over.Featured image via Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images | 0 |
2,020 | IS MEGYN KELLY Planning To Leave FOX News? [VIDEO] | Did Donald Trump convince Megyn Kelly s loyal fan base that she really isn t so fair and balanced after all, or is she just getting worn down by dirty politics?Many news personalities are already worn out covering this year s election, but Kelly has become part of the story. She s survived sustained attacks from Trump by buckling down and focusing on her job, and her primetime show The Kelly File has never done better, averaging 2.5 million nightly viewers. In a one-hour conversation, Kelly spoke to Variety for this week s Power of Women issue about Trump, wanting to interview Hillary Clinton and whether she ll remain at Fox News after her contract expires next year.Do you think there s a double standard in the news business when it comes to women? Let me put it to you this way. One of the biggest lessons I ve learned in the past 10 months is we have a long way to go. We as women in the country where we are, how we think of ourselves, what we re willing to accept we have a ton of work to do.Do you think Trump s attacks on you are different because you re a woman? I think the language is very different when he fights with women.Has it been hard for you? It has not been enjoyable. I wish it hadn t happened. I hope it will stop his focus on me. If he s determined not to stop, there s nothing I can do. I don t like being the story. I think it raises real First Amendment issues. I ve seen what s happened with Michelle Fields [the former Breitbart News reporter allegedly grabbed by Trump s campaign manager] and in my own world, there s another side to this behavior. It poses real risks to the person under attack.What did you think when you read his tweet that you owe him part of your salary? I laughed.Isn t it sexist? I ll leave that to someone else to label. I ll say this. I earn every dime of my salary. I won t be giving it to anyone other than my three children. The Kelly File was the No. 1 show [in cable] in the time slot and No. 2 in all of cable news from the time I launched it. Trump called for people to boycott the show repeatedly. The numbers went up. When he realized the boycott had failed, he decided to take credit for the show s success.Has this made it harder to cover him? I don t want to be reporting the news in a way that s fearful, or a way that seeks to curry favor or prove something. It is difficult, because Trump generates a lot of controversy, often intentionally. So you have to cover that as a reporter. I ll channel surf. I ll look at CNN, or I ll look at my pals Bill [Hemmer] and Martha [MacCallum], who are co-hosting my old show. We re the same. I give him no more coverage than the other journalists give him.You asked a series of pointed questions about the lawsuit against Trump University at the last debate you moderated. Why do you think it took the media so long to report about that? I think the media believed that Trump wasn t a serious contender for a long time until it became obvious they were wrong. There is a lot to fact check Trump on that poses challenges. Reporters only have so much time and energy for one particular subject, and I also think with Trump, he s a master strategist at distracting you. If he says something for which he s gotten into real trouble, he ll say something else and the media is quick to run to the next shiny thing.He also doesn t always answer the question he s being asked. It s hard. You have to really stay on it. You need a situation where you pick one topic and you go 10 questions deep I do that on my show. That s how you d have to handle Trump. Listen, it s been a long time since I ve interviewed him.Do you think you ll interview him again? To be honest, every time I prepare an invitation to sit down with him, he attacks me on Twitter or elsewhere. I had always been hoping I could reach out to him at a time when he wasn t angry. I don t think it would be a good interview if he was angry at me but then he never stops with the attacks. I was just about to ask him to sit down with me two weeks ago, but then he started up again out of the blue.After he gave the response about the size of his hands, it was remarkable how you kept a poker face. You know, I haven t seen the debates. I haven t seen the reaction shot. There was definitely a moment where Bret [Baier] and I looked to each other and laughed. Did that just happen?Did you still use Twitter? I barely go on Twitter anymore. I go on for the news. I don t go to the mentions. Whenever I go to the mentions, I m sorry I did.Have you felt supported by Fox News? I have. Fox News has been in a tough position. They care about me and they are not afraid of a fight, but we re in unchartered territory.Have you had many conversations about this with your boss Roger Ailes? I ve had many conversations with him about the situation. I think it s been hard on him, too. I don t think he s enjoyed one piece of this. He can see what happens in my life when Trump starts off. He really wants him to stop, but on the other hand, he s not going to run a news channel that doesn t provide access to the Republican frontrunner for president.Your contract is up after the election. Have you decided if you re staying at Fox News? I haven t.You might not stay? Never say never. I don t know what s going to happen. I ve had a great 12 years here, and I really like working for Roger Ailes. I really like my show, and I love my team. But you know, there s a lot of brain damage that comes from the job. There was probably less brain damage when I worked in the afternoon. I was less well known. I had far less conflict in my life. I also have three kids who are soon going to be school from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. I come to work at 3:30. I like to see my children. Having said that, my boss has been good about working with me to make me happy he knows I m a hard worker. I ve had few problems here where I couldn t talk to him and say, Can we work something out?, and come away happy.Would you consider your own talk show? I ve thought about that. I don t know what the market looks like for that in 2016. Many people have tried and failed. I do love covering the news. I just don t think that s the perfect thing for me.What about co-hosting a morning show like Today ? You have to wake up so early. The alarm goes off at 3:30 a.m. When I did America s Newsroom, which started at 9 a.m., I remember saying to the makeup artist at the time, If you could only know the afternoon me, you d like me so much better. Listen, this is a fickle business. What if they called me and fired me tomorrow? I have to keep my options open.Fox News won t do that. One never knows. Everything is rolling along fine, and then you call Huckabee F*ckabee and you re gone. Via: VarietyOf course, Megyn Kelly wasn t fired for her mistake during the 2014 Huckabee interview. Watch here: | 0 |
2,021 | SHOCKING VIDEO: New Rape Clinic For Men Opens In Sweden Where Muslim “Asylum Seekers” Are Raping Swedish Citizens At Alarming Rate | This is an eye-opening story and should be shared worldwide In Sweden, Muslim immigrants account for 5 percent of its population but commit 77 percent of its crime. Sweden s rape crisis is a direct result of an influx of Muslim asylum seekers. Amnesty International reports that Sweden has the highest number of rapes in Europe and the lowest conviction rate. According to Swedish Public Radio, in Stockholm alone, over 1,000 Swedish women reported that a Muslim immigrant raped them; 300 were under age 15. (One third of those living in Stockholm are immigrants; 24 percent are Muslim). These numbers represent only 25 percent of all rapes in Stockholm because officials claim the majority are unreported. Despite this, the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention and the European Commissioner for Home Affairs refuse to admit the assailants are Muslim. Forty years after the Swedish parliament unanimously decided to change the formerly homogenous Sweden into a multicultural country, violent crime has increased by 300% and rapes by 1,472%. Sweden is now number two on the list of rape countries, surpassed only by Lesotho in Southern Africa.Significantly, the report does not touch on the background of the rapists. One should, however, keep in mind that in statistics, second-generation immigrants are counted as Swedes.In an astounding number of cases, the Swedish courts have demonstrated sympathy for the rapists, and have acquitted suspects who have claimed that the girl wanted to have sex with six, seven or eight men.Michael Hess, a local politician from Sweden Democrat Party, encouraged Swedish journalists to get acquainted with Islam s view of women, in connection with the many rapes that took place in Cairo s Tahrir Square during the Arab Spring . Hess wrote, When will you journalists realize that it is deeply rooted in Islam s culture to rape and brutalize women who refuse to comply with Islamic teachings. There is a strong connection between rapes in Sweden and the number of immigrants from MENA-countries [Middle East and North Africa]. This remark led to Michael Hess being charged with denigration of ethnic groups [hets mot folkgrupp], a crime in Sweden. In May last year, he was handed a suspended jail sentence and a fine the suspension was due to the fact that he had no prior convictions. The verdict has been appealed to a higher court.For many years, Michael Hess lived in Muslim countries, and he is well acquainted with Islam and its view of women. During his trial, he provided evidence of how sharia law deals with rape, and statistics to indicate that Muslims are vastly overrepresented among perpetrators of rape in Sweden. However, the court decided that facts were irrelevant.Here is a horrible story of a mother of two raped repeatedly by 7 Muslim refugees in Sweden:American Thinker -Jihad is one of the five pillars of Islam, the obligatory duties of every Muslim. Like Obama and all the rest, Sweden s political class is trying to say the obvious no hate preaching, no violence without actually saying so.Violence. The city of Malm , with a Muslim majority, is now the violent rape capital of Sweden. Socialist politicians are directly responsible for the suicidal mass immigration policy in Europe, where 44 million Muslims now live. Some of them seem to be assimilating to their host culture. Many are not. But the political elite everywhere in Europe can t admit to their suicidal immigration policy mistake. Which makes it impossible for Europe to fix their self-inflicted death sentence.In Sweden and Europe generally, nobody is yet allowed to talk about reducing mass immigration of violence-prone Muslims coming from the tribal lands of Pakistan, Afghanistan and the rest.Because that would be racist.Non-traditional sex is very, very prized in PC Sweden. LGBTs are a protected victim group, which means they have the power to expose, scapegoat, and, if possible, even fire dissenting heterosexuals from their jobs.Which is why Muslim migrants from the tribal lands of Central Asia see their hosts as ripe for religiously sanctioned violence and rape. So the Swedes are caught between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea.When politically correct ideologues can actually quote these verses from the Quran, they may begin to address the problem:Qur an (33:50) O Prophet! We have made lawful to thee thy wives to whom thou hast paid their dowers; and those (slaves) whom thy right hand possesses out of the prisoners of war whom Allah has assigned to thee Qur an (8:69) But (now) enjoy what ye took in war, lawful and good But just as Obama can t talk sensibly about jihad warfare in Islam, neither can the European socialists.Now, next door to Sweden, Norway recently expelled almost a thousand Muslim immigrants for serious crimes, and behold! The violent crime rate dropped by 30% in Norway. Amazing but true.Europe still suffers from a paralyzing multiculturalist hangover. It is awash in the mind-fog of PC, although here and there signs of sanity are gradually showing up like wildflowers after winter. The biggest trouble is that today s political class rose to power on the multicultural reign of intimidation. Racist scapegoats were viciously smeared by politicians, the media, and the schools, enforced by eager volunteers.The internet radio station Granskning Sverige called the mainstream newspapers Aftonposten and Expressen to ask why they had described the perpetrators as Swedish men when they actually were Somalis without Swedish citizenship. They were hugely offended when asked if they felt any responsibility to warn Swedish women to stay away from certain men. One journalist asked why that should be their responsibility.A hospital in Stockholm is understood to be first in the world to set up an emergency department specifically for male rape victims. The clinic at S dersjukhuset opened on Thursday as part of a strategy to ensure gender equal patient care.S dersjukhuset already runs a round-the-clock walk-in clinic for women and girls who have been sexually assaulted in the city, treating between 600 and 700 patients a year. Now, the hospital, which hosts the largest emergency care unit in the Nordic region, is opening its doors to men and boys who are victims of rape and sex attacks. We are happy that we now can finally open the first rape clinic for men following the rape clinic for women, Rasmus Jonlund, a press spokesperson for the Liberal Party, which led the campaign for the department in the Swedish capital, told The Local just ahead of the launch. It is the first in Sweden ( ) We think it is the first in the world. We haven t found another from our research on the world wide web, he added.Buckle up America Unless President Trump is allowed to change the way we vet refugees coming into America from nations where rape is acceptable, this will be coming to America s door step very soon | 0 |
2,022 | ‘Big Baby’ Trump ‘Lied His ASS Off’: Seth Meyers Breaks Down Crooked Carrier Deal (VIDEO) | For the past week since Trump struck one of his alleged solid gold deals to keep Carrier from moving to Mexico, we ve seen what is probably the most pathetic victory lap from a president-elect in U.S. history. Between lying through his teeth about what the deal entailed, then unleashing multiple Twitter rants targeting Carrier s union president when he was called out on it, his behavior has not been what most would consider presidential, to say the least!Thursday night, during his segment A Closer Look, Seth Meyers took the opportunity to dig deep into the deceptive Carrier deal and discovered that hardly any of what Trump is bragging about adds up. So Trump first claimed he would stop Carrier from moving jobs to Mexico, then claimed he was saving over 1,100 jobs and then it turned out he was saving only 730 which The Washington Post reports is just 37 percent of the total who were due to leave the state. Meyers points out that while saving those 730 jobs is likely a big relief to the families of those workers, it isn t nearly good enough compared to what was promised and to add to that, the hypocrisy from the right regarding this so-called deal is astounding! Despite its many flaws, there s no denying the deal was politically popular. But for Republicans, what s so surprising about this new policy of strong-arming companies into making business decisions is that the GOP has spent eight years calling Obama a socialist for his economic policies. Remember how they reacted to the auto bailout, which saved as many as 1.5 million jobs They accused him of coercion and hijacking capitalism. Well, as you might have guessed, they see the Carrier deal a little differently. Watch it all unfold here:Featured image via video screenshot | 0 |
2,023 | Support for Austrian ruling party slips ahead of Oct. 15 vote: poll | VIENNA (Reuters) - Support for Austria s ruling Social Democrats has slipped since a scandal embroiled the party ahead of an Oct. 15 election but they are in a tight battle with the far right for second place, a poll showed on Thursday. Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz s conservative People s Party had 34 percent ahead of the far right Freedom Party on 27 percent, according to the Research Affairs poll published by tabloid daily Oesterreich. Chancellor Christian Kern s Social Democrats had 22 percent down 2 percentage points but given a margin of error of 4.3 percent second place was too close to call. The Social Democrats said last weekend it was unwittingly involved in two Facebook accounts that made unsubstantiated allegations against Kurz and the party chairman announced his resignation. Details of the scandal were unclear. The party launched an investigation and a spokesman for the Vienna prosecutor s office said on Thursday it had opened a defamation inquiry against persons unknown based on a complaint by the Social Democrats. We are conducting an investigation against persons unknown for defamation, a spokesman for the Vienna prosecutors office said. Of course, we must now approach Facebook and ask if they can help us further in seeking out these persons unknown. Facebook said on Wednesday in response to a request for help from the Social Democrats: We are assessing the request and will reply once that assessment is complete. Like many polls in Austria, the online survey carried out from Monday to Wednesday had a relatively small sample size of 600 people and a wide margin of error. The People s Party shot to first place in opinion polls when Kurz took over as its leader in May. Other parties were on 6 percent or less. | 1 |
2,024 | Trump blasts CEOs who quit advisory panels as 'grandstanders' | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday dismissed company executives who have resigned from one of his presidential advisory committees in reaction to his response following weekend violence in Charlottesville, Virginia. “For every CEO that drops out of the Manufacturing Council, I have many to take their place. Grandstanders should not have gone on. JOBS!” Trump wrote on Twitter after the chief executives of Merck & Co Inc, Under Armour Inc and Intel Corp left his Presidential Manufacturing Council. | 1 |
2,025 | Auditor says he was forced to quit Vatican after finding irregularities | VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican s first auditor-general, who resigned without explanation in June, has broken his silence, saying he was forced to step down with trumped-up accusations after discovering evidence of possible illegal activity. Speaking to reporters from four media organizations including Reuters in the office of his lawyers in Rome, Libero Milone also said he believed that some in the Vatican wanted to slow down Pope Francis s efforts at financial reform. He said he could not give details of the irregularities he had found because of non-disclosure agreements. Reuters was unable to independently verify his assertions, which the Vatican strongly contested. The Holy See s deputy secretary of state, Archbishop Giovanni Angelo Becciu, told Reuters in an interview that Milone s claims were false and unjustified . He went against all the rules and was spying on the private lives of his superiors and staff, including me, Becciu said. If he had not agreed to resign, we would have prosecuted him. Domenico Giani, the Vatican s police chief, told Reuters there had been overwhelming evidence against Milone. Neither Becciu nor Giani provided details to support their assertions. The 69-year-old left the Vatican two years after being hired with great fanfare to introduce more transparency into the sometimes murky finances at the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church. At the time of his resignation, with three years left on his contract, neither the Vatican nor Milone, formerly chairman and CEO of the global accounting firm Deloitte in Italy, gave any explanation for his departure. A Vatican statement at the time said only that it was by mutual agreement . Milone, who had also worked for the United Nations and the car giant Fiat, said Becciu had ordered him to resign on the morning of June 19. Milone was told that he was being dismissed on the basis of a seven-month investigation by Vatican police. The facts presented to me on the morning of the 19th were fake, fabricated, he said. I was in shock. All the reasons had no credible foundation. Both Becciu and Giani, the police chief, said Milone had been given a choice: resign or face public prosecution by the Vatican s courts. In a certain sense, we were protecting his reputation, Becciu said. Milone said he had been accused of misuse of funds for hiring an outside firm to check the security of computers in the Vatican offices where he worked with a staff of 14, including two deputy auditors-general. A document from the Vatican prosecutor authorizing the search of his offices on the day of his resignation, which Milone s lawyers showed to reporters, said he had carried out investigations in clear violation of the statutes of his department. It was not clear which statutes were said to have been violated. Article two of the statutes says the auditor-general has full autonomy and independence , including to receive and investigate any reports on anomalous activities of Vatican entities. My work has to be independent. It is very difficult to act with independence when departments blocked our activity or tried to control it, he said. The search warrant also said he had looked into the affairs of high-ranking Church members without authorization. Milone said this referred to him looking into suspicions about the possible conflict of interest of an Italian cardinal, whom he declined to name. His investigation found nothing, but Milone said he believed he was being punished for starting it in the first place. He said his troubles had begun on the morning of Sept. 27, 2015, when he suspected that his office computer had been tampered with. He contacted an external company that had done work for him before to check for surveillance devices because there are no such specialized people in the Vatican. The company discovered that his computer had been the target of an unauthorized access, and that his secretary s computer had been infected with spyware that copied files. Reuters was not able to independently determine which company had been hired or its findings. Becciu said there was proof that the outside contractor had been helping Milone to spy on others. Milone said that, after about 12 hours of questioning by Vatican police, he had decided to sign a resignation letter in order to protect my family and my reputation . Asked why he had waited three months before telling his side of the story, Milone said he had wanted to think and let things settle . I wrote to the pope in mid-July and gave him my point of view, explaining that the whole thing was a set-up, he said, adding that the pope had not replied. Becciu said the pope had been told of the investigation and the evidence before Milone was asked to resign. | 1 |
2,026 | Trump choice for Russia ambassador: 'No question' Russia meddled | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be ambassador to Russia, said on Tuesday there was “no question” Moscow meddled in the 2016 U.S. election, and pledged to bring up the matter with the Russian government. “There is no question, underline no question, that the Russian government interfered in the U.S. election last year, Huntsman, a former ambassador to China, said at his Senate confirmation hearing. “Moscow continues to meddle in the democratic processes of our friends and allies,” he said, taking a tough line welcomed by several members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Many members of Congress, including several of Trump’s fellow Republicans, are concerned the president will not take a hard enough line in dealings with Russia to combat Russian expansionism in eastern Europe or its support for Syria’s government in that country’s civil war. Despite Trump’s objections, lawmakers in late July passed a tough package of sanctions on Russia that included barring him from easing them without congressional approval. Huntsman said he thought any action on sanctions should be tied to whether Russia ends its aggression in Ukraine. Russia has denied interfering in the election, but U.S. intelligence agencies’ conclusion that it did so to boost Trump’s chances of being elected have shadowed his presidency. Congressional committees and a special counsel are investigating whether Trump associates colluded with Russia. The White House has denied any collusion and Russia has denied any involvement. Huntsman said he would raise the issue with Russian authorities. “I will also not hesitate to remind government officials that they are accountable for their actions. Exhibit A is the fact that interference in the U.S. election has led directly to the current low level of trust in the relationship,” he said. He also said he would try to work with Moscow in areas where the two countries have common interests, such as international efforts to curb North Korea’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile development. Huntsman, 57, served as ambassador to Beijing under President Barack Obama, a Democrat, and to Singapore under former Republican President George H.W. Bush. The committee will likely vote to support Huntsman in the coming weeks, paving the way for what is expected to be an easy confirmation by the full Senate. Senator Chris Coons, a Democratic committee member, called Huntsman “one of the very highest quality nominees for an ambassadorial post I have seen.” | 1 |
2,027 | Philippines hunts for possible new Islamic State 'emir' in South East Asia | MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine authorities were on the lookout on Monday for a Malaysian who could be the new leader of pro-Islamic State groups in Southeast Asia, security chiefs said, following the deaths of several high-profile regional extremists. The army terminated combat operations in southern Marawi two weeks ago after killing what it believed were the last remnants of a rebel alliance that held parts of the lakeside city for five months. Following the country s biggest security crisis in decades, troops have made significant gains in the week since they killed Isnilon Hapilon, a leader of the Abu Sayyaf group and anointed emir of Islamic State in Southeast Asia. His assumed deputy, Malaysian Mahmud Ahmad, was also believe killed, as was Omarkhayan Maute, a top operative in the alliance. We are still looking for Amin Baco, Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said, describing the Malaysian as the likely new successor as the emir of those terrorists . More than 1,100 people - mostly militants - were killed and 350,000 displaced by the Marawi unrest, a crisis that shocked predominantly Catholic Philippines and led to unease about Islamic State gaining traction in Muslim parts of the island of Mindanao. Police chief Ronaldo dela Rosa said he received similar information that Baco, an expert bomb-maker, had assumed the role of Islamic State s point man. Experts say Baco was trained under Malaysian militant Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan, who was killed in 2015 in a clash in marshlands in Maguindanao province that left 44 police commandoes dead. The information that Baco could be in charge came from an Indonesian arrested in Marawi last week, dela Rosa said. Despite declaring the end of operations, troops are still fighting some hold-outs hiding amid the ruins of a city battered by months of air strikes. Troops have since killed nine gunmen in Marawi, Colonel Romeo Brawner said on Monday, emphasizing why residents were being kept out of the pulverized battle zone. Baco was reported to have been killed in Marawi but intelligence sources said he had fled. He could be somewhere on Jolo island or in nearby Maguindanao, an army colonel familiar with Islamist militant groups in Mindanao, told Reuters. He said Baco had been in the Philippines for a long time and had links with regional extremist group Jemaah Islamiah. He was married to a daughter of a local militant sub-leader. As early as 2011, he was facilitating movements into the Philippines of funds, arms and fighters from Indonesia and Malaysia, but his links to the Islamic State network were not known to be strong, another military intelligence official said. He said Baco was in a position to take over because of his familiarity with extremists from various groups in Mindanao. | 1 |
2,028 | Britain, U.S. deny that Trump state visit delayed | LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May’s office said on Sunday there had been no change to plans for U.S. President Donald Trump’s to come to Britain on a state visit, after the Guardian newspaper reported the trip had been postponed. The paper, citing an unidentified adviser at May’s Downing Street office who was in the room at the time, reported Trump had told May by telephone in recent weeks that he did not want to come if there were likely to be large-scale protests. “We aren’t going to comment on speculation about the contents of private phone conversations,” a spokeswoman for May’s office said. “The queen extended an invitation to President Trump to visit the UK and there is no change to those plans.” The White House also denied the Guardian report, with an administration official telling Reuters, “The subject never came up on the call.” No date has been set for the visit, which was agreed during May’s visit to Washington in January, but British media had reported it was planned for October. May’s hold on power has been significantly weakened since the results of a snap election last week cost her Conservative Party a parliamentary majority. In a bid to save her position, May has been trying to form a government with Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party, a small faction of social conservatives. British politics is going through an upheaval just a week before talks begin on Britain’s exit from the European Union, set for 2019. Trump’s public criticism this month of London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s response to an attack by Islamist militants in London was condemned in Britain. May found herself forced to defend Khan, who is from the opposition Labour party. At that time, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said there was no reason to cancel the visit, while White House spokesman Sean Spicer said that Trump intended to go and that “he appreciates Her Majesty’s gracious invitation”. | 1 |
2,029 | Britain to pay 400 million-pound debt to Iran soon, Iranian envoy says | LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will soon repay a decades-old debt of over 400 million pounds ($527 million) to Iran, the Iranian ambassador said on Friday, adding that the payment was not linked to the case of a British-Iranian charity worker jailed in Iran. An outstanding debt owed by the U.K. to Tehran will be transferred to the Central Bank of Iran in the coming days. The payment ... has nothing to do with Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe s case, Hamid Baeedinejad wrote on his Telegram channel. Zaghari-Ratcliffe was detained in April 2016 in Tehran as she tried to leave Iran after a visit with her two-year-old daughter. She was sentenced to five years in prison after an Iranian court convicted her of plotting to overthrow the clerical establishment. She denies the charges, and Britain has called for her release. Iran does not recognize dual citizenship for its nationals. Britain s debt to Iran dates from the 1970s, before the Islamic Revolution of 1979 toppled the U.S.-backed Shah. Iran paid up front for 1,750 Chieftain tanks and other vehicles, but most were never delivered because of sanctions imposed on Tehran after the revolution. A British government official, who asked not to be named, said on Friday it was speculation that the money would be paid. The Treasury said in a statement the money was frozen by a British court and could not be paid because of sanctions. The Telegraph newspaper reported on Thursday that Britain was working on a plan to pay Iran the debt, as part of efforts to secure the release of Zaghari-Ratcliffe. On Thursday, British Prime Minister Theresa May s spokesman denied there was any link between the debt and the charity worker s case. Tehran also dismissed the Telegraph report. Zaghari-Ratcliffe is a project manager with the Thomson Reuters Foundation, a charity organization that is independent of Thomson Reuters. It operates independently of Reuters News. In 2009, the International Chamber of Commerce ordered Britain to repay Iran for the undelivered vehicles, but UN and EU sanctions prevented that. Under a deal between Iran and six major powers in 2015, most sanctions on Iran were lifted last year, in exchange for Tehran curbing its nuclear program. Iran s Foreign Ministry spokesman said that a range of issues would be discussed with Britain during a visit to Tehran this month by Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, Iranian media reported on Thursday. | 1 |
2,030 | michael moore forget what i said before trump supporters are racists and rednecks | breaking doj finally secures warrant to inspect humas emails by michael qazvini october on the heels of fbi director james comeys unexpected friday announcement about revisiting the hillary clinton email investigation the us department of justice has officially obtained a warrant to inspect huma abedins stash of emails abedin is perhaps hillary clintons closest confidante during the course of the fbis investigation she spoke with federal agents on several occasions evading questions and providing only vague answers to direct inquiries the process has begun stated the bureau sunday in a rather cryptic message suggesting that abedins emails will be possibly be examined before election day enjoying intimate access to the former secretary of state abedin sent several emails through hillarys private server a few months ago the fbi explicitly asked abedin to hand over any information including emails and devices those emails may be stored in to investigators it now looks like she failed to comply with the request in a bizarre twist of events the fbi found hundreds of thousands of abedins emails stored on a laptop belonging to her nowestranged husband the emails were discovered as investigators seized evidence related to a separate investigation regarding an inquiry into disgraced congressman anthony weiners possible sexual overtures to a minor democratic presidential nominee hillary clinton chats with her staff including aide huma abedin l onboard her plane in white plains new york october on her way to a campaign event in pittsburgh pennsylvania afp robyn beck photo credit should read robyn beckafpgetty images law enforcement officials have been hesitant to provide a timeline to the public for when the completion of its review of this treasure trove of emails there may be evidence hiding in those emails that could incriminate abedins boss us presidential nominee hillary clinton but we likely wont find out until after the election raising unsettling questions about the integrity of our fragile democracy
as a matter of principle the fbi should tell the american people everything it knows before voters cast their ballots on november th tags | 1 |
2,031 | WATCH: LEFTIST DEM SENATOR Chuck Schumer Caught On Hot Mic Bragging About Relationship With Trump: “HE LIKES US…He Likes Me Anyway!” | Senator Chuck Schumer sounds almost breathless with excitement as he can be heard telling an unidentified person on the senate floor, He likes us. He likes me anyway. Watch:It s hard to say what President Trump thinks about Chuck Schumer. He tweeted his support for Chuck Schumer in November 2016:I have always had a good relationship with Chuck Schumer. He is far smarter than Harry R and has the ability to get things done. Good news! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 20, 2016Only 3 months later, President Trump called Chuck Schumer the head clown of the Democrats. The Democrats, lead by head clown Chuck Schumer, know how bad ObamaCare is and what a mess they are in. Instead of working to fix it, they.. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 5, 2017In March of 2017, Trump didn t appear to be much of a fan of Cryin Chuck :I certainly hope the Democrats do not force Nancy P out. That would be very bad for the Republican Party and please let Cryin' Chuck stay! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 22, 2017 | 0 |
2,032 | EU's Tusk says alarmed that Poland's policy resembles 'Kremlin's plan' | WARSAW (Reuters) - European Council President Donald Tusk said on Sunday he was alarmed by the similarity of policies pursued by Poland s right-wing government to what he described as Kremlin s plan . Poland s ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party has been increasingly at loggerheads with the EU and Tusk since coming to office in late 2015, although the acrimony between Tusk and PiS dates back many years. The PiS is locked in disputes with the bloc over immigration, logging of an ancient forest and putting courts and media under more government control. Tusk, Poland s former prime minister and the arch-rival of PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski, won a second term in March as chairman of EU summit meetings - with Poland the only country to vote against his extension. Alarm! A vehement dispute with Ukraine, isolation in the European Union, departure from the rule of law and independent courts, attack on non-governmental sector and free media - PiS strategy or Kremlin s plan? Tusk tweeted. Too similar to rest easy. Tusk was referring to, among other things, the fact that Ukraine summoned the Polish ambassador in Kiev on Saturday after Poland denied entry to a Ukrainian official in an escalation of a diplomatic spat over the two neighbors troubled past. Tusk did not provide details of what he described as the Kremlin s plan . In May, Tusk urged Group of Seven leaders on to stick to their sanctions policy on Russia over the Ukraine crisis. Tusk also sided with member nations such as Poland and the Baltic states in their efforts to oppose a new pipeline connecting Russia and Germany. The Polish government denies all charges from Brussels that it is undermining the rule of law or isolating Poland in Europe, saying it needs to overhaul Poland s ineffective legal system and stand up for Poland s interests in the EU. A majority of EU lawmakers on Wednesday demanded punishment for the eurosceptic government in Poland, saying it was undermining the rule of law and promoting intolerance. In a response to Tusk s comment, Prime Minister Beata Szydlo tweeted: @donaldtusk as @eucopresident has done nothing for Poland. Today, using his position to attack the Polish government, he is attacking Poland. In March, Poland s defense minister accused Tusk of working with Russian President Vladimir Putin to harm Polish interests following the 2010 plane crash that killed President Lech Kaczynski - Jaroslaw s twin brother - and 95 others. In April, Tusk testified for eight hours in a separate intelligence probe by Warsaw s right-wing government that he described as a smear campaign to discredit him. | 1 |
2,033 | New U.S. U.N. envoy warns allies: back us or we'll take names | UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, pledged on Friday to overhaul the world body and warned U.S. allies that if they do not support Washington, then she is “taking names” and will respond. Haley made brief remarks to reporters as she arrived at the world body’s headquarters in New York to present her credentials to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. “Our goal with the administration is to show value at the U.N. and the way that we’ll show value is to show our strength, show our voice, have the backs of our allies and make sure that our allies have our back as well,” Haley said. “For those that don’t have our back, we’re taking names, we will make points to respond to that accordingly,” added Republican President Donald Trump’s U.N. envoy. Haley, who was South Carolina’s Republican governor when Trump picked her for the post, has little foreign policy and no U.S. federal government experience. French U.N. Ambassador Francois Delattre and British U.N. Ambassador Matthew Rycroft said they looked forward to working with Haley. The United States, Britain and France, along with Russia and China, are permanent veto-wielding members of the U.N. Security Council. After her meeting with Guterres, a U.S. official said they had “a good and productive conversation about ways they can work together to reform the U.N.” Haley told reporters, “Everything that’s working, we’re going to make it better, everything that’s not working we’re going to try and fix, and anything that seems to be obsolete and not necessary we’re going to do away with.” According to a draft executive order published by The Daily Beast, Trump wants a committee - including his secretary of state, attorney general and director of national intelligence -to carry out a one-year review of U.S. funding to international organizations with the aim of almost halving voluntary funding. A senior U.S. administration official said on Friday that no such executive order was “expected at this time.” The United States is the largest contributor to the United Nations, paying 22 percent of the $5.4 billion core U.N. budget and 28 percent of the $7.9 billion U.N. peacekeeping budget. These are assessed contributions - agreed by the U.N. General Assembly - and not voluntary payments. U.N. agencies, such as the U.N. Development Programme, the children’s agency UNICEF, the World Food Programme and the U.N. Population Fund, are funded voluntarily. Last year, Trump took to Twitter to disparage the 193-member world body after the United States abstained in a Dec. 23 U.N. Security Council vote, allowing the adoption of a resolution demanding an end to settlement building by U.S. ally Israel. Trump, who had called on President Barack Obama’s administration to veto the resolution, warned that “things will be different” at the United Nations after he took office on Jan. 20. | 1 |
2,034 | GOP Governor Calls Blacks “Colored People” (VIDEO) | Georgia s Republican governor Nathan Deal stirred up a hornet s nest of controversy when comments he made referring to black Americans as colored people surfaced on Wednesday night.Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal (R) went after opponents of an education ballot measure known as Amendment 1 in a speech last month, saying if they wanted to help colored people, this measure was a good place to start. The irony of some of the groups who are opposing doing something to help these minority children is beyond my logic. If you want to advance the state of colored people, start with their children, Deal said in an Oct. 3 speech, Fox 5 in Atlanta reported Wednesday.Deal told a local news station that he meant to reference the NAACP, and didn t mean to say colored people, which is a dubious claim at best.The governor is a former member of congress who once wrote a formal letter to the Obama White House to formally raise questions about President Obama s place of birth as part of the birther conspiracy theory.Many have pointed out that the birther conspiracy is steeped in racist attitudes about the presidency and President Obama being the first black president, who was quickly challenged to present papers verifying his place of birth (it is Hawaii).Deal s comments come precisely when Republicans are still being forced to grapple with their presidential nominee Donald Trump s blatant embrace of racism. Trump s bigoted push has emboldened cells of white supremacists, who see their beliefs reflected in his words. That includes former Klansman David Duke, who is now a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in Louisiana. And on the same night Deal s comments were publicized, Duke took part in a debate at a historically black university. Within the Republican Party, Duke has attracted a small following, but enough to qualify him for the debate stage.Featured image via screen capture | 0 |
2,035 | Trump sends holiday greetings to Iranians, does not mention travel ban | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump, who has sought to ban travelers from Iran and other Muslim-majority nations from entering the United States, issued a holiday greeting on Wednesday to Iranians celebrating the New Year holiday known as Nowruz. Trump, who has also criticized the nuclear deal between Iran and western powers negotiated during President Barack Obama’s administration, did not refer to the travel ban in his statement. “Nowruz means ‘new day’ in Persian. It is an occasion to celebrate new beginnings, a sentiment that is particularly meaningful for so many Iranians who have come to our country in recent decades to make a new start in a free land,” Trump said in a statement issued by the White House. Nowruz is Iran’s most important national event and is celebrated with family gatherings, vacations and gift-giving. “For many years, I have greatly enjoyed wonderful friendships with Iranian-Americans, one of the most successful immigrant groups in our country’s contemporary history,” he said. Trump has taken a hard line on immigration, both as a presidential candidate and since taking office. He tried twice with executive orders to prevent people from several Muslim-majority countries from traveling to the United States, and he has promised to build a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico. The latest order sought a 90-day ban on travel to the United States by citizens of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Trump’s administration has said it would appeal after a federal judge struck down parts of the ban on the day it was set to go into effect. | 1 |
2,036 | U.N. to vote Monday on call for U.S. Jerusalem decision to be withdrawn | UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations Security Council is due to vote on Monday on a draft resolution calling for the withdrawal of U.S. President Donald Trump s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, diplomats said, a move likely to face a Washington veto. The one-page Egyptian-drafted text, seen by Reuters, does not specifically mention the United States or Trump. Diplomats say it has broad support among the 15-member council, and while it is unlikely to be adopted, the vote will further isolate Trump on the issue. To pass, a resolution needs nine votes in favor and no vetoes by the United States, France, Britain, Russia or China. Trump abruptly reversed decades of U.S. policy this month when he recognized Jerusalem as Israel s capital, generating outrage from Palestinians. Trump also plans to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley has praised Trump s decision as the just and right thing to do. The U.S. mission to the United Nations was not immediately available to comment on Sunday. Arab foreign ministers agreed to seek a U.N. Security Council resolution on the issue. The draft U.N. text expresses deep regret at recent decisions concerning the status of Jerusalem. It affirms that any decisions and actions which purport to have altered, the character, status or demographic composition of the Holy City of Jerusalem have no legal effect, are null and void and must be rescinded in compliance with relevant resolutions of the Security Council. The draft also calls upon all countries to refrain from establishing diplomatic missions in Jerusalem. Israel considers the city its eternal and indivisible capital and wants all embassies based there. No vote or debate will change the clear reality that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, Danny Danon, Israel s ambassador to the United Nations, said in a statement on Saturday. Palestinians want the capital of an independent Palestinian state to be in the city s eastern sector, which Israel captured in a 1967 war and annexed in a move never recognized internationally. The draft council resolution demands that all states comply with Security Council resolutions regarding the Holy City of Jerusalem, and not to recognize any actions or measures contrary to those resolutions. A U.N. Security Council resolution adopted in December 2016 underlines that it will not recognize any changes to the 4 June 1967 lines, including with regard to Jerusalem, other than those agreed by the parties through negotiations. That resolution was approved with 14 votes in favor and an abstention by former U.S. President Barack Obama s administration, which defied heavy pressure from longtime ally Israel and Trump, who was then president-elect, for Washington to wield its veto. | 1 |
2,037 | SYRIA: Nikki Haley Threatens to “Do More” Despite International Outrage at US Criminal Act of Aggression | Bill AukenThe day after US warships rained some 60 Tomahawk missiles on a Syrian government airbase, US officials made it clear that this unilateral and criminal attack against an oppressed former colonial country is merely the first shot in what is to be an escalating and widening campaign of American military aggression.The governor of Syria s central Homs province reported Friday that the missiles killed at least 15 people, including nine civilians. Four of the dead were children. Many more civilians were injured by two of the missiles, which struck nearby villages. Six of the dead were Syrian personnel at the al-Shairat airbase.The missile strike was the first time that Washington has carried out a direct military attack against Syrian government forces since the US and its regional allies orchestrated a war for regime change utilizing Al Qaeda-linked Islamist rebels as its proxy ground troops. The attack on the airbase is a direct intervention in that war on the side of the Al Qaeda elements.Russian Prime Minister Medvedev warned on Friday that the immensely reckless action had brought Washington to the verge of a military clash with nuclear-armed Russia, which had an air unit at the base struck by American missiles.Washington seized on an alleged incident Tuesday involving chemical weapons in the village of Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib province as the pretext for Thursday night s attack. Syria has denied any use of such weapons, and Washington and its allies have presented no evidence to support their allegations in relation to the incident, which has all the earmarks of a provocation staged by the CIA and its Islamist proxies.The Russian government and others have pointed out the obvious fact that the elaborate attack carried out Thursday night from two US destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean had to have been planned well before the alleged incident even happened. The event was staged, with Al Qaeda-linked and US-funded media activists conveniently on hand to film it, in order to provide Washington with the propaganda pretext it required for its aggression.In a heated exchange in the United Nations Security Council Friday, US Ambassador Nikki Haley brushed aside denunciations by other diplomats that the unilateral US action was a gross violation of the UN Charter and international law, instead provocatively insisting that US imperialism is prepared to the do the same thing again and far more. The United States took a very measured step last night, Haley said. We are prepared to do more, but we hope that will not be necessary. Knowing full well that the US attack was imminent, Haley, who is acting as the council s rotating president for the month of April, postponed a vote on a compromise resolution calling for an objective investigation into the alleged chemical attack that was being drafted Thursday by the 10 nonpermanent members of the Security Council.Washington has no interest in such a probe, which would almost certainly reveal that the source of any chemical weapons incident was not the government of President Bashar al-Assad, but rather the Al Qaeda elements that control that area of Idlib Province. There is also no doubt that the US strike provides the Islamist elements in Syria with every motivation for staging more chemical weapons incidents to provide the pretext for a spiraling escalation of US military aggression.The UN Security Council session was convened at the request of Bolivia, Russia and Syria. Bolivian Ambassador Sacha Llorenti began the debate with a blistering denunciation of the US attack, declaring that the US officials believe that they are investigators, they are attorneys, judges and they are the executioners. He called the US strike an extremely serious violation of international law, while stressing that this was not the first time. Llorenti held up a picture of then Secretary of State Colin Powell delivering his February 5, 2003 speech to the same UN council insisting that Washington had irrefutable proof of nonexistent weapons of mass destruction, the notorious pretext for the US invasion barely a month later.This war based upon lies, the Bolivian envoy added, resulted in a million deaths and a series of atrocities throughout the Middle East.Llorenti denounced Washington for its double standard, invoking human rights, democracy and multilateralism only when it serves its own strategic interests. He recalled the series of military coups orchestrated by the CIA in Latin America and the Pentagon s training of Latin American security forces in the art of torture.Russia s deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, Vladimir Safronkov, similarly condemned the US bombardment as a flagrant violation of international law, warning that the consequences for regional and international stability can be extremely serious. Safronkov charged that Washington had acted deliberately to derail any independent and unbiased investigation into the alleged April 4 incident in of Khan Sheikhoun. You were afraid of it, he said, as its results might wreck your anti-regime paradigm. The Russian ambassador ridiculed the performance given earlier by US Ambassador Haley in which she held up the photographs of two Syrian children and demanded, How many more children have to die before Russia cares? I will not stage a cynical show and hold up photographs, he said, but asked why there was no such concern for the children of Mosul, where a single US bombing raid killed over 300 civilians, most of them women and children, last month. Thousands more have been killed and injured in US airstrikes carried out in both Iraq and Syria.Continue reading at WSWSREAD MORE WHITE HELMET NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire White Helmet FilesSUPPORT OUR WORK BY SUBSCRIBING & BECOMING A MEMBER @21WIRE.TV | 0 |
2,038 | France's Macron trades barbs for diplomacy with Trump | PARIS (Reuters) - France’s president has not given Donald Trump an easy ride: a crunching handshake at one meeting was followed by a body swerve at another and then a public rebuke over his attitude to climate change. But now there seems to be an olive branch from Paris. The U.S. leader said on Wednesday he had accepted an invitation from Emmanuel Macron to celebrate July 14 Bastille Day celebrations and 100 years since the U.S. troops entered into World War One. Trump will likely revel in a ceremony laden with pageantry and military pomp, with U.S. soldiers marching down the Champs Elysees boulevard beside French servicemen - a welcome respite from his domestic woes. For Macron, 39, it is an opportunity to use soft diplomacy to win Trump’s confidence as he tries to establish himself as a leading global statesman at a time when decision-making in the White House has become increasingly unpredictable. “We don’t want the United States to isolate themselves,” a Macron aide said recently. “That’s what diplomacy is for. It’s not to let people sulk in their corner.” In the space of six weeks, France’s youngest leader since Napoleon, will have hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin in Versailles and Trump on Paris’ most iconic avenue. Macron flattered Putin in May with a meeting at the sumptuous palace of France’s former monarchy, built outside Paris by Louis XIV - the ‘Sun King’ - to symbolize absolute power. Even so, Macron pulled no punches, accusing Russian state media of “lying propaganda” during his French election campaign. A French diplomat indicated there would be frank exchanges with Trump too after Macron took a dig in English at Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris climate accord when he urged U.S. citizens to help “make this planet great again”. “On climate change it’s complicated,” the diplomat said. “But the rest is sufficiently important for him to make this historic trip on July 14.” Macron appears to be broadly aligning his foreign policy with U.S. priorities of tackling terrorism while seeking better ties with Russia. The battle against Islamic State, Syria’s civil war and Iran’s nuclear accord are likely talking points. Privately, some French diplomats have lamented the lack of a clear U.S. policy on the long-term political process in Syria and say even setting up a meeting between the French and U.S. foreign ministers is tough. A White House statement said the two leaders would “further build on the strong counter-terrorism cooperation and economic partnership between the two countries”. Past words may haunt Trump. It will be his first visit since he declared that a wave of militant attacks showed France was soft on immigration and fighting jihadists. “France is no longer France. They won’t like me for saying that but... France is no longer France and this world better be very careful and they better get very tough and very smart,” the U.S. president said in a campaign speech. In bringing Trump to Paris, Macron has stolen a march on Britain’s embattled Prime Minister Theresa May. London’s offer in February of a state visit for Trump met fierce public resistance, Britons perceiving it as a desperate act by a government in need of a trade deal as it faced tough negotiations on its exit from the European Union. A date has still not been confirmed. In Paris, public opinion appeared divided. “You can see that the way Trump’s headed isn’t going to help things and I think diplomatic channels are the best way to calm things down,” said antique dealer Florence Toussaint. Psychologist Martine Aubourg was less impressed. “Trump isn’t an honorable president,” she said. “He changes his mind all the time.” | 1 |
2,039 | woman eaten alive by daughters dogs | meteor space junk rocket mysterious flash hits siberia it was as bright as day for or seconds sensation published mins ago
russia today people in eastern siberia have been left mystified by a flash that illuminated the sky with green light resembling the famous chelyabinsk meteor of the event has become a hot topic for discussion with people suggesting the flash could have been anything from a meteor to space junk or even a rocket
the phenomenon was observed by residents of irkutsk region and buryatia republic in eastern siberia on tuesday local media reported
according to local witnesses the sky was illuminated by a green light before an object resembling a comet fell from the sky some locals claimed that the object was moving towards lake baikal the deepest lake on earth | 1 |
2,040 | HILLARY CLINTON: We All Know She’s Deceitful And Dishonest, But I Bet You Didn’t Know This… | She was an unethical, dishonest lawyer. She conspired to violate the Constitution, the rules of the House, the rules of the committee and the rules of confidentiality. I ve decided to reprint a piece of work I did nearly five years ago, because it seems very relevant today given Hillary Clinton s performance in the Benghazi hearings. Back in 2008 when she was running for president, I interviewed two erstwhile staff members of the House Judiciary Committee who were involved with the atergate investigation when Hillary was a low-level staffer there. I interviewed one Democrat staffer and one Republican staffer, and wrote two pieces based on what they told me about Hillary s conduct at the time.I published these pieces back in 2008 for North Star Writers Group, the syndicate I ran at the time. This was the most widely read piece we ever had at NSWG, but because NSWG never gained the high-profile status of the major syndicates, this piece still didn t reach as many people as I thought it deserved to. Today, given the much broader reach of CainTV and yet another incidence of Hillary s arrogance in dealing with a congressional committee, I think it deserves another airing. For the purposes of simplicity, I ve combined the two pieces into one very long one. If you re interested in understanding the true character of Hillary Clinton, it s worth your time to read it.As Hillary Clinton came under increasing scrutiny for her story about facing sniper fire in Bosnia, one question that arose was whether she has engaged in a pattern of lying.The now-retired general counsel and chief of staff of the House Judiciary Committee, who supervised Hillary when she worked on the Watergate investigation, says Hillary s history of lies and unethical behavior goes back farther and goes much deeper than anyone realizes.Jerry Zeifman, a lifelong Democrat, supervised the work of 27-year-old Hillary Rodham on the committee. Hillary got a job working on the investigation at the behest of her former law professor, Burke Marshall, who was also Sen. Ted Kennedy s chief counsel in the Chappaquiddick affair. When the investigation was over, Zeifman fired Hillary from the committee staff and refused to give her a letter of recommendation one of only three people who earned that dubious distinction in Zeifman s 17-year career.Why? Because she was a liar, Zeifman said in an interview last week. She was an unethical, dishonest lawyer. She conspired to violate the Constitution, the rules of the House, the rules of the committee and the rules of confidentiality. How could a 27-year-old House staff member do all that? She couldn t do it by herself, but Zeifman said she was one of several individuals including Marshall, special counsel John Doar and senior associate special counsel (and future Clinton White House Counsel) Bernard Nussbaum who engaged in a seemingly implausible scheme to deny Richard Nixon the right to counsel during the investigatioWhy would they want to do that? Because, according to Zeifman, they feared putting Watergate break-in mastermind E. Howard Hunt on the stand to be cross-examined by counsel to the president. Hunt, Zeifman said, had the goods on nefarious activities in the Kennedy Administration that would have made Watergate look like a day at the beach including Kennedy s purported complicity in the attempted assassination of Fidel Castro.The actions of Hillary and her cohorts went directly against the judgment of top Democrats, up to and including then-House Majority Leader Tip O Neill, that Nixon clearly had the right to counsel. Zeifman says that Hillary, along with Marshall, Nussbaum and Doar, was determined to gain enough votes on the Judiciary Committee to change House rules and deny counsel to Nixon. And in order to pull this off, Zeifman says Hillary wrote a fraudulent legal brief, and confiscated public documents to hide her deception.The brief involved precedent for representation by counsel during an impeachment proceeding. When Hillary endeavored to write a legal brief arguing there is no right to representation by counsel during an impeachment proceeding, Zeifman says, he told Hillary about the case of Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, who faced an impeachment attempt in 1970. As soon as the impeachment resolutions were introduced by (then-House Minority Leader Gerald) Ford, and they were referred to the House Judiciary Committee, the first thing Douglas did was hire himself a lawyer, Zeifman said.The Judiciary Committee allowed Douglas to keep counsel, thus establishing the precedent. Zeifman says he told Hillary that all the documents establishing this fact were in the Judiciary Committee s public files. So what did Hillary do? Hillary then removed all the Douglas files to the offices where she was located, which at that time was secured and inaccessible to the public, Zeifman said. Hillary then proceeded to write a legal brief arguing there was no precedent for the right to representation by counsel during an impeachment proceeding as if the Douglas case had never occurred.The brief was so fraudulent and ridiculous, Zeifman believes Hillary would have been disbarred if she had submitted it to a judge.Zeifman says that if Hillary, Marshall, Nussbaum and Doar had succeeded, members of the House Judiciary Committee would have also been denied the right to cross-examine witnesses, and denied the opportunity to even participate in the drafting of articles of impeachment against Nixon.Of course, Nixon s resignation rendered the entire issue moot, ending Hillary s career on the Judiciary Committee staff in a most undistinguished manner. Zeifman says he was urged by top committee members to keep a diary of everything that was happening. He did so, and still has the diary if anyone wants to check the veracity of his story. Certainly, he could not have known in 1974 that diary entries about a young lawyer named Hillary Rodham would be of interest to anyone 34 years later.But they show that the pattern of lies, deceit, fabrications and unethical behavior was established long ago long before the Bosnia lie, and indeed, even before cattle futures, Travelgate and Whitewater for the woman who is still asking us to make her president of the United States.Franklin Polk, who served at the time as chief Republican counsel on the committee, confirmed many of these details in two interviews he granted me this past Friday, although his analysis of events is not always identical to Zeifman s. Polk specifically confirmed that Hillary wrote the memo in question, and confirmed that Hillary ignored the Douglas case. (He said he couldn t confirm or dispel the part about Hillary taking the Douglas files.)To Polk, Hillary s memo was dishonest in the sense that she tried to pretend the Douglas precedent didn t exist. But unlike Zeifman, Polk considered the memo dishonest in a way that was more stupid than sinister. Hillary should have mentioned that (the Douglas case), and then tried to argue whether that was a change of policy or not instead of just ignoring it and taking the precedent out of the opinion, Polk said.Polk recalled that the attempt to deny counsel to Nixon upset a great many members of the committee, including just about all the Republicans, but many Democrats as well. The argument sort of broke like a firestorm on the committee, and I remember Congressman Don Edwards was very upset, Polk said. He was the chairman of the subcommittee on constitutional rights. But in truth, the impeachment precedents are not clear. Let s put it this way. In the old days, from the beginning of the country through the 1800s and early 1900s, there were precedents that the target or accused did not have the right to counsel. That s why Polk believes Hillary s approach in writing the memorandum was foolish. He says she could have argued that the Douglas case was an isolated example, and that other historical precedents could apply.But Zeifman says the memo and removal of the Douglas files was only part the effort by Hillary, Doar, Nussbaum and Marshall to pursue their own agenda during the investigation.After my first column, some readers wrote in claiming Zeifman was motivated by jealousy because he was not appointed as the chief counsel in the investigation, with that title going to Doar instead.Zeifman s account is that he supported the appointment of Doar because he, Zeifman, a) did not want the public notoriety that would come with such a high-profile role; and b) didn t have much prosecutorial experience. When he started to have a problem with Doar and his allies was when Zeifman and others, including House Majority Leader Tip O Neill and Democratic committee member Jack Brooks of Texas, began to perceive Doar s group as acting outside the directives and knowledge of the committee and its chairman, Peter Rodino.(O Neill died in 1994. Brooks is still living and I tried unsuccessfully to reach him. I d still like to.)This culminated in a project to research past presidential abuses of power, which committee members felt was crucial in aiding the decisions they would make in deciding how to handle Nixon s alleged offenses.According to Zeifman and other documents, Doar directed Hillary to work with a group of Yale law professors on this project. But the report they generated was never given to the committee. Zeifman believes the reason was that the report was little more than a whitewash of the Kennedy years a part of the Burke Marshall-led agenda of avoiding revelations during the Watergate investigation that would have embarrassed the Kennedys.The fact that the report was kept under wraps upset Republican committee member Charles Wiggins of California, who wrote a memo to his colleagues on the committee that read in part:Within the past few days, some disturbing information has come to my attention. It is requested that the facts concerning the matter be investigated and a report be made to the full committee as it concerns us all.Early last spring when it became obvious that the committee was considering presidential abuse of power as a possible ground of impeachment, I raised the question before the full committee that research should be undertaken so as to furnish a standard against which to test the alleged abusive conduct of Richard Nixon.As I recall, several other members joined with me in this request. I recall as well repeating this request from time to time during the course of our investigation. The staff, as I recall, was noncommittal, but it is certain that no such staff study was made available to the members at any time for their use.Wiggins believed the report was purposely hidden from committee members. Chairman Rodino denied this, and said the reason Hillary s report was not given to committee members was that it contained no value. It s worth noting, of course, that the staff member who made this judgment was John Doar.In a four-page reply to Wiggins, Rodino wrote in part:Hillary Rodham of the impeachment inquiry staff coordinated the work. . . . After the staff received the report it was reviewed by Ms. Rodham, briefly by Mr. Labovitz and Mr. Sack, and by Doar. The staff did not think the manuscript was useful in its present form. . . .In your letter you suggest that members of the staff may have intentionally suppressed the report during the course of its investigation. That was not the case.As a matter of fact, Mr. Doar was more concerned that any highlight of the project might prejudice the case against President Nixon. The fact is that the staff did not think the material was usable by the committee in its existing form and had not had time to modify it so it would have practical utility for the members of the committee. I was informed and agreed with the judgment.Mr. Labovitz, by the way, was John Labovitz, another member of the Democratic staff. I spoke with Labovitz this past Friday as well, and he is no fan of Jerry Zeifman. If it s according to Zeifman, it s inaccurate from my perspective, Labovitz said. He bases that statement on a recollection that Zeifman did not actually work on the impeachment inquiry staff, although that is contradicted not only by Zeifman but Polk as well.Labovitz said he has no knowledge of Hillary having taken any files, and defended her no-right-to-counsel memo on the grounds that, if she was assigned to write a memo arguing a point of view, she was merely following orders.But as both Zeifman and Polk point out, that doesn t mean ignoring background of which you are aware, or worse, as Zeifman alleges, confiscating documents that disprove your argument.All told, Polk recalls the actions of Hillary, Doar and Nussbaum as more amateurish than anything else. Of course the Republicans went nuts, Polk said. But so did some of the Democrats some of the most liberal Democrats. It was more like these guys Doar and company were trying to manage the members of Congress, and it was like, Who s in charge here? If you want to convict a president, you want to give him all the rights possible. If you re going to give him a trial, for him to say, My rights were denied, it was a stupid effort by people who were just politically tone deaf. So this was a big deal to people in the proceedings on the committee, no question about it. And Jerry Zeifman went nuts, and rightfully so. But my reaction wasn t so much that it was underhanded as it was just stupid. Polk recalls Zeifman sharing with him at the time that he believed Hillary s primary role was to report back to Burke Marshall any time the investigation was taking a turn that was not to the liking of the Kennedys. Jerry used to give the chapter and verse as to how Hillary was the mole into the committee works as to how things were going, Polk said. And she d be feeding information back to Burke Marshall, who, at least according to Jerry, was talking to the Kennedys. And when something was off track in the view of the Kennedys, Burke Marshall would call John Doar or something, and there would be a reconsideration of what they were talking about. Jerry used to tell me that this was Hillary s primary function. Zeifman says he had another staff member get him Hillary s phone records, which showed that she was calling Burke Marshall at least once a day, and often several times a day.A final note about all this: I wrote my first column on this subject because, in the aftermath of Hillary being caught in her Bosnia fib, I came in contact with Jerry Zeifman and found his story compelling. Zeifman has been trying to tell his story for many years, and the mainstream media have ignored him. I thought it deserved an airing as a demonstration of how early in her career Hillary began engaging in self-serving, disingenuous conduct.Disingenuously arguing a position? Vanishing documents? Selling out members of her own party to advance a personal agenda? Classic Hillary. Neither my first column on the subject nor this one were designed to show that Hillary is dishonest. I don t really think that s in dispute. Rather, they were designed to show that she has been this way for a very long time a fact worth considering for anyone contemplating voting for her for president of the United States.By the way, there s something else that started a long time ago. She would go around saying, I m dating a person who will some day be president, Polk said. It was like a Babe Ruth call. And because of that comment she made, I watched Bill Clinton s political efforts as governor of Arkansas, and I never counted him out because she had made that forecast. Bill knew what he wanted a long time ago. Clearly, so did Hillary, and her tactics for trying to achieve it were established even in those early days.Vote wisely.Via: Patriot Net Daily | 0 |
2,041 | Factbox: Trump on Twitter (Aug 24) - Debt ceiling, fake news, Mitch McConnell, hurricane Harvey | The following statements were posted to the verified Twitter accounts of U.S. President Donald Trump, @realDonaldTrump and @POTUS. The opinions expressed are his own. Reuters has not edited the statements or confirmed their accuracy. @realDonaldTrump : - I requested that Mitch M & Paul R tie the Debt Ceiling legislation into the popular V.A. Bill (which just passed) for easy approval. They... [0819 EDT] - ...didn’t do it so now we have a big deal with Dems holding them up (as usual) on Debt Ceiling approval. Could have been so easy-now a mess! [0825 EDT] - The Fake News is now complaining about my different types of back to back speeches. Well, there was Afghanistan (somber), the big Rally..... [0907 EDT] - ..(enthusiastic, dynamic and fun) and the American Legion - V.A. (respectful and strong). Too bad the Dems have no one who can change tones! [0915 EDT] - James Clapper, who famously got caught lying to Congress, is now an authority on Donald Trump. Will he show you his beautiful letter to me? [0915 EDT] - The only problem I have with Mitch McConnell is that, after hearing Repeal & Replace for 7 years, he failed!That should NEVER have happened! [0942 EDT] - On Tuesday, I visited with the incredible men & women of @ICEgov & @DHSgov Border Patrol in Yuma, AZ. Thank you. We respect & cherish you! [1313 EDT] - As #HurricaneHarvey intensifies - remember to #PlanAhead. ☑️(link: www.hurricanes.gov) hurricanes.gov ☑️(link: www.ready.gov) ready.gov ☑️(link: www.fema.gov) fema.gov [1531 EDT] - A GREAT HONOR to spend time with our BRAVE HEROES at the @USMC Air Station Yuma. THANK YOU for your service to the United States of America! [2021 EDT] -- Source link: (bit.ly/2jBh4LU) (bit.ly/2jpEXYR) | 1 |
2,042 | BREAKING: MI Court Of Appeals Orders Vote Recount To STOP…Jill Stein’s Democrat Activist Attorney Says Count Must Go On | The Michigan Court of Appeals rejected Green Party candidate Jill Stein s request for a recount of presidential ballots in Michigan.The court ruled that the Board of State Canvassers should not have allowed the recount, because Stein has not chance of winning the presidential election due to the recount. Accordingly, we grant the requests of the Attorney General and President-Elect Trump for issuance of a writ of mandamus, a court official said in a statement. We direct the Board of State Canvassers to reject the Nov. 30, 2016 petition of candidate Stein that precipitated the current recount process. We retain jurisdiction. The Michigan Court of Appeals agreed that Jill Stein is not an aggrieved candidate and the recount must stop. A.G. Bill Schuette (@SchuetteOnDuty) December 7, 2016The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the federal judge s order to continue the hand recount, but the Michigan Court of Appeals rejected the recount process.The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals made clear, in their ruling, that If, subsequently, the Michigan courts determine that Plaintiffs recount is improper under Michigan state law for any reason, we expect the district court to entertain any properly filed motions to dissolve or modify its order in this case. The combined effect of the two rulings appears to set up further court proceedings in front of Goldsmith and the Michigan Republican Party has already filed for another federal hearing. Andrea Bitely, a spokeswoman for Schuette, said the Michigan Court of Appeals said there is no conflict between its order and the federal district court s temporary restraining order, so the recount should end immediately.However, to ensure clarity for Michigan taxpayers, (and as recommended in the 6th Circuit s opinion issued this evening), the Attorney General is now filing in the federal district court a motion to dissolve the temporary restraining order, Bitely said.Mark Brewer, an attorney for Stein, said the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals refused to stay the Republicans request to stop the recount, so it will continue until all the parties can get back to federal court to plead their case, again, before Goldsmith.The state panel said that to qualify as aggrieved, Stein must be able to allege a good faith belief that but for mistake or fraud, she would have had a reasonable chance of winning. Legal InsurectionOpponents of the recount claim that it s too expensive and that Stein, who received just 1 percent of the vote, is wasting resources. This is a win for Michigan taxpayers, Michigan Republican Party chairman Ronna Romney McDaniel said in a statement. The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled in our favor, determining that the petition for recount filed by Dr. Jill Stein should have been denied. Dr. Stein is not an aggrieved candidate as she has no chance of winning the election in Michigan. The legal arguments are being heard in both state and federal courts, and the attorney general said the battle could theoretically end up in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. I m just saying, theoretically, it could go there, Schuette said. I m just taking it just one step at a time, and I m convinced, and I have confidence in the Michigan court system, and the Michigan judicial system, to uphold the Michigan statute, and the Michigan law will prevail. Schuette said the battle is a matter for the state courts because he said there is no U.S. constitutional right to a recount.Stein s campaign handed the Michigan secretary of state a check for $973,250 on Wednesday. The campaign said it intends to pay all fees associated with the recount in Michigan, and is currently recruiting volunteers to observe the hand recounts that are likely to take place in 19 sites, representing all 83 counties across the state.Meanwhile, Michigan Republicans said the request for a hand recount of presidential votes could cost taxpayers up to $12 million, a dozen times more than Stein will have to pay.I m not sure why the votes that were counted by machines that were said to be counting votes more than once (and perhaps even multiple times) in a heavily Democratic county are allowed to stand in the final count and will NOT be recounted. Why were those voted included in the final vote that was CERTIFIED by the state of MI?Watch at the end when the reporter asks the election official if MI residents should be concerned about those votes and he simply glosses over his question: | 0 |
2,043 | Indian and Chinese defense forces must maintain cooperation: Indian Foreign Secretary | BEIJING (Reuters) - Indian Foreign Secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said Indian and Chinese troops must maintain cooperation to ensure that a recent confrontation on their common border did not happen again. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a BRICS summit in the southeastern Chinese city of Xiamen, Jaishankar said peace in border areas was a prerequisite for India-China development and the two countries had agreed to make more efforts to enhance mutual trust. | 1 |
2,044 | Trump Tweets Fake List Of ‘Fake News’ The Media Has Run And Gets STOMPED By Twitter (TWEETS) | On Wednesday, Donald Trump once again lashed out at the media with a scathing article about 16 fake news stories that have been published since Trump became President*.'16 Fake News Stories Reporters Have Run Since Trump Won' https://t.co/0dHld5kiVc Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 8, 2017The site featuring the list, The Federalist, is a known purveyor of right-wing hoaxes and is about as reliable as Betsy DeVos in any of the many bear attacks that occur in our schools year-round, but Trump saw a headline he liked and tweeted it out because, to him, fact-checking is a waste of time. Besides, Trump is in the middle of the largest anti-media campaign since Adolf Hitler went out of his way to discredit the media to allow him to more effectively consolidate power and this article aids that goal nicely:We are in the midst of an epidemic of fake news. There is no better word to describe it than epidemic, insofar as it fits the epidemiological model from the Centers for Disease Control: this phenomenon occurs when an agent and susceptible hosts are present in adequate numbers, and the agent can be effectively conveyed from a source to the susceptible hosts. The agent in this case is hysteria over Trump s presidency, and the susceptible hosts are a slipshod, reckless, and breathtakingly gullible media class that spread the hysteria around like well, like a virus.It is difficult to adequately sum up the breadth of this epidemic, chiefly because it keeps growing: day after day, even hour after hour, the media continue to broadcast, spread, promulgate, publicize, and promote fake news on an industrial scale. It has become a regular part of our news cycle, not distinct from or extraneous to it but a part of it, embedded within the news apparatus as a spoke is embedded in a bicycle wheel.Whenever you turn on a news station, visit a news website, or check in on a journalist or media personality on Twitter or Facebook, there is an excellent chance you will be exposed to fake news. It is rapidly becoming an accepted part of the way the American media are run.The list that follows, unsurprisingly, contains stories with mostly minor errors that were all corrected quickly because that s how it works when initial reporting is incorrect. Others are simply stuff Donald Trump has done that The Federalist elected to simply say are fake news like his threat to send troops into Mexico, Trump s decision to ease sanctions on Russia, and the GOP rolling back Obama-era regulations that prevent the mentally ill from owning guns.Fortunately, not everyone is as stupid as Trump s followers and The Donald was quickly called out for sharing this list from such a disreputable source:Oh for Pete s sake. NOT ONE of these supposedly fake stories is actual fake news. @realDonaldTrump https://t.co/2YK4REIMUG Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) February 8, 2017@realDonaldTrump #theresistance pic.twitter.com/bP7iJr6HkZ #TheResistance (@AynRandPaulRyan) February 8, 2017@realDonaldTrump @FDRLST pic.twitter.com/NueWae3hdZ paladine (@paladine) February 8, 2017@realDonaldTrump @FDRLST pic.twitter.com/ua6D83VATz paladine (@paladine) February 8, 2017@realDonaldTrump hey here's someone from YOUR team being mocked on uk tv for dishing out FAKE NEWS,practice what you preach & DO SOME WORK?? pic.twitter.com/KhyDqiILWs Darius Syrossian (@DariusSyrossian) February 8, 2017@realDonaldTrump @FDRLST well, 17 if you include this bullshit list. Benjamin Byron Davis (@Tooda) February 8, 2017@realDonaldTrump oh my god you're embarrassing. Jeremy Botter (@jeremybotter) February 8, 2017@realDonaldTrump The head honcho at this site is a known plagiarist. Try harder. https://t.co/CGKbfWhhWI Brenna Ehrlich (@BrennaEhrlich) February 8, 2017. @realDonaldTrump POTUS complaining about fake news from a fake news website. Fakenewsception? Trademark it. Lots of money for you there. Elie. (@eliefares) February 8, 2017@realDonaldTrump @FDRLST None of them are fake stories. They're stories with errors that were corrected. That's very different. (((Punch Nazis))) (@esjacobs) February 8, 2017@realDonaldTrump @FDRLST I hadn't heard of any of these stories. They are all obscure news stories that YOUR ADMINISTRATION has promoted. Kristina Wong (@mskristinawong) February 8, 2017More #FakeNews from the #SoCalledPresident: @realDonaldTrump wrong that media is not reporting on terrorism any more https://t.co/MIy0wzEIa2 pic.twitter.com/6V531eRLpR Khary Penebaker (@kharyp) February 8, 2017@realDonaldTrump Bowling Green Massacre and Alternative Facts dude. YOU are the number one source for bullsh*t. Tommy Campbell (@MrTommyCampbell) February 8, 2017Though he says the phrase a lot, even Trump likely doesn t actually believe the things he falsely calls fake news are fake news. Sebastian Gorka, deputy assistant to President Donald Trump, explained Monday that the administration will keep using the term until the media realizes they are wrong for attacking Trump with facts. There is a monumental desire on behalf of the majority of the media, not just the pollsters, the majority of the media to attack a duly elected President in the second week of his term, he says. That s how unhealthy the situation is and until the media understands how wrong that attitude is, and how it hurts their credibility, we are going to continue to say, fake news . Gorka is a former editor for white supremacist propaganda website Breitbart, which President Steve Bannon used to run.Yes, fake news exists. You usually see it on sites like nbc.com.co.qwdsff4wf.org. But none of these stories, even the ones with errors, earn that classification. What does qualify as fake news is President Asterisk s claim that President Obama was born in Kenya, that millions voted illegally for his opponent, and that anyone who disagrees with Donald Trump or says anything unflattering about him is pushing fake news. Resist.Read more:Featured image via Getty Images (XXX)/screengrab | 0 |
2,045 | New Group Of Armed Idiots Show Up To Provide ‘Security’ For Bundy Militia Terrorists (VIDEO) | Just when we thought the situation with the Bundy militia in Oregon couldn t get any worse, it does. The drama is heating up now, because another group of lawless armed militants have decided to come be the security for the militia. There s just one problem with that, though: the original militia says they don t want these new folks there.The new group calls themselves the Pacific Patriot Network, and they have taken it upon themselves to send armed guards from their group to protect the original occupying militia. However, Todd MacFarlane, who is a lawyer for the Bundy side of the standoff, says of these new people: We don t need that. We don t want it and we re asking you to leave. According to the Bundy group, they really want to keep the situation from getting any worse than it already has. MacFarlane says that the Bundy group is, quote, alarmed by the Pacific Patriot Network guards. According the Brandon Curtiss, who heads the Pacific Patriot Network up, the guards he sent will only be patrolling the perimeter and has no plans to interfere with original occupants, or even join them in occupation.However, the point is, the Bundys people don t want them there. The new people must be really scary if the original terrorists don t even want anything to do with them. At this point, the federal government needs to simply step in and do something about these people. It really has gotten way out of hand.Watch Bundy s militia people talk about these newbies, below:Featured image via video screen capture from Raw Story | 0 |
2,046 | In break with decades of U.S. policy, Trump to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump will announce on Wednesday that the United States recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and will move its embassy there, breaking with longtime U.S. policy and potentially stirring unrest. Despite warnings from Western and Arab allies, Trump in a 1 p.m. (1800 GMT) White House speech will direct the State Department to begin looking for a site for an embassy in Jerusalem as part of what is expected to be a years-long process of relocating diplomatic operations from Tel Aviv. Trump is to sign a national security waiver delaying a move of the embassy, since the United States does not have an embassy structure in Jerusalem to move into. A senior administration official said it could take three to four years to build an embassy. Still, Trump s decision, a core promise of his campaign last year, will upend decades of American policy that has seen the status of Jerusalem as part of a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians, who want East Jerusalem as their capital. Washington s Middle East allies all warned against the dangerous repercussions of his decision when Trump spoke to them on Tuesday. The president believes this is a recognition of reality, said one official, who briefed reporters on Tuesday about the announcement. We re going forward on the basis of a truth that is undeniable. It s just a fact. Senior Trump administration officials said Trump s decision was not intended to tip the scale in Israel s favor and that agreeing on the final status of Jerusalem would remain a central part of any peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians. In defending the decision, the officials said Trump was basically reflecting a fundamental truth: That Jerusalem is the seat of the Israeli government and should be recognized as such. The Palestinians have said the move would mean the kiss of death to the two-state solution. The political benefits for Trump are unclear. The decision will thrill Republican conservatives and evangelical Christians who make up a large share of his political base. But it will complicate Trump s desire for a more stable Middle East and Israel-Palestinian peace and arouse tensions. Past presidents have put off such a move. The mere hint of his decision to move the embassy in the future set off alarm bells around the Middle East, raising the prospect of violence. Our Palestinian people everywhere will not allow this conspiracy to pass, and their options are open in defending their land and their sacred places, said Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh. Islamist militant groups such as al Qaeda, Hamas and Hezbollah have in the past tried to exploit Muslim sensitivities over Jerusalem to stoke anti-Israel and anti-U.S. sentiment. The decision comes as Trump s senior adviser and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, leads a relatively quiet effort to restart long-stalled peace efforts in the region, with little in the way of tangible progress thus far. The president will reiterate how committed he is to peace. While we understand how some parties might react, we are still working on our plan which is not yet ready. We have time to get it right and see how people feel after this news is processed over the next period of time, one senior official said. Trump spoke to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Jordan s King Abdullah and Saudi King Salman to inform them of his decision. The Jordanian king affirmed that the decision will have serious implications that will undermine efforts to resume the peace process and will provoke Muslims and Christians alike, said a statement from his office. Israel captured Arab East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war and later annexed it. The international community does not recognize Israeli sovereignty over the entire city, home to sites holy to the Muslim, Jewish and Christian religions. We have always regarded Jerusalem as a final-status issue that must be resolved through direct negotiations between the two parties based on relevant Security Council resolutions, United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters. No other country has its embassy in Jerusalem. Trump has weighted U.S. policy toward Israel since taking office in January, considering the Jewish state a strong ally in a volatile part of the world. Still, deliberations over the status of Jerusalem were tense. Vice President Mike Pence and David Friedman, U.S. ambassador to Israel, pushed hard for both recognition and embassy relocation, while Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis opposed the move from Tel Aviv, according to other U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. An impatient Trump finally weighed in, telling aides last week he wanted to keep his campaign promise. Abbas warned Trump of the dangerous consequences that moving the embassy would have for peace efforts and regional stability, Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rdainah said. But Trump assured Abbas that he remained committed to facilitating an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, one U.S. official said. | 1 |
2,047 | Unlikely allies eye vote to legalize cannabis in New Zealand | WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand could become the first country in the Asia-Pacific region to legalize cannabis for personal use after an unlikely alliance of populist, centrist and leftist parties put drug policy immediately on the agenda of the incoming government. Recreational marijuana use is legal in several U.S. states and European nations including the Netherlands and Spain, but countries in the Asia-Pacific tend to have strict prohibitions. Australia recently introduced laws freeing up access to cannabis for medicinal use, but does not allow recreational use. Labour s prime minister-designate Jacinda Ardern said on Tuesday she agreed with a Greens proposal for a referendum to legalize use of recreational cannabis. We agreed that what we are doing now simply isn t working, so we have said yes to having that referendum, Ardern told reporters in Wellington. There is no timeframe for possible legalization, which would represent the first major reform of drug laws since the 1970s, but would depend on the public first voting to back reforms. Anything that helps shift New Zealand drug laws out of the dinosaur age is going to be a good thing, Ross Bell, executive director of the charitable NZ Drug Foundation, told Reuters. Arguably it is better for the sustainability of the reform to have a broad church like we ve got with this government, so that it is not just seen as some sort of fringe liberal policy, Bell said in a telephone interview. Drug law reforms figured in talks to form New Zealand s new government after a Sept. 23 election failed to yield a majority for either the governing National Party or opposition Labour, although neither major party had such a campaign plank. The center-left Labour will govern with support from its new junior coalition member, the populist NZ First, which supports holding referendums on controversial issues. The Greens have offered confidence and supply and the diverse group of parties is already starting to deliver a melange of policies, from potential relaxation of drug laws to tighter immigration controls. New Zealand s drug use ranks among the world s highest, a study by the NZ Drug Foundation shows. Too much money is spent on enforcement and convictions, rather than on health policies, says the body, which gets government and private funding. | 1 |
2,048 | TREY GOWDY: “Look at the facts”…”Ambassador Stevens’ e-mails will give you chills” [Video] | Gowdy hammers it with those who say Benghazi was politically motivated Testimony is Thursday so we ll see | 0 |
2,049 | FAKE NEWS WEEK: Truth, War Propaganda, CIA and Media Manipulation | In response to the establishment media s contrived fake news crisis designed to marginalise independent and alternative media sources of news and analysis, 21WIRE is running its own #FakeNewsWeek campaign, where each day our editorial team at 21st Century Wire will feature media critiques and analysis of mainstream corporate media coverage of current events exposing the government and the mainstream media as the real purveyors of fake news throughout modern history The Centre for Research on GlobalizationNever before has it been so important to have independent, honest voices and sources of information. We are as a society inundated and overwhelmed with a flood of information from a wide array of sources, but these sources of information, by and large, serve the powerful interests and individuals that own them. The main sources of information, for both public and official consumption, include the mainstream media, alternative media, academia and think tanks.The mainstream media is the most obvious in its inherent bias and manipulation. The mainstream media is owned directly by large multinational corporations, and through their boards of directors are connected with a plethora of other major global corporations and elite interests. An example of these connections can be seen through the board of Time Warner.Time Warner owns Time Magazine, HBO, Warner Bros., and CNN, among many others. The board of directors includes individuals past or presently affiliated with: the Council on Foreign Relations, the IMF, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Warburg Pincus, Phillip Morris, and AMR Corporation, among many others.Two of the most esteemed sources of news in the U.S. are the New York Times (referred to as the paper of record ) and the Washington Post. The New York Times has on its board people who are past or presently affiliated with: Schering-Plough International (pharmaceuticals), the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Chevron Corporation, Wesco Financial Corporation, Kohlberg & Company, The Charles Schwab Corporation, eBay Inc., Xerox, IBM, Ford Motor Company, Eli Lilly & Company, among others. Hardly a bastion of impartiality.And the same could be said for The Washington Post, which has on its board: Lee Bollinger, the President of Columbia University and former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and individuals associated with (past or presently): the Coca-Cola Company, New York University, Conservation International, the Council on Foreign Relations, Xerox, Catalyst, Johnson & Johnson, Target Corporation, RAND Corporation, General Motors, and the Business Council, among others.It is also important to address how the mainstream media is intertwined, often covertly and secretly, with the government. Carl Bernstein, one of the two Washington Post reporters who covered the Watergate scandal, revealed that there were over 400 American journalists who had secretly carried out assignments for the Central Intelligence Agency. Interestingly, the use of journalists has been among the most productive means of intelligence-gathering employed by the CIA. Among organizations which cooperated with the CIA were the American Broadcasting Company, the National Broadcasting Company, the Associated Press, United Press International, Reuters, Hearst Newspapers, Scripps-Howard, Newsweek magazine, the Mutual Broadcasting System, the Miami Herald and the old Saturday Evening Post and New York Herald-Tribune. By far the most valuable of these associations, according to CIA officials, have been with the New York Times, CBS and Time Inc. The CIA even ran a training program to teach its agents to be journalists, who were then placed in major news organizations with help from management. These types of relationships have continued in the decades since, although perhaps more covertly and quietly than before. For example, it was revealed in 2000 that during the NATO bombing of Kosovo, several officers from the US Army s 4th Psychological Operations (PSYOPS) Group at Ft. Bragg worked in the news division at CNN s Atlanta headquarters. This same Army Psyop outfit had planted stories in the U.S. media supporting the Reagan Administration s Central America policies, which was described by the Miami Herald as a vast psychological warfare operation of the kind the military conducts to influence a population in enemy territory. These Army PSYOP officers also worked at National Public Radio (NPR) at the same time. The US military has, in fact, had a strong relationship with CNN.In 2008, it was reported that the Pentagon ran a major propaganda campaign by using retired Generals and former Pentagon officials to present a good picture of the administration s war-time policies. The program started in the lead-up to the Iraq War in 2003 and continued into 2009. These officials, presented as military analysts , regurgitate government talking points and often sit on the boards of military contractors, thus having a vested interest in the subjects they are brought on to analyze. In 2013, Public Accountability reported:During the public debate around the question of whether to attack Syria, Stephen Hadley, former national security adviser to George W. Bush, made a series of high-profile media appearances. Hadley argued strenuously for military intervention in appearances on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, and Bloomberg TV, and authored a Washington Post op-ed headlined To stop Iran, Obama must enforce red lines with Assad. In each case, Hadley s audience was not informed that he serves as a director of Raytheon, the weapons manufacturer that makes the Tomahawk cruise missiles that were widely cited as a weapon of choice in a potential strike against Syria. Hadley earns $128,500 in annual cash compensation from the company and chairs its public affairs committee. He also owns 11,477 shares of Raytheon stock, which traded at all-time highs during the Syria debate ($77.65 on August 23, making Hadley s share s worth $891,189). Despite this financial stake, Hadley was presented to his audience as an experienced, independent national security expert.The major philanthropic foundations in the United States have often used their enormous wealth to co-opt voices of dissent and movements of resistance into channels that are safe for the powers that be. As McGeorge Bundy, former President of the Ford Foundation once said, Everything the Foundation does is to make the world safe for Capitalism. Examples of this include philanthropies like the Rockefeller Foundation, Ford Foundation and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation providing immense financial and organizational support to Non-Governmental Organizations. Furthermore, the alternative media are often funded by these same foundations, which has the effect of influencing the direction of coverage as well as the stifling of critical analysis Learn more about the Centre for Research on Globalization and the work of its founder and editor, Professor Michel Chossudovsky, as well how to donate to them at Global Research.ca. The original version of this article was published at Global Research in March 2011. READ MORE ABOUT MSM FAKE NEWS AT: FAKE NEWS WEEKSUPPORT 21WIRE SUBSCRIBE & BECOME A MEMBER @ 21WIRE.TV | 0 |
2,050 | Bernie Sanders Wins Wyoming Primary | The winning streak continues for Bernie Sanders.Wyoming has just joined the ranks of seven out of the last eight states which have voted in the Democratic Primaries. Since March 15th, when Hillary Clinton swept five states, Bernie Sanders campaign has recouped the momentum after winning Utah, Idaho, Hawaii, Alaska, and Washington by large margins, and taking Wisconsin on April 5th, despite initially being down in the polls in that state.Bernie Sanders has won 8 out of the last 9 states. As of 9:43 PM EST With 100 percent reporting, Sanders has 55.7 percent, while Clinton has 44.3 percent. Each candidate won 7 delegates.Wyoming only has fourteen delegates, but the victory provides further momentum for the Bernie Sanders campaign to make a strong push going into a key primary in New York. A victory there could give Bernie Sanders the push he needs to win the Democratic presidential nomination. He is currently down roughly 200 pledged delegates after Hillary Clinton built a substantial delegate lead in the South. With her best states behind her, Bernie Sanders has slowly chipped away at that lead since March 15th.Whether you are a Bernie Sanders supporter, Hillary Clinton supporter, or still teetering between the two candidates, what Bernie Sanders campaign has accomplished so far is amazing. Income and wealth inequality has never received this much attention in recent years, and calls for getting money out of politics have never been greater. Excitement and passion of Americans to participate in the Democratic process of voting are unprecedented. Attending campaign rallies for Bernie Sanders, where thousands of people passionately gather in favor of real progressive reforms and changes is something every Democrat SHOULD take pride in no matter how unsavory the debate over who is a better presidential candidate, because both will easily hand the Republicans a loss come November.Featured Image Courtesy of Flickr | 0 |
2,051 | Republican Leaders And Activists Plan To Back Third-Party Candidate If Trump Is Nominated | Political contributor and conservative editor Erick Erickson, along with numerous Republican activists and leaders, are planning on rallying behind a third-party candidate should Donald Trump, the current GOP frontrunner, secure the nomination in July.Erickson, former editor of RedState, in a statement on his newest website The Resurgent titled #UnelectableDonald Will Make America Blue Again, said:As economic, defense, and faith conservatives, we oppose Donald Trump and will not vote for him in the coming general election. Our objective is two-fold: the election of a conservative president and averting the debacle of a Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders administration. To achieve these objectives, the candidacy of Donald Trump must be defeated.Slamming Trump over his liberal positions and his authoritarian approach, the group of leaders and activists pledged they would vote and, if they lose, carry on until the next fight:We will vote. Sitting out an election is not an option. The Republican Party has before it several candidates with the record and ability to serve as president with honor and distinction. In the coming months, we will devote ourselves to ensuring the nomination goes to a candidate who will strengthen our economy, national security and, above all, the conservative values on which all else depends. Should this effort fail, we will join with other faithful conservatives to find new candidates and institutions to carry on the fight for conservative principles and policies.This is he third meeting between Erikson and his band of plucky conservatives. In March, when the first meeting adjourned, the group called for the creation of Unity Ticket to thwart Trump, and as a second option opted for a third-party candidate should the Unity Ticket fail.Other members of Erickson s group, which totals about a dozen Republicans, includes columnist Quin Hillyer, George W. Bush adviser Bill Wichterman, and Mike Farris, a conservative activist and candidate for lieutenant governor in Virginia.Although Erickson s group is seemingly one of a kind, there have been numerous Republicans coming out to say they would refuse to vote for Trump, including Joe Scarborough (who at one point supported him), former Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, Dana Losech, Mel Martinez, Sen. Ben Sasse and others. Featured image via Flickr | 0 |
2,052 | Catalan strike severs road links as secessionist leader regroups | BARCELONA/MADRID (Reuters) - A general strike called by pro-independence campaigners in Catalonia closed shops and severed transport links on Wednesday, as the region s deposed leader lost political momentum after failing to seal an electoral pact with another party. Protesters closed roads, causing huge tailbacks into Barcelona, while some public transport ran minimum services and some smaller stores remained shuttered. Reuters saw hundreds of strikers gathered in Barcelona s main Sant Jaume square to protest the imprisonment of politicians, chanting the name of ex-leader Carles Puigdemont and referring to him as our president . But he faces an uphill task to maintain influence after he missed a deadline of midnight on Tuesday to agree a pro-secessionist pact for a regional election with his former vice president Oriol Junqueras. The central government in Madrid called the election for Dec. 21 after last month assuming control of Catalonia following its parliament s unilateral independence declaration. Spain s Constitutional Court on Wednesday officially annulled the declaration, which it had suspended, a widely expected ruling. Catalonia s secessionist push has plunged Spain into its worst political crisis in four decades, leading to a business exodus and reopened old wounds from the civil war in the 1930s. Junqueras is in custody on charges of sedition, rebellion and misuse of public funds. But polls show his leftist ERC party will win three times as many seats next month in the regional assembly than the centre-right PDeCAT of Puigdemont, who is in self-imposed exile in Belgium and facing the same charges. If that forecast proves correct it represents a very uncomfortable position for Puigdemont, said Jose Miguel de Elias, of political consultancy Sigma Dos. If (the secessionists) get enough seats to form a government, he would be vice president, which ... would not suit him. In Catalonia there was a mixed reaction to the pro-independence strike, called by two civic groups, whose heads were imprisoned last month on sedition charges, and a labor union. People stood across dozens of major highways waving placards and chanting freedom for political prisoners , TV and video images showed, while minor scuffles were reported on social media as police attempted to move protesters. While many smaller stores left their shutters down due the strike, most larger shops and businesses appeared to be open as normal. Why should I strike, nobody is going to raise my salary... The politicians should work more and stop their silliness, Jose Luis, a Barcelona construction worker, told Reuters TV on his way to work. Protester Josep Cardona, a 55-year-old office worker, had not joined a previous strike, but this time with putting people in prison, it has all gone too far, he said. Strike supporter Nuria Catalana, a 64-year-old nurse, said she had favored a pro-secessionist electoral pact, but understood the difficulties involved. We ll have to see if they really pay attention to whoever wins the election. We have to continue the struggle, she said. Puigdemont had ambitions to garner support for his independence campaign in the heartland of the European Union. But that hope has fallen flat, and in an interview published on Wednesday he renewed criticism of the bloc s executive. (EU Commission President Jean-Claude) Juncker welcomes mayors, governors ... but he doesn t want to meet me, Puigdemont told Belgian Daily De Standaard. I ve always been a convinced European ... But the people who are running the EU now are wrecking Europe. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who has been unwavering in his opposition to any form of independence for Catalonia, said he hoped next month s election would usher in a period of calm and business as usual for the region. I m hoping for massive participation ... and, after that, we ll return to normality, he said in the Madrid parliament building on Wednesday. An opinion poll released on Sunday by Barcelona-based newspaper La Vanguardia showed Junqueras ERC could garner 45 or 46 seats in the regional assembly and Puigdemont s PdeCat just 14 or 15. That would leave them needing to form a parliamentary alliance with anti-capitalist CUP to reach the 68-seat threshold for a majority. ERC and PDeCAT could still reach an agreement after the vote, but by standing together they could have held more seats, polls and projections from the 2015 election results showed. | 1 |
2,053 | HALLOWEEN HORROR: Mom Dresses Her Son Up As Hillary Clinton: “Our 8-year-old son is with you” | Same-Sex Marriages, 10 Years LaterDGR @DebbersGar Writer producer creative director wife of a lady mom to two master of a pup. Not necessarily in that order.The Backstory: Our 5 yo daughter had no costume. We said: How about HRC? Daughter: Nope. Son: Well someone s gotta be Hillary! | 0 |
2,054 | Turkey releases French journalist detained on Iraqi border | PARIS (Reuters) - Turkey on Friday released French journalist Loup Bureau who was seized by security forces on the Iraqi border last month, his lawyer said on Friday. Bureau was detained by Turkish border guards in early August after he was found to have photographs and interviews with Kurdish militia fighters among his possessions. We are pleased to announce the release of journalist #LoupBureau. He will be expelled from Turkey shortly, lawyer Martin Pradel said via Twitter. French President Emmanuel Macron last month expressed his concerns about Bureau s detention in a telephone call with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. The announcement came as French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian concluded a two-day visit to Turkey. Turkey considers the Kurdish YPG militia, with which Bureau is accused of having links, to be an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group. The PKK has fought a three-decade insurgency in southeast Turkey and is designated a terrorist organization by Ankara, the United States and the European Union. Bureau s lawyer said a Turkish court had not closed the case. We must continue to fight, Pradel said in another tweet. | 1 |
2,055 | EU threatens Hungary, Poland with fines if refuse refugees | BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The EU executive said on Wednesday it was ready to institute court proceedings within weeks that could lead to fines for Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic if they refuse to take in asylum-seekers from Italy and Greece. Speaking to reporters after the EU s top court, the European Court of Justice (ECJ), upheld the legality of quotas for states to take migrants relocated from the Mediterranean, Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said: If the member states that have not relocated at all or not for a long time do not change their approach in the coming weeks, we should then consider to take the last step in the infringement procedure, taking Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic to the European Court of Justice. The ECJ has the power to levy financial penalties on governments which fail to comply with EU law. | 1 |
2,056 | False Flag Florida: FBI Agents ‘Posing As Terrorists’ in Miami Sting Operation | 21st Century Wire says The FBI is walking a very fine line that crosses into the unacceptable.Watch a video of this report here:The FBI has apparently arrested a man planning an attack on a Miami-area synagogue with an explosive device.The suspect had allegedly planned to attack the Aventura Turnberry Jewish Center on Friday evening.The plot, which is about as simple as they come, involved throwing an explosive device over a wall and into the synagogue grounds during Friday night services, as congregants would have been marking the start of Shabbat and the final day of Passover.Most importantly, the synagogue was never actually in any real danger.This is because, the man was stopped by FBI agents posing as fellow terrorists who set up a sting operation. The bomb, apparently a dummy, was sold to him in Hallandale Beach by an FBI undercover operative just before the planned terror attack .What this means, is that the suspect James Medina, may have never had the material means to carry out any attack with an explosive device unless it had been provided by the FBI.So why is anybody praising the FBI for stopping a terror attack when they are the very group that facilitated its implementation in the first place?The synagogue s Facebook page issued a statement saying the FBI had even told them that, there are no credible threats directed against us at the present time. No credible threats means that the only threat was a fictitious false flag created by the FBI.Democratic Party National Committee head and Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, apparently unaware of the finer details, said she was, deeply grateful that the FBI arrested this individual before he was allegedly able to do harm to the Aventura Turnberry Jewish Center .Where do we draw the line between posing as a terrorist , and actually being a terrorist?How can the FBI be allowed to facilitate such incidents and then claim credit, both financially and politically, for stopping them?ALL THE FALSE FLAG INFO YOU NEED: 21st Century Wire False Flag Files | 0 |
2,057 | U.S. announces near $700 million in humanitarian aid to Syria | UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department on Thursday announced more than $697 million in additional humanitarian assistance for the people of Syria, bringing total U.S. assistance since 2012 to more than $7 billion. The new funding also helps mitigate the impact of the crisis on governments and communities throughout the region, the State Department said in a statement. Nearly $516 million will be destined to assistance inside Syria, according to the statement. Around the region, Jordan will receive about $88 million, Turkey $35 million, Lebanon $29 million, Iraq $15 million, Egypt $13 million and regional organizations $2 million. | 1 |
2,058 | Turkey's Erdogan to make historic visit to Greece next week | ATHENS (Reuters) - Tayyip Erdogan will travel to Greece on Dec. 7-8, Greek sources said on Friday, in the first visit by a Turkish president in decades that have seen ties at times severely strained over issues from Aegean Sea rights to ethnically-split Cyprus. Erdogan is expected to meet his Greek counterpart and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and discuss bilateral relations, security issues and the refugee crisis, following a 2016 EU-Ankara deal aimed at reducing migrant flows to Europe. He is also expected to visit Thrace in northern Greece, where there is a Muslim minority. Erdogan last visited fellow NAT member Greece in 2010 in his capacity as prime minister. His visit next week will be the first by a Turkish president to Greece in 65 years. Greece and Turkey, NATO allies, came to the brink of war in 1996 over the ownership of uninhabited Aegean islets. Relations have improved since then but they are still at odds over issues from territorial disputes to Cyprus, which remains divided between Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities living on either side of a U.N.-monitored ceasefire line. Eight Turkish soldiers commandeered a helicopter and flew it to northern Greece as a failed coup unfolded against Erdogan between July 15 and 16, 2016. Turkey has repeatedly demanded Greece hand them over but Greece s highest court has rejected their extradition. Greek police on Tuesday arrested nine Turkish citizens who were later charged with terrorism-related offences. They are accused of hoarding explosives and of links to an outlawed militant organization responsible for suicide bombings in Turkey. They have denied any wrongdoing. [nL8N1NZ39F] | 1 |
2,059 | Suspect in baseball field shooting ranted against Trump on social media | BELLEVILLE, Ill. (Reuters) - The suspect who opened fire on Republican lawmakers as they played baseball on Wednesday raged against Republican U.S. President Donald Trump on social media and idolized Bernie Sanders, whom he saw as the only politician who understood the working class. Authorities identified the gunman as James Hodgkinson, a 66-year-old home inspector from the St. Louis suburb of Belleville, Illinois. He died from injuries sustained in a shoot-out with Capitol Hill police who were at the scene in Alexandria, Virginia, outside Washington. Hodgkinson is believed by investigators to have been a person “of strong views,” a senior U.S. official said, without elaborating. The Belleville News-Democrat newspaper posted a photograph of Hodgkinson protesting outside a post office there in 2012, wearing sunglasses and a goatee and holding a homemade placard that read “TAX the Rich.” Hodgkinson was a member of many anti-Republican groups on Facebook including “The Road to Hell Is Paved With Republicans,” “Terminate The Republican Party,” and “Donald Trump is not my President,” his profile showed before it was taken down. Trump won the U.S. presidential election in November. Republicans also control both chambers of Congress. “Trump is a Traitor. Trump Has Destroyed Our Democracy. It’s Time to Destroy Trump & Co.” Hodgkinson wrote in a March 22 post. His profile picture was a U.S. flag with the slogan: “Democratic Socialism explained in 3 words: ‘We the People.’” Hodgkinson went to Washington several weeks ago to protest against Trump’s election, his brother told the New York Times. The former mayor of Alexandria, Bill Euille, said he talked with the suspect at the local YMCA most mornings for more than a month, and even tried to help find Hodgkinson a job after seeing he was living out of a gym bag, the Washington Post said. Stephen Brennwald, an Alexandria attorney, also saw Hodgkinson at the YMCA wearing long pants rather than gym attire, and said he often seemed to be staring into space. “It’s just very freaky to think that this guy who was just sitting in there for weeks, not really doing anything, actually turned out to shoot at people,” Brennwald told Reuters. Hodgkinson’s Facebook profile featured a cover photo of Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont who ran unsuccessfully to be the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate last year. Sanders, an independent who ran as a progressive populist but was defeated by Hillary Clinton, said the suspect had “apparently volunteered” on his campaign. In a statement, Sanders condemned the shooting as a despicable act.” One woman who asked not to be named told Reuters that Hodgkinson had contacted her via Facebook as part of a political discussion, but that he subsequently commented on her page that Clinton was a “liar” and a “baby killer.” “I actually blocked him at one point,” the woman said. A bartender at the Pork Barrel BBQ in Alexandria said Hodgkinson started coming in for beers about a month ago. “He was a regular-looking guy that kind of gave you a sense of the creeps, but you can’t really put your finger on it,” said Christina Shrimshaw, 27, who served him a handful of times but never remembered him discussing politics. “He would talk about very mundane things, like golf. He was big into watching the Golf Channel.” A neighbor in Belleville, William Schaumleffel, recalled how in March he heard gunshots and saw Hodgkinson shooting with a long gun toward woods across a corn field from his yard. “I yelled at him: ‘Hey, stop shooting over there. There are houses over there,’” Schaumleffel said. Hodgkinson did not stop, he added, so he filed a report with the sheriff’s office. Hodgkinson’s criminal history included a 2006 arrest on battery charges that were later dismissed, as well as multiple traffic violations, according to state records that identified him as a 5-foot, 6-inch (1.67-metre) man weighing 190 pounds (86 kg), with brown eyes. Most of the infractions were ultimately dropped. Hodgkinson had been licensed as a home inspector and real estate appraiser, but did not renew his home inspector license after it expired last year, state records showed. His license to appraise real estate expired in 1997. According to Facebook, Hodgkinson went to Belleville Township High School West and studied flight training at Southwestern Illinois College. Beginning in mid-2015, Hodgkinson began expressing support for Sanders’ 2016 campaign, and federal records showed he donated $18 to the effort. “Bernie is the Only Candidate in Decades that Really Cares about the Working Class,” Hodgkinson posted on June 13, 2016. The Belleville News-Democrat published letters he wrote the paper criticizing Republicans, tax policies and income inequality. One from August 2012 read: “I have never said ‘life sucks,’ only the policies of the Republicans.” | 1 |
2,060 | EU will lose credibility if it tolerates direct rule of Catalonia by Madrid: regional official | LONDON (Reuters) - The European Union will lose credibility if it lets Madrid impose direct rule on Catalonia, and only the Catalan people have the right to change the regional institutions, Catalonia s foreign affairs spokesman said on Monday. How can the European Union live with that situation if it appears? Raul Romeva told BBC radio, when asked how the Catalan regional government would prevent the Spanish government from re-imposing direct rule. How can they be credible if they allow this to happen? Because what I can tell you is that the people and the institutions in Catalonia would not let this ... happen. | 1 |
2,061 | Republican U.S. presidential hopefuls say Zika quarantine may be needed | MANCHESTER, N.H. (Reuters) - Two Republican U.S. presidential hopefuls said on Saturday they would implement quarantines of travelers if necessary to stop the spread of the Zika virus. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who garnered international attention in 2014 when he quarantined a nurse who returned to the United States after treating Ebola patients, said he would not hesitate to do it again. “You bet I would,” Christie said during a debate in New Hampshire with other Republican contenders for the White House. Ben Carson, a retired neurosurgeon, said using a quarantine is “not a simple issue” but if there was evidence that Zika infection is spreading, he too would utilize a quarantine. The Zika virus is carried by mosquitoes, which transmit it to humans. Two suspected cases of sexual transmission in the United States also raise questions about other ways that Zika may spread. The virus is affecting large parts of Latin American and the Caribbean. The World Health Organization declared the outbreak an international health emergency on Feb. 1, citing a “strongly suspected” relationship between Zika infection in pregnancy and microcephaly - a condition marked by abnormally small head size that can result in developmental problems. | 1 |
2,062 | U.S. service member killed in Afghanistan helicopter crash | KABUL (Reuters) - A U.S. military service member died as a result of injuries and six others were wounded after a helicopter crashed in Logar province south of the Afghan capital Kabul late on Friday, the NATO-led resolute Support mission said in a statement. It said the crash was not the result of enemy action and the crash site had been secured. Resolute Support is investigating the circumstances of the crash to determine more facts and will release relevant details as appropriate, it said in a statement. The incident came amid a buildup of U.S. troops in Afghanistan as part of the administration s new strategy to step up the fight against the Taliban and other insurgent groups. | 1 |
2,063 | Virginia governor's bid to restore felon voting rights advances | (Reuters) - The Virginia Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a Republican bid to have Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe held in contempt for his continued effort to restore voting rights to about 206,000 felons. The high court said it would not require McAuliffe to prove that he is complying with its July 22 ruling that struck down his initial blanket attempt to restore felons’ voting rights. The one-page order also said justices would not let Republican legislative leaders seek more documents through a discovery process. McAuliffe’s efforts to restore voting rights to felons is seen as a possible aid in tipping Virginia, a swing state in the Nov. 8 presidential election, toward Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Opinion polls show her leading Republican candidate Donald Trump in the state. Republican legislative leaders this month filed a contempt motion against McAuliffe. It came after McAuliffe said he had restored voting rights to almost 13,000 felons on a case-by-case basis after the state Supreme Court blocked his blanket clemency effort. In a statement, McAuliffe said he was pleased by the court’s decision. “Restoring these Virginians’ civil rights is morally the right thing to do,” he said. McAuliffe has said his original order would move Virginia away from lifetime disenfranchisement that hits African-Americans particularly hard. Many of the convicts who benefited were African-Americans or Latinos, two groups that have voted overwhelmingly for Democratic candidates in the past. President Barack Obama, a Democrat, won Virginia in 2012 and 2008. | 1 |
2,064 | Someone’s Finally Doing To Trump What Should’ve Been Done A Long Time Ago For Inciting Violence | If you ve been privy to any form of a Donald Trump rally, then you re likely aware that they can sometimes get violent if anyone were to dare speak up in dissent of the Republican frontrunner. In fact, Trump himself will encourage the crowd to get the protesters out, even going so far as to incite violence. This has been going on for some time now, and many have been waiting for him to be held accountable for his actions and words. Well, it looks like that time is now.On Thursday, a lawsuit was filed by three people who assert that they were attacked, and/or called racial slurs during a Trump campaign event on March 1 in Louisville, Kentucky. According to NBC News: The lawsuit filed Thursday was on behalf of Kashiya Nwanguma, a 21-year-old college student; Molly Shah, a 36-year-old activist; and Henry Brousseau, a 17-year-old high school student. According to WDRB out of Louisville: Three people who claim they were assaulted at the Donald Trump rally on March 1 have filed a lawsuit against Trump, his campaign, a white supremacist and a Korean War Veteran. Those who claim to have been assaulted say they were there to peacefully protest, but Trump stopped his speech to tell the crowd to get em out of here. WDRB reports: Nwanguma, a 21-year-old University of Louisville student, claims she was protesting non-violently, carrying a sign depicting Trump s face on the body of a pig. The lawsuit alleges Nwanguma was called racist and sexist slurs and repeatedly assaulted. Heimbach and Bamberger both shoved and struck her, according to the lawsuit. A video of the incident went viral soon after the rally.Shah claims after one of Trump s five comments urging supporters to throw out protestors, Heimbach and others rushed at her small group. Shah said she witnessed someone punch Brousseau and then she was shoved from behind by Heimbach as she began to leave.Brousseau, a 17-year-old high school student, alleges he was punched in the stomach by a one of the Traditionalist Worker Party comrades. The suit includes unknown defendant as a party. You can read the full complaint HERE.Seeing what s been happening at Trump rallies nationwide, hearing about these incidents really isn t too hard to believe. These three individuals just finally took truth to power and are filing a much-deserved lawsuit.Listening to Donald Trump at any rally isn t like listening to any sort of politician who truly wants to serve the nation. He s clearly in this election for himself, and this is evident by how much he talks about how great he is throughout any speech. He doesn t want anyone around him to dare question his motives and he s very manipulative with the press, keeping them in pens and only fielding questions that will best suit his own interests. If you dare speak up against him, he ll slander you, and he doesn t seem to be capable of apologizing or owning up to his own mistakes. This is all on top of the fact that he only speaks in applause lines and bumper sticker phrases while encouraging his crowds to be violent. He s literally taking a crop of blindly misinformed nitwits and using them as his own personal Brownshirts, reminiscent of another harsh dictator from Germany who came into power in the 1930s.Trump must be stopped and he must be held accountable. This lawsuit is hopefully the first of many in the quest to make sure he never sets foot inside the Oval Office.Featured Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images | 0 |
2,065 | Certain flight crew barred from U.S. entry after Trump order: IATA memo | (Reuters) - A new ban on U.S. travel for nationals of seven Middle Eastern countries caught the airline industry unprepared, with flight crew from those states also barred from entering, the International Air Transport Association said on Saturday. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has briefed the global trade group that passport-holders from states such as Iran and Iraq, including cabin crew, will be barred entry to the United States, IATA said in an email to its member airlines, seen by Reuters. The email underscores airlines’ confusion about the situation as well as the challenge some may face from crew scheduling. Airlines also stand to lose business: for instance, around 35,000 travelers from Iran visited the United States in 2015, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. “Much of this development has come over the weekend and at a time when IATA’s Facilitation team has been on duty travel. Unfortunately, our response has been slower than we would have preferred,” the email said. “A number (of questions) have yet to be resolved.” The executive order by President Donald Trump bans travelers with passports from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days. IATA was informed that lawful permanent residents of the United States - or green-card holders - from those countries are not included in the ban. However, a Trump administration official told reporters that green-card holders from the countries need to check with a U.S. consulate to see whether they can return, causing some confusion for airlines, which still plan to follow CBP guidance. Gulf airlines Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways said earlier on their websites that passengers would need a green card or diplomatic visa to enter the United States. An Emirates spokeswoman said “a very small number” of its passengers had been affected by the ban. | 1 |
2,066 | Suffering from pneumonia, Clinton falls ill at 9/11 memorial, cancels California trip | (This version of the Sep. 11 story corrects the condition to hypothyroidism in paragraph 28) By Amanda Becker NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hillary Clinton is suffering from pneumonia, the Democratic presidential candidate’s personal doctor said on Sunday after she fell ill at a Sept. 11 memorial, an episode that renewed focus on her health less than two months before the election. Clinton canceled a trip she was scheduled to take to California on Monday for fundraising and other campaign events, an aide said, declining to provide further details about her schedule for the week. Clinton, 68, was diagnosed on Friday but her condition only came to light several hours after a video on social media appeared to show her swaying and her knees buckling before being helped into a motorcade as she left the memorial early Sunday. Clinton had a medical examination when she got back to her home in Chappaqua, New York, according to a campaign aide. Her doctor, Lisa Bardack, said in a statement that she has been experiencing a cough related to allergies and that an examination on Friday showed it was pneumonia. “She was put on antibiotics and advised to rest and modify her schedule. While at this morning’s event, she became overheated and dehydrated. I have just examined her and she is now re-hydrated and recovering nicely,” Bardack said. Clinton’s pneumonia diagnosis comes at a crucial time in the White House race against Republican rival Donald Trump, who refrained from commenting on her health on Sunday. The first of three presidential debates is on Sept. 26 and the election is on Nov. 8. Democratic National Committee head Donna Brazile said she was encouraged that Clinton “already is feeling better” and looked “forward to seeing her back out on the campaign trail and continuing on the path to victory.” Several Clinton allies said the incident underscored the candidate’s resilience. “After being diagnosed with pneumonia, Hillary Clinton ran a two-hour national security meeting, gave a press conference, and spent an hour and a half in the heat at a September 11 event,” said Peter Daou, who worked for Clinton in the past and now has a communications firm. “It was an impressive feat of physical strength that undermined weeks of health conspiracies.” Clinton abruptly departed the high-profile, televised event at Ground Zero and was taken to her daughter Chelsea’s home in Manhattan. She emerged around two hours later on a warm and muggy morning, wearing sunglasses and telling reporters that she was “feeling great.” The video that showed her swaying and buckling with aides holding her up came from an unverified Twitter account under the name Zdenek Gazda, who did not respond to a request for comment. The Clinton campaign did not respond to repeated requests for comment about the authenticity of the video. Political strategists said the campaign should confront the health issue head-on to tamp down any concerns, particularly as Republican rival Donald Trump and some of his high-profile supporters have repeatedly argued that she lacked the “stamina” to battle adversaries abroad. Bud Jackson, a Virginia-based Democratic strategist, said the statement from the doctor was a good start. He said the incident should encourage more transparency from the campaign about her health. “I think they did the right thing. They had her examined and put out a statement. It means less speculation,” he said. As the solemn ceremony began at the site of the World Trade Center that was attacked by two hijacked airliners 15 years ago, there was patchy sunlight, with temperatures at about 80 degrees Fahrenheit (26.6 Celsius). But the high humidity early into the ceremony caused it to feel much hotter in the crowd at times. Clinton wore a high-collared shirt and a dark pant suit and donned sunglasses for the morning event. Clinton’s pneumonia diagnosis follows a wave of conservative conspiracy theories that circulated in recent weeks suggesting that Clinton’s coughing was a sign of deeper problems. Clinton’s speech at a campaign rally earlier this month in Cleveland was interrupted by a coughing spell. During the speech, she quipped, “Every time I think about Trump I get allergic.” She then resumed her speech. Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease expert and senior associate at the UPMC Center for Health Security in Pittsburgh who is not treating Clinton, said coughing is a cardinal symptom of pneumonia. Recovery from pneumonia, the 8th leading cause of death in the United States, can be variable, he said, adding it takes a week for most patients to get better. Adults above the age of 65 are at heightened risk. Past presidential candidates have released much more detailed information about their health than either Trump, 70, or Clinton. For example, John McCain, the failed 2008 Republican presidential nominee, allowed reporters to see 1,173 pages of medical records after concerns were raised about a cancer scare. Clinton has been in the news before for serious health issues. In December 2012, she suffered a concussion and shortly afterward developed a blood clot. In a letter released by her doctor in July 2015, Clinton was described as being in “excellent health” and “fit to serve” in the White House. It noted that her current medical conditions include hypothyroidism and seasonal pollen allergies. The diagnosis and illness on Sunday come after some tough days for Clinton, as national polls showed her lead over Trump diminishing. A Reuters/Ipsos poll of likely voters showed an 8-point lead for Clinton had vanished by the last week of August. On Saturday, Clinton came under fire from Republicans and on social media for saying Friday night that “half” of Trump’s supporters belonged in a “basket of deplorables.” She later said she regretted using the word “half.” [nL1N1BM0BH] Trump has also been under pressure to release detailed information on his health and medical history. Instead, in December, Trump’s doctor wrote in a short letter that was made public that his blood pressure and laboratory results “were astonishingly excellent” and that he would be “the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency.” | 1 |
2,067 | Japan to discuss broad econ framework with U.S., not bilateral FTA: Aso | TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso said he would discuss a broad framework on bilateral economic cooperation with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence without going into any details in their first round of talks on Tuesday. Speaking at a regular news conference, Aso, who is also finance minister, said he would not discuss any bilateral free trade agreement with Pence when he visits Tokyo on Tuesday. | 1 |
2,068 | Porous Texas border fence foreshadows challenges for Trump's wall | BROWNSVILLE, Texas (Reuters) - The rust-colored border security fence starts in a dusty field on the Loop family farm in South Texas - about 15 miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico and a mile north of the southern U.S. border. From there, near Brownsville, it stretches about 60 miles west, but with plenty of gaps to drive or walk through. Where it exists, the fence doesn’t always stop illegal immigrants. “It takes them about a minute and a half to climb the wall,” said farmer Ray Loop, noting the muddy footprints on several sections of the fence crossing his property. The porous South Texas border fence, authorized in 2006, underscores how topography, treaty obligations, legal fights and high costs could frustrate efforts to stretch an “impenetrable” wall over the 2,000-mile border - the signature campaign promise of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. The South Texas barrier is “more holes than it is fence,” said Denise Gilman, a law professor and director of the Immigration Clinic at the University of Texas at Austin. The gaps reflect local political opposition, land rights battles and strategic decisions about where a fence would be most cost-effective, according to internal U.S. government emails obtained by Gilman through a court order and viewed by Reuters. Trump transition team spokesman Jason Miller declined to comment on the challenges of border wall construction, saying the president-elect would have “plenty of time to discuss policy specifics” after he takes office in January. In an interview with CBS’ “60 minutes” last month, Trump said for the first time that he would accept fencing in some areas of the border. “But some areas, a wall is more appropriate,” Trump said. “I’m very good at this. It’s called construction. There could be some fencing.” Loop, 51, is a Trump supporter who supports stricter immigration controls, but he has little faith in fences or walls. “That is not going to work,” Loop said from his pickup last month as he passed border patrol cars on his property. “There are places where it makes sense logistically, but all the way from Texas to California? No.” The Rio Grande Valley in South Texas has become a focal point for immigration enforcement because it has been a main artery for crossing. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement that fencing is part of an integrated strategy that includes agents on the ground, motion sensors, cameras and airborne monitoring. The Washington-based Center for Immigration Studies, which supports strong border security, said Trump should look beyond his proposed wall for a comprehensive policy. “Fencing can be very effective in making life difficult for those attempting to clandestinely cross our southern border, but it is not a one-stop measure,” said Jon Feere, legal policy analyst for the center. The Secure Fence Act of 2006, signed by Republican President George W. Bush, underestimated the cost of building a planned 670 miles of fencing at various places between California and Texas. By the time Democratic President Barack Obama declared construction essentially complete in 2011, the allocated $2.4 billion had paid for fencing over only about half that distance, according to a U.S. Government Accounting Office report. Obama voted for the border fence construction when he was a U.S. Senator, as did Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. In South Texas, original plans for two layers of reinforced fencing over about 200 miles between Laredo and Brownsville were scaled down to a gap-toothed, single-layer barrier of about a third that length. Border terrain caused a host of land rights issues that added cost and time to the construction. About 1,200 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border are in Texas, along the meandering Rio Grande river, which makes it impossible to build a border wall on the actual border. The International Boundary and Water Commission, set up between the two countries in 1889, prevents any disruption to the flow of the Rio Grande, effectively requiring any wall to be built on levees in flood plains. That pushed the South Texas fence up to two miles north into U.S. territory - putting property on the Mexico-facing side of in into a kind of no man’s land, and requiring the government to compensate owners for lost land value. Loop’s home, and almost all of his farm, are in U.S. territory but on the Mexico-facing side of the fence. He settled the U.S. government’s eminent domain case on terms that were not disclosed. Another eminent domain case filed by the U.S. government stretched out for seven years and 140 court filings, as Eloisa Tamez fought attempts to put a few acres of family land - awarded in a grant from the King of Spain in 1767 - on the Mexico-facing side of the wall. The government settled for an undisclosed sum and agreed to construct several access points in the fence on the property. Another telling example of economic loss: The Fort Brown Memorial Golf Course in Brownsville, also behind the wall, closed in 2015 after losing business from customers who mistakenly believed they had to leave the U.S. to play a round. Trump would have little trouble obtaining land through eminent domain to build a wall for national security purposes, legal experts said. But land owners may now have stronger claims for higher compensation because previous rounds of construction have established concrete examples of lost property value. Some property rights and compensation cases filed in the Bush years now may carry over into Trump’s term, legal experts said. Trump’s wall, if constructed, could bring a flood of new court challenges, they said. “The court disputes are going to delay any building for months and years,” said Efren Olivares, regional legal director with the South Texas office of the nonprofit Texas Civil Rights Project, which has represented landowners in border fence disputes. Local political and economic concerns also pose obstacles. One of the large gaps in the fence is just west of Brownsville, near an affluent area where residents successfully fought off construction. The government avoided areas with higher land values, according to the internal emails from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. “They will not build any fence in any area (urban) where real estate costs are too high,” wrote Jeffrey Self, a Customs and Border Protection divisional bureau chief, in a situational report in March 2007. Across the southwest border, apprehensions have shot up in recent months as Trump made border security a central issue in the campaign. In the year through September, U.S. authorities have apprehended 408,870 immigrants trying to cross, a jump of 23 percent from a year ago, according to Customs and Border Protection data. In McCallen, about 55 miles west of Brownsville, Mayor Jim Darling said human traffickers are drumming up business by telling people to cross before the Trump wall goes up. “Now we have a bigger immigration problem,” said Darling, who holds a nonpartisan office but endorsed Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott in his 2014 campaign. If the current fencing in south Texas is extended to the west, it would likely end up in Rio Grande City, where Mayor Joel Villarreal, a political independent, sees it as a waste of government money and a potential windfall for Mexican criminal cartels trafficking immigrants. “They will have the means to take people across,” he said in an interview, “and people will have to pay their cut to those cartels.” | 1 |
2,069 | MAXINE WATERS: Obama’s Left A “very, very powerful” database in place…”Will have information about EVERYTHING…on EVERY INDIVIDUAL in ways that it’s never been done before” [VIDEO] | At around the 4:00 mark in the video, Maxine points out that Obama will become more aggressive in his second term. Waters suggests Obama s ability to push immigration and some of the other radical issues on his agenda during first term were thwarted by the opposition, or more specifically by the Right and by the Tea Party . Martin then tells Waters that Obama better get busy and get done what needs to be done during his second term. Roland tells Waters, The inauguration represented the beginning of the second term, but it also represented the countdown of the end of his presidency. And the reality is, uh, like anything else, you better get what you can while he s there, because look come 2016, that s it. Waters responds, Well you know, I don t know. And I think some people are missing something here. The President has put in place an organization that contains a kind of database that no one has ever seen before in life. That s going to be very, very powerful. Martin asks, In terms of the Organizing for America that he s now shifting to become a 501C4 ? Waters responds, That s right. That s right. And that database will have information about everything on every individual in ways that it s never been done before. Here is the shortened clip:Here is the full interview. The bombshell revelation by Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) starts at around the 4:00 mark: | 0 |
2,070 | You Won’t Believe What GOP Lead Poisoning Truthers Just Said About The Flint Water Crisis (VIDEO) | The GOP never ceases to amaze with its consistent insanity. This time the insanity has to do with the water contamination issue in Flint, Michigan. A Michigan Republican said that the Flint water crisis may be overstated and another said that it s actually a hoax. L. Brooks Patterson, an Oakland County executive said that the water crisis had been vastly overstated. However, blood testing of Flint s children has found dangerously high levels of lead after the cash strapped city stopped buying water from Detroit and instead drew corrosive water from the Flint River beginning in April, 2014. Despite the tests, Patterson is skeptical. He made the statement after GOP political analyst Bill Ballenger had opened a debate on the issue during a radio interview. I think, well, that s the other side, Patterson said. Let s wait and see what the facts show. On the radio show, Bill Ballenger said that tests on his own blood had found no elevated levels of lead: This has been a vastly overblown crisis, perpetuated by a lot of politicians with an axe to grind and, for that matter, the news media, and some national figures, some political, some entertainers who don t know what they re talking about. I had my blood tested just yesterday, and I have no elevated blood-lead level it s way down there. The idea that the entire population of Flint has been poisoned and that we all have elevated blood-levels because of this is just a total canard. It s just a crock, and for this to be perpetuated as a story is doing a lot of damage to Flint as a community. The evidence or lack of evidence cited in Ballenger s rant has given Patterson reason to doubt whether the children of Flint, who don t have any access to fresh drinking water, were contaminated despite the tests that were done. Patterson said that Ballenger was adamant that he lives in Flint, he drinks the water, he showers in that water. Ballenger even described the water crisis as a hoax. Ballenger s evidence is at best anecdotal. Whether he drank Flint s water or not, it s children who are much more susceptible to lead poisoning than adults. Eden Wells, Michigan s chief medical executive, said that all children who drank the city s water since April of 2014 have been exposed to high levels of lead. That is at least 8,657 children. The long term effects of elevated blood levels can lead to many health complications: The long-term effects of elevated blood lead levels in children may include slow development, reduced Intelligence Quotient (IQ) scores, learning disabilities, hearing loss, reduced height and hyperactivity. Very severe lead exposure (blood lead levels greater than 80 g/dL) can cause coma, convulsions and even death. It boggles the mind that the Republicans would rather talk about ISIS or repealing Obamacare, while they dismiss an unfolding tragedy in an American city that s affecting thousands of American kids.Feature image via screengrab | 0 |
2,071 | Zimbabwe's Mnangagwa calls for end to Western sanctions | HARARE (Reuters) - New President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Thursday called for the removal of Western sanctions on members of Zimbabwe s ruling elite and said elections due in 2018 were nearer than you expect . The United States maintains a travel and economic embargo on several ZANU-PF party officials, top military figures and some government-owned firms. It imposed it during former president Robert Mugabe s rule over what it called violations of human rights and democracy. The EU lifted most of its sanctions in 2014 but kept them on Mugabe and his wife Grace. We call for the unconditional lifting of the political and economic sanctions, which have crippled our national development, Mnangagwa told a meeting of the ZANU-PF central committee in downtown Harare. We realize that isolation is not splendid or viable as there is more to gain through solidarity, mutually beneficial partnerships. Mnangagwa, 75, became leader of the southern African nation last month after the military and ruling ZANU-PF turned against Mugabe, who had ruled the country for 37 years and was thought to be grooming his wife to succeed him. In the latter half of Mugabe s rule, the economy collapsed, especially after violent and chaotic seizures of thousands of white-owned commercial farms. The issuance of billions of dollars of domestic debt to pay for a bloated civil service triggered a collapse in the value of Zimbabwe s de facto currency and hyperinflation. The International Monetary Fund has promised to send a staff mission to Zimbabwe soon to meet with officials of the new government and assess the country s fiscal and economic situation. The international community will also be closely watching the next elections in 2018. The vote is due at the end of July in 2018 but there is talk it could be brought forward to as early as March. Government will do all in its powers to ensure that the elections are credible, free and fair. These elections are nearer than what you expect, Mnangagwa said without elaborating. The ruling and opposition parties have said they will ask electoral authorities to extend next week s voter registration deadline into February after the de facto military coup last month disrupted the registration process. Mnangagwa will be confirmed as party leader and its candidate for the presidential elections at a special one-day congress on Friday with Mugabe absent. The 93-year-old former leader reportedly visited a hospital in Singapore for medical checks this week. In comments suggesting he intends to draw a line under years of endemic corruption and impunity, Mnangagwa said he would name and shame those who failed to return stolen public funds after a three-month amnesty ending in February next year. He is under pressure to deliver, especially on the economy, which is in the grip of severe foreign currency shortages. I have given three months for those who have taken money out of this country to bring it back, the president said. I didn t say that without knowledge. I have a list of who took money out, so in March when the period expires, those who have not heeded my moratorium, I will name them and shame them, he said to loud applause. Separately, Former Zimbabwe finance minister Ignatius Chombo faced new corruption charges on Thursday. | 1 |
2,072 | SYRIA: Washington’s Boots and Missile Systems on the Ground to Defend ISIS and Associated Proxies | Andrew Korybko Global Village SpaceThe US deployment of the HIMARS missile system to eastern Syria is designed to deter the Syrian Arab Army s Dash for Deir az-Zor.Many people were caught off guard when the Russian Defense Ministry announced earlier this week that The US has redeployed two High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems from Jordan to a US special operations forces base near the Syrian town of Al-Tanf , and that the range of HIMARS cannot allow for providing support for US-controlled Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) operating against Daesh in Raqqa . This led to the logical conclusion that the HIMARS could be used by the US to strike Syrian Arab Army (SAA) forces, just as the Pentagon s developed a habit of doing several times already since April.To put this all into context, the SAA just broke through some of Daesh s occupied territory to reach the Iraqi border, thereby cutting off the US special forces and allied rebel forces in Al-Tanf from linking up with the majority-Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) laying siege to Raqqa right now and committing ethnic cleansing there. Moreover, this development prevents the US-backed forces from driving through the desert to Deir az-Zor, the last major Daesh-occupied city in eastern Syria and the location of a small encircled SAA contingent. The Dash for Deir az-Zor is becoming the new Race for Raqqa now that the latter is all but over, as the former will decide whether or not the entirety of eastern Syria falls under pro-American proxy control or not.The SAA needs to liberate Deir az-Zor in order to keep the SDF and southern Al-Tanf rebels from connecting their occupied territories and enlarging the self-declared Democratic Federation of Northern Syria to include all of the Iraqi borders. If they fail in this task, then Syria will effectively be divided along East-West lines, and the former half could in principle connect to the corresponding demographic regions of neighboring Iraq to give rise to the unipolar transnational sub-states of Kurdistan and Sunnistan , or in other words, two geopolitical Israels . Should they succeed, however, then the SAA will not only diminish the prospects for a pro-Saudi Sunnistan along the Syrian-Iraqi Borderlands, but it would also give Damascus a fair chance at recovering some territory north of the Euphrates and reversing the SDF-YPG s federalization momentum.For that reason, the US deployed the HIMARS in southeastern Syria in order to deter the SAA from going any further in the Dash for Deir az-Zor, though that doesn t mean that Damascus won t give it a shot anyhow. There s a high chance, just as Russia warned, that the US will use this missile system against the SAA, but there s an equal probability that Moscow wouldn t interfere in that case.What will Russia s stance be?Moscow has been abundantly clear that it is strictly abiding by its anti-terrorist military mandate, and it s already proven as much on multiple occasions by standing down whenever its Israeli partner bombed the SAA and Damascus allies. Moreover, Russia also never militarily responded to the US bombing of the SAA on the three times that it s happened in just as many months.In fact, First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council s Committee on International Affairs Vladimir Jabarov declared right after the first incident that Russia has no intentions to use its Aerospace Forces against US missiles if Washington decides to carry out new strikes in Syria as it could lead to a large-scale war , thereby confirming that there s close to no chance that Russia would come to Syria s aid if the US unleashed HIMARS against Deir az-Zor-destined SAA forces. Despite this unfavorable state of affairs, Damascus more than likely won t be discouraged, and could still very well make a dash for the desert town regardless of the HIMARS hindrance. Even in the event that its soldiers are martyred, Syria might be calculating that their sacrifices would be worth it if there s even a slight possibility that they can help delay the country s post-war decentralization and de-facto internal partition.About this eventuality, all indicators point to it basically being a fait accompli at this moment due to Russia s reluctance to stop this scenario from unfolding. Actually, Russia is even going along with it to an extent, though not due to it having an interest in this happening, because it both doesn t have the political will to commit the military forces necessary to stop it and also likely understands the process as being irreversible. This is why Moscow has chosen to take a middle ground between Damascus unitary vision and its Kurdish adversaries federalist one by proposing a system of decentralization in the Russian-written draft constitution for Syria. Furthermore, there are grounds to believe that Russia s de-escalation zones will ultimately whether wittingly or inadvertently lead to the creation of decentralization units all throughout the country, especially in the Kurdish- and rebel -occupied quarters.Taking into account what is implied by Russia s actions (or lack thereof) about its preferred political settlement to the War on Syria, there are concrete reasons to argue that Moscow might have already accepted the de-facto establishment of the two transnational sub-state entities of Kurdistan and Sunnistan in exchange for Washington implicitly agreeing not to interfere with Russia s two military bases in the western part of the country or its Damascus-granted rights to rebuild all of Syria s energy infrastructure (which would by extent also include the facilities in the pro-American occupied areas). Whether or not this sort of understanding/agreement is in place, or even if the US would fully respect it if it was, is a matter of speculation and can t be independently confirmed at this time, but an analytical reading of the situation indicates that this might very well be the case.With this in mind, the SAA might only enjoy the direct support of the Russian Aerospace Forces so long as it s fighting to liberate occupied territory from Daesh terrorists, not from the pro-American SDF-YPG and southeastern rebel forces that Moscow itself recognizes as part of the political opposition . Russia s attitude seems to be that whatever the US does to the SAA with its newly deployed HIMARS is a strictly bilateral affair between those two conflict participants, and that Moscow would as it s continually displayed a propensity for doing turn the other way for all practical intents and purposes and only issue political statements of support for its on-the-ground ally.Therefore, the outcome of the Dash for Deir az-Zor will depend on the speed with which the SAA can reach their destination, the tactical maneuvers that the SDF-YPG take to beat them there from the northern direction, and the degree to which the US will be successful in using HIMARS to tip the balance in its favor from the southern front. The odds are overwhelming, but it still can t be ruled out that the SAA will ultimately prevail against this pincer strategy, liberate the desert city, and drive a stake in the heart of the US attempts to set up two geopolitical Israels in the heart of the Mideast, though the prospects of this optimistic scenario playing out are admittedly low.***READ MORE SYRIA NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire SYRIA FilesSUPPORT OUR WORK BY SUBSCRIBING & BECOMING A MEMBER @21WIRE.TV | 0 |
2,073 | NBA CRYBABY COACH Worries About President-Elect Trump Insulting His Wife, Daughter…Defends Player Posting Picture Of His “Junk” On Social Media [VIDEO] | It turns out the hypocrite, liberal, Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr doesn t just whine about calls, he also cried about Trump s win during a recent press conference. Besides the totally unfounded racism accusations he makes about Trump, it s interesting how offended Kerr is over Trump s private conversation he had with another single guy, that was secretly recorded. He must have forgotten his public defense of one of his players, Draymond Green after he was caught sending a picture of his penis to everyone on his snapchat list.Steve Kerr "this is my rant" for 2+ minutes on the presidential election: "Maybe we should've seen this coming" pic.twitter.com/MJOcSdXxHH Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) November 10, 2016Draymond Green got in trouble for hitting LeBron in the nuts when the Golden State Warriors played the Cavaliers during the NBA Finals. In July, Green was exposed for posting a dick pic on his public Snapchat story.The NSFW photo, which was quickly deleted, was, of course, captured by the internet for posterity. Green initially tried to play it off as a hacking a tactic that worked really well for disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner.Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has been fined $25,000 for public criticism of officiating, it was announced today by Kiki VanDeWeghe, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations. How is it that everybody on Earth can see these traveling violations except for the three people that we pay to do the job? I don t get it. It s bizarre, Kerr said on KNBR 680. It s (traveling) a point of emphasis on one particular play and that s when you catch and go it s just the one that the officials are taught to see. Kerr made his comments during a radio interview Thursday, Nov. 17. NBA | 0 |
2,074 | Trump Fans Were Scammed For Over $1 Million, And The Donald Is ANGRY | The Trump campaign is hopping mad over an unaffiliated super PAC that used the lure of a dinner with Donald Trump to take in over $1 million from unsuspecting Trump groupies. The super PAC, American Horizons PAC, set up a website at dinnerwithtrump.org and told Trump fans that their donations would enter them into a drawing to eat dinner with the reality TV star and Republican presidential candidate.In reality, the drawing set up by 25-year-old Ian Hawes, simply offers tickets to an already existing fundraiser for Trump. There is no guarantee that the winner would get to actually meet Trump, a stipulation hidden on the website in very fine print.Furthermore, documents filed with the Federal Elections Commission by the PAC showed that much of the money being donated is going to a company affiliated with Hawes, and not to Trump or other Republican candidates. It is the latest in what has been described as a scam PAC that is so prevalent on the right.The Trump campaign has now issued a cease-and-desist letter, attempting to stop the PAC. You are knowingly defrauding every person who gives you his or her email address or who makes a donation through your unauthorized website, reads a letter from Trump s campaign attorney, Donald McGahn, to the super PAC.The PAC was able to take advantage of the fact that Trump and the Republican Party have been woefully unprepared for the election. They haven t spent much of the money they ve received on TV ads or organizers in key states, nor have they clearly indicated a preference for a super PAC for well-heeled Republicans to donate to. As a result, these fly-by-night PACs have sprung up and using advertising on Facebook, Google, and cable news (mostly Fox News) they are able to tap in to angry Trump voters who think they re donating to help the Donald and take down Hillary Clinton.Like so much associated with Trump, it s turning into a mess.Featured image via Flickr | 0 |
2,075 | DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY RELATIONS AT UNIV of WI: “Stealing From Wal-Mart Shouldn’t Be A Crime” [VIDEO] | As the anarchists and local thugs sit and nod their heads in agreement Everett D. Mitchell is the Director of Community Relations at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is also an attorney, pastor, and community leader.At a recent panel discussing Best Policing Practices, Mitchell said that police should stop prosecuting individuals who shoplift from Wal-Mart and Target.His reasoning? He simply does not believe that police have any justification to engage in policing practices with thieves who steal from Wal-Mart or Target because they are big box stores with insurance: I just don t think they should be prosecuting cases for people who steal from Wal-Mart. I don t think that. I don t think that Target, and all them other places the big boxes that have insurance they should be using the people that steal from there as justification to start engaging in aggressive police behavior. He begins his speech by advocating legal relativism the notion that communities should decide for themselves which laws be enforced and which laws are not in order to better recognize what safety means for the specific community.Where is the line drawn with these anti-police activists?Just a few weeks prior to his speech, fellow Wisconsin professors, Karma Ch vez and Sara L. McKinnon wrote a letter to the Capital Times (progressive Wisconsin news outlet) titled: Sara L. McKinnon and Karma Ch vez: Request for no police interaction is reasonable In it, they argue that police are an occupying force and have no valid reason to patrol certain neighborhoods.Via: MRCTV | 0 |
2,076 | Philippines suspends trade with North Korea to comply with U.N. resolution | MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines has suspended trade relations with North Korea to comply with a U.N. Security Council resolution over its repeated missile tests, Manila s foreign minister said on Friday. The United States and other Western countries have asked the United Nations to consider tough new sanctions on North Korea after its test last week that it said was of an advanced hydrogen bomb. We can say we have suspended trade relations with North Korea, Foreign Minister Alan Peter Cayetano told reporters after a meeting with the U.S. ambassador on cooperation on an anti-drugs program. We will fully comply with UNSC resolution including the economic sanctions. Tension on the Korean peninsula has escalated as North Korea s young leader, Kim Jong Un, has stepped up the development of weapons in defiance of U.N. sanctions. It has tested a series of missiles this year, including one that flew over Japan, and conducted its sixth and biggest nuclear test on Sunday. The Philippines is North Korea s fifth-largest trade partner, with bilateral trade from January to June this year worth $28.8 million, according to the state-run Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency. On an annual basis, North Korea imported $28.8 million of products from the Philippines in 2016, an increase of 80 percent from the previous year, while Manila s imports from Pyongyang surged 170 percent to $16.1 million. According to the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the main exports to North Korea in 2015 were computers, integrated circuited boards, bananas and women s undergarments. The U.N. Security Council is quite clear, Cayetano said. Part of these are the economic sanctions and the Philippines will comply. We have been communicating with the DTI secretary and I think it was yesterday and the other day, we have gotten direction from the (presidential) palace to support the U.N. Security Council. Cayetano said the trade ban covered raw computer chips from the Philippines. | 1 |
2,077 | Yemen car bomb attack kills at least two people in Aden: residents | ADEN (Reuters) - Assailants detonated a car bomb outside the Yemeni Finance Ministry offices in the southern city of Aden on Wednesday, killing at least two people, hospital officials and residents said. They said the force of the blast shook the Khor Maksar area of Aden, the temporary capital of the internationally recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, and causing severe damage to the six-storey building. The force of the blast also shattered windows of adjacent houses, they said. Ambulances were seen racing to the scene, as sounds of gunfire were heard in the area, they said. No one has claimed responsibility for the explosion. An official at the city s main government-run Jumhouriya hospital said that two people have arrived dead to the hospital, while three others were in critical condition. He said that medics have said they believe that more casualties were at the scene of the blast, but no one could reach them due to an exchange of gunfire that was taking place in the area. | 1 |
2,078 | “MODERATE” MUSLIM SILENCE? Neighbors: “They Kept To Themselves…They Did Not Wear Religious Garb”…PEOPLE WHO KNEW HIM: “He Expressed Support For Terror Groups” | If the Muslim terrorist who killed 49 people and wounded several others in a gay nightclub in Orlando had been scouting out Disneyworld and other possible soft targets in the Orlando area, why is this the first time we are hearing about it? Did his Muslim wife have her mouth taped shut? If friends are now coming forward to tell authorities that the Ft. Pierce terrorist had expressed support for terror groups, why didn t they contact the FBI before he committed a horrific act of terror in America? And finally, if the Ft. Pierce terrorist, who was clearly making incendiary statements, was visiting nations who fund the campaigns of United States Presidential candidates like Hillary Clinton, and have a history of supporting terror groups, should the FBI be held accountable, or should every US citizen demand the people who knew he posed a danger, but kept silent be held accountable? Meanwhile, Barack Hussein Obama blames America and uses this horrific tragedy to trash Donald Trump and to promote his final, (and maybe most important) action that would prove his disdain for America and our Constitution GUN CONTROL.Orlando gunman Omar Mateen s two trips to Saudi Arabia, one of which was a pricey package that included four-star accommodations and fancy meals, were highly unusual and may have been cover for terror training, according to experts.The FBI is piecing together Mateen s radical Islam roots, and the trips to Saudi Arabia could be a sign of his growing religious devotion. His stated reason for both the 2011 and 2012 trips was umrah, a Muslim pilgrimage to the Kingdom that is not as significant as the hajj, a trip all Muslims must make to Mecca at least once in their lives. Either or both of the trips could also have included a side trip. It s very possible for someone to take a trip to a country like Saudi Arabia and declare it as their destination when it is in actuality just a pit stop to a different country like Yemen, said Ryan Mauro, national security analyst for Clarion Project, a New York-based research institute that tracks global terrorism. Based on his blatant extremism and ties to a convicted Orlando imam known for facilitating international jihadists traveling, the strong likelihood is that these trips were not benign. Mateen, 29, killed 49 people and wounded 53 inside the gay nightclub Pulse early Sunday, holding dozens hostage for hours before a SWAT team stormed the building and killed him in a gun battle. While holding captives, Mateen made multiple calls to 911, professing his allegiance to ISIS and support for the Muslim brothers who bombed the 2013 Boston Marathon, police said.When Mateen aligned himself with terrorists is not yet clear, but his trips to Saudi Arabia would have put him within a day s drive of Yemen, where Al Qaeda on the Arabian Peninsula has long had a large presence, and where ISIS also has gained a foothold in recent years. Several radicalized Americans have traveled to Yemen to train in terror camps.Mateen s first trip to Saudi Arabia was for 10 days, and the jaunt a year later was for eight. The 2011 trip was arranged by U.S.-based Islamic travel agency Dar El Salam and was a package the company calls the Sacred Caravan Umrah. The package costs up to $4,000 and is generally comprised of four nights at four-star accommodations in Mecca and six nights in Medina, complete with buffet meals, sightseeing and religious studies and lectures.The travel agency did not respond to a request for comment.The second trip included a stop in the United Arab Emirates, but the exact itinerary of either trip is not known. The FBI, which searched Mateen s condominium in Fort Pierce, Fla., overnight Sunday and into Monday morning, taking a computer and several other items, declined to comment on what investigators may have learned about Mateen s travels.Muslim leaders said it was unusual for Mateen to have made two visits to Saudi Arabia in consecutive years the first when he was just 24.Okay so why didn t anyone report his trips to the FBI??? It s not cheap to do so and people that young usually don t go twice, said Adnan Khan, former leader of the Council of Pakistan-American Affairs. And especially considering he appeared not to have come from a staunchly religious background. Okay so why didn t anyone report his trips to the FBI??? A single trip to Saudi Arabia could be attributed to the mandatory hajj or umrah, but the second trip and the visit to the UAE suggest that his stated reason for traveling was a cover, he said. Even if the trip included legitimate religious travel, it does not mean the activity was limited to that. One umrah is usually enough for a Muslim, said Timothy Furnish, an expert in Islamic history and consultant to the Pentagon, The fact that Mateen made two of those would suggest that he felt he had many sins needing rectifying and/or he was not engaged solely in religious activity but meeting with someone in Saudi Arabia, Furnish said.Mateen was born in New York to Afghan immigrants. People that knew him have said he was not overtly religious, but often expressed anger and a deep hatred of minorities. He had once aspired to be a police officer, was trained with weapons and worked for an international security firm after being fired from a job as a prison guard.The Saudi Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Those Saudi s are quick to react when it comes to writing a check to the Clinton Crime Syndicate/Hillary for President fund though!Neighbors in the quiet condominium complex where Mateen lived with his 3-year-old son and wife, Noor Zahi Salman, said the couple kept to themselves and did not wear religious garb. We were all shocked when we found out, one neighbor told FoxNews.com. The most activity I ever saw from the apartment was his girlfriend or wife walking to the mailbox and back with their child. However, sources say Mateen had a large collection of Islamic literature in his home, and people who knew him said he had expressed support for various terrorist groups.- FOX NewsWouldn t any sane person knew someone who expressed support for terrorist groups report them to the proper authorities? | 0 |
2,079 | Trump suggests challenging TV network licenses over 'fake news' | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump suggested challenging licenses for NBC and other broadcast news networks following reports by NBC News that his secretary of state had called him a “moron” after a discussion of the U.S. nuclear arsenal. “With all of the Fake News coming out of NBC and the Networks, at what point is it appropriate to challenge their License? Bad for country!” Trump, a Republican, wrote in a post on Twitter on Wednesday. Trump and his supporters have repeatedly used the term “fake news” to cast doubt on media reports critical of his administration, often without providing any evidence to support their case that the reports were untrue. Trump kept up his criticism of the media in an appearance with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, saying: “It is frankly disgusting the press is able to write whatever it wants to write.” In a tweet late on Wednesday, Trump said: “Network news has become so partisan, distorted and fake that licenses must be challenged and, if appropriate, revoked. Not fair to public!” Any move to challenge media companies’ licenses, however, would likely face significant hurdles. The Federal Communications Commission, an independent federal agency, does not license broadcast networks, but issues them to individual broadcast stations that are renewed on a staggered basis for eight-year periods. Comcast Corp, which owns NBC Universal, also owns 11 broadcast stations, including outlets in New York, Washington, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Dallas and Chicago. A Comcast spokeswoman referred questions to NBC, which did not immediately respond. ABC, owned by Walt Disney Co, declined to comment. Shares in media companies fell, potentially reflecting concerns the war of words could worsen. Comcast was down 0.8 percent, while Disney shed 1.4 percent. CBS Corp fell 1.2 percent and Twenty-First Century Fox slid 2.8 percent. Recon Analytics analyst Roger Entner called the market response a “short-term irrational knee-jerk reaction” and said Trump faced essentially insurmountable hurdles to getting licenses pulled. A spokesman for FCC Chairman Ajit Pai did not immediately comment. Gordon Smith, the chief executive of the National Association of Broadcasters, defended the media’s free speech rights. “It is contrary to this fundamental right for any government official to threaten the revocation of an FCC license simply because of a disagreement with the reporting of a journalist,” Smith said in a statement. ABC, owned by Walt Disney Co, declined to comment. Numerous Democrats criticized Trump and urged Pai to denounce Trump’s comments. Senator Ed Markey wrote Pai on Wednesday asking him to “withstand any urges from President Trump to harm the news media and infringe upon the First Amendment,” a reference to the U.S. Constitution’s free speech and press freedom guarantee. Democratic U.S. Representative Frank Pallone said Trump “seemed to threaten broadcasters’ licenses only because he disagreed with their reporting. This threat alone could intimidate the press and lead to skewed and unfair reporting.” FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel responded to Trump by tweeting a link to an FCC fact sheet. “Not how it works,” she said on Twitter. When reviewing licenses the FCC must determine if a renewal is in the public interest, according to an agency fact sheet on its website. The FCC said in the fact sheet it expects “station licensees to be aware of the important problems and issues facing their local communities and to foster public understanding by presenting programming that relates to those local issues.” The agency does not issue similar licenses for cable networks such as CNN and MSNBC, or regulate internet news or other websites. The FCC has said the First Amendment “expressly prohibits the commission from censoring broadcast matter” and that its role “in overseeing program content is very limited.” In the early 1970s, then-President Richard Nixon and his top aides discussed using the FCC’s license renewal process as a way of punishing the Washington Post for its coverage of the Watergate burglary that ultimately brought down his presidency. NBC News has reported on tensions between Trump and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and has said Trump sought a dramatic increase in the U.S. nuclear arsenal during a meeting with national security advisers in July. NBC reported Tillerson made his “moron” comment after that meeting. Trump on Saturday also suggested he should get “equal time” because of what he described as late-night television hosts’ “anti-Trump” material. The FCC’s equal time rules apply in limited cases to air time for political candidates and not to criticism of elected leaders. Trump may have been referring to the “Fairness Doctrine” that was designed to ensure broadcasters present opposing viewpoints about public issues. Republican President Ronald Reagan’s administration eliminated it in 1987. | 1 |
2,080 | Factbox: Trump fills top jobs for his administration | (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has chosen former Texas Governor Rick Perry to head the U.S. Department of Energy, a transition official said, putting him in charge of the agency he proposed eliminating during his bid for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. The following is a list of Republican Trump’s selections for top jobs in his administration. All the posts but that of national security adviser, the White House chief of staff, White House director of the National Economic Council and White House strategist require Senate confirmation. Sessions, 69, was the first U.S. senator to endorse Trump’s presidential bid and has been a close ally since. Son of a country store owner, the Alabama senator and former federal prosecutor has long taken a tough stance on illegal immigration, opposing any path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. U.S. Representative Pompeo, 52, is a third-term congressman from Kansas who serves on the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, which oversees the CIA, National Security Agency and cyber security. A retired Army officer and Harvard Law School graduate, Pompeo supports the U.S. government’s sweeping collection of Americans’ communications data and wants to scrap the nuclear deal with Iran. Ross, 78, heads the private equity firm W.L. Ross & Co. His net worth was pegged by Forbes at about $2.9 billion. A staunch supporter of Trump and an economic adviser, Ross helped shape the Trump campaign’s views on trade policy. He blames the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico, which went into force in 1994, and the 2001 entry of China into the World Trade Organization for causing massive U.S. factory job losses. Mattis is a retired Marine general known for his tough talk, distrust of Iran and battlefield experience in Iraq and Afghanistan. A former leader of Central Command, which oversees U.S. military operations in the Middle East and South Asia, Mattis, 66, is known by many U.S. forces by his nickname “Mad Dog.” He was once rebuked for saying in 2005: “It’s fun to shoot some people.” DeVos, 58, is a billionaire Republican donor, a former chair of the Michigan Republican Party and an advocate for the privatization of education. As chair of the American Federation for Children, she has pushed at the state level for vouchers that families can use to send their children to private schools and for the expansion of charter schools. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY ADMINISTRATOR: SCOTT PRUITT An ardent opponent of President Barack Obama’s measures to stem climate change, Oklahoma Attorney General Pruitt, 48, has enraged environmental activists. But he fits with the president-elect’s promise to cut the agency back and eliminate regulation that he says is stifling oil and gas drilling. Pruitt became the top state prosecutor for Oklahoma, which has extensive oil reserves, in 2011, and has challenged the EPA multiple times since. U.S. Representative Price, 62, is an orthopedic surgeon who heads the House Budget Committee. A representative from Georgia since 2005, Price has criticized Obamacare and has championed a plan of tax credits, expanded health savings accounts and lawsuit reforms to replace it. He is opposed to abortion. The final leadership role of Kelly’s 45-year career was head of the U.S. Southern Command, responsible for U.S. military activities and relationships in Latin America and the Caribbean. The 66-year-old retired Marine general differed with Democratic President Barack Obama on key issues and has warned of vulnerabilities along the United States’ southern border with Mexico. Carson, 65, is a retired neurosurgeon who dropped out of the Republican presidential nominating race in March and threw his support to Trump. A popular writer and speaker in conservative circles, Carson previously indicated reluctance to take a position in the incoming administration because of his lack of experience in the federal government. Carson is the first African-American picked for a Cabinet spot by Trump. McMorris Rodgers, a 47-year-old U.S. congresswoman from Washington state, is the fourth most senior member of the House of Representatives leadership. A member of the House Energy Committee, she has supported efforts to expand the U.S. energy industry such as the recent repeal of the decades-old ban on oil exports and efforts to reject the Environmental Protection Agency’s Waters of the United States Act. She has also expressed skepticism about climate change. Before joining Congress in 2004, McMorris Rodgers served for a decades in the Washington state legislature, eventually becoming the first woman there to serve as minority leader. Cohn, 56, president and chief operating officer of investment bank Goldman Sachs, had widely been considered heir apparent to Lloyd Blankfein, CEO of the Wall Street firm. Trump hammered Goldman and Blankfein during the presidential campaign, releasing a television ad that called Blankfein part of a “global power structure” that had robbed America’s working class. Puzder, chief executive officer of CKE Restaurants Inc [APOLOT.UL], which runs the Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s fast-food chains [APOLOT.UL], has been a vociferous critic of government regulation of the workplace and the National Labor Relations Board. Puzder, 66, has argued that higher minimum wages would hurt workers by forcing restaurants to close, and praises the benefits of automation, so his appointment is likely to antagonize organized labor. Retired Lieutenant General Flynn, 57, was an early Trump supporter and serves as vice chairman on his transition team. He began his Army career in 1981 and was deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq. Flynn became head of the Defense Intelligence Agency in 2012 under President Barack Obama but retired a year earlier than expected, according to media reports, and became a fierce critic of Obama’s foreign policy. Tillerson, 64, has spent his entire career at Exxon Mobil Corp, where he rose to serve as its chairman and CEO in 2006. A civil engineer by training, the Texan joined the world’s largest energy company in 1975 and led several of its operations in the United States as well as in Yemen, Thailand and Russia. As Exxon’s chief executive, he maintained close ties with Moscow and opposed U.S. sanctions against Russia for its incursion into Crimea. Perry, 66, adds to the list of oil drilling advocates skeptical about climate change who have been picked for senior positions in Trump’s Cabinet. The selections have worried environmentalists but cheered an industry eager for expansion. Perry, who also briefly ran in the 2016 presidential race, would have to be confirmed by the Senate to head the Energy Department, which is responsible for U.S. energy policy and oversees the nation’s nuclear weapons program. McMahon, 68, is a co-founder and former chief executive of the professional wrestling franchise WWE, which is based in Stamford, Connecticut. She ran unsuccessfully as a Republican for a U.S. Senate seat in Connecticut in 2010 and 2012, and was an early supporter of Trump’s presidential campaign. Chao, 63, was labor secretary under President George W. Bush for eight years and the first Asian-American woman to hold a Cabinet position. She is a director at Ingersoll Rand, News Corp and Vulcan Materials Company. She is married to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky. Mnuchin, 53, is a successful private equity investor, hedge fund manager and Hollywood financier who spent 17 years at Goldman Sachs before leaving in 2002. He assembled an investor group to buy a failed California mortgage lender in 2009, rebranded it as OneWest Bank and built it into Southern California’s largest bank. Housing advocacy groups criticized the bank for its foreclosure practices, accusing it of being too quick to foreclose on struggling homeowners. Haley, 44, has been the Republican governor of South Carolina since 2011 and has little experience in foreign policy or the federal government. The daughter of Indian immigrants, she led a successful push last year to remove the Confederate battle flag from the grounds of the South Carolina state capitol after the killing of nine black churchgoers in Charleston by a white gunman. Recently re-elected to serve as Republican National Committee chairman, Priebus will give up his party post to join Trump in the White House, where the low-key Washington operative could help forge ties with Congress to advance Trump’s agenda. The 44-year-old was a steadfast supporter of Trump during the presidential campaign even as the party fractured amid the choice. CHIEF WHITE HOUSE STRATEGIST, SENIOR COUNSELOR: STEVE BANNON The former head of the conservative website Breitbart News came aboard as Trump’s campaign chairman in August. A rabble-rousing conservative media figure, he helped shift Breitbart’s into a forum for the alt-right, a loose confederation of those who reject mainstream politics and includes neo-Nazis, white supremacists and anti-Semites. His hiring signals Trump’s dedication to operating outside the norms of Washington. As White House chief of staff, Bannon, 63, will serve as Trump’s gatekeeper and agenda-setter. | 1 |
2,081 | BLACK CAUCUS MEMBER From Impoverished Detroit District Who’s Leading Effort To Impeach President Trump…CAUGHT Paying Off Sex Assault Victims With Taxpayer Money | This story is about more than a massive cover-up for an elected officials who sexually assaulted innocent women, it s also about the media s lack of desire to report about crimes that have obviously been covered up in DC for a very long time. Perhaps the media s reluctance to report about the sexual abuse taking place in Washington DC, is because most, if not all, of the elected officials whose crimes are now being uncovered, are Democrats? So far, two of the most rabid anti-Trump Democrats in Washington, Senator Al Franken (D-MI) and now Representative John Conyers (D-MI) have been outed is it a coincidence, or could it be that one of the reasons Democrats are so adamantly opposed to Trump s presidency is because he is shaking things up in Washington, and in doing so, he s breaking up the good ole boys network?Buzzfeed Michigan Rep. John Conyers, a Democrat and the longest-serving member of the House of Representatives, settled a wrongful dismissal complaint in 2015 with a former employee who alleged she was fired because she would not succumb to [his] sexual advances. Documents from the complaint obtained by BuzzFeed News from Mike Cernovich, include four signed affidavits, three of which are notarized, from former staff members who allege that Conyers, the ranking Democrat on the powerful House Judiciary Committee, repeatedly made sexual advances to female staff that included requests for sexual favors, contacting and transporting other women with whom they believed Conyers was having affairs, caressing their hands sexually, and rubbing their legs and backs in public. Four people involved with the case verified the documents are authentic.And the documents also reveal the secret mechanism by which Congress has kept an unknown number of sexual harassment allegations secret: a grinding, closely held process that left the alleged victim feeling, she told BuzzFeed News, that she had no option other than to stay quiet and accept a settlement offered to her. I was basically blackballed. There was nowhere I could go, she said in a phone interview. BuzzFeed News is withholding the woman s name at her request because she said she fears retribution.Last week the Washington Post reported that Congress s Office of Compliance paid out $17 million for 264 settlements with federal employees over 20 years for various violations, including sexual harassment. The Conyers documents, however, give a glimpse into the inner workings of the office, which has for decades concealed episodes of sexual abuse by powerful political figures.The woman who settled with Conyers launched the complaint with the Office of Compliance in 2014, alleging she was fired for refusing his sexual advances, and ended up facing a daunting process that ended with a confidentiality agreement in exchange for a settlement of more than $27,000. Her settlement, however, came from Conyers office budget rather than the designated fund for settlements.Congress has no human resources department. Instead, congressional employees have 180 days to report a sexual harassment incident to the Office of Compliance, which then leads to a lengthy process that involves counseling and mediation, and requires the signing of a confidentiality agreement before a complaint can go forward.After this an employee can choose to take the matter to federal district court, but another avenue is available: an administrative hearing, after which a negotiation and settlement may follow.In this case, one of Conyers former employees was offered a settlement, in exchange for her silence, that would be paid out of Conyers taxpayer-funded office budget. His office would rehire the woman as a temporary employee despite her being directed not to come into the office or do any actual work, according to the document. The complainant would receive a total payment of $27,111.75 over the three months, after which point she would be removed from the payroll, according to the document.The draft agreement viewed by BuzzFeed News was unsigned, but congressional employment records match the timing and amounts outlined in the document. The woman left the office and never went public with her story.The process was disgusting, said Matthew Peterson, who worked as a law clerk representing the complainant, and who listed as a signatory to some of the documents.Hillary Clinton and John Conyers have been longtime friends. What is it about Hillary that sexual predators find so endearing? It is a designed cover-up, said Peterson, who declined to discuss details of the case but agreed to characterize it in general terms. You feel like they were betrayed by their government just for coming forward. It s like being abused twice. Two staffers alleged in their signed affidavits that Conyers used congressional resources to fly in women they believed he was having affairs with. Another said she was tasked with driving women to and from Conyers apartment and hotel rooms.Rep. Conyers did not admit fault as part of the settlement. His office did not respond to multiple requests for comment on Monday.Citizen journalist Mike Cernovich admonishes journalists who are tasked with reporting the news for a living for ignoring how massive this cover up really is:The Conyers settlement was 1 out of 264!How about you "journalists" stop hating on me and go find those other 263? Mike Cernovich (@Cernovich) November 21, 2017The documents were first provided to BuzzFeed News by Mike Cernovich, the men s rights figure turned pro-Trump media activist who propagated a number of false conspiracy theories including the Pizzagate conspiracy. Cernovich said he gave the documents to BuzzFeed News for vetting and further reporting, and because he said if he published them himself, Democrats and congressional leaders would try to discredit the story by attacking the messenger. He provided them without conditions. BuzzFeed News independently confirmed the authenticity of the documents with four people directly involved with the case, including the accuser.Here s citizen journalist Mike Cernovich telling his massive Twitter audience that Speaker of the House Paul Ryan helped to cover up John Conyers disgusting sexual assaults:Congressman John Conyers is a sexual predator, and Paul Ryan covered it all up https://t.co/rHAzX4Hevo Mike Cernovich (@Cernovich) November 21, 2017In her complaint, the former employee said Conyers repeatedly asked her for sexual favors and often asked her to join him in a hotel room. On one occasion, she alleges that Conyers asked her to work out of his room for the evening, but when she arrived the congressman started talking about his sexual desires. She alleged he then told her she needed to touch it, in reference to his penis, or find him a woman who would meet his sexual demands.She alleged Conyers made her work nights, evenings, and holidays to keep him company.In another incident, the former employee alleged the congressman insisted she stay in his room while they traveled together for a fundraising event. When she told him that she would not stay with him, she alleged he told her to just cuddle up with me and caress me before you go. Rep. Conyers strongly postulated that the performing of personal service or favors would be looked upon favorably and lead to salary increases or promotions, the former employee said in the documents.Three other staff members provided affidavits submitted to the Office Of Compliance that outlined a pattern of behavior from Conyers that included touching the woman in a sexual manner and growing angry when she brought her husband around.One affidavit from a former female employee states that she was tasked with flying in women for the congressman. One of my duties while working for Rep. Conyers was to keep a list of women that I assumed he was having affairs with and call them at his request and, if necessary, have them flown in using Congressional resources, said her affidavit. (A second staffer alleged in an interview that Conyers used taxpayer resources to fly women to him.)The employee said in her affidavit that Conyers also made sexual advances toward her: I was driving the Congressman in my personal car and was resting my hand on the stick shift. Rep. Conyers reached over and began to caress my hand in a sexual manner. The woman said she told Conyers she was married and not interested in pursuing a sexual relationship, according to the affidavit. She said she was told many times by constituents that it was well-known that Conyers had sexual relationships with his staff, and said she and other female staffers felt this undermined their credibility. I am personally aware of several women who have experienced the same or similar sexual advances made towards them by Rep[.] John Conyers, she said in her affidavit.A male employee wrote that he witnessed Rep. Conyers rub the legs and other body parts of the complainant in what appeared to be a sexual manner and saw the congressman rub and touch other women in an inappropriate manner. The employee said he confronted Conyers about this behavior. Rep. Conyers said he needed to be more careful because bad publicity would not be helpful as he runs for re-election. He ended the conversation with me by saying he would work on his behavior, the male staffer said in his affidavit. | 0 |
2,082 | BROOKLYN MOTHER OF THREE Doesn’t Work Because She’s “Proudly Raping The Government”…No, She’s Raping The Taxpayers! | LANGUAGE ALERT: Welfare Queen: Get out of here, b*tch. F*ck the government. F*ck Trump. I m gonna rape that sh*t sitting on my a$$ Guess what? This b*tch is doing better than you, b*tch. You re on your feet all day b*tch. All day Get the f*ck out of here. You go and work. I ll sit on my a$$ while you go and work. THIS WOMAN SHOULD BE TOSSED IN JAIL The hardworking American taxpayers are supporting this horrible woman. If Trump does anything at all, he should crack down on the freebies given to people like this. A single woman can make more money by just sitting around han she can if she works! There s something wrong with the system and it needs to be fixed pronto!The government has incentivized having children because these single mothers get more government money per child. We ve looked at the state of New York and here s what we found:FINANCIAL HELP FOR SINGLE MOTHERS IN NY STATE: NY FAMILY ASSISTANCE CASH PAYMENT OF $789 PER MONTHFOOD STAMPS UP TO $1200 A MONTH DEPENDING ON NUMBER IN FAMILYMEDICAID AND CHILD HEALTH PLUSWIC ANOTHER FOOD PROGRAMCHILD AND AUDLT FOOD CARE PROGRAM PROVIDES MEALS FOR KIDS IN DAYCARESUBSIDIZED CHILD CARE- FREE OR LOW-COST CHILDCAREFREE PRE-K PROGRAMSECTION 8 HOUSINGUNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE FOR 26 WEEKSTUITION ASSISTANCE UP TO $5,000That about covers it most states provide these freebies. Is it any wonder people are cradle to grave on assistance ? The government has made this a crutch but at whose expense? If you guessed the taxpayers, you d be right! The culture surrounding these freebies makes people feel entitled to them. Why not? They don t even think about you or your sacrifices it s a sick dependency that needs to end. Welfare reform NOW! | 0 |
2,083 | Saudi Prince Epically Burns Donald Trump: Remember Those Two Times I Bailed You Out Financially? | Donald Trump only has himself to blame for this one.Rather than watch what he says on Twitter, the billionaire Republican presidential candidate retweeted an obviously photoshopped image of Megyn Kelly posing with Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who owns a stake in Fox News, and his sister. @BradCross4: @Drudge_Report_ @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/Ur1qgG291Z Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 28, 2016Trump has been acting like a petulant child ever since he learned Fox News would be including Megyn Kelly as a debate moderator once again, even though he didn t like her tough questions in a debate last year that touched off a bitter feud between the two.But Trump apparently never learned to not bite the hand that feeds him, because his tweet came back to bite him on the ass on Thursday prior to his rogue event running at the same time as the GOP Debate he declined to attend.In an epic response to Trump s tweet, Prince Alwaleed fired back with a revealing tweet of his own reminding Trump of those two times back in the 1990s when Trump needed a financial bailout and Alwaleed came to his rescue. Trump:You base your statements on photoshopped pics?I bailed you out twice;a 3rd time,maybe? https://t.co/Raco0mvusp https://t.co/jStBl7Ghia (@Alwaleed_Talal) January 28, 2016According to Buzzfeed, when Trump was $900 million in debt in 1991, it was Prince Alwaleed who purchased The Donald s Trump Princess yacht for $40 million.In 1995, Alwaleed would save Trump s ass again by purchasing New York City s Plaza Hotel from him for a whopping $325 million.In short, Donald Trump is an irresponsible businessman who has incurred massive debts and declared bankruptcy on multiple occasions. His decisions have been so bad that he needed to be bailed out by a Saudi national and you have to wonder how Trump would deal with America s debt. The last thing Americans need is to watch as their president sells the country off piece by piece to solve a debt that was created by Republican fiscal policies in the first place. And frankly, it s not hard to imagine that Trump would at least consider that option.Prince Alwaleed has previously called upon Trump to withdraw from the presidential race, and now he has given us even more reason to demand it as well.Featured Image: YouTube | 0 |
2,084 | Kremlin says it is following situation in Ukraine's Luhansk region | MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin is following the situation in Ukraine s rebel-controlled Luhansk region, where there is a standoff between the head of the rebel administration and a sacked police chief, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday. Peskov said he was not ready to disclose the Kremlin s views on what was happening in Luhansk, where armed men were on Tuesday blocking access to the centre of the regional capital. | 1 |
2,085 | no title | trump hillary would lead to world war due to potential for conflict with nucleararmed russia published mins ago
reuters doral florida us republican presidential nominee donald trump said on tuesday that democrat hillary clintons plan for syria would lead to world war three because of the potential for conflict with military forces from nucleararmed russia
in an interview focused largely on foreign policy trump said defeating islamic state is a higher priority than persuading syrian president bashar alassad to step down playing down a longheld goal of us policy
trump questioned how clinton would negotiate with russian president vladimir putin after demonizing him and blamed president barack obama for a downturn in us relations with the philippines under its new president rodrigo duterte | 1 |
2,086 | To Understand Why MILLIONS Support Bernie Sanders, Watch His New Ad (VIDEO) | Not too many people had heard of Bernie Sanders until recently. Although a senator, Sanders doesn t come from a famous political family, nor is he a party favorite. However, Sanders has taken the country by storm and ignited an energy and excitement for the political process not seen in decades. That s because Sanders ideas have hit home for many people. His new campaign ad for the presidency sums up his policies in such an impassioned way that it will leave you in tears. The ad begins with the statement: What does it mean to lead a moral life? When we talk about morality, and when we talk about hope, we have to understand that there is no justice when so few have so much and so many have so little. There is no justice when the top 1/10th% owns almost as much wealth as the bottom 90%. Sanders also touches on the fact that millions of people are working long hours but unable to feed their children, and the fact that the United States today has the highest rate of childhood poverty of any country in the developed world. Instead, Sanders says we use our money for the wrong reasons: How can we talk about morality and justice when we turn our backs on the children of our country? We have in this country sufficient amounts of money to put more people in jail than any other country on earth but apparently we do not have enough money to provide jobs and education to our young people. The touching four minute ad continues to hit on topics vital to the interests of millions of Americans including healthcare to all people as a right. All of the people, the poor and the wretched have a right to go to the doctor when they are sick. Bernie Sanders ideas resonate with many Americans because he s been able to eloquently bring to light issues that the majority of politicians lack the courage in tackling. He s the most genuine presidential candidate in generations.Watch video here:[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSRUmRYrRLY]Featured image via video screenshot. | 0 |
2,087 | 'Ghost boats' drop Tunisian migrants onto sunny Italian tourist beaches | ROME (Reuters) - The figures jumping from a small boat into the clear shallow waters and running ashore on an Italian beach look like troops practicing a D-Day-style landing, but this is no drill, and these are not soldiers. The images, caught on camera, show what has become a increasingly common sight on the beaches of Italy s southern islands - migrants from Africa landing in broad daylight. In the past these boats came at night, said Claudio Lombardo, the local head of the Mareamico (Friend of the Sea) environmental group who filmed the scene on a beach near Agrigento in Sicily on Wednesday morning. When they came at night, all you saw was the abandoned boat on the beach the next day and the people were nowhere to be found, and that s why we called them ghost boats. The change in tactic by people smugglers comes as the number of arrivals from Libya - long the busiest route for migrants from Africa trying to reach the European Union - have plummeted since departures from the coastal city of Sabratha were stopped by a shadowy armed group this summer. As Libyan departures slumped, wooden boats from neighboring Tunisia have started landing on secluded Sicilian beaches, often in broad daylight while tourists are out sunbathing, an official leading the investigation into the arrivals told Reuters. Some 3,000 migrants, mostly men, have come from Tunisia in the past two months, with between 1,500-1,800 landing on the south coast of Sicily, and the rest on the smaller islands of Lampedusa or Linosa, said the local investigator, who spoke on condition of anonymity. It is still fewer than the Libyan arrivals, which totaled well over 10,000 over the past two months, but such numbers have not been seen since Tunisia s Arab Spring revolution in 2010 and 2011, said Lombardo, whose priority is to protect beaches from damage caused by the abandoned boats and belongings. Those who reached the smaller islands have almost all been identified by police, while between 20 to 40 percent of those who made it to Sicily vanished without trace, the official said. Almost all are Tunisians, and some had already been expelled from Italy in the past, the investigator said. The Agrigento court is looking to see if smugglers pick them up upon arrival in Italy. We re more concerned about the ones who try to flee because perhaps they could have problems with the law either in Tunisia or Italy, he said. As for the 50-or-so filmed by Lombardo, they climbed up into the dry hills beyond the beach and headed inland, discarding T-shirts and shoes. They have a kit with them, which is a bag with a change of clothes, and bottles of water and milk, Lombardo said. Within 30 minutes, they disappear. They re gone. Police pick up many found walking along roads, the investigator said. On Thursday, one young Tunisian man was killed by a car in a hit-and-run near Agrigento. While some of the boats are big enough to make the more than 200-km (125-mile) crossing from Tunisia, some are very small, raising questions about how they got there. We have not excluded the existence of mother ships, the investigator said, referring to large fishing boats used in the past to ferry migrants close to the coast before putting them onto smaller boats for the last leg of the voyage. | 1 |
2,088 | BREAKING: D.C. Driver Plows Into Capitol Police…Shots Fired | It happened around 9:30 a.m. at the 100 block of Independence Ave., SW.The driver was arrested on the scene.Police say that officers fired shots, but no one was hit .Breaking News: Shots were fired after a US Capitol police cruiser was struck, Fox 5 reports, adding that a suspect is in custody. pic.twitter.com/0uW0wcj0BG Fox News (@FoxNews) March 29, 2017 | 0 |
2,089 | Hateful Arizona Pastor Deported From Botswana After Saying Gays Should Be ‘Stoned to Death’ (VIDEO) | Wouldn t it be nice if we could just kick bigots out of our country? Well, that s exactly what happened when anti-gay Arizona pastor Stephen Anderson stopped by Botswana for a visit and decided to preach hate.Anderson s road to Botswana was an eventful one, with the United Kingdom banning him from so much as getting on a connecting flight in their country. This forced him to find a roundabout way to get to Botswana, where he intended to spend quite some time preaching. But after he suggested that homosexuals be stoned to death in a radio interview, Anderson learned that his hatred is not tolerated everywhere. I have identified Steven Anderson as an undesirable person to travel to South Africa, Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba told the BBC. The country s Constitution, unlike ours, prohibits hate speech against, among other things, the gay community (even though homosexual acts are illegal in Botswana) and if you ve ever listened to Anderson speak for five minutes straight, you know hate speech is kind of his thing. The government even tweeted to inform everyone he had been declared a prohibited immigrant :Pastor #StevenAnderson, a #USA citizen has been declared a Prohibited Immigrant and as such is being deported from #Botswana Botswana Government (@BWGovernment) September 20, 2016What prompted his removal was a radio interview in which he said homosexuals should be stoned to death. Anderson also repeated his praise of the Pulse nightclub shooter. While he says he doesn t advocate violence, the victims were disgusting homosexuals who the Bible says are worthy of death, the Bible says the government should put them to death, so why would I be sad if these horrible people died that the Bible says should die anyway. Anderson told his interviewer, who pointed out that the Bible supports slavery, that while he doesn t believe the Bible condones slavery (it does), if it did then yes I would condone it because the Bible is always right and I am not smarter than God. In the past, Anderson has blamed the terrorist attacks in France earlier this year on the country s acceptance of f*ggots, has called the Orlando massacre good news because a bunch of f*ggots died (he later expanded on that by adding that perfect Christians would bathe in the blood of the slaughtered innocents while singing praise to God), has prayed for the death of President Obama and asked God to rip out Caitlyn Jenner s heart and even suggested executing every gay person in the world to cure AIDS. You can watch Anderson getting snagged by immigration officials below. If you re anything like me, you ll play it on repeat and laugh.You can see an interview with his camera guy here:Featured image via screen capture | 0 |
2,090 | U.S. draft U.N. resolution seeks extension of Syria chemical probe | UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States has circulated a draft U.N. Security Council resolution that would extend by two years the mandate of an international inquiry into chemical weapons attacks in Syria, after Russia vetoed an extension last week. The U.S. draft, which was seen by Reuters on Thursday, says Syria must not develop or produce chemical weapons, and it calls on all parties in Syria to provide full cooperation with the international probe. The investigation by the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons - known as the Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM) - was unanimously created by the 15-member Security Council in 2015 and renewed in 2016 for another year. Its mandate is due to expire in mid-November. The JIM found that the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad was to blame for a chemical attack on the opposition-held town of Khan Sheikhoun that killed dozens of people in April, according to a report sent to the Security Council on Oct. 26. Two days earlier, Russia vetoed a renewal of the JIM mandate after it was unsuccessful in getting the Security Council to postpone the vote. U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said Russia wanted to discuss the Khan Sheikhoun report before the vote. Russia, whose air force and special forces have been supporting the Syrian army, says there is no evidence to show Damascus was responsible for the attack. It maintains that the chemicals that killed civilians belonged to rebels, not Assad’s government. [nL8N1N86I0] On Wednesday, the United States admonished Russia for its veto. [nL2N1N805Y] “Russia’s attempts to undermine and eliminate the JIM show a callous disregard for the suffering and loss of life caused by the use of chemical weapons and an utter lack of respect for international norms,” the White House said in a statement. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson by phone on Thursday it was unacceptable to politicize the work of chemical weapons inspectors in Syria, Russia’s foreign ministry said. [nL8N1MP0GI] A Russian draft resolution calls for a six-month extension of the inquiry, with the possibility of further extensions, and asks for investigators to collect environmental samples in connection with the Khan Sheikhoun probe, among other things. In their 14th report since 2011, U.N. investigators said in September they had documented 33 chemical weapons attacks to date. [nL8N1LN29P] Twenty-seven were by the Assad government, including seven between March 1 and July 7. Perpetrators had not been identified yet in six attacks, they said. The Assad government has repeatedly denied using chemical weapons. It said its strikes in Khan Sheikhoun hit a weapons depot belonging to rebel forces, an assertion “excluded” by U.N. Commission of Inquiry on Syria Chairman Paulo Pinheiro. That attack led U.S. President Donald Trump to launch the first U.S. air strikes on a Syrian air base. | 1 |
2,091 | Rubio campaign test: Can money bring U.S. Republicans happiness? | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican Marco Rubio, the failed U.S. presidential contender, is battling to hold on to his U.S. Senate seat from Florida in what is shaping up to be the costliest congressional contest of 2016. More than $33 million has been raised and over $24 million spent so far by both parties in the Florida race, according to the latest U.S. Federal Election Commission data. That high price tag testifies, in part, to Rubio’s success in building a national fundraising base as a presidential candidate, even though he was trounced in his own backyard by eventual nominee Donald Trump in the state’s Republican presidential nominating contest. It also underscores Republicans’ firm belief that if they cannot hold Rubio’s seat, they cannot hold the Senate. Rubio’s re-election bid, launched late in the game in June, is bolstered by the deep pockets of the Senate Leadership Fund. The group’s mission is to protect the Republican Senate majority in the Nov. 8 election. It is run by confidants of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. So far, the group has devoted more money to Florida than any other state, spending $3.4 million to attack Rubio’s Democratic opponent, U.S. Representative Patrick Murphy, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a watchdog group. The Republican fund is sitting on a mountain of cash - at least $40 million on hand for the closing weeks of Senate campaigns nationwide. That looks to be having an impact. Rubio led Murphy by an average of 5.7 percentage points on Wednesday in RealClear Politics’ basket of polls for Aug. 31 to Sept. 19. With that in view, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has decided to scale back its plans for television and internet advertisements for Murphy in Florida to $6 million from $10 million between now and Nov. 8, a DSCC official said. Even the remaining money is being held back until the final three weeks of the campaign, the official added. Instead, Democrats are redeploying into lower-cost media markets in North Carolina, Missouri and Indiana, according to the DSCC, which works to elect more Democrats to the Senate. Until June 22, when Rubio decided he wanted to return to the Senate despite a low attendance record in his first term, Democrats saw Florida as low-hanging fruit. That was because Republicans had fielded a roster of candidates with limited statewide appeal and money-raising ability. Rubio, hoping to remain a rising Republican star with an eye on a 2020 run for president, quickly cleared the field, knocking out his last Republican opponent, a wealthy political novice, and setting up his race against Murphy. As of Aug. 10, Rubio had raised $14.2 million and spent $6.3 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, citing Federal Election Commission figures. Murphy had raised $11.2 million and spent $7.8 million. Despite the money disadvantage, Murphy is by no means vanquished. A Sept. 16-19 poll by Monmouth University had Rubio leading by only 2 percentage points, and showed Murphy enjoying a 14-point lead in Rubio’s home base of South Florida. If the numbers improve further for Murphy, the DSCC could readjust and, like a race-track bettor, scurry to plunk down millions of new dollars in a renewed Florida push. Last week, a Democratic political action committee and the AFSCME labor union announced a $1.8 million anti-Rubio ad campaign as part of a $10 million ad plan. While money plays an outsized role, it is not everything in this freewheeling U.S. election season. For instance, the political fortunes of Republican presidential nominee Trump could benefit other Republicans, including Rubio. Trump has opened a 4-point lead against Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in Florida, according to the latest Reuters/Ipsos polling. In a Senate hallway interview, Rubio downplayed any Trump effect, even a positive one, saying: “I always feel like I need to win my own race.” Rubio has endorsed Trump, but clashed sharply with him when they were presidential rivals. U.S. Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi, who heads the National Republican Senatorial Committee emphasized the importance of Florida to Republicans’ hopes of keeping control of the Senate. Asked about Democrats refocusing resources from Florida to other states, Wicker said: “If they take their money out and put it someplace else, we’ll combat it there,” adding: “We are going to stay vigilant in the state of Florida.” | 1 |
2,092 | AWESOME LETTER TO OBAMA: Who is unfit to be president? | Did anyone else think it was the ultimate irony that Obama came out and declared Trump to be unfit to be president? Here s a great piece by Jack Cashill that is a letter from Trump to Obama regarding the comment: Please read and share because THIS is the Clinton dirty laundry list to send to your Trump doubters!Jack Cashill drafts letter from Trump to Obama about his candidate .Dear President Obama:It has come to my attention that you have deemed me, Donald Trump, unfit to be president of the United States.Yet here you are, championing Hillary Clinton, the most conspicuously corrupt aspirant to the presidency since Aaron Burr. And I m unfit?Your candidate, as you know, was called out by FBI Director James Comey before Congress for misleading the public about sending classified documents through email, using a single device to send them, returning classified documents to the State Department and deleting work-related emails. And I m unfit?This same candidate was called out by the Washington Post just this past Sunday for lying four Pinocchio s worth to Fox News Chris Wallace about Comey s comments. And I m unfit? Your candidate, as Comey strongly implied, would not be eligible for minimum security clearance were she not president. And I m unfit?In the week before the FBI cleared your candidate, your attorney general Comey s boss had a wildly inappropriate clandestine meeting with the candidate s husband. And I m unfit?Less than two weeks ago, WikiLeaks revealed that your candidate colluded with the DNC to rig the primary process against Bernie Sanders. And I m unfit?Your candidate lied to the families of those killed at Benghazi does it get any lower than that? telling them that that an online anti-Islam video provoked a mob to attack the U.S. mission in Benghazi. And I m unfit?To sell the lie, your candidate had the videomaker an American citizen imprisoned for a year. And I m unfit?As Peter Schweizer reported in his 2015 book, Clinton Cash, During Hillary s years of public service, the Clintons have conducted or facilitated hundreds of large transactions with foreign governments and individuals. Some of these transactions have put millions in their own pockets $136.5 million to be precise. And I m unfit?According to the Washington Post, the Clintons left the White House in 2001 with an unprecedented $190,027 worth of gifts received over the last eight years. After the Post revelation, the Clintons had to cough up $86,000 for items that were actually government property and returned $48,000 worth of furniture. And I m unfit?Leftist Christopher Hitchens said of the your candidate in his indispensable book, No One Left to Lie To, Like him, she is not just a liar but a lie; a phony construct of shreds and patches and hysterical, self-pitying demagogic improvisations. And I m unfit?In 1999, to facilitate your candidate s run for the U.S. Senate in New York, President Clinton sprung 16 unrepentant Puerto Rican terrorists. Resolutions condemning the president s action were passed with a vote of 95-2 in the Senate. And I m unfit?Says Linda Tripp of your candidate, Hillary was not only aware of Monica Lewinsky, she ensured that Monica was removed from the White House and in the end went from being a lack luster first lady with unimpressive approval numbers to wronged wife. Of course, Hillary claimed to have known nothing about the affair. And I m unfit?By the way, your candidate s husband was impeached for lying under oath and obstructing justice. And I m unfit?After the 1994 Democratic implosion, it was your candidate who called in Dick Morris to get her husband re-elected. To fund Morris TV campaigns, she helped orchestrate what Sen. Fred Thompson called the most corrupt political campaign in modern history. And I m unfit?According to the Thompson committee, your candidate and her co-conspirators took advantage of minority groups, pulled down all the barriers that would normally be in place to keep out illegal contributions, pressured policy makers, and left themselves open to strong suspicion that they were selling not only access to high-ranking officials, but policy as well. And I m unfit?To hoover up cash from corporate insiders, your candidate and her husband sold seats on foreign trade missions. In the process, they ruthlessly exploited the deeply compromised Commerce Secretary Ron Brown, the one African-American in the Cabinet. Although sick of being a mother-f -ing tour guide for Hillary Clinton, he went reluctantly to Croatia to cut a deal between the neo-fascists who ran the country and the Enron Corporation. Look it up. He never came back. And I m unfit?One major reason for the Democratic electoral collapse in 1994 was your candidate s mismanagement of a massive health care task force. Said the liberal New Yorker of the illegal decision to keep task force meetings secret, It is hard to believe that this decision did not emanate from Hillary Clinton it was in keeping with her natural bent. She trusted few, and secrecy was a means of maintaining control. And I m unfit?In a 1996 New York Times op-ed titled Blizzard of Lies, the usually restrained William Safire famously called your candidate a congenital liar for her involvement in the commodity trading scandal, the obstruction of justice in the investigation of Vince Foster s death, the Whitewater affair and two grubby in-house scandals known as Travelgate and Filegate. And I m unfit? We reached out to them, your candidate told 60 Minutes in 1992 of the women rumored to have dallied with or been assaulted by her husband. Among the women reached out to was Sally Perdue, who was told by a Clinton goon that if she talked to the media, He couldn t guarantee what would happen to my pretty little legs. And I m unfit? Hillary tried to silence me, Juanita Broaddrick wrote of your candidate. She had reason to keep Broaddrick quiet. Her husband had raped Broaddrick in a Little Rock hotel room. And I m unfit to be president, really?I may be seriously imperfect, Mr. President, but I have never compromised the nation s secrets, sent an innocent man to prison, or enabled a rapist.As to what gives you the right to question my fitness, that I will save for another day.Via: Conservative Treehouse | 0 |
2,093 | Senate Republicans ask Moore to withdraw as new accuser steps forward | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell led a chorus of establishment Republicans on Monday urging Roy Moore, the party’s Senate candidate in Alabama, to quit the race as a fifth woman came forward with allegations Moore had sexual contact with teenage girls decades ago. Beverly Young Nelson said Moore sexually assaulted her when she was 16 and he was a prosecuting attorney in his 30s. At a New York news conference, the tearful Nelson said Moore groped her, tried to pull her shirt off and shove her head in his lap, then warned that “no one will believe you” if she told anyone. “I was twisting and struggling and begging him to stop,” said Nelson, a waitress at an Alabama restaurant where Moore often ate when the incident occurred. “I had tears running down my face.” Moore, a Christian conservative and former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, has refused to withdraw from the race. His campaign released a statement denying “any sexual misconduct with anyone” and saying the new allegations were part of a “witch hunt.” At a news conference in Gallant, Alabama on Monday night, Moore told reporters that Nelson’s accusations are “absolutely false,” the Birmingham News reported. “I never did what she said I did,” the newspaper quoted Moore as saying. “I don’t even know the woman. I don’t know anything about her.” McConnell told reporters in his home state of Kentucky that party officials were considering whether a Republican write-in candidate could be found to challenge Moore in the Dec. 12 special election. “I think he should step aside,” said McConnell, who previously said Moore should leave the race if the allegations were true. “I believe the women.” Republican Senators Orrin Hatch, Susan Collins, Lindsey Graham, Todd Young and Cory Gardner joined McConnell in calling for Moore to drop out - a move that could open the door for Democrats to cut into Republicans’ narrow two-seat Senate majority. Gardner, the head of the Senate Republican campaign arm, said Moore was unfit to serve in the Senate. “If he refuses to withdraw and wins, the Senate should vote to expel him, because he does not meet the ethical and moral requirements of the United States Senate,” Gardner said in a statement. Senator John Cornyn, the Senate’s No. 2 Republican, withdrew his endorsement but said Alabama voters should make the final judgment on Moore. Another prominent conservative who had endorsed Moore, Senator Ted Cruz, said Moore should either clearly refute the allegations or if they are true, drop out. “I am not able to urge the people of Alabama to support his candidacy so long as these allegations remain unrefuted,” Cruz told reporters in the Capitol. Moore, 70, had been a heavy favorite to win the election against Democrat Doug Jones. He has denied the allegations first raised in a Washington Post story about his relationships with four women when they were teenagers, including a charge he initiated sexual contact with a 14-year-old girl when he was in his 30s. He said on Twitter that McConnell was the person who should step down. “He has failed conservatives and must be replaced,” Moore said. The state party and many other Alabama Republicans have not wavered in their support of Moore, who scored a decisive Republican primary victory in September over Luther Strange. Strange, who drew the support of President Donald Trump in the primary, had been appointed to fill the seat vacated by Jeff Sessions when he became U.S. attorney general earlier this year. The growing furor over Moore sets up a confrontation between establishment Republicans and Moore’s supporters in the party’s populist movement led by former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon. A Democratic win in Alabama would be a blow to Trump’s agenda and shift the political outlook for next year’s congressional elections, giving Democrats a stronger shot at recapturing control of the Senate. It is too late to remove Moore’s name from the ballot, but McConnell told reporters he was “looking at” potential write-in candidates who could mount a successful campaign. Asked if Strange might be a candidate again, he said: “We’ll see.” But Strange told reporters it was “highly unlikely” he would mount a write-in campaign. “Now it’s going to really be up to the people of our state to sort this out,” he said. A special-election victory had been a long shot for Democrats in Alabama, which has not elected a Democratic senator in a quarter century. Jones, a former federal prosecutor, was trailing by double digits in some opinion polls. Moore, who is prone to incendiary comments on social and cultural issues, has survived controversy before. He was twice forced out of his position as chief justice, once for refusing to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the courthouse and once for defying the U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage. He threatened over the weekend to sue the Post and said the allegations were a smear campaign by his political opponents. Reuters has been unable to independently confirm any of the allegations. While making the new allegations, Nelson showed reporters Moore’s signature in her high school yearbook. She said he had offered to give her a ride home one night, then pulled the car behind the restaurant and assaulted her. “I was terrified,” she said. “I thought he was going to rape me.” Nelson said she told her sister about the attack two years afterward, and eventually told her mother and husband. She said she backed Trump for president and was not coming forward because of politics but because she was inspired by the women who talked to the Post. | 1 |
2,094 | Trump Said He Could Easily End The Bloodshed In Chicago, A New DOJ Plan Doesn’t Even Mention It | Trump has repeatedly decried the gun violence that plagues the city of Chicago, along with other Republicans and NRA-types who claim that Chicago is proof that gun laws only serve to create more bloodshed. Yet, here is Jeff Sessions, creating a program to give more federal manpower to 12 cities to help them combat violent crime and Chicago isn t one of them.The 12 cities are:The absence of Chicago and another city with a huge violent crime problem, Baltimore, is a bit surprising. Earlier this year, Donald Trump compared Chicago to Afghanistan in terms of being a war zone, and threatened to send in the feds if Chicago officials were unable to stop the bloodshed. He also blasted the Chicago Police Department for not doing the job: Maybe they re not gonna have to be so politically correct. Maybe they re being overly political correct. Maybe there s something going on. But a DOJ report blistered the CPD over its use of excessive force and routine violations of the constitutional rights of residents. This is particularly true for Chicago s black and Latino residents. Furthermore, Chicago s mayor, Rahm Emannuel, has repeatedly asked for more help from the federal government to combat these problems.There s one worrying thing about this plan, too: Are DOJ officials going to work with these cities to develop broken-windows policing techniques? That doesn t work it just leads to a higher incarceration rate for ridiculously minor crimes. It also disproportionately targets the black community, making it an inherently racist policy.In the end, though, if Chicago is such a god-awful mess, and they want the help, then why wouldn t the DOJ put Chicago on this list? It s always possible that these 12 cities are testing grounds. However, it s also possible that they think they don t need to prioritize Chicago right now because they already sent 20 agents from the the ATF, and are considering reallocating federal prosecutors.A spokesman for the DOJ says that more cities will be added later in the year. The cities on this list will not receive more federal funding, per se, but they will receive agency experts and employees to work with their governments on developing strategies for how to best fight violent crime.Featured image via Scott Olson/Getty Images | 0 |
2,095 | BREAKING NEWS: President Trump Announces Major Policy Shift on Transgender People in the US Military | President Trump just tweeted out a new policy in the US military that was made after consultation with military experts and Generals:Trump made the announcement, which would represent a major shift in military policy, on Twitter. He said he had made the decision after consulting with my generals and military experts. After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military, Trump tweeted. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you | 0 |
2,096 | Senate approves measure to kill Obama-era contractor rule | (Reuters) - Republicans in the U.S. Senate passed a measure to eliminate an Obama administration rule that would require prospective federal contractors to report violations of more than a dozen U.S. labor and employment laws. On a 49-48 vote, the Senate endorsed a joint resolution under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to overturn the contractor disclosure rule. The U.S. House of Representatives approved it last month, so all that is left to kill the regulation is President Donald Trump’s signature on the resolution. The resolution targeting the contractor regulation, dubbed the “blacklisting rule” by critics, is a part of a larger Republican effort to use the CRA to rollback a swath of federal regulations finalized in the last seven months of the Obama administration. Trump has signed three CRA resolutions thus far, which eliminated an environmental rule for streams and wetlands, a measure enhancing background checks for mentally ill gun purchasers and a requirement that oil, gas and mining companies report payments to foreign governments. Republican lawmakers have introduced measures targeting more than 30 rules. The CRA is an efficient method to eliminate recently passed rules, as it is much faster than going through the full regulatory process and cannot be filibustered in the Senate. A CRA resolution also bars agencies from issuing “substantially similar” regulations in the future. The Senate voted on Monday to eliminate the Obama administration’s regulation issued last year calling for companies bidding on federal contracts valued at more than $500,000 to disclose violations of 14 U.S. labor and employment laws and their state equivalents, including those governing wage and hour, collective bargaining, discrimination, and safety and health. Associated Builders and Contractors and other trade groups’ sued to stop the contractor rule and a federal judge in Texas in October blocked most of it from taking effect. The U.S. Labor Department is appealing that ruling at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, but the legal challenge will be unnecessary once Trump signs the CRA resolution as expected. | 1 |
2,097 | Remember When Bernie Sanders Was Literally Slapped In The Face By The Establishment? (VIDEO) | During the 1988 Democratic Presidential Primaries, Rev. Jesse Jackson emerged as an outside viable contender for the Democratic Party nomination against establishment backed Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis. An ardent supporter of Rev. Jesse Jackson s presidential bid was Bernie Sanders, who was mayor of Burlington, Vermont at the time.During a Democratic Caucus in Burlington, Sanders gave a speech in support of Jackson while many Democrats in the room turned their backs as he spoke, and one woman actually slapped him in the face as Sanders walked off stage. Sanders helped Rev. Jackson win Vermont against Dukakis by one delegate in 1988. Although Dukakis would later win the Democratic presidential nomination, Rev. Jackson made it closer than any black person before to becoming president. Bernie Sanders was one of the few elected officials at the time to cross the color line and openly endorse Rev. Jackson over Mike Dukakis. His speech in support of Rev. Jackson had many parallels to his speeches along his own campaign trail, such as one of his signature sayings: enough is enough. Sanders also praised Rev. Jackson for bringing together disenfranchised voters, and focusing on issues such as wealth inequality and racial injustice. Jackson s 1988 campaign platform closely resembles Sanders current campaign platform. Dr. Cornel West, who has been campaigning on behalf of Senator Sanders for several months and worked for both of Rev. Jackson s presidential campaigns, likened Sanders as an insurgent on par with Jesse Jackson, but even more progressive for Sanders criticisms of Wall Street are more direct. Jesse Jackson is a serious candidate for the presidency. He was always serious; it was just that the political scientists and the other politicians who belittled his campaign, trivialized his efforts. and disdained his prospects. Despite the contempt and condescension of the media or perhaps because of it-Jackson went to the most remote and isolated grass roots in the American social landscape to find the strength for a campaign that has already begun to transform politics, wrote the editorial board of the publication, The Nation, in its 1988 endorsement of Jesse Jackson for president. For five years his distance from the funders, the managers, the mediators and the consultants who manipulate the Democratic Party and legitimize its candidates has allowed Jackson to do unimaginable things and say unspeakable words about race, about class, about equality and, indeed, about democracy. To an extent that may be unique in presidential elections in this century, he derives his power from the people. Nearly two decades later, not much has changed in that the issues brought to the national spotlight by Jesse Jackson have yet to be adequately addressed by the Democratic party in a meaningful way, and are rarely ever mentioned in the Republican Party at all.Bernie Sanders campaign provides hope that those inadequacies may be resolved if he wins. Galvanized by his demands for economic and social justice, hundreds of thousands of Americans have packed his rallies, and over 1 million small donors have helped his campaign shatter fund-raising records while breaking the stranglehold of corporate money, wrote the editorial board of The Nation in its 2016 endorsement of Sanders for president. Sanders s clarion call for fundamental reform single-payer healthcare, tuition-free college, a $15-an-hour minimum wage, the breaking up of the big banks, ensuring that the rich pay their fair share of taxes has inspired working people across the country. The relationship between Bernie Sanders and Rev. Jesse Jackson has started to become more public in response to criticisms from Hillary Clinton supporters that Sanders would somehow be less effective in fighting for civil rights and racial justice. Clinton s lead in South Carolina is dependent on maintaining her support with the black community, who make up about half of Democratic voters in the state, but that relationship was somewhat strained after her loss there in 2008 was cited by her husband, Bill Clinton, as due to Barack Obama being another black candidate like Jesse Jackson, who won the state in 2008.In an interview with the Hill, Rev. Jesse Jackson said he had no plans to endorse any Democratic presidential candidate, as he has a history of working with both Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. An endorsement would also likely have negative implications regarding support for his Rainbow/PUSH Coalition.Despite his neutrality, Jackson did defend Bernie Sanders from criticism over his civil rights record recently in an interview with the Daily Caller: Bernie was fighting back in Chicago not in the deep-south in affordable housing struggles in Chicago, Jackson said. The movement was so broad based. There were civil rights leaders in Chicago. Jackson referred to a smear tactic employed by journalists and media sensationalists to skew a response from civil rights hero, Congressman John Lewis (D-GA). Rep. Lewis responded to a reporter s inquiry that he never saw or met Bernie Sanders during the civil rights movement, but the response was taken out of context to infer Lewis suggested Bernie Sanders was not involved in the civil rights movement or was exaggerating his involvement. Having heard Rep. Lewis speak a few months ago and interviewing him in person afterwards, I knew an accusation or character attack of that nature from the congressman was highly unlikely. Congressman Lewis clarified the remarks were not meant to be taken as any sort of criticism or allegations. Featured image via Flickr | 0 |
2,098 | Hillary Puts Trump To Shame With Powerful Response To White Supremacist Riots (TWEETS) | After a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia ended in violence, Americans have been looking to Donald Trump to denounce the violence and condemn white supremacy. Unfortunately, the response of the disgraced President of the United States has been nothing but disappointing as he refuses to stand up against the dangerous beliefs that made this rally possible. Trump s weak response was simply: We ALL must be united & condemn all that hate stands for. There is no place for this kind of violence in America. Lets come together as one! America doesn t need to be told that it elected the wrong person. Most of Americans didn t even vote for this racist imbecile. The majority of the country voted for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, and most of us still believe that she should be in the White House. If it had been her in the Oval Office, this rally may not have even happened and her response to this emergency solidifies the fact that she should have been POTUS.In reaction to the horrifying violence and racist rally, Clinton publicly condemned white supremacy and expressed empathy for those affected by the hateful environment Trump and his supporters have created. Clinton tweeted: My heart is in Charlottesville today, and with everyone made to feel unsafe in their country. Like a true leader, Clinton called for unity against the violence and bigotry. Clinton continued: But the incitement of hatred that got us here is as real and condemnable as the white supremacists in our streets. Every minute we allow this to persist through tacit encouragement or inaction is a disgrace & corrosive to our values. Now is the time for leaders to be strong in their words & deliberate in their actions. Once again, Clinton surfaces as the leader that America truly needed. Unfortunately, we re stuck with a racist toddler.Featured image Chip Somodevilla and Justin Sullivan / Getty Images | 0 |
2,099 | wikileaks fends off cyber attack | by melissa dykes this has already been the craziest election in the history of the country with the most overt corruption and fraud the american | 0 |
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