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20,900 | Supreme Court Unanimously Rejects Republican’s Latest Election Rigging Scheme | In another humiliating defeat that will have major ramifications for Republicans going forward, all 8 Justices on the Supreme Court upheld a lower court s ruling that Texas Republicans could not redraw voting districts to suppress the growing Latino vote.The one person, one vote case was designed by conservatives to exclude non-voting populations when drawing the electoral map for the state. The immediate effect would be that districts with large numbers of non-eligible voters (like, for instance, Latino immigrants and children), would be lumped together, giving much more power to rural, mostly white and older, districts.I m sure you ll be shocked to know that older white people tend to vote Republican. But that surely wasn t the intent behind this move to consolidate power increase the fairness of elections for white people everyone.If this all sounds a bit confusing (and it should), what Republicans were trying to say is that people who can t vote, children, immigrants, convicted felons, etc. do not deserve the same kind of representation in their local government. Because they re not really people or something. But really, this was just the latest GOP attempt at rigging elections.Right now, the populations of large racially diverse cities mean that those cities have several (or more) voting districts and they tend to be far more liberal than rural, mostly white districts. That means that in a state like Texas, the cities are threatening to overpower the rural areas in terms of electoral power and turn the state purple and eventually blue. The goal of this court case was to reverse that trend and greatly reduce the number of city districts, thus, making the rural (and conservative) districts more powerful.But apparently this was a voter suppression tactic too far for even the conservatives on the Court:Six justices signed on to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg s decision, and Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas the most conservative members of the court concurred in the judgment. Total-population apportionment meets the equal protection demand, by rendering each representative alert to the interests and constituent-service requests of all who dwell in the representative s district, Ginsburg said.Even if Scalia had still been alive, it looks like he might have been the only dissent. And maybe Thomas after Scalia had told him what to think.The conservative Justices were not opposed to the basic premise of the plan (stripping large cities of their voting power), just this particular method. Once Republicans come up with a new avenue of attack (and they will), they ll try it again and if Republicans control the White House and put another Scalia on the bench, they might get away with it next time.See why voting blue is important?Featured image via wikipedia | 0 |
20,901 | Clinton: 'We respect the choice the people' made on Brexit | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said on Friday said she respected the United Kingdom’s vote on leaving the European Union and was committed to maintaining America’s relationships with both Britain and European countries. “Our first task has to be to make sure that the economic uncertainty created by these events does not hurt working families here in America,” she said in a statement. | 1 |
20,902 | Some U.S. visitors to Cuba complain of symptoms similar to embassy 'attacks': U.S. | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A handful of private U.S. citizens who traveled to Cuba say they have experienced symptoms similar to those suffered by American diplomats in mysterious health attacks in Havana, the U.S. State Department said on Friday. A State Department spokesperson, who declined to be named, said the agency could not verify the claims but said travelers should heed its travel warning issued last Friday. The warning urged Americans to stay away from Cuba because of unexplained health attacks it says have caused hearing loss, dizziness, fatigue and cognitive issues among at least 22 diplomatic personnel. The Trump administration on Tuesday expelled 15 Cuban diplomats to protest Cuba s failure to protect staff at the U.S. embassy in the communist country, just days after Washington recalled more than half the U.S. diplomatic personnel from Havana. Cuba has denied involvement, and Washington has not directly blamed the government in Havana. So far, no probes have yielded any answers about how the alleged attacks were carried out or who was responsible. The warning said the attacks had occurred in diplomatic residences and hotels frequented by U.S. citizens. CBS News first reported that some private citizens had complained of symptoms after visiting Cuba. On Friday, the U.S. embassy in Havana identified the Hotel Nacional and Hotel Capri as the two places where it said embassy personnel had been targeted over the past few months, and said the U.S. government had imposed limitations on lodging there. Receptionists at both hotels, when contacted by Reuters, said they had not heard of any restrictions. Both said they had Americans registered there and their managers were not immediately available for comment. U.S. intelligence operatives working undercover were among the embassy personnel affected by the attacks, but it was unclear if they were specifically targeted since the symptoms hit staff across a range of job categories, U.S. officials have told Reuters. The steps taken by Republican President Donald Trump s administration deliver another blow to his Democratic predecessor Barack Obama s policy of rapprochement, including actions likely to erode the normalization of a relationship dominated for decades by Cold War hostility and suspicion. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez denounced the expulsion of Cuban diplomats as unjustified, accused the United States of insufficient cooperation with Cuba s investigation and urged Washington to stop politicizing the matter. Theories about the attacks abound, from surveillance technology gone awry to a sophisticated acoustic weapon in the hands of Cuban-American exiles or third-party state actors such as Russia, Iran or North Korea. But no clear explanation has emerged. | 1 |
20,903 | Spanish foreign ministry says to expel North Korean ambassador | MADRID (Reuters) - The Spanish foreign ministry said on Monday it had asked North Korea s ambassador to leave Spain before the end of the month due to his country s repeated refusals to renounce its nuclear weapons program. Today, the North Korean ambassador was summoned and was told of the decision to consider him as a persona non grata, therefore he must stop working and abandon the country before Sept. 30, the foreign ministry said in a statement. The United Nations Security Council imposed new sanctions after North Korea s sixth and largest nuclear test this month, and the United States called on countries to sever diplomatic and financial ties with it. | 1 |
20,904 | Florida residents heed Irma warnings after Harvey's destruction | FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (Reuters) - Hurricane Harvey s destruction in Texas may not have altered Florida s well-tested storm plans, but it appears to have infused residents with a new sense of urgency as they prepare for approaching Hurricane Irma. Officials said Harvey s devastating flooding, coupled with the sheer power of Irma, ranked as the strongest Atlantic storm on record, had sharpened the focus of Floridians who were somewhat indifferent about preparing for past hurricanes. A lot of times they end up having hurricane parties here instead of evacuating, Monroe County spokeswoman Cammy Clark said by phone. That s been the opposite this time around. Monroe County includes the Florida Keys, which ordered evacuations for all residents and tourists. Clark said she saw a steady stream of traffic leaving the travel destination as she drove to work early on Wednesday. The U.S. National Hurricane Center forecasts that Irma may strike southern Florida on Saturday, when it could still be a major hurricane. As it neared Puerto Rico on Wednesday with maximum sustained winds of 185 miles per hour (295 kph), Irma was a Category 5 storm, the highest level on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of intensity. This storm is bigger, faster and stronger than Hurricane Andrew, Florida Governor Rick Scott told a news conference on Wednesday, referring to one of the costliest storms in U.S. history that struck southern Miami-Dade County 25 years ago. For south Florida, Hurricane Irma is a once-in-a-generation storm. It s the Big One for us, Ed Rappaport, acting director of the hurricane center, told WFOR-TV in Miami on Wednesday evening. Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez on Wednesday evening announced mandatory evacuations for most of the county s coastal cities beginning at 9 a.m. (1300 GMT) on Thursday. Miami-Dade has a population of 2.7 million. The evacuation orders affect more than 100,000 residents, the Miami Herald reported. Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine had already urged residents of that city on Tuesday to evacuate. We don t want any heroes, he said. We want people to bring themselves to a safer place than a barrier island. Officials across Florida said they saw signs of people taking Irma more seriously than past storms. Residents were stocking up on water and batteries and even complaining that county leaders were not being quick enough to announce evacuations, said Don Walker, spokesman for Brevard County Emergency Management. Houston officials were criticized for not ordering an evacuation ahead of the flooding that left hundreds of people in the country s fourth-largest city trapped in their homes. Everyone is really in tune with this storm system. My neighbors are talking about it, and we don t usually do that, Walker said. For years, many Florida residents, joined by an ever-growing number of newcomers, paid little heed to hurricane warnings as most opted to stay in their homes, county officials said. Not this time around. I ll tell you for the community, heck yeah, they re taking this more seriously, said Teri Barbera, spokeswoman for the Palm Beach County Sheriff s Office, noting that many stores were out of bottled water by Monday. They re not playing. | 1 |
20,905 | President Obama formally endorses Clinton for president | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama formally endorsed fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton for president on Thursday, describing himself as eager to get out and campaign for her, days after she gained the delegates needed to secure the party’s White House nomination. “I don’t think there has ever been someone so qualified to hold this office,” Obama said in a video released by the Clinton campaign. “I’m with her, I’m fired up and I cannot wait to get out there and campaign with Hillary.” Obama and Clinton were rivals during the 2008 Democratic primary that Obama won. Clinton went on to serve as Obama’s secretary of state during his first term in office. | 1 |
20,906 | Tokyo Governor Koike leaves door open for ruling party PM post election | TOKYO (Reuters) - Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike does not expect her new conservative party to pick a candidate for prime minister during the campaign for the Oct. 22 election, leaving the door open to eventually backing a lawmaker from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe s party. Koike s new Party of Hope has emerged as a serious challenge to Abe s Liberal Democratic Party supporter base, but she has said she would not personally contest the election. Abe called the snap election last month in hopes his ruling bloc would keep its majority in parliament s lower house, where it now has a two-thirds super majority. Losing a simple majority would be a major unexpected upset, but a poor performance by the LDP could put pressure on Abe to step down. Asked in an interview published on Saturday by the Asahi newspaper whether Koike s party would pick a candidate for premier from its own ranks during the election, she replied: Basically, no. The campaign kicks off formally on Oct. 11. Koike, 65, a former defense minister and ex-member of Abe s LDP, told Reuters on Friday that all options were on the table regarding whom her party would back when parliament convenes to vote on a prime minister after the election. We need to see the results (of the election). We must protect this country and at the same time, we must change it, Koike told Reuters. We will decide after the election after confirming the trend in which our Party of Hope can achieve this. In the interview with the Asahi, Koike praised former defense minister Shigeru Ishiba, whom she backed in a 2012 LDP leadership race won by Abe, and lauded Internal Affairs Minister Seiko Noda for her work on behalf of handicapped people. Ishiba has criticized Abe on several fronts including his proposal to revise the post-war constitution s pacifist Article 9 by clarifying the status of the military. Ishiba says Abe s proposal does not go far enough. Noda has said she wants to run in the next LDP leadership race when Abe s current term expires in September 2018. | 1 |
20,907 | Germany may not agree new coalition until next year: Merkel ally | BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany may need to wait until next year for a new government as the three blocs trying to form an alliance are so far apart they will need a deeply detailed coalition deal, a senior Bavarian ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel has told Reuters. Alexander Dobrindt, parliamentary floor leader of the Christian Social Union (CSU), said a coalition agreement would have to be more precise than the one that accompanied the right-left grand coalition in the last parliament. After 12 years in power, Merkel was humbled in last month s national election by a surge of the anti-immigrant far right and she must now broker a three-way coalition of her conservatives, the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) and the Greens - a combination previously untested at the federal level. The task is further complicated by the fact that Merkel s conservative bloc compromises her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the right-leaning Bavarian CSU, whose alliance has been strained by her open-door migrants policy. The conservative allies removed one obstacle to forming a new coalition on Sunday by agreeing a limit on the number of migrants arriving in Germany, sought by the CSU. But Dobrindt said in an interview with Reuters television that securing a three-way alliance would be difficult. As we know that the points that separate us outweigh those we have in common, one can have doubts about whether a coalition agreement is possible this year, he said. It is conceivable that we can t complete in December and that final talks - if there even are any - will only possible next year. The three-way tie-up - dubbed a Jamaica coalition after the black, green and yellow colors of the three party blocs that match the Caribbean nation s flag - is Merkel s only realistic option of forming a government. The center-left Social Democrats, her previous partners in an awkward grand coalition , insist they now want to go into opposition. A Jamaica coalition was formed in the tiny western German state of Saarland in October 2009, but collapsed in January 2012. The same formation took power in the far northern region of Schleswig-Holstein after elections there in May this year. At a national level, the CDU/CSU, FDP and Greens have deep differences on issues ranging from migration to European Union reform, tax and the environment. But Merkel, asked in an interview with the RND group of newspapers whether such a coalition could nonetheless come to pass, said the parties had a mandate from voters that they needed to take on. It s our joint responsibility, our duty in fact, to form a government from that and to pursue sensible policies for our citizens and country. I think that s possible, she said. Dobrindt said diverging opinions between the three parties meant they would have to nail down an in-depth deal. We need, in a possible Jamaica coalition agreement, a significantly higher level of detail than was the case with the grand coalition, he said. The differences between the parties are big, so the agreements need to go deeper. In their compromise struck on Sunday, the CDU and CSU agreed to limit to 200,000 the number of newcomers Germany would accept per year on humanitarian grounds. The FDP and Greens insist the conservatives agreement cannot simply be copied into a coalition deal. Senior Greens member Juergen Trittin accused the conservatives on Tuesday of violating Christian values because they wanted to keep suspending family reunifications for migrants granted subsidiary protection - those who do not qualify as refugees but need international protection. FDP deputy head Wolfgang Kubicki told Deutschlandfunk radio the conservative deal would not form the basis for cooperation and would not be implemented the way it had been agreed, saying: That won t happen. But Dobrindt, whose CSU is worried about losing its regional dominance in Bavaria s state election next year, said the allies accord must be reflected in a coalition deal. The regulations we have made in our joint paper - Rules on Migration - are of course an essential part of the negotiations and must also be found in a coalition agreement. The intransigence of the CSU, Greens and FDP on the migrants issue points to difficult coalition talks that risk clouding the political outlook in Germany, which has been a source of stability in Europe during Merkel s tenure. We want Europe to concentrate more on the big tasks and less on the small tasks, Dobrindt said. That means we must talk about bringing back responsibilities from Brussels to Germany - and the details of that will no doubt be difficult. | 1 |
20,908 | U.S. sanctions seven Iranian individuals, two entities | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday slapped sanctions on seven Iranian individuals and two entities, alleging involvement in either malicious cyber activities or enabling Tehran s ballistic missile program. The action, announced on the U.S. Treasury Department s website, freezes any assets they may hold in the United States and prohibits U.S. individuals from doing business with them. (Corrects first paragraph to say ballistic missile program, not nuclear program.) | 1 |
20,909 | david fry released from jail | oregon live by maxine bernstein
a federal jury on thursday found ammon bundy his brother ryan bundy and five codefendants not guilty of conspiring to prevent federal employees from doing their jobs through intimidation threat or force during the day occupation of the malheur national wildlife refuge
the bundy brothers and occupiers jeff banta and david fry also were found not guilty of having guns in a federal facility kenneth medenbach was found not guilty of stealing government property and a hung jury was declared on ryan bundys charge of theft of fbi surveillance cameras
more than we could have hoped for said one of ammon bundys lawyers j morgan philpot
stunning said defense lawyer lisa ludwig who was standby counsel for ryan bundy
im just thrilled said neil wamplers attorney lisa maxfield
the jury of nine women and three men returned the verdicts after five hours of deliberations on thursday in the highprofile case that riveted the state and drew national and international attention to the federal bird sanctuary in rural eastern oregon
each defendant stood separately facing the jury as the judge read the verdicts ammon bundy his hands clasped behind his back nodded as the not guilty verdicts were read for him first as he sat he smiled and rubbed the shoulder of his lawyer marcus mumford
his older brother ryan bundy stood as his not guilty verdicts were read he nodded and mouthed to the jury thank you defendant neil wampler hugged and kissed his defense lawyer maxfield
the coda to the stunning verdict undoubtedly a significant blow to federal prosecutors was when ammon bundys lawyer marcus mumford argued that his client dressed in a gray suit and white dress shirt should be allowed to walk out of the court a free man
us district judge anna j brown told him that there was a us marshals hold on him from a pending federal indictment in nevada
oregon standoff defendant jeff banta is relieved by acquittals
if theres a detainer show me mumford stood arguing before the judge
suddenly a group of about six us marshals surrounded mumford at his defense table the judge directed them to move back but moments later the marshals grabbed on to him
what are you doing mumford yelled as he struggled and was taken down to the floor
as deputy marshals yelled stop resisting the judge demanded everybody out of the courtroom now
mumford was taken into custody a member of his legal team confirmed
ammon bundys lawyer j morgan philpot said afterwards on the courthouse steps that mumford had been arrested and marshals had used a stun gun or taser on his back another member of ammon bundys legal team rick koerber echoed philpot saying he heard mumford questioning in court why they were using a taser against him
philpot decried the marshals treatment of mumford in the courtroom what happened at the end is symbolic of the improper use of force by the federal government he said
by pm mumford was released from custody he confirmed that he was struck with a stun gun once while he was on the floor of the courtroom
i grew up on a dairy farm so am i used to some rough treatment sure he said but he said the actions of the us marshals were uncalled for
all i was asking for was papers just show me you have the authority to take mr bundy into custody
as to the verdict very pleased very gratified this jury was dedicated they listened to our case
just after the verdicts were announced people emerged onto the front steps of the courthouse to tell a crowd of media and onlookers
supporters of the defendants gathered in a joyous hug one of them brand thornton of las vegas one of the original occupiers who accompanied ryan bundy and others onto the refuge on jan and was called as witness by the defense said that he has been at the trial since oct
the verdict means everything thornton said its huge for ranchers and land rights within harney county and across the west he said
we did something peaceful and wanted to stay peaceful said thornton who has kept vigil outside the courthouse blowing a shofar
this is for the people of oregon thornton said this was never for us
wampler appeared on the courthouse steps and described the verdict as a stunning victory for rural america
david frys lawyer per c olson said it was the right result
i think the jury saw through this that they were wellmeaning wellintentioned individuals olson said the jury saw that the defendants cared about the hammonds and didnt like how the federal government was treating them
maxfield who represented wampler came out of the courthouse holding up her fists she said she has never seen anything like this happen where multiple defendants in a federal court trial were all acquitted and called it one of the most significant cases in her career
defendant shawna cox said she had a peaceful feeling as she waited for the verdicts but i didnt expect wed all be found not guilty
i wept cox said it brings me to tears im so grateful to the jury
defense lawyer matthew schindler standby counsel to defendant kenneth medenbach who was excused from court because of medical ailments said he called his client right away
hes been fighting for more than years to be in a situation where a jury acquitted him schindler said its vindication
schindler said he believes the jurys verdicts resulted from the difficulty the government had in proving that the intent of the defendants was to conspire against the us fish and wildlife service and us bureau of land management
the judge gave us broad ability to bring in a defendants state of mind and what you saw was a number of defendants who each had their own motivations schindler said
when prosecuting a drug conspiracy its easy to point to what the defendants underlying objective is but in this case schindler said there was no obvious underlying self interest he said the defense also was bolstered because the jurors came from different regions from the state and not just from portland
oregon us attorney billy williams sat in the back of the courtroom with oregons fbi special agent in charge gregg bretzing as the verdicts were read williams left the courtroom early before the scrum with mumford to attend a gathering of the league of minority voters in salem thursday night
harney county sheriff dave ward who was the face of law enforcement during the day refuge takeover said in a statement while i am disappointed in the outcome i believe our form of government and justice system to be the best in the world these folks were tried in a court of law and found not guilty by a jury of their peers this is our system and i stand by it
the fiveweek trial offered a rare display three of the seven defendants chose to represent themselves five of them were among the more than people who took the witness stand to testify
and one of the original jurors was dismissed after a fellow juror raised concerns about his impartiality four days into an initial round of deliberations what the judge called an extraordinary circumstance an alternate juror was summoned to begin a new round of deliberations with the remaining jurors thursday morning
there was heightened security in and around the courthouse throughout the trial with security officers ordered to wear bulletproof vests and metal detectors set up outside the main trial courtroom and an overflow room with a live video feed of the proceedings
often supporters knelt in prayer in the courthouse corridor before the trial began in the mornings and some kept vigil across the street with one fellow occupier blowing a rams horn or shofar as the jury deliberated
pending prosecutions
the seven on trial were among people indicted on the conspiracy charge
eleven of them pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge
seven others are set for trial on feb but their cases may be affected by the verdicts if convictions are handed down in this case then defendants scheduled for trial in february might consider potential pleas if there are acquittals prosecutors may rethink going to trial on same charges against codefendants next year
on the eve of jury selection in this case prosecutors agreed to dismiss the conspiracy charge against pete santilli an independent broadcaster and selfdescribed shock jock who provided live stream footage of the occupation
nevada case
ammon bundy and ryan bundy also face prosecution in nevada in the standoff with federal agents over the impounding of their fathers cattle near bunkerville nevada
the trial there is set to start feb the two brothers and father cliven bundy are among indicted in nevada others from the oregon refuge occupation also indicted on federal charges in nevada are pete santilli ryan payne brian cavalier blaine cooper and joseph oshaughnessy
payne pleaded guilty to the federal conspiracy charge in oregon under a potential global agreement that was in the works with nevada prosecutors but he recently asked to withdraw the oregon plea because no deal was reached in nevada prosecutors in portland have until oct to respond
cooper entered guilty pleas in both cases oshaughnessy pleaded guilty in the oregon case with a deal pending in nevada cavalier pleaded guilty in the oregon case
maxine bernstein | 0 |
20,910 | NFL GIVES BEYONCE Super Bowl Half-Time Slot To Promote Cop Hate, Racial Division…Race-Baiting Hubby, JAY Z Makes $1.5 MILLION Donation To #BlackLivesMatter Terrorists | We reported about Beyonce s half-time Super Bowl appearance, where she ll be performing her anti-cop, anti-White song. For a preview of the song she ll be performing, click HERE to see the video. The latest, and equally disturbing news is that her race-baiting husband, Jay Z has just dumped a huge sum of money into the #BlackLivesMatter terror groups coffers. Anyone who believes in racial harmony and healing the racial divide that Barack Obama and his racist wife have caused, should never give this power couple another cent of their hard earned money. Jay Z s global music and entertainment platform Tidal in association with Roc Nation is donating $1.5 million to Black Lives Matter and several other local and national social justice organizations, Tidal announced exclusively to Mic on Friday the same day Trayvon Martin would have turned 21-years-old. The streaming service raised the $1.5 million at the first Tidal X: 10/20 charity concert in Brooklyn, New York, featuring Beyonc , Nicki Minaj, Jay Z, Lil Wayne and Nick Jonas.Tidal s group of artist owners, which includes several of the musicians who performed in October s sold-out show including Beyonc , Nicki Minaj and Jay Z, took part in deciding which organizations would receive funding, the streaming service told Mic. The majority of the groups to benefit are social justice activist groups and organizations, with a large portion of these specifically committed to ensuring the nation understands that black lives matter.Tidal s grants will be administered through the New World Foundation, which funds several civil rights groups and social movements. The nonprofits Tidal will fund include Opportunity Agenda, Hands Up United, Sankofa.Org, as well as local organizing groups in California: Community Coalition; Florida: Dream Defenders; Illinois: Black Youth Project; Maryland: Baltimore Justice Fund; Empowerment Development Corporation; New York: Million Hoodies; NY Justice League and Ohio: Ohio Students Association/Organizing Collaborative.According to Tidal, donations will also be given to organizations created by the families of victims of police brutality, including the Trayvon Martin Foundation, the Michael O.D. Brown We Love Ours Sons and Daughters Foundation and the Oscar Grant Foundation.Via: Music.Mic | 0 |
20,911 | ‘White Lives Matter’ Rally Breaks Out In Chaos As Neo-Nazi Attacks Protesters (VIDEO) | As many of us could have predicted would be the outcome, a White Lives Matter rally broke out in chaos and a brawl ensued.The rally was held in South Buffalo, New York on Saturday afternoon, organized by the neo-Nazi National Socialist Movement. When the rally took place in Cazenovia Park, only one neo-Nazi official was among the other supporters white supremacist Karl Hand. Hand, who is also the chief of the Racial Nationalist Party of America, revealed he d had little involvement in organizing the rally: I didn t organize it. I was just invited to speak. But that didn t stop him from p*ssing people off and spewing his racist views. One video of the event even shows a woman scolding Hand and telling him that nobody is going to take your sh*t in this day and age, you are sick people the rest of the United States is going to trample you out. In protest of the event, over 300 activists came out, which outnumbered the White Lives Matter supporters tremendously. The protesters held signs that said, Not Here, Black Lives Matter and, We promote unity in Buffalo. Bridget Marren, one of the protesters in attendance and a South Buffalo native, said: We live here. We don t want that hate spread here. But what the White Lives Matter rallygoers lacked in attendance numbers, they made up in offensiveness. The Buffalo Police had dozens of officers at the rally to help control the crowd, but they still couldn t stop another racist neo-Nazi wearing a green White Pride t-shirt from getting into a fight with counter-protesters. The situation had eventually escalated so much that his shirt was ripped off when he got into a scuffle.You can watch the rally devolve into chaos in the videos below:But really, what else could we expect from a White Lives Matter rally?Featured image is a screenshot | 0 |
20,912 | Russia hands note of protest to U.S. over plans to search trade mission | MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia s foreign ministry has summoned a U.S. diplomat in Moscow to hand him a note of protest over plans to conduct searches in Russia s trade mission complex in Washington, which should soon be closed, the ministry said in a statement on Saturday. It said it has summoned Anthony F. Godfrey, a deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. The ministry called the planned illegal inspection of Russian diplomatic housing an unprecedented aggressive action , which could be used by the U.S. special services for anti-Russian provocations by the way of planting compromised items . The closure by Sept. 2 of the consulate and buildings in Washington and New York that house Russian trade missions is the latest in tit-for-tat actions by the two countries that have helped push relations to a new post-Cold War low. The Kremlin has said the moves to close the Russian facilities pushed bilateral ties further into a dead end. On Friday, the Russian foreign ministry also said the U.S. special services were prepared for searches in its consulate in San Francisco. Some media reported that a smoke was billowing from a chimney of the building. Maria Zakharova, the spokeswoman for the ministry, said it was part of a mothballing . In relation to this, the windows could be closed, the light could be turned off, the water could be drained out, the heating appliances could be turned off, the garbage could be thrown away, essential services could be turned off and many other things, she wrote on social media. Moscow last month ordered the United States to cut its diplomatic and technical staff in Russia by more than half, to 455 people to match the number of Russian diplomats in the United States, after Congress overwhelmingly approved new sanctions against Russia. | 1 |
20,913 | UK minister Gove says he hopes May will remain Prime Minister | LONDON (Reuters) - Britain s environment minister and prominent Brexiteer Michael Gove said he hoped Theresa May would remain prime minister after party divisions over her future burst into the open on Friday, revealing a plot by up to 30 lawmakers to unseat her. Theresa does have the qualities to be Prime Minister, she s been an excellent prime minister, I hope she carries on as our Prime Minister for years to come, Gove told BBC radio. | 1 |
20,914 | California Senate confirms Democrat Becerra as attorney general | SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) - The California Senate on Monday confirmed U.S. Congressman Xavier Becerra as attorney general, positioning the majority-Democrat state to challenge conservative policies of new Republican President Donald Trump. Becerra, who represented Los Angeles for 24 years in Congress, was approved by a party line votes of 26 to 9, with Democrats heavily in favor and Republicans arguing that the state should give the new administration a chance rather than picking fights. He will replace former California Attorney General Kamala Harris, a Democrat who was elected to the U.S. Senate in November. “It’s a role to defend the progress and the values of the people of California,” Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon said of Becerra’s new job in an interview after the vote on Monday. “These are extraordinary times and require extraordinary actions.” Becerra, 58, was nominated for the position by Democratic Governor Jerry Brown shortly after Trump’s election. A Stanford-trained attorney who was first elected to Congress in 1993, Becerra is viewed as a reliable progressive with the savvy to navigate the halls of Congress as well as the nation’s courtrooms. “I couldn’t ask for a better job,” said Becerra, to be sworn in by Brown on Tuesday. “It is humbling and exciting to assume responsibility for vigorously advancing the forward-leaning values that make California unique among the many states.” Becerra learned through his long Congressional career to work both sides of the aisle, and he made sure to meet with legislative Republicans before his confirmation hearings began this month. But while the legislature’s minority GOP members made a point to say they liked and respected Becerra, most spoke against his nomination. “Instead of acting like we’re going to be defiant, I’d like to see us extending an olive branch” to the new administration, said state Senator John Moorlach, a Republican who represents part of Orange County south of Los Angeles. In addition to naming Becerra attorney general, the legislature also hired the law firm of former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, an Obama appointee, to represent them in cases and negotiations involving the new administration and Republican-controlled Congress. | 1 |
20,915 | Zimbabwe military chief's China trip was normal visit, Beijing says | BEIJING (Reuters) - A trip to Beijing last week by Zimbabwe s military chief was a normal military exchange , China s Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday, after the military in the southern African nation seized power. Zimbabwe s military took control targeting criminals around President Robert Mugabe but gave assurances on national television that the 93-year-old leader and his family were safe and sound . General Constantino Chiwenga met Chinese Defence Minister Chang Wanquan in Beijing on Friday, where Chang expressed a willingness to promote relations with Zimbabwe, China s Defence Ministry said in a short statement last week. The ministry showed a picture of the two men, both wearing military uniform, shaking hands, and another one of officers from both countries sitting opposite each other holding a meeting at the People s Liberation Army headquarters in Beijing. Asked whether Chiwenga had briefed China on plans to seize power, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the Defence Ministry had already released information about his trip and that he didn t have an understanding about the specifics of his reception in China. I can only tell you that his visit to China this time was a normal military exchange mutually agreed upon by China and Zimbabwe, Geng said, referring other questions to the Defence Ministry, which has yet to respond to a request for comment. As a country that is friendly with Zimbabwe, we are paying close attention to developments of the situation in Zimbabwe, Geng added. Maintaining peaceful and stable development accords with the fundamental interests of Zimbabwe and regional countries, and is the common desire of the international community. We hope the relevant parties in Zimbabwe appropriately handle their internal matters. In contrast to his elevated status on the continent, Mugabe is reviled in the West as a despot whose disastrous handling of the economy and willingness to resort to violence to maintain power destroyed one of Africa s most promising states. China and Zimbabwe have a close diplomatic and economic relationship and Beijing has stood with Mugabe s government in the face of Western economic sanctions. In August, Zimbabwe s government said a Chinese company planned to invest up to $2 billion to revive operations at Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company (ZISCO), which ceased production in 2008 at the height of Zimbabwe s economic meltdown. That same year, China vetoed a proposed Western-backed U.N. resolution which would have imposed an arms embargo on Zimbabwe and financial and travel restrictions on Mugabe and 13 other officials, saying it would complicate , rather than ease, conflict. | 1 |
20,916 | WATCH: Chuck Todd SWATS Annoying Kellyanne Conway For Calling Trump’s Lies ‘Alternative Facts’ | Kellyanne Conway tried to spin White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer s lies as alternative facts and got her ass handed to her by Chuck Todd.The impromptu press briefing came two hours after Trump whined about media estimates of the inauguration crowd size during a visit at the CIA.Spicer lashed out at the media in an embarrassing display of how Trump apparently intends to use press briefings over the next four years. Yesterday, at a time when our nation and the world was watching the peaceful transition of power and, as the President said, the transition and the balance of power from Washington to the citizens of the United States, some members of the media were engaged in deliberately false reporting, Spicer claimed.He then argued at length that This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration period both in person and around the globe. Both claims are blatantly false as aerial photographs taken at the time of the inaugural address show that Trump s crowd was significantly smaller than both of President Obama s inaugurations in 2009 and 2013. Trump also only drew 31 million viewers on television, which is 7 million less than President Obama drew in 2009.Spicer also tried to blame the count on the Secret Service, but even they refuted Spicer s claim that magnetometers prevented people from filling the National Mall.Overall, Spicer s attack on the media for accurately reporting on the size of the inauguration crowd was petty and a complete pile of bullshit.But Kellyanne Conway defended Spicer s lies on Sunday during an interview on Meet The Press.Conway began by once again bragging about the election results, which happened nearly three months ago, in response to Todd asking why Trump would send Spicer out to utter a provable falsehood. Conway played the victim and then threatened Todd for asking questions she doesn t like. And then she said this: Don t be so overly dramatic about it, Chuck. They re saying it s a falsehood and our press secretary, Sean Spicer, gave alternative facts to that. Yes, Conway literally called the lies that Trump ordered Spicer to spew alternative facts, and Todd proceeded to hammer Conway for it. Wait a minute. Alternative facts! Four of the five facts that he uttered were just not true. Alternative facts are not facts, they re falsehoods. You sent the press secretary out there to utter a falsehood on the smallest, pettiest thing. And I don t understand why you did it. Conway then played the victim again and told Todd that the media can t prove that Spicer s numbers are wrong. I don t think you can prove those numbers one way or the other. You can laugh at me all you want. You are, and I think it s actually symbolic of the way we re treated by the press. I ll just ignore it. I m bigger than that. I m a kind and gracious person. Here s the video via NBC.But the media has already proven Spicer s claims wrong. Again, we have time-stamped aerial photographs that prove Trump s crowd size was sparse. In fact, at most, Trump drew 750,000, which is smaller than numbers drawn by President Obama in 2009 and 2013.Even PolitiFact rated Spicer s temper tantrum as pants on fire. Spicer said, That was the largest audience to witness an inauguration, period. To support his claim, Spicer offered a few pieces of misleading or inaccurate evidence.He said that floor coverings highlighting empty spaces on the National Mall were not used for previous inaugurations, but these were in place for Obama s 2013 inauguration.He claimed metro ridership was higher for Trump s inaugural than for Obama s 2013 inaugural, but he compared numbers for the morning of Obama s inaugural to the whole day for Trump s.Spicer suggested 720,000 attended Trump s inauguration, while organizers said they expected 700,000 to 900,000, and Trump himself estimated 1.5 million. All of those figures are less than the 1.8 million people who attended Obama s 2009 inaugural.We rate Spicer s claim Pants on Fire.Featured image via screenshot | 0 |
20,917 | nyt on trumps rise whiteness is more than just skin color | a new report shows that the new york times profit is in freefall comment on this article via your facebook account comment on this article via your disqus account follow us on facebook | 1 |
20,918 | Trump Holds ‘Exquisitely Awkward’ Event Forcing Cabinet Members To Grovel One-By-One (VIDEO) | People are scratching their heads at an event Trump just held that has no precedent in United States history but wouldn t look out of place in North Korea. For reasons that nobody can discern, Trump held a public cabinet meeting and invited reporters to cover it. When the reporters dutifully showed up, he forced his assembled cabinet to listen to him drone on about how great he is while they nodded or occasionally chimed in with praise. It was really, really awkward.I've never seen a Cabinet meeting like this one before. Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) June 12, 2017This interminable cabinet spray, where everybody pays tribute to Trump, is one of the most exquisitely awkward public events I've ever seen. Glenn Thrush (@GlennThrush) June 12, 2017The entire affair was humiliating for those assembled. Trump s Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had it particularly bad. He was sitting next to Trump the entire time with cameras capturing his soul slowly dying.At one point he had to sit quietly as the President of the United States claimed no president in history had accomplished more than he had so far in his presidency (although he made an exception for FDR). The lie was so incredibly easy to debunk that it s hard to imagine the White House will even try to defend it. Tillerson, for his part, wore the grim expression of man who was awaiting a guard to escort him to the gallows.Trump: "Never has there been a president" besides FDR "who's passed more legislation, who's done more things than what we've done." pic.twitter.com/o5KWp9xHB2 Tommy Christopher (@tommyxtopher) June 12, 2017In the background, hovering over the cabinet members, Trump s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and Steve Bannon were also in attendance. In the corner, making his best attempt to pull a James Comey and physically disappear into the curtains is National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster.Trump had each cabinet member take a turn praising him while he smiled.Later, Trump s Chief of Staff Reince Priebus openly groveled, praising Trump for blessing him with the opportunity to work in his administration.Priebus just thanked Trump for the "blessing" of being able to work for him. Glenn Thrush (@GlennThrush) June 12, 2017Priebus s groveling may been necessary to keep his job. Sources recently told reporters that Trump has grown tired of Preibus and suggested he may fire him by next month. Public demonstrations of praise towards Trump may well save his job.Trump s attempt at propaganda was scheduled to coincide with a DC attorney s press conference in which he says his office has determined that Trump is violating the Constitution s anti-corruption provisions by blatantly flaunting his hotel and other properties as ways to gain access to his inner circle.DC Attorney General: "President Trump's businesses and his dealings violate the Constitution's anti-corruption provisions." (via @MSNBC) pic.twitter.com/3fc4WaHIVI Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) June 12, 2017Coincidence?Featured image via Twitter | 0 |
20,919 | OBAMA’S NEW POSTERBOY FOR MUSLIM PERSECUTION Is Son Of Prominent Muslim Activist, Now Admits He Knew Briefcase Would Be Viewed As “Suspicious” [VIDEO] | For anyone who cares to do the research, there is always more to Obama s unyielding public support of a person who is held up as a victim. Every move is carefully calculated, orchestrated and implemented by the master Community Organizer In Chief As many people thoroughly anticipated the back-story to the 14-year-old briefcase clockmaker reflects his father is actually a rather controversial Muslim activist. This lends further credence toward a reasonable belief that his taking a briefcase clock to school was not as innocent as the media would lead everyone to believe.update-1UPDATE: In his own words Ahmed Mohamed, 14, an Irving MacArthur High student essentially states he knew taking the device to school was controversial. Listen at 1:26 video: I closed it with a cable, so because, I didn t want to lock it to make it seem like a threat so I just used simple cable . so it won t look that much suspicious .That s what you call an admission of premeditation and intent. In his own words, with forethought, he knew the briefcase with wires and a countdown clock would be suspicious ; especially around 9/11.TEXAS [ ] The ninth grader is the son of Mohamed Elhassan Mohamed, a Sudanese immigrant who has made headlines of his own over the years. A February 2015 profile in the North Dallas Gazette details the elder Mohamed s activities.Born in Sudan in 1961, Mohamed, a former customs worker at Khartoum International Airport, earned a degree in philosophy from Cairo University in Khartoum before emigrating to the U.S. Once I realized my dream was bigger than what Sudan had to offer I immigrated to America in the mid-1980 s, he told the North Dallas Gazette. In that same interview, Mohamed shared that upon arrival in the U.S. where he says his degree was not accepted he initially sold hot dogs, candy, and newspapers in Manhattan. I realized this wasn t enough for me, and I packed my bag and moved to Dallas, Texas y all, he told the paper.In Texas, he started out as a pizza delivery man before becoming a taxi driver and ultimately launching his own business ventures he owns a computer repair shop in Irving, Texas (perhaps where his son gets his tech acuity from), a cab company called Jet Taxi, a medical emergency transport company called Paradise Prime Investments, and the solar energy business AlSufi International in Sudan. He also served as self-elected president of the small Sufi Muslim AlSufi center in Irving.Via: Conservative TreehouseAhmed s father, Mohamed Elhassan Mohamed is also well known for his defense of the Quran against Florida pastor Terry Jones. | 0 |
20,920 | Pence heads to Europe on reassurance tour | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Mike Pence will seek on Saturday to soothe allies unnerved by his boss’ unorthodox statements on Russia and NATO as he stresses America’s commitment to Europe during the first major foreign address for the Trump administration. Pence will tell the annual Munich Security Conference that Europe is an “indispensable partner” for the United States, a message he will repeat privately in meetings with a dozen leaders over the weekend and on Monday, a senior White House foreign policy adviser told reporters. “We are the most secure and most prosperous when both the U.S. and Europe are strong and united,” the adviser said, previewing Pence’s trip. President Donald Trump alarmed allies during his campaign for office by breaking with traditional Republican views on the transatlantic relationship. Trump has expressed admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom he said he would like to work to fight Islamic State militants, and has questioned the value of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. In Munich, Pence will hold a series of meetings with leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, and leaders from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Pence will emphasize that Russia and Ukraine need to fully implement the Minsk ceasefire agreement, and will stand firm on economic sanctions on Russia related to its aggression in Ukraine, the adviser told reporters. He plans to discuss counterterrorism in a meeting with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, and the fight against Islamic State in meetings with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, the adviser said. On Monday, Pence will hold several discussions with European officials in Brussels, including with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. His trip comes amid turbulence at the White House. Trump fired his national security adviser on Monday for misleading Pence over his conversations with Russia’s ambassador to the United States. Trump was turned down by a replacement candidate on Thursday. While Pence’s sentiments may be welcomed, it may take more than soothing words to provide comfort, given the depth of anxiety in Europe about Trump’s foreign policy, said Derek Chollet, a top defense policy adviser to former President Barack Obama. “He will be trying to be reassuring, try to soften the edges of some of the president’s recent comments about Europe, put into context or explain - but I have to think that it’s not going to solve the problem,” said Chollet, now with the German Marshall Fund of the United States. | 1 |
20,921 | REPORTS: Charlottesville Fallout Was The Final Nail In Bannon’s Coffin | White House Chief Strategist Stephen K. Bannon has long been a controversial figure. Prior to joining Donald Trump s campaign, he was the head of Breitbart News, a racist website that Bannon said was the platform for the alt-right. The alt-right, is, of course, nothing more than a rebranded name for white supremacists. Ever since Trump made Bannon his Chief Strategist, there have been calls for his removal from the White House. Now, in the wake of Trump s disgraceful response to the violent and murderous gathering of white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virgnina, it is being reported that Bannon is finally being pushed out.Of course, Trump is a coward, though, so it will be public humiliation, like what was suffered by former Republican National Committee head turned White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, that will be the technique to get rid of Bannon. However, as is par for the course with this White House, Bannon aids and allies are saying that Bannon had already decided to leave Team Trump, and that it just hadn t been announced yet. From the New York Times:The president and senior White House officials were debating when and how to dismiss Mr. Bannon. The two administration officials cautioned that Mr. Trump is known to be averse to confrontation within his inner circle, and could decide to keep on Mr. Bannon for some time.As of Friday morning, the two men were still discussing Mr. Bannon s future, the officials said. A person close to Mr. Bannon insisted the parting of ways was his idea, and that he had submitted his resignation to the president on Aug. 7, to be announced at the start of this week, but it was delayed in the wake of the racial unrest in Charlottesville, Va.Methinks there s a lot of lying on both sides going on here. Trump has clearly been afraid of dismissing Bannon, for fear of the obvious ability of Bannon to turn all of the far-right media and thus crucial parts of his base against him, via the very influential far-right publications he holds such enormous sway over. On Bannon s part, he didn t want to go anywhere, because his stated goal has always been to, quote, destroy the administrative state. Either way, it s a good thing that the head of the modern white supremacist movement will be reportedly leaving the White House. Now, we just have to get rid of the rest of the Nazis, and we ll really be in business.Featured image via Mario Tama/Getty Images | 0 |
20,922 | Maria likely to become tropical storm Tuesday night or Wednesday: NHC | (Reuters) - Hurricane Maria is forecast to become a tropical storm Tuesday night or Wednesday, with large swells affecting much of the U.S. east coast from Florida through southern New England, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Monday. Maria, a category 1 hurricane, is about 280 miles (450 km) south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, with maximum sustained winds of 80 miles per hour (130 kph), the Miami-based weather forecaster said. The center of Maria will pass east of the coast of North Carolina during the next couple of days, NHC said. | 1 |
20,923 | Trump Has Been Sued REPEATEDLY For Disabilities Violations At His Properties | Throughout the past 19 years, Donald Trump has been sued no less than eight times for violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act at his various properties, and has done his best to drag out these cases for as long as possible. In addition, a federal inspection at one of his properties also turned up multiple ADA violations.Five of the cases ended in a settlement and two others were resolved in consent decrees that required Trumpto make modifications to the properties to bring them into compliance with the ADA. One ended when both sides requested the case be dismissed and another was brought to a close in a bankruptcy.Christine Da Silva, a Trump Hotels spokeswoman, claims that Trump works very hard and spends lots of money to make sure his buildings are accessible to people with disabilities. It is the policy at all of our properties to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. This handful of cases, many of which are over ten years old, are not representative of our organization s strong record of ADA compliance. However, that handful of cases is pretty damning and doesn t support Trump s claims.In a suit filed in 1997, James Conlon, who is paraplegic, filed a lawsuit against Trump s Atlantic City Plaza Hotel alleging basic and serious deficiencies in accessibility. He stayed at the hotel and although he was placed in a room that was supposedly accessible, the toilets and showers were not usable by someone in a wheelchair. As for the public restrooms, they were so inaccessible he had to ask for help from strangers to be able to use them at all. A year later, Trump settled the case and agreed to renovate the accessible guest rooms and public restrooms, bringing them into compliance with the ADA. But a year later, Trump admitted to a judge that the renovations had yet to be completed.In 2001, a suit was brought by Robert Levine and Frieda Zames, who are both wheelchair users. They alleged that Trump International kept the wheelchair lift locked and when employees finally managed to locate the key, they had no idea how to use it. Levine said the degrading incident made him feel like a second-class citizen. Zames said it was as if she were a grade school child asking permission to go to the restroom. In an attempt to shift the responsibility, Trump blamed the architects. The case was amicably settled in 2009 after both sides decided to dismiss the case.In 2003, Conlon filed suit against Trump once again, this time alleging the bus between New York and the Atlantic City, New Jersey, casino was only accessible to wheelchair users if notice was given at least a week in advance. Naturally, Trump sued the bus company and said it was all their fault, but he eventually settled the case.In 2004, a disabled Purple Heart veteran filed suit against the Trump International Hotel and Tower in New York, alleging the property was not equipped with adequately accessible emergency exits, guest rooms and restrooms. Trump did everything he could to get rid of the suit, besides just making his hotel accessible to people with disabilities, that is. He attempted to have the case dismissed and dragged it out for three years. Just like in 2004, Trump blamed the architects and even launched a countersuit, which a judge called bullsh*t on and dismissed.Helena Berger, the president and CEO of the nonprofit American Association of People with Disabilities, said Trump s relentless attempts to squirm his way out of the suit were appalling. What was so striking and frankly appalling was the way he tried to fight [the violations]., Berger said. That, I think, is really telling. The Plaza Hotel became the subject of another complaint in 2007, which the plaintiffs eventually agreed to dismiss. Yet another lawsuit was brought against the hotel in 2008 but came to an end when Trump s company declared bankruptcy in 2009.In 2011, the Trump Taj Mahal settled with the Department of Justice after an inspection by the U.S. Attorney s Office turned up a long list of ADA violations. And more recently, in 2014, Trump claimed that making the pool at the Trump National Doral Miami golf course would impose an undue burden. Four months after the suit was filed, Trump and the plaintiffs entered into a consent decree.Featured image via video screen capture | 0 |
20,924 | A year after Trump's election, coal's future remains bleak | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A year after Donald Trump was elected president on a promise to revive the ailing U.S. coal industry, the sector’s long-term prospects for growth and hiring remain as bleak as ever. A Reuters review of mining data shows an industry that has seen only modest gains in jobs and production this year - much of it from a temporary uptick in foreign demand for U.S. coal rather than presidential policy changes. U.S. utilities are shutting coal-fired power plants at a rapid pace and shifting to cheap natural gas, along with wind and solar power. And domestic demand makes up about 90 percent of the market for U.S. coal. “We’re not planning to build any additional coal facilities,” said Melissa McHenry, a spokeswoman for American Electric Power, one of the largest U.S. utilities. “The future for coal is dictated by economics … and you can’t make those kinds of investments based on one administration’s politics.” Coal plants now make up 47 percent of AEP’s capacity for power generation, a figure it plans to shrink to 33 percent by 2030. (For a graphic on coal production, demand and employment, see: tmsnrt.rs/2zKY1tQ) The situation highlights the limitations of presidential policy on major industries and global economic trends. As some energy experts have said all along, the forces that will make or break mining are well beyond the powers of the Oval Office. A White House official did not respond to a request for comment. Trump has likely done all he can do to help the industry, said Luke Popovich, a spokesman for the National Mining Association, which represents major U.S. coal companies. “The government is no longer against us,” he said. “We now only have market forces to contend with.” Trump has taken action on many promises he made to coal interests in states that helped him win the election. The president started the process of killing former President Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan, meant to reduce carbon emissions from power plants; ended an Obama-era moratorium on coal leasing on federal lands; ditched limits on dumping coal waste into streams; and started withdrawing the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement. Now Trump’s Energy Secretary, Rick Perry, is attempting to push a rule through the independent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that would subsidize power plants that store at least a 90-day supply of coal on site. The goal is to extend the life of some coal burning power plants, a move Perry says will make the electric grid more reliable. While the full impact of Trump’s coal policy could take years to understand, the changes so far are unlikely to boost domestic demand, energy analysts and utility officials said. Trump has cast the coal industry as a victim of burdensome regulation. The industry has lost more than 40 percent of its work force in less than a decade and seen production drop to its lowest levels since 1978. Its share of the power market has fallen to less than a third from about half in 2003. “We’re going to bring the coal industry back 100 percent,” Trump said at a rally in Virginia in August of 2016. So far, progress has been limited. U.S. coal production is on track to rise more than 8 percent in 2017 over the previous year, to 790 million tons, according to the Energy Information Administration. But 2018 output is expected to decline. The number of coal miners has also risen slightly to 51,900 in October, up about 2,200 since November 2016 - but down about 70 percent from a 1985 peak, according to the Labor Department. On November 1, Trump cited the modest production increases in a Tweet, saying, “It is finally happening for our great clean coal miners!” But these increases are largely attributable to demand for U.S. coal from Asian steel mills after temporary outages from their usual suppliers in Australia, according to James Stevenson, a coal analyst at IHS Markit. During the first six months of 2017, Asian countries took in 7.5 million short tons of U.S. coal, up 97 percent over the same period in 2016, according to the EIA. That demand will soon fade, Stevenson said. “We are not going to get a repeat of 2017,” he said of the spike in exports. Forecasts from utilities and the U.S. government reveal little reason for hope of a sustained coal rebound. Utilities are expected to shut down more than 13,600 megawatts of coal plant capacity in 2018. That follows a loss of nearly 8,000 MW this year and 13,000 MW in 2016, according to EIA and Thomson Reuters data. By 2025, coal-fired power plant capacity will dip to 226,380 MW, down about 30 percent from 2011, according to EIA. Three Texas coal plants owned by Vistra Energy Corp subsidiary Luminant are among the latest to close, bringing the number of plants that shut, or plan to, to 265 since 2010 - a figure higher than the 258 plants that remain, according to the Sierra Club, which has campaigned against coal. Vistra said the closures were forced by lower prices for natural gas and renewable power - and not by environmental regulations. Duke Energy, one of the country’s largest utilities, has shut down more than 5,400 MW of coal capacity since 2011 and plans to shed another 2,000 MW by 2024. Over the next decade, Duke plans to invest $11 billion in new natural gas and renewable power - and nothing in new coal-fired generation, said spokesman Rick Rhodes. A Nov. 2 report by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis - which has two of the largest coal producers in its district, Peabody Energy Corp and Arch Coal Inc - said coal-fired power plants “may eventually become obsolete.” Coal companies believe they can survive despite the troubling market outlook. Peabody expects a “modest number” of coal power plant retirements in the coming years, with some of that lost capacity shifting to remaining plants that will increase output, spokesman Vic Svec said. Arch spokeswoman Logan Bonacorsi offered a similar forecast. Robert Murray, the chief executive of privately-held Murray Energy Corp - one of America’s biggest underground miners - said Trump could do more for the industry. The administration, Murray said, should end tax breaks for wind and solar power and reverse an EPA finding that carbon emissions endanger human health. But Trump’s tax bill last week preserved most solar incentives, which have bi-partisan backing. And the EPA has so far steered clear of the so-called “endangerment finding” on emissions that is the basis of many fossil-fuel regulations, given the breadth of scientific evidence that would be needed to reverse it. Murray Energy, meanwhile, announced on Oct. 31 it will buy a 30.5 percent stake in a coal-mining partnership in Utah called Canyon Consolidated Resources, LLC. The deal might help the companies cut costs, but it’s unlikely to help workers: Murray said about 200 of 1,000 jobs in Utah could be lost. | 1 |
20,925 | WATCH: CA Governor Gives SCATHING Speech That Openly Defies Trump On A Major Issue | Even though Trump appears to have softened his own position on the idea that climate change is a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese, some of his cabinet picks suggest he s still very much a climate denier, and he himself has targeted the fossil fuel industry as ripe for repealing environmental regulations. But California has made a lot of progress of its own on the environment, and Governor Jerry Brown will not let Trump or a Republican Congress change that.He plans to act in direct defiance of anything Trump does. At the American Geophysical Union Conference in San Francisco, he flat-out said: We re ready to ride the backlash back to sanity, sustainability, and truth! Scientific truth is such an alien concept to Trump that it s ridiculous. Then again, pretty much any type of truth is an alien concept to Trump.Brown wasn t done after that, either. He also said: We will set the stage. We ll set the example. And whatever Washington thinks they re doing, California is the future. If Trump turns off his satellites, California will launch its own damn satellite. We re going to collect that data. California does have facilities capable of launching satellites, so that s not necessarily an empty promise. In fact, Vandenberg Air Force Base has seven rocket launches scheduled for 2017 already. One launch will put a weather satellite in orbit, while another will put several Earth observation satellites in space.Trump s behavior on climate change since winning the election is alarming to anyone who trusts science over conspiracy theories and religious dogma, and California is no exception. If Trump puts laws into place, or repeals laws that California needs, Brown says: We ve got the scientists, we ve got the lawyers, and we re ready to fight. We re ready to defend. California is no stranger to this fight. It s not immediately clear how Brown will pay for his defiance of Trump and the GOP on something like launching satellites, because Vandenberg is a federal facility (obviously), and dependent on both its military budget and NASA s budget, the latter of which is at the whim of a Congress hostile to action climate change.Regardless, it s clear that he will do his best to push forward however he can, Trump s climate-denialism be damned. Judging by the response he got from scientists at the conference, they plan to help him out in any way they can, too.Watch him shred Trump to ribbons below:Featured image by Justin Sullivan via Getty Images | 0 |
20,926 | 'Furious race against time' to complete Brexit treaty: EU's Tusk | BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Council President Donald Tusk warned on Tuesday that completing a Brexit treaty and agreeing on future relations with Britain would be a furious race against time where EU states would have to stick together to avoid economic disruption. Writing to national leaders ahead of a summit he will chair in Brussels on Thursday and Friday, Tusk noted his plan to seek their approval to launch a second phase of negotiations, on transition and future ties, after achieving sufficient progress last week and agreeing an outline of the divorce. The conclusion of the first phase of negotiations is moderate progress, since we only have 10 months left to determine the transition period and our future relations with the UK, Tusk wrote. This will be a furious race against time, where again our unity will be key. And the experience so far has shown that unity is a sine qua non of an orderly Brexit. | 1 |
20,927 | Coalition with Merkel not automatic, all options open: Germany's SPD | BERLIN (Reuters) - The leader of Germany s Social Democrats (SPD) said on Friday he ruled out no option for forming a new government but stressed that a re-run of the outgoing grand coalition with Chancellor Angela Merkel s conservatives was not a done deal. Germany, Europe s political and economic powerhouse, has been struggling to build a new government since a Sept. 24 national election. Merkel s conservative bloc and the SPD lost support in that vote, while an anti-immigrant party surged into parliament, seriously complicating the coalition arithmetic. Merkel, her own political future on the line after 12 years at the helm, is making overtures to the center-left SPD - her partner in government over the past four years - after her bid to form a three-way coalition with two smaller parties failed. The SPD, which had wanted to go into opposition to rebuild after suffering its worst post-World War Two election result, fears its distinctive identity and policy ideas will again be smothered in any tie-up with Merkel s bigger center-right bloc. Regarding the formation of a new government, there was broad support for not ruling any option out, SPD leader Martin Schulz said after party board discussions in Berlin. Schulz, who held talks late on Thursday with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Merkel and her Bavarian ally Horst Seehofer, denied he had agreed to another grand coalition. I can clearly deny the media report about me having given the green light for grand coalition negotiations. This is simply wrong, Schulz said, adding that the report appeared to be based on sources within Merkel s conservative CDU/CSU bloc. He added that whoever circulated such reports was damaging trust. Ties between the SPD and conservatives - still sharing power in a caretaker capacity - have already been strained this week after a conservative minister backed extending the use of a weedkiller at the European Union level against the SPD s wishes and without its prior knowledge. We have a lot of options for building a government. We should talk about each of these options. That s exactly what I will propose to the party leadership on Monday, Schulz said. The SPD will hold a party congress in Berlin on Dec. 7-9, where it is expected to debate its options. Other options apart from a grand coalition include a minority conservative government - which the SPD could support on a case-by-case basis, or fresh elections. Merkel has said in the past she does not want to lead a minority government. Merkel s camp said the ball was in the SPD s court. It s now up to the SPD to provide clarity, said CDU manager Klaus Schueler. The fact that we underlined today that we are prepared to enter such talks with the SPD shows that we re aiming to bring these talks to a successful conclusion. Another senior member of Merkel s Christian Democrat Union (CDU), Mike Mohring, said he was hopeful for an eventual grand coalition and expected a new government to be formed by March. The way for a grand coalition has been paved, Mohring told Reuters after taking part in a teleconference where Merkel had briefed the federal board of her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) on Thursday night s talks with Schulz and the president. Schulz, a former president of the European Parliament, has said he wants changes in Germany s approach to the European Union and in economic and social policy. In an interview with Der Spiegel magazine, Schulz said the SPD backed French President Emmanuel Macron s call for closer eurozone integration, including a new finance minister for the currency bloc - ideas that face resistance from conservatives. Giving Emmanuel Macron a positive answer will be a key element in every negotiation with the SPD, Schulz was quoted as saying in the interview made available on Friday, adding that he also backed a joint EU tax policy. | 1 |
20,928 | U.S. Senate confirms businessman Hagerty as ambassador to Japan | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate confirmed private equity executive William Hagerty on Thursday as President Donald Trump’s ambassador to Japan, filling a post considered especially crucial in light of neighboring North Korea’s recent missile tests. The vote was 86 to 12 in the 100-member Senate. Hagerty, founder of the private equity firm Hagerty Peterson, spent several years in Japan with the Boston Consulting Group and later served in the White House under former President George H.W. Bush. Trump’s choice of Hagerty was taken as a sign of the interest in economic ties to Japan by the Republican president, a real estate developer and reality television star, who had never held public office when he was elected in November. North Korea has been worrying and frustrating neighboring countries and U.S. officials with a series of missile tests, more so since Pyongyang last week test-launched its first intercontinental ballistic missile. Trump has been criticized for being slow to name ambassadors to important U.S. allies like Japan, especially in light of the crisis. There is still no new U.S. ambassador to South Korea. Hagerty succeeds Caroline Kennedy, an attorney and daughter of the late U.S. President John F. Kennedy, who held the position from 2013 until Trump took office in January 2017. | 1 |
20,929 | Turkey, France and Italy to strengthen cooperation on missile defense: sources | ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey signed a letter of intent with France and Italy on Wednesday to strengthen cooperation on joint defense projects including air and missile defense systems, Turkish defense ministry sources said. As a first step, the Franco-Italian EUROSAM consortium and Turkish companies will look into a system based on the SAMP-T missile system produced by EUROSAM and determine the common needs of the three countries, the sources said. NATO member Turkey says it plans to buy Russian S-400 surface-to-air missiles, a decision which has been seen in some Western capitals as a snub to the alliance, given tensions with Moscow over Ukraine and Syria. The Russian deal also raises concern because the weapons cannot be integrated into NATO defense. That deal has not been consummated. There are no S-400s in Turkey as we speak, U.S. Air Force General Tod Walters, head of NATO Allied Air Command, told Reuters in Berlin. He said he would continue to press Turkish air force officials to buy weapons that could work together with NATO systems, which the S-400 could not. We obviously have systems in the region now that possess that capability and demonstrate a high, high degree of interoperability, Wolters said. Raytheon, which builds the Patriot missile defense system, had also put in offer before Turkey chose the S-400. Turkey has continued talks with the EUROSAM consortium, which came in second in the tender. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg last month said Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan had told him that Ankara was discussing buying air defense systems from France and Italy in addition to the S-400s. The defense ministry sources said Turkey, France and Italy would strengthen cooperation on joint production of military electronic systems, software and simulation systems and warfare equipments, as well as air and missile defense systems. The letter of intent was signed in Brussels, where Turkey s Defence Minister Nurettin Canikli was attending a meeting of NATO defense ministers. | 1 |
20,930 | Donald Trump Owes HUNDREDS Of Ordinary People Money | A new report reveals that Donald Trump swindled hundreds of people out of money. These aren t super rich investors (though he was involved in ventures that lost them money, too) but ordinary Americans who worked as carpenters, dishwashers, painters, even his own lawyers. They did work for Trump and he didn t pay them.USA Today uncovered Trump s big dodge while investigating the thousands of lawsuits he is involved in.Donald Trump often portrays himself as a savior of the working class who will protect your job. But a USA TODAY NETWORK analysis found he has been involved in more than 3,500 lawsuits over the past three decades and a large number of those involve ordinary Americans, like the Friels, who say Trump or his companies have refused to pay them.At least 60 lawsuits, along with hundreds of liens, judgments, and other government filings reviewed by the USA TODAY NETWORK, document people who have accused Trump and his businesses of failing to pay them for their work. Among them: a dishwasher in Florida. A glass company in New Jersey. A carpet company. A plumber. Painters. Forty-eight waiters. Dozens of bartenders and other hourly workers at his resorts and clubs, coast to coast. Real estate brokers who sold his properties. And, ironically, several law firms that once represented him in these suits and others.Trump has portrayed himself when not bashing immigrants, women and Muslims as a friend of the working class, arguing that he will turn the Republican Party into a worker s party. USA Today also found that Trump s companies have been cited at least 24 times since 2005 for violating the Fair Labor Standards Act for failing to pay overtime or minimum wage. There also over 200 mechanic s liens that have been filed against Trump, his companies, or his properties, showing that he still owes money for work, some dating as far back in the 1980s.But his track record shows once again that Trump is a really rich guy (though probably not actually a billionaire) who didn t think twice of stepping on the little guy so he could get what he wants.In some cases, the Trump teams financially overpower and outlast much smaller opponents, draining their resources.You can t make America great again if you re hurting it now.Featured image via YouTube | 0 |
20,931 | French envoy says Paris climate deal doesn't infringe on U.S. sovereignty | PARIS (Reuters) - The Paris climate change deal does not infringe on U.S. sovereignty, France’s ambassador to the United States said on Wednesday after multiple sources said President Donald Trump would pull his country out of the global pact. “The Paris accord is a political agreement. It doesn’t infringe on U.S. sovereignty. National commitments are voluntary and may be amended,” Ambassador Gerard Araud said in a tweet. He added that major American corporations had expressed their support for the deal. | 1 |
20,932 | Merkel welcomes 'a lot of material' from Macron for EU reform debate | BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron s speech on European Union reform, which contained a lot of material for necessary debate on the issue, her spokesman said. Germany shares Macron s view that the EU needs reforms. The details of reforms must be discussed, added the spokesman, Steffen Seibert. This discussion is necessary and sensible, Seibert told a regular government news conference in Berlin, adding that the leaders would have a chance to talk at an EU meeting in Tallinn on Thursday. | 1 |
20,933 | Police tear-gas Kenyan vote protesters as crowds gather in cities | NAIROBI (Reuters) - Police fired tear gas on Friday at opposition protesters in Kenya s capital who were demanding that officials involved in August s canceled presidential election be sacked. Crowds had gathered in Nairobi, the port of Mombasa and Kisumu, the western stronghold of the opposition, for the second time this week. Last month, Kenya s Supreme Court voided the Aug. 8 presidential election, citing irregularities, but did not criticize any specific individual at the election board . President Uhuru Kenyatta, who officially won by 1.4 million votes, only to have his victory annulled, has accused the Supreme Court of bringing the country close to judicial chaos . Opposition leader Raila Odinga and his supporters have turned their ire on the election board for its role in the canceled poll. With three weeks to go until a scheduled new election, politicians from both sides have traded insults and accusations, raising fears of further turmoil in Kenya, a transport and economic hub for East Africa. The opposition is threatening to boycott the Oct. 26 re-run if election board officials are not removed and if parliament passes a proposed amendment to the election law. The amendment could prevent the Supreme Court from annulling the results on procedural grounds again. Parliamentarians return from recess next week and may pass the bill then, an action likely to spark further protests from the opposition. In reaction to the expected vote next week, the United States, a major donor to the Kenyan government and its security forces, said in a sharply worded statement on Friday: Changing electoral laws without broad agreement just prior to a poll is not consistent with international best practice (and) increases political tension. It said all sides have undermined the electoral board in recent weeks and stoked tensions. Earlier on Friday, the Nairobi county police commander said people would be allowed to protest, but anyone who tried to destroy property would be dealt with firmly . | 1 |
20,934 | FLASHBACK: KEY DEMOCRATS Call for Violence in the Streets…”March, Bleed, Die” [Video] | And we wonder why violence like today s shooting happened The left started with the violence during the 2016 and continued to escalate it once they lost. We have key Democrats calling for violent resistance in the streets Sick!Can anyone imagine a sitting Republican Senator calling for violence or fighting in the streets in opposition to a newly elected Democratic President? Speaking of p*ssies On Tuesday Democratic Senator Time Kaine told the Morning Joe in an interview that Democrats need to fight the Trump administration including online and on the streets in addition to the at the ballot box.Partial Transcript:MIKA BRZEZINSKI, CO-HOST MORNING JOE : So, broad question about the future of the Democratic Party, especially given your firsthand experience with what we ve all been through. There s so much going on here that we clearly see, you know, places where you we can criticize what the administration is doing, but how does the party rebuild? How do you prevent overreach in a situation like this? How do you prevent a continuation of the bubble in a situation like this, and how does the party reclaim its reach across the country while fighting these battles? SEN. TIM KAINE (D-VA): So, the way we get outside the bubble is we take advantage of this tremendous public outcry against the administration. What we ve got to do is fight in Congress, fight in the courts, fight in the streets, fight online, fight at the ballot box, and now there s the momentum to be able to do this. And we re not afraid of the popular outcry, we re energized by it and that s going to help us do our job and do it better. -GPListen to faux man Tim Kaine call for fighting on the streets here. Pay special attention to his comment about the Women s March that was organized under a grassroots label.' It sounds like Kaine s admitting that it was organized under a grassroots label but that it wasn t really grassroots at all. Why didn t he just come out and admit that it was organized by Soros, Obama and Planned Parenthood?Obama s former AG Loretta Lynch released a video that s a call to action for Democrats. These people who have been stripped of power after being so close to achieving their goals of fundamentally transforming America into something most Americans wouldn t recognize, are serious about starting a civil war in our nation. If you don t believe me, listen to the words of Obama s former AG, who compares the fight against President Trump and his supporters to that of the Civil War: I know that this is a time of great fear and uncertainty for so many people. I know it s a time of concern for people, who see our rights being assailed, being trampled on and even being rolled back. I know that this is difficult, but I remind you that this has never been easy. We have always had to work to move this country forward to achieve the great ideals of our Founding Fathers. (Lynch s statement about the Founding Fathers is quite ironic, considering that she worked hand-in-hand with former President Barack Obama to destroy the very fabric of our Constitution.) It has been people, individuals who have banded together, ordinary people who simply saw what needed to be done and came together and supported those ideals who have made the difference. They ve marched, they ve bled and yes, some of them died. This is hard. Every good thing is. We have done this before. We can do this again. We could also add the DNC s California Chair: In a sign of the vigor of the party s distaste for the president, outgoing party Chair John Burton, a longtime Democratic lawmaker and powerbroker known for his blunt and profane manner, extended two middle fingers in the air as the crowd cheered and joined him. F Donald Trump, he said:Outgoing @ca_dem chair @Johnburton gets standing O w final words to his party, finger upraised: F@ck Donald Trump! pic.twitter.com/VIqNQlhDJc Carla Marinucci (@cmarinucci) May 20, 2017And we thought Tom Perez was bad: Tom Perez must not have taken the class about winning friends and influencing people. How can you win over voters with such bitterness and anger? The Democrat Party has sunk to a new low with this classless thug. Who goes out there and speaks like this? We reported (see below) on the last speech Perez gave and he said the same nasty things. What gives? Are the deems so desperate that they re now resorting to profanity-filled speeches that make false claims about Republicans and President Trump? We think it s a losing strategy! | 0 |
20,935 | Trump will not visit DMZ during Asia trip -official | (This version of the October 31st story corrects date of Trump s visit to Asia to November 5 in 8th paragraph) WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump will not go to the heavily fortified demilitarized zone (DMZ) on the border of North Korea and South Korea during his Asia trip, a senior administration official said on Tuesday. The president is not going to visit the DMZ. There is not enough time in the schedule, the official told reporters in a background briefing. Instead, Trump will be the first American president to visit Camp Humphreys, a military installation south of the South Korean capital of Seoul. We thought that would make more sense in terms of its messaging, in terms of the chance to address families and troops there, the official said. U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis visited the demilitarized zone that divides the Korean Peninsula last week and Vice President Mike Pence made the same trip in April. The official, speaking on customary condition of anonymity in briefing reporters, noted the two Trump administration forays to the zone. It s becoming a little bit of a cliche, frankly, the official said. Trump leaves for his first trip to Asia this week and is expected to arrive on November 5 in Tokyo. Separately, two U.S. officials said a decision may be made for the three aircraft carriers currently in the Asia Pacific region to carry out an exercise to coincide with Trump s trip. The officials said no decision had been made, but it would be the first exercise with three U.S. aircraft carriers in the region since 2007. A senior State Department official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the buildup of naval forces was part of the military component of the Trump administration s strategy to put maximum pressure on North Korea, which includes sanctions and diplomatic isolation. Earlier on Tuesday, the State Department welcomed a decision by China and South Korea to resume normal ties after a year-long standoff over a decision by Seoul and Washington to deploy a missile defense system to counter North Korea s nuclear program. | 1 |
20,936 | Dublin hopeful Northern Ireland talks can resume in coming weeks | DUBLIN (Reuters) - The Irish government is hopeful Northern Ireland s political parties will make a fresh attempt at restoring their devolved power-sharing government in the next few weeks, Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said on Thursday. The latest efforts to break a near year-long stalemate collapsed at the start of this month, prompting Britain to begin setting a budget for the province, a major step toward imposing direct rule from London for the first time in a decade. Many in Northern Ireland fear direct rule would further destabilize a political balance between pro-British unionists and Irish nationalists that has already been upset by Britain s vote to leave the European Union. I hope in the next few weeks we will be able to get back around the table. I think it is fair to say the parties are trying to move this forward and I hope the governments will be able to facilitate an agreement, Coveney told parliament. Coveney helped facilitate the talks as Ireland is a co-guarantor of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement which ended 30 years of sectarian violence that killed 3,600 people. He said he still believes a deal is achievable. Irish Nationalists Sinn Fein and the pro-British Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) shared power for a decade until Sinn Fein pulled out of government in January, complaining it was not being treated as an equal partner. DUP leader Arlene Foster has said she hopes talks can resume soon while Sinn Fein has called for greater intervention from the governments in Dublin and London. Analysts say a fresh round of talks is unlikely to be contemplated before the DUP s annual conference on Nov. 25. | 1 |
20,937 | WAKE UP AMERICA! CATERPILLAR JUST SCREWED OVER AMERICAN WORKERS Just Like Disney And Tech Companies [Video] | Outsider GOP candidate Donald Trump has vigorously denounced the outsourcing by Carrier s air-conditioning business. His opposition has helped him get a nine-point polling advantage in the state. But Trump s support for major reforms to the H-1B program to reduce the outsourcing of professional jobs is raising his support among upper-income professional-class voters in many other states.The Caterpillar outsourcing is all the same thing happening over and over again, said John Miano, a lawyer and software expert who has sued the federal government to reduce or stop various outsourcing programs, such as the H-1B visa. What we see is that companies ask for more [H-1B visas] while they re laying off the same kind of [American professionals] this is going to be an election that decides whether this continues, Miano said.Early in 2016, Caterpillar asked the federal government for 71 H-1B visas needed to hire foreign white-collar college-grads. At least 30 of the requested H-1B visas are for engineers and other skilled professionals in Mossville, which is suffering the most layoffs.At least 44 of the visas requested in 2016 are for foreign graduates who are already working at Caterpillar in the United States. These continuation visas are automatically approved, and do not count against the much touted annual limits on H1-B visas.Another 22 of Caterpillar s visas are for new hires.Since 2012, Caterpillar has requested 768 visas for H-1B workers. Roughly speaking, companies get one-fifth of the H-1B visas they request, suggesting the company has outsourced at least 100 U.S.-based jobs to lower-wage foreign graduates.The visa allows the H-1B workers to stay for at least three years, and some manage to stay permanently. For example, the company has also helped get green cards the precursor to citizenship for roughly 70 foreign college graduates. Most of these green card employees have replaced Americans software graduates.Read more: Breitbart | 0 |
20,938 | Under pressure from Trump, Price resigns as health secretary over private plane uproar | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price resigned under pressure from President Donald Trump on Friday in an uproar over Price’s use of costly private charter planes for government business. His abrupt departure was announced an hour after Trump told reporters he was disappointed in Price’s use of private aircraft and did not like the way it reflected on his administration. “Secretary of Health and Human Services Thomas Price offered his resignation earlier today and the president accepted,” the White House said in a statement. Trump named Don Wright to serve as acting secretary. Wright is currently the deputy assistant secretary for health and director of the office of disease prevention and health promotion. “I’m not happy. OK? I’m not happy,” Trump told reporters on the White House South Lawn. Candidates to succeed Price included Seema Verma, who is administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and who is close to Vice President Mike Pence, and Scott Gottlieb, a physician who serves as commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, according to industry analysts. Several sources saw Gottlieb as a clear front runner. They said he got along well with the White House and is viewed favorably there. Price’s resignation leaves Trump with a second Cabinet position to fill. He has yet to pick a secretary for homeland security after hiring former Secretary John Kelly as his White House chief of staff. It was the latest blow to the Trump White House, which has struggled to get major legislative achievements passed by Congress and has been embroiled in one controversy after another since Trump took office in January. Price, a former congressman, was instrumental in the Trump administration’s policies aimed at undercutting Obamacare, as well as working with governors across the country to slowly begin unraveling parts of the law. In a resignation letter, Price offered little in the way of contrition. He said he had been working to reform the U.S. healthcare system and reduce regulatory burdens, among other goals. “I have spent forty years both as a doctor and public servant putting people first. I regret that the recent events have created a distraction from these important objectives,” he said. Trump, currently trying to sell his tax cut plan and oversee the federal response to devastation wreaked by three hurricanes, saw the Price drama as an unnecessary distraction and behind the scenes was telling aides “what was he thinking?,” a source close to the president said. Price promised on Thursday to repay the nearly $52,000 cost of his seats on private charter flights. “The taxpayers won’t pay a dime for my seat on those planes,” Price said. But that was not enough to satisfy Trump. Trump told reporters that the “optics” of Price’s travel were not good, since, as president he was trying to renegotiate U.S. contracts to get a better deal for taxpayers. “Look, I think he’s a very fine person. I certainly don’t like the optics,” Trump said. Price had also been seen in the White House as having been ineffective in getting Congress to pass healthcare reform legislation, an effort that has fizzled on Capitol Hill. Price was one of a handful of senior officials in Trump’s administration put on the defensive over reports about their use of charter flights and government aircraft, sometimes for personal travel, when they could have flown commercial for less money. The White House issued an order late on Friday saying use of private planes required approval from White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and that the commercial air system was appropriate even for very senior officials with few exceptions. The Washington Post on Friday reported that Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin attended a Wimbledon tennis match, toured Westminster Abbey and took a cruise on the Thames this summer during a 10-day trip to discuss veterans’ health issues in Britain and Denmark. Shulkin, who traveled on a commercial airline, was accompanied on the trip by his wife, whose airfare was paid for by the government and who received a per diem for meals, the Post said, noting that the Department of Veterans Affairs said she was traveling on “approved invitational orders.” His six-person traveling party included an acting undersecretary of health and her husband as well as two aides. They were accompanied by a security detail of as many as six people, the Post said. Washington news media outlet Politico has reported that Price had taken at least two dozen private charter flights since May at a cost to U.S. taxpayers of more than $400,000. Politico also reported he took approved military flights to Africa and Europe costing $500,000. Senior U.S. government officials travel frequently, but are generally expected to keep costs down by taking commercial flights or the train when possible. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin have also been in the spotlight for their travel habits. | 1 |
20,939 | Trump LIVID Over Kellyanne Conway Backlash, Entire Team In CHAOS (TWEET) | Yesterday, White House counselor Kellyanne Conway sparked national outcry when she used a Fox & Friends interview as a pathetic commercial for Trump s daughter Ivanka, after Nordstrom became the latest retailer to drop Ivanka s brand from its stores. It was not only an incredibly awkward interview to watch as Conway shamelessly told viewers to buy Ivanka s products, but it was also highly unethical, causing Conway to get blasted for violating ethical guidelines.Earlier today, CNN reported that Conway had to apologize to Trump for the controversy, as federal employees are not supposed to endorse products or promote the goods of friends or family (even though Trump seems to do this quite often). White House press secretary Sean Spicer was even forced to respond to the backlash, stating that Conway had been counseled for her behavior.Now that Conway has apologized to Trump, she s apparently back in his graces and can continue spewing her alternative facts (aka blatant lies). Conway tweeted that Trump still supports her and her shameless lack of ethics:But not all is well just yet. According to CNN, Trump is not happy with Spicer s comments about having counseled Conway on the matter. Apparently, Trump said he hated what Spicer said.This is just the latest in the breakdown of Trump s chaotic, volatile team. Every day, there is a new f**k up or controversy to react to as Trump s team proves to be the most incompetent, dishonest, disorganized and troubled team we ve ever seen operate the White House. There have already been rumors that Trump is looking to replace Spicer and Conway continues to be shunned by the media over her pathological lies, which won t work in Trump s favor. It seems like Trump s biggest supporters, Conway and Spicer, are now doing more harm than good and things are definitely imploding faster than they can handle.Featured image via Alex Wong and Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images | 0 |
20,940 | A Timeless Thanksgiving Address From Ronald Reagan: “As a measure of our gratitude, let us rededicate ourselves to the preservation of the land of the free and the home of the brave” [Video] | Except for the walls part, this is a really timeless address to Americans on Thanksgiving from a great leader: My fellow Americans, let us keep this Thanksgiving Day sacred thanking God for the bounty and goodness of our nation. As a measure of our gratitude, let us rededicate ourselves to the preservation of the land of the free and the home of the brave. | 0 |
20,941 | illegal immigrants crossing the border to vote | uk doctors create list of procedures you dont need they believe many regular treatments are unnecessary image credits darkostojanovicpixabay
doctors have drawn up a list of dozens of treatments they say are of little or no use
it is part of a campaign to cut down on unnecessary procedures with the warning that more doesnt always mean better
tips include using tap water to clean up cuts and grazes is just as good as saline solution and a plaster cast is not always needed for childrens wrist fractures | 0 |
20,942 | 'Bridgegate' witness casts more doubt on NJ Governor Christie's denials | NEWARK, N.J. (Reuters) - In December 2013, as the “Bridgegate” scandal was unraveling, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s chief spokesman learned the truth: that lanes had been closed at the George Washington Bridge to punish a local mayor for political reasons. That was the testimony from former Port Authority of New York and New Jersey executive David Wildstein on Wednesday, who told jurors in Newark federal court he informed Christie’s press secretary Michael Drewniak that he executed the scheme with the approval of Christie aides. Wildstein has said several key figures in Christie’s inner circle knew about the plot as it was occurring or soon afterward - including Christie himself, who was told of the closures by Wildstein as they unfolded in September 2013, according to Wildstein’s testimony on Tuesday. Christie, who is not accused of wrongdoing, has repeatedly denied any knowledge of the plot at the time, but Wildstein’s testimony has bolstered the government’s assertion the governor knew about the scandal earlier than he has acknowledged. The scandal helped derail Christie’s bid for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination and could endanger his best chance at a political future: a role in Donald Trump’s administration should the Republican presidential candidate win a Nov. 8 election. The governor’s former deputy chief of staff, Bridget Kelly, and a former Port Authority executive, Bill Baroni, are charged with deliberately creating gridlock in Fort Lee, New Jersey, after the town’s mayor declined to endorse Christie’s 2013 re-election bid. Wildstein said on Wednesday he met with Drewniak on Dec. 4 and offered to resign. “I told him the stories were out of control,” Wildstein said. “This wasn’t going away.” Drewniak has previously confirmed that Wildstein told him of the closures, but has denied knowing it was political payback. Wildstein also said he met with Christie’s chief counsel, Charlie McKenna, two days later and told him about the scheme, though he did not say whether he disclosed the motivation for the plot. Wildstein previously said he informed Michael DuHaime, a Christie adviser, in November. He has also testified that Christie’s campaign manager, Bill Stepien; David Samson, the chairman of the Port Authority; and a board member, Pat Schuber, were aware of the plot beforehand. Stepien’s lawyer has said he had no role in the scheme, while Samson and Schuber have denied advance knowledge. Defense lawyers began questioning Wildstein on Wednesday and sought to portray him as the true mastermind of the scheme, even though Baroni was nominally his superior. Michael Baldassare, a lawyer for Baroni, also suggested Wildstein’s testimony was biased because he is seeking a reduced sentence after pleading guilty to two counts of conspiracy. | 1 |
20,943 | Trump’s Shady Medical Note Was Written By A ‘Doctor’ With False Credentials (VIDEO) | The GOP has been having a field day spreading false rumors about Hillary Clinton s health, and it looks like karma has finally arrived. On Tuesday morning, CNN medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta called out Donald Trump s personal doctor after noticing a questionable note about the extraordinary health of the Republican nominee.Trump s doctor, Dr. Harold Bornstein, had previously said that Trump would be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency but Gupta was here to dispel that statement. Delving into Bornstein s sketchy history, Gupta told host Chris Cuomo: He s been a doctor with Trump for 36 years, between him and his father. He says he s a fellow of the American College of Gastroenterology, so a GI doc. Interestingly, we called that particular organization (and) they said he was a member but he hasn t been a member there in over 20 years, since 95 now. Suddenly, Trump s medical records and his physician seem just as untrustworthy as his campaign and yet no one should be surprised because Trump s campaign has been entirely comprised of lies and scams.The letter Gupta is referring to is a note which Trump released instead of real medical records (not sketchy at all, right?).BornsteinIn examining the letter closely, Gupta said his instincts were set off by the fact that the doctor had used the word positive as a synonym for normal and several other terms in the letter didn t seem right. To top it all off, Gupta discovered that the younger Bornstein wasn t telling the truth about his credentials, either: In fact, the hospital, Lenox Hill Hospital, says he s part of the section of gastroenterology he s not actually a member of that section. He does have admitting privileges at the hospital but he s not (part of that section). So there are some things in the letter with regard to his qualifications that are a little bit questionable. Really, it was more, sort of, the language of this letter that I thought was quite surprising. It wasn t written the way that many typical medical letters are written. You can watch the segment where Gupta exposes Trump s con artist doctor below:.@drsanjaygupta digs into Donald Trump s health report: The doctor s qualifications are a little bit questionable https://t.co/BoR8Fmitnz New Day (@NewDay) August 24, 2016Featured image via Facebook | 0 |
20,944 | Everyone Needs To Read Obama’s Remarks After Two More Black Men Fall To Police Brutality | After yet two more instances of unwarranted police brutality against black men who were simply existing, the nation has once again become divided between those who seek to value life and want to see these senseless killings stop, and those who seek to demonize the recently departed, putting the deceased on trial rather than their murderers.One person who seems to understand the full scope and recklessness of these deaths and unjust killings is President Obama. He just released his remarks after the recent killings of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, LA, and Philando Castile of Falcon Heights, MN.Here is President Obama s statement in full: All Americans should be deeply troubled by the fatal shootings of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. We ve seen such tragedies far too many times, and our hearts go out to the families and communities who ve suffered such a painful loss.Although I am constrained in commenting on the particular facts of these cases, I am encouraged that the U.S. Department of Justice has opened a civil rights investigation in Baton Rouge, and I have full confidence in their professionalism and their ability to conduct a thoughtful, thorough, and fair inquiry.But regardless of the outcome of such investigations, what s clear is that these fatal shootings are not isolated incidents. They are symptomatic of the broader challenges within our criminal justice system, the racial disparities that appear across the system year after year, and the resulting lack of trust that exists between law enforcement and too many of the communities they serve.To admit we ve got a serious problem in no way contradicts our respect and appreciation for the vast majority of police officers who put their lives on the line to protect us every single day. It is to say that, as a nation, we can and must do better to institute the best practices that reduce the appearance or reality of racial bias in law enforcement.That s why, two years ago, I set up a Task Force on 21st Century Policing that convened police officers, community leaders, and activists. Together, they came up with detailed recommendations on how to improve community policing. So even as officials continue to look into this week s tragic shootings, we also need communities to address the underlying fissures that lead to these incidents, and to implement those ideas that can make a difference. That s how we ll keep our communities safe. And that s how we can start restoring confidence that all people in this great nation are equal before the law.In the meantime, all Americans should recognize the anger, frustration, and grief that so many Americans are feeling feelings that are being expressed in peaceful protests and vigils. Michelle and I share those feelings. Rather than fall into a predictable pattern of division and political posturing, let s reflect on what we can do better. Let s come together as a nation, and keep faith with one another, in order to ensure a future where all of our children know that their lives matter. Thank you, Mr. President. Your compassion of life and love for all will be a legacy we all shall remember well past your time in office. You are a man of, by and for the people, and it shows each and every day.Featured Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images | 0 |
20,945 | House will likely need to vote again on tax bill: Republican leader | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The No. 2 Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives said on Tuesday the House would likely need to vote again on tax legislation on Wednesday morning given that Democrats in the Senate were likely to prevail on a procedural objection. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy advised House lawmakers that Senate Democrats were likely to object that the legislation fails to comply with the so-called Byrd rule and were likely to be upheld, necessitating a second House vote. “As such, members are further advised that an additional procedural vote on the Motion to Concur is expected tomorrow morning, which will clear the bill for President Trump’s signature,” McCarthy said in a notice to House lawmakers. | 1 |
20,946 | China says it wants smooth military ties with Trump | BEIJING (Reuters) - China said on Wednesday it wanted to develop smooth military-to-military ties with the new U.S. administration of Donald Trump. While the world’s two largest economies are frequently at odds over issues like the disputed South China Sea, both have been trying to improve trust between their armed forces to reduce the risk of misunderstanding in any encounters. This month, China and the United States staged a three-day humanitarian relief military drill as part of that trust-building exercise. New concern looms with Trump’s election as U.S. president. He lambasted China on the campaign trail and has suggested Japan and South Korea be allowed to develop nuclear weapons. Asked about Trump’s election, Chinese Defence Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun said it went without saying there were tensions in the military relationship and China hoped the United States would respect its core interests and concerns. “China is willing to work hard together with the defense department of the next U.S. government to promote the healthy and stable development of military-to-military relations,” Yang told a monthly news briefing. Trump will take over as president in January. | 1 |
20,947 | Iraq oil ministry warns oil companies against Kurdistan contracts | BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq s oil ministry on Thursday cautioned oil companies against signing contracts with Iraqi Kurdistan. On Wednesday Russian state-controlled oil company Rosneft signed an agreement to put production sharing agreements into force with respect to five production blocks in Iraqi Kurdistan. | 1 |
20,948 | FUNNIEST VIDEO EVER…Sean Spicer Conducts Press Conference With Media Members Who Act Like Toddlers | This is by far the funniest video I've EVER seen showing WH reporters behaving like kindergartners. LMAO #FlashbackFriday pic.twitter.com/X9PO7oOnOg Cris (@ThePatriot143) April 7, 2017WE THINK SEAN SPICER LEADS THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION FOR THE BEST ZINGERS HERE ARE A FEW OF OUR FAVORITES:The mainstream media is clearly a leftist clique united against the Trump administration. On Thursday, Spicer called on Simendinger during a heated press briefing.Instead of asking her own question, Alexis snarked: Could you help us all by calling on Peter right now? Could you call on the New York Times, please? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dT68A4lQXUhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRtFbDEe6e4CNN is Disgusting!You ve Asked Me Eight Times!Sean Spicer Blows Up When Wolf Blitzer (Wolfie the blinker) Pushes on Neo-Nazis #CrookedMedia pic.twitter.com/Gf57Wv6WyI TRUMP ANOMALY (@ANOMALY1) November 23, 2016 | 0 |
20,949 | sergei shoigu admiral kuznetsov aircraftcarrying cruiser has begun military operations for the first time in history of russian navy kills over nusra terrorists including commanders in aleppo | by aht staff iraqi forces recapture southern front of mosul kill over isis militants iraqi forces managed to win back full control of mosuls southern front killing over isis terrorists shares
federal police chief general shaker jodat said late friday government troops had purged square kilometers of mosuls southern front of isis militants and freed more than families the alsumaria news website reported
the iraqi soldiers destroyed car bombs motorbike bombs explosive belts and some vehicles equipped with weapons and missiles during their advances in the area jodat added
he further noted that police forces had confiscated mortar shells containing chemicals
on thursday joint operations command announced that the security forces continue liberating six areas in the western coast of the city of mosul
the command said in a press statement troops of federal policed in the southwest axis of nineveh managed today to fully liberate alezba village adding that antiterrorism forces in the eastern axis continue liberating the areas of adan albakr alzahabiya alkhadra alqadisiyah aloula and altahrir
troops of alhashd alshaabi in the western axis managed to besiege tel afar airport and continue the cleansing operations inside the airport the statement added
joint security forces backed by army aviation and international coalition continue their advance in the battle launched in october to liberate the city of mosul recommended for you | 0 |
20,950 | Russian official: not worried about EU's moves on defense pact | BERLIN (Reuters) - A senior Russia s foreign ministry official on Tuesday said he was not worried by the European Union s move to integrate European defenses, saying the initiative was just words and did not appear to be aimed at Moscow. Kirill Logvinov, head of the NATO section at the Russian foreign ministry, called at the annual Berlin Security Conference for renewed efforts to rebuild trust between European countries and Russia through dialogue and military cooperation. He said the trans-Atlantic NATO alliance had revived Cold War tensions through an enlargement that threatened Russia s national security. Moscow was open to resuming dialogue and rebuilding trust, he said, and remained committed to implementing the Minsk agreements aimed at ending violence in eastern Ukraine - as long as Kiev also made good its promises under the deal. Just to sit down at a table would be an important step back toward building trust, Logvinov told reporters. Asked whether Russia was concerned about an agreement by 23 EU members to cooperate on funding joint military projects and commands, he said Moscow welcomed any steps that would help unify Europe. We are not trying to splinter any group. The better the groups work with each other in the Europe, the better it is for us. The faster they speak with a single voice, the better it is for our relationship with the EU, he said. Logvinov said the EU s Permanent Structured Cooperation or PESCO, had been in the works for decades. Of course, we are watching this development, but at this point, it s just words. France, Germany and 21 other EU governments signed an agreement this month to fund, develop and deploy armed forces after Britain s decision to quit the bloc, a project that was first proposed in the 1950s and long resisted by Britain. Under the deal, to be signed by EU leaders in December, participating governments will for the first time legally bind themselves into joint projects as well as pledging to increase defense spending and contribute to rapid deployments. Its backers say that if successful, the formal club of 23 members will give the European Union a more coherent role in tackling international crises and end the kind of shortcomings seen in Libya in 2011, when European allies relied on the United States for air power and munitions. Rachel Ellehuus, principal director for European and NATO policy at the U.S. Defense Department, told the conference that the United States welcomed the deal, lauding Europe s transparent approach to the new initiative. Unlike past attempts, the U.S.-led NATO alliance backs the project, aiming to benefit from stronger militaries. Many governments say Russia s seizure of Ukraine s Crimea in 2014 was a turning-point for European defense integration, after years of defense spending cuts that left Europe without vital capabilities. But German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen said PESCO was more about making Europe work more efficiently together to deal with humanitarian crises and was not related to fraying relations with Russia. | 1 |
20,951 | Pakistani government calls in army to help disperse Islamist protesters | ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan s government on Saturday called on the military to help police break up a sit-in by religious hardliners who have blocked the main routes into Islamabad for more than two weeks, state television reported. Army called in to control law and situation in capital, official Pakistan TV reported, citing an Interior Ministry notification. Pakistani police fought running battles on Saturday with stone-throwing activists of the ultra-religious Tehreek-e-Labaik party but failed to dislodge the activist who are blocking roads into Islamabad. By nightfall new demonstrators had joined the camp as protests spread to other main cities with activists brandishing sticks and attacking cars in some areas. | 1 |
20,952 | U.S. expects to continue strong Philippines alliance despite Duterte signal | SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The United States expects to maintain its strong security relationship with the Philippines, including a recent accord on the rotational stationing of U.S. forces, U.S. officials said on Thursday, despite signals from the incoming Philippine president that he will chart a more independent course. U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter, speaking en route to a security conference in Singapore at which a case over disputed South China Sea territory brought by the previous Philippine government against China will be a key talking point, said Washington took its treaty alliance with the Philippines “very seriously.” “It’s long standing, it is, we say, ironclad,” he told reporters. “They have a new government there and we look forward to working with them, talking with them about our alliance, about security affairs in the region.” Asked about an Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) he signed in Manila weeks ago giving the United States rotational access to five bases in the Philippines, Carter replied: “Our plans for EDCA and implementation are on track; we haven’t changed our plans at all.” On Tuesday, Philippines President-elect Rodrigo Duterte, who is due to take over on June 30, signaled greater independence in dealing with China and broader security issues, when he told reporters future policy would “not be dependent on America.” “We have this pact with the West, but I want everybody to know that we will be charting a course of our own,” Duterte said, when asked if he would push for bilateral talks with China. On Wednesday, Duterte’s incoming foreign minister, Perfecto Yasay, told Reuters Manila would honor treaties with the United States, including the EDCA, but it “should not be a lackey of any nation.” The outgoing Philippines government has been one of Washington’s staunchest supporters in its standoff with China over its expansive territorial claims in the South China Sea, a vital global trade route. Washington has been supportive of a case Manila has brought in the International Court of Arbitration in The Hague challenging China’s claims. Carter is expected to urge regional nations attending the annual Shangri-la Dialogue to rally around the U.S. position that the court’s ruling, which is expected to go in Manila’s favor, must be binding. Another U.S. defense official, who did not want to be identified, said Washington expected to continue its strong alliance with the Philippines, but added: “We certainly understand the Philippine desire to chart their own course and everything we do with respect to our alliance ... is designed to allow the Philippines to chart its own course.” Asked whether the United States had detected any decrease in desire on the part of the Philippines to take part in joint South China Sea patrols or to commit to more force rotations under the EDCA, the official replied: “It’s too early to tell. We’ll get together with the government when they come in and I’m sure we will have very thorough discussions about all of this when the time comes.” “The first tranche of forces has rotated out. And we will be discussing with the Philippines possible future (deployments).” Duterte has yet to name a defense minister and Carter said he had no meeting planned with the Philippines delegation at the Singapore meeting. Carter also said he did not plan a separate meeting with the Chinese, but looked forward to seeing members of their delegation over the three-day conference from Friday. | 1 |
20,953 | Turkey, Iran agree to discuss Russia's Syrian congress proposal | ASTANA (Reuters) - Turkey and Iran have agreed to discuss within the UN-led Geneva process Russia s proposal to convene a Syrian national dialogue congress, the three nations delegations said in a joint statement after talks in Kazakhstan. Diplomats from the three countries will next meet in Astana, the Kazakh capital, in the second half of December, according to the statement. | 1 |
20,954 | Exclusive: Lebanon believes Saudi holds Hariri, demands his return | BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon believes Saad al-Hariri is being held in Saudi Arabia, from where he resigned as Lebanese prime minister, two top government officials in Beirut said, amid a deepening crisis pushing Lebanon onto the frontlines of a power struggle between Saudi Arabia and Iran. A third source, a senior politician close to Saudi-allied Hariri, said Saudi Arabia had ordered him to resign and put him under house arrest. A fourth source familiar with the situation said Saudi Arabia was controlling and limiting his movement. In a televised statement indicating deep concern at Hariri s situation, his Future Movement political party said his return home was necessary to uphold the Lebanese system, describing him as prime minister and a national leader. Hariri s resignation last Saturday, read out on television from Saudi Arabia, came as a shock even to his aides and further embroiled Beirut in a regional contest between Riyadh and Tehran. Hariri s exit fueled wide speculation that the Sunni Muslim politician, long an ally of Riyadh, was coerced into stepping down by Saudi Arabia as it seeks to hit back against Iran and its Lebanese Shi ite ally, Hezbollah. In his resignation speech, Hariri denounced Iran and Hezbollah for sowing strife in Arab states and said he feared assassination. His father, a former prime minister, was killed by a bomb in 2005. Saudi Arabia has denied reports he is under house arrest. But Hariri has issued no statements himself to that effect, and has not denied that his movements are being restricted. Keeping Hariri with restricted freedom in Riyadh is an attack on Lebanese sovereignty. Our dignity is his dignity. We will work with (foreign) states to return him to Beirut, said the senior Lebanese official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the government had yet to declare that position. Saudi Arabia says Hariri resigned because Hezbollah, which was included in Hariri s coalition government, had hijacked Lebanon s political system. Hariri aides had until Thursday denied he was under house arrest but took a dramatically different tone after a meeting of the Future Movement convened at Hariri s Beirut residence on Thursday. A statement read by former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said his return was necessary to recover respect for Lebanon s internal and external balance, and in the framework of full respect for Lebanese legitimacy . Hariri s aunt, Bahia, sat next to Siniora as he read the statement. The party stood behind his leadership, it said. Hariri came to office last year in a political deal that made the Hezbollah-allied Christian politician Michel Aoun head of state and produced a coalition government grouping most Lebanese parties including Hezbollah. Saudi Arabia blessed the government at the time, but has been fiercely critical of the Hariri-led government since he stepped down, saying it failed to act against Hezbollah, whose guerrilla army is far more powerful than the weak state. Saudi Arabia had wanted Hariri to take a tougher stance toward Hezbollah, and he failed to do so, the fourth source said. He was functioning as if it is business as usual, so the Saudis had to accelerate the process and to force a resignation. Saudi Arabia this week lumped Lebanon together with Hezbollah as parties that are hostile to it, breaking with a long-established policy that has drawn a line between them and raising concerns of further Saudi measures. Hariri flew to Saudi Arabia last Friday. The top Lebanese government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: Lebanon is heading toward asking foreign and Arab states to put pressure on Saudi Arabia to release Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri. The official said Hariri was still Lebanon s prime minister, echoing other Lebanese government officials who say his resignation had not been received by Aoun, and his government therefore remained in place. The resignation of Hariri, a business tycoon whose family made its fortune in Saudi Arabia, happened at the same time as a wave of arrests of Saudi princes and businessmen accused of corruption by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The senior Lebanese politician close to Hariri said: When he went (to Saudi Arabia) he was asked to stay there and ordered to resign. They ordered him to read his resignation statement and he has been held under house arrest since. Two U.S. officials said the Saudis, led by Crown Prince Mohammed, had encouraged Hariri to leave office. The fourth source said: He is under controlled movement by the Saudis, limited movement. Hezbollah s parliamentary bloc said Saudi Arabia must halt its interference in Lebanese affairs. He made a one-day flying visit to the United Arab Emirates, a close Saudi ally, earlier this week before returning to Saudi Arabia. Hariri s office said in a statement he had received the French ambassador to Saudi Arabia at his Riyadh residence on Thursday. He had also met the head of the EU mission to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, and on Tuesday the British ambassador and the U.S. charge d affaires. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert confirmed U.S. Charge d Affaires Chris Henzel met with Hariri. Asked about reports Hariri was being held in Saudi Arabia, Nauert declined to elaborate on his status or what was discussed, calling the talks sensitive, private, diplomatic conversations. Nauert indicated the United States would not treat the Lebanese government any differently as a result of the uncertainty over Hariri. Saudi Arabia warned its citizens on Thursday against travel to Lebanon and said those already there should leave. It has issued similar advice about Lebanon to its citizens before. Lebanon s Maronite patriarch will visit Saudi Arabia next week and has received a positive response from Saudi officials over the possibility of seeing Hariri, his spokesman said. Patriarch Beshara al-Rai s visit had been decided on a long time ago. In light of the developments, his mission has become national, Walid Ghayyad said. The patriarch will take a message to the kingdom that Lebanon cannot handle conflict. | 1 |
20,955 | U.S. officials will not label treatment of Rohingya as 'ethnic cleansing' | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. government officials declined on Tuesday to characterize the treatment of Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslims as ethnic cleansing, but listed new measures including targeted sanctions Washington is considering to address the crisis. “I’m not in a position ... to characterize it today, but to me this very closely resembles some of the worst kind of atrocities that I’ve seen during a long career,” Mark Storella Deputy Assistant Secretary of State from the Bureau Of Population, Refugees and Migration said at a Senate hearing, when pressed to say whether he viewed the situation as ethnic cleansing. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar’s Rakhine state since security forces responded to Rohingya militants’ attacks on Aug. 25 by launching a crackdown the United Nations has denounced as ethnic cleansing. Myanmar, also known as Burma, rejects that accusation, insisting action was needed to combat “terrorists” who killed civilians. But it has left the world community counting the cost as international organizations and the government of Bangladesh, which has taken in the vast majority of the refugees, race to provide food, water and medical care. Many U.S. lawmakers have clamored for a strong U.S. response to the crisis and criticized government leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel peace laureate once hugely popular in Washington, for failing to do more. “She’s an impressive person, but she’s not taking on the challenge,” said Senator Ben Cardin, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Cardin said he considered the treatment of the Rohingya genocide. The State Department said on Monday that Washington is taking steps and considering a range of further actions over Myanmar’s treatment of the Rohingya, including targeted sanctions under its Global Magnitsky law. [L2N1MZ01T] At the foreign relations committee hearing, Patrick Murphy, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian And Pacific Affairs, said broader sanctions were also being considered, but cautioned that doing so could lessen the U.S. government’s ability to influence the Myanmar government to change. | 1 |
20,956 | POLITICAL AGITATOR: Globalist George Soros Linked to Over 50 ‘Partners’ of the Women’s March on Washington | 21st Century Wire says More than 50 NGO partners of the Women s March on Washington were found to be tied to social movement financier George Soros. While the DC gathering was billed as a grassroots movement for women s rights in America, it was anything but as a string of multi-million dollar Democratic Party-affiliated NGO s organized what was clearly an anti-Donald Trump event following the US presidential inauguration this past week. DIVIDE BY DESIGN (Photo illustration 21WIRE s Shawn Helton)As we ve stated before here at 21WIRE, this kind of political protest is designed to first cause public disruption, while also fomenting a form of socially-engineered cultural, gender and class warfare.In the case of the Women s March on Washington, a militant style of identity politics was on a full frontal display. Enter stage left the celebrities This was never more apparent than the hate filled diatribe of Hollywood actress Ashley Judd, whose angry rhetoric was eclipsed only by famed singer Madonna, who during her obscenity laced speech admitted to harboring violent thoughts directed at the White House. Consequently, the Material Girl is now reportedly under Secret Service investigation for her bomb related threat this past Saturday.Watch how both Judd and Madonna are driven by rage during their politically divisive speeches at the Women s March on Washington https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-5ZkrQHyNcDuring an interview with ABC NEWS, Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway didn t see the point, of the Women s March. Additionally, Conway underscored that 29-30 million women across America voted for Trump and their voices were heard in the 2016 election https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVEiGcT9wD4QUESTION: Was the heavily organized Women s March on Washington just another example of a radical globalist and cultural Marxist progressive agenda at play?Historically speaking, many social movements have worked to erode the legitimacy of a democratically elected government through a series of artificial color upheavals (color revolutions), and where possible weakening a country s national sovereignty through forced dependency on multilateral globalist institutions like the UN or IMF, while presenting shock and awe imagery in order to manipulate the public s political perspective.This is how the US and its CIA conduct their destablization color revolution campaigns overseas, and now astute observers will recognize these exact same methods being deployed here inside the US.Overseas, Washington tends to use the same cast of NGO fronts to build-up pro-US political opposition groups, as well as plan and generate civil unrest. They include the Albert Einstein Institute (AEI), National Endowment for Democracy (NED), International Republican Institute (IRI), National Democratic Institute (NDI), Freedom House and later the International Center for Non-Violent Conflict (ICNC), and the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the financial and contractor arm of the Department of State.Inside the US, deep state actors in Washington generally work through Democratic Party affiliated organizations like MoveOn.org, as well as through labor union organizations like AFL-CIO, and UNITE HERE. These, along with many other similar organizations have been involved in organizing this latest protest movement in America.While it still remains to be seen if Trump s stated political vision for America can unite an embattled nation, one thing is clear many NGO groups operating inside the US will continue their organized opposition to the newly elected president over the course of his time in the White House. BITTER PILL Madonna s waning singing career gives way to cultural upheaval and demagoguery. (Image Source: Extra.ie)Other partners for the march included the American Atheists and UniteWomen.org, who ran a public relations campaign which featured videos with the hashtags #ImWithHer, #DemsInPhily and #ThanksObama. Once again, all road lead back to billionaire Hillary Clinton financier, George Soros and his Open Society NGO empire.Writer Asra Nomani expands on the Soros web here: By my draft research, which I m opening up for crowd-sourcing on GoogleDocs, Soros has funded, or has close relationships with, at least 56 of the march s partners, including key partners Planned Parenthood, which opposes Trump s anti-abortion policy, and the National Resource Defense Council, which opposes Trump s environmental policies. The other Soros ties with Women s March organizations include the partisan MoveOn.org (which was fiercely pro-Clinton), the National Action Network (which has a former executive director lauded by Obama senior advisor Valerie Jarrett as a leader of tomorrow as a march co-chair and another official as the head of logistics ). Other Soros grantees who are partners in the march are the American Civil Liberties Union, Center for Constitutional Rights, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. March organizers and the organizations identified here haven t yet returned queries for comment. NOTE: See her full story below.The Free Thought Project illustrates the contrived socially engineered nature behind the Women s March on Washington in lengthy passage below:Washington, D.C. An investigation by a New York Times affiliate has revealed that billionaire globalist financier George Soros, who recently called Donald Trump a would-be dictator during an interview at Davos, and whose Open Society Foundation works to finance and forward progressive causes across the world, and is intimately connected to numerous color revolutions, the Arab Spring, and various other political uprisings across the globe, has been revealed to be connected to more than 50 of the groups that organized the nationwide Women s Marches that saw millions of Americans take to the streets across the country.The march s official website says, We stand together, recognizing that defending the most marginalized among us is defending all of us. Many people turned out to be a manifestation of that ideal, but it s important to understand the reality of what is happening on a strategic political level as an inorganic politically contrived and funded event. This, in no way, takes away from the validity of standing up for women s issues but is important to note that women are being used as pawns in a larger ideological political game that has international overtones of power politics.These marches were largely billed as spontaneous and grassroots actions, by publications like The Guardian and Vox. However, the reality exposed by an investigation by self-described liberal feminist Asra Q. Nomani, writing for New York Times affiliate Women in the World, revealed that after studying the funding, politics and talking points of the some 403 groups that are partners of the march, contrary to the non-partisan rhetoric used in these marches, they were not really women s march but were rather for women who are anti-Trump. Nomani reveals that the Women s Marches were actually organized as political tools to be used to strategically forward a progressive political agenda against President Donald Trump exposing the protests to largely be an organized, top-down driven political operation and not an organic movement of concerned Americans taking to the streets as reported by the mainstream media. More from the NY Times affiliate Women in the World below SOROS MARCH? The Women s March in Washington DC revealed some deep NGO pockets lurking behind the scenes. (Image Source: thefederalist.com). Asra Q. Nomani NY Times Women in the WorldIn the pre-dawn darkness of today s presidential inauguration day, I faced a choice, as a lifelong liberal feminist who voted for Donald Trump for president: lace up my pink Nike sneakers to step forward and take the DC Metro into the nation s capital for the inauguration of America s new president, or wait and go tomorrow to the after-party, dubbed the Women s March on Washington ? The Guardian has touted the Women s March on Washington as a spontaneous action for women s rights. Another liberal media outlet, Vox, talks about the huge, spontaneous groundswell behind the march. On its website, organizers of the march are promoting their work as a grassroots effort with independent organizers. Even my local yoga studio, Beloved Yoga, is renting a bus and offering seats for $35. The march s manifesto says magnificently, The Rise of the Woman = The Rise of the Nation. It s an idea that I, a liberal feminist, would embrace. But I know and most of America knows that the organizers of the march haven t put into their manifesto: the march really isn t a women s march. It s a march for women who are anti-Trump. As someone who voted for Trump, I don t feel welcome, nor do many other women who reject the liberal identity-politics that is the core underpinnings of the march, so far, making white women feel unwelcome, nixing women who oppose abortion and hijacking the agenda. To understand the march better, I stayed up through the nights this week, studying the funding, politics and talking points of the some 403 groups that are partners of the march. Is this a non-partisan Women s March ?Continue the NY Times article here READ MORE ELECTION NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire 2016 FilesSUPPORT 21WIRE SUBSCRIBE & BECOME A MEMBER @21WIRE.TV | 0 |
20,957 | EPA exercises enforcement discretion for all Florida power plants | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Environmental Protection Agency said on Monday it will exercise its enforcement discretion for all power plants in Florida, allowing them to operate without meeting all pollution controls to maintain electricity supplies across the state as a result of Hurricane Irma. It said in a statement the no-action assurance will end on Sept. 26. | 1 |
20,958 | WHAT IS BLACK PRIVILEGE? [Video] | Black privilege is being able to take pride in your race without fear of persecution. Watch: | 0 |
20,959 | Trump Tweets ‘We Must Keep Evil Out Of Our Country’ So Americans Tell Him To Get The Hell Out (TWEETS) | On Friday, Donald Trump embarrassed himself with a tweet, as is becoming a daily ritual, that was so stupid that seemingly all of Twitter could not help but come together to mock the orange sh*tgibbon in the White House. Trump continued his anti-Muslim tirade by reaching deep inside himself and tweeting We must keep evil out of our country . We must keep "evil" out of our country! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 3, 2017To even the most casual observer, it is obvious that Trump is referencing his Muslim ban, which was an effort to keep people of one specific religion from entering our country and, of course, that the word Islam was intended to fill in the quotes. Americans responded to The Donald s latest dogwhistle by asking him when the f*ck he s going to be stepping down and leaving our country.@realDonaldTrump cool, so when are you packing up? Tim Wrobel (@Timotato) February 3, 2017@realDonaldTrump so get out of our country! Jonathan Boucher (@jonbouch) February 3, 2017@realDonaldTrump this evil? pic.twitter.com/8TuxpkBA8I Mike Denison (@mikd33) February 3, 2017@realDonaldTrump when are you leaving? Tony Posnanski (@tonyposnanski) February 3, 2017Maybe look at the white supremacists groups @realDonaldTrump? There's a lot of "evil" there to rid America of! Khary Penebaker (@kharyp) February 3, 2017.@realDonaldTrump Then get the fuck out of my country, stop dismantling its institutions, and stop emboldening Nazis. Starkles (@dcstarkey) February 3, 2017@realDonaldTrump 65 million of us tried to do that. John Pavlovitz (@johnpavlovitz) February 3, 2017@realDonaldTrump Putting it in inverted commas means you're using 'evil' as a euphemism. Let's try and guess what word you actually mean. Lissa Evans (@LissaKEvans) February 3, 2017Oh shit, he's leaving! @realDonaldTrump Steven Bonnell II (@OmniDestiny) February 3, 2017.@realDonaldTrump So you'll resign and live in exile? Brooklyn Spoke (@BrooklynSpoke) February 4, 2017Even anonymous stopped by to say hello to our Tweeter-in-Chief:Don, hows it feel to know most of your supporters like Bannon more than you, how's his hand feel up your ass, you puppet. @realDonaldTrump Anonymous? (@YourAnonCentral) February 3, 2017Don the only evil in your country is you @realDonaldTrump when are you packing your bags? You are a big loser. Big! pic.twitter.com/qxQvxhgggN Anonymous? (@YourAnonCentral) February 3, 2017Why is evil in quotation marks @realDonaldTrump, why are you subtweeting us you weak ass mother fucker. @ us like a real man. ? Anonymous? (@YourAnonCentral) February 3, 2017The Trump administration has not had a good time of it lately. From completely making up a terrorist attack and blaming Muslims for it to f*cking up relations with Australia, a country that has had our back always since World War I, to threatening to send troops to Mexico, the Trump Team has done nothing but make our country less safe by antagonizing our allies and enemies alike in his selfish quest to satisfy his overinflated and undeserved ego all while empowering the Ku Klux Klan, Nazis, and other real Americans who want their 1950 s America back.To most of us, that is the true evil. Featured image via Getty Images(Joe Raedle)/screengrab | 0 |
20,960 | Cambodia goes all-in on China in casino port city | SIHANOUKVILLE, Cambodia (Reuters) - Between Sihanoukville s beaches and its multiplying casinos, Lao Qi and Bun Saroeun run restaurants barely a hundred dusty meters apart. But their fortunes could not be more different. For while Lao Qi is riding the Chinese boom that brought him and thousands of others from China to the Cambodian resort, Bun Saroeun s business was built on low-budget Western visitors. It is far less profitable and now he faces eviction. Sihanoukville starkly illustrates how Cambodia s ever tightening relationship with China is transforming the country. Just as China s aid and investment have helped Prime Minister Hun Sen defy Western criticism of a crackdown on his opponents, they are also binding Cambodia s economy ever more closely to China s. Sihanoukville, which has Cambodia s only deep-water port, was carved out of the jungle in the 1960s and named after former King Norodom Sihanouk. Once a playground for Cambodia s elite, it fell on hard times during the Khmer Rouge genocide and conflicts of the 1970s and 1980s before becoming a stop for backpackers and other Westerners looking for sun, sea, sand and - for some - sex. But a steady trickle of Chinese money into its casinos has now swelled to a tide that promises to remodel a city touted by developers as the first port of call on China s Belt and Road . This is like China 20 years ago. The opportunity is huge, said Lao Qi, 33, who goes by his nickname and first moved here from China s Zhejiang province to work in a casino. His noodles and fried rice can now make him hundreds of dollars a day. Down the road at the Ecstatic Pizza restaurant, 59-year-old Bun Saroeun counts himself lucky to make over $100 a day. Rising hotel prices and the noise of construction are discouraging Western visitors and Cambodian tourists from the city, he says. A few Chinese came here but now they have their own restaurants, said Bun Saroeun, whose landlord is now evicting him to redevelop the prime property near the Occhuteal Beach. The Chinese influx is very much by design. In charge of the city is governor Yun Min, the former regional military commander and a close ally of Hun Sen. He made trips to China himself to encourage investors and offer them protection. We want more of them to come, he told Reuters, estimating that Chinese already rent half the property in the city. We benefit from them. Cambodia's "Chinese" resort city IMG - tmsnrt.rs/2AtY4cS Estimates for the numbers of Chinese now resident in the city of 250,000 run from the thousands to the tens of thousands, but no figures are made public. Across Sihanoukville, Mandarin signs are proliferating. Supermarkets packed with Chinese goods are commonplace - the only Cambodian items tend to be beer and bottled water. Yet the current Chinese influx into Sihanoukville is nothing compared to what is forecast. Near the once tranquil Independence Beach, concrete towers have sprouted in months, promising casinos, hotels and thousands of apartments. This is Macau Two, boasts Chen Hu, the 48-year-old general manager at the $200 million 38-storey Blue Bay Resort development, comparing the city to the world s biggest gambling center. At his showroom, groups of prospective condominium buyers from China admire the model. About 20 percent of at least 700 apartments have already been sold, he says. Prices range from around $125,000 to $500,000. A lot of people complain, but a lot of people also benefit from the injection of money from China, said William Van, 60, who owns an apartment block now filled largely with Chinese workers and has seen the value of his investment soar. A clear attraction for all Chinese investors, developers say, has been the close Cambodia-China relationship - strengthened by Hun Sen s repeated trips to Beijing and Chinese President Xi Jinping s visit to Phnom Penh late last year. On his latest trip to Beijing last week, Hun Sen won offers of investment of $7 billion from Chinese companies in a highway, a satellite city near Phnom Penh, and projects in education, entertainment and banking. It was unclear how new or firm the promises were, but they highlight the accelerating investment trend. Business is following the flag China has planted in Cambodia. It s continuing and may even be exploding, said U.S. based academic Sophal Ear, co-author of a book on China s quest for resources abroad. We are talking orders of magnitude now beyond what anyone else is doing...They re crowding out other investors with the sheer volume and scale of their activities. Pictures of Xi and Hun Sen feature prominently in one of the glossy handouts from the Prince Real Estate Group as it markets apartments in Phnom Penh and now starts work on two projects costing $1 billion in Sihanoukville. It is a core location of the Belt and Road initiative, said marketing director Hu Tian Lu, referring to China s infrastructure-led development and diplomatic initiative. A short drive from the port is an expanding Special Economic Zone, where 90 percent of the 110 companies now operating there are Chinese, enjoying tax-free imports and exports and corporate tax holidays. China is due to build a four-lane highway to Phnom Penh, the international airport in Sihanoukville is being expanded - some 70 percent of international flights are already to Chinese destinations - and improved rail links are eventually planned under the Belt and Road program. Although Sihanoukville is a focal point for Chinese investment, the phenomenon is far from localized. More tourists to Cambodia come from China than any other nation - 635,000 in the first seven months of the year, or a fifth of the total. Cambodia hopes to draw two million Chinese tourists a year by 2020. Chinese investment over the 2012-16 period was over $4 billion - more than 30 times that from the United States, even including a $100 million Coca-Cola plant which opened last year. China s $265 million in aid last year was well over twice that of Japan s and nearly four times that from the United States. Chinese dams provide most of Cambodia s electricity; a third of the garment factories that produce Cambodia s main export are Chinese. Nearly half of Cambodia s $5.8 billion foreign debt is also owed to China - many multiples what it owes any other country. The government s political debt to Beijing has also grown. As Western countries have condemned the arrest of Hun Sen s main rival and the dissolution of his party ahead of next year s election, China has voiced support for Cambodia s efforts to keep order. From Cambodia, China can count on its loyal support on regional issues, while it also gains a strategic foothold deep in Southeast Asia. Sandwiching Sihanoukville are concessions owned by Chinese companies that give them control of well over one-third of Cambodia s coastline. The gush of money into Sihanoukville has meant a bonanza for land owners: one hotelier told how the Chinese turned up with an offer of twice what he was making to take his hotel over for casino staff. He no longer needs to work. For anyone renting, it is a nightmare. Long term Western expatriates talk of being Chinesed - being turfed out because a Chinese customer has turned up willing to pay much more. Real estate agent Thim Sothea got a harsh lesson in the way the market was trending when his landlord evicted his business, Sihanoukville Property, from a spot near the beach so a Chinese company could move in at double the rent. It s becoming Chinatown here, he said at a meeting at a cafe because he is still looking for a new space. That s fine for the rich who own hotels and property, not for everyone else. It also suits Lao Qi just fine. He already has plans to open a new restaurant, which he expects will be closer to the beach. | 1 |
20,961 | NEW NORMAL? PARENTING MAGAZINE Warns “Ordinary Parents” Must Take Action Against “Blonde, Cheerful” Families…Could Be “Dangerous Right-Wingers” | Wow just wow! This is what happens when political candidates divide nations by color to secure minority voting blocks, while White people are shamed into going along with a divisive, mean-spirited movement Parenting magazine Baby & Family has told readers to beware of families who are inconspicuous and cheerful , as these warning signs indicate they are right wing and thus dangerous . Depicted with illustrations featuring solely blonde women and children, the report says ordinary parents must take action against right-wing families and make clear that their ideology has no place in the world.Asserting that the term right wing stirs up anxiety and brings to mind burning refugee homes , skinheads, and the National Socialist Underground (NSU) group who carried out a string of violent attacks on foreign people, Baby & Family notes that people rarely connect it with women, family and children .This, the high-circulation German magazine declares, is precisely the great risk as such people are just as dangerous if not more so as gangs of Nazi skinheads. The identifying features of right-wing families, it contends, are that they are inconspicuous, blond, cute and engaged . First of all, [right-wing families] are nice and dedicated Michaela K ttig, sociologist and researcher of right-wing extremism at the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences, alleges.Researcher of right-wing politics, Eva Prausner, says a huge danger of right-wing families is that they seem normal.Because of this, she says many parents will already have established good relations with them to the point that they are no longer marginalised and at worst, get support .While there are different types of right-wing families, Baby & Family asserts that daycare centres should always seek help when dealing with them.Despite asserting that such children are not outspoken, the experts wheeled out by the magazine warn that a sinister aspect of right-wing parenting is that they instil self-confidence in their progeny.They do this, Prausner posits, in hope that their offspring will later confidently carry their ideology into the world .K ttig explains that right-wing families are not unlike ordinary families in that they teach their own values. The important difference with extreme right-wing groups, however, is that these values are strongly geared at Germanic customs and traditions .Mothers and fathers should get involved in the parents council to take action against right-wing parents, Baby & Family notes. They should not be afraid to confront [right-wing parents] directly , it states.For entire story: Breitbart News | 0 |
20,962 | WATCH: Fox News Host DEFENDS CNN Reporter, Tells Trump To Go F*ck Himself | Even Fox News is calling Donald Trump out for attacking the media.After a press conference that will go down as the most embarrassing and confusing ever given in this nation s history, Fox News host Shep Smith blasted Trump for attacking the press, specifically CNN reporter Jim Acosta.Trump often praises Fox News while bashing the other major news outlets and once again attacked the media during his first solo press conference in which he appeared to be just telling reporters what he was told to tell them.Trump repeatedly referred to CNN as fake news and personally attacked Acosta while he was trying to ask questions about the Russia scandal that has engulfed the White House. Russia is fake news, Trump claimed. Russia this is fake news put out by the media .The leaks are real. You re the one that wrote about them and reported them. I mean the leaks are real. You know what they said. You saw it and the leaks are absolutely real. The news is fake because so much of the news is fake. If the information coming from the leaks is real, then how can the stories be fake? Acosta asked.Trump responded by trashing CNN for not taking him at his word instead of verifying his claims and reporting the truth. He then praised Fox & Friends for kissing his ass like a good propaganda machine. When you call it fake news, you re undermining the confidence in the news media, Acosta shot back. Trump replied by telling Acosta that he knows when he should get good or bad stories in the news and suggested that the media should get in line and write the stories he wants them to write.Seriously.Trump went on to excuse his demand by saying he won the election and claimed his administration is running smoothly despite all the recent reports that say otherwise.Well, Shep Smith was not amused and he took Trump to the woodshed for it.First, Smith addressed Trump s disastrous attempt to hold a big boy conference all by himself. It s sort of our job to let you know when things are said that aren t true, Smith said in defense of the media. This president keeps telling untrue things and he does it every single time he s in front of a microphone some of them aren t really big, but they re coming from the president. He then attacked the logic of Trump s claim that Russia is fake news. He says Russia is a ruse, it s fake news. The leaks are real, but the news is fake. So, that s impossible. It s very confusing, especially when Trump says thing that are demonstrably, unquestionably, opinion aside, 100 percent false. Then Smith passionately defended Acosta. He s an accomplished reporter a guy I ve never met, but a good reporter. [Trump was] treating him like I m not even going to use the word. I m not going to give Twitter the love it needs. It s crazy what we re watching everyday, it s absolutely crazy. He keeps repeating ridiculous throwaway lines that are not true at all and sort of avoiding this issue of Russia, as if we re some kind of fools for asking the question. Really? Smith continued into an epic conclusion. Your opposition was hacked, and the Russians were responsible for it, and your people were on the phone with Russia on the same day it was happening, and we re fools for asking the questions? No, sir, we are not fools for asking this question, and we demand to know the answer to this question. You owe this to the American people. We have a right to know, we absolutely do, and that you call us fake news and put us down like children for asking this question is inconsequential. The people deserve that answer. Here s the video via YouTube.Donald Trump should be ashamed of himself and the media should absolutely keep doing their jobs by calling out Trump s lies every day.Featured image via Win McNamee/Getty Images | 0 |
20,963 | Keith Olbermann Drops TRUTH BOMB About Trump And Electoral College — Time For Them To Do Their Job | Ever since Donald Trump came on the scene, famed political commentator Keith Olbermann has been on a tear with one mission and one mission only: To warn Americans of the dangers of a Trump presidency. During the campaign, Olbermann had a show on GQ s YouTube channel called The Closer. Now that Trump has won, his efforts are called The Resistance. In Olbermann s latest piece, he reminds us all what Alexander Hamilton said regarding the creation of the Electoral College in the Federalist Papers. In short, Hamilton s creation was largely an effort to be a safety valve of sorts, a check on the worst impulses of the public when it comes to choosing a president. Hamilton said of the Electoral College: The process of the Electoral College affords a moral certainty, that the office of the president will never fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications. In other words, Hamilton created that government body to remedy precisely this situation. In that spirit, here is what Keith Olbermann has to say on the matter, first quoting Hamilton: Nothing was more to be desired than that every practicable obstacle should be opposed to cabal, intrigue, and corruption. These most deadly adversaries of republican government might naturally have been expected to make their approaches from more than one quarter, but chiefly from the desire in foreign powers to gain an improper ascendant in our councils. How could they better gratify this, than by raising a creature of their own to the chief magistracy of the Union? Then, Olbermann himself says: If the Electoral College is still not what Hamilton described, it is still what Hamilton intended. It is there to weed out the unqualified, the unprincipled, the merely famous. And especially to weed out a creature of foreign powers. Or, in Donald Trump s case, all of the above. That s just the thing. The Electoral College was never meant to be nothing but a formality and only a rubber stamp; quite the opposite, in fact. The meeting of the electors after the November election is supposed to be a serious deliberation on the qualifications of the president-elect. If they deem that person unfit, then the electors have not just the authority, but the patriotic and indeed Constitutional duty to install a person qualified for that office.Olbermann continues, this time turning to the confirmed Russian interference in our 2016 electoral process, with the clear intention and eventual success of electing Trump: Would it be an act of victory over the Russians who committed an act of war against us by interfering with our election? Would it be defense against Trump and this banana Republican government of his which will turn the world over to Vladimir Putin and, oh by the way, end our democracy? Before you answer that, answer this: We can t have Clinton, Alexander Hamilton is dead, and the alternative is an unelected dictator. Would you now trade Donald Trump for a President Mitt Romney, a President John McCain or a President Evan McMullin? Me? In a heartbeat! You re damn right I d take any of those three over Trump. As much as I d rather have Hillary, I ll take Romney or McCain gladly and I d especially love McMullin, since he s been busily sounding the alarm on how dangerous Trump is this entire time. He is reasonable and would do a good job. Further, he isn t an extremist, just a run of the mill conservative.In short, Olbermann is right. It is time for the Electoral College to stop being a rubber stamp, and to do their job. They all know that Trump is unqualified, and therefore should not assume the office of the presidency.Watch the video below:It s as if 83,549 days ago Alexander Hamilton saw Trump coming and provided the way to stop him with HRC as the hero pic.twitter.com/lBCaVnXy3o Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) December 15, 2016Featured image via Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images | 0 |
20,964 | KILLING AMERICAN WORKERS By Replacing With Foreign Workers…Michelle Malkin Speaks To Abbott Lab’s Replaced Workers [Video] | The replacement of workers by big corporations is staggering! Michelle Malkin speaks about the Abbott Lab workers laid off for foreign workers. | 0 |
20,965 | donald trump a kgb spy | msm caught preparing hillary victory results prior to election
in todays video christopher greene of amtv reports the mainstream media caught preparing hillary clinton election results prior to november juror explanation for ammon bundy verdict oregonlive juror has so far provided the only public explanation of the behindthescenes discussions that led to t doug casey a civil war could be in the cards after the election lew rockwell source the nd american civil war by richard hubal via mn artists nick giambruno the us preside putin grants steven seagal russian citizenship daily mail president vladimir putin signed off thursday on a decree granting russian citizenship to american action her amtv archives | 0 |
20,966 | NORWAY’S TOUGH Immigration Minister BLASTS Sweden, WARNS Refugees: “If You Are An Economic Migrant” or an “Illegal Immigrant” You’ll Be Sent Home | Norway has a new immigration sheriff in town, and so far, it appears that she s singing the same tune as President Trump on immigration. And oh yeah, Sylvi Listhaug doesn t give a damn about her critics either. How far are bleeding-heart nations, like Sweden, France, the UK, and Germany willing to take this mass-immigration experiment, before they realize it s too late to turn back? Before her appointment to the cabinet on December 16, Listhaug, then agriculture minister, criticized what she called a tyranny of kindness that is blowing over Norwegian society like a nightmare. It is very serious that politicians are using punitive measures that would make it more difficult for a number of asylum seekers who are entitled to protection, asylum association spokesman Andreas Furuseth told the Norwegian news agency NTB.Listhaug said she wanted 40 or so major and minor asylum law changes submitted to parliament in February before the European spring season, when asylum seeker arrivals were expected to rise again.She told Norwegian NRK public television that her legislative package amounted to a sharp retrenchment on wide social entitlements previously granted to refugees.Some 35,000 asylum seekers arrived in Norway in 2015.It was a record for the oil and gas-rich Nordic nation of 5.2 million people, which in recent weeks saw fewer arrivals, in part because of border controls reintroduced in neighboring Sweden and the arrival of wintry weather.NRK said the proposed rule tightening would allow family reunifications only after the applicant had acquired four years of work or education in Norway.And, the government would issue voucher cards instead of cash for day-to-day items to prevent applicants from sending money to family back home.Migrants who arrived on transit visas via Russia would not be granted asylum.Older applicants in the 55 to 67 age group would be required to learn the Norwegian language and aspects of Norwegian society.Applicants who fail to present identity documents will be refused asylum. A grant of temporary residence would not automatically lead to permanent residence. DWWhen Angela Merkel invited refugees to Germany in 2015, tearing up the rules obliging migrants to seek asylum in the first country they arrive in, the consequences were pretty immediate. Over 160,000 went to Sweden, leading to well-publicised disruption. Next door, things were different. Norway took in just 30,000; this year it has accepted just 2,000 so far. To Sylvi Listhaug, the country s young immigration minister, this might still be a bit too much. We have a big challenge now to integrate those with permission to stay in Norway to make sure they respect Norwegian values, she says. Freedom to speak, to write, to believe or not to believe in a god, how to raise your children. Also, she says, what not to do. For example: It is not allowed to beat your children in Norway. It s unusual for a European government minister to link immigration with child-beating, but the 39-year-old Ms Listhaug is accustomed to speaking plainly. The rest of Europe, she believes, is coming around to the Norwegian position.After decades in opposition, her Progress Party entered government four years ago, a junior partner in a Conservative-run coalition. Her party envisaged the problems of mass migration in the 1980s, she says, so was well ahead of the populist upstarts now haunting so much of Europe. A lot of them are socialist parties but against immigration. We are a libertarian party. We want less government, so people should decide more over their own life. And we want a stricter immigration policy because that s important for Norway in the long run. While Sweden and others saw the migration of 2015 as a blip caused by conflict in Syria and Iraq, she sees it as part of an irreversible demographic trend. Africa is going to gain almost 500 million more people by 2030, she says. Much of the Middle East and Africa is fragile. People have difficult lives but can see via mobile phones that life in the West and in Europe is quite different. So I understand why they would like our life, our kind of standards. But it s not sustainable to integrate so many. Why not? Norway, with its oil-generated trillion-dollar sovereign wealth fund, is one of the world s richest countries and hardly beset by integration issues. This, she says, is because they ve been careful. Many of the jobs here today perhaps will not be here tomorrow. Working in supermarkets for example those kinds of jobs that don t need higher education. Those who come to Norway without any education what are they going to do in the future if this continues? The case for limiting economic migration is clear. But about half of the registered asylum seekers in the EU, last year were from countries that were struck by conflict. Can Norway justify taking so few? Ms. Listhaug is a practicing Christian (albeit skeptical of the thoroughly socialist Church of Norway) and says her government s immigration policy, when combined with its aid policy, is not just a moral response, but the most effective moral response. For me it s a moral issue as well. You can t just help the ones you see. You have to think about the millions you don t see and that have a very difficult life in the world. She s referring to the refugee camps in Jordan, where both Norway and the UK send aid to help those displaced by war. Norway gave 23 million to its Jordanian mission last year, almost twice as much, per capita, as Britain. The cost of helping refugees at home is taken from its foreign aid budget, so as its influx subsides and costs fall, all savings are used to help refugees abroad. Some 370 million has been transferred so far, with more expected next year.So to Ms. Listhaug, it s not a question of whether to help refugees, but how best to do so. We meet after she visited Brandon Lewis, her British counterpart, who gave her a striking statistic: The immigration minister here in Britain said that for the price of helping 3,000 young people here, he could help 100,000 children in other parts of the world. She sees this as a modern way to help asylum seekers and more practical than the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, which obliges signatories to accommodate anyone with a well-founded fear of persecution . It was an agreement for its time, she says. But when people travel through 20 countries to come to a safe haven, I think people can see that this is not right. You could have a safe haven in your neighboring country, so why go so far? Western countries that define their virtue by the number of refugees they let in, she says, also face a moral question: Why should we have a system that works for the people who have money [to pay for the journey] while the rest of the refugees and people in need don t have the money to go? People traffickers, she says, thrive on governments that follow the old rules and accept those who turn up on their shores. If you smuggle an unaccompanied minor from Afghanistan to Europe, they say it is between $3,000 and $20,000. Young girls, she says, are sometimes sold to old men to finance such a journey. Also, children are killed, or raped, on their way. So we need to have this under control. Ms Listhaug provoked fury in Sweden a few weeks ago by visiting a suburb in Stockholm notorious for unrest among its young immigrant population. She called it a no-go zone a phrase that the Swedes angrily reject. But she doesn t seem to mind causing a fuss, especially as she thinks her critics are coming around to her way of thinking. Nor does she mind using Sweden as a case study in what not to do. A lot of countries in Europe are thinking more like us: like Denmark and Austria. Germany, as well France has big problems right now with integration, as does Belgium. A lot of countries in Europe see that we need to have this under control. The Norwegian model, she says, is very different and very clear. If you are an economic migrant, you are declined in Norway, she says. We send people back to Afghanistan if they are not in need of protection; we send them back to Somalia if they are not in need of protection. Isn t this a rather expensive process? Yes, but it s well worth it. Police are also sent out to areas where illegal immigrants are suspected of living and working. If we find them, we send them out. That has also decreased crime in Norway, that s very good. I ask Listhaug if she is getting used to being called cruel and heartless. How does it make her feel? Her response comes quickly: I don t give a damn, she says. She thinks her approach is right, and the consensus is wrong. And, as she says, an increasing number of other countries think the same. A new consensus might well be in the making. SpectatorUKSo what do her neighbors in Sweden think of her tough positions on asylum seekers? The Swedish resident in the video below has nothing but praise for Listhaug. He openly praises her while mocking the lefties who have allowed out-of-control migration to destroy much of Sweden. In the video below, he reminds Swedes of the startling crime statistics they are facing: In Sweden, we have 10 times more car torchings. Do you want this? We have 4 times more violent killings than Norway. Is that what you want? Well, you should listen to your lefties, and be more like Sweden, It s interesting, the migration minister Sylvi Listhaug, came to Sweden to find out for herself, she wanted to find out what not to do in Norway. Watch: | 0 |
20,967 | Iraqi forces recapture last Islamic State-held town | BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi forces on Friday captured the border town of Rawa, the last remaining town under Islamic State control, signaling the collapse of the group s self-proclaimed caliphate. Rawa s capture marks the end of Islamic State s era of territorial rule over a so-called caliphate that it proclaimed in 2014 across vast swathes of Iraq and Syria. Iraqi forces liberated Rawa entirely, and raised the Iraqi flag over its buildings, Lieutenant General Abdul Ameer Rasheed Yarallah said in a statement from the Joint Operations Command. Syria s army has also declared victory against Islamic State, but last week militants re-infiltrated Albu Kamal, near the border from Iraq, and are still fighting there, as well as in some villages and desert areas nearby. All the forces fighting Islamic State in both countries expect a new phase of guerrilla warfare, a tactic the militants have already shown themselves capable of. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi congratulated Iraq s armed forces and people, saying Rawa was retaken in record time and that Iraq would soon completely defeat Islamic State. I congratulate our heroic forces and the Iraqi people on the liberation of Rawa. The success of our forces, in record time and with excellent planning, shows their strength. Our armed forces continue to secure the Jazira and desert area and the Iraqi border. Total victory is near, he said. A map published by the military showed zero areas under Islamic State control and a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition fighting the group in both Iraq and Syria said on Twitter it had crumbled . A video issued by the military showed Iraqi forces sending a message to Rawa s residents via radio which said: Daesh has ended for good, and now the age of Iraq begins, referring to the Sunni militant group by an Arabic acronym. Another showed a convoy of military vehicles sporting Iraqi flags and blasting out the national anthem. State television played patriotic songs and aired footage of troops in Rawa. With the liberation of Rawa we can say all the areas in which Daesh is present have been liberated, a military spokesman said. Iraqi forces will now focus on routing the militants who fled into the desert and exert control over Iraq s borders, the spokesman said. Rawa borders Syria, whose army seized the last substantial town on the border with Iraq, Albu Kamal. Albu Kamal shares a border crossing with al-Qaim in Iraq. The militants lost control of the border crossing earlier this month, dealing a critical blow to the organization, which had long relied on the route to move its fighters and equipment. The group s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, is believed to be hiding in the stretch of desert which runs along the border of both countries. Driven this year from its two de facto capitals Iraq s Mosul and Syria s Raqqa Islamic State was progressively squeezed into an ever-shrinking pocket of desert, straddling the frontier between the two countries, by enemies that include most regional states and global powers. In Iraq, Islamic State faced the army and the Shi ite paramilitary groups, backed both by the U.S.-led international coalition and by Iran. Iraq has been carrying out its final campaign to crush the Islamic State caliphate while also mounting a military offensive in the north against the Kurds who held an independence referendum in September. However, Islamic State s defeat does not mean civilians are now safe, the International Rescue Committee said. Nearly 3.2 million people are unable or unwilling to return home after years of displacement and over 11 million are in need of vital humanitarian assistance, it said. Today marks a historic day for the people of Iraq. It is, however, vital that the international community does not view the end of (Islamic State) territorial control as the end of their responsibility to the Iraqi people who have endured years of conflict and face a long, difficult recovery, the group s Iraq Country Director Wendy Taeuber said in a statement. | 1 |
20,968 | news diversity win marvel created a white male superhero who thinks its too bad he got powers instead of a latina woman | referral from a friend relative or certified us gourd steward i hope seeing the big pumpkin helps me find the answer to that question were going to show you the small pumpkin to see how you feel before we set you up with the big pumpkin please choose the answer that best describes your reaction to the small pumpkin i feel comfortable i feel overwhelmed i have a feeling that if i see a pumpkin any bigger than that something truly wonderful will happen this is not at all what i thought a pumpkin was
sorry again for the red tape if we had it our way we would just show you the picture right now well need a little medical information as well has anyone in your family died after seeing the big pumpkin yes ive lost one or more relatives because they saw the big pumpkin no no one in my family has died because they saw the big pumpkin my cousin died but that was years after he saw the big pumpkin i have one or more family members who became paralyzed in some part or all of their body after seeing the big pumpkin but theyre alive and i obtained their blessing before coming here does this pumpkin look orange on your computer screen if not please recalibrate your display settings for optimal viewing of the big pumpkin my display settings have been optimized for viewing the big pumpkin what i am looking at is definitely orange but in no way a pumpkin please choose one of these dogs with a pumpkin this is simply for our own recordkeeping your choice will in no way affect our decision to show you the big pumpkin
ah excellent choice alright almost done heres a quick liability waiver dont worry we make everyone do this its to cover both your ass and our ass but youre going to be completely fine i accept full responsibility for any harm done to my physical person andor computer as a result of viewing the big pumpkin lastly please select an emergency contact before viewing the big pumpkin reverend john gerrity badboy former reverend dag havermeier who got excommunicated for giving confession while sitting on his motorcycle lets see the big pumpkin results for just a few minor formalities before we can show you the big pumpkin okay were all finished everything looks to be in order here thank you for your patience now please enjoy the big pumpkin share your results | 0 |
20,969 | Democrats ride grassroots wave to major statehouse gains | (Reuters) - Democrats claimed historic gains in Virginia’s statehouse and booted Republicans from state and local office across the United States on Tuesday, in the party’s first big wave of victories since Republican Donald Trump’s won the White House a year ago. Democrats must figure out how to turn that momentum to their advantage in November 2018 elections, when control of the U.S. Congress and scores of statehouses will be at stake. From coast to coast, Democratic victories showed grassroots resistance to Trump rallying the party’s base, while independent and conservative voters appeared frustrated with the unpopular Republican leadership in Washington. Democrats won this year’s races for governor in Virginia and New Jersey, but successes in legislative and local races nationwide may have revealed more about where the party stands a year into Trump’s administration. Unexpectedly massive Democratic gains in Virginia’s statehouse surprised even the most optimistic party loyalists in a state that has trended Democratic in recent years but remains a top target for both parties in national elections. “This is beyond our wildest expectations, to be honest,” said Catherine Vaughan, co-founder of Flippable, one of several new startup progressive groups rebuilding the party at the grassroots level. With several races still too close to call, Democrats were close to flipping, or splitting, control of the Virginia House of Delegates, erasing overnight a two-to-one Republican majority. Democratic Lieutenant Governor Ralph Northam also defeated Republican Ed Gillespie by nearly nine percentage points in what had seemed a closer contest for Virginia’s governor’s mansion, a year after Democrat Hillary Clinton carried the state by five points in the presidential election. The losing candidate had employed Trump-style campaign tactics that highlighted divisive issues such as immigration, although the president did not join him on the campaign trail. In New Jersey, a Democratic presidential stronghold, voters replaced a two-term Republican governor with a Democrat and increased the party’s majorities in the state legislature. Democrats notched additional wins in a Washington state Senate race that gave the party full control of the state government and in Republican-controlled Georgia, where Democrats picked up three seats in special state legislative elections. “This was the first chance that the voters got to send a message to Donald Trump and they took advantage of it,” John Feehery, a Republican strategist in Washington, said by phone. The gains suggested to some election analysts that Democrats could retake the U.S. House of Representatives next year. Republicans control both the House and Senate along with the White House. Dave Wasserman, who analyzes U.S. House and statehouse races for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, called the Virginia results a “tidal wave.” Even after Tuesday’s gains, however, Democrats are completely locked out of power in 26 state governments. Republicans control two-thirds of U.S. legislative chambers. Desperate to rebuild, national Democrats this year showed newfound interest in legislative contests and races even farther down the ballot. The Democratic National Committee successfully invested in mayoral races from St. Petersburg, Florida, to Manchester, New Hampshire. “If there is a lesson to be taken from yesterday, it is that we need to make sure that we are competing everywhere, because Democrats can win,” DNC Chairman Tom Perez said on a media call. Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee executive director Jessica Post said national party leaders must remain focused on local races, even in a congressional year. “We don’t focus enough on the state level, and that is why we are in the place we are,” she said. “But when we do, we win.” | 1 |
20,970 | WATCH: Kellyanne Conway Very Upset Hillary Clinton Is Not Doing Trump’s Job | White House counselor Kellyanne Conway crawled out of her crypt after two weeks in hiding to attack Hillary Clinton who is totally not the President. Former reality show star Donald Trump was sworn in 216 days ago (seems longer, huh?) and his administration is still talking about his former rival. It s not too surprising since Trump is still in campaign mode, holding rallies, likely because he still doesn t know how to President.On Thursday, Conway appeared on Fox & Friends to lash out at Trump s critics, the media, and Hillary Clinton for daring to write a book because books are bad, apparently. Where s her big c4 trying to help women and children around the globe? Conway asked as if the Clinton Foundation which helps women and children around the globe does not exist.Conway then just wondered why Clinton is not doing Trump s job. Where s her bipartisan effort to try to help with infrastructure and meaningful tax reform, or the opioid crisis that I work on in the building behind me every single day? Conway asked.Trump s policies and attempted legislation have failed to pass. There s been an exodus of staffers at various councils after his appalling speech on the Charlottesville attack which left one dead and 19 others injured. Thanks, Hillary!Someone, please tell Trump that Hillary Clinton is not holding an elected office. Passing infrastructure bills and handling the opioid crisis is all on Trump. Eradicating Obamacare would have a devastating effect on those suffering from the disease of addiction who wish to get treatment. Thanks again, Hillary.Conway then claimed that Hillary Clinton failed to make history, even though she won the popular vote and was the first woman to become the presidential nominee of a major party in the U.S.Watch: It s way over the line. @KellyannePolls reacts to James Clapper questioning Pres. Trump s fitness for office pic.twitter.com/w4Db17t6g5 FOX & friends (@foxandfriends) August 24, 2017But Trump has tried to claim repeatedly that he won the popular vote (he did not win the popular vote) but thanks for weighing in, Kellyanne. Back to the crypt with you!Image via screen capture. | 0 |
20,971 | Hillary’s Worst Enemy Just Endorsed Her Because Trump Is THAT Bad | In a surprising twist, former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced that he will be throwing his support behind Hillary Clinton rather than Donald Trump.Chertoff s endorsement isn t shocking just because of his work with President George W. Bush s administration or because he is a prominent Republican. Indeed, in this respect, he simply joins an ever-growing list of influential conservatives and ex-Bush officials who have decided that they simply cannot support the GOP s orange-hued nominee.Chertoff s support comes as such a surprise because he was one of the prosecutors during the congressional investigation into the Whitewater controversy, which involved the Clintons and their real estate investments.Chertoff, who served as the lead GOP counsel on the Senate Whitewater Committee, told Bloomberg that threats of terrorism override all the insignificant issues that were so prominent in the 90s. And with these threats in mind, Hillary Clinton is clearly the better option for the presidency. I realized we spent a huge amount of time in the 90s on issues that were much less important than what was brewing in terms of terrorism. [Clinton] has good judgment and a strategic vision of how to deal with the threats that face us, he said. People can go back decades and perhaps criticize some of the judgments that were made. That is very, very insignificant compared to the fundamental issue of how to protect the country. The breaking point for Chertoff was last week s presidential debate. Trump s sense of loyalties are misplaced, he said. Chertoff said he will be backing Clinton and cited various comments Trump has made about foreign policy as his primary reason. Some of our NATO allies sent troops overseas. At the same time, he is defending Russia and trying to dismiss what was widely acknowledged to be Russian intrusions into the databases of our political parties and political figures, Chertoff explained.According to the long-time Republican, Trump s comments about Russia during the debate were the equivalent of making enemies of your friends and cozying up to your adversaries. Trump s fat-shaming of a former Miss Universe didn t sit well with Chertoff either. This issue came up at the debate about Miss Universe, he said, referring to Alicia Machado, a Clinton supporter. Not only did he seem at the debate to lose his temper, but to get up at 3:30 a.m. and reach for your smartphone is to me a hysterical reaction, Chertoff said of Trump s late-night Twitter tantrum. If you re president, the button you reach for is not the Twitter button; it s the nuclear button. The Whitewater controversy started as an investigation into real estate investments the Clintons had made in Arkansas when Bill was governor of the state. They had invested in the Whitewater Development Corporation and lost money on the venture.Featured image via Justin Sullivan/Getty Images | 0 |
20,972 | U.S. pledges 'strong response' in event of another North Korean nuclear test | TOKYO (Reuters) - The United States will respond strongly in the case of a further North Korean nuclear test, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday, days after the North’s failure to launch what the United States believes was an intermediate-range ballistic missile. North Korea conducted a fourth nuclear test in January and a long-range rocket launch the next month, both in contravention of U.N. Security Council resolutions. Expanded U.N. sanctions aimed at starving North Korea of funds for its nuclear weapons program were approved in a unanimous Security Council vote in early March on a resolution drafted by the United States and China. Blinken, who is meeting senior Japanese government officials in Tokyo, told reporters North Korea would be digging itself deeper into a hole if it pursued further provocations. “There will be additional strong response in case of another (North Korean) nuclear test,” Blinken said, adding that such actions by North Korea were “unacceptable”. Blinken said the United States would consider “a number of possibilities” while adding that it was “premature” to be specific. Some experts expect North Korea to conduct its fifth nuclear test in the near future, possibly before its party congress in early May, following the embarrassing missile failure on Friday. | 1 |
20,973 | Senate intel committee Democrat wants to speak with Trump's son | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate intelligence committee’s top Democrat said on Monday he “absolutely” wants to speak to President Donald Trump’s son about a meeting he had during the campaign last year with a Russian attorney who has close ties to the Russian government. Senator Mark Warner told reporters he “absolutely, absolutely” wanted to speak to Donald Trump Jr., as well as anyone else who might have been involved with the meeting, including the singer-songwriter who asked a publicist to set it up. | 1 |
20,974 | Insane Racist Fired For Death Threats Against Muslims ‘Parked Too Close’ At Walmart | You thought the people passing through Fargo, North Dakota were crazy. Now we have to worry about wood chippers in the Wal-Mart parking lot.On Tuesday, genuinely terrifying racist Amber E. Hensley confronted some Muslim women who she felt had parked too close for her to get in her car, although vehicle proximity may not have been the only factor, it appears. In mere moments, the disagreement turned into death threats against sisters Sarah and Laleyla Hassan and another passenger in their car, Rowda Soyan. All are Somali-American Muslims.The trio was on their way to see a movie, Raw Story reports, when they were approached by Hensley, who shouted at them through the window of their car. After exchanging taunts about who was or was not an American, the sister with the camera, Sarah, asked the woman what are you gonna do? Hensley leaned in and told the young women just what her intentions were: We re gonna kill all of ya. We re gonna kill every one of you fuckin Muslims.Later, she asked the would-be moviegoers why are you in our country, anyway? Hensley was fired nearly as soon as the video went public. From a statement issued by Horab & Wentz, the accounting firm where she previously worked:The women, of course, disagreed about what happened when the camera wasn t rolling. After her firing, Amber Hensley posted an apology on her now-deleted Facebook page:In an interview with the Twin Cities Pioneer Press, Sarah Hassan denied ever having insulted Jesus.We Muslims, we believe in Jesus, too. If I abuse Jesus it s like I m abusing my own god and I not going to be considered a Muslim.This is a common mistake among Christians who don t know anything about Islam. There are a great many parallels between the two Abrahamic religions, although names differ between them. In addition to lying about what Sarah said, Sarah claims that Hensley also mocked her sister Lalelya s crossed eyes and said it was the reason the women were parked so poorly.Amber Hensley was, of course, a big fan of Donald Trump:Trump may have said some things years ago But Hilary has BLOOD on her hands! What's worse?!?! #trumpforpres. Amber Hensley (@ambere162000) October 9, 2016You must bring up the 12yr old rape victim Hilary called promiscuous! She defended her rapest! And she calls us deplorable! #trumpforpres Amber Hensley (@ambere162000) October 9, 2016We wish Amber E. Hensley the worst, as she searches in vain for another place that will hire crazy-ass racists who threaten to kill people for parking too close.Watch the video here:Amber Hensley. She just lost her job for this racist rant: "We're gonna kill all of ya Do you think the police care?"Don't be like her pic.twitter.com/okNXRXxSkQ The Oklahuman (@TheOklahuman) July 26, 2017Featured image via Scott Olson/Getty Images | 0 |
20,975 | Trump MELTS DOWN On Vacation, Tries To Pretend He’s Actually Working (TWEETS) | While it seems like Donald Trump hasn t worked a single full day since he stepped foot in the White House, the former reality television star apparently feels differently.Currently, Trump is busy enjoying his 17-day vacation, despite the fact that he s already spent approximately 20% of his presidency on the golf course, and much more time glued to cable news and his Twitter account. If there s any POTUS that doesn t deserve to take time off, it s certainly #45.Trump has gotten a lot of backlash over taking time off, especially considering how much Trump criticized former president Barack Obama for taking a little bit of time off. It s quite hilarious, because Obama worked his a** off for America. Trump hasn t done a damn thing besides create chaos and humiliate the country, and he s already taken three times as much time off than Obama! Here s a quick refresher of how Trump has trashed Obama over the years: Now that Trump is being outed for being the laziest POTUS we ve ever had, it s no wonder he threw an absolute FIT today in response to the criticism. This evening, Trump took a break from his golf outing at New Jersey s Bedminster Golf Resort to whine about how he s working hard and NOT on vacation, despite the fact that this is totally a vacation.Seriously pathetic. Trump even left work early to begin his golfing holiday today. The hypocrisy that follows everything Trump does is just mind-blowing. He truly lives in his own world, far removed from reality and any sort of logical thought.Trump does not deserve to be taking a holiday right now. He is ignoring America s pressing issues and the American people while creating disturbance everywhere he goes. Deep down, he knows he doesn t deserve it or else he wouldn t be so damn defensive.Featured image via Ian MacNicol / Getty Images | 0 |
20,976 | Libyan Salafist-led force breaks up comic festival for 'indecency' | TRIPOLI (Reuters) - A Libyan force that acts as an anti-crime unit in Tripoli said it had arrested the organisers of a comic festival for acts of indecency and against public morals . The arrests were carried out by the Special Deterrence Force (Rada), a Salafist-led armed group that has expanded its power under Libya s U.N.-backed Government of National Accord. Salafists are ultra-conservatives whose influence has grown across Libya in recent years. The arrests cut short the second three-day annual Comic Con festival of arts, comics, anime and gaming to be held in the capital. The arrests were made on Friday, the second day of the event. Some Libyans had attacked Comic Con organisers on social media for holding the event, saying it was un-Islamic and resembled a Halloween party. The organisers said on their Facebook page that the festival had nothing to do with Halloween. They posted no immediate comment on the arrests. Rada said in its statement that festivals like Comic Con were derived from abroad and exploit weakness of religious faith and fascination with foreign cultures . The organisers and supervisors of the event were arrested and will be presented for public prosecution for acts of indecency and against public morals, it said in a statement. It is necessary to address these destructive phenomena and fight them, which drive the dissemination of pornography and feed the minds of teenagers and motivate them to kill and mutilate through well-known cartoons. | 1 |
20,977 | All the president's women: Duterte's fiercest critics and a surly political heir | DAVAO, Philippines/MANILA (Reuters) - Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has a problem with women, says the woman who has known him longer than perhaps any other: his sister Jocellyn. He s a chauvinist, she told Reuters in a recent interview. When he sees a woman who fights him, it really gets his ire. Then Jocellyn ran through a list of Duterte s female critics that included his vice president, a prominent senator who is now in jail and the head of the Philippines Supreme Court. All three have sparred with Duterte after denouncing his brutal war on drugs, which has killed thousands of people in the Asian nation since he took office in June 2016. Duterte has joked about rape, insulted the Pope and baffled friends and foes with often contradictory public statements. Neither this, nor his profanity-laden reactions to women critics, seem to have dented his popularity among Filipinos. The 72-year-old president is a self-confessed womanizer who once told a large gathering of local officials, I can t imagine life without Viagra. On the campaign trail last year, he joked about the gang rape of an Australian missionary who was killed in a prison riot. Speaking to Philippine troops in May, he said he would take responsibility for any rape they might commit. But women s rights advocates also praise him for handing out free contraceptives in his hometown, Davao City, where he was mayor for 22 years, and for championing a reproductive health bill opposed by the country s influential Catholic Church. In a recent statement, even Human Rights Watch - a fervent critic of the drug war - acknowledged Duterte s strong support for legislation aimed at protecting and promoting women. After nearly 15 months in power, he remains highly popular with men and women alike, according to the latest survey by Manila-based pollster Social Weather Stations. While foreigners frown at Duterte s rape jokes, says Gina Lopez, a former environment secretary in Duterte s male-dominated cabinet, Filipinos judge him by his actions not his words. When I see him dealing with women in the cabinet or whatever, he has been very above-board, very decent, she told Reuters. She said this decency also once extended to Vice-President Leni Robredo, who has publicly fallen out with Duterte. She is from an opposition party and was elected separately. He really liked Leni. They got along and he was always flirting, said Lopez. That s what men do, right? In a statement to Reuters, the president s office called Duterte an advocate of women s rights who had launched a massive campaign against gender bias while mayor of Davao. As president, it added, he had hand-picked the best and brightest women for his cabinet. Three of the country s 25 cabinet secretaries or ministers are women. Duterte spends up to four days a week in his far-flung hometown Davao, ruling a nation of 100 million people not from the presidential palace in the capital, Manila, but from a modest house shaded by a jackfruit tree. Duterte was mayor of Davao for 22 years. He sleeps until lunchtime, holds cabinet meetings infrequently and sometimes announces major policies without forewarning senior officials, leaving them scrambling to catch up. Duterte s volatility has baffled Washington, which has long seen the Philippines as a bulwark against Chinese expansionism. He has courted Beijing and publicly berated the United States in rambling speeches. Much of Duterte s venom is reserved for women who oppose him. In August, he called Agnes Callamard, a U.N. special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings, a daughter of a whore after she condemned the police shooting of a teenage drug suspect. He s a misogynist, said Senator Leila de Lima, who spoke to Reuters at a police detention facility in Manila. De Lima was arrested in February on drugs charges she says were trumped up as part of a presidential vendetta. To him, women are inferior, she said. It s totally insulting to him that a woman would be fighting him. According to Jocellyn Duterte, Duterte is also fighting with the woman he hopes will cement his political legacy: his daughter Sara. Sara Duterte reluctantly replaced her father as mayor of Davao City in the southern Philippines when he became president. Father and daughter barely speak, said Jocellyn. I know in his quiet moments he considers himself a failure as a father because of Sara fighting with him, she said. Jocellyn said she had her own problems with her older brother but they now get along. They have two other brothers. Jocellyn, who refers to the president as the mayor, said Duterte still eats the same simple food their mother Soledad once cooked: cheap fish simmered in vinegar. She also traces Duterte s authoritarianism to Soledad, who punished her children with a horsewhip or made them kneel at an altar for hours. You can see that in the mayor, says Jocellyn. Sometimes people perceive it as arrogance or call it close to being a dictator. But we grew up in that atmosphere. Their father Vicente, also a politician, was often absent, and the young Duterte saw the bodyguards, police and soldiers around him as role models, his sister said. He grew up in a macho culture where wives and daughters were expected to be submissive, Jocellyn said. His daughter Sara is anything but. In 2011, during her first term as Davao s mayor, she was caught on camera punching a local official who angered her. In 2016, Sara ran as mayor again, but only because she was pressured by her father s supporters, she told Reuters. If it were up to me, I would not have run, she said. She said she now only saw her father on special occasions, such as birthdays and Christmas, but denied they had differences. He s very busy, she said. Duterte and his daughter have a normal Filipino parent-child relationship which has its own share of ups and downs, said the president s office in its statement. Like her father, Sara is blunt, down-to-earth and thronged by admirers at public appearances in Davao. She told Reuters she wanted to practice law and, once her three-year term as mayor was up, had no wish or intention to continue in politics. But in a country famous for political dynasties spanning many generations, Duterte wants his daughter to preserve what the family has done for the city, said Jocellyn. He is trying to instill in Sara that it is our legacy, she said. Maybe she needs more time. | 1 |
20,978 | Cameras Aren’t Allowed In White House Press Briefings, So CNN Got Creative | Cameras have been banned from White House press briefings, so CNN, and possibly other news outlets, have come up with a decidedly not 21st century solution. They are sending a sketch artist to cover the briefings.Bill Hennessy, the network s regular sketch artist for Supreme Court proceedings, headed over to the White House on Friday afternoon and drew Press Secretary Sean Spicer s afternoon briefing.He didn t have his usual easel, but he stood in the back of the briefing room to document the scene.Source: CNNTwitter had some fun (and outrage) with it:Don t make me use the Podium!!!!! pic.twitter.com/5epxTE95vu Kate Pugh (@KATPOOH) June 23, 2017pic.twitter.com/ypiUMxBg4U Evil MoPac (@EvilMopacATX) June 23, 2017Well, it is a crime scene. Amber Fraley (@AmberBobamber) June 23, 2017Ha! Just like a major trial! Trump the accused, Spicer for the defense, media as witnesses and it should be we the jury Donna McGill (@Cat_5_Cane) June 23, 2017Trump not allowing TV coverage of White House briefings is the equivalent of putting blindfolds on the American people. And it s DESPICABLE. JimAndrews518 (@JimAndrews518) June 23, 2017This is a sick joke. Trump is not a dictator so quit acting like sheep and stand up for your freedom and rights. Tazzy Quest (@tazzyquest) June 23, 2017Sketch artists have long been common to courtrooms, but they are a novelty for the White House, at least for the last quarter of a century. Every presidential administration for the last 25 years has allowed cameras in the press briefings, but now that the heat is on in the Russia investigation and now with an administration that lies more often than they tell the truth, news outlets have to get creative and good old analog sketch drawings it is. Hennessy isn t exclusive to CNN. There s a chance other news outlets might do the same thing.Alienating the media is perhaps one of the worst decisions in an administration full of nothing but bad decisions. The Bush administration got away with sending us into two illegal wars because they were nice to the media. Instead, the Trump administration has nothing but hostility toward the mainstream media and as a result, for the first time since cameras were allowed in press briefings, the mainstream media is doing its job. In other words, Trump can credit the media near blackout for his low approval numbers and even for the aggressive approach to the Russian investigation.Featured image via Win McNamee/Getty Images | 0 |
20,979 | LIKE VICTIMS OF SPOUSAL ABUSE…Middle Eastern Christians Fear Harsher Treatment By Muslims If U.S. Makes Rescuing Them A Priority: “Don’t Help Us Or We’ll Get Beaten Again” | So I m concerned about what I m hearing from some of the priests representing Iraqi Christians in Iraq. Patriarch Louis Sako of Baghdad said: Every reception policy that discriminates (between) the persecuted and suffering on religious grounds ultimately harms the Christians of the East He went on to explain that prioritizing Christians is not good because it invites harsher treatment from Muslims, increasing tensions and accusations that Christians communities are foreign bodies supported and defended by Western powers. The Chaldean Bishop of Aleppo, Antoine Audo SJ, said speeches or measures and laws that seem to privilege Christians feeds fanaticism and extremism. Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil, on the other hand, although more positive about the development, said that the media puts Christians in Iraq at greater risk when they cry out that this is a Muslim Ban. He wrote in an interview: Here in Iraq we Christians cannot afford to throw out words carelessly as the media in the West can do. I would ask those in the media who use every issue to stir up division to think about this. For the media these things become an issue of ratings, but for us the danger is real. Don t Help Us Or We ll Get Beaten AgainIt s true that part of what s going on, especially from Sako and Audo, is that these religious leaders don t want their flocks to flee. I can understand the desire to stay. As Christians, Audo said, we ask to be helped not to emigrate, but to have peace in our Countries, in order to continue our life and our witness in the land where we were born. Contrast those responses with that of Anglican Canon Andrew White, better known as the Vicar of Baghdad. When his parishioners in Baghdad were getting killed, he responded with, I just say, I will stay, I will not leave you, but I can t advise them to stay. The liquidation of Christianity from the Middle East is heartbreaking. But what is going on here with these representatives of Iraqi Christians is more than just the desire to stay in their homeland. Christians in Iraq and their leaders sound like abuse victims.I don t want to paint with a broad brush. There are many Iraqi Christians who desperately want to leave Iraq and are grateful for whatever help they can get. I believe Warda is the most balanced of all the leaders. His interview with Crux magazine is required reading for anyone desiring candid answers about Christians situation in Iraq.Warda is an anomaly. Most church leaders, it seems to me, sound just like spousal abuse victims: Please don t help me, he ll get mad and beat me up again. It s the same type of victim mentality: Don t help us, these Christian leaders say, because they ll increase our persecution. Asking for Decent Treatment Is Asking For ItThis battered woman syndrome in Middle Eastern Christians runs deep. This mental conditioning has been a plague on Middle Eastern Christians for a long time. In her book Christianity in Iraq, Suha Rassam recounts Muslim-Christian relations in the years when Iraq moved from British rule toward independence, under the monarchy a military coup toppled in 1958. The constitution that the British helped Iraq draft gave full and equal citizenship rights to all minorities. But this type of thinking is foreign to Middle Eastern Christians minds, given their history of being terrorized by the Muslims they live under. Standing up for representation is a sure way to get cut down. When Iraq s old constitution was being drafted, the memories of the last decades of the Ottoman rule were still alive, and as Rassam writes, the massacres of these communities [Armenians, Syrian Orthodox, Syrian Catholics, etc.] were partly attributed to Western European policies. And the failure of the Europeans to stand by their promises to them. One of the Iraqi newspapers warned: Do not forget the fate of the Armenians and the Assyrians who put their trust in Christian powers and were practically exterminated in the process. When Helping HurtsIt s true that Western intervention helped the Christian communities at times. But Rassam says much of it led to greater tragedy for Christians, complicating the relationship between Muslims and Christians. She writes: The Christians were seen [by the Muslims] as collaborators with the Europeans and identified with their policies. What Americans and most people in the West don t realize is that not only do these Christian have hundreds of years of oppressed mentality to overcome, but that the Muslims, just like wife-beaters, increase their wrathful acts upon their victims when they seek help. The increase in violence is usually triggered by a move of any Western power to help the Christians.But the answer cannot be for America or the West to do nothing. That s what the Obama administration did, and the persecution did not stop. The answer, as difficult as it is for Americans to accept, is exactly what President Trump is trying to do: give priority to the Christians who want a chance to flee the violence.Surely the wholesale removal of Christians from the Middle East is a tragedy of historic significance, but the removal of Middle Eastern Christians from the world altogether would be far worse.For entire story: The Federalist | 0 |
20,980 | Trump's "unlimited" wealth may not be enough to fund his campaign | LONDON (Reuters) - New York real estate developer Donald Trump says he has “unlimited” personal wealth to fund his White House run, but a Reuters review of his financial disclosures suggests he does not have enough cash to see his campaign through to Election Day. Trump this week dismissed concerns about his campaign finances after electoral filings showed he raised just $3 million in individual contributions in May and had a war chest of only $1 million at the end of the month. His Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, raised $26 million and ended May with a war chest of $42 million. Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee who says he is worth about $10 billion, said in a statement on Tuesday that “if need be, there could be unlimited ‘cash on hand’ as I would put up my own money.” Trump had cash and other liquid investments - money in funds, equities and cash - worth $60 million to $180 million in May, according to his filings with the Office of Government Ethics. The form does not require candidates to give precise values for their assets, only ranges. If President Barack Obama’s spending in his successful re-election bid in 2012 election is any guide, then Trump is a few hundred million dollars short. Obama spent almost $600 million between June and November 2012, according to Federal Election Commission filings. Trump’s campaign declined to comment for this story but referred to his earlier statement, in which he said his White House bid costs less than a traditional one because it is “leaner and more efficient.” If Trump did decide to self-finance his campaign, he could, in theory, tap the hundreds of millions dollars of revenue he says is generated annually by his businesses. But it’s not clear how much of this revenue he could use. Business owners can take money out of a business only after deducting operating costs and taxes. Even then, much of an entrepreneur’s corporate earnings are often used to invest in building their businesses and maintaining their property assets. Trump’s liquid assets stood at $80 million to $230 million in July last year, according to an earlier electoral filing. Using the midpoint of the ranges, Trump’s liquid assets have fallen $35 million in the past year. The drop shows his campaign spending so far has already been funded in part by dipping into savings, rather than solely from his income. “There is a real question about how much he has in terms of liquid assets,” said Norman Ornstein, a political scholar and expert in political finance at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington, citing the regulatory filings, which do not give a precise picture of Trump’s wealth. “It’s quite possible that he doesn’t have anywhere near what he suggests he has and what he does have is tied up in real estate, and selling that is no easy task,” he said. As a result, a more likely scenario would be Trump trying to borrow the funds, which could be probably done more quickly than trying to sell one of his buildings, he added. Jan Baran, a former general counsel with the Republican National Committee, said Trump may not need as much money as people think. “He’s breaking the mold on everything ... he has proven that spending large sums of money does not guarantee success,” Baran said, referring to how Trump defeated well-funded Republican rivals such as former Florida Governor Jeb Bush in the early nominating contests, or primaries. If Trump does not use his own money, he can seek donations, the traditional fund-raising route. Individual donors can contribute $2,700 each to his general election campaign. Trump has also signed a joint fundraising agreement with the Republican National Committee. The RNC currently has $20 million in cash, money that will be used to help elect Trump and Republican lawmakers across the country. Trump could also benefit if external groups like Super PACs raise money to campaign on his behalf. However, Trump has not yet blessed a Super PAC. Trump has spent around $63 million so far in his presidential bid, including $46 million in loans he made to his campaign, FERC data shows. Typically, television advertising and creating infrastructure at a state and local level to mobilize voters are the most expensive aspects of a U.S. presidential campaign. TV networks charge high fees for prime time slots and many ground troops needed to bring out the voters must be paid. So far Trump has not needed to spend much on television advertising - his fiery rhetoric on illegal immigrants and what he says are the security risks posed by refugees from the Middle East have guaranteed him blanket media coverage. Daniel Weiner, a campaign finance expert at New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice said you can get only so far with free media in an election. “TV advertising has been decreasing in importance for a long time, but the get-out-the vote stuff is crucial, particularly in an election that people perceive as being more about motivating their core voters, as opposed to winning over swing voters. And what we call ‘the ground game’ is quite expensive,” he said. Trump has said he plans to outsource some of that ground game to the RNC, for example relying on their field staff in battleground states to help get out the vote. Trump has significant real estate holdings, which he says have low debt on them. With Election Day on Nov. 8 now just four months away, some real estate experts say selling them to generate cash would be a challenge. But several bankers say Trump could conceivably borrow hundreds of millions against them, despite his history of business bankruptcies and litigation with lenders. Exactly how much he could borrow, how easily and at what interest rates depends on how much Trump owns of the buildings that he cites as his own and how much debt he has. “You have years of prosperity and you have all of these alternative lenders and you have banks that are hungry for loans,” said one veteran banking executive, who was not permitted to speak on the record.” If Trump needs to borrow tens of millions of dollars, he probably can, the executive said. “If it is hundreds of millions, that’s another matter.” | 1 |
20,981 | Chinese official optimistic about US trade amid Trump uncertainty | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang said on Tuesday that U.S. policies toward China under President-elect Donald Trump may be uncertain, but he is optimistic because of the U.S. business community’s enthusiasm for U.S.-China trade. At a luncheon with U.S. and Chinese business people and government officials, Wang said he believed that businesses and the U.S. government would ultimately make the “right choices” to take advantage of market opportunities in China’s economy. “What the U.S. government will do we will wait and see, and I think it’s difficult to predict, just like the U.S. presidential election,” Wang said through an interpreter. “The large crowd here tells us one thing. Although there will be a change in the U.S. government, the passion of the U.S. business community for economic cooperation with China has remained unchanged.” Two weeks after Trump’s stunning election on the back of anti-trade sentiment among workers in U.S. industrial states, the president-elect’s plans for managing tense relations with China remain unclear. On the campaign trail, Trump had said China is “killing us” on trade. He threatened to declare Beijing a currency manipulator, levy a 45 percent punitive tariff on all Chinese goods to reduce a massive U.S. trade deficit with China and pull out of the World Trade Organization, the global trade body that allowed China to join in 2001. As he builds his administration, Trump has added some harsh critics of China’s trade practices to his transition team, including Dan DiMicco, a former chief executive officer of steel giant Nucor Corp (NUE.N) and Washington trade lawyer Robert Lighthizer, a former trade negotiator during the Ronald Reagan administration. Wang made his remarks at the start of a round of talks of the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT), which include officials from the two countries who focus on technical issues such as safety and regulatory approvals that can become barriers to trade. Wang said the JCCT and other forums such as the cabinet-level Strategic and Economic Dialogue talks promoted by the Obama administration have helped to reduce trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies. Wang also said China would continue to offer major opportunities to American companies, including buying more than $8 trillion in total imports over the next five years. China also anticipates $500 billion in foreign direct investment from all countries and investing $720 billion overseas, while 600 million Chinese are expected to travel overseas in the same period, he said. “This will generate enormous business opportunities for the companies of all countries including the United States,” Wang said. “I think in the face of a emerging big market like China, the American companies and government will make the right choices.” Major problems in the U.S.-China relationship would be bad for both economies as well as the global economy, he added. | 1 |
20,982 | In Russia probe, Mueller's first charges a show of force | WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - President Donald Trump brushed off the first indictments in the probe of his campaign’s ties to Russian election meddling, but the charges sent a clear signal to the White House and other Trump associates: Robert Mueller means business. By going after Trump’s campaign manager and another aide on money-laundering charges and securing a guilty plea from a third campaign adviser, the special prosecutor showed he would delve deeply into the past in search of criminal activity and use his broad powers aggressively. That left some Trump associates worried about what or whom Mueller would target next, despite the White House’s public dismissal of the developments as unrelated to the president and his campaign. “They’re flexing their muscles for anybody that they approach in this investigation and letting them know we really mean it,” said former federal prosecutor Patrick Cotter. “So if we come to you, you should talk to us. Manafort didn’t and look what happened to him.” Manafort and Rick Gates are charged with money laundering, tax fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and other counts. They pleaded not guilty on Monday. The indictments, which closely detail the alleged crimes, appeared to be an opening salvo from Mueller. He was appointed by U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in May after Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, who had led an investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to influence the 2016 election. Mueller was given a mandate to probe potential collusion and “any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation.” Trump has denied any collusion with Russia and at times described the investigation as a “hoax” and a “witch hunt.” Russia has denied interfering with the 2016 election. With the first indictments on Monday, Mueller showed he was not afraid to use his powers, and Trump officials noticed. “One thing I’m worried about in a bigger scale is that Rosenstein, by giving Mueller this wide berth, has created this monster,” said one former White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. A former Trump campaign adviser fretted that the probe could, as a result, touch on Trump’s businesses, too. In a New York Times interview in July, Trump indicated that Mueller would be crossing a red line if he investigated Trump’s family business. Legal experts said Mueller would not be swayed by Trump’s view of the proper scope of the investigation. “I don’t think prosecutors concern themselves with what politicians say about red lines being drawn,” said former federal prosecutor Robert Capers. Jens David Ohlin, a professor of criminal law at Cornell Law School, said Mueller could be targeting alleged financial crimes by Manafort and Gates to gain their cooperation and uncover wrongdoing elsewhere. A number of lawyers said the guilty plea of George Papadopoulos, announced by Mueller’s team on Monday, could ultimately provide a closer link to the campaign and pressure others to open up. While the charges against Manafort and Gates were not related to their campaign work, Papadopoulos admitted he lied to the Federal Bureau of Investigation about his contacts with foreign nationals he believed to be tied to the Russian government while he was a campaign adviser. Prosecutors said they arrested Papadopoulos in July and that he was cooperating with the government. “God knows what this guy’s going to say now,” said the former Trump campaign adviser. “Since he’s cooperating, he could set any perjury traps up for others.” Cotter said Mueller’s unveiling of Papadopoulos’ guilty plea “was to head off any arguments that the case against Manafort and Gates is not about Russia.” Frank Montoya, a former senior FBI agent, said Manafort’s indictment and Papadopoulos’ plea indicated Mueller was not going to bow to White House pressure and would keep pushing hard to uncover wrongdoing. “It is pretty much a road map – we are going to be looking at the money laundering, we are going to be looking at the failure to report income, we are going to be looking at the general criminal conspiracies. This is also about Trump’s red line – we are going to cross it. And we are going to keep looking at the so-called collusion, or the coordination with the Russians to undermine democracy,” Montoya said. | 1 |
20,983 | us hacking hysteria aimed at distracting voters putin | prison planetcom october
infowars reporter owen shroyer speaks to a trump supporter that was attacked by hillary zombies at a polling station in austin texas this article was posted wednesday october at am share this article | 1 |
20,984 | Ben Stein Calls Out 9th Circuit Court: Committed a ‘Coup d’état’ Against the Constitution | 21st Century Wire says Ben Stein, reputable professor from, Pepperdine University (also of some Hollywood fame appearing in TV shows and films such as Ferris Bueller s Day Off) made some provocative statements on Judge Jeanine Pirro s show recently. While discussing the halt that was imposed on President Trump s Executive Order on travel. Stein referred to the judgement by the 9th Circuit Court in Washington state as a Coup d tat against the executive branch and against the constitution. Stein went on to call the Judges in Seattle political puppets and the judiciary political pawns. Watch the interview below for the complete statements and note the stark contrast to the rhetoric of the leftist media and pundits who neglect to note that no court has ever blocked any Presidential orders in immigration in the past or discuss the legal efficacy of the halt or the actual text of the Executive Order.READ MORE TRUMP NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Trump FilesSUPPORT OUR WORK BY SUBSCRIBING & BECOMING A MEMBER @21WIRE.TV | 0 |
20,985 | GREAT TRUMP VIDEO ON INSTAGRAM: “NOT ON MY WATCH!” | You can say what you want to about Trump but this is a great little Instagram spot from him. It gets the point across quickly. Not under my watch-A video posted by Donald J. Trump (@realdonaldtrump) on Aug 13, 2015 at 7:53am PDT | 0 |
20,986 | Judge tells ex-Trump adviser Manafort to stop communicating with media | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. federal judge on Monday issued a stern warning to President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort to refrain from making statements to the media that could harm his right to a fair trial. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson chided Manafort for ghost-writing an opinion piece that was published last week in the Kyiv Post, an English-language newspaper in Ukraine, lauding Manafort’s political work for Ukraine. Jackson said she would consider any similar future behavior to be a violation of her Nov. 8 gag order not to discuss the case with the media or make public statements in ways that could affect the case’s outcome. Jackson stopped short of granting a request from Special Counsel Robert Mueller to deny Manafort’s proposal for more lenient bail terms, saying she would take Manafort’s proposal to lift his house arrest in exchange for posting four real estate properties as collateral under advisement and rule at a later date. Prosecutors had previously asked her to deny Manafort’s request, saying his behind-the-scenes ghost-writing violated her order and raised issues of trust. “Mr. Manafort, that order applies to you, and not just your lawyer,” Jackson said. She added that the op-ed, while not published in a United States newspaper, could potentially taint a local jury pool because of the global nature of media. “All that has to happen is for that favorable article, which is going to ... look on its face to be entirely independent, but is actually in part a message crafted and shaped by you ... is to have somebody you know post it on Facebook, Twitter or a blog, and you have accomplished your goal, given the power of retweeting,” she said. Manafort and his business associate Rick Gates are facing charges including conspiracy to launder money and failing to register as a foreign agent working on behalf of former pro-Russian Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych’s government. Jackson set the next status conference hearing for Jan. 16. Jackson said she has some outstanding concerns about Manafort’s proposed bail package, including his reliance on the real estate website Zillow to come up with some of the property value estimates. Manafort earlier this month pledged about $8 million in real estate assets in New York City and elsewhere, as well as life insurance worth about $4.5 million as security for bond. In a court filing on Monday, Manafort provided information including real estate tax assessments, appraised market values and comparable sales data for the properties in New York, Virginia and Florida. Many items cited Zillow. Jackson also expressed frustration that the defendants were not always giving pre-trial services ample notice about their whereabouts, saying, “It has to be more than an hour in advance.” She added that Gates has repeatedly filed requests to get out of house arrest on the weekends to go to his children’s’ sporting events, and she urged his lawyers to reach a bail agreement with the government so the court could “get out of the business of monitoring soccer practice.” | 1 |
20,987 | Trump hovers over tight U.S. House race in Florida | ORLANDO (Reuters) - Ask John Mica why he sticks by Donald Trump, amid the defections of many fellow Republicans, and the U.S. congressman from central Florida instead touts his own work on easing traffic congestion in this tourism Mecca. Ask again about his support for Trump and the mild-mannered Mica shows subtle signs of becoming annoyed. Mica has become adept at tiptoeing around Trump questions as his support for the controversial presidential candidate complicates his effort to extend a 24-year reign in Congress. The race between Mica and his Democratic challenger, newcomer Stephanie Murphy, 38, could be a bellwether for Republicans who seek to support the party’s presidential nominee while maintaining a safe distance from some of Trump’s more controversial positions and alleged bad behavior. The course of the campaign could provide clues on whether Republicans maintain control of the House of Representatives in a year in which Trump has shaken his party and the political world with his bombast. Voters in his Orlando district “don’t care about all this garbage that’s going on” in the presidential race, says Mica, as he steers the conversation to improving healthcare for military veterans, creating jobs and expanding local airports. Mica’s re-election bid is also made unusually tough because of a newly-drawn congressional district that gives Democrats hope of a win. Murphy has sought to use Mica’s support for Trump against him by saying that just as Mica has stuck with Trump too long, he follows Republican leaders in Congress all too often. She ticks off Mica’s support for gun positions pushed by the powerful National Rifle Association, especially after June’s massacre in Orlando of 49 people at a gay nightclub. Murphy has said Mica is out of step with the reconfigured district, which she said is “evenly split” and not especially partisan. As Mica campaigns on his ability to deliver goods to his district in the form of job creation and infrastructure investment, Democrats are making sure to remind voters that he is aligned with the man who arguably is one of the most controversial major party presidential candidates in history. Democrats punctuate that with a photo of Trump and Mica side-by-side at a 2014 ceremony celebrating the start of construction of a Trump hotel in Washington. Early trends of mail-in ballots in the 7th congressional district point to a competitive race. In Orange County, 10,975 Democrats have cast early votes compared to only 6,732 Republicans and 3,525 independents. Orlando may be famous as the home of the fantasy land that is Disney World. But Mica’s district is a real-life mirror of America. Its residents are politically divided, in this case about evenly split between Republicans and Democrats and with a strong dose of independent voters. Furthermore, as in other parts of the country, Latino voters in central Florida are building political muscle. As Mica, 73, wages a ground-war that has him knocking on constituents’ doors in Orlando’s heat and humidity, he walks a fine line. He is a grandson of immigrants who boasts of being “hard nosed” against “amnesty” for the 11 million immigrants in the United States illegally. But he suggests there could be exceptions to Trump’s promise to deport them all. Building a wall on the southern border with Mexico, a linchpin of Trump’s campaign, should be done “where it makes sense,” Mica said during an interview with Reuters amid a lunchtime crowd of mainly Hispanic customers at the Lechonera El Barrio restaurant. Still, as prominent Republicans offended by the tenor of Trump’s campaign, including House Speaker Paul Ryan, distance themselves from Trump, Mica stands firm, saying, “I’m pretty much a party loyalist.” Such loyalty can come with a price, though, and Mica acknowledges, “I’m stuck with the Republican (presidential) nominee” whom he said made “vulgar, reprehensible” remarks about sexual advances on women captured in a 2005 videotape that recently became public. But there is an upside to supporting Trump as well. Mica said some supporters want to know that he is sticking with the nominee. “These people are very passionate. They’re going to be voting,” he said. Miriam Ramirez, a former Republican legislator in Puerto Rico who lives part-time in Florida and has been stumping for Mica, worries Trump could complicate Mica’s re-election. Asked whether Mica’s appeal to the district’s booming Puerto Rican population could suffer because of his association with Trump, Ramirez said, “Yes, especially in lower-income families.” Murphy, who came to the United States as a child after she and her family escaped Vietnam and were adrift in the South China Sea before being rescued by the U.S. Navy, said Trump’s “hateful and divisive rhetoric” has voters worried that he “will act on the prejudices he has laid out” if elected. “Voters choose political leaders they believe will do the best for them but also represent the best in them,” Murphy said, challenging Mica’s support of Trump. One thing seems certain in the closing weeks of the campaign: Mica is staying on message as he tiptoes around Trump, instead talking about the “interstate (highway) massive rebuild” and the airport in Seminole County that “had weeds growing up...out of the runway” and now supports thousands of jobs. (Changes to ‘grandson’ from ‘son’ in 19th paragraph) | 1 |
20,988 | History Teacher Forces Students To Watch Film Depicting Violent Crucifixion Of Jesus (VIDEO) | A history teacher who openly ranted in the classroom about how much he hates Democrats and liberals forced his students to watch a film depicting the crucifixion of Jesus.Wilbur D. Mills High School in Little Rock, Arkansas has suspended Greg Hendrix after he intentionally brought his political and religious beliefs into his classroom in an effort to indoctrinate the students under his supervision.As students walked into the class to learn about American History since 1890, they soon realized the lesson for the day had nothing to do with the last 126 years, but would instead be on a controversial event that allegedly occurred over 2000 years ago.Hendrix played Mel Gibson s The Passion of the Christ, which included scenes of Jesus being violently tortured and nailed to a cross. In protest, some students walked out rather than have religion shoved down their throats.Kristina Coffman was one of those students and she expressed discomfort over what Hendrix did. It was weird, she told THV11. He shouldn t have done it because there are a lot of students that have different religions. It just didn t feel right. One student even recorded Hendrix whining about Democrats and liberals and political correctness.In all, five students walked out of the classroom and some students who watched the film bullied others after doing so. Hendrix also made students take a quiz about the movie afterwards. Not only are parents angry, the ACLU isn t very happy about the situation either.Arkansas ACLU executive director Rita Sklar said the organization is considering filing an ethics complaint. It s religious proselytization. It has nothing to do with the class, which is history since 1890, Sklar said. Kids having the religious liberty in school means they can express their religious views. It doesn t mean the teacher can. Here s the video via THV11:Indeed, by forcing students to view the film Hendrix clearly endorsed Christianity and violated the rights of every student in his classroom as well as failing to do his job protecting students and teaching the correct subject matter. By showing this film, he also exposed the students to R-rated material that included graphic violence. Many consider the film to be anti-Semitic and scholars have criticized the film for historical and biblical inaccuracies.Clearly, this film should never have been shown to students at all, and Hendrix should have focused on history after 1890. Now he faces termination, and rightfully so.Featured image via Patheos | 0 |
20,989 | All Six Oscar Nominees For Best Foreign Film SLAM Trump And His Hate In Epic Letter | The U.S. is headed in a bad direction, as are many other countries with xenophobic, science-denying, far-right-wing nutjobs worming their way into power to tear the world apart. Last night was Oscars night, which means there were foreign films up for awards. There were six nominees in all for Best Foreign Film, and all six are concerned about the direction of the world in general, but the U.S. in specific.To that end, they wrote an absolutely amazing letter condemning the divisions and hatred that Trump and his ilk are normalizing everywhere.The nominees were Martin Zandvliet (Denmark), for Land of Mine; Hannes Holm (Sweden), for A Man Called Ove; Asghar Farhadi (Iran), for The Salesman; Maren Ade (Germany), for Toni Erdmann; and Martin Butler (Australia), for Bentley Dean-Tanna. They began their letter with: On behalf of all nominees, we would like to express our unanimous and emphatic disapproval of the climate of fanaticism and nationalism we see today in the U.S. and in so many other countries, in parts of the population, and, most unfortunately of all, among leading politicians. They re talking about politicians such as He who Lives in the White House right now, pretending he s a world leader, and all his supporters in Congress and throughout the nation. These six filmmakers see where the far right is trying to divide the world into genders, colors, religions and sexualities, orientations and identities and use those divisions to further their campaigns of fear, and yes, violence and hate.They ask what it is that cinema can do here, and they believe the answer is that cinema can provide insight into how different people live and what their lived experiences are. Then they say: We believe there is no best country, best gender, best religion or best color. We want this [Oscar] to stand as a symbol of the unity between nations and the freedom of the arts. While they do say they re concerned about this fanaticism around the world, they really do seem to be speaking to the U.S. because we ve accelerated all of this with our acceptance and election of President Asterisk. So the end of their letter is a sword pointed straight at him and his policies: We dedicate this [Oscar] to all the people, artists journalists and activists who are working to foster unity and understanding, and who uphold freedom of expression and human dignity values whose protection is now more important than ever. By dedicating the Oscar to them, we wish to express to them our deep respect and solidarity. The right loves saying that awards shows shouldn t be political, and that celebrities need to stick to what they know and stay out of politics. Oh, please. Trump is a threat to the world and to worldwide freedom. Is it really any wonder that foreign artists like these six, especially Farhadi, who hails from one of the countries Trump has tried to ban from the U.S. (and who boycotted the Oscars because of that), would make a point of singling out the U.S. and Donald Trump this way? It s not.And things like this need to be spread far and wide. Read the full letter below:All 6 #Oscar nominees for best foreign film wrote a letter denouncing fanaticism and nationalism among leading politicians in the U.S. pic.twitter.com/QC8r4vrHZX Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) February 27, 2017 Featured image by Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images | 0 |
20,990 | Three dead as Storm Ophelia batters Ireland | LAHINCH, Ireland (Reuters) - Three people died as Tropical Storm Ophelia battered Ireland s southern coast on Monday, knocking down trees and power lines and whipping up 10-metre (30-foot) waves. Over 360,000 homes and businesses were without electricity with another 100,000 outages expected by nightfall, Ireland s Electricity Supply Board said, describing it as an unprecedented event that would effect every part of the country for days. Around 170 flights from Ireland s two main airports at Dublin and Shannon were canceled. Two people were killed in separate incidents when trees fell on their cars a woman in her 50s in the south east and a man on the east coast. Another man in his 30s died while trying to clear a fallen tree in an incident involving a chainsaw. The storm, downgraded from a hurricane overnight, was the worst to hit Ireland in half a century. It made landfall after 10:40 a.m. (0940 GMT), the Irish National Meteorological Service said, with winds as strong as 190 kph (110 mph) hitting the most southerly tip of the country. Coastal flooding was likely. This storm is still very active and there are still very dangerous conditions in parts of the country. Do not be lulled into thinking this has passed, the chairman of Ireland s National Emergency Coordination Group, Sean Hogan, told national broadcaster RTE. The armed forces were sent to bolster flood defenses, public transport services and hospitals were closed and schools across Ireland and Northern Ireland will remain shut for a second day on Tuesday. Hundreds of roads were blocked by fallen trees, Hogan said. Photos on social media showed roofs flying off buildings, including at Cork City soccer club s Turner s Cross stadium where the roof of one stand had collapsed. Prime Minister Leo Varadkar advised people to stay indoors. The transport minister said it was not safe to drive. The storm winds were due to peak between 1600 GMT and 1800 GMT in Dublin and Galway, two of Ireland s most populous cities, and later on Monday in northern areas. Britain s meteorological service put an Amber Weather Warning into effect for Northern Ireland from 1400-2100 GMT, saying the storm posed a danger to life and was likely to cause transport cancellations, power cuts and flying debris. It is expected to move towards western Scotland overnight and impactful weather is expected in other western and northern parts of the United Kingdom, it said. British media are comparing Ophelia to the Great Storm of 1987, which subjected parts of the United Kingdom to hurricane strength winds 30 years ago to the day. The Irish government said the storm was likely to be the worst since Hurricane Debbie, which killed 11 in Ireland in 1961. It passed close to a western Ireland golf course owned by U.S. President Donald Trump, who has been planning a wall to protect its greens from coastal erosion. Similar storms in the past have changed the shape of stretches of the Irish coastline, climatologists said. | 1 |
20,991 | Tina Fey And Rachel Maddow Go Head To Head On ‘The Tonight Show’ (VIDEO) | Rachel Maddow has a well-earned reputation as one of the smartest people on cable news. Tina Fey has a well-earned reputation as one of the smartest comedians in the country. So what happens when you put them against each other to see who s the biggest Know It All? To answer that very question, Jimmy Fallon, host of The Tonight Show, had both Fey and Maddow on to compete in a fast-paced trivia game. I literally had no idea who was going to win (although I was rooting for Maddow). You ll have to see the outcome for yourself:Nooooooooo! Rachel got trumped (pun intended) by goat cheese! Well played, Ms. Fey well played. The only thing missing was a mic to drop.Honestly, the part I loved about this the most was watching two smart people put their brains on display. That s something we don t see as often as we used to. These days, being too smart will make people mad at you. They ll denounce you as a know it all as if knowing stuff is a bad thing! But it wasn t always like that. As The Newsroom s Will McAvoy said, We aspired to intelligence, we didn t belittle it. It didn t makes us feel inferior. Reality TV used to be quiz shows with some of the smartest people in the country held up as idols. Now we idolize the vapid and obnoxious on The Real Housewives of Who The Hell Cares and Honey Boo Boo. We used to aspire to be better than ourselves, now we just aspire to better than someone else. But with a little luck and more strong and smart role models like Fey and Maddow, maybe we can inspire a new generation to better themselves instead of tearing others down.Featured image via screencap. | 0 |
20,992 | HILLARY SUPPORTER BRAGS About Looting “White Businesses” In Milwaukee…Honors Hillary’s Equal Opportunity Card…Brings Sister Along [VIDEO] | In addition to be a disgusting criminal and an idiot, Jerome is also a Hillary supporter. His Twitter account clearly shows besides being an open criminal and racist, he s also a Hillary supporter. His bio shows support for #BlackLivesMatter and Hillary (#ImWithHer).Jayrome Williams also tweets his support for Hillary:Here s Jayrome (damn auto-correct keeps trying to make his name Jerome!) bragging about going out to loot businesses while taking advantage of cries for riots over death of armed black man running from police who refused to drop his stolen gun:https://twitter.com/BrotherTooTurnt/status/765033077995343872https://twitter.com/BrotherTooTurnt/status/764682372746973184https://twitter.com/BrotherTooTurnt/status/764681054846328832Jayrome specifically mentions the White owned businesses he s gonna loot:https://twitter.com/BrotherTooTurnt/status/764706238894604288Here s Jayrome bragging about the loot he got for a hard nights work of stealing from white owned businesses. https://twitter.com/BrotherTooTurnt/status/764889161623011329Here s Jayrome bragging about bringing his sister along for the looting. He wouldn t be a true Hillary supporter if he wasn t willing to give his sister the same opportunity to steal from the white man would he?https://twitter.com/BrotherTooTurnt/status/764710518443704320Here s a re-tweet by Hillary supporter Jayrome Williams. No wonder he supports Hillary. She wants to take guns out of the hands of legal gun owners, leaving only thugs with guns Don't send no threats at gang if you ain't down for war, cause we strapped up with guns that ya'll can't afford! Forgi (@jayforgi) August 11, 2016 | 0 |
20,993 | NYC mayor presents $82.2 billion budget, overhauls hospitals | NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City’s Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a $82.2 billion budget plan for the 2017 fiscal year on Tuesday, and promised an overhaul of the city’s ailing public hospitals that treat large numbers of undocumented patients. De Blasio, who hails from progressive circles of the Democratic Party, took office in 2014 after winning a landslide victory on a platform to reduce inequalities in the city. “At its core, our budget is our roadmap for lifting up communities,” de Blasio said. “The strategic investments we have put to work in every neighborhood, coupled with disciplined fiscal management, are producing real results for New Yorkers.” De Blasio said the city’s public hospital system, recently rebranded as Health & Hospitals, is facing spiraling costs due to undocumented patients and would see a $1.8 billion deficit by 2020 if the city took no action. The executive budget dedicates $2 billion to overhauling the $7.5 billion system, which treats around 1.4 million people per year. About a third of its patients are undocumented immigrants and cost the system over $2 billion each year, the mayor said. Health & Hospitals core revenue from treating poorer patients on federal and state support is under pressure as more private hospitals compete for these patients. That has left the system with a larger share of undocumented patients. The executive budget plan for the fiscal year beginning July 1 closely tracks a preliminary budget estimate of $82.1 billion the mayor presented in January. The total budget represents a small increase over the previous year’s $81.7 billion spending plan. The executive budget increases the city’s reserves by $250 million, bringing its retiree health benefits trust fund to $3.7 billion. General reserves amount to $1 billion and $500 million is allocated to the city’s capital stabilization reserve. Budget officials said reserves were the highest in the city’s history. The mayor has repeatedly stressed the need to prepare for an economic downtown in which the city would have to “go it alone” with reduced federal and state support. | 1 |
20,994 | Super Tuesday showdown: How the South won the spotlight | ATLANTA (Reuters) - Things were not looking too good a year ago for Georgia’s top elections officer as he tried to stitch together a mega-presidential primary in the U.S. South. Efforts to bring Alabama and Arkansas online had stalled. Tennessee was threatening to defect. But Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp kept working the phones, arguing that a bloc of Southern states all voting on March 1 was the only way to make U.S. presidential candidates pay attention to the region. Eventually key state leaders came around and their effort seems to have paid off. Candidates have campaigned more in the South this election year in an effort to woo a group of states voting early on so-called Super Tuesday than Kemp can recall seeing in any contemporary primary. And the seven states holding contests in the region appear poised to play a pivotal role in selecting the Republican and Democratic nominees for the Nov. 8 race. “In years past, we’ve been an afterthought,” Kemp said at the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta last week. “That’s certainly not the case this year.” Elections officials nationally are watching how the concurrent races in the South play out on Tuesday, and are talking about possibly replicating the strategy in other parts of the country to win a greater say in the primaries. Kemp has dubbed the coordinated Southern races that he’s orchestrated the “SEC primary” - or Southeastern Conference primary - after a regional college athletic conference. “This represents an attempt to introduce primary reform,” said Kay Stimson, spokeswoman for the National Association of Secretaries of State, which for years has urged holding regional primaries that would rotate around the nation. “Brian Kemp took the ball and ran with it,” she added. It was not easy. A year ago, Kemp stood in his statehouse office fretting that bills to set the primary date in Alabama and Arkansas were not going to pass. An Alabama state party chair was worried her state would get lost in a big group, he said, but Kemp argued that Alabama would still be better off by voting when it was early enough to matter. In Arkansas, the bill to change the primary date did not pass until it was included in a special legislative session. Kemp even feared trouble in Tennessee after his counterpart there said there was a rumor circulating that the “SEC Primary” states were thinking about moving back by a week. “No,” Kemp replied. “Our coalition is holding together.” “WAFFLE HOUSE” v. “SEC” PRIMARY Kemp, 52, a boots-wearing small business owner who drives a Chevrolet Suburban with more than 430,000 miles on it, jokes he could have dubbed his effort the “Waffle House primary,” for a restaurant chain prevalent in the region. But athletics jumped out as a common passion for the Southern states he helped to bring together: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. Four other states, from Alaska to Vermont, also hold contests to award delegates on Super Tuesday. Kemp’s plan to concentrate attention on the South did not initially excite Alabama’s John Merrill, who had other priorities as that state’s newly elected elections chief. But after hearing the then secretary of state from Iowa - which holds the country’s first nominating contest - talk about how voters there would never back a candidate they had not met eight times, he rallied bipartisan support. “Do you know just how few times anybody in Alabama has ever had the privilege to interact with a presidential candidate on a personal basis, let alone do it more than once?” Merrill said. Candidates began showing up once the regional primary was in place. A rally for Republican billionaire businessman Donald Trump drew as many as 30,000 people to a football stadium in Mobile, Alabama in August, for example. The primaries in the politically conservative South got a boost in significance this year from the size and unpredictability of the Republican presidential field. On the Democratic side, the region’s large concentrations of African-American voters are seen as a test of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s and U.S. Senator from Vermont Bernie Sanders’ appeal with a key Democratic voting bloc. While the South has not seen such a coordinated effort in decades, it is not the first time the states have tried to gang up. Yet in 1988, when the region almost entirely held primaries on March 8, votes were split among Democratic candidates and the contest left the South to be settled elsewhere. A number of states eventually walked away from the plan. “The experience in 1988 was not one that the powers-that-be at the time really wanted,” said Josh Putnam, a lecturer in political science at the University of Georgia. Nonetheless, other regions are eyeing the Southern model. Washington state Secretary of State Kim Wyman failed last year to persuade several neighboring states to coordinate their primaries but plans another push in the next cycle. “We could have a Pac-12,” she joked, referring to a Pacific Coast-oriented college athletic conference. “Or at least get some of the Western states to go on the same day, so candidates might actually come and visit us and campaign.” | 1 |
20,995 | USA's Tillerson and Saudi crown prince discuss terrorism by phone | RIYADH (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called Saudi Arabia s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday to discuss regional security, Saudi state news agency SPA reported. The two discussed ways to combat terrorism and coordination of efforts to reinforce security and the stability of the region, according to the report. | 1 |
20,996 | Trump won't trade U.S. jobs for China's help on North Korea: Ross | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump does not intend to trade away U.S. jobs for China’s help on North Korea, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Monday, adding that there were “constructive” talks with Beijing underway on trade issues. In an interview with CNBC, Ross rowed back from Trump’s comments in a CBS interview on Saturday that China’s help on North Korea “trumps trade.” Asked if the need for China’s help to contain threats from North Korea had made it more difficult to be tough with Beijing on trade issues, Ross said he did not think so. “We’ve been having some very constructive discussions on trade with the Chinese in parallel” to discussions on North Korea, Ross told CNBC. “I think what the president was trying to say is that we’re trying to have an overall constructive relationship with China on a variety of topics, the most pressing of which, because it directly involves human lives, is the North Korea situation. I don’t think he meant to indicate at all that he intends to trade away American jobs just for help on North Korea,” Ross said. Ross also reaffirmed that the administration intended to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, not withdraw from it. He called NAFTA “an ancient treaty” that does nothing to address the digital economy, very little to address services, and has many “obsolete” provisions, such as those on rules of origin, allowing in too many components and products from outside the United States, Canada and Mexico. He said, however, Mexico’s July 2018 national elections could become an obstacle if negotiations were not completed well before then. “The closer we get to the election, the more difficult it will be to get anything through,” Ross said. Asked about White House National Trade Council Director Peter Navarro’s role in trade policy, Ross said he was “not a trade negotiator,” but was working with the U.S. Trade Representative, and the Commerce Department as “a kind of triumvirate” on trade. Ross added that Navarro was spending a lot of time on “Buy American, Hire American” initiatives as part of his focus on U.S. trade deficits. Trump created the role for Navarro after he served as the principal economic advisor to his 2016 election campaign. | 1 |
20,997 | HYSTERICAL! HERE’S WHY TRUMP SAID TO REPORTER: “I’m president and you’re not” | Read more:WT | 0 |
20,998 | Elizabeth Warren Strikes Back At Trump After He Responds To Her, And It Is EPIC (TWEETS) | When dealing with a candidate who has the maturity level of an elementary school student, you re going to have to expect name-calling, and now Donald Trump is now using this tactic against Hillary Clinton and Elizabeth Warren. Two very powerful women, but two very powerful women that aren t about to put up with his horseshit tactics. They may have worked against his ridiculous Republican competition, but no, not now. He ll be called out and taken to task.Which is exactly has what just happened when Trump decided to hit back at Warren s viral Facebook post calling him out.Trump took to twitter, several days after Warren called him out, and decided to try to pull his same old song and dance. He tweeted:I hope corrupt Hillary Clinton chooses goofy Elizabeth Warren as her running mate. I will defeat them both. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 6, 2016And then continues this name-calling for a few more tweets:Let s properly check goofy Elizabeth Warren s records to see if she is Native American. I say she s a fraud! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 6, 2016Goofy Elizabeth Warren, Hillary Clinton s flunky, has a career that is totally based on a lie. She is not Native American. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 6, 2016Crooked Hillary Clinton wants completely open borders. Millions of Democrats will run from her over this and support me. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 7, 2016So, Elizabeth Warren comes right back at him and calls him what he absolutely is lame. She wrote: I called out Donald Trump on Tuesday. 45 million saw it. He s so confident about his counter punch he waited until Friday night. Lame. I called out @realDonaldTrump on Tuesday. 45 million saw it. He's so confident about his "counter punch" he waited until Friday night. Lame. Elizabeth Warren (@elizabethforma) May 7, 2016Oh, but she didn t stop there. She went after him HARD. Goofy, @realDonaldTrump? For a guy with "the best words" that s a pretty lame nickname. Weak! Elizabeth Warren (@elizabethforma) May 7, 2016We saw what happened when birthers like @realDonaldTrump attacked @BarackObama. They lost big. American voters knew better. Elizabeth Warren (@elizabethforma) May 7, 2016We saw when Scott Brown attacked my family & his staff made tomahawk chops & war whoops. They lost big. MA voters knew better. Elizabeth Warren (@elizabethforma) May 7, 2016.@realdonaldtrump is a bully who has a single play in his playbook offensive lies thrown at anyone who calls him out. Elizabeth Warren (@elizabethforma) May 7, 2016.@realDonaldTrump spews insults and lies because he can t have an honest conversation about his dangerous vision for America. Elizabeth Warren (@elizabethforma) May 7, 2016But here's the thing. You can beat a bully not by tucking tail and running, but by holding your ground. Elizabeth Warren (@elizabethforma) May 7, 2016If you think recycling Scott Brown's hate-filled attacks on my family is going to shut me up, @realDonaldTrump, think again buddy. Weak. Elizabeth Warren (@elizabethforma) May 7, 2016The @GOP's hate-filled lies didn t scare me before, @realDonaldTrump. And they don't scare me now. Elizabeth Warren (@elizabethforma) May 7, 2016The @GOP's hate-filled lies didn t scare me before, @realDonaldTrump. And they don't scare me now. Elizabeth Warren (@elizabethforma) May 7, 2016.@realDonaldTrump lied his way through the primaries without being held accountable. That s over. Elizabeth Warren (@elizabethforma) May 7, 2016Whatever @realDonaldTrump says, we won't shut up. We won't back down. This election is too important, & he won t step foot in White House. Elizabeth Warren (@elizabethforma) May 7, 2016The lesson to be learned here? Don t fuck with Elizabeth Warren. She s smarter than you, she s wittier than you, and she ll call you on your shit faster than you can say your own name.Good on you, Senator Warren. Never stop being you. Keep holding him to task and we will be standing right there with you.Featured Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images | 0 |
20,999 | Rescue ship says Libyan coast guard shot at and boarded it, seeking migrants | ROME (Reuters) - A Libyan coast guard vessel fired shots and boarded a humanitarian ship in the Mediterranean on Tuesday, demanding that the migrants on board be handed over to them, a spokesman for the Mission Lifeline charity said. The Libyan man said: This is our territory, said Axel Steier, a spokesman for the German-based charity that performed its first rescues on Tuesday. After a while, they fired shots, he said, probably into the air or sea. No one was wounded. Afterward two Libyans boarded the Lifeline ship to try to persuade them to hand over some 70 migrants they had just taken off a wooden boat in international waters. We told them we don t return migrants to Libya. After a while, they gave up, Steier said. The two men spent about 15 minutes on board, he said. A Libyan coast guard spokesman in Tripoli declined to comment, saying he was seeking information. Italy s coast guard, which coordinates rescues, did not respond to repeated telephone calls. It was the latest incident reported between the Libyan coast guard and humanitarian rescue ships operating off North Africa. Financed, trained and equipped by Italy, the Tripoli-based coastguard is intercepting a growing number of migrant boats. Last month, the Libyan coast guard ordered a Spanish rescue vessel to sail to Tripoli or risk being fired upon, though it later let it go. The worsening security situation has prompted several groups to halt rescue operations, and those who remain tend to patrol further from shore. This year the Libyan coast guard had stopped 16,567 people before they were rescued and taken to Italy, according to the International Organization for Migration. But overall departures are down more than 20 percent and they dropped more than 80 percent in August after an armed group in Sabratha clamped down on smuggling. Italy is counting on the Libyan coast guard together with the Tripoli and municipal governments to put a halt to migrant arrivals from a country that has been torn by civil war and factional fighting since the ouster of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The policy has been harshly criticized by humanitarian groups because of the dire conditions of Libya s detention centers and the inhumane treatment of migrants in general in Libya. Despite recent declines in departures, almost 1,000 migrants were rescued on Tuesday. Save the Children s Vos Hestia ship picked up some 750 people in six different rescues, a spokeswoman said, and the Lifeline had more than 200 on board. SOS Mediterranee s Aquarius ship picked up 20 Libyans on Monday. There is no longer any work in Libya and you risk being attacked, a 26-year-old Libyan rescued told members of the SOS crew. It is impossible to live in Libya, it has become too dangerous. | 1 |
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