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20,400 | Trump’s Personal Lawyer Just Made A Major Legal Move Preparing For Russia Investigation | Donald Trump s longtime personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, has hired legal counsel amidst an intensifying investigation into Russia s possible interference in the 2016 election. MSNBC s Katy Tur broke the story when she tweeted out that Stephen M. Ryan, a lawyer with McDermott, Will & Emery, will be advising Cohen during the investigation, which is being headed by former FBI director Robert Mueller. Mueller himself just hired 13 more lawyers for the probe.Exclusive: Trump personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, has hired his own counsel: Stephen Ryan, of McDermott, Will & Emery.- source w knowledge Katy Tur (@KatyTurNBC) June 16, 2017Tur revealed that Cohen will speak in front of the House Intelligence Committee on September 5th. Tur also recently reported that former Trump campaign communications advisor, Michael Caputo, was contacted by the FBI and subsequently asked to speak before the House Intelligence Committee on a voluntary basis. It should be noted that Cohen worked for a Russian media company supportive of Vladimir Putin in the 1990s.Inside the White House, it was revealed on Thursday that Vice President Mike Pence has also lawyered up with special legal counsel for the investigation. During a press conference in Miami, the Washington Post questioned Pence on his decision to hire a lawyer. He responded by saying, It s very routine. Very routine. Pence s comment is a prime example of the flippant nature with which the Trump administration responds to questions by citing alternative facts. It is normal for people to hire special counsel to help guide them through the intricacies of a complex legal process. However, it isn t normal for almost every top member of a branch of the federal government to be hiring legal counsel in order to mount a legal defense showing they didn t steal their way into their executive positions.Regardless of what the FBI s investigation into Trump and his corporate goon squad that now inhabits the White House yields, the Trump administration has already hung itself in the court of public opinion, according to Trump s approval ratings. Between this investigation and two (and counting) separate lawsuits, Trump will likely sooner or later be found guilty of something by a judicial court as well.Featured image via Win McNamee/Getty Images | 0 |
20,401 | This Is What Happened When A Black Man Offered Free Hugs At A Donald Trump Rally (VIDEO) | When Ken Nwadike, founder of Free Hugs Project, attended both a Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders rally in order to offer free hugs to attendees he inadvertently summed up the core difference between the two.In an effort to make America love again, Nwadike provided his free hugs at the Wisconsin rallies of both candidates. At the Trump rally, his offers were met with hostility, flagrant racism, and even threats of physical violence.One woman shouts at him: White is better! A man tells him: I don t want any drugs as if that could be the only thing on offer from a young black man in America.When one man tells Nwadike he hates him, Nwadike responds that the feeling is not mutual explaining that he has love in his heart for all people, even those who don t agree with him. The man responds: First of all there is no love in this world. Really? You have to wonder how he feels about his parents, his friends, his community no love? Really?Another woman yells: Are you for Trump? I will punch you if you are not! She pulls her arm back and balls her fist, in preparation to launch a genuine punch.The whole scene is very scared, very angry, very hateful people unwilling and unable to engage with affection, compassion, and understanding. Whipped into a despairing, disgusting mob by their candidate. It is sad, and hopeless.Things looks quite different at the Bernie Sanders rally. Nwadike can barely keep up with the demand for hugs. Men and women, boys and girls, all fly at him enthusiastically, keen to reach out and accept the love and affection of another human being. The attendees are visibly much more racially diverse, open, communicative and frankly, happy. The mood is joyful, hopeful, and there are smiles and welcomes going around like wildfire.The video serves as a window into two Americas:Featured image via screencapture | 0 |
20,402 | WHY TRUMP IS RIGHT To Recognize Jerusalem As Israel’s Capital | After it was announced that President Trump was seriously considering moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, he was roundly criticized by the anti-Trump media. Today, Democrats have announced they are drawing up the impeachment papers. Pope Francis appealed to President Trump to reconsider his decision so as not to offend anyone. In his appeal, Pope Francis said, Jerusalem is a unique city, sacred to Jews, Christians, and Muslims who venerate the holy places of their respective religions, and has a special vocation to peace. And yawn in Gaza, where the more things change, the more they stay the same, Palestinians burned the U.S. and Israeli flags.The media will try to make everyone believe that Palestinians loved us when Obama was President, even though there is no truth to that fantasy. (See image below)Daily Mail President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that America formally recognizes Jerusalem as Israel s capital city, changing decades of U.S. policy in a brief afternoon speech and casting the move as a bid to preserve, not derail, aspirations for regional peace.Appearing in the White House s Diplomatic Reception Room against an elaborate backdrop of Christmas decorations, He also said the United States embassy in Israel would, over time, be moved there from Tel Aviv.Israel is the only country where the United States has an embassy in a city that the host nation does not consider its capital. I have determined that it is time to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, Trump said. While previous presidents have made this a major campaign promise, they failed to deliver. Today I am delivering. When I came into office I promised to look at the world s challenges with open eyes and very fresh thinking, he said, leaning heavily on a mid-1990s federal law that demanded the embassy s relocation. We have declined to acknowledge any Israeli capital at all, Trump added. But today we finally acknowledge the obvious, that Jerusalem is Israel s capital. This is nothing more or less than a recognition of reality. It is also the right thing to do. It is something that has to be done. Matthew Continetti of the Washington Free Beacon seems to think so. Continetti wrote the best piece on Trump s bold decision to move the embassy that we have seen to date.Not only is President Trump s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and begin the process of moving the U.S. embassy there one of the boldest moves of his presidency. It is one of the boldest moves any U.S. president has made since the beginning of the Oslo peace process in 1993. That process collapsed at Camp David in 2000 when Yasir Arafat rejected President Clinton s offer of a Palestinian state. And the process has been moribund ever since, despite multiple attempts to restart it.That is why the warnings from Trump critics that his decision may wreck the peace process ring hollow. There is no peace process to wreck. The conflict is frozen. And the largest barriers to the resumption of negotiations are found not in U.S. or Israeli policy but in Palestinian autocracy, corruption, and incitement. Have the former Obama administration officials decrying Trump s announcement read a newspaper lately? From listening to them, you d think it would be all roses and ponies in the Middle East but for Trump. In fact, the region is engulfed in war, terrorism, poverty, and despotism; Israel faces threats in the north and south; its sworn enemy, Iran, is growing in influence and reach; and the delegitimization of the Jewish State proceeds apace in international organizations and on college campuses. I forget how the Obama administration advanced the cause of peace by pressuring Israel while rewarding the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world. Maybe someone will remind me.A similar form of doublethink is present in our discussions over Jerusalem. Every Israeli knows Jerusalem was, is, and will remain his capital. Every recent president has agreed with him. And the U.S. consensus has been bipartisan. The last four Democratic platforms have said the obvious: that Jerusalem is Israel s capital. The Senate voted 90-0 only six months ago urging the embassy be moved to the ancient city. Were we to take seriously neither these platforms nor that vote? Was it all virtue-signaling, a bunch of empty gestures in the kabuki theater of U.S. diplomacy?It is a sign of the disingenuousness of American foreign policy that it required someone from outside this system to behave as if words have meaning. President Trump has no background in or admiration for the routines, manners, and norms of the U.S. foreign service, especially that part of it which specializes in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This has enabled him to state unequivocally the fact others would prefer to avoid: Jerusalem is Israel s capital, full stop. His transactional nature also brought him to this fateful recognition. In March 2016, at the AIPAC policy conference, he pledged that We will move the American embassy to the eternal capital of the Jewish people, Jerusalem. His remarks today make clear his intention to fulfill that promise and to cement his support within the pro-Israel community.I wonder about the journalists and flacks and politicians criticizing this literal reading of U.S. law as disruptive. Have they not paid attention to this man? Donald Trump s purpose in office is to disrupt if not overturn the patterns of governance and ideological consensus that have dominated the U.S. capital for decades. In this sense, his Jerusalem policy is his presidency in microcosm. He is acting on a common sense appraisal of the world and satisfying the wishes of his supporters without regard to global or domestic elite opinion. What Trump knows more than the art of the deal is the art of the bluff and how to call one. By keeping his campaign promise today, he has called the bluff of everyone who thought the United States could have its cake and eat it too on the question of Israel s capital. And by moving our embassy to Jerusalem, the United States will acknowledge Israel s right to determine its own capital city. That is not something to condemn or fear. It is something to be proud of. | 0 |
20,403 | Trump Is Trying To Make It Illegal For Groups Of People He’s Screwed To Sue Him | While it s sometimes difficult to keep up with all the legal hot water Donald Trump is in, one lawsuit predates even his Russian troubles and now Trump wants to put an end to lawsuits like it.For years, Trump peddled his supposed real estate expertise in a scheme called Trump University, which is not a university and it s really not Trump. In the end, 6,000 people sued Trump in a class action lawsuit. They claim that the promised Donald Trump investment techniques were mostly stuff that you could find on the Internet, some of which was illegal in some of the states where the seminars took place, she said. They say that the promised mentoring was worthless or nonexistent, that the instructors were unqualified and that they were definitely not handpicked by Donald Trump, as he claimed. And transcripts of Donald Trump s deposition confirm that he was relatively unengaged with what went on in Trump University. Source: NPRThey won $25 million and now, Trump wants to put an end to class action lawsuits altogether, which would free corporations to screw their customers with very little accountability.While the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a new rule that would ban mandatory arbitration clauses, and would instead allow consumers to sue banks when they are wronged, the White House came out with a statement saying that when consumers sue, it s frivolous. If allowed to take effect, the CFPB s harmful rule would benefit trial lawyers by increasing frivolous class-action lawsuits; harm consumers by denying them the full benefits and efficiencies of arbitration; and hurt financial institutions by increasing litigation expenses and compliance costs (particularly for community and mid-sized institutions), the White House said in a statement.Source: The WeekMandatory arbitration, while it might sound efficient, is rarely customer friendly. Most arbitrators are paid by the institution and in most cases, what they say is legally binding. Most of the time, the arbitrators rule in favor of the institution.In a sample of 19,300 cases, arbitrators ruled in favor of consumers 5 percent of the time. Meanwhile, arbitration firms used by companies such as MasterCard, Visa, Discover Financial Services and American Express Co. won 95 percent of the disputes, the study showed.Source: Seattle PIFrivolous, like when Donald Trump sued a man for daring to be born with the name Donald Trump, or when he sued a Miss USA contestant, or when he sued the Chicago Tribune for doubting Trump s Chicago building would eclipse the then Sears (and now Willis) Tower.Altogether, Trump has been involved in more than 3,500 lawsuits, but despite the fact that our taxpayers pay for courts, he wants to take the option to use them away from us, unless we can afford pricey attorneys.Class action lawsuits are democratic; they give the people a voice. In Trump s and in Republicans world, though, consumer rights are inconvenient for profits. We should just shut up and when a bank-salaried arbitrator tells us we need to take it up the you-know-what, we d better take it up the you-know-what.Featured image via Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images | 0 |
20,404 | Catalan leader presses on with banned vote on split from Spain | MADRID/BARCELONA (Reuters) - The Catalan regional leader on Thursday said he would press on with an Oct. 1 referendum on a split from Spain, flouting a court ban, as tens of thousands gathered for a second day on the streets of Barcelona demanding the right to vote. Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont said he had contingency plans in place to ensure the vote would go ahead, directly defying Madrid and pushing the country closer to political crisis. Spain s Constitutional Court banned the vote earlier this month after Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said it violated Spain s 1978 constitution, which states the country is indivisible. Most opposition parties are also against the vote. All the power of the Spanish state is set up to prevent Catalans voting, Puigdemont said in a televised address. We will do it because we have contingency plans in place to ensure it happens, but above all because it has the support of the immense majority of the population, who are sick of the arrogance and abuse of the People s Party government. On Thursday, tens of thousands gathered outside the seat of Catalonia s top court in Barcelona, singing and banging drums, to protest the arrests of senior officials in police raids on regional government offices on Wednesday. This is a step back for democracy, said one of them, 62-year-old pensioner Enric Farro. This is the kind of thing that happened years ago - it shouldn t be happening now. State police arrested Catalonia s junior economy minister, Josep Maria Jove, on Wednesday in an unprecedented raid of regional government offices. Acting on court orders, police have also raided printers, newspaper offices and private delivery companies in a search for campaign literature, instruction manuals for manning voting stations and ballot boxes. Polls show about 40 percent of Catalans support independence for the wealthy northeastern region and a majority want a referendum on the issue. Puigdemont has said there is no minimum turnout for the vote and he will declare independence within 48 hours of a yes result. A central government s spokesman said protests in Catalonia were organized by a small group and did not represent the general feeling of the people. In those demonstrations, you see the people who go, but you don t see the people who don t go, who are way more and are at home because they don t like what s happening, Inigo Mendez de Vigo said. Mendez de Vigo also said an offer for dialogue from Madrid remained on the table. Repeated attempts to open negotiations between the two camps over issues such as taxes and infrastructure investment have failed over the past five years. Rajoy said on Wednesday the government s actions in Catalonia were the result of legal rulings and were to ensure the rule of law. The prime minister called on Catalan leaders to cancel the vote. Hundreds of National Police and Guardia Civil reinforcements have been brought into Barcelona and are being billeted in two ferries rented by the Spanish government and moored in the harbor. But the central government must tread a fine line in enforcing the law in the region without seeming heavy-handed. The stand-off between Catalonia and the central government resonates beyond Spain. The country s EU partners publicly support Rajoy but worry that his hardline tactics might backfire . In Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, who heads the pro-independence devolved government, said she hoped the Catalan and Spanish governments could hold talks to resolve the situation. In a referendum in 2014, Scots voted to remain within the United Kingdom. | 1 |
20,405 | DOJ Tells Cops To Go Ahead And Start Stealing Money And TVs From The Public Again | If you don t know what civil asset forfeiture is, the short answer is: The police get to take your money and property and keep it for themselves even if you didn t commit, or were even charged with, a crime. If you want the long answer, watch John Oliver s definitive take on it here. Needless to say, introducing a profit motive to policing is a terrible idea, so a lot of people were understandably happy when the federal version of the program was suspended last year.But that s all done with now:The Justice Department today announced that it is resuming a controversial practice that allows local police departments to funnel a large portion of assets seized from citizens into their own coffers under federal law.The equitable-sharing program gives police the option of prosecuting asset forfeiture cases under federal instead of state law. The Justice Department had suspended payments under this program back in December, due to budget cuts included in last year s spending bill.This program allows the police to walk into your house with little to no justification, take your giant flatscreen TV and keep it to watch football games back at the station. Just to be clear, the police have admitted that they like to target people they KNOW will have nice stuff to take. They go after nice cars, expensive computers, etc. because they get to keep it and use it knowing there s almost no chance they ll ever have to give it back.Does that sound constitutional in any way, shape or form?Even worse, as the law enforcement community tumbles to the fact that they can rob the public blind, they ve gone on a spree that puts actual criminals to shame:Asset forfeiture is fast growing in 2014, for instance, federal authorities seized over $5 billion in assets. That s more than the amount of money lost in every single burglary that year.And the police wonder WHY they ve lost the public s trust? Seriously?Now that the program has resumed, they re going to want to make up for lost time so expect to hear an increasing number of horror stories in the news. Also look for stories of the police using asset forfeiture as retaliation against all those pesky Black Lives Matter protesters that keep making them look bad by filming the police unnecessarily beating/killing unarmed black people. Because why stop at abusing your power for personal gain when you can get some payback at the same time? Murika.Featured image via memes.com | 0 |
20,406 | Munich prosecutors say nearing end of Austrian Eurofighter probe | VIENNA (Reuters) - Munich prosecutors said on Friday they expect to complete their investigations into Airbus s $2 billion sale in 2003 of Eurofighter combat jets to Austria. The deal has been the subject of investigation by Austrian and German prosecutors for years. Our investigation is about to come to an end. We aim to complete the proceeding soon, a spokeswoman for Munich prosecutors said, but declined to comment on a report by German weekly Der Spiegel that said the authority would file charges soon. The Munich authority is focusing on whether money supposedly spent on so-called offset deals, which are common in large arms deals to provide business for local firms, was instead used to influence decision-makers on the main sale. Munich prosecutors are investigating 16 people on suspicion of breach of trust, according to the spokeswoman. Airbus, which has repeatedly denied all allegations, said when asked for comment: Neither the prosecutors investigations in Munich and Vienna nor our own extensive investigations have led to evidence suggesting bribery in connection with the sale of Eurofighter jets to Austria. Vienna prosecutors are pursuing a separate investigation into allegations of fraud against Airbus and the Eurofighter industrial consortium based on complaints from the Austrian defense ministry, which is seeking up to 1.1 billion euros ($1.3 billion) in compensation. Last month Airbus again denied any wrongdoing in a submission to the Austrian prosecutors and threatened the country s defense minister with legal action. The Munich prosecutors are investigating where millions of euros ended up which Airbus - EADS at the time - paid to a now defunct company between 2005 and 2010, the spokeswoman said. The Austrian proceedings continue independently of the German investigation, a Vienna prosecutor s spokesman said, adding that he could not say when a decision might be taken on whether to file charges. An Austrian parliamentary inquiry into the Eurofighter deal found no evidence of bribery or that Airbus and its partners illegally influenced Austrian politicians. | 1 |
20,407 | The Internet HILARIOUSLY Mocks Trump With #TinyTrump Memes, Trump Hissy Fit In 3..2..1.. (IMAGES) | Donald Trump has been acting like nothing more than a child ever since he began campaigning for the presidency.And he has gotten much worse since taking over the White House.Trump constantly whines about the media and brags about himself in an effort to make it sound like he knows what is doing and that anyone who criticizes him is wrong.Since Trump acts like child, the Internet decided to treat him like one by creating the #TinyTrump meme.Now Trump s body size will match his hand size as each photo shows a much smaller Trump sitting or standing next to a full size President Obama or Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.The memes are hilarious and are the perfect way to piss off Trump and his supporters.Reddit users are photoshopping Trump to be about 2 feet tall, and it s hilarious #Trump #TinyTrump https://t.co/r8eUkaCqps pic.twitter.com/7rnXCvGFbk Effeswein (@fswein) February 17, 2017So @realDonaldTrump wants #tinyTrump off the Internet ..ooopsssss pic.twitter.com/Hxao6OSkC8 Zola25 (@295415c) February 18, 2017Can we please RT this? #tinyTrump #impeachtrump pic.twitter.com/MEOsnFJnsf Tom Corswell (@Tom_Corswell) February 18, 2017tiny trump #tinyTrump pic.twitter.com/8A0YmCud65 ROSIE (@Rosie) February 18, 2017Making the Internet great again, #TinyTrump ??? pic.twitter.com/ld57y8r4zE Jason Oickle (@JasonOickle) February 18, 2017My favourite #tinytrump so far pic.twitter.com/LN8ovmkaaD hoverscout (@hoverscout) February 18, 2017I think #tinyTrump is my favorite thing so far this year. pic.twitter.com/Fd9wQSlsXB MJ Brady (@BuffaloMJ) February 17, 2017another #tinytrump i found: pic.twitter.com/GHLKGUdDVW Judge Mental (@DJNoRequest) February 17, 2017Oh, this one got me good for some reason. #tinytrump pic.twitter.com/EUYTo7Tmlp Ignatius, Really. (@phlubup) February 18, 2017#TinyTrump is the real Enemy of the American People. #Trump pic.twitter.com/f7jRGyX4vn Will Brown (@Will_The_Tiger) February 18, 2017#TinyTrump is what twitter has needed pic.twitter.com/VeVqQOt0Sx The New Left ? (@RememberObama) February 18, 2017Donald Trump is sure to be mighty pissed off when he sees these photos. He is obsessed with the size of his hands and he is incredibly thin-skinned and sensitive about it. So seeing himself this small will definitely bruise his fragile ego.Featured image via Twitter | 0 |
20,408 | Trump says union head who accused him of lying has 'done a terrible job' | NEW YORK (Reuters) - Donald Trump clashed on Wednesday with a union official who accused the president-elect of lying about the number of jobs saved in a deal to keep air conditioner maker Carrier from moving some jobs from Indiana to Mexico. Chuck Jones, president of United Steelworkers Local 1999, which represents workers at United Technologies Corp’s Carrier plant in Indianapolis, in an interview on CNN criticized Trump for at least the second time in two days over the deal. Trump, in a Twitter post on Wednesday, offered a sharp reply: “Chuck Jones, who is President of United Steelworkers Local 1999, has done a terrible job representing workers. No wonder companies flee country!” On Tuesday, Jones told The Washington Post that when Trump spoke at the Carrier factory last week, “He got up there and, for whatever reason, lied his ass off.” Indiana state officials have agreed to give Carrier $7 million in tax breaks to encourage it to keep about 1,100 jobs in the state, although about 300 of the jobs are in the company’s headquarters and were not scheduled to go to Mexico. Only 800 of the positions are union factory jobs, and Carrier still plans to send an estimated 1,300 jobs to Mexico. Some employees are disappointed, Jones said on CNN on Wednesday. “We had a lot of our members, when the word was coming out of 1,100, they thought that they would have a job,” he said. In more remarks on CNN later on Wednesday, Jones responded to Trump’s Twitter post. “That’s pretty low-down, low life,” he said. “He doesn’t like to be challenged, and I challenged him.” Trump, who made tough talk on trade a centerpiece of his election campaign, had vowed to impose hefty tariffs if Carrier did not reverse course on shifting jobs to Mexico. Trump posted another tweet after Jones’ later remarks on CNN. “If United Steelworkers 1999 was any good, they would have kept those jobs in Indiana,” Trump wrote. | 1 |
20,409 | Czech election winner Babis calls minority government 'unrealistic' | LANY, Czech Republic (Reuters) - Czech billionaire Andrej Babis, the runaway winner of last weekend s parliamentary election, said on Monday he wanted to form a governing coalition with a stable partner, and a minority government was an unrealistic plan. Babis s search for government partners is running into trouble. He faces fraud charges - which he denies - that have led other parties to rule out working with him, even though his ANO party got 29.6 percent of the vote, nearly triple its closest competitor. The anti-establishment party scored at polls with pledges to clean up corruption and bring a businessman s touch to governance, winning over voters who shunned mainstream parties. Babis s popularity has grown during his time in the current center-left government, which has been marked by fast economic growth, a balanced budget, falling unemployment and rising wages. Babis said after talks with President Milos Zeman at a presidential chateau on Monday that the president would ask him next week to begin leading talks on forming a new cabinet. Traditionally, the president asks the leader of the winning party to lead talks before formally appointing a prime minister. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker sent a congratulatory letter to Babis, saying that the new government should keep in mind the European Union s common values. I wish you all the best for the challenge ahead in terms of forming a stable government that will be able to position the Czech Republic as an important participant in the efforts to make the European Union more united, stronger and more democratic on the basis of our common values, he said. Babis told reporters he preferred having as few parties as possible in the next government. A single-color government is not realistic ... We want to negotiate a coalition government, Babis told reporters. We of course prefer a stable partner in government for the whole term. ANO will control 78 seats in the 200-member lower house. Babis said a link with the election runner-up, the center-right Civic Democrat party, made sense based on seats in the lower house - together, the two would have a majority. The party, though, has so far refused to cooperate. In other options, more partners would be needed. Babis s current partners, the leftist Social Democrats of Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka and the centrist Christian Democrats, have rejected a government with ANO unless it pledges Babis will not be part of it. Babis said he did not want a government that would include Communists and the anti-EU, anti-immigration SPD party, which made surprisingly a strong showing in the election. His position against a minority government also seemed to rule out seeking their support in a less formal arrangement. Police are looking at whether Babis, the country s second richest person, hid ownership of a convention center to receive a 2 million-euro EU subsidy in 2008. He has said the investigation was part of efforts to kick him out of politics. Opponents see Babis, worth an estimated $4 billion, as a danger to democracy, fearing his business and media power could pose conflicts of interest. | 1 |
20,410 | Story Of Severely Disabled Man And His Mom Shows Just How Cruel The GOP ‘Healthcare’ Bill Really Is | By now, everyone has seen the monstrosity that is the GOP Senate s so-called healthcare bill. At its core, it really is just a huge tax cut for the rich at the expense of the healthcare of poor, elderly, sick, and disabled Americans. We have all watched how disabled members of ADAPT, a decades-old disability rights organization that is largely responsible for the modern day Americans With Disabilities Act, were dragged bodily from their wheelchairs and other medical devices from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell s (R-KY) office, all for exercising their First Amendment rights to protest the inhumane stripping of their life-saving care.We ve been talking about the political price of all of this for years. The GOP is in power, and they are determined to do what they have been wanting to do for the last seven years, which is take the healthcare President Barack Obama gave the nation away. They want to repeal the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. However, what we haven t been talking about is the real effects of all of this on real people.Mike Phillips appeared on MSNBC s The Last Word with Lawrence O Donnell, with Ari Melber sitting in for Lawrence, on Friday night. Mike had a pre-typed statement; you see, he cannot move or speak, but he can move his fingers long enough to communicate via a computer. It takes a very long time, though, and thus his statement was pre-written. His mother, Karen, takes care of him full time. He also has a personal caregiver. Many of these services are provided through Medicaid, which the cruel GOP massive tax cut for rich people healthcare bill cuts.If this bill becomes law, Mike and those like him and others living with all kinds of disabilities will be relegated to substandard nursing homes or institutions. Mike s mother explained that there is no facility in Florida, where they live, that is equipped to deal with Mike s needs. Therefore, not only would Mike be ripped from his home and loved ones, he d have to be shipped away to some institution for people with severe disabilities in another state, where his family would either have to relocate, or he d be surrounded by strangers, completely helpless and unable to speak out if he is being neglected or mistreated.One might ask the same question, Karen, Mike s mother asks in the video you are about to watch how could this country treat its citizens this way? How could they harm and drag people from wheelchairs for standing up for their rights? How can they take healthcare from the most vulnerable among us?I ll tell you how. It s because Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell exist and they are in charge, that s how. Paul Ryan admitted that he has been dreaming of ripping Medicaid to shreds since he was at college keggers, despite the fact that he used Social Security to get through college after his father died. He might have a pathological hatred of social programs now, but he wouldn t be where he is today without them. Mitch McConnell had polio as a child and grew up dirt poor. While he didn t get government care, he still recovered due to the kindness of strangers at a facility built by Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In other words, without help, McConnell would be poor, disabled, and likely in some kind of facility. However, thanks to this outside help. he somehow made it, and has spent his entire career outrunning his past as a poor kid with a disability. He s still running, as his number one mission in life is to deny the type of kind, compassionate care he received in his hour of need to those in similar situations today. These two men don t care who they hurt along the way they just want to prove that who they are now has nothing to do with how they grew up.In other words, the two most powerful men in America are also the most dangerous to the most vulnerable Americans. They are out to prove that folks who didn t or couldn t pull themselves up by their bootstraps, or those who they believe are not properly contributing don t deserve to live and eat like the rest of us.Think the GOP isn t heartless? Watch the video below for your proof. Thank you, Mike and Karen, for sharing your story. Without further ado, here you are:Featured image via video screen capture | 0 |
20,411 | Republican Panics On Live TV, Can’t Say Trump Is Capable Of Handling North Korea (VIDEO) | Donald Trump s credibility and power has become such a joke that not even members of his own party have any faith in him to deal with the current issues that America is facing.On Sunday, Republican Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) unintentionally showed everyone just how little the GOP believes in Trump when he couldn t force himself to say that Trump could handle the current nuclear crisis the United States is facing with North Korea. In an interview with CNN s Dana Bash, Flake was put on the spot about how capable Trump is (and isn t). Bash asked Flake: Senator, there are a lot of people waking up this morning in this country very concerned about what they re hearing from North Korea. Do you share Clapper s concern, not just about North Korea, but with the president s ability to respond? Flake couldn t give a straight answer. He said: Well, I I do have good confidence in our national security team and those who are advising the president. And the president does not have experience in this in this kind of situation, but few presidents do when they come into office. And I m confident that the people around the president are giving him good advice, and I believe that he will follow it. I sure hope he does. Obviously, you like a leader that s measured and sober and consistent. Our allies want to hear that. I think our adversaries need to hear that. But we have got a good team around the president. Bash was quick to put Flake on the spot and point out that he hadn t actually said that Trump could handle this matter. Bash pressed, Senator, you talked there about the president s team, but not about the president himself. Are you concerned about the president himself, as James Clapper is? Flake continued to stumble through this interview: Well, like I said, no president comes in prepared with regard to foreign policy experience. That s why you have a good team around them. I have had my concerns, I think everyone has, at some of the statements that have been made by the president with regard to NATO and other areas in foreign policy. Like I said, I think we we want somebody who is who is measured and sober and consistent and conservative in this regard. But he has a good team around him, and I have confidence in them. This is absolutely humiliating for Trump. Not only was his Defense Secretary, James Mattis, sent out earlier today to deliver a public statement on North Korea in his place, but now a member of his own party practically said Trump isn t capable of handling North Korea. Flake refused to support Trump and say he was a competent president, and instead opted to talk about the experts surrounding him.You can watch Flake humiliate Trump below:Featured image via screenshot | 0 |
20,412 | North Korean foreign minister heads to Cuba | HAVANA (Reuters) - North Korea s foreign minister will arrive in Cuba on Monday, in search of support amid unprecedented pressure from the United States and the international community to cease its nuclear weapons and missile programs. The Cuban foreign ministry, in a brief note on its web page, said Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho would meet with his Cuban counterpart Bruno Rodriguez, among other unspecified activities. North Korea is pursuing nuclear weapon and missile programs in defiance of U.N. Security Council sanctions and has made no secret of its plans to develop a missile capable of hitting the U.S. mainland. It has fired two missiles over Japan. Cuba and North Korea have maintained warm political relations since 1960, despite Havana s often-stated opposition to nuclear weapons. President Donald Trump has also increased pressure on Cuba since taking office, rolling back a fragile detente begun by predecessor Barack Obama and returning to the hostile rhetoric of the Cold War. The visit provides an opportunity for North Korea to demonstrate, just 90 miles from the United States, that it is not completely isolated, and for Cuba that it will not buckle under U.S. pressure. At the same time, diplomats said Cuba was one of the few countries that might be able to convince North Korea to move away from the current showdown with the United States that threatens war. We often ask the Cubans if they can talk to them, an Asian diplomat said. The two Communist-run countries are the last in the world to maintain Soviet-style command economies, though under President Raul Castro, the Caribbean nation has taken some small steps toward the more market-oriented communism of China and Vietnam. Cuba maintains an embassy in North Korea, but publicly trades almost exclusively with the South. Last year, trade with the latter was $67 million and with the North just $9 million, according to the Cuban government. However, in 2013, Panama discovered a load of Soviet vintage weapons hidden under 10,000 tonnes of Cuban sugar on a North Korean vessel, in violation of U.N. sanctions and appearing to confirm suspicions that the two countries worked together to circumvent them. Cuba claimed the weapons were going to North Korea for repairs and were to be sent back. | 1 |
20,413 | Nigerian police kill one, arrest two suspects in British kidnapping | ONITSHA, Nigeria (Reuters) - Police in Nigeria s southern Delta state said they killed one suspect and arrested two others accused of involvement in the kidnapping last month of four Britons. Three of the British hostages, who were taken by gunmen on Oct. 13, were released earlier this week after negotiations, but a fourth, Ian Squire was killed. Delta state police spokesman Andrew Aniamaka said officers arrested two suspects and killed a third after he opened fire, wounding two officers. Aniamaka said two other suspects who were arrested previously led police to the three men. Kidnapping for ransom is common in parts of Nigeria, including the Delta region that produces the bulk of the country s crude oil, but is mired in poverty and plagued by criminal and militant activity. | 1 |
20,414 | BREAKING: MUSLIM OPENS FIRE ON JOURNALISTS [Video] | Religion of peace h/t Weasel Zippers | 0 |
20,415 | Republicans sue State Department for Clinton emails | (Reuters) - The Republican National Committee filed two lawsuits on Wednesday seeking to obtain emails related to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s tenure as U.S. secretary of state. Clinton, front-runner to be her party’s candidate in November’s general election, has faced questions about her emails since it emerged a year ago that she used a private email account and a private server during her time in the post from 2009-2013. Clinton has apologized for the email arrangement, which is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, but has said she did nothing wrong and believes the government will vindicate her. The RNC said it filed the lawsuits after the State Department failed to respond in a timely manner to a Freedom of Information Act request submitted in December. It sought the information to ensure the public has information to decide if Clinton is “fit to serve” as president, the RNC said in a statement. The first lawsuit seeks emails, BlackBerry Messenger or text messages between then-Secretary of State Clinton and several key senior aides, including her chief of staff, Cheryl Mills, and director of policy planning, Jake Sullivan. The second lawsuit seeks emails and other electronic exchanges between nearly a dozen State Department officials and any Clinton associate using one of more than a dozen different internet domain names. It covers the period between Feb. 1, 2013, when Clinton left the job, and Dec. 4, 2015. The request includes any emails to the State Department officials from Clinton’s campaign website, HillaryClinton.com, or the website of former President Bill Clinton’s foundation, ClintonFoundation.org. The suit also targets emails from domains like MediaMatters.org, a liberal non-profit group that seeks to counter what it believes is misleading conservative information in the U.S. media. This article was funded in part by SAP. It was independently created by the Reuters editorial staff. SAP had no editorial involvement in its creation or production. | 1 |
20,416 | Trump HUMILIATES Republicans In Latest Hissy Fit After Siding With Democrats On Debt Ceiling | Donald Trump sure knows how to add insult to injury.Republicans in Congress must be seriously regretting their decision to endorse Trump now after they were totally humiliated on Thursday at the White House.During a meeting inside the Oval Office to discuss debt ceiling proposals, Trump stunned Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell by taking a deal offered by the Democrats which increases the debt ceiling for three months and provides Texas with Hurricane Harvey relief with no strings attached. Republicans were hoping for an 18 month increase and wanted to hold hurricane relief hostage in order to get concessions from the Democrats on other issues.But Trump pulled the rug out from under them because he knows that Republicans are incapable of governing even with majority control of the House and Senate.And that s why Trump kicked Republicans while they were down on Friday morning, suggesting he took the Democrats offer because of Republican failures to pass legislation. He then whined about the filibuster and asked Republicans to work on tax reform and get it done before the end of the month.Republicans, sorry, but I ve been hearing about Repeal & Replace for 7 years, didn t happen! Even worse, the Senate Filibuster Rule will . Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 8, 2017 never allow the Republicans to pass even great legislation. 8 Dems control will rarely get 60 (vs. 51) votes. It is a Repub Death Wish! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 8, 2017Republicans must start the Tax Reform/Tax Cut legislation ASAP. Don t wait until the end of September. Needed now more than ever. Hurry! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 8, 2017Republicans are not going to get tax reform done by the end of the month. They have even passed the debt ceiling bill with Hurricane Harvey relief yet. The GOP is a fractured party right now, the majority of whom are controlled by an extremist base.Trump would be better off working with the Democrats. He d not only get things done, he would be able to sign legislation that is far better for the country.Featured Image: Alex Wong/Getty Images | 0 |
20,417 | Fractured Republicans come together in face of Trump triumph | WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - One immediate consequence of Donald Trump’s stunning victory in the U.S. presidential race is that the identity crisis that convulsed the Republican Party during his tumultuous candidacy has been resolved. It’s Trump’s party now, for better or worse. Although having never before held public office, the businessman and former reality TV star vanquished 16 other Republican candidates to win the nomination and go on to defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton, but established Republicans challenged his commitment to party tenets and organized against him. Trump’s political ascent encountered fierce opposition from some in the party’s establishment wing that includes former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and Ohio Governor John Kasich and from others in its social-conservative faction, such as U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas. All of them criticized Trump at times for straying from orthodox Republican positions on such issues as trade, his temperament or his lack of governing experience. But on Wednesday, all of that seemed forgotten and forgiven, at least for the moment, as Trump, the surprise winner in a 17-month-long election campaign, prepared to take power with the backing of Republican majorities in both chambers of Congress and the promise of an aggressive conservative agenda. “The American people have spoken and it’s time to come together,” Kasich tweeted on Wednesday after he scrapped plans for a speech in Washington later this week that was intended to pave a new direction for the party after an expected Trump loss. Bush said he would “pray” for Trump. Cruz termed Trump’s win “an amazing victory for the American worker.” Paul Ryan, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives who had drawn the ire of Trump supporters by refusing to campaign for him, praised Trump on Wednesday and said that voters had delivered Trump a “mandate” to pursue his agenda, having won the electoral vote that counts while Clinton likely won the popular vote. Had Trump lost, both Ryan and Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, were expected to face challenges to their jobs. Now, having protected his House majority, Ryan will be Trump’s top legislative ally. If, as many expect, Priebus is tapped by Trump to join his administration, Trump will be able to replace him with a hand-picked successor, thus cementing his grip on the party’s apparatus. Republican donors who did not support Trump, too, were coming around. “Nothing unifies like these decisive wins, and nothing unifies like the power of having the House, the Senate and the White House,” said an adviser to a leading donor. Representative Chris Collins, who was an early Trump supporter, said without the opposition of President Barack Obama, a Democrat, many divisions within the Republican Party would dissipate. “The big difference is we now have complete Republican control,” Collins told Reuters. “We’re all on the same page give or take 10 percent, which is nuances more than anything.” Trump adopted much of the “Better Way” domestic policy agenda Ryan has painstakingly put together in over the last few years, notably revising his tax plan to bring it roughly in line with House Republicans’ proposal after initially floating much more drastic reform. Trump this year proposed cutting the top individual income tax rate to 33 percent from its current 39.6 percent. He had initially said he would drop that rate down to 25 percent but revised his proposal after tax experts said it would balloon government deficits. While Trump has offered a bare-bones outline of his replacement plan for Obama’s signature national healthcare law known as Obamacare, advisers told Reuters he would draw heavily on the House version. At a news conference on Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell vowed that Congress under Trump would move quickly to repeal Obamacare. It remains to be seen whether House Republicans view Trump’s mandate as extending to other, prominent campaign promises. Trump staked much of his candidacy on opposing major trade deals, while Republicans have generally favored free trade. Trump promised repeatedly not to touch Medicare and Social Security federal retirement benefits, asserting that Clinton would slash those programs even though she had not proposed to do so. Most mainstream Republicans believe revamping Medicare and Social Security is critical to curbing federal spending. Trump vowed to repeal the Dodd-Frank financial reform law. During the campaign he met with House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling but never endorsed Hensarling’s proposed bank regulation legislation and instead called for a return to the 1930s Glass-Steagall law separating commercial and investment banking. Representative Warren Davidson, a member of the ultra-conservative Freedom Caucus in the House, said he thought Congress could get some early wins on areas of agreement with Trump that included replacing Obamacare and finding a way to repatriate corporate profits held overseas and using the money to pay for infrastructure repairs. Richard Hunt, head of the Consumer Bankers Association, which lobbies for some of the biggest U.S. banks, said Republicans must act swiftly to show that as change agents they can actually govern. “They have to show the American people that Republicans are able and capable of governing. Obviously there was a clear mandate last night that says Washington is not working and people want Washington to work,” he said. “Part of me says you need to have a clean slate, okay, that was the campaign, now this is governing.” | 1 |
20,418 | WATCH: Mitch McConnell Gets His A** Handed To Him For Whining On The Senate Floor Because Democrats Don’t Support Trumpcare | Mitch McConnell pretended to care about the American people on Tuesday as he blamed Democrats for his own party s failure to pass Trumpcare.Seriously. He actually had the gall to accuse Democrats of not caring about people even though the repeal and replace bill his party tried to pass would have stripped healthcare away from millions of Americans and would have gutted Medicaid all while erasing the protections provided by the Affordable Care Act. He even made the outrageous claim that Republicans reached out to Democrats to work with them on the bill. I imagine many Democrats were celebrating last night, McConnell said during a speech on the Senate floor. I hope they consider what they re celebrating. The American people are hurting, they need relief, and it s regretful that our Democratic colleagues decided early on that they did not want to engage with us seriously in the process to deliver that relief. These are not just numbers on a page these are real people, he continued.Except that Republicans never asked Democrats to work with them. Republicans wrote the destructive bill all by themselves and they demanded that Democrats vote blindly in favor of it.As we all know, Democrats told Republicans to go f*ck themselves. And even some Republicans refused to support the bill because it was that bad. Many Republicans faced massive opposition from their own constituents at town halls over the bill.And if Republicans really cared about real people, they would have drafted a bill that doesn t kick over 20 million real people off of their health insurance. It s that simple.But McConnell wants to blame Democrats and pretend that his party cares about people. That doesn t jive considering that Republicans tried killing Obamacare mostly because they wanted to give a fat tax gift to the wealthy at the expense of real people who would not be able to afford healthcare without Obamacare. I regret that the effort to immediately repeal and replace Obamacare will not be successful, McConnell said. That doesn t mean we should give up. We will now try a different way to bring the American people relief from Obamacare. That plan is not exactly different either. It s a 2015 GOP plan that would make premiums skyrocket and strip healthcare from even MORE Americans.Here s the video via YouTube.Twitter users were quick to take McConnell to the woodshed.I just listened to you blaming #Democrats for this. #Liar. You drafted your bill behind closed doors & excluded Dems. This is on @SenateGOP. TheNextPhoenix (@TheNextPhoenix) July 18, 2017Retire, bitch. Matt Bush (@ItsMattBush) July 18, 2017What do you have against the average, normal, wage earning American? Why must you do everything in your power to weaken and hurt us? Jay Hova (@JHova_83) July 18, 2017pic.twitter.com/pd4FvU4ZY5 Crutnacker (@Crutnacker) July 18, 2017So repeal and do nothing?! What cowardice Walter Pepper (@WaldoPepper17) July 18, 2017Maybe you need to get your eyes checked because you re not seeing all the Americans at their senators offices protesting a repeal. AMERICAN WOMAN (@valentineomine) July 18, 2017The Healthcare Bill has failed @SenateMajLdr #TrumpRussia pic.twitter.com/grGnALJdgX Bhaktin (@BhaktinJai) July 18, 2017Featured Image: Screenshot | 0 |
20,419 | Trump considering Democratic Senator Manchin for energy secretary: Politico | (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is considering Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia for energy secretary, Politico reported on Thursday, citing unnamed sources close to the discussions. Manchin “is being considered to show the coal people how serious Trump is about coal,” Politico quoted one source as saying. | 1 |
20,420 | Russia says 'will consider' U.S. resolution on North Korea but with caveats | MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia is ready to consider a new U.S. resolution on North Korea provided it does not escalate military tensions and focuses on finding a diplomatic solution, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday. Russia s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Lavrov had conveyed that stance to U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in a phone call initiated by the U.S. side. The ministry said Lavrov had also spoken of the merit of involving U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres in helping find a diplomatic solution to the North Korea crisis. | 1 |
20,421 | Supreme Court nominee to submit questionnaire to lawmakers | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama’s nominee to the Supreme Court, Merrick Garland, will submit a filled-out questionnaire and other information to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday to spur a vote on his nomination, the White House said. “The questionnaire and associated materials present an exhaustive picture of Judge Garland’s distinguished career and impeccable credentials as a nominee to the Supreme Court,” White House spokeswoman Brandi Hoffine said in an emailed statement on Monday. Republican Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley has refused to hold hearings on Garland’s nomination. Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has refused to act on Obama’s pick, saying whoever wins the Nov. 8 presidential election should choose a nominee to replace conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, who died in February. The White House declined to release Garland’s questionnaire on Monday. It repeated its call for the Senate to hold a hearing on his nomination once lawmakers had reviewed the new information. “Every nominee since 1875 who wasn’t withdrawn from consideration has received a hearing and/or a vote,” Hoffine said. “With more federal judicial experience than any other Supreme Court nominee in history and a long record of public service, we expect the Senate will give Chief Judge Garland the same fair consideration as prior nominees.” | 1 |
20,422 | Police find similarities in body parts found Copenhagen waters | COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - An arm found by divers near Copenhagen was weighed down with pieces of metal similar to those attached to the legs of Swedish journalist Kim Wall who died in August on board a submarine owned by a Danish inventor, local police said on Wednesday. The arm was found about 1 km (half a mile) from the spot where Wall s head and legs had been found in October. Wall, a freelance journalist who was researching a story on entrepreneur and aerospace engineer Peter Madsen, went missing after he took her out to sea in his homebuilt 17-metre (56-foot) submarine in August. On Aug. 23, police identified a torso that washed ashore in Copenhagen as Wall s. Coroners examined what turned out to be a left arm after it was found in Koge Bay just outside of Copenhagen - near the route that had been searched in connection with the submarine case. Divers and police will continue the search for the right arm along with further evidence on Thursday. Madsen admitted to dismembering Wall on board his submarine and dumping her body parts in the sea, but he still denies murdering her and a charge of sexual assault without intercourse. The trial has been set to take place in Copenhagen next March. (The story adds distance in miles in second paragraph) | 1 |
20,423 | Racist Joe Arpaio Extorts Money For Re-Election By Threatening To Retire (SCREENSHOTS) | Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is a vile creature. The 83-year-old has reigned over the Arizona county for more than twenty years, much to the dismay of the Hispanic community, and he s running for office again. But, the way he is soliciting donations from his scared, xenophobic supporters this time around is absolutely infuriating.In an email sent out to supporters recently, America s Most Racist Sheriff extorts money from his ignorant voters by threatening to retire. The email s subject line is: Announcement: I ve made a difficult decision and begins by calling on his patriots to support him or else: After hours of prayer, and countless frank discussions with my wife Ava and other trusted advisors, I have decided my time as Sheriff is over, unless I can count on you to stand with me this election. Arpaio then goes on to blame left-wing elites, his immigration stance, Obama s political machine, and Hollywood leftists for the tough road he has ahead of him should he decide to run for re-election. He tells his supporters that they need to empty their wallets and help him defeat the scary liberals who want to see him out of office: For some of you $5 is all you can spare today. But for others $500 or even $1,000 is a sacrificial gift you are willing to make. My team has told me that because our reserves are almost completely drained I will need to raise at least 5 million dollars to have a fighting chance, so every single dollar helps. To be clear, this is absolutely, 100 percent extortion. The definition of which is the practice of obtaining something, especially money, through force or threats. He is threatening that he will retire and not bother to run again unless his faithful, immigrant-hating supporters shell out money for him. He doesn t just tell them he d like to be their sheriff again, he threatens them. And this isn t the first time he has duped voters.In 2015, he sent an email out with a similarly deceiving subject line: They re trying to recall me. Nobody was trying to recall him at the time. I mean, we always want to recall him but there wasn t a concerted effort to remove him from office.It s not surprising that he would stoop to such levels. This is, after all, the man who can be blamed for countless deaths in his jail and has made the lives of Latinos in his community a living hell. He was Donald Trump before Donald Trump was Donald Trump. His bombastic, hate-filled rhetoric garnered him the support of many top Republicans including former-Governor Jan Brewer.Since 1993, he has unleashed hell on brown-skinned people in his Phoenix. And sadly, every time he is up for re-election he wins because people just don t vote or they have become complacent. For whatever reason, he continues to sail to victory each time he runs.Hopefully, Maricopa County voters will be so turned off this newest extoruion plot and they ll vote for someone else but, I won t hold my breath.See the full email below: And here s a video to remember why we hate this guy so much: Featured image via Facebook | 0 |
20,424 | May's government pushes Brexit bill to avoid 'chaotic' departure | LONDON (Reuters) - Brexit minister David Davis called on parliament on Thursday to back legislation to sever Britain s political, financial and legal ties with the European Union, saying that opposing the bill would lead to chaos. At a rowdy session of parliament, Davis accused the opposition Labour Party of pursuing a cynical and unprincipled path by challenging the repeal bill, or EU withdrawal bill, designed to disentangle Britain from more than 40 years of EU lawmaking. Labour, in turn, said the government was using the bill to give itself wide-ranging powers and a blank cheque to do away with laws if ministers did not like them, threatening the rights of ordinary Britons. The legislation is a vital stepping-stone towards Britain s departure from the EU in March 2019. It faces stormy debate and a likely barrage of attempted amendments as Prime Minister Theresa May, weakened by the loss of her majority in a June election and criticized by Brussels over her Brexit strategy, attempts to steer it through parliament. Without this legislation a smooth and orderly exit is impossible ... To delay or oppose the bill will be reckless in the extreme, Davis told lawmakers, describing support for a proposed amendment by Labour as a vote for a chaotic exit . Labour s Brexit spokesman, Keir Starmer, said several clauses in the bill amounted to a power grab by government. He said it would prevent Britain from remaining in the EU s single market and customs union during a transition phase, as Labour now argues should happen. That we are leaving (the EU) is settled, how we leave is not. This bill invites us to surrender all power and influence over that question to the government and to ministers. That would betray everything we have been sent here to do, Starmer said. Unless the government makes a very significant concession before we vote on Monday Labour will table, and has tabled, a reasoned amendment and will vote against the bill. The legislation seeks largely to copy and paste EU law into British legislation to ensure the UK has functioning laws and the same regulatory framework as the bloc at the moment of leaving it, something that may offer some reassurance for companies. Davis said it would allow the British government and parliament to become masters of our own laws , and promised concerned lawmakers that ministers would not use the wide-ranging powers to make substantive changes to law. To vote down the bill, Labour would need to convince EU supporters in May s Conservatives to side with them, but some more vocal pro-EU Conservative lawmakers have now said they will vote with the government after asking for reassurance that parliament will be able to scrutinize any changes to the law. May has also promised to listen to the concerns of lawmakers, but warned that delaying or hindering the bill with amendments would slow vital legislation. The repeal bill helps deliver the outcome the British people voted for by ending the role of the EU in UK law, but it s also the single most important step we can take to prevent a cliff-edge for people and businesses, because it provides legal certainty, she said in a statement. | 1 |
20,425 | Britain's government to push ahead with plan on specific Brexit date | LONDON (Reuters) - Britain s Prime Minister Theresa May will push ahead with plans to fix into law the time and date of the country s European Union exit for March 2019, her spokesman said on Friday, despite opposition from some members of her party. We think it provides important certainty, the spokesman said. We would encourage all MPs to support it, he added, referring to lawmakers. | 1 |
20,426 | Texas Super-Dolt Louie Gohmert SAVAGED For Licking Trump’s Boots Over London Response (TWEETS) | Trump is lighting the Internet on fire with his response to the London attack, and not in a good way. But, true to form, some Republicans are busy washing Trump s boots with their tongues over what he said about London, and people aren t liking that, either. Texas dumbest lawmaker, Louie Gohmert, appeared on Fox News to fawn over Trump s response to London, and later tweeted how happy he is that Trump understands the seriousness of the problem and isn t distracted by people trying to be politically correct.Gohmert displayed his own sorry ignorance of the issues when he blasted liberals over our calls for better and more sensible gun regulations following mass shootings, saying that we re hypocrites because we won t call for bans on white vans and knives after the London attack. He also blasted the judges who have blocked Trump s Muslim ban due to the fact that it s obviously racist and will do nothing to stop terrorism here. He sides with Trump on the idea that we need the Muslim ban and that the courts have no right to block it (because Trump, as president, can do whatever he wants).But he had to top his bootlicking off with this bit of blind devotion:Thank God @POTUS understands seriousness of this issue & isn t distracted by ppl screaming abt political correctness https://t.co/KDPoI4fdLy Louie Gohmert (@replouiegohmert) June 4, 2017He wasn t going to get away with that. As Twitter is wont to do, they piled on him and his ignorance of Trump s complete lack of understanding of anything, as well as for refusing to censure the biggest exporter of Islamic terrorism there is.Our embarrassing buffoon of a @POTUS literally is the one screaming about political correctness, you quarter-wit! Betty Cracker (@bettycrackerfl) June 4, 2017As a Texan and American, wondering how one can credibly stand *against* terrorism while holding hands *with* Saudi Arabia? SMD (@seanmfdineen) June 4, 2017Yes. We liberals were just laughing the attack off, you simpleton dolt. Crutnacker (@Crutnacker) June 4, 2017Quite the contrary, dt has NO CLUE on how to respond approximately. The fake and clueless prez. Sad Ren Ram (@MarcProust) June 4, 2017Political correctness doesn t cause terror. Interventionist policies + radical Wahhabism from Saudis and rest of Gulf do. FVR (@fightingvoice) June 4, 2017And also why all the golf? SMD (@seanmfdineen) June 4, 2017He had a 30-day plan to defeat ISIS. When is the parade, you inbred plastic shoehorn? Witchfinder General (@Pedro_Loves_U) June 4, 2017Oh we understand Louie, @GOP wins by fear mongering and you are major Texass. Tom Richards (@4politics2) June 4, 2017 Our Potus is only distracted by his own vices. You ought to be thrown out of office What has happened to Texans that they would elect you. JACarver (@YancyCt) June 4, 2017Crawl back under your rock Louie. Paul Henry (@paulndor) June 4, 2017You are an idiot jlockett (@JLickett) June 4, 2017You are a human fart. TH (@THVotes) June 4, 2017Glad he takes this serious enough to take in 2 full days of golfing. Meanwhile no head of FEMA or FBI director to replace one he fired jimmi phoenix (@Phillies_chants) June 4, 2017Yep. How Gohmert got elected at all is a mystery. Having his head so far up Trump s ass is just the latest in his long, sad string of completely moronic moves. But what can we expect from someone who can t see the forest for the trees and refuses to even try?Featured image by Mark Wilson via Getty Images | 0 |
20,427 | BREAKING: Republicans Susan Collins And Lisa Murkowski Will Vote No On Betsy DeVos | Susan Collins, Republican Senator from Maine, has once again broke with her party after announcing she will vote no on Donald Trump s education secretary nominee Betsy DeVos.Lisa Murkowski, Senator from Alaska, will also vote no on DeVos.On the Senate floor, Collins made a passionate speech about her reservations (which are shared by fellow Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Maine), saying:I come to the floor to announce a very difficult decision that I have made, and that is to vote against the confirmation of Betsy DeVos to be our nation s next Secretary of Education.The move comes unexpectedly, as Collins voted in favor of DeVos in committee, which passed on a party line and sent her nomination to the floor for an up-or-down vote. But at that time, Collins made clear she was still considering her support. Murkowski had also voted to send DeVos consideration to the floor.Collins had told the Bangor Daily News that she was surprised and concerned about her apparent lack of familiarity on a wide range of education issues. One issue that particularly struck Collins was the fact DeVos seemed clueless to the fact the United States has protections for students with disabilities.Susan Collins has so far been a thorn in the side of Donald Trump and his administration, recently referring to his immigration executive action as likely unconstitutional, and blasting Steve Bannon s appointment to the National Security Council as entirely inappropriate. As of now, 50 senators have come out against DeVos, including Collins, Murkowski and every member of the Democratic caucus (which includes independents Bernie Sanders and Angus King). DeVos needs a simple majority to pass, and with 52 members in the GOP caucus, DeVos has a slim chance of being confirmed. If one more Republican defects, the 50-50 tie that would be broken by Vice President Mike Pence will be blockedOnce again, Susan Collins has put the country before her party, and has showed the GOP what it means to have a spine, as has Murkowski.Here s to hoping more Republicans follow their lead.Featured image via Mark Wilson/Getty Images | 0 |
20,428 | Bill on tallying up regulation costs wins U.S. financial industry backing | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Financial lobbyists on Tuesday applauded a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives that would require the Securities and Exchange Commission to review the costs of rules before putting them into force, which is part of a broader push from Republicans to reform regulation. The legislation, introduced by Missouri Republican Ann Wagner, the newly minted chair of the financial services oversight subcommittee, is expected to go to the floor of the House on Thursday for a vote. “The U.S. capital markets are the envy of the world and we believe it is critical to study any economic impact of a proposed rulemaking prior to its completion to protect investors, protect capital formation, and protect our markets,” said the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, Wall Street’s primary trade group, in a letter to House leadership. The group added the bill would also require the SEC to periodically review its existing rules and analyze the effectiveness of its regulation. Also on Thursday, a bill requiring the major derivatives regulator, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, to review costs of its proposals is scheduled to come to the House floor. Both bills come as Republicans work toward a broader overhaul of federal regulation. Banks, asset managers and others in the financial sector have said that regulations can often lead to unintended expenses and that there should be a way to understand how regulations from a variety of areas fit together when it comes to compliance costs. The bills are expected to pass the House, which has approved similar measures that outgoing President Barack Obama, a Democrat, opposed. Currently, there is no companion legislation in the Senate. President-elect Donald Trump, a Republican, frequently said on the campaign trail that the costs of complying with federal regulation can hurt companies’ bottom lines. The SEC is already required to weigh the impact of its rules on efficiency, competition and capital formation. It beefed up efforts in recent years and issued new guidance on the subject after business groups including the Chamber of Commerce successfully beat back some rules in federal court. Wagner’s bill would go beyond those requirements in its enhanced cost-benefit analysis and existing rule review. It would also require the SEC to clearly identify the nature of the problems new rules are intended to solve. An SEC spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on it. | 1 |
20,429 | Senate passes measure that permanently repeals 'Cadillac' tax | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Republicans passed a measure on Thursday that would permanently repeal Obamacare’s so-called Cadillac tax on high-cost employer-provided insurance without a single Democratic vote amid a broader debate to repeal the healthcare law. The measure passed along party lines by a 52-48 vote. To become law, it will need to be passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. | 1 |
20,430 | Catalan leader says not enough guarantees from Madrid to call election | MADRID (Reuters) - Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont on Thursday said he had decided not to call a snap election because he had not obtained enough guarantees from the central government that the move would stop the imposition of direct rule in Catalonia. I was ready to call an election if guarantees were given. There is no guarantee that justifies calling an election today, Puigdemont said. He also said it was now up to the Catalan parliament to move forward with a mandate to split from Spain following an independence referendum that took place on Oct. 1. | 1 |
20,431 | Trump says he could make cabinet announcements before convention: Fox News | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said on Wednesday he could make some cabinet announcements before the party’s July convention in Cleveland, Fox News Channel reported on Wednesday. “I like the idea of doing some of this before we go into Cleveland. Yes, I could do that and I think it would be well-received,” it quoted Trump as saying in an interview. | 1 |
20,432 | U.S. will not give Exxon permission to drill in Russia | WASHINGTON/SPRING, Tx. (Reuters) - The United States will not make an exception for American companies, including oil major Exxon Mobil Corp, seeking to drill in areas prohibited by U.S. sanctions on Russia, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Friday. The unusually direct statement served to clarify that the United States would maintain a tough stance on sanctions against Moscow. “In consultation with President Donald J. Trump, the Treasury Department will not be issuing waivers to U.S. companies, including Exxon, authorizing drilling prohibited by current Russian sanctions,” Mnuchin said in a statement. The United States and European Union imposed economic sanctions on Russia over its annexation of the Crimea region in 2014 and its role in the conflict in eastern Ukraine. The sanctions forced Exxon, the world’s largest publicly traded oil producer, to wind down drilling in Russia’s Arctic in 2014. “We understand the statement today by Secretary Mnuchin in consultation with President Trump,” Exxon spokesman Alan Jeffers said. Exxon had asked for and received in 2015 and 2016 waivers to operate a joint venture with Russian oil producer Rosneft in Russia. European Union sanctions do not keep European oil companies from operating in Russia, a point of annoyance for Exxon. The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Exxon had in recent months applied for a Treasury Department waiver to drill with Rosneft. Jeffers said Exxon had not applied for waivers from Treasury since Trump took office. Any such request would have drawn attention because Exxon’s former chief executive, Rex Tillerson, is now U.S. secretary of state. Under his leadership, Exxon lobbied Congress on Russia sanctions, and Tillerson opposed sanctions against Russia in 2014, saying they would be ineffective. U.S. lawmakers are investigating possible ties between some Trump campaign aides and Moscow. Republicans in Congress as well as U.S. allies in Europe are anxious about any sign that the Trump administration might ease some of the sanctions imposed on Russia. During his confirmation hearing in January, Tillerson said he never personally lobbied against sanctions and that he was not aware of Exxon Mobil directly doing so, later acknowledging that he spoke to former U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew regarding gaps between American and European sanctions on Russia. Tillerson has pledged to recuse himself until the end of this year from any matter involving Exxon Mobil unless he is authorized to participate. He also has until early May to sell his Exxon Mobil stock. U.S. companies frequently file license applications to the Treasury Department asking permission to undertake activities that would otherwise be barred by sanctions. The U.S. government weighs each application based on national security interests, the law and other factors. The refusal is unlikely to affect Exxon Mobil’s bottom line, as it has not been able to operate in Russia for several years, but it does hinder its growth potential. Treasury almost never comments publicly on license applications. Mnuchin’s statement will likely serve to clarify the U.S. stance on sanctions against Russia at a time when American allies are looking for clues to U.S. policy, observers said. “It’s good from a regulatory perspective as it provides clarity to U.S. companies, but it’s also great from a foreign policy perspective,” Edward Fishman, a fellow at the Atlantic Council think tank and former State Department official during the Obama administration, said of Mnuchin’s statement. “Any uncertainty about the future of sanctions scares our allies and encourages Russia to prolong its aggression in Ukraine.” | 1 |
20,433 | Donald Trump Gets Brutally Shut Down By Mickey Rourke On An NY Sidewalk (NSFW VIDEO) | Trust fund tycoon and wannabe President Donald Trump is well known for his all-out assaults on rivals (perceived and real) in politics and the media. But The Donald met his match this week, in Mickey Rourke, who shut the GOP front runner down with a string of insults which could even make Trump blush.Rourke took part in a street interview with TMZ, playing ball on a sidewalk with a reporter while shooting the breeze about the Presidential candidate. Things got real, fast. Before I throw this first pitch out, I just wanna say, the biggest scumbag on the planet is that maggot with an f in front of it: Donald trump While continuing to pitch some perfect balls, Rourke branded Trump s wife Melania a gold digger: I mean, how could you sleep next to that flabby, fat, piece of sh*t every night? After briefly diverting off to Rourke s dreams of becoming a baseball player, the interview finishes back on Donald Trump. There s no other way of putting it: Rourke goes postal on the candidate, with an expletive-laden rant that even Trump would struggle to have conjured. What sets him off? Trump s claim to be some sort of tough guy. He s not a tough guy, Rourke says. He s a bully and he s a b*tch. And he can suck my f*cking d*ck. And I ll meet him a hotel room any f*cking day of the week and give him a Louisville slugger. Kiss my motherf*cking a**, you b*tch punk c*cksucker. Ouch.This isn t the first time Rourke has taken a time out to smackdown the Republican frontrunner. As Rolling Stone reports:In July of 2015, Rourke made it clear he wasn t siding with Trump by saying, I d rather stick a .38 up my ass and pull the trigger than vote for Donald Trump. A few months later, he called Trump a big mouthed bitch bully and expressed his desire to have 30 seconds in a room with the little bitch to give him a piece of his mind.Donald Trump is yet to make a response. Perhaps in true playground bully style, the candidate will buckle under the pressure of real opposition.Featured image via Screengrab/Flickr Creative Commons | 0 |
20,434 | PRESIDENT TRUMP’S SPEECH: “BELIEVE IN YOURSELF”…”BELIEVE IN AMERICA” | THE TRANSCRIPT OF PRESIDENT TRUMP S SPEECH TO CONGRESS: THE VIDEOS ARE BELOWMr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, the First Lady of the United States, and Citizens of America: Tonight, as we mark the conclusion of our celebration of Black History Month, we are reminded of our nation s path toward civil rights and the work that still remains.Recent threats targeting Jewish Community Centers and vandalism of Jewish cemeteries, as well as last week s shooting in Kansas City, remind us that while we may be a nation divided on policies, we are a country that stands united in condemning hate and evil in all its forms.Each American generation passes the torch of truth, liberty and justice in an unbroken chain all the way down to the present. That torch is now in our hands, and we will use it to light up the world.I am here tonight to deliver a message of unity and strength, and it is a message deeply delivered from my heart.A new chapter of American Greatness is now beginning.A new national pride is sweeping across our nation.And a new surge of optimism is placing impossible dreams firmly within our grasp.What we are witnessing today is the Renewal of the American Spirit. Our allies will find that America is once again ready to lead.All the nations of the world friend or foe will find that America is strong, America is proud, and America is free.In 9 years, The United States will celebrate the 250th anniversary of our Founding 250 years since the day we declared our Independence.It will be one of the great milestones in the history of the world. But what will America look like as we reach our 250th year? What kind of country will we leave for our children?I will not allow the mistakes of recent decades past to define the course of our future. For too long, we ve watched our middle class shrink as we ve exported our jobs and wealth to foreign countries. We ve financed and built one global project after another, but ignored the fates of our children in the inner cities of Chicago, Baltimore, Detroit and so many other places throughout our land.We ve defended the borders of other nations, while leaving our own borders wide open, for anyone to cross and for drugs to pour in at a now unprecedented rate.And we ve spent trillions of dollars overseas, while our infrastructure at home has so badly crumbled.Then, in 2016, the earth shifted beneath our feet.The rebellion started as a quiet protest, spoken by families of all colors and creeds families who just wanted a fair shot for their children, and a fair hearing for their concerns.But then the quiet voices became a loud chorus as thousands of citizens now spoke out together, from cities small and large, all across our country.Finally, the chorus became an earthquake and the people turned out by the tens of millions, and they were all united by one very simple, but crucial demand, that America must put its own citizens first because only then, can we truly, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN. PART 1 OF THE SPEECH: Dying industries will come roaring back to life. Heroic Veterans will get the care they so desperately need.Our military will be given the resources its brave warriors so richly deserve.Crumbling infrastructure will be replaced with new roads, bridges, tunnels, airports and railways gleaming across our beautiful land.Our terrible drug epidemic will slow down and ultimately, stop. And our neglected inner cities will see a rebirth of hope, safety and opportunity.Above all else, we will keep our promises to the American People.It s been a little over a month since my inauguration, and I want to take this moment to update the nation on the progress I ve made in keeping those promises.Since my election, Ford, Fiat-Chrysler, General Motors, Sprint, Softbank, Lockheed, Intel, Walmart and many others, have announced that they will invest billions of dollars in the United States and will create tens of thousands of new American jobs.The stock market has gained almost $3 trillion in value since the election on November 8th, a record. We ve saved taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars by bringing down the price of the fantastic new F-35 jet fighter, and will be saving billions more dollars on contracts all across our government.We have placed a hiring freeze on non-military and non-essential federal workers.We have begun to drain the swamp of government corruption by imposing a five-year ban on lobbying by Executive Branch officials and a lifetime ban on becoming lobbyists for a foreign government.We have undertaken a historic effort to eliminate job-crushing regulations, creating a deregulation task force inside of every government agency; imposing a new rule which mandates that for every one new regulation, two old regulations must be eliminated; and stopping a regulation that threatens the future and livelihoods of our great coal miners.We have cleared the way for the construction of the Keystone and Dakota Access Pipelines thereby creating tens of thousands of jobs and I ve issued a new directive that new American pipelines be made with American steel.We have withdrawn the United States from the job-killing Trans-Pacific Partnership.With the help of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, we have formed a council with our neighbors in Canada to help ensure that women entrepreneurs have access to the networks, markets and capital they need to start a business and live out their financial dreams.To protect our citizens, I have directed the Department of Justice to form a Task Force on ReducingViolent Crime.I have further ordered the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice, along with the Department of State and the Director of National Intelligence, to coordinate an aggressive strategy to dismantle the Criminal Cartels that have spread across our nation.We will stop the drugs from pouring into our country and poisoning our youth and we will expand treatment for those who have become so badly addicted.At the same time, my Administration has answered the pleas of the American people for immigration enforcement and border security.By finally enforcing our immigration laws, we will raise wages, help the unemployed, save billions of dollars, and make our communities safer for everyone.We want all Americans to succeed but that can t happen in an environment of lawless chaos.We must restore integrity and the rule of law to our borders.For that reason, we will soon begin the construction of a Great Wall along our Southern Border. As we speak, we are removing gang members, drug dealers and criminals that threaten our communities and prey on our citizens.Bad ones are going out as I speak tonight and as I have promised.To any in Congress who do not believe we should enforce our laws, I would ask you this question: What would you say to the American family that loses their jobs, their income or a loved one, because America refused to uphold its laws and defend its borders?Our obligation is to serve, protect and defend the citizens of the United states.We are also taking strong measures to protect our nation from Radical Islamic Terrorism.According to data provided by the Department of Justice, the vast majority of individuals convicted for terrorism-related offenses since 9/11 came here from outside of our country.We have seen the attacks at home from Boston to San Bernardino to the Pentagon and yes, even the World Trade Center.We have seen the attacks in France, in Belgium, in Germany and all over the world.It is not compassionate, but reckless, to allow uncontrolled entry from places where proper vetting cannot occur.Those given the high honor of admission to the United States, should support this country and love its people and its values.We cannot allow a beachhead of terrorism to form inside America we cannot allow our nation to become a sanctuary for extremists.That is why my Administration has been working on improved vetting procedures, and we will shortly take new steps to keep our nation safe and to keep out those who would do us harm.As promised, I directed the Department of Defense to develop a plan to demolish and destroy ISIS a network of lawless savages that have slaughtered Muslims and Christians, and men, women, and children of all faiths and beliefs.We will work with our allies, including our friends and allies in the Muslim World, to extinguish this vile enemy from our planet.I have also imposed new sanctions on entities and individuals who support Iran s ballistic missile program, and reaffirmed our unbreakable alliance with the State of Israel.Finally, I have kept my promise to appoint a Justice to the United States Supreme Court from my list of 20 judges who will defend our Constitution.I am honored to have Maureen Scalia with us in the gallery tonight.Her late, great husband, Antonin Scalia, will forever be a symbol of American Justice.To fill his seat, we have chosen Judge Neil Gorsuch, a man of incredible skill, and deep devotion to the law.He was confirmed unanimously to the Court of Appeals, and I am asking the Senate to swiftly approve his nomination.Tonight, as I outline the next steps we must take as country, we must honestly acknowledge the circumstances we inherited.Ninety-four million Americans are out of the labor force.Over 43 million people are now living in poverty, and over 43 million Americans are on food stamps.More than one in five people in their prime-working years are not working.We have the worst financial recovery in 65 years.In the last 8 years, the past Administration has put on more new debt than nearly all other Presidents combined.We ve lost more than one-fourth of our manufacturing jobs since NAFTA was approved, and we ve lost 60,000 factories since China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001.Our trade deficit in goods with the world last year was nearly $800 billion dollars.And overseas, we have inherited a series of tragic foreign policy disasters.Solving these, and so many other pressing problems, will require us to work past the differences of Party.It will require us to tap into the American Spirit that has overcome every challenge throughout our long and storied history.president-trump-sou-3But to accomplish our goals at home and abroad, we must restart the engine of the American Economy making it easier for companies to do business in the United States, and much harder for companies to leave.Right now, American companies are taxed at one of the highest rates anywhere in the world.My economic team is developing historic tax reform that will reduce the tax rate on our companies so they can compete and thrive anywhere and with anyone.At the same time, we will provide massive tax relief for the middle class.We must create a level playing field for American companies and workers.Currently, when we ship products out of America, many other countries make us pay very high tariffs and taxes but when foreign companies ship their products into America, we charge them almost nothing.I just met with officials and workers from a great American company, Harley Davidson.In fact, they proudly displayed five of their magnificent motorcycles, made in the USA, on the front lawn of the White House.At our meeting, I asked them, how are you doing, how is business?They said that it s good.I asked them further how they are doing with other countries, mainly international sales.They told me without even complaining because they have been mistreated for so long that they have become used to it that it is very hard to do business with other countries because they tax our goods at such a high rate.They said that in one case another country taxed their motorcycles at 100 percent.They weren t even asking for change.But I am.I believe strongly in free trade but it also has to be FAIR TRADE.The first Republican President, Abraham Lincoln, warned that The abandonment of the protective policy by the American government will produce want and ruin among our people. Lincoln was right and it is time we heeded his words.I am not going to let America and its great companies and workers, be taken advantage of anymore.I am going to bring back millions of jobs.Protecting our workers also means reforming our system of legal immigration.The current, outdated system depresses wages for our poorest workers, and putsgreat pressure on taxpayers.Nations around the world, like Canada, Australia and many others have a merit-based immigration system.It is a basic principle that those seeking to enter a country ought to be able to support themselves financially.Yet, in America, we do not enforce this rule, straining the very public resources that our poorest citizens rely upon.According to the National Academy of Sciences, our current immigration system costs America s taxpayers many billions of dollars a year.Switching away from this current system of lower-skilled immigration, and instead adopting a merit-based system, will have many benefits: It will save countless dollars, raise workers wages, and help struggling families including immigrant families enter the middle class.I believe that real and positive immigration reform is possible, as long as we focus on the following goals: To improve jobs and wages for Americans, to strengthen our nation s security, and to restore respect for our laws.If we are guided by the well-being of American citizens, instead of the unusual special interests, then I believe Republicans and Democrats can work together to achieve an outcome that has eluded our country for decades.Another Republican President, Dwight D. Eisenhower, initiated the last truly great national infrastructure program the building of the interstate highway system.The time has come for a new program of national rebuilding.America has spent approximately $6 trillion in the Middle East, all this while our infrastructure at home is crumbling.With this $6 trillion we could have rebuilt our country twice.And maybe even three times if we had people who had the ability to negotiate.To launch our national rebuilding, I will be asking Congress to approve legislation that produces a $1 trillion dollar investment in the infrastructure of the United States financed through both public and private capital creating millions of new jobs.This effort will be guided by two core principles: Buy American, and Hire American.Tonight, I am also calling on this Congress to REPEAL AND REPLACE OBAMACARE, with reforms that expand choice, increase access, lower costs, and at the same time, provide better healthcare.Mandating every American to buy government-approved health insurance was never the right solution for America.The way to make health insurance available to everyone is to lower the cost of health insurance, and that is what we will do.Obamacare premiums nationwide have increased by double and triple digits as an example, Arizona went up 116% last year alone.Governor Matt Bevin of Kentucky just said Obamacare is failing in his state it is unsustainable and collapsing.One third of counties have only one insurer on the exchanges leaving many Americans with no choice at all.Remember when you were told that you could keep your doctor, and keep your plan?We now know that all of those promises have been broken.Obamacare is collapsing and we must act decisively to protect all Americans.Action is not a choice it is a necessity.So I am calling on all Democrats and Republicans in Congress to work with us to save Americans from this imploding Obamacare disaster.Here are the principles that should guide Congress as we move to create a better healthcare system for all Americans: First, we should ensure that Americans with pre-existing conditions have access to coverage, and that we have a stable transition for Americans currently enrolled in the healthcare exchanges.Secondly, we should help Americans purchase their own coverage, through the use of tax credits and expanded Health Savings Accounts but it must be the plan they want, not the plan forced on them by the government.Thirdly, we should give our state governors the resources and flexibility they need with Medicaid to make sure no one is left out.Fourth, we should implement legal reforms that protect patients and doctors from unnecessary costs that drive up the price of insurance and work to bring down the artificially high price of drugs, and bring them down immediately.Finally, the time has come to give Americans the freedom to purchase health insurance across state lines creating a truly competitive national marketplace that will bring cost way down and provide far better care.Everything that is broken in our country can be fixed.Every problem can be solved.And every hurting family can find healing, and hope.Our citizens deserve this, and so much more so why not join forces to finally get it done?On this and so many other things, Democrats and Republicans should get together and unite for the good of our country, and for the good of the American people.My administration wants to work with members in both parties to make childcare accessible and affordable, to help ensure new parents have Paid Family Leave, to invest in women s health, and to promote clean air and clear water, and to rebuild our military and our infrastructure.True love for our people requires us to find common ground, to advance the common good, and to cooperate on behalf of every American child who deserves a brighter future.An incredible young woman is with us this evening who should serve as an inspiration to us all.Today is Rare Disease day, and joining us in the gallery is a Rare Disease Survivor, Megan Crowley.Megan was diagnosed with Pompay Disease, a rare and serious illness when she was 15 months old.She was not expected to live past five.On receiving this news, Megan s dad, John, fought with everything he had to save the life of his precious child.He founded a company to look for a cure, and helped develop the drug that saved Megan s life.Today she is 20 years old and a sophomore at Notre Dame.Megan s story is about the unbounded power of a father s love for a daughter.But our slow and burdensome approval process at the Food and Drug Administration keeps too many advances, like the one that saved Megan s life, from reaching those in need.If we slash the restraints, not just at the FDA, but across our government, then we will be blessed with far more miracles like Megan.In fact, our children will grow up in a nation of miracles.But to achieve this future, we must enrich the mind and the souls of every American child.Education is the civil rights issue of our time.I am calling upon members of both parties to pass an education bill that funds school choice for disadvantaged youth, including millions of African-American and Latino children.These families should be free to choose the public, private, charter, magnet, religious or home school that is right for them.Joining us tonight in the gallery is a remarkable woman, Denisha Merriweather.As a young girl, Denisha struggled in school and failed third grade twice.But then she was able to enroll in a private center for learning with the help of a tax credit scholarship program.Today, she is the first in her family to graduate not just from high school, but from college.Later this year she will get her masters degree in social work.We want all children to be able to break the cycle of poverty just like Denisha.But to break the cycle of poverty, we must also break the cycle of violence.The murder rate in 2015 experienced its largest single-year increase in nearly half a century.In Chicago, more than 4,000 people were shot last year alone and the murder rate so far this year has been even higher.This is not acceptable in our society.Every American child should be able to grow up in a safe community, to attend a great school, and to have access to a high-paying job.But to create this future, we must work with not against the men and women of law enforcement.We must build bridges of cooperation and trust not drive the wedge of disunity and division.Police and sheriffs are members of our community.They are friends and neighbors, they are mothers and fathers, sons and daughters and they leave behind loved ones every day who worry whether or not they ll come home safe and sound.We must support the incredible men and women of law enforcement.And we must support the victims of crime.I have ordered the Department of Homeland Security to create an office to serve American victims.The office is called VOICE Victims Of Immigration Crime Engagement.We are providing a voice to those who have been ignored by our media, and silenced by special interests.Joining us in the audience tonight are four very brave Americans whose government failed them.Their names are Jamiel Shaw, Susan Oliver, Jenna Oliver, and Jessica Davis.Jamiel s 17-year-old son was viciously murdered by an illegal immigrant gang member, who had just been released from prison.Jamiel Shaw Jr. was an incredible young man, with unlimited potential who was getting ready to go to college where he would have excelled as a great quarterback.But he never got the chance.His father, who is in the audience tonight, has become a good friend of mine.Also with us are Susan Oliver and Jessica Davis.Their husbands Deputy Sheriff Danny Oliver and Detective Michael Davis were slain in the line of duty in California.They were pillars of their community.These brave men were viciously gunned down by an illegal immigrant with a criminal record and two prior deportations.Sitting with Susan is her daughter, Jenna.Jenna: I want you to know that your father was a hero, and that tonight you have the love of an entire country supporting you and praying for you.To Jamiel, Jenna, Susan and Jessica: I want you to know we will never stop fighting for justice your loved ones will never be forgotten, we will always honor their memory.Finally, to keep America Safe we must provide the men and women of the United States Military with the tools they need to prevent war and if they must TO FIGHT AND TO WIN.I am sending Congress a budget that rebuilds the military, eliminates the Defense Sequester, and calls for one of the largest increases in national defense spending in American history.My budget will also increase funding for our Veterans.Our Veterans have delivered for this nation and now we must deliver for them.The challenges we face as a nation are great.But our people are even greater.And none are greater or braver than those who fight for America in uniform.We are blessed to be joined tonight by Carryn Owens, the widow of a U.S. Navy Special Operator, Senior Chief William Ryan Owens.Ryan died as he lived: a warrior, and a hero battling against terrorism and securing our nation.I just spoke to General Mattis who reconfirmed that, and I quote, Ryan was a part of a highly successful raid that generated large amounts of vital intelligence that will lead to many more victories in the future against our enemies. Ryan s legacy is etched into eternity.For as the bible teaches us, there is no greater act of love than to lay down one s life for one s friends.Ryan laid down his life for his friends, for his country, and for our Freedom we will never forget him.To those allies who wonder what kind of friend America will be, look no further than the heroes who wear our uniform.Our foreign policy calls for a direct, robust and meaningful engagement with the world.It is American leadership based on vital security interests that we share with our allies across the globe.We strongly support NATO, an alliance forged through the bonds of two World Wars that dethroned fascism, and a Cold War that defeated communism.But our partners must meet their financial obligations.And now, based on our very strong and frank discussions, they are beginning to do just that.We expect our partners, whether in NATO, in the Middle East, or the Pacific to take a direct and meaningful role in both strategic and military operations, and pay their fair share of the cost.We will respect historic institutions, but we will also respect the sovereign rights of nations.Free nations are the best vehicle for expressing the will of the people and America respects the right of all nations to chart their own path.My job is not to represent the world.My job is to represent the United States of America.But we know that America is better off, when there is less conflict not more.We must learn from the mistakes of the past we have seen the war and destruction that have raged across our world.The only long-term solution for these humanitarian disasters is to create the conditions where displaced persons can safely return home and begin the long process of rebuilding.America is willing to find new friends, and to forge new partnerships, where shared interests align.We want harmony and stability, not war and conflict.We want peace, wherever peace can be found.America is friends today with former enemies.Some of our closest allies, decades ago, fought on the opposite side of these World Wars.This history should give us all faith in the possibilitiesfor a better world.Hopefully, the 250th year for America will see a world that is more peaceful, more just and more free.On our 100th anniversary, in 1876, citizens from across our nation came to Philadelphia to celebrate America s centennial.At that celebration, the country s builders and artists and inventors showed off their creations.Alexander Graham Bell displayed his telephone for the first time.Remington unveiled the first typewriter.An early attempt was made at electric light.Thomas Edison showed an automatic telegraph and an electric pen.Imagine the wonders our country could know in America s 250th year.Think of the marvels we can achieve if we simply set free the dreams of our people.Cures to illnesses that have always plagued us are not too much to hope.American footprints on distant worlds are not too big a dream.Millions lifted from welfare to work is not too much to expect.And streets where mothers are safe from fear schools where children learn in peace and jobs where Americans prosper and grow are not too much to ask.When we have all of this, we will have made America greater than ever before.For all Americans.This is our vision.This is our mission.But we can only get there together.We are one people, with one destiny.We all bleed the same blood.We all salute the same flag.And we are all made by the same God.And when we fulfill this vision; when we celebrateour 250 years of glorious freedom, we will look back on tonight as when this new chapter of American Greatness began.The time for small thinking is over.The time for trivial fights is behind us.We just need the courage to share the dreams that fill our hearts.The bravery to express the hopes that stir our souls.And the confidence to turn those hopes and dreams to action.From now on, America will be empowered by our aspirations not burdened by our fears. Inspired by the future not bound by the failures of the past. And guided by our vision not blinded by our doubts.I am asking all citizens to embrace this Renewal of the American Spirit.I am asking all members of Congress to join me in Dreaming Big, and Bold and Daring things for our country.And I am asking everyone watching tonightto seize this moment and Believe In Yourselves.Believe In Your Future.And Believe, Once More, In America.Thank you, God bless you, and God Bless these United States | 0 |
20,435 | IRAN MAKES MAJOR Announcement About How They Plan To Use BILLIONS In “OBAMA-BUCK$” [VIDEO] | Iran is using the billions in cash resources provided under the landmark nuclear deal to engage in an unprecedented military buildup meant to transform the Islamic Republic s fighting force into an offensive juggernaut, according to a largely unreported announcement by Iranian military leaders that has sparked concern among U.S. national security insiders and sources on Capitol Hill.The shocking truth behind the US-Iran nuclear deal, as WSJ reports, is that John Kerry and the Obama Administration airlifted $1.7bn of cash in compromise payments (read bribe) to Tehran to ensure the release of 4 captured sailors coincidentally the same weekend as the signing of the nuclear deal.Wooden pallets stacked with euros, Swiss francs and other currencies were flown into Iran on an unmarked cargo plane, according to these officials. The U.S. procured the money from the central banks of the Netherlands and Switzerland, they said.Of course, senior U.S. officials denied any link between the payment and the prisoner exchange. They say the way the various strands came together simultaneously was coincidental, not the result of any quid pro quo. Zero HedgeIt now appears that Obama s chickens are coming home to roost Iranian officials announced late last month that Iran s defense budget had increased by 145 percent under President Hassan Rouhani and that the military is moving forward with a massive restructuring effort aimed at making it a forward moving force, according to regional reports.Iranian leaders have stated since the Iran deal was enacted that they are using the massive amounts of cash released under the agreement to fund the purchase of new military equipment and other armaments. Iran also has pursued multi-million dollar arms deals with Russia since economic sanctions were nixed as part of the deal.Leading members of Congress and U.S. officials working on the Iran portfolio suspect that at least a portion of the Obama administration s $1.7 billion cash payment to Iran has been used to fund and support terrorists in the Middle East.The latest disclosure about Iran s military buildup is further fueling concerns that U.S. cash assets returned to the country which were released with no strings attached by the Obama administration are helping Iran pursue a more aggressive military stance against U.S. forces in the region. President Obama flat-out caved in to Iran when he handed them the disastrous nuclear deal and $1.7 billion in cash payments that could assist Iran s military, Rep. Sean Duffy (R., Wis.), an opponent of the nuclear deal, told the Washington Free Beacon. So it s no surprise that the world s lead sponsor of terrorism would feel emboldened to become more aggressive in the region and flex its military muscle. Iranian Brigadier General Kiumars Heidari announced the military buildup during Iran s annual Army Day. While the announcement did not grab many headlines in the Western media, national security insiders have been discussing the announcement for weeks, according to conversations with multiple sources.Iran s goal is to turn its army into an offensive force, a major shift from its historic role as a support agent for the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, or IRGC, Iran s extremely well funded primary fighting force.For entire story: Washington Free Beacon | 0 |
20,436 | U.S. gets warm words from China's Xi ahead of Trump visit | BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping offered warm words for U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday, calling him a friend and saying he expected Trump s visit to China in November would be wonderful . China s relationship with the United States has been strained by the Trump administration s criticism of Chinese trade practices and by demands that Beijing do more to pressure North Korea to halt its nuclear weapons and missiles programs. Xi and Trump met for the first time in person at Trump s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida in April. Trump has since played up his personal relationship with Xi, even when criticizing China over North Korea and trade. Meeting U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson at Beijing s Great Hall of the People, Xi said he had enjoyed his meetings with Trump and that the two had made considerable efforts to push the development of China-US relations. The two of us have also maintained a good working relationship and personal friendship, Xi said, in comments in front of reporters. I believe that President Trump s upcoming visit to China means an important opportunity for the further development of China-U.S. relations, Xi added. And I believe his visit will be a special, wonderful and successful one. In comments later reported by China s Foreign Ministry, Xi added that cooperation was the only correct choice for both countries, whose common interests far outweighed their differences. Both countries must on the basis of respecting each other s core interests and important concerns appropriately handle, via dialogue and consultations, differences and sensitive issues , the statement cited Xi as saying. Trump will travel to Asia in November for the first time since becoming president, stopping in Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines on a trip expected to be dominated by the North Korea nuclear threat. Tillerson told Xi that Trump and his wife Melania were looking forward to going to Beijing. This is a relationship that continues to grow and mature on the strength of the relationship between yourself and President Trump. And we look forward to advancing that relationship at the upcoming summit, he said. There was no mention of North Korea in comments made in front of journalists at any of Tillerson s meetings, which also included top diplomat State Councillor Yang Jiechi and Foreign Minister Wang Yi. China s Foreign Ministry, in separate statements on Tillerson s meetings with Yang and Wang, simply said they exchanged views on the situation on the Korean peninsula, without elaborating. | 1 |
20,437 | WATCH! FOX NEWS On High Anti-Trump Propaganda Mission: Obama/Clinton Stooge Masquerades As Unbiased Pundit [Video] | Dennis Ross is a prior Obama and Clinton crony goes on to speak without any questioning from Shawn and then at the end Shawn speaks of Ross and his decades of experience PROPAGANDA!!! | 0 |
20,438 | Obama declines comment on reports of possible removal of NSA chief | LIMA (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama declined on Sunday to comment on media reports that senior defense and intelligence officials in his administration had requested the removal of National Security Agency chief Mike Rogers. Obama called Rogers a “terrific patriot” during a news conference at an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Lima, adding he did not generally comment on personnel matters. | 1 |
20,439 | thailands economic future | putin ready to invade ukraine world war three ww educational forum and library welcome guest please login or register login with username password and session length | 1 |
20,440 | Senator McConnell says ending U.S. debt ceiling would be challenging | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell voiced doubt on Tuesday that the U.S. debt ceiling would be eliminated permanently, an idea floated by Democrats and embraced by Republican President Donald Trump last week. “As far as the debt ceiling is concerned, we will not be revisiting the debt ceiling until some time next year,” McConnell told reporters. “And getting Congress to give up a tool like that would probably be quite a challenging undertaking.” Congress must periodically raise the debt limit to keep the U.S. government borrowing and operating. Lawmakers sometimes take advantage of that need to push through policy or spending changes. Trump voiced support last week for the idea of eliminating the statutory cap on the U.S. Treasury Department’s authority to borrow, saying he discussed the possibility with congressional leaders. “It complicates things. It’s really not necessary,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Thursday. At a White House meeting a day earlier, Trump made a surprise deal with Democratic congressional leaders for extending the debt limit for three months tied to hurricane relief legislation and funding for government operations into December. In the meeting, which was also attended by top congressional Republicans and administration officials, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer proposed eliminating the debt limit, and Trump and Vice President Mike Pence said they liked the idea, one person familiar with the meeting said. White House budget chief Mick Mulvaney told Fox News Channel that Trump was frustrated by the way the debt ceiling has been used and had asked him to “explore ways to sort of depoliticize it.” “We’ll continue to work on that. I don’t think the debt ceiling ... will be an issue until January, February of next year,” Mulvaney said. Some Republicans expressed opposition to Trump’s deal with the Democrats, and conservative groups accused the president of caving in rather than insisting on spending cuts to accompany the debt ceiling increase. But the House of Representatives and the Senate, which are both controlled by Republicans, quickly approved the deal, including about $15 billion in hurricane-related aid, and it was signed into law by Trump on Friday. | 1 |
20,441 | Iraq's Kurdish parliament backs Sept 25 independence referendum | ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - The parliament of Iraq s autonomous Kurdistan region approved a plan on Friday to hold a referendum on independence on Sept. 25, ignoring opposition from Baghdad and the wider region as well as Western concerns that the vote could spark fresh conflict. Parliament reconvened in Erbil, the seat of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq, where an overwhelming majority of the Kurdish lawmakers taking part backed the plan. Hours after the decision, the White House publicly called for the first time on the KRG to cancel the referendum, warning that the vote was distracting from efforts to defeat ISIS (Islamic State) and stabilize the liberated areas. The United States does not support the Kudistan Regional Government s intention to hold a referendum later this month, the White House said in a statement. It urged the KRG to enter into serious and sustained dialogue with Baghdad, which the United States has repeatedly indicated it is prepared to facilitate. The regional parliament s decision came despite an intense diplomatic drive by the United States, which has provided critical military aid to the KRG s fight against Islamic State, to persuade the Kurdish leadership to cancel the referendum. The parliament session was the first held since the legislature was suspended nearly two years ago, though only 68 of 111 lawmakers attended due to a boycott by the main opposition movement Gorran. We ve been waiting more than 100 years for this, Omed Khoshnaw, a lawmaker from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDR) of KRG President Massoud Barzani, told Reuters. There is no other way to guarantee that genocide will never be repeated, Khoshnaw told the assembly earlier, referring to the persecution of the Kurds and their expulsion from areas such as oil-rich Kirkuk under late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. Some lawmakers wore Kurdish flags and rose to clap and sing the national anthem after the vote. The Baghdad parliament s decision earlier this week to oppose the referendum drew condemnation from deputies in Erbil. We refuse to accept the Iraqi parliament s decision, which was unlawful, Muna Qahwachi, a Turkman lawmaker, told Reuters. Qahwachi said she had voted in favor of the referendum because she said Turkmen were protected in Kurdistan, unlike in the rest of Iraq. Earlier, Barzani shrugged off requests from the United States and other Western powers to put off the referendum. They fear increased tensions between Baghdad and Erbil will distract from the war on Islamic State militants who still occupy parts of Iraq and Syria. We still haven t heard a proposal that can be an alternative to the Kurdistan referendum, Barzani told a rally in the Kurdish region, referring to a proposal put forward by the United States and other Western envoys this week. Iraq s neighbors Iran and Turkey also oppose the plebiscite, fearing an independent Kurdish state could fuel separatism among their own Kurdish populations. The opposition Gorran movement boycotted Friday s parliamentary session, the first since a dispute between them and Barzani s KDP caused the suspension of the assembly in October 2015. Those assembled in parliament today think this is a lawful session, but this is unlawful, Birzu Majeed, the head of Gorran s parliamentary block, told a news conference held while parliament was in session. Lawmakers from a third party, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), ensured the required quorum. The PUK is a historic rival of the KDP but supports the referendum plan. Meanwhile, Iranian-backed Iraqi Shi ite paramilitary groups have threatened to dislodge the Kurdish forces from the Kirkuk region, which is due to take part in the referendum. Kirkuk is home to sizeable Arab and Turkmen populations and lies outside the official boundaries of the Kurdistan region. It is claimed by both the Kurds and the central government in Baghad. Kurdish peshmerga fighters seized Kirkuk and other disputed territories when the Iraqi army collapsed in the face of Islamic State in 2014, preventing its oilfields from falling into militant hands. | 1 |
20,442 | Turkey seeks life sentences for 60 ex-military over 1997 'post-modern coup' | ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Sixty people including a former military chief faced demands for life jail terms over a 1997 campaign of army pressure, known in Turkey as the post-modern coup, that toppled the country s first Islamist-led government, state media said on Thursday. Coups in 1960 and 1980 and a failed 2016 putsch involved overt army use of force, but the resignation of prime minister Necmettin Erbakan followed warnings and only a brief appearance of tanks in a provincial town. It is an action that has long rankled with current Islamist-rooted President Tayyip Erdogan. In his final opinion on the case, the prosecutor said the army action, which did not result in any direct military rule, constituted a real coup attempt and could not be defined as post-modern , broadcaster NTV reported. Among those facing life sentences are General Ismail Hakki Karadayi, 85, who was chief of general staff between 1994 and 1998, and his deputy at the time General Cevik Bir, state-run Anadolu news agency said. The investigation into the unseating of Erbakan, who led a coalition government, is one of a series of court cases that have targeted the formerly all powerful secularist military in recent years. The army s influence has been curbed drastically under Erdogan, who first came to power in 2003 and who was a member of Erbakan s Welfare Party at the time of the government s ouster. A total of 103 people, mostly retired generals, had been named in the trial s 1,300-page indictment, accused of overthrowing by force, and participating in the overthrow of a government. While aggravated life sentences were sought for 60 defendants, the prosecutor asked for the acquittal of 39 other defendants, NTV reported. The four other defendants have died since the court case began in 2013. Last year, rogue soldiers commandeered warplanes, tanks and helicopters in a failed coup which killed 250 people and which Ankara has blamed on U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen. He has denied involvement. Erbakan, who died in 2011, pioneered Islamist politics in Turkey, a Muslim country with a secular state system, paving the way for the later success of Erdogan s AK Party. | 1 |
20,443 | LISTEN TO THIS MEMBER OF CONGRESS WHINE ABOUT NOT “BEING PAID PROPERLY”…AVG PAY $174,000 | He wants more money? He should find a different occupation that pays more. Hey Florida, vote this guy out! Members deserve to be paid, staff deserves to be paid and the cost of living here is causing serious problems for people who are not wealthy to serve in this institution, the Florida Democrat said at a Rules Committee meeting, referring to the average member s $174,000 annual salary. We aren t being paid properly, Dem.Rep.Alcee Hastings | 0 |
20,444 | Guatemala federal auditor to probe president's pay bonus | GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - Guatemala s federal auditor on Tuesday said it will investigate a salary bonus the Defense Ministry gives to President Jimmy Morales that raises his earnings by more than a third, making him one of the best paid leaders in Latin America. The federal comptroller, which audits all government spending, said in a statement it had asked for information on the previously unknown 50,000 quetzals ($7,300) Bonus for Extraordinary Responsibility that is not officially part of the president s salary package. Defense Minister William Mansilla on Tuesday confirmed that Morales had since December 2016 received the payment, which lifts the president s salary to $27,400 a month. The president didn t ask for it. Instead, it was a group decision by the army, Mansilla said in a press conference. A technical board of auditors determined the bonus. The revelation of the unusual salary perk comes at an awkward time for the beleaguered Morales, who managed to retain his immunity from prosecution on Monday. Congress voted overwhelmingly to protect him after the attorney general submitted a request to investigate Morales over suspected financing irregularities during his 2015 election campaign. [nL2N1LS1EV] Last month, Guatemala s attorney general and the U.N.-backed International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) jointly sought to investigate Morales, a former comedian, over the illegal financing allegation. Two days later, Morales declared the head of the U.N. body persona non grata. Under the leadership of Ivan Velasquez, a veteran Colombian prosecutor, CICIG has caused problems for Morales, first investigating his son and brother then aiming at him. The Defense Ministry on Tuesday posted on its website documents, dated Jan. 1, 2016, that detailed the payment to the president and various other military officials. The considerations (for the bonus) were due to his position and the risks and dangers that (Morales) undertakes, Mansilla said in explaining the army s reasoning for the payment. Former Presidents Alfonso Portillo and Alvaro Colom told Reuters they had not received such a bonus. The president s office did not respond to requests for comment. The salary bonus means that Morales earns 70 percent more than Chilean leader Michelle Bachelet and 130 percent more than Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, two of the region s best paid top officials. The bonus is also 90 times the $300 minimum wage in Guatemala, where 60 percent of the population lives in poverty. | 1 |
20,445 | MEDIA IGNORES! Huge List of Attacks on Conservatives is Shocking | Pro-Trump supporters have known the truth for a long time that conservatives are being attacked. Do you have any idea of the number of attacks? You might be shocked to see the list created by The Daily Caller.We feel like it s even more important to know who s behind the effort to attack and silence conservatives in America. There are groups like MoveOn.org and Black Lives Matter that have been instigating violence in a big way. Antifa is the worst with their tactics of extreme violence and destruction.Just as destructive as the violence is the left s effort to hijack the narrative anytime something happens between both sides. It s an Alinsky tactic that the left has been using long before President Trump came on the scene. The only difference now is that they re on overdrive with the attacks on Trump! It s downright scary!Take the The Huffington Post s recent article calling for the execution of Trump and everyone assisting his agenda. If you ve noticed a hijacking of the narrative on just about everything to do with President Trump then look no further than the attack on his comments yesterday. Trump s words were twisted, replaced and totally misinterpreted. So it shouldn t surprise anyone that you haven t heard much about physical attacks on conservatives what s the left got to gain by telling the truth? Suppression of information is right up there with lying A low as you can get!HERE S THE TRUTH AND IT S SHOCKING: Protesters jumped on cars, stole hats, fought with and threw eggs at Trump supporters outside a Trump rally in downtown San Jose, Calif. Trump supporters sued San Jose over the violence.July 2016:-A Hillary Clinton supporter lights a flag on fire and attacks a Trump supporter in Pittsburgh.August 2016:-Anti-Trump protesters attacked pushed, spit on and verbally harassed attendees forced to walk a gauntlet as they left a Trump fundraiser in Minneapolis, Minn., and beat an elderly man. Protesters also attacked Trump s motorcade. A Tennessee man was assaulted at a garage sale for being a Trump supporter.-A Trump supporter in New Jersey was attacked with a crowbar on the street.September 2016:-Protesters in El Cajon, Calif., chased and beat up a Trump supporter.October 2016:-A GOP office in North Carolina was firebombed and spray painted with Nazi Republicans get out of town or else. November 2016:-A high school student was attacked after she wrote that she supported Trump on social media. The perpetrator ripped her glasses off and punched her in the face.-The president of Cornell University s College Republicans was assaulted the night after Trump won the election.-Students protesting Trump punched and kicked a Maryland high school student wearing a Make America Great Again hat.-A high school student was arrested in Florida after he punched a classmate for carrying a Trump sign at school.-A group of black men in Chicago attacked a white man while raging against Trump.-Maryland high school students punched a student who was demonstrating in support of Trump, and then kicked him repeatedly while he was on the ground.- You support Trump. You hate Mexicans, a California high school student yelled at a Trump supporter, before viciously beating the girl.-An anti-bullying ambassador was arrested for shoving a 74-year-old man to the ground in a fight outside Trump tower where people upset over his win had gathered. The woman tied to Black Lives Matter caused the man to hit his head on the sidewalk.-A Texas elementary school student was beaten by his classmates for voting for Trump in a mock election.-Two men punched and kicked a Connecticut man who was standing with an American flag and a Trump sign.December 2016:-A Trump supporter was beaten and dragged by a car.January 2017:-A Trump supporter was knocked unconscious after airport protesters repeatedly beat him on the head.-A Trump supporter was attacked after putting out a fire started by anti-Trump protesters.-When Trump protesters encountered a driver with a pro-Trump flag on his car, they surrounded the vehicle, ripped off and began burning the flag, and pounded the car. They also punctured the tires.February 2017:-California GOP Rep. Tom McClintock had to be escorted to his car after a town hall because of angry protesters. The tires of at least four vehicles were slashed.-Protestors knocked a 71-year-old female staffer for California GOP Rep. Dana Rohrabacher unconscious during a protest outside the representative s office.-Milo Yiannopoulos speech at the University of California-Berkeley was cancelled after rioters set the campus on fire and threw rocks through windows. Milo tweeted that one of his supporters wearing a Trump hat was thrown to the ground and kicked.March 2017:-Masked protesters at Middlebury College rushed AEI scholar and political scientist Charles Murray and professor Allison Stranger, pushing and shoving Murray and grabbing Stranger by her hair and twisting her neck as they were leaving a campus building. Stranger suffered a concussion. Protesters then surrounded the car they got into, rocking it back and forth and jumping on the hood.April 2017:-A parade in Portland, Ore.,was canceled after threats of violence were made against a Republican organization.-Fears of violent protests shut down Ann Coulter s UC Berkeley speech. Campus police had gathered intel on protesters who were planning to commit violence.May 2017: Republican Rep. Tom Garrett, his family and his dog were targeted by a series of repeated death threats deemed credible by authorities.-FBI agents arrested a person for threatening to shoot Republican Rep. Martha McSally over her support for Trump.-Police in Tennessee charged a woman for allegedly trying to run Republican Rep. David Kustoff off the road.-Police in North Dakota ejected a man after he became physical with Republican Rep. Kevin Cramer at a town hall.-A former professor was arrested after police said they identified him on video beating Trump supporters with a U-shaped bike lock, leaving three people with significant injuries. June 2017:-James Hodgkinson opened fire on a congressional GOP baseball practice, injuring five, including House Majority Whip Steve Scalise.-Republican Rep. Claudia Tenney received an email threat that read, One down, 216 to go, shortly after the shooting at the Republican congressional baseball practice.-A man driving a white Malibu reportedly fired several shots at a man driving a truck displaying a Make America Great Again flag in Indiana. | 0 |
20,446 | Despite Republican’s Best Efforts, SCOTUS Just Allowed Louisiana Abortion Clinics To Reopen | Much to the dismay of so-called pro-life Republicans, the Supreme Court handed down an order allowing Louisiana Abortion clinics to reopen after a fringe right-wing appeals court forced them to close.The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued what it called an emergency decision that permitted an anti-abortion law they knew was unconstitutional to go into effect in Louisiana. This law, like many others of its kind, did not serve any practical purpose other than to effectively ban all abortion within the state.This particular law required physicians that perform abortions to have admitting privileges at local hospitals. It s a completely unnecessary requirement since nearly all abortions do not require any form of admittance to a hospital and only serves to place undue burdens on vulnerable women and their physicians that are trying to help them.The Fifth Circuit Court has a history of allowing laws that it knows are going to be found unconstitutional to get implemented anyway. They got clear warnings from the Supreme Court that they should not allow these laws to proceed, due to the obvious unconstitutionality of them plus the precedent of the 5th circuits own decisions getting struck down in the past regarding them. However, they just keep upholding them, forcing a waste of taxpayer money and time by making them get elevated to the Supreme Court of the United States.Twice before, the Fifth Circuit has had decisions get struck down by SCOTUS from laws passed in Texas alone. One time they issued a partial stay, allowing some of Texas s abortion clinics to remain open. A second time SCOTUS handed down a more comprehensive stay of what is the Fifth Circuit s most draconian anti-abortion decision to date, in the case of Whole Woman s Health V. Cole. This is the exact same type of law that the Louisiana one was, in that it called for admitting privileges for doctors that provide abortions.In the Louisiana decision, only Clarence Thomas dissented from the opinion of the court which allowed the state s clinics to re-open giving an indicator the right-wing s irrational obsession with women s bodies may have finally gone too far.Featured image via wikicommons | 0 |
20,447 | WATCH: Anti-Gun Group Absolutely DESTROYS NRA For Marketing Guns To Kids | The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence released new videos depicting the danger of guns in children s hands in response to the National Rifle Association s (NRA) and the corporate gun industry s disgusting marketing of guns to children. The videos depict Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan as victims of gun violence.Watch videos here:Peter Pan[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoAuvmRH2Yk] Alice in Wonderland[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDrQlHx7GK4]A report by the Violence Policy Center (VPC) Start Them Young How the Firearms Industry and Gun Lobby Are Targeting Your Children, documents how the gun industry and the gun lobby markets guns to children. The comprehensive 54 page report lists the many slick approaches marketers use to make guns attractive to children despite the lethal consequences which include mass murder, suicides, fatal unintentional shootings, and mass murder. The marketing approaches of guns include: The promotion of 22 caliber assault rifles that often incorporate plastic in their design (leading to less recoil and lighter weight). The result, according to Shooting Sports Retailer, is guns that bring the coolness and fun of the tactical rifle to kids and less serious shooters. Marketing guns in child-friendly colors, including: pink rifles and pistols intended for girls and women from a wide range of manufacturers; Smith & Wesson 22 caliber AR-15 style assault rifles in Pink Platinum, Purple Platinum, and Harvest Moon Orange; and youth rifles from Savage Arms that come in crayon-box colors that include red, yellow, orange, and blue. In the search for a gun-based reality video game to compete with the appeal of actual video games, the industry has embraced 3-Gun competition, described by one gun writer as being as close to a real-life first person shooter video game as you ll get without joining the military. The NRA, which is considered the most powerful lobby group in Washington along with other groups that promote violent activities like Israel s AIPAC, has a leash on Washington GOP politicians despite the fact that its promotion and profiteering off of guns has made America one of the most dangerous countries on the planet.The Brady Campaign, named after James Brady, who was permanently disabled after the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan in 1981, is a non-profit organization that has advocated for gun control for decades. Featured image via video screenshot. | 0 |
20,448 | Elizabeth Warren Announces That A Major For Profit School Is Banned From Accepting Students | If there s one thing Elizabeth Warren hates, it s when ordinary citizens get the wool pulled over their eyes and are taken advantage of by greedy corporations.In an effort to make at least one company no longer have the ability to cheat students out of a proper education and tens of thousands of dollars, ITT Tech will no longer be allowed to accept students.Warren took to Facebook to make the announcement: ITT Tech a massive, for-profit college is currently under investigation by 20 state and federal agencies for cheating students. The SEC, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey are all suing them for fraud. ITT Tech failed, again, to meet the scandalously low standards of its accrediting agency, but still sucked down a whopping $600 million in taxpayer dollars last year.Today, the Department of Education has finally declared that enough is enough, banning ITT Tech from enrolling any new students with federal student loan and grant dollars this fall. ITT s free ride is finally over, and the message couldn t be clearer: We will no longer stand by and allow these shady institutions to bilk taxpayers and cheat students. https://www.facebook.com/senatorelizabethwarren/posts/636549976507499Warren also posts a link that explains what is happening and what current students can do or expect. Part of the article explains:As a current ITT student with federal loans, you have some options:You can continue your courses at ITT with your federal student aid. There s no immediate change to your program.You can transfer your credits to a new school (if that school accepts them) and complete your education.You can pause your education and wait to see how this matter resolves itself in the coming months. If ITT closes before you finish your program and you don t transfer your credits, you will likely be eligible to discharge your federal loans.This is huge news, and long overdue. All too often these for-profit schools continue to take money while providing subpar education, often not properly accredited. These schools spend more on advertising than education and take advantage of people who may not necessarily realize they are being robbed.It is wonderful to finally see some justice be made and watch at least another one of these scam schools be given what is long overdue.Featured Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images | 0 |
20,449 | PRESIDENT TRUMP Describes Receiving Nuclear Codes…Gives Great Answer! [Video] | Pres. Trump on receiving nuclear codes: It is a very sobering moment, yes. It s very, very, very scary in a sense. https://t.co/FXAwZGhKWA pic.twitter.com/KGPh6CKyE3 World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) January 26, 2017 President Donald Trump said during an interview Wednesday that the moment he received the codes to the country s nuclear arsenal was a very scary thing. The president described being given the responsibility as a very sobering moment during the interview that aired on ABC. It is very, very very scary in a sense, Trump said. No but it s, I have confidence that I ll do the right thing, the right job. But it s a very, very scary thing, he told ABC s David Muir when asked if having access to the nuclear codes keeps him up at night.Via: NYP | 0 |
20,450 | Indonesia reopens Bali airport as wind clears volcanic ash | DENPASAR, Indonesia (Reuters) - The airport on the Indonesian holiday island of Bali reopened on Wednesday as wind blew away ash spewed out by a volcano, giving airlines a window to get tourists out while authorities stepped up efforts to get thousands of villagers to move to safety. Operations at the airport - the second-busiest in Indonesia - have been disrupted since the weekend when Mount Agung, in east Bali, began belching out huge clouds of smoke and ash, and authorities warned of an imminent threat of a major eruption. Bali s international airport started operating normally, air traffic control provider AirNav said in a statement, adding that operations resumed at 2:28 p.m. (0628 GMT). The reopening of the airport, which is about 60 km (37 miles) away from Mount Agung, followed a downgrade in an aviation warning to one level below the most serious, with the arrival of more favorable winds. We really hope that we actually get a flight, maybe today or tomorrow, to get back home, said tourist Nathan James, from the Australian city of Brisbane, waiting at the airport. A large plume of white and grey ash and smoke hovered over Agung on Wednesday, after night-time rain partially obscured a fiery glow at its peak. President Joko Widodo begged villagers living in a danger zone around the volcano to move to emergency centers. Sutopo Purwo Nugroho of the disaster mitigation agency said about 43,000 people had heeded advice to take shelter, but an estimated 90,000 to 100,000 people were living in the zone. The decision to resume flights followed an emergency meeting at the airport, when authorities weighing up weather conditions, tests and data from AirNav and other groups. Flight tracking website FlightRadar24 later showed there were flights departing and arriving at the airport although its general manager said if the wind changed direction the airport could be closed again at short notice. Agung looms over eastern Bali to a height of just over 3,000 meters (9,800 feet). Its last major eruption in 1963 killed more than 1,000 people and razed several villages. Ash coated cars, roofs and roads to the southeast of the crater on Wednesday and children wore masks as they walked to school. Singapore Airlines Ltd (SIAL.SI) said it would resume flights while Australia s Qantas Airways Ltd (QAN.AX) said it and budget arm Jetstar would run 16 flights to Australia on Thursday to ferry home 3,800 stranded customers. Singapore Airlines and SilkAir were seeking approval to operate additional flights on Thursday, while budget offshoot Scoot said it would cease offering land and ferry transport to the city of Surabaya, on Java island, as it resumed flights to Bali. Virgin Australia plans to operate up to four recovery flights to Denpasar on Thursday. As the volcanic activity remains unpredictable, these flights may be canceled at short notice, it said on its website. The head of the weather agency at Bali airport, Bambang Hargiyono, said winds had begun to blow from the north to south, carrying ash toward the neighboring island of Lombok. He said the wind was expected to shift toward the southeast for the next three days , which should allow flights to operate. As many as 430 domestic and international flights had been disrupted on Wednesday. Authorities are urging villagers living up to 10 km (6 miles) from the volcano to move to emergency centers, but some are reluctant to leave homes and livestock. Those in the 8- to 10-km radius must truly take refuge for safety, Widodo told reporters. There must not be any victims. Interactive graphic: 'Mount Agung awakens' click tmsnrt.rs/2AayRVh Graphic: 'Ring of fire' click tmsnrt.rs/2AzR9jv | 1 |
20,451 | Senate rejects gun-control measures after Orlando shooting | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Monday rejected four measures restricting gun sales after last week’s massacre in an Orlando nightclub, dealing a bitter setback to advocates who have failed to get even modest gun curbs through Congress despite repeated mass shootings. A group of senators was still hoping to forge a compromise for later in the week aimed at keeping firearms away from people on terrorism watch lists, although that effort faced an uphill battle with critics in both parties skeptical about its chances. Last week’s massacre, the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, had intensified pressure on lawmakers, who moved swiftly to take the issue to the Senate floor. But the gun-control measures lost in largely party-line votes that showed the lingering political power in Congress of gun rights defenders and the National Rifle Association. Republicans and their allies in the NRA gun lobby said the Democratic bills were too restrictive and trampled on the constitutional right to bear arms. Democrats attacked the Republicans’ two proposals as too weak and accused them of being in the thrall of the NRA. “What am I going to tell the community of Orlando?” asked Democratic Senator Bill Nelson of Florida after the votes. “Sadly, what I’m going to tell them is the NRA won again.” Chris Cox, executive director of the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action, attacked the Democrats’ amendments and thanked Republicans for rejecting them. “Today, the American people witnessed an embarrassing display in the United States,” he said. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, said the Democratic measures were ineffective and Republican senators “are pursuing real solutions that can help keep Americans safer from the threat of terrorism.” As the parties remain largely locked in their positions, polls show Americans are increasingly in favor of more restrictions on guns in a country with more than 310 million weapons, about one for every citizen. The issue is already a prominent one for voters in November elections. Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton supports new gun restrictions, while Republican Donald Trump expressed a willingness to talk to the NRA about the issue. After the votes, Clinton issued a one-word statement: “Enough.” It was followed by the names and ages of the dead in Orlando. Gun control efforts failed after mass shootings at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012 and a conference center in San Bernardino, California, in 2015. But some senators see resistance to gun restrictions softening as national security looms larger in the debate. The Orlando gunman, Omar Mateen, pledged allegiance to the militant group Islamic State as he killed 49 people in a gay nightclub. “This country is under attack ... it’s not a plane or an explosive device, it’s an assault weapon,” said Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat who led a 15-hour filibuster last week to draw attention to the effort to restrict guns. Murphy walked off the floor after the Senate votes and embraced Erica Smegielski, the daughter of Dawn Hochsprung, a Sandy Hook principal killed during the Newtown shooting. “He said, the good thing about me and you is we’re young, we’ll be at this a long time,” said Smegielski, 30. A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted last week found that 71 percent of Americans favor at least moderate regulations and restrictions on gun sales. That compared with 60 percent in late 2013 and late 2014. Senior Senate aides left open the possibility of other votes later in the week on unspecified gun control proposals. Some Republicans pinned hopes on a proposal by Senator Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, which was not one of the four bills being considered on Monday. Collins’ plan would restrict gun purchases to a narrow group of suspects, including those on a “no-fly” list or a “selectee” list of people who require additional screening at airports.. But Democratic aides said people credibly suspected of involvement in terrorism would not be covered by the weapons ban under Collins’ bill, and a Republican aide indicated it would not do enough to protect the constitutional rights of gun buyers. Even if the Senate approved a gun compromise, it would also have to be passed by the more conservative, Republican-majority House of Representatives. House Republican leadership aides did not comment on the possibility that any bills proposing gun restrictions would be considered on the House floor this week. On Monday, all four of the measures to expand background checks on gun buyers and curb gun sales to those on terrorism watch lists - two put forth by Democrats and two by Republicans - fell short of the 60 votes needed for passage in the 100-member chamber. Gun-control advocates expressed disappointment after the vote and vowed to take revenge on lawmakers at the ballot box in November. “Shame on every single senator who voted against these life-saving amendments and protected the rights of terrorists and other dangerous people to buy guns,” said Dan Gross, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. “The Brady Campaign will expose these politicians for who they really are and call out their failure to disarm hate in America.” | 1 |
20,452 | San Diego Padres Deliberately Humiliate Local Gay Men’s Chorus (VIDEO) | California is known as one of the most gay-friendly areas of the country, but they are not without their share of homophobes. This was made abundantly clear on Saturday during a home game being played by the San Diego Padres baseball team. The San Diego Gay Men s Chorus was due to perform the national anthem prior to the game s start, and things went horribly wrong.Perhaps there was already foreshadowing that the Gay Men s Chorus would not be welcome to do their performance, considering the fact that there were calls for them to pay for tickets for the so-called privilege of performing even if they had no intentions of staying to watch the game. However, if you think that was bad, what happened during the performance itself was infinitely worse. As the chorus took the field to sing the Star Spangled Banner, to their horror, a recording of a woman s voice singing the song was played. Game officials made no move to stop the recording, and made no apology. The Gay Men s Chorus just had to stand on the field until the recording finished, and then they were taken off the field. When they were being led away, there were many homophobic taunts shouted, including one that chanted, You sing like a girl.The San Diego Gay Men s Chorus released the following statement regarding this disgusting situation:What should have been a night of joy and celebration at Petco Park last night, instead turned into a nightmare raising serious questions about homophobia within the San Diego Padres organization and its relationship with the LGBT community.Before the start of the last night s San Diego Padres game, 100 volunteer singers of the San Diego Gay Men s Chorus took to the field to proudly sing the National Anthem. Instead, in front of the large crowd gathered for the LA Dodgers game, the San Diego Padres played the recorded voice of a woman singing the anthem.No attempt was made to stop the recording and start over. No announcement of apology was made to the singers or their friends and families in the stands. No attempt to correct the situation occurred other than to force the 100 men to stand in the spotlight of center field for the song s duration and then be escorted off the field to the heckles of baseball fans shouting homophobic taunts including You sing like a girl. This incident followed several days of troubling comments and behavior within the San Diego Padres organization. Three days before the game, San Diego Padres representatives aggressively sought to prevent singers from performing the National Anthem unless they purchased a ticket to the game even if they did not plan to stay for the game which was not part of any previous discussion or written or verbal agreement and would have cost the small, community-based non-profit thousands of dollars. The demand eventually was rescinded on Friday following repeated complaints made by SDGMC and San Diego Pride to San Diego Padres management.With this as background, we call on the San Diego Padres and Major League Baseball to immediately launch a full and transparent investigation into the incident to determine if someone or some people intentionally engaged in anti-gay discrimination or a hate crime by playing a female s voice to represent a group of gay men with the purpose of denigrating and/or ridiculing gay men. The historic significance of such an act is not lost on the LGBT community especially in relation to professional sports and added to the depth of embarrassment experienced by the singers and their families.We also call upon the City of San Diego City Attorney s Office and the City of San Diego Human Relations Commission to independently investigate this incident to determine if members of the San Diego Padres organization engaged in activity in violation of the San Diego Human Rights Ordinance or engaged in any deliberate hate crimes based on sexual orientation.We applaud San Diego Padres President and Chief Executive Office Mike Dee for reaching out to our organization to apologize and to offer to meet with LGBT leaders to discuss the incident. We look forward to this meeting. We believe it is important to work together with the San Diego Padres organization to build bridges within the LGBT community rather than burn them down as happened last night.However, we are very disappointed with the San Diego Padres dismissively brief two sentence statement at 9:37 p.m. on Saturday, May 21, 2016 which did not appropriately address the gravity of the situation nor pay due to the 100 volunteers who took to the field in celebration and were led off in humiliation.Hopefully, Mike Dee gets rid of the people associated with and responsible for what happened at that baseball game. There is simply no excuse for what was done to these singers. This is blatant homophobia, and it was done in an effort to humiliate an organization of gay singers, to let them know in no uncertain terms that even in supposedly liberal California that they would not be accepted.Since fans were deprived of the opportunity to hear it on Saturday, here is a video of the San Diego Gay Men s Chorus singing the national anthem:Featured image via video screen capture | 0 |
20,453 | Trump advisers see arbitration as way to speed infrastructure plans | NEW YORK (Reuters) - A group advising U.S. President Donald Trump on infrastructure has proposed an arbitration-style pilot program to slash the current 10 years it often takes to break ground on projects, without short-changing environmental standards. The group, led by billionaire New York real estate developers Richard LeFrak and Steve Roth, made the suggestion to Trump and others in the White House last week, LeFrak told Reuters on Monday. Builders, unions and others often rue a permitting processes that can last a decade or more – a potential snag in Trump’s plan to launch a 10-year, $1 trillion infrastructure building program to create jobs and bolster the world’s biggest economy. LeFrak said the advisory council is looking at a pilot program comparable to the arbitration process used in bankruptcy court to speed up proposals, reduce red tape and halt litigation that can tie up infrastructure projects in court for years. “Somebody in authority would make the decisions, all the mitigation that should be coming out of it, whether it’s environmental mitigation, other mitigation, gets decided at that moment and that’s it,” he said. “It’s just a proposal. We’re asking them to try it.” The council is not empowered to pick projects or make decisions about how to streamline the project permitting process for projects, he said. Any pilot program would be up to state and federal officials and Congress, he said. LeFrak added that the proposal would not allow projects for bridges, roads or airports to side-step regulations, such as environmental rules. The idea would be to hammer out differences and objections faster in an arbitration-like setting so that projects could get underway in less time. Australia, Canada and Germany typically take two years to approve infrastructure projects compared with 10 years in the United States, he said. A shortened review process could leave projects open to worries from environmentalists and others that an expedited permitting system could short-change environmental protections. Environmental groups are skeptical of Trump’s promise to overhaul government regulations without jeopardizing America’s water and air quality. When Trump unveils his budget on Thursday, he is expected to slash the budget of the Environmental Protection Agency by 25 percent. The Sierra Club, Nature Conservancy and other environmental groups as well as the office of House of Representatives Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi were not available for comment. Permitting and other regulatory hurdles can delay projects for years, a potential liability for a program that seeks to put money – and people – to work immediately. “There’s got to be some way without abrogating anybody’s rights to get all this on the table much more quickly,” said LeFrak, who is chairman and chief executive of the LeFrak Organization, a leading developer and property owner in the New York metro area and South Florida. LeFrak pointed to the replacement within 14 months of a bridge that collapsed in Minneapolis in 2007 killing 13 people as an example of how projects can get done without compromising standards. LeFrak also said the committee wants to use private funds to soak up cost overruns and keep projects maintained after completion. He suggested, as well, one possible solution to the key question of how to pay for Trump’s infrastructure program: a higher federal gas tax. If not, funding will have to come from general tax revenue, he said. Local and state government pay for about 70 percent of infrastructure projects in the United States, with the remainder funded by the federal government. The American Society of Civil Engineers last week recommended an 18.4 cents per gallon federal tax on gasoline be raised at least to 25 cents per gallon to fill a funding deficit for infrastructure it said was $2 trillion. “I’m saying somebody’s going to have pay for it. It doesn’t come for free,” LeFrak said. “I wish I was powerful enough to impose a gas tax, but I’m not.” | 1 |
20,454 | Republicans defend Trump court pick rated 'not qualified' | (Reuters) - Senate Republicans mounted a concerted defense of one of President Donald Trump’s nominees to a federal appeals court on Wednesday, suggesting a nonpartisan lawyers’ group rating of Leonard Steven Grasz as “not qualified” for the bench was biased. During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Grasz’s nomination, the Republicans universally praised the Nebraska lawyer, whom Trump wants to fill a vacancy on the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis. Negative assessments by the American Bar Association, which has been evaluating federal court picks for decades, are rare. It last gave an appeals court nominee a rating of “not qualified” in 2006. That nominee was withdrawn. The ABA’s 15-member standing committee on the federal judiciary voted unanimously on the poor rating for Grasz, with one member abstaining. The report focused largely on Grasz’s advocacy on conservative social issues, including his opposition to abortion rights. “Many questioned whether Mr. Grasz would be able to detach himself from his deeply held social agenda,” Pamela Bresnahan, chair of the group’s judicial nominee vetting committee, said in a statement. On Wednesday, Republican senators questioned the credibility of the process. “They do a terrific job ordinarily, but sometimes they’re just ridiculous, and in your case I think they’re not only ridiculous, they’ve been political,” Republican Senator Orrin Hatch said, adding he would support Grasz’s appointment. The dustup over Grasz comes as the full Senate continues to confirm Trump’s judicial choices amid Republican complaints that Democrats are obstructing the process. Ten have been confirmed so far, including Joan Larsen, who was approved on Wednesday to sit on the federal appeals bench in Cincinnati. The ABA, the largest lawyers group in the United States, says its judicial evaluations are non-partisan, taking into account experience, knowledge of the law and other factors, but not political or ideological views. As Nebraska’s former chief deputy attorney general, Grasz defended the state’s “partial-birth” abortion ban, among other laws. Grasz told the senators he would be bound to follow the Supreme Court’s abortion precedents. He said that during the second interview by the ABA, “I was asked repeatedly for my personal opinions on social issues including abortion.” Nebraska Senator Deb Fischer, a Republican, called the ABA rating a “baseless political character assassination.” She claimed the two main evaluators both had ties with Democrats. Bresnahan declined comment on Wednesday. She will testify before the Judiciary Committee on Nov. 15. | 1 |
20,455 | Trump Stoops To A New Low: My Rallies ‘Are The Safest Places A Child Could Be’ | Looking back at all of the offensive, ridiculous things that Republican front runner Donald Trump has said over the past few months, it seems that Trump would probably have a more promising career in stand-up comedy than politics. But unfortunately for the rest of us, Trump is still a leading presidential candidate for the Republican party and continues to say more insane, delusional nonsense every day.One of the latest Trump ramblings reveals just how little Trump cares about the safety of America s youth. Maureen Dowd recently wrote a column about the front runner, pulling from a recent interview she had with Trump. Like every interview the business mogul partakes in, it s absolutely insane.Trump performed his typical bullying tactics, from insulting total whack job Megyn Kelly and attacking Elizabeth Warren before hilariously denying that he was a misogynist or racist. Trump said, Honestly, I m with the people. The people like Trump. While that s pretty bad, the most shocking part of the interview came when Trump spoke about his rallies, which have become infamous for their violence.Despite the fact that he has absolutely encouraged violence at his rallies and even promised to protect his supporters if they attacked a protester, Trump continues to deny that his campaign events are anything but peaceful. In fact, over the last few days he has blamed the outrageously rabid behavior of his fans on both Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. Trump s dishonesty and delusion run so deep that when Trump was asked if parents should be concerned about bringing their children to rallies where cursing, physical assaults and bullying are par for the course, Trump said this: The rallies are the safest places a child could be. Trump was then questioned about a particular incident in which a man rushed the stage, causing him to visibly quiver in fear. Trump, denying that he felt he was in any danger at all, said, I got credit for that because it looked like I was moving toward him. He also said that when his protesters scream at agitators or protesters, it adds a little excitement. Clearly, Trump s rallies are NOT a safe place for a child, and it s terrifying that Trump is denying this and ENCOURAGING his supporters to bring their kids into such a chaotic, unstable environment. The scary thing is, Trump s supporters hang on to his every word and are probably too dense to know any better.While Trump continues to deny that his rallies are extremely dangerous, several more incidents of violence happened at a Tuscan, Arizona rally yesterday ironically the same day that Dowd s column about Trump was published. During the rally, a man was punched, kicked and stomped on the ground, and Trump s own campaign manager was seen grabbing the collar of a protester. Previously, Trump s campaign manager was accused of assaulting a female reporter.And those are not isolated instances. This type of violence follows Trump everywhere he and his protesters go. These attacks are sometimes racially motivated, and sometimes for no reason at all (attacks on peaceful protesters have become quite common). Suggesting that parents expose their children to the type of bigotry, racism and all-around disgusting behavior that we ve seen from Trump and his minions is despicable. Through his denial and lies, Trump has greatly endangered America s youth.Featured image via Gage Skidmore | 0 |
20,456 | Obama digs into research on potential Supreme Court picks | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will review briefing documents from his staff this weekend on potential Supreme Court nominees, the White House said on Friday, as a tough political fight loomed with Senate Republicans over filling the pivotal vacancy. The White House arranged for photographers to snap pictures of Obama carrying a thick binder filled with papers during his walk from the Oval Office to his residence on Friday night as he ponders who to pick to replace conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, who died on Feb. 13. Earlier in the day, the president and first lady Michelle Obama paid respects to Scalia as the late justice’s body lay in repose in the Supreme Court’s Great Hall. “The president’s team, over the course of this week, has spent a lot of time preparing materials for the president’s review, and I would expect, over the weekend, that the president will begin to dig into the materials that have been prepared for him,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said. Earnest gave no clues about who Obama might pick but said the lengthy briefing materials included information about “some potential nominees” including career accomplishments and experience. The court’s ideological balance of power is at stake, and Obama’s nominee could tip it to the left for the first time in decades. Scalia’s death left the court with four conservative and four liberal justices. Obama phoned Senate leaders, including Republicans who have threatened to block any nominee made by the Democratic president to replace Scalia. Obama made it clear in his calls with two key Senate Republicans, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, that he will nominate someone for the job, Earnest told reporters. McConnell has said the seat should remain vacant until Obama’s successor takes office next January so voters can have a say in the selection when they choose a new president in the Nov. 8 election. Obama also spoke with Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid and Senator Patrick Leahy, the Judiciary Committee’s top Democrat, Earnest said. Reid said on Thursday after speaking with Obama that he expected the president to name his pick in “a little over three weeks.” Earnest declined to discuss a timetable for Obama’s decision, and said the president’s staff had not yet provided a “short list” of candidates. | 1 |
20,457 | Hillary Plans To Destroy Trump In Upcoming Speech Tying Him To ‘Disturbing’ Alt-Right | The alt-right political movement is not something most mainstream voters know much about, but this year it is imperative that they do. This brand of conservativism is one that is disturbing on many levels, and made up of neo-Nazis, white nationalists, and other assorted racist extremists. What s more is that Steve Bannon, head of the insanely bigoted conservative website Breitbart, is now heading up Donald Trump s campaign for president. Therefore, Hillary Clinton is planning to do the people of America a favor this coming Thursday and give a speech educating the people on this fringe movement that is definitely a big player in the Trump campaign.The Clinton campaign says of the speech: This alt-right brand is embracing extremism and presenting a divisive and dystopian view of America which should concern all Americans, regardless of party. They go on to remind everyone that Trump s entire campaign staff is made up of people who embrace this bigoted garbage. Indeed, this is something that used to be on the fringes, in the bowels of the interwebs where only basement-dwelling imbeciles who embrace the new white supremacy even knew anything about this largely online movement. However, Donald Trump has changed all of that, and empowered these dangerous idiots to come into the light. They see him as an inspiration. They have definitely picked up on Trump s dog whistling. After all, we all know that Make America Great Again, is really just code for Make America WHITE Again. Despite Trump s recent pathetic efforts to reach out to minority voters, we all know what he is REALLY doing trying to make white people uncomfortable with such blatant racism believe he s just not-racist enough for them to be able to pull the lever for him this November.Thank you, Secretary Clinton, for this public service. Hopefully, people listen.Featured image via Mark Makela/Getty Images | 0 |
20,458 | biological dentistry solving disease symptoms holistically | compound found in onions has antiovarian cancer effects
sunday october by david gutierrez staff writer tags cancer prevention onions quercetin naturalnews a chemical naturally occurring in onions may be able to suppress the proliferation of ovarian cancer cells and perhaps even initiate cancer cell death according to a study conducted by researchers from kumamoto university in japan and published in the journal scientific reports these particular anticancer effects come from a chemical called onionin a ona the study focused on the effects of ona on the most common form of ovarian cancer epithelial ovarian cancer eoc this type of cancer has a fiveyear survival rate of only percent it is the th most common female cancer in the united states and the fifth most lethal form of cancer in women as many as percent of eoc patients relapse after their first course of chemotherapy kills cancer cells suppresses tumor growth in a prior study the researchers found that ona suppressed the tumorpromoting activity of a type of white blood cells known as myeloid cellsin the new study researchers further examined cellbased models of eocs firstly they found that the introduction of ona caused eoc tumor growth to slow further examination showed that ona was inhibiting the tumorboosting activities of myeloidderived suppressor cells mdscs thereby confirming the findings of the prior studyprevious research has suggested that in the presence of cancer mdscs may function to suppress antitumor activity by the rest of the immune systemthe researchers also found that when combined with anticancer drugs ona boosted the ability of the drugs to block cancer proliferationwe found that ona reduced the extent of ovarian cancer cell proliferation induced by coculture with human macrophages the researchers wrote in addition we found that ona directly suppressed cancer cell proliferationthe researchers then performed an additional experiment giving mice with eoc oral treatment with ona and comparing them with a control group they found that the mice given ona lived longer and their tumors did not grow as aggressively no side effects were observed from the treatmentthe researchers concluded that with some additional testing ona could be used as an oral cancer treatmentona is considered useful for the additional treatment of patients with ovarian cancer owing to its suppression of the protumor activation of tumorassociated macrophages and direct cytotoxicity against cancer cells they wrotestudies have also linked onions to a lower risk of stomach and colorectal cancers the overlooked superfood scientists continue to uncover remarkable health benefits of the humble onion which is a staple food in every culture in which it is foundthe benefits of onions start simply with their nutrient profile these vegetables are highly nutrient dense delivering high levels of vitamins minerals and antioxidants with relatively few calories a single cup of chopped onions contains percent or more of the daily recommended amount of vitamin b vitamin c and manganese and also contains calcium folate iron magnesium phosphorus and potassium in addition to vitamin c onions are high in other antioxidants particularly quercetin antioxidants help protect the body from free radicals that cause chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancerresearchers attribute many of onions health benefits to quercetin including lower blood pressure and improved cardiovascular health quercetin is also a potent antiinflammatoryother benefits of onions may stem from some of the other nutrients it contains studies have shown that onions can help fight depression an effect that may come in part from their high folate content folate helps prevent a buildup in the body of homocysteine which in turn can suppress the production of moodregulating neurotransmitters excess homocysteine can also interfere with sleep and appetiteonions are a versatile food the entire plant is edible except for the small roots and can be eaten in nearly any form it can be cooked into recipes added raw on top of salads or sandwiches or used as an ingredient in dips and sauces sources for this article include | 0 |
20,459 | Trump Kicks Off Hispanic Heritage Month By Saying ‘Puerto Rico’ In Fake Accent (VIDEO) | Donald Trump kicked off Hispanic Heritage Month on Friday during an event at the White House. He did this after his thoroughly embarrassing tour of hurricane-devastated Puerto Rico in which he lobbed rolls of paper towels at victims of the hurricane and that was after he blamed the island for the natural disaster. Puerto Ricans are very proud people, but Trump tried to diminish them.Trump spoke on different topics during his speech, from the economy to the Las Vegas massacre, then he addressed Puerto Rico which is now in crisis after Hurricanes Maria and Irma devasted the U.S. territory. We are also praying for the people of Puerto Rico, Trump said while using an exaggerated Spanish accent. We love Puerrrrtoooo Ricooo, he continued, again with the accent. Puerto Rico, he said again.At that point, a woman yelled out, We love you! and Trump then said and we also love Puerto Rico, but this time, the fake president dropped his fake accent.Watch:Trump says Puerto Rico in an affected Spanish accent three times in a row. (via CBS) pic.twitter.com/FopaVNLqAY Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) October 6, 2017Sure, the audience laughed because haha, we re used to this president offending every single group of Americans across the board. Perhaps a better way of honoring Puerto Ricans would be to not try to cover up his own misdeeds in handling the humanitarian crisis. On Oct. 4th, half of the residents in Puerto Rico had access to clean water and 5 percent of the island had electricity, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency website. However, by Oct. 5th, FEMA had removed statistics on Puerto Rico s water and power supply from its website, so now we have no idea of what the island is dealing with and what they need to survive. The only thing FEMA left on its site was good news; not the real news which is very bleak.Information on water access and electricity on the island is available only on a website maintained by the office of Gov. Rossell , StatusPR. According to the website, 9.2 percent of the island has power and 54.2 percent of people have some form of drinking water.But Trump says he loves Puerto Ricans as he mocks their accent.Image via screen capture. | 0 |
20,460 | China calls for advancing free trade talks with South Korea, Japan | BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese Premier Li Keqiang called on Tuesday for advancing free trade agreement talks between China, Japan and South Korea, state news agency Xinhua reported. It provided no details but China has been seeking to get relations with Japan and South Korea back on track after disputes over how to rein in North Korea s nuclear and missile programmes, and, in Japan s case, over the two countries sensitive wartime history. China stands ready to work with relevant parties to speed up negotiations of the China-Japan-South Korea FTA, Li told a regional summit in Manila, Xinhua said. The three countries began free trade agreement talks in November 2012, with the latest round of talks being held in Tokyo in April, the report added. | 1 |
20,461 | Trump Administration IRATE After Judge Halts His Muslim Ban AGAIN (TWEETS) | Following a Boston judge s refusal to renew the temporary stay on Trump s Muslim ban, a federal judge in Seattle issued a stay that applies to every port of entry in the entire nation. That s all the entry points along the northern and southern borders, as well as every airport that has incoming international flights, and anywhere else people enter the U.S.And, of course, the White House is livid, because how dare the judicial branch tell them what they can and cannot do?! Sean Spicer issued an outraged tweetstorm in response to the judge s order:Statement on WA court ruling: At the earliest possible time, the Department of Justice intends to file an emergency stay of the order (1/5) Sean Spicer (@PressSec) February 4, 2017(2/5)and defend the executive order of the President, which we believe is lawful and appropriate. The president s order is intended to Sean Spicer (@PressSec) February 4, 2017(3/6) protect the country and he has the constitutional authority and responsibility to protect the American people. As the law states, Sean Spicer (@PressSec) February 4, 2017(4/6) Whenever the President finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental Sean Spicer (@PressSec) February 4, 2017(5/6)to the interests of the United States, he may by proclamation, and for such period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all Sean Spicer (@PressSec) February 4, 2017(6/6)aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants, or impose on entry of aliens any restrictions may deem 2 b appropriate. Sean Spicer (@PressSec) February 4, 2017U.S. Customs and Border Protection has already said that it will reinstate visas from the blacklisted countries, and likewise has already informed airlines of that fact. This isn t sitting well with an administration that thinks it can do whatever it wants simply because Trump is the president. White House attorneys even said: Every President over the last thirty years has invoked this authority to suspend or impose restrictions on the entry of certain aliens or classes of aliens, in some instances including classifications based on nationality. Yeah, no, not like this. When it was done before, it was done with caution, with extensive counsel, in response to very specific and known threats, and they weren t out-and-out bans. Trump s order is very broad, did not include much in the way of the necessary consultations, and is not in response to any specific threat. It s based on paranoid lunacy, actually. If they re going to invoke history, they should actually go and read history.There s a lawsuit against Trump over this order, and the disparate rulings between Seattle and Boston may well send this case to the Supreme Court. The Seattle ruling says: The executive order adversely affects the states residents in areas of employment, education, business, family relations and freedom to travel In addition, the States themselves are harmed by virtue of the damage that implementation of the Executive Order has inflicted upon the operations and missions of their public universities and other institutions of higher learning, as well as injury to the States operations, tax bases and public funds. These harms are significant and ongoing. But Trump and his minions have no idea how to work within the laws of this land, let alone consider the consequences of anything at all. He is acting as a despot king, and his clones specifically Sean Spicer and Kellyanne Conway see it the same way to the point where they lie through their teeth and get outraged at anyone they think should blindly follow them for having ideas of their own.Spicer ought to shut his mouth, along with everyone else, and let the big kids handle this.Featured image by Andrew Harrer via Getty Images | 0 |
20,462 | Democrats Are Pushing A Bill On Tax Returns That Has Donald Trump Scared Sh*tless | What is the one thing that might actually scare Donald Trump? That s right the prospect of releasing his tax returns has him terrified. The mere thought of making them public, just as every single presidential candidate in recent memory has done, is more abhorrent to him than his sexual obsession with his daughter is to the rest of us. But unfortunately for The Donald, he may not have a choice in the matter if Senate Democrats have their way.The Connecticut Mirror reports that Senators Chris Murphy and Ron Wyden have come up with a solution to Trump s nonsensical refusal to be honest with the American people about his taxes something even George W. Bush was able to accomplish:Partnering with fellow Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Murphy on Thursday pressed for votes for a bill that would require all presidential candidates from major parties to make public their tax returns within two weeks of their parties national conventions. The effort is part of a renewed Democratic campaign over Trump s tax filings.In keeping his tax returns under wraps, Murphy said Trump is violating a 40-year-standard of campaign transparency and may even be running for president to change tax laws that benefit his companies. This is an extraordinary moment in which the candidate may be seeking the presidency to protect his investments, Murphy says of his effort.What is Trump hiding? Many people are saying he has made substantial donations to NAMBLA the North American Man-Boy Love Association he does not want to become public. While this is a long-shot, as the organization is not actually tax exempt and would not show up on Trump s tax returns, it is clear that he fears their release. In any case, the Presidential Tax Transparency Act would let the public know all of Trump s dirty little tax secrets he desperately wants to keep hidden.In fact, it would force the FEC to post candidates returns on the official website for all to see anytime they wish if the candidate did not voluntarily disclose them within two weeks of their party s national conventions.So far the bill only has five co-sponsors, including Tim Kaine, but the idea seems popular.Not only would this be a great idea, but it would lead to the most hilariously humiliating concession speech one can imagine.Featured image via Getty Images/Brian Bianco | 0 |
20,463 | Russian lawmakers give mixed reaction to Trump's nuclear cuts offer | MOSCOW (Reuters) - Parliamentarians in Russia gave a mixed reaction on Monday to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s proposal to strike a deal on nuclear arms cuts in exchange for Washington lifting sanctions imposed on Moscow over the Ukraine crisis. Konstantin Kosachev, head of the upper house of parliament’s international affairs committee, was cited by the RIA Novosti news agency as saying getting the sanctions annulled was not a goal in itself and not worth making security concessions for. “We consider them (the sanctions) a stupid legacy of the outgoing White House team that need to be consigned to history along with them,” said Kosachev. But another Russian senator, Oleg Morozov, was quoted by the same agency as saying that Moscow would be ready to discuss the issue of nuclear cuts, something he said Russia itself favored. Trump told The Times of London in an interview published online on Sunday that he would propose offering to end sanctions imposed on Russia for its annexation of Crimea in return for a nuclear arms reduction deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin. | 1 |
20,464 | Obama will deliver a statement Tuesday on Orlando attack: White House | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will deliver a statement to the press on Tuesday morning following a meeting of his National Security Council on the attack in Orlando, Florida, and efforts to defeat the Islamic State militant group, the White House said on Monday. | 1 |
20,465 | worst of saudi economic slump yet to come | us military prepares to shut down russias internet if it hacks the election
daily caller
american hackers recently broke into russias communications networks electrical grid and government systems in preparation for a retaliatory cyber strike should russian hackers meddle in the us election according to nbc news
officials do not expect any major attacks on us infrastructure which would be tantamount to an act of war but they are concerned that russian hackers may meddle in the election by spreading false information the hacker guccifer which officials and some cyber security experts believe is a front for russian intelligence claimed they would be monitoring elections from inside the system
the us preparations are no different than russia and chinas probing of us networks the penetration caused no damage to russia instead it was the equivalent of a military scouting mission cyber weapons could be deployed if the us suffered a significant attack but officials tell nbc news that is an unlikely scenario just to be sure though obama administration officials issued a backchannel warning to russia to stay out of the election
youd gain access to a network youd establish your presence on the network and then youre poised to do what you would like to do with the network gary brown a former legal adviser to us cyber command cybercom told nbc news
us cyber capabilities are top of the line but the obama administration has been wary of deploying them despite consistent russian provocation cybercom and the national security agency the agencies responsible for us cyber security are incredibly secretive regarding us capabilities stuxnet is the most wellknown publicized us cyber weapon the highly advanced computer worm wreaked havoc on irans nuclear enrichment program in
cybercom is currently involved in cyber attacks against the islamic state but pentagon officials have been especially silent on the exact details of the cyber bombs being dropped on the terrorist group russia may find itself the next target should it decide to go from misinformation campaigns to attacks on infrastructure | 0 |
20,466 | HIDDEN ORDER: Was the Death of Justice Scalia Linked to ‘Secret Society’ at Cibolo Ranch? | Shawn Helton 21st Century WireWith the United States in the heat of the 2016 presidential election cycle, key questions surrounding the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia continue to persist as there s a new conspiratorial twist added to an already suspicious case.Recently, here at 21WIRE, we discussed many of the strange circumstances observed in the aftermath of Justice Scalia s death. The 79-year-old conservative justice was found dead in his hotel room at Cibolo Creek Ranch, a luxury ranch located in Presidio County, Texas.There was no official autopsy made by a medical examiner in Scalia s death, only a controversial pronouncement over the phone by Presidio County Judge Cinderela Guevara.As 21WIRE pointed out in an earlier report regarding Scalia, Guevara appears to have reversed her previous statement claiming that Scalia had died of a heart attack , revising the cause of death to natural causes. Guevara s handling of the death scene of a Supreme Court Justice without being present has drawn sharp criticism from both the media and the public. ORIGINAL MEANING Controversial conservative firebrand, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. (Photo illustration 21WIRE)Secret Order, Secret Death?On February 24th, The Washington Post published an article entitled Justice Scalia spent his last hours with members of this secretive society of elite hunters : When Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died 12 days ago at a West Texas ranch, he was among high-ranking members of an exclusive fraternity for hunters called the International Order of St. Hubertus, an Austrian society that dates back to the 1600s. Continuing, The Washington Post confirmed that indeed, the FBI will not be conducting an investigation into Supreme Court Justice Scalia s death. On an interesting note however, the article states that the FBI was unaware of the secretive international order all together: Law enforcement officials told The Post that they had no knowledge of the International Order of St. Hubertus or its connection to Poindexter and ranch guests. The officials said the FBI had declined to investigate Scalia s death when they were told by the marshals that he died from natural causes. CLOAK & DAGGER Members of The International Order of Saint Hubertus, from left: John Kotts, Boysie Bollinger, Vidal Martinez, Reed Morian and John Poindexter. (Photo link chron)The Washington Post article also revealed the identity of Scalia s travel partners: C. Allen Foster, a prominent Washington lawyer who traveled to the ranch with Scalia by private plane, and that Cibolo Creek Ranch owner John Poindexter, along with C. Allen Foster, had flown with Scalia to the ranch for the now infamous quail-hunting trip.Also according to the Post, both Poindexter and Foster, hold leadership positions within the [Saint Hubertus] Order. It is unclear what, if any, official association Scalia had with the group. While the Post acknowledged that many of the 35 guests in attendance at Cibolo Creek Ranch have remained largely unknown to the public eye, they discuss some of the details surrounding the St. Hubertus order, an international brotherhood whose founding member, Count Franz Anton von Sporck , also started a branch of Freemasonry in Bohemia (now the Czech Republic): Members of the worldwide, male-only society wear dark-green robes emblazoned with a large cross and the motto Deum Diligite Animalia Diligentes, which means Honoring God by honoring His creatures, according to the group s website. The conspiratorial coincidence doesn t end there, it was also revealed that The society s [Saint Hubertus] U.S. chapter launched in 1966 at the famous Bohemian Club in San Francisco. CIBOLO CONSPIRACY What really happened to Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. (Photo link twitter)Magic Bullets Become Magic Pillows Another bizarre element to this story, was the description and discovery of Scalia s body when it was first found by Cibolo Creek ranch owner, Poindexter. This aspect of the story is illustrated very clearly in a passage from the blog Followship of the Minds: On February 14, 2016, in an article for mySA (MySanAntonio) titled, Texas Ranch owner recalls Scalia s last hours, reporter John MacCormack quoted Poindexter: We discovered the judge in bed, a pillow over his head.Everything was in perfect order. He was in his pajamas, peacefully, in bed. His bed clothes were unwrinkled. He was lying very restfully. It looked like he had not quite awakened from a nap. On February 17, Poindexter clarified his comment to the New York Daily News that There was a pillow over his head, not over his face. The face was entirely clear. And now, the latest.David Warren reports for the AP that according to a Presidio County Sheriff s Office incident report obtained by The Washington Post on Feb. 23, nothing appeared out of place around Scalia s bed. Three pillows were stacked to elevate Scalia s head. A top pillow appeared to have toppled onto his eyes and forehead but didn t appear positioned to impede his breathing. Scalia s arms were at his side atop the bed covers, which were pulled up to his chin. The bed covers were smooth and creased and showed no sign of a struggle. That is one magic pillow!First, it was over Scalia s head.Then, it was above Scalia s head, whose face was entirely clear .Now, the pillow is neither over nor above Scalia s head, but partially covering his face ( toppled onto his eyes and forehead ), although the pillow made sure to position itself so as not to impede his breathing . SECRETS IN CIBOLO The scenic surroundings of Cibolo Creek Ranch. (Photo link tripadvisor)While you have to wonder about the confusion surrounding Scalia s pillow placement, The Washington Post s recent eye-opening revelations regarding the Order of St. Hubertus give us some other things to consider Silencing Conspiracy with ConspiracyThe overtly conspiracy-tinged Post piece is a rarity in the mainstream world, one that conjure s many Hollywood or government tales of murder, deception and intrigue throughout history.The acknowledgement of a decadent Eyes Wide Shut-like secret society on location at Cibolo Creek Ranch prior to Scalia s death, only enhances the drive by voyeurism witnessed since his passing and in a way, it could undermine any legitimate investigation into his death after the fact.While its true, this compelling new detail will most likely bring its lion s share of political protest, as well as predictable calls for congressional inquiry or a push for a federal investigation (as should be) the heavily publicized presence of a secretive fraternal order of hunters nearby a suspicious crime scene, will unfortunately fuel more speculation.Put another way: Whether or not the secret group at Cibolo Creek Ranch was involved in Scalia s death, you have to wonder why the mainstream media revealed this latest conspiratorial element in the first place.Media gatekeepers in television, print and radio will have a field day with this new controversial piece, all the while pushing and pulling the population into a particular corner and by the looks of it, that s already happening.Having said all of this however, there s still much to be concerned with regarding Scalia s highly suspicious death OBAMA NO-SHOW The funeral service for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Oddly, President Obama elected not to attend. (Photo link detroitnewstime)Big Questions RemainOver the years, Scalia s various political connections and political perspective on important issues earned him a controversial reputation.In 2014, Justice Scalia drew harsh criticism for his views on the CIA torture debate, when the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee released a report on the interrogation techniques used since the 9/11 attacks.Whether you agreed or disagreed with Scalia, it s important to note once again that the high court has several pending landmark cases on climate, abortion and immigration, all within weeks or months of his death.The NY Post s recent article entitled Scalia could have been poisoned: forensic pathologist, raised even more questions about the state of Scalia s body upon being discovered: Lethal poisoning could have left Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia s body in virtually the same condition in which it was found, a top forensic pathologist [Dr. Michael Baden] told The Post on Wednesday. For the time being, were left to wonder what other secrets lie in Cibolo Creek Ranch regarding the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia READ MORE ELECTION NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire 2016 Files | 0 |
20,467 | Lebanon's interior minister accuses Uber of not checking records | BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon s interior minister said on Thursday that Uber driver suspected of murdering a British embassy worker last week had served time in prison, and he accused the company of not checking criminal records of its drivers. The body of Rebecca Dykes was found strangled on Saturday next to a highway outside Beirut. Police detained a suspect on Monday and said the crime was not politically motivated. Minister Nohad Machnouk said the driver had three priors on his judicial record involving drugs and had been imprisoned on that basis. This company, when it hires drivers, and lets them work within its organisation, does not check their priors , he said at a news conference. An Uber spokesperson said all drivers the company uses in Lebanon are fully licensed by the government and must have a clear judicial record. The spokesperson said a copy of the driver s judicial record published by local media, showing no judgments against the driver, was accurate. Uber confirmed in an email that he was a licensed taxi driver with a clean background check. | 1 |
20,468 | Trump Nominee: Press Could Have Saved Jews If They Attacked Nazis Like They’ve Attacked Trump | Trump can t pick good people to save his life. He s got a paranoid lunatic for the National Security Council, he s got a white supremacist as his chief strategist, and the list goes on. One of his picks for an ambassadorship is David Friedman for Israel. This isn t just someone who supports the worst of Israel, he also made a bizarre attack on The New York Times over their coverage of Trump s pussy grabbing comment by invoking the Holocaust.Seriously, he did that. Back in October, not too long after the Access Hollywood tape came out, Friedman said: While the revelation of Mr. Trump s demeaning comments caught on tape some 11 years ago brought him, as one would expect, widespread negative attention, The New York Times ran with the story with all the journalistic integrity of the worst gossip rag. If only the Times had reported on the Nazi death camps with the same fervor as its failed last-minute attempt to conjure up alleged victims of Donald Trump, imagine how many lives could have been saved. As Peter Beinart wrote in a column for Haaretz, where he published several of Friedman s idiotic comments, Invoking the murder of six million Jews in an effort to discredit women who accuse a powerful man of sexual assault is wrong. FLAT wrong.There really is no way to describe this as anything other than disgusting and absurd. Beinart also pointed out that the Times coverage of these accusations has nothing whatever to do with how they covered the Holocaust. It also has nothing to do with the times that we live in the Holocaust was 75 years ago. Press coverage of anything was very different than it is today, in the age of the Internet.Friedman is probably one of the worst people imaginable to nominate for any high-level position in our government. But that s how Trump rolls, and if Congress decides they like him for whatever reason, then he ll become our new ambassador to Israel, despite being a complete moron.Featured image by Brian Blanco via Getty Images | 0 |
20,469 | Pastor Decides Straight Couple Can’t Even SUPPORT Marriage Equality, Cancels Their Wedding | I m shooting for irony here, so bear with me: Thank GOD some people proclaim their bigotry out loud, so you don t have to find out the hard way.Okay, so this couple (who are choosing to remain anonymous) kind of did find out the hard way, but they re still free to make other arrangements after the minister of their church called them into a private meeting to let them know he would no longer perform their ceremony or allow them to marry in his church.Pictured: IronyThe problem, according to Minister Steven North of Ebenezer St. John s Presbyterian Church, was the bride s recent comment on Facebook in support of marriage equality in her native Australia. The country is holding a survey because some places value the individual input of their citizens to help the Australian parliament decide whether or not to allow same-sex couples to marry.Apparently, the clergyman was monitoring the bride-to-be s social media, where she spoke up in support of the measure: I know it s something not everyone will agree on and that s fine but this is what I stand for and frankly it doesn t effect [sic] my relationship with [my partner] one bit. That s when North made the decision to summon the couple into his office. Not only did he tell them that he would not perform the ceremony, but he drove the point home with a letter to the couple as well: After the pre-marital counselling that you attended and the sermons delivered at Ebenezer on this subject, you must surely appreciate that your commitment to same-sex marriage opposes the teaching of Christ Jesus and the scriptural position practiced by the Presbyterian Church of Australia and by me. This conflict of views has practical consequences in relation to your upcoming wedding. If I remember correctly and believe me, as someone who was raised in a very religious household, I do Jesus said as much about same-sex weddings as He did about abortions or whether His Dad wants you to drink that miracle water that creepy Peter Popoff sells at 2 AM on cable. That is to say, nothing. There were no teachings of Christ Jesus on gay marriage. So really the operative part of North s statement is that whole thing at the end where he says and by me. The bride was having none of it. The couple has decided to leave their long-time church, and they did so with a statement of their own: We feel this decision is absolutely disgraceful and is a disgrace to you and all the church, especially when we have been loyal and valued members of this congregation for 10 years. You were made aware from the beginning of our proceedings that we had gay friends and also that people in our wedding party were gay. How could you assume that we would abandon them or degrade them with regards to same-sex marriage? Rather than acquiesce to the thought police of her bigoted church, this couple has faith that they re doing the right thing.Featured image via Scott Barbour/Getty Images | 0 |
20,470 | Dying GOP Senator Spent Final Days Apologizing To Muslims For Trump’s Hate | Former Utah Senator Bob Bennett lay in a hospital bed fighting a losing battle against pancreatic cancer and the ravages of a stroke, but in his last days he wanted to atone for the damage Donald Trump has done to Muslims in America.Instead, with a slight slurring in his words, Bennett drew them close to express a dying wish: Are there any Muslims in the hospital? he asked. I d love to go up to every single one of them to thank them for being in this country, and apologize to them on behalf of the Republican Party for Donald Trump, Bennett told his wife and son, both of whom relayed this story to The Daily Beast.Bennett served in the Senate for three terms, but his vote in favor of TARP left him vulnerable in the 2010 wave and he lost to Tea Party supporter Mike Lee.In his last days he also spoke to the Deseret News newspaper in Utah and told them, There s a lot of Muslims here in this area. I m glad they re here. Over the course of his presidential campaign, Donald Trump has repeatedly attacked Muslims. He spoke out in favor of a ban on Muslim travel to the United States, and argued for a system to track Muslim citizens. His Islamophobia brought the ire of newly elected London mayor Sadiq Khan, who is Muslim.Khan told Time magazine, If Donald Trump becomes the President, I ll be stopped from going there by virtue of my faith, which means I can t engage with American mayors and swap ideas. Conservative tacticians thought those sorts of tactics would win London and they were wrong. I m confident that Donald Trump s approach to politics won t win in America. Unfortunately, Trump s ideas on Muslims have proven popular with a majority of Republican voters, even those who didn t support Trump in the primaries.Senator Bennett died on May 4.Featured image via YouTube | 0 |
20,471 | What if 20 Million Illegal Aliens Vacated America? | What if 20 Million Illegal Aliens Vacated America?It s a good question it deserves an honest answer. Over 80% of Americans demand secured borders and illegal migration stopped. But what would happen if all 20 million or more vacated America? The answers I found may surprise you!In California, if 3.5 million illegal aliens moved back to Mexico, it would leave an extra $10.2 billion to spend on overloaded school systems, bankrupt hospitals and overrun prisons. It would leave highways cleaner, safer and less congested. Everyone could understand one another as English became the dominant language again.In Colorado, 500,000 illegal migrants, plus their 300,000 kids and grandchilds would move back home, mostly to Mexico. That would save Colorado an estimated $2 billion (other experts say $7 billion) annually in taxes that pay for schooling, medical, social-services and incarceration costs. It means 12,000 gang members would vanish out of Denver alone.Colorado would save more than $20 million in prison costs, and the terror that those 7,300 alien criminals set upon local citizens. Denver Officer Don Young and hundreds of Colorado victims would not have suffered death, accidents, rapes and other crimes by illegals.Denver Public Schools would not suffer a 67% dropout/flunk rate because of thousands of illegal alien students speaking 41 different languages. At least 200,000 vehicles would vanish from our gridlocked cities in Colorado. Denver s 4% unem ployment rate would vanish as our working poor would gain jobs at a living wage.In Florida, 1.5 million illegals would return the Sunshine State back to America, the rule of law, and English.In Chicago, Illinois, 2.1 million illegals would free up hospitals, schools, prisons and highways for a safer, cleaner and more crime-free experience.If 20 million illegal aliens returned home, the U.S. Economy would return to the rule of law. Employers would hire legal American citizens at a living wage. Everyone would pay their fair share of taxes because they wouldn t be working off the books. That would result in an additional $401 billion in IRS income taxes collected annually, and an equal amount for local, state and city coffers.No more push 1 for Spanish or 2 for English. No more confusion in American schools that now must contend with over 100 languages that degrade the educational system for American kids. Our overcrowded schools would lose more than two million illegal alien kids at a cost of billions in ESL and free breakfasts and lunches.We would lose 500,000 illegal criminal alien inmates at a cost of more than $1.6 billion annually. That includes 15,000 MS-13 gang members who distribute $130 billion in drugs annually would vacate our country.In cities like L.A., 20,000 members of the 18th Street Gang would vanish from our nation. No more Mexican forgery gangs for ID theft from Americans! No more foreign rapists and child molesters!Losing more than 20 million people would clear up our crowded highways and gridlock. Cleaner air and less drinking and driving American deaths by illegal aliens! Author unknownThis article was sent to us by a 100% FED UP follower. While we cannot verify the facts and figures in this article, we thought it was worth sharing, as the basic premise of how Americans would benefit by 20 million illegals leaving America holds true. Illegal Alien Crimes Committed In U.S.A. Statistics:CIS ICE continued to release deportable criminal aliens from its custody at an alarming rate in 2015, according to figures the agency provided to members of Congress this week in advance of a hearing taking place Thursday, April 28. In 2015, ICE freed 19,723 criminal aliens, who had a total of 64,197 convictions among them. These included 8,234 violent convictions and 208 homicide convictions. While the total number of releases is lower than the past two years, since the number of arrests has declined quite dramatically, the rate of releases is approximately the same meaning that this is no progress at all, and certainly will be no consolation for the victims of these criminal aliens.The table below enumerates the criminal convictions associated with the released aliens. The largest number of convictions was for Driving Under the Influence; there were 12,307 alcohol DUI convictions and 354 drug DUI convictions, for a total of 12,661.Convictions for Alien Criminals Released Convictions Number of Convictions Traffic Offense: Driving Under the Influence, Liquor 12,307 Traffic Offense 9,811 Dangerous Drugs 7,986 Larceny 3,535 Immigration 3,064 Obstructing Judiciary/Congress/Legislature,etc. 2,561 General Crimes 2,008 Burglary 1,963 Fraudulent Activities 1,880 Assault 1,728 Public Peace 1,659 Obstructing the Police 1,420 Assault-Domestic Violence 1,347 Weapon Offenses 1,317 Invasion of Privacy 1,012 Assault- Aggravated Assault 921 Assault- Battery 912 Forgery 840 Robbery 804 Stolen Vehicle 782 Family Offenses 763 Stolen Property 761 Sex Offences (not involving Assault or Commercialized Sex) 614 Damage Property 552 Traffic Offense- Hit and Run 394 Liquor 363 Health/Safety 361 Traffic Offenses- Driving Under Influence of Drugs 354 Commercialized Sexual Offenses 352 Sexual Assault 320 Assault- Simple Assault 229 Kidnapping 216 Flight/Escape 214 Threat 134 Homicide 101 Assault- Intimidation 98 Conservation 72 Gambling 56 Embezzlement 50 Arson 41 Tax Revenue 40 Extortion 36 Juvenile Offenders 35 Obscenity 32 Smuggling 28 Homicide- Negligent Manslaughter- Weapon 19 Homicide- Negligent Manslaughter- Vehicle 19 Homicide- Willful Kill- Weapon 19 Homicide- Willful Kill- Gun 18 Bribery 13 Voluntary- Manslaughter 12 Homicide- Willful Kill- Non-family-Gun 9 Homidice- Willful Kill- Non-family- Weapon 4 Traffic Offense- Transporting Dangerous Material 4 Homicide- Willful Kill- Family- Weapon 3 Homicide- Attempt to Commit 2 Homicide- John/Jane Doe- No Warrant 1Total 64,197 | 0 |
20,472 | apple adds altright key to its computer keyboards | adobochron comment
manila philippines the adobo chronicles manila bureau advertising company mccann worldgroup philippines will be in charge of crafting the new tourism campaign of the country the department of tourism dot said over the weekend
tourism undersecretary for advocacy and public affairs katherine de castro said the pmillion contract with mccann which won the bid to be the advertising and promotions partner of the dot for one year includes the production and positioning of marketing materials as well as the formulation of a new tourism slogan
the adobo chronicles spoke with a mccann spokesperson who informed us that the slogan selected for the tourism year is a takeoff from the previous its more fun in the philippines
the new slogan is more fun in pi
pi of course stands for philippine islands although the country is now known by the acronym of ph
but it also stands for ptang ina son of a whore the cuss words often heard from president rodrigo roa duterte in his speeches and interviews
president dutertes rhetoric and cussing have put the philippines on the world map and we would like to capitalize on that the mccann spokesperson said
he added why reinvent the wheel when we can just tweak it to reflect the current situation in the philippines | 0 |
20,473 | Thousands of Tunisians protest against Trump's Jerusalem decision | TUNIS (Reuters) - Thousands of Tunisians protested in several cities on Thursday against U.S. President Donald Trump s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel s capital and decision to move the U.S. Embassy there, residents said. Labor unions and other groups have called for even bigger protests in the capital Tunis and other cities in the North African country after Friday prayers. Thursday s demonstrations went peacefully with several hundreds alone gathering in central Tunis, holding up Palestinian flags and banners, residents said. Protesters burned a U.S. flag and others stepped on images of Israeli flags. Tunisia s President Beji Caid Essebsi sent a letter to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemning the U.S. decision, saying it undermined Palestinian rights, officials said. | 1 |
20,474 | BREAKING: Stunning Development In Trump Fraud Case Shows How Terrifyingly Deep His Corruption Will Go | The federal judge overseeing two of the three fraud cases against Donald Trump has advised all parties to settle given all else that s involved. Presumably, he s talking about Trump s disgustingly shocking win on Election Day. It looked a lot like Trump might actually be held accountable for his actions despite the win, but now the trial might not even take place.Curiel said: It would be wise for the plaintiffs, for the defendants, to look closely at trying to resolve this case given all else that s involved. He also said he d allow Trump to testify via video due to his new obligations in Washington. Besides that, he told Trump s lawyers that they could again request that specific campaign statements be withheld from both the jury and himself.Earlier, Addicting Info writer Wendy Gittleson reported that a lawyer believes Trump could be impeached very quickly after taking office because of these lawsuits. All three suits involve charges of fraud and racketeering. The reasoning was that there s a question of whether the legal aspects involved in these cases could rise to the level of impeachment. If they did, it would probably be goodbye Trump since Congress wasn t too keen on him anyway.However, with Curiel advising the parties involved in the suits in his court to settle, it could actually quietly go away with Trump paying less than he might have otherwise, and it could remove a potential block to four years of Trump in the White House.Earlier this month, the woman who was suing Trump for rape dropped her case after receiving death threats. She had canceled a press conference, too, out of fear for her safety and life. This is the woman that accused Trump of raping her when she was 13, and it s very, very likely she was terrorized into dropping the suit.There s still a fraud case relating to Trump U. pending in the New York attorney general s office. Other than that, it s entirely possible that Trump will, more or less, get away with a slap on the wrist for this, depending on whether the plaintiffs agree to settle and agree to whatever Trump proposes as a settlement.Featured image by Mark Wilson via Getty Images | 0 |
20,475 | Trump, Pence meeting in New York on Cabinet picks | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Donald Trump planned to meet with Vice President-elect Mike Pence in New York on Tuesday to discuss key appointments as moderate Republican Mike Rogers was jettisoned from the transition team. The departure of Rogers, a former congressman who was chairman of the House of Representatives intelligence committee, indicated Trump may be leaning away from some establishment figures as Pence takes over the transition team. “Our work will provide a strong foundation for the new transition team leadership as they move into the post-election phase, which naturally is incorporating the campaign team in New York who drove President-elect Trump to an incredible victory last Tuesday,” Rogers said in a statement. Rogers, who worked on the transition team led by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie for six months, said he would continue to advise Trump. Pence took over the transition leadership from Christie last week. Trump and Pence will be “reviewing a number of names for key jobs” during the meeting at Trump Tower in New York as lists for the leadership positions begin to narrow, Trump spokesman Jason Miller said. “If the vice president-elect is getting together with the president-elect to discuss names, then I would say that it’s serious, obviously,” he said on Monday. Trump, a businessman who has never held public office, and the Pence-led transition team are working on picking members of his Cabinet and the heads of federal agencies. Tuesday’s meeting comes as former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a longtime Trump friend and supporter, emerged as a leading candidate to be U.S. secretary of state. “Well, that’s possible,” Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway teased on Fox News on Tuesday, when asked about the Giuliani report. John Bolton, who served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under President George W. Bush, was also under consideration for the high-profile job, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters on Monday. Giuliani became one of Trump’s closest advisers during the campaign, functioning as a vocal defender on cable news programs and introducing him at many rallies. Giuliani has also been mentioned as a possible attorney general or homeland security secretary. Trump’s choice of Republican Party insider Reince Priebus to be White House chief of staff was heralded as an indication he wants to work with members of Congress, where a number of Republicans had opposed his candidacy. However, Trump’s appointment of Steve Bannon as chief strategist was roundly criticized by members of both parties who denounced the former Breitbart News chief as having made the website a forum for the “alt-right,” a confederation of neo-Nazis, white supremacists and anti-Semites. Bannon has been calling Republicans in Congress to build relationships with lawmakers after years of thumbing his nose at establishment figures in the party, according to website Politico. People who received the calls, which included rank-and-file members as well as leaders, said the main message was that the Trump administration expects a very close relationship with Capitol Hill Republicans, Politico reported. | 1 |
20,476 | Britain's Farage talks Brexit at German right-wing election rally | BERLIN (Reuters) - Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage received a standing ovation at a pre-election rally of the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) in Berlin on Friday, where he was presented as a model of what a right-wing eurosceptic politician can achieve. Far-right parties have suffered setbacks this year at elections in France and the Netherlands, but the AfD is set to enter Germany s national parliament for the first time in the Sept. 24 parliamentary vote. Farage, a leading voice in the victorious movement last year for Britain to leave the European Union, bemoaned the lack of discussion of Brexit in the German campaign. (I m trying) to get a proper debate going in the biggest, richest and most important, powerful country in Europe about not just the shape of Brexit but perhaps even the shape of the European project to come, Farage told reporters. He said Chancellor Angela Merkel and her Social Democrat (SPD) challenger Martin Schulz had refused to discuss Brexit as it was a huge embarrassment for the European dream that both of them have had . Polls put the AfD, which wants to put an end to euro zone bailouts and call a referendum on Germany s EU membership, on up to 11 percent support. That could make it the largest opposition party if Merkel wins, as expected, and renews her grand coalition with the SPD. Beatrix von Storch, the AfD s 46-year-old deputy chairwoman, said her party took hope from Farage, who was a founding member of the eurosceptic UK Independence Party in 1993. Nigel Farage showed the impossible is possible if you just believe in it and fight this fight - he did that for more than two decades and that makes him a role model for us, she said. Farage said he thought Merkel would probably be better for Brexit as she was more likely to agree to a free trade deal between Britain and the EU, while Schulz, previously president of the European Parliament, was a pro-EU fanatic . | 1 |
20,477 | American Spring Breakers Chant Trump’s ‘Build That Wall!’ While IN MEXICO | While a group of Americans were vacationing in Cancun, Mexico for Spring break, they broke out in chants of Build that wall! earlier this month and even though there were complaints, they refused to stop, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.A Mexican newspaper, The Yucatan Times, blasted the group in an editorial Friday, calling the students behavior while on a ship unacceptable. The paper said this is not an isolated incident from young spring breakers and noted that there have been other acts of xenophobia and discrimination against Mexicans within their own country. The paper wrote that in recent days many Spring Breakers have been offensive, rude and haughty towards Mexican people. According to witnesses, the Build that wall chant grew increasingly louder. In the face of such stupidity, one doesn t know how to immediately react, one woman who was on the boat with her husband and witnessed the incident wrote on Facebook. We were stunned. The whole thing seemed implausible. I have always been tolerant of the countries of the world and I have wanted to believe that human stupidity and ignorance is characteristic of a small group of people, Anaximandro Amable wrote. But there are things with which one cannot be tolerant, such as discourse that incites hatred. The paper adds that This situation is far from being an isolated incident, and it adds to the growing number of complaints from tourism sector workers. While Trump was on the campaign trail his crowd of supporters routinely broke out in Build the wall chants.In 2015, Trump said, I would build a great wall, and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me. I will build a great, great wall on our southern border. And I will have Mexico pay for that wall. And now, Mexico is not paying for the wall. We, the taxpayers, are.Hey Trump supporters, if you guys could quit embarrassing the rest of us, that d be great. Thanks.Image via screen capture. | 0 |
20,478 | Brazil seeks to revoke asylum of Italian ex-guerrilla convicted of murder | BRASILIA (Reuters) - The Brazilian government told the Supreme Court on Monday that President Michel Temer has the authority to revoke the asylum status a former left-wing guerrilla convicted of murder in Italy and extradite him at his country s request. Cesare Battisti committed four murders in the 1970s when he belonged to a guerilla group called Armed Proletarians for Communism, according to the Italian government. He escaped from prison in 1981 and lived in France before fleeing to Brazil to avoid being extradited to Italy. Brazil s Supreme Court authorized Battisti s extradition in 2009, but he was not sent back to Italy because former leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva granted him refugee status on his last day in office in 2010. In a note to the top court, the government s chief lawyer Grace Mendon a argued that extradition was a political decision that only the president could make. She reminded the court that it had approved Battisti s extradition in 2009 and asked the justices to reject a habeas corpus writ issued ten days ago by one of its members. Battisti was arrested on Oct. 4 as he tried to cross the border into Bolivia in a taxi, apparently fearing that Brazil s government was about to revoke his asylum status at Italy s request. He was freed two days later. Lula s refusal to extradite Battisti upset relations between Brazil and Italy. Temer, a center-right president who took office when Lula s handpicked successor, Dilma Rousseff, was impeached last year, decided it was time to remove that thorn. | 1 |
20,479 | Polish PM calls for an EU where Christianity is not censored | WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland wants to be sure that Christian traditions are not subject to ideological censorship in the European Union, Prime Minister Beata Szydlo said on Thursday, emphasizing her party s opposition to Muslim immigration. Along with Hungary, Poland has refused to take in any of its quota of the wave of refugees from Syria and elsewhere who have come to Europe since 2015, on the grounds that Muslim immigrants are a threat to their national security and stability. Szydlo s eurosceptic Law and Justice (PiS) party appeals directly to the more socially conservative sections of Poland s overwhelmingly Roman Catholic population. In a foreign policy speech marking the midpoint of the parliamentary term, Szydlo said Christians in Europe should not need to feel uncomfortable or ashamed about their faith and traditions. We are in favor of (an EU) where Christian traditions are not subject to ideological censorship, she told a conference organized by the Polish Institute of International Affairs. Opinion polls in Poland - one of the most ethnically and religiously homogenous countries in Europe - indicate that about three-quarters of Poles are against accepting refugees. Apart from refusing its quota, Szydlo s government has triggered a series of disputes with the EU executive, the European Commission, over policies that Brussels says undermine democracy and the rule of law. In a veiled criticism of France and Germany, the traditional motors of EU integration, Szydlo said that countries such as Poland should be a greater part of the bloc s decision-making process. The EU s principle of respect for the rights of its citizens will cease to be an empty one only when the debate about the future of the European Union takes place with the participation of all concerned, not in three or four capitals, she said. Opinion polls suggest up to 80 percent of Poles back EU membership, though many are also opposed to deeper EU integration and joining the euro currency. Szydlo reiterated that Poland would stay in the EU, but said that growing euroscepticism in several countries was a sign that some politicians were unwilling to recognize the problems within the bloc. It s not enough to stigmatize tens of millions of Europeans in different countries as immature and dangerous populations, or to put Poland in a corner, Szydlo said. | 1 |
20,480 | solar winds spur geomagnetic storm that may affect power | reasons why youre not happy reasons why youre not happy
corey is an aspiring iconoclast he believes that the key to life is for men to honour their primal nature
learn more about his views at theprimalmalecom you can also follow him on twitter november mind
happiness its what we all want as human beings no matter the differences in where we seek them we are motivated to do things to be happy and we avoid things that may detract from it even those who claim that they dont care about happiness or that theyre living for a higher purpose is doing what they do because it makes them happy in that way happiness is beyond a state of feeling it is a state of being
now although you dont want to be obsessive about happiness and make your life revolve around attaining it there are few things you can do to live a more fulfilling life and improve the quality of your being and as its often the case with selfimprovement i believe that addressing the bad habits will lead to a healthier life than trying to gain the positives
here are some ways you may be sabotaging your own happiness you are chasing it ill be happy once i finally
the more you chase happiness the less you have of it and not only are people today chasing happiness theyre chasing all the wrong things in hopes that it will bring them everlasting joy money women and status may elevate your life but they cant be the source of happiness alone they will especially fail as being compensation for some void in your life that youre trying to fill
also know that your mood will naturally fluctuate over time constantly obsessing over how you feel and getting stressed over your emotional state will not help you so rather than jumping from one thing to another in hopes that it will boost your mood or dull your pain focus on things that matter to you its far better to work on selfimprovement and enhancing the overall quality of your life than be wavered by feelings you dont have the basics taken care of good sleep is extremely underrated in our busy society it affects your mood testosterone level mental capacity and more prioritize sleep as much as you do with healthy diet and working out
its often the basics that are overlooked ask yourself are you sleeping well its harder to tell than you think are you eating healthy are you keeping yourself fit are you getting enough sunlight do you ever take the time to connect with nature do you have a stable life do you have a purpose or a meaning i doubt most people have all of these basic needs checked off but im willing to bet that an improvement in even one area will significantly improve a persons mood and well being you concern yourself with things you cant control no something bad is happening in the world and i cant do jack shit about it time to complain about it on the internet
the more you sweat over issues which you can take no practical action over the more helpless you feel and the more unhappy you will be of course being able to tell the difference between what you can control and what you cant is an art in itself that you need to master through experience one thing im personally doing to lower stress is to reduce my news consumption and be less concerned with events around the world that are irrelevant to my personal life ill read enough to get a general awareness of whats happening around the world but i refuse to be emotionally invested in things i have no control over you lack intimacy and deep human connection if you dont have any friends to be vulnerable with you didnt have any to begin with
i would argue that this is one of the biggest if not the biggest factor in causing anxiety depression and general unhappiness in the modern world humans are social creatures and we need to bond with others and beyond simply spending time with people to chat and drink deeper connection needs to be made with people the quality matters much more than the quantity
in todays societyespecially in north americait seems people have all become superficial and afraid of intimacy whether it be for friendship or romance without opening up your true self due to the fear of being rejected or ridiculed all the relationships you have with others will not be genuine and it will not be fulfilling you are not living in the present reality you may be conscious but are you aware
if you live in the past or the future you lose touch with the present reality that disconnection will cause longing which can only lead to dissatisfaction and loss of joy
the lure of nostalgia and daydreaming of a better life or an improved world is actually quite insidious because of how intoxicating it is when your mind drifts to imagining a pleasurable experience or a more exciting life you are tricked into thinking that the longing is happiness itself sort of like how mirages work on the contrary studies have actually shown that you are actually happier and more productive when you focus on what youre doing right now even if the task is boring so stick to the reality and forget about your fantasies either make things happen or accept that youre just wasting your time and energy on wishful thinking you engage in junk activities im happy im happy im happy
just as there are junk foods there are junk activities that may feel pleasurable at the time but dissatisfying and even harmful in the longrun
ask yourself do you really need entertainment ive squandered my youth by immersing myself in long hours of digital entertainment day after day i barely even noticed that i was unhappy the whole time because i was so sedated and what did i even get out of them those were several hours everyday that i could have spent reading working out learning new skills meeting new people and experiencing the world
the fact is giving up on entertainment has no negative impact on your level of happiness sure you might miss them when theyre suddenly gone but overall as long as you find more valuable things to do your life can only get better when you ditch them learn to enjoy things that give you value rather than seeking enjoyment in things without value conclusion
unlike what many people today say no one deserves happiness thats something youll have to earn ill go as far as to say that happinessas defined by modern standardsisnt even necessary and hard to come by for certain individuals everyone has their own path towards living life to his unique potential and there is no universal rule that applies to all so while i havent really listed anything specific for the reader to strive towards i hope i laid out some pitfalls that you can avoid in your journey nov corey savage | 0 |
20,481 | Democrats Offer Bill That Would FORCE Trump To Keep One Of His Promises | The vast majority of Donald Trump s campaign promises were both unworkable and, well, hateful. His promise to lock (Hillary Clinton) up, was as empty as it was unifying for those on the rabid right. It was the same with his promise to build a wall along the Mexican border and his promise to repeal and replace Obamacare on day one. Occasionally, though, like a broken clock, Trump occasionally got it right, and now Democrats want him to make good on one such promise.Despite the fact that nearly everything Trump adorns with his name is made elsewhere, one of the cornerstones of his presidential campaigns was to force manufacturers to employ Americans.Republicans are doing everything in their power to ensure that Trump doesn t get to keep this campaign promise. There s a bill in the Senate that would help deliver clean water to Americans and help Flint, Michigan with emergency funding. Originally, there was a buy American and hire American provision in the bill. That should be non-controversial, right? Well, Republicans, who seem to stand against absolutely everything that s good and right, stripped that part out of the bill back in December. Now Dems want them to bring it back.Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis) reintroduced the provision to the bill:Dem senator to reintroduce #BuyAmerica legislation @thehill https://t.co/uRuOOH9Bbg Sen. Tammy Baldwin (@SenatorBaldwin) March 24, 2017 Now is the time for President Trump to decide if he will keep his promises by supporting this legislation, or will he go along to get along with Congressional Republicans who have embraced the status quo and blocked this legislation that puts in place a strong Buy America standard, said Baldwin, who planned to announce the bill at a Wisconsin foundry that makes manhole covers for cities throughout the United States. The choice for the Republican establishment in Washington is clear: Do you stand with American manufacturers and workers or do you support spending taxpayer dollars on Chinese and Russian steel for American water infrastructure projects? Source: IB TimesDem senator to reintroduce #BuyAmerica legislation @thehill https://t.co/uRuOOH9Bbg Sen. Tammy Baldwin (@SenatorBaldwin) March 24, 2017Baldwin s bill deals with the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, which in the last two decades has delivered nearly $28 billion in financing for more than 12,000 drinking-water projects across the country. Her legislation would mandate that moving forward, the program targets its funding to projects that use only American-made iron and steel.It s unlikely the bill will pass with this provision, but it does put Trump s feet to the fire. If he signs the Republican version (which he almost certainly will), it will be just more evidence that the emperor has no clothes.Featured image via Alex Wong/Getty Images. | 0 |
20,482 | Fox News Just Got SLAPPED With A Racial Discrimination Lawsuit, And It’s About Damn Time | Years of racism in the workplace has finally resulted in a long overdue lawsuit against Fox News.On the same day that Fox host Bill O Reilly made an outrageously racist comment about Congresswoman Maxine Waters, and a week after news broke that Fox fired comptroller Judith Slater for making racist remarks to black employees, a racial discrimination lawsuit was formally filed against the network by two African-American women who experienced the racism firsthand.According to The New York Times,The women Tichaona Brown, a payroll manager, and Tabrese Wright, a payroll coordinator accused Ms. Slater of making numerous racially charged comments, including suggestions that black men were women beaters and that black people wanted to physically harm white people.They also said that Ms. Slater claimed that black employees mispronounced words, such as mother, father, month and ask, and that she urged Ms. Brown to say those words aloud in a meeting. Ms. Wright said Ms. Slater once asked if her three children were all fathered by the same man. The lawsuit was filed in State Supreme Court in the Bronx and the attorneys representing the two ladies are confident that Fox is not going to like the outcome if they go to court. We are confident that the good men and women of the Bronx will hold Fox accountable for what we believe to be its abhorrent racist conduct, reminiscent of the Jim Crow era, they said in a joint statement.Of course, Fox News whined about the lawsuit in a statement to Raw Story.We take complaints of this nature very seriously and took prompt and effective remedial action before Ms. Brown and Ms. Wright sued in court and even before Ms. Wright complained through her lawyer. There is no place for inappropriate verbal remarks like this at Fox News. We are disappointed that this needless litigation has been filed.Frankly, it s about damn time Fox News faced a lawsuit like this. The network s record of racism and racist remarks has been atrocious over the years, especially since the election of the President Obama in 2008.Bill O Reilly and Sean Hannity have been especially guilty of being racist, yet unlike Slater, they remain employed by the network.O Reilly has even been named in sexual harassment lawsuits but Fox executives still keep paying him to run his mouth every night.Fox News is pretty much saying that it s okay if their on-air personalities are sexist and racist but it s not okay for their executives who work behind the scenes. Sounds like a double standard.But the sexism and racism at Fox News is now catching up to them as former and current employees are starting to fight back by filing lawsuits. At some point, Fox News is going to have to drag itself and their employees into the 21st century before they go broke trying to defend themselves in court.Featured Image: Dangerous Minds | 0 |
20,483 | Highlights: U.S. President-elect Trump's news conference | (Reuters) - The following are highlights from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s hour-long news conference in New York on Wednesday, nine days before he takes the oath of office. Trump blasted the release of an unsubstantiated intelligence report saying he had been compromised by Russia and was vulnerable to blackmail, characterizing it as “nonsense that was released by, maybe the intelligence agencies, who knows, but maybe the intelligence agencies ... It should never have been written, it should never have been released.” “It’s all fake news. It didn’t happen. It’s phony stuff. It was a group of opponents who got together, sick people, who put that out.” “I think it was disgraceful, disgraceful that the intelligence agencies allowed any information that turned out to be so false and fake out there ... That’s something that Nazi Germany would have done.” He praised some news organizations for not initially reporting on the document. “I just want to compliment many of the people in the room ... I have great respect for the news and great respect for freedom of the press.” He strongly criticized CNN for its reporting of the story, refusing to take a question from a reporter for the network, telling him, “I’m not going to give you a question. You are fake news.” “Some of the media outlets we are dealing with are fake news ... All I can ask for are honest reporters.” Asked whether he accepted that Russian President Vladimir Putin tried to help him win the election, Trump said, “If Putin likes Donald Trump, I consider that an asset, not a liability.” He denied having any business dealings with or in Russia. “I have no loans with Russia at all.” “As far as hacking, I think it’s Russia. But we also get hacked by other countries and other people, and I can say that.” On Putin and hacking, Trump said, “He shouldn’t be doing it. He won’t be doing it.” “Within 90 days we will be coming up with a major report on hacking defense, how do we stop this new phenomena.” “Russia will have far greater respect for our country when I’m leading it ... We’re either going to get along, or we’re not. I hope we get along, but if we don’t, that’s possible too. “But Russia and other countries, and other countries, including China, which has taken total advantage of us economically... and (taken) advantage of us in the South China Sea ... Russia, China, Japan, Mexico, all countries will respect us far more, far more, than they do under past administrations.” Asked about nominating a Supreme Court justice, Trump said, “So, as you know, I have a list of 20. I’ve gone through them ... They were outstanding in every case ... I’ll be making the decision on who we will put up for justice of the United States Supreme Court, a replacement for the great, great Justice (Antonin) Scalia. That will be probably within two weeks of the 20th (of January) ... “It will be a decision which I very strongly believe in. I think it’s one of the reasons I got elected.” “We have to get our drug industry coming back” to the United States, he said, adding that companies had been “leaving left and right.” Trump also called for new bidding procedures for U.S. drug companies, saying, “They’re getting away with murder (with drug prices) ... There’s very little bidding for drugs. “We’re the largest buyer of drugs in the world and yet we don’t bid properly. We’re going to start bidding and we’re going to start saving billions of dollars.” “I said I will be the greatest jobs producer that God ever created, and I mean that.” “You want to move your plant, and you think, as an example, you’re going to build that plant in Mexico, and you’re going to make your air conditioners or your cars, or whatever you’re making, and you’re going to sell them through what will be a very, very strong border ... Not going to happen. You’re going to pay a very large border tax.” Trump said he would not wait for negotiations with Mexico to be completed before starting to build a wall along the two countries’ border. “I could wait about a year and a half until we finish our negotiations with Mexico, which will start immediately after we get into office; but I don’t want to wait.” “We’re going to be submitting ... a plan. It’ll be repeal and replace; it will be essentially simultaneously; it will be various segments, you understand, but will most likely be on the same day or the same week.” “Obamacare is the Democrats’ problem. We are going to take the problem off the shelf for them ... we are doing the Democrats a great service.” Trump announced the nomination of Dr. David Shulkin as secretary of Veteran Affairs. Shulkin is currently under secretary for health at the VA. “We’re going to straighten out the VA for our veterans. I have been promising that for a long time ... We interviewed at least 100 people (for VA head), some good, some not so good ... Our veterans have been treated very unfairly.” | 1 |
20,484 | UK sees growing threat from Russian propaganda, cyber-attacks | LONDON (Reuters) - Russia poses an increasing threat and is willing to use propaganda, subversion and cyber-attacks to undermine Britain and the rest of Europe, Britain s national security adviser said on Monday. Mark Sedwill, who is overseeing a review of Britain s security services, told a parliamentary committee that Russia is attempting to sow dissension and undermine democracy in Britain and other western nations. He said the threats from Russia included from unconventional warfare such as disinformation campaigns to the dangers posed from an increase in its military capability in the North Atlantic and in Eastern Europe. We know that the Russian threat is definitely intensifying and diversifying, Sedwill said. The Russian attitude has worsened more generally towards the West and that seems set to continue. Britain has been more vocal in recent weeks about the threat posed by Russia at a time when there is growing concern among some members of the ruling Conservative party about the impact of cuts to defense spending. Prime Minister Theresa May last month in her most outspoken attack on Russia accused the country of meddling in elections and planting fake stories in the media. The head of Britain s armed forces said last week trade and the internet are at risk of damage from any Russian attack on underwater communications cables that could disrupt trillions of dollars in financial transactions. Sedwill accused Russia of planting fake stories in the media about the conduct of soldiers in Eastern Europe, where NATO troops are based to undermine the legitimacy of them being there. He also accused Russia of meddling in the recent French elections even though he said this had no chance of changing the outcome of the vote. It clearly was designed to undermine the citizen s trust in their systems and we see quite a lot elsewhere, he said. | 1 |
20,485 | Scotland's Sturgeon demands changes in EU exit bill after meeting May | LONDON (Reuters) - Scotland s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Tuesday the UK government had to make changes to its European Union withdrawal bill before her devolved government in Edinburgh would agree to back it, but said she was hopeful progress could be made. The devolved governments in Scotland and Wales are worried that the withdrawal bill will sap their powers. They cannot veto the EU bill, but failure to win their consent would be an embarrassing setback for British Prime Minister Theresa May s government and could reignite Scottish demands for independence. There s a long way still to go and I m very clear that bill has to change, Sturgeon told reporters after talks with May in London that she described as constructive and cordial . Hopefully having had the opportunity to air the concerns we have in more details we will be able to make progress in weeks to come, Sturgeon said. The EU withdrawal bill seeks to convert all existing EU laws into British law to provide legal clarity after Britain leaves the bloc and lawmakers started to debate it on Tuesday in Britain s parliament. Scotland and Wales, which currently control policy areas such as health, education, transport and agriculture, say the legislation does not guarantee the status of their devolved powers after Brexit. A spokeswoman for May said that devolved powers would be enhanced after Brexit. The prime minister reiterated that as powers are repatriated from Brussels back to Britain there will be a significant increase in the decision-making powers for the Scottish Government and other devolved administrations. Brexit is a source of tension for the four constituent nations of the United Kingdom because Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to stay in the EU, while Wales and England - by far the most populous of the four - voted to leave. | 1 |
20,486 | Ted Cruz Has A Sickening New Plan For America’s Muslims And It’s Even Worse Than Trump’s | If ever there was a reminder that Sen. Ted Cruz is NOT the Republican Party s reasonable alternative to Donald Trump, it s in his response to the Brussels terror attacks. Losing badly to Trump, Cruz is clearly feeling the pressure to capitalize on the tragedy to win some crucial votes so he s gone all in on xenophobia, totalitarianism, and religious persecution. A hate cocktail sure to fire up his base.In a statement he released on Facebook, Cruz calls for the establishment of ghettos where America s Muslims can be contained and watched over by a specialized law enforcement group meant to police them. If that sounds a little to Nazi-esque for you, Cruz preemptively accused his critics of just being too politically correct to agree with him.Here s Cruz s terrifying vision for his presidency:We need to immediately halt the flow of refugees from countries with a significant al Qaida or ISIS presence.We need to empower law enforcement to patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods before they become radicalized.We need to secure the southern border to prevent terrorist infiltration.And we need to execute a coherent campaign to utterly destroy ISIS.In other words, Cruz is plagiarizing Trump s ban all Muslims position, but adding that the Muslims already in the country should be secured in specific neighborhoods before they become radicalized. He doesn t bother clarifying how he would hope to accomplish this. Nor does he mention how he could legally target Muslims who had done nothing wrong just because his prejudice tells him they might some day.Being Lying Ted Cruz, he also couldn t help but spread a little misinformation about President Obama as well. Using the president s historic trip to Cuba as a strawman, Cruz bashed him for being on a diplomatic trip while Brussels was attacked, adding that Obama never visited Paris after the terror attacks there. It was an egregious lie, so shameless that a simple picture could debunk it.#COP21 Paying respect : President Obama & French President Hollande lay flowers at Bataclan concert hall in Paris. pic.twitter.com/YEMy7ZUDvk Catherine Field (@CatherineField) November 30, 2015Needless to say, Muslim activist groups, who have watched in horror as hate crimes directed at Muslim Americans has steadily grown thanks to people like Cruz, were not amused by this latest call to trounce the Constitution based on hate and fear. It s really beyond belief that you have one of the leading presidential candidates calling for law enforcement to target religious communities totally based on the fact that they are of a particular faith, CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper said by phone. In normal times, this would be the sort of thing that would disqualify someone from running for dogcatcher, much less president of the United States. We call on voters to reject this.Undoubtedly, terrorism is a serious problem. But the solutions to it need to be much more mature than the Republicans seem to want to believe. Totalitarianism doesn t work and never has. Discriminating against innocent Muslims because of a twisted death cult based in the Middle East is not only doomed to fail, but could backfire in ways that Cruz and Trump can t fathom from their build a wall childish ideology.Between Ted Cruz and Donald Trump, it s hard to say who the bigger xenophobic bigot is. Both are consumed by a hatred towards scapegoated groups they hope to exploit in order to ensure people vote for them. At this point in the race, the two Republican frontrunners aren t just mirroring each other s disgusting policies, but actually driving one another to make them more abhorrent. A nuclear arms race of bigotry in a crucial moment in America s history.Featured image via screenshot | 0 |
20,487 | U.S. lawmakers accuse Russia of seeking to influence U.S. election | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top Democrats on the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives intelligence committees accused Russia on Thursday of trying to influence the Nov. 8 U.S. election via computer hacking, and called on President Vladimir Putin to order a halt. “Based on briefings we have received, we have concluded that the Russian intelligence agencies are making a serious and concerted effort to influence the U.S. election,” Senator Dianne Feinstein and Representative Adam Schiff said in an unusually strongly worded joint statement. Officials in the administration of President Barack Obama have said they concluded that Russia or its proxies were responsible for hacking political party organizations. The government has not publicly blamed Russia. Russia has denied it sponsors or encourages any hacking activity. The lawmakers said the Russian effort was intended to sow doubt about the security of the U.S. election, and that the orders for intelligence agencies to conduct such actions could come only from “very senior levels” of the Moscow government. “We call on President Putin to immediately order a halt to this activity. Americans will not stand for any foreign government trying to influence our election. We hope all Americans will stand together and reject the Russian effort,” the statement said. U.S. relations with Russia have had a high profile in campaigning for the Nov. 8 election, in which the White House, one third of the Senate seats and all the House seats are up for grabs. Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, has been criticized by Democrats - and some Republicans - for his praise of Putin. | 1 |
20,488 | Wounded North Korean defector transferred to South Korean military hospital | SEOUL (Reuters) - A North Korean soldier who suffered critical gunshot wounds during a defection dash across the border to South Korea has been transferred to a military hospital, a South Korean intelligence official said on Saturday. The North Korean soldier, 24-year-old Oh Chong Song, was transferred to the military hospital on Friday from a trauma center at Ajou University Hospital south of Seoul, where his treatment for gunshot wounds and pre-existing conditions included two major operations. Oh has been transferred to South Korea s military hospital and South Korea s intelligence services will soon schedule the security questioning process depending on Oh s condition, the intelligence official told Reuters. The official, who declined to be identified, also declined to provide a specific schedule for Oh s questioning. Oh was shot and badly wounded by his fellow North Korean soldiers while fleeing across the border into the South in November. Three South Korean soldiers brought Oh to safety and he was immediately taken aboard a U.S. Black Hawk military helicopter and rushed into surgery. Medical staff at the Armed Forces Hospital will continue to provide proper care and treatment for Oh, a South Korean defense ministry official. Surgeon John Cook-Jong Lee accompanied Oh, along with a few South Korean intelligence services agents and other medical crew, as he was airlifted by a South Korean military helicopter to the Korean Armed Forces Capital Hospital in Seongnam, south of Seoul. Oh is still recovering from two major surgeries and other minor injuries. He has not gained full strength yet, but his condition has been much stabilized, said a person familiar with Oh s condition, who declined to be identified. | 1 |
20,489 | Trump looks at retired general Flynn as possible running mate | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is giving consideration to retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn as a potential vice presidential running mate, a Republican source familiar with the process said on Saturday. For weeks Trump has conducted a high-profile canvassing of Republican political stalwarts as part of his running mate search, but he has also made clear he is looking at what a military leader would bring to the ticket. The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Flynn has emerged as a possibility, confirming reports in the New York Post and The Washington Post. The Trump campaign had no comment. The thinking is that Flynn, who has been a foreign policy adviser to Trump, would be able to help Trump in the area of national security at a time of challenges abroad like the threat from Islamic State militants. Trump is also considering a more conventional political choice for his running mate, such as former House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich, Indiana Governor Mike Pence or New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. Flynn was chief of the Defense Intelligence Agency under President Barack Obama from 2012-2014. He has spoken in the past about wanting the United States to work more closely with Russia to resolve global security issues. Flynn told Russia Today in an interview published on Dec. 10 that the United States and Russia should work together to resolve the Syrian civil war and defeat Islamic State. Flynn has a book coming out next week, co-written with Michael Ledeen, titled: “The Field of Fight: How We Can Win the Global War Against Radical Islam and Its Allies.” | 1 |
20,490 | Oh, How The Handsome Have Fallen: Gainesville ‘Hot Cop’ Turns Out To Be Hiding Some Nazi Tendencies | Remember the Hot Cops from the Gainesville, Florida Police Department that nearly broke the internet? The post by the GPD got so many likes, comments, and shares from thirsty females across the country that the wives of two of them had to ahem assert their authority to let would-be suitors know the hunks were taken.Gainesville Police Department/FacebookThe young, semi-Karl Urban-looking guy on the right turned out to be single, while the Bruce Willis in Striking Distance guy was married, and that Jack Johnson-esque fella in the middle, well He s a Nazi. Oh, and married. I wonder what his wife thought about her husband s newfound fame as a sex symbol after somebody compiled a few of his old Facebook posts and found out he was the best-looking anti-Semite in Florida.His name is Mike Hamill, and jokes about killing Jews help him sleep at night, apparently:Who knew? (Facebook)That actually makes sense, since he clearly came up with a final solution for the stupid people who annoy him way back in 2011:HAHA! Right, guys? Haha? Guys? (Facebook)Here s the thing: Yes, I know it sucks to find out this guy is a Nazi. And yeah, maybe you re a little red-faced if you were among those that spread the GPD post via Facebook share, now that his virulent anti-Semitism is out in the open, and he s been suspended pending an investigation.But there are probably some folks reading this who are genuinely surprised, and this part of the article you re reading is just for you guys:Mike Hamill is a white cop in the Deep South. If that doesn t clue you in, maybe you don t know what galvanized the nation into passing the Civil Rights Act in 1964. There s a movie about it, actually. And it looks like the show s not over.Featured image via Dave Conner/flickr | 0 |
20,491 | Egyptian activists detained by court for protesting Red Sea islands transfer | ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT (Reuters) - A court in Alexandria has ordered the detention of leading rights activist Mahienour el-Massry over charges of illegally protesting in June against the Egyptian government s decision to transfer two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia. El-Massry was detained in Egypt s second largest city along with activist Moatasim Medhat and both will be held pending their trial for illegal assembly on Dec. 30, the misdemeanour court said. The pair s lawyer, Taher Abo Nasser, said they denied the charges, adding that there was no evidence of a protest taking place. The decision came as a shock for us but Mahienour is remaining strong and accepting, Abo Nasser said. The plan to cede the islands to Saudi Arabia was announced last year and has become mired in political protest and legal action. Opponents of the plan say Egypt s sovereignty over the islands dates back to 1906, before Saudi Arabia was founded. Saudi and Egyptian officials say the islands belong to the kingdom and were only under Egyptian control because Riyadh had asked Cairo in 1950 to protect them. | 1 |
20,492 | Judge Rules Man Who Called 911 On John Crawford Can Be Charged (VIDEO) | An Ohio judge ruled that Ronald Ritchie, the man whose 911 call led to the officer-involved shooting of a Black man in an Ohio Walmart store in 2014, can be charged with making a false alarm.In August 2014, 22-year-old John Crawford was shot at least ten times by police, as he shopped for an air gun inside a Beavercreek, Ohio Walmart.Police arrived at the store in response to calls placed by Ronald Ritchie and his wife.During his 911 call, Ritchie claimed that John Crawford had a gun and that he was using it to threaten people.Video evidence showed that John Crawford had picked up the air gun in another part of the store, likely to purchase it.While Ritchie told the 911 operator that John Crawford was pointing the gun at customers, and at one point stated he was aiming it at children, after reviewing the video the judge determined Ritchie s statements were not true.As the AP reports here, the judge specifically noted in her statement: at the time that Ronald Ritchie is relaying to dispatch that Mr. Crawford is pointing the gun at two children, the video does not depict this event. As Addicting reported in August 2014, questions about Ronald and April Ritchie s 911 calls arose almost immediately after the 911 recordings were were released to the public.Ritchie was interviewed immediately following the death of John Crawford. Watch the video from WHIO.Less than 30 days after he told the 911 operator that John Crawford was threatening people inside the store with a gun, he retracted those statements, telling reporters at no point did he shoulder the rifle and point it at somebody. Contrary to Ritchie s statements, video footage shows that Crawford was using the air gun to prop himself up, leaning on it as he did his shopping. He was talking with his girlfriend on the phone when a group of white officers shouted at him to drop the gun, then immediately opened fire, shooting him multiple times in the back.His last words were It s not real. The judge ruled that Ritchie cannot be charged with inciting violence, including panic, involuntary manslaughter or reckless homicide, all charges that the court was asked to consider.Ritchie can face charges of making a false alarm, however a crime for which he could serve six months in jail and pay fines of up to $1000. Featured image via video screen capture WHIO | 0 |
20,493 | Trump Campaign Gives PATHETIC Reason Why George H.W. Bush Is Voting For Hillary (VIDEO) | Months ago, former First Lady Laura Bush shocked Americans when she said she d rather vote for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton than a Republican this election. For the most part, former presidential candidate Jeb Bush and former presidents George W. Bush and George H.W. Bush have opted to stay out of this election until now.Word of George H.W. Bush s decision to snub the GOP by not voting for its disastrous Republican nominee just recently broke, and it s a super provocative move because not only is Bush refusing to support his party, but he is voting for the Democratic Party instead. It s a controversial decision, but obviously Bush recognizes that it s the smartest choice for the future of this country.The Trump campaign, as you can imagine, isn t taking this lightly. In an interview with CNN s Erin Burnett, Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway reacted to the elder Bush s voting decision and couldn t have demonstrated any better how immature and bitter the campaign was about it.Conway said that although she respects Bush s choice, it s ironic that he s voting for the wife of the man who knocked him out of the race in 1992. Conway also chalked up Bush s decision to vote for Clinton to his emotions and hurt feelings over his son s loss to Trump in the primaries. She said: This was a bruising primary, and Jeb Bush really failed all expectations I know there are a lot of hurt feelings there. You can watch the interview below: Jeb Bush really failed there are a lot of hurt feelings @KellyannePolls on Bush 41 voting #Clinton https://t.co/iyhiLRgrPL OutFrontCNN (@OutFrontCNN) September 20, 2016This response from the Trump campaign is exactly what we d expect it to be. The Bush family is making a responsible, informed decision during this election, and that is way too much for Trump and his minions to wrap their feeble minds around. This election is no joke it s about far more than Republican and Democrat parties. It s about saving the country from a candidate that will destroy it and the Bush s are smart enough to recognize that.Featured image via Joe Mahoney / Getty Images | 0 |
20,494 | OBAMA’S EPA PUSHES FOR TOUGHER MILEAGE STANDARDS FOR TRUCKS | The EPA continues to push for more and more restrictions on emissions. The Obama agenda continues and is bolstered by the Pope s call for action on the global warming scam. Anyone with half a brain can see through this political agenda and knows it has nothing to do with any truth about climate. Crazy times!The Obama administration on Friday proposed tougher mileage standards for medium and heavy-duty trucks, the latest move by President Barack Obama in his second-term drive to reduce pollution blamed for global warming.The Environmental Protection Agency issued new rules that would lower carbon dioxide emissions from trucks and vans by 24 percent by 2027. It would cut fuel costs by about $170 billion and reduce oil consumption by up to 1.8 billion barrels over the lifetime of vehicles sold under the rule.The long-expected rules come one day after Pope Francis issued a teaching document calling for the world to take action to slow climate change.Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a statement that the new rules would help the environment and the economy, as trucks use less fuel and shipping costs go down. He called the rules good news all around. Gina McCarthy, chief of the Environmental Protection Agency, said the rules would deliver big time on Obama s call to cut carbon pollution. With emission reductions weighing in at 1 billion tons, this proposal will save consumers, businesses and truck owners money, McCarthy said. At the same time, the rules will spur technology innovation and job-growth, while protecting Americans health and our environment over the long haul, she said.Read more: Sioux City Journal | 0 |
20,495 | French Socialist party puts its historic building for sale | PARIS (Reuters) - The French Socialist Party plans to put its headquarters in Paris up for sale, the party said on Tuesday, as it tries to reinvent itself after a poor performance in elections earlier this year. The disappointing performance in the presidential and parliamentary elections split the party, and it will struggle financially. The sale of the Paris mansion, acquired in 1980, will be used in part to cover the shortfall. This new era that is ahead of us can also open up at a new place, Jean-Francois Debat, the treasurer of the party told journalists. The number of Socialist seats in the 577-seat assembly plummeted from 280 in 2012 to just 29, the lowest in the post-war Fifth Republic. Parliament s lower house is now dominated by President Emmanuel Macron s centrist Republic on the Move party, which blew apart the traditional two-party system. The crisis facing the Socialists has its roots in a mid-term shift of former president Francois Hollande from being the self-proclaimed enemy of bankers and defender of workers to advocate of business-friendly reform. The move split the party, exposing a deep-seated rift between moderates and hard-left lawmakers. | 1 |
20,496 | Panama's president says switching China ties not 'checkbook diplomacy' | BEIJING (Reuters) - Panama s decision to ditch long-standing ties with self-ruled Taiwan and switch recognition to China had nothing to do with checkbook diplomacy , its president has told Chinese state television. Panama established diplomatic relations with China in June in a major victory for Beijing, as it lures away the dwindling number of countries that have formal relations with the island China claims as its own. Taiwan s government said at the time it was sorry and angry over Panama s decision, and that it would not compete with China in what it described as a diplomatic money game . China and Taiwan have tried to poach each other s allies over the years, often dangling generous aid packages in front of developing nations, although Taipei struggles to compete with an increasingly powerful China. Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela said the decision was correct and was Panama s alone. I didn t ask anything from China, Varela told Chinese state television s English-language channel in an interview shown late Monday. I just think it was the right thing to do for my country, for the people of Panama and for the future of a strong relationship between China and Panama, he said in response to a question about whether it was checkbook diplomacy . Varela said he told U.S. President Donald Trump about the decision a few hours before the official announcement and Trump supported it, the report said. Varela also said that visits to Shanghai and Beijing when he was vice president in 2010 inspired his decision. In 2010, I went to Shanghai for the World Special Olympic Games and I was very impressed with the city and then I went to Beijing and saw how China was opening its economy, I saw all these developments, he said. China is deeply suspicious of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, who it thinks wants to push for the island s formal independence, although she says she wants to maintain peace with Beijing. China and Taiwan had engaged in a diplomatic truce between 2008 and early 2016 under the leadership of Taiwan s then-president Ma Ying-jeou from the China-friendly Nationalist Party. Since Tsai assumed office last year, China has poached one other former Taiwan ally, the tiny west African state of Sao Tome and Principe. Gambia also established ties with China last year, although it ditched Taiwan before Tsai came to office. Beijing says Taiwan has no right to diplomatic recognition because it is part of China. Defeated Nationalist forces fled to Taiwan at the end of China s civil war in 1949. | 1 |
20,497 | BILL NYE The FAKE Science Guy THREATENS Conservatives…Blue States Will “Impose Economic Sanctions” Against Climate Change Denying States | Friday on MSNBC, climate activist Bill Nye warned conservatives to watch out, saying progressive blue states will address climate change on their own.Nye said, Only 40 percent of people in the U.S. think that Congress should be addressing this and that s because certain conservative groups, especially from the fossil fuel industry, have been very successful in introducing the idea that scientific uncertainty, plus or minus two percent, is the same as plus or minus 100 percent. He continued, There s a lot of emphasis from conservatives on what are writ-large states rights. Just watch out, conservatives, if states rights include California, Illinois, New York these places that, where people voted in a progressive fashion watch out if all those places start to address climate change and then impose economic sanctions, either overtly or by default, on places that have not embraced the work that needs to be done. Then you ll end up with this states rights working the other way. He added, We ve got to remind people that we re all in this together. The people I think about all the time are what are eloquently stated as the hillbillies. We want to engage everybody. Not working to address climate change is in no one s best interest. It is not in the best interest, especially of your children and grandchildren. A couple of times you mentioned that I am against the president and so on. I m not especially against the president. I just think he s gotten himself surrounded by people who are willing to mortgage the future, to let the people who are coming into the workforce now pay for the future. This is true, not just with regard to the national debt, which will almost certainly increase the same way it tripled under the beloved Ronald Reagan, not only will that national debt increase, but the climate debt, in a sense, what we have to do to address climate change, will be more and more difficult to pay back or pay down. Breitbart NewsThe climate change debate went nuclear last year, over a whistleblower s explosive allegation that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association manipulated data to advance a political agenda by hiding the global warming pause. In an article on the Climate Etc. blog, John Bates, who retired last year as principal scientist of the National Climatic Data Center, accused the lead author of the 2015 NOAA pausebuster report of trying to discredit the hiatus through flagrant manipulation of scientific integrity guidelines and scientific publication standards. In addition, Mr. Bates told the Daily [U.K.] Mail that the report s author, former NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information director Thomas Karl, did so by insisting on decisions and scientific choices that maximized warming and minimized documentation. Gradually, in the months after [the report] came out, the evidence kept mounting that Tom Karl constantly had his thumb on the scale in the documentation, scientific choices, and release of datasets in an effort to discredit the notion of a global warming hiatus and rush to time the publication of the paper to influence national and international deliberations on climate policy, Mr. Bates said Saturday on Climate Etc.The June 2015 report, Possible artifacts of data biases in the recent global surface warming hiatus, which updated the ocean temperature record, was published six months before the U.N. s Paris summit.The accusations sparked a fierce back-and-forth Sunday between so-called climate warmists and skeptics over the validity and implications of Mr. Bates claim, which he defended on the Climate Etc. blog run by former Georgia Tech climatologist Judith Curry.Zeke Hausfather, Berkeley Earth climate scientist, said in a Sunday fact-check on the CarbonBrief blog that the Karl paper s conclusions have been validated by independent data from satellites, buoys, and Argo floats and many other independent groups. While NOAA s data management procedures may well need improvement, their results have been independently validated and agree with separate global temperature records created by other groups, Mr. Hausfather said, citing Berkeley Earth and the U.K. s Met Office Hadley Centre.He said the record strongly suggests that NOAA got it right and that we have been underestimating ocean warming in recent years. Meanwhile, the whistleblowing prompted a we-told-you-so moment from Republicans on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee who have long suspected the Obama administration of retroactively fiddling with climate data in order to erase the 1998-2013 pause in global temperature increases. Now that Dr. Bates has confirmed that there were heated disagreements within NOAA about the quality and transparency of the data before publication, we know why NOAA fought transparency and oversight at every turn, said Chairman Lamar Smith in a Sunday statement.The panel launched an investigation into the NOAA pausebuster report after whistleblowers said the study was rushed to publication before underlying data issues were resolved to help influence public debate about the so-called Clean Power Plan and upcoming Paris climate conference. Dr. Bates revelations and NOAA s obstruction certainly lend credence to what I ve expected all along that the Karl study used flawed data, was rushed to publication in an effort to support the president s climate change agenda and ignored NOAA s own standards for scientific study, Mr. Smith said.Mr. Bates said he decided to come forward after reading a Washington Post article Dec. 13 that said federal scientists are frantically copying U.S. climate data, fearing it might vanish under Trump. As a climate scientist formerly responsible for NOAA s climate archive, the most critical issue in archival of climate data is actually scientists who are unwilling to formally archive and document their data, he said on Climate Etc.In his experience, the most serious example of a climate scientist not archiving or documenting a critical climate dataset was the study of Tom Karl et al. 2015 (hereafter referred to as the Karl study or K15), purporting to show no hiatus in global warming in the 2000s. NOAA did not return immediately Sunday a request for comment. The Daily Mail said that Mr. Karl admitted the data had not been archived when the paper was published but denied trying to influence the climate summit. Asked why he had not waited, he said: John Bates is talking about a formal process that takes a long time. He denied he was rushing to get the paper out in time for Paris, saying: There was no discussion about Paris, said the Daily Mail article.The American Geophysical Union issued a statement saying it was very closely monitoring the situation, have considered the possible implications, and will be sharing any new information or response by AGU with you here. | 0 |
20,498 | Seth Meyers Hilariously Tells The News Media How They Should Do Their Jobs, And He’s Right (VIDEO) | 2016 may go down as the year that news died, at least in their souls. Sure, it s been happening for a long time, but now, writing about Donald Trump s Twitter wars has become more important than actual news and unfortunately, it takes a comedian to tell the truth.Seth Meyers, in one of this best rants ever, criticized the media s constant coverage of Trump s tweets, and in particular, the Twitter war against Meryl Streep, calling them distractions from the real scandal: the Russian hacking scandal. Whether these tweets are calculated distractions or just the ramblings of an unhinged narcissist, Meyers explained, it s clear Trump would much rather talk about his feud with Meryl Streep than, say, the fact that intelligence officials believe Russia hacked the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton campaign to help Trump win the election. Source: SlateHere s the entire video, definitely worth a listen:While we can t know whether Trump s childish Twitter feed is a distraction or just the real, unfiltered Donald Trump, it doesn t matter. The fact is, it s serving as a distraction. Trump and his handlers are pushing the news cycles into overdrive, leaving the media chasing the latest headline, which is way too often Trump s latest tweets, rather than examining things of national importance.If it weren t for the downfall of the mainstream media, you know, the same mainstream media that treated unfounded allegations against Hillary Clinton as if they held the same weight (or more) as the fact that Donald Trump has been accused of rape or that he didn t provide his tax returns or that he very clearly seems to be a puppet of Russia, we likely wouldn t have a President-Elect Donald Trump. Meyers is right. It s time the media does its job. Too bad it will be left to the comedians.Featured image via video screen capture | 0 |
20,499 | 37-YR OLD FED PROSECUTOR Working On Illegal Immigration, Visa, Passport Fraud Found Dead With Head Wound In Debbie Wasserman-Schultz District [VIDEO] | Hollywood police spokeswoman Miranda Grossman said Thursday that the body of 37-year-old Beranton J. Whisenant Jr. was found early Wednesday by a passerby on the city s beach. She said detectives are trying to determine if the death was a homicide, suicide or something else. WPTVThe cause of death including whether Whisenant was murdered was still under investigation.However, The Miami Herald reported that the death is being investigated as a crime by the Hollywood Police Department.According to ABC News, the 37-year-old prosecutor s body bore a head wound.In 2013, CNN quoted an expert who called murders of prosecutors in the United States beyond rare, and reported that only 13 prosecutors have been killed in the line of duty in the past 100 years. Murders of federal prosecutors are rarer still, although it s not clear yet what happened to Whisenant.Whisenant worked for the U.S. Attorney s Office in Miami in its major crimes unit. He had joined the office in January. Court records show he had been handling several visa and passport fraud cases.The federal prosecutor s body was discovered lying on the city beach on Wednesday, May 24. His body had washed up on the beach, and The Miami Herald reported that it s not clear whether he died there. Whisenant may have suffered a head wound caused by a possible gunshot or other type of trauma, The Herald reported.According to ABC News, Whisenant was married and was a father of three. Whisenant lived in Miramar with his wife, Ebony, a physician who teaches at Florida International University s College of Medicine, reported Miami Herald.Whisenant was handling some serious cases for the federal prosecutor s office in Miami. PACER, the federal court record website, lists him as an attorney in 39 cases. Not all of those date from his time in the U.S. attorney s office, but there are a number of May filings listed.His recent cases focused on illegal immigration issues. For example, in one recent case, a woman was accused of re-entering the U.S. illegally from Guatemala who had previously been ordered removed from the United States. In another recent case, a man was accused of buying a fake Italian passport and trying to enter Miami with it.Whisenant was assigned to the Major Crimes Unit. His LinkedIn page says that Whisenant had only been in the U.S. Attorney s office for five months.According to ABC News, Whisenant had been working on visa and passport fraud cases, according to court documents. Heavy | 0 |
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