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2,100 | Trump mulls national security adviser pick, White House promises autonomy | WEST PALM BEACH, Fla./WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump may do another round of interviews for the position of national security adviser with new or existing candidates on Monday as he scrambles to fill the post following the ouster of Michael Flynn. Trump interviewed four finalists on Sunday and may meet with some of them again on Monday, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters. The president interviewed acting adviser Keith Kellogg, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton, Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster and Lieutenant General Robert Caslen at his Mar-a-Lago resort. “We may have some additional meetings and names tomorrow, and may also meet with a couple of those people again,” Sanders said in Florida. Trump returns to Washington on Monday. The national security adviser is one of the most senior jobs at the White House, holding broad influence over U.S. foreign policy across the globe and presiding over the National Security Council staff. White House officials made clear on Sunday that the new adviser would have autonomy over staffing decisions, an issue that has been reported to have thwarted some other candidates. Trump’s first choice to fill the job after Flynn’s departure, Vice Admiral Robert Harward, turned it down, citing family and financial reasons. Another potential choice, David Petraeus, a retired general and former CIA chief who resigned in 2012 over an extramarital affair, was cut from the president’s short list. Sources familiar with the candidates’ thinking said they both wanted control over staffing of their team, and Trump was reluctant to grant that authority. White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus denied the reports that Harward and Petraeus wanted more control than Trump was prepared to give, and said in an interview on “Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace” that the new adviser “can do whatever he or she wants to do with the staffing.” He said the issue never came up in discussions with Harward and they “hadn’t really gone down the road” with Petraeus. The White House confirmed that Craig Deare, the NSC’s senior director for Western Hemisphere Affairs, had left that role. Politico reported that he was dismissed for criticizing the president and his top aides. “He was just sent back to his original position, so he wasn’t fired,” Sanders said. Deare is on the faculty of the National Defense University. Asked if government employees should be concerned that they would lose their jobs if they criticized Trump, Sanders said: “I don’t think that any person that is there in order to carry out the president’s agenda should be against the president’s agenda.” The national security adviser is an independent aide to the president and does not require confirmation by the U.S. Senate. The role has varied from administration to administration, but the adviser attends National Security Council meetings along with the heads of the State Department, the Department of Defense and key security agencies. Trump has added Steve Bannon, his chief White House strategist, as a regular attendee of NSC meetings. Political strategists have not typically been among NSC participants and Bannon’s addition has drawn sharp criticism because of his previous role heading right-wing website Breitbart News. For a Graphic on Trump assembles his administration, click: here | 1 |
2,101 | BINGO! Judge Napolitano: New Emails Found on Weiner’s Computer Will Lead to Clinton Indictment [Video] | More evidence is mounting against Hillary Clinton: Judge Napolitano just said that the new e-mails found on Anthony Weiner s computer will lead to an indictment for Hillary Clinton if the FBI reopens the case: On Tuesday, Judicial Watch reported that 2,800 new emails that were Huma Abedin government files were found on Weiner s computer:As evidence mounts against Clinton, a new bombshell was just discovered:Yesterday, the founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange sent a cryptic tweet that contained a series of number and letters. Someone out there knows what that code means, and they are very likely shaking in their boots today.4767 5774 6a7a 4d6c 6330 666b 314a 3453 0000 0907 84b4 f787 7616 86f7 a737 5707 5736 Julian Assange (@JulianAssange) October 15, 2017On another front, two writers from separate publications were set to publish what Sean Hannity was calling a huge bombshell story that was due to break today.Last night on Fox News Hannity show, Sean Hannity warned that a huge bombshell would be breaking today. Sean told his audience that Circa News Sara Carter and The Hill s John Solomon have HUGE BREAKING NEWS. Hannity told his audience, Let me put it this way, if I m Hillary or fake news, I won t be sleeping well tonight. Watch:.@seanhannity TICK TOCK Tonight Folks Get ready @HillaryClinton pic.twitter.com/PxbRCgyPwm 'GITMO' BAMA (@President1Trump) October 17, 2017Well, John Solomon and Alison Spann s story did indeed break first thing today in The Hill, and it s a doozy. Will justice finally be delivered to these corrupt, anti-American, self-serving and lying players? Not providing information on a corruption scheme before the Russian uranium deal was approved by U.S. regulators and engage appropriate congressional committees has served to undermine U.S. national security interests by the very people charged with protecting them. The Russian efforts to manipulate our American political enterprise is breathtaking. Former House Intelligence Chair Mike Rogers (R-MI)The Hill Before the Obama administration approved a controversial deal in 2010 giving Moscow control of a large swath of American uranium, the FBI had gathered substantial evidence that Russian nuclear industry officials were engaged in bribery, kickbacks, extortion and money laundering designed to grow Vladimir Putin s atomic energy business inside the United States, according to government documents and interviews.Federal agents used a confidential U.S. witness working inside the Russian nuclear industry to gather extensive financial records, make secret recordings and intercept emails as early as 2009 that showed Moscow had compromised an American uranium trucking firm with bribes and kickbacks in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, FBI and court documents show.They also obtained an eyewitness account backed by documents indicating Russian nuclear officials had routed millions of dollars to the U.S. designed to benefit former President Bill Clinton s charitable foundation during the time Secretary of State Hillary Clinton served on a government body that provided a favorable decision to Moscow, sources told The Hill.The racketeering scheme was conducted with the consent of higher level officials in Russia who shared the proceeds from the kickbacks, one agent declared in an affidavit years later.Rather than bring immediate charges in 2010, however, the Department of Justice (DOJ) continued investigating the matter for nearly four more years, essentially leaving the American public and Congress in the dark about Russian nuclear corruption on U.S. soil during a period when the Obama administration made two major decisions benefitting Putin s commercial nuclear ambitions.The first decision occurred in October 2010, when the State Department and government agencies on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States unanimously approved the partial sale of Canadian mining company Uranium One to the Russian nuclear giant Rosatom, giving Moscow control of more than 20 percent of America s uranium supply.When this sale was used by Trump on the campaign trail last year, Hillary Clinton s spokesman said she was not involved in the committee review and noted the State Department official who handled it said she never intervened on any [Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States] matter. In 2011, the administration gave approval for Rosatom s Tenex subsidiary to sell commercial uranium to U.S. nuclear power plants in a partnership with the United States Enrichment Corp. Before then, Tenex had been limited to selling U.S. nuclear power plants reprocessed uranium recovered from dismantled Soviet nuclear weapons under the 1990s Megatons to Megawatts peace program. The Russians were compromising American contractors in the nuclear industry with kickbacks and extortion threats, all of which raised legitimate national security concerns. And none of that evidence got aired before the Obama administration made those decisions, a person who worked on the case told The Hill, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution by U.S. or Russian officials.The Obama administration s decision to approve Rosatom s purchase of Uranium One has been a source of political controversy since 2015.That s when conservative author Peter Schweitzer and The New York Times documented how Bill Clinton collected hundreds of thousands of dollars in Russian speaking fees and his charitable foundation collected millions in donations from parties interested in the deal while Hillary Clinton presided on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.The Obama administration and the Clintons defended their actions at the time, insisting there was no evidence that any Russians or donors engaged in wrongdoing and there was no national security reason for any member of the committee to oppose the Uranium One deal.But FBI, Energy Department and court documents reviewed by The Hill show the FBI, in fact, had gathered substantial evidence well before the committee s decision that Vadim Mikerin the main Russian overseeing Putin s nuclear expansion inside the United States was engaged in wrongdoing starting in 2009.Then-Attorney General Eric Holder was among the Obama administration officials joining Hillary Clinton on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States at the time the Uranium One deal was approved. Multiple current and former government officials told The Hill they did not know whether the FBI or DOJ ever alerted committee members to the criminal activity they uncovered.Spokesmen for Holder and Clinton did not return calls seeking comment. The Justice Department also didn t comment.Mikerin was a director of Rosatom s Tenex in Moscow since the early 2000s, where he oversaw Rosatom s nuclear collaboration with the United States under the Megatons to Megwatts program and its commercial uranium sales to other countries. In 2010, Mikerin was dispatched to the U.S. on a work visa approved by the Obama administration to open Rosatom s new American arm called Tenam.Between 2009 and January 2012, Mikerin did knowingly and willfully combine, conspire confederate and agree with other persons to obstruct, delay and affect commerce and the movement of an article and commodity (enriched uranium) in commerce by extortion, a November 2014 indictment stated.His illegal conduct was captured with the help of a confidential witness, an American businessman, who began making kickback payments at Mikerin s direction and with the permission of the FBI. The first kickback payment recorded by the FBI through its informant was dated Nov. 27, 2009, the records show. The investigation was ultimately supervised by then-U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein, an Obama appointee who now serves as President Trump s deputy attorney general, and then-Assistant FBI Director Andrew McCabe, now the deputy FBI director under Trump, Justice Department documents show.On August 6, 2017, The Washington Times questioned Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein s fishing expedition aimed at digging up dirt on President Trump in his investigation in the Trump-Russia investigation. The special counsel is subject to the rules and regulations of the Department of Justice, and we don t engage in fishing expeditions, Mr. Rosenstein said on Fox News Sunday. In his first Sunday show interview, Mr. Rosenstein added that special counsel Robert Mueller understands and I understand the specific scope of the investigation and so, it s not a fishing expedition. Mr. Rosenstein s comments come amid reports citing unnamed sources that the investigation has expanded into Mr. Trump s finances unrelated to possible Russian interference in last year s election.Mr. Rosenstein played down the reports: That s not anything that I ve said. That s not anything Director Mueller has said. We don t know who s saying it or how credible those sources are. Both men now play a key role in the current investigation into possible, but still unproven collusion between Russia and Donald Trump s campaign during the 2016 election.McCabe is under congressional and Justice Department inspector general investigation in connection with money his wife s Virginia state Senate campaign accepted in 2015 from now-Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe at a time when McAuliffe was reportedly under investigation by the FBI.The connections to the current Russia case are many. The Mikerin probe began in 2009 when Robert Mueller, now the special counsel in charge of the Trump case, was still FBI director. And it ended in late 2015 under the direction of then-FBI Director James Comey, who Trump fired earlier this year.Bringing down a major Russian nuclear corruption scheme that had both compromised a sensitive uranium transportation asset inside the U.S. and facilitated international money laundering would seem a major feather in any law enforcement agency s cap.But the Justice Department and FBI took little credit in 2014 when Mikerin, the Russian financier and the trucking firm executives were arrested and charged.The only public statement occurred an entire year later when the Justice Department put out a little-noticed press release in August 2015, just days before Labor Day. The release noted that the various defendants had reached plea deals.The lack of fanfare left many key players in Washington with no inkling that a major Russian nuclear corruption scheme with serious national security implications had been uncovered.On Dec. 15, 2015, the Justice Department put out a release stating that Mikerin, a former Russian official residing in Maryland was sentenced today to 48 months in prison and ordered to forfeit more than $2.1 million.Ronald Hosko, who served as the assistant FBI director in charge of criminal cases when the investigation was underway, told The Hill he did not recall ever being briefed about Mikerin s case by the counterintelligence side of the bureau despite the criminal charges that were being lodged. I had no idea this case was being conducted, a surprised Hosko said in an interview.Meanwhile, Julian Assange is jumping on the bandwagon, as he teases that he has a major announcement of his own that is coming soon Russian nuclear bribery investigation reveals that Russia routed millions to the Clintons https://t.co/ti7ycn7auf Julian Assange (@JulianAssange) October 17, 2017 | 0 |
2,102 | Franchises appeal Seattle minimum wage case to U.S. Supreme Court | (Reuters) - A business group said on Monday it was asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear its appeal of a lower-court ruling tossing out its challenge of part of Seattle’s law to increase the minimum wage. The International Franchise Association, which brought its lawsuit against the city in June 2014, says the law favors independent businesses because it requires franchises like McDonald’s and Burger King to phase in the new $15 minimum wage more quickly. “Our appeal has never sought to prevent the City of Seattle’s wage law from going into effect,” association President Robert Cresanti said in a statement. “Our appeal to the Supreme Court will be focused solely on the discriminatory treatment of franchisees under Seattle’s wage law and the motivation to discriminate against interstate commerce,” he said. The association’s lawsuit challenges the law’s treatment of franchises as subsidiaries of parent companies, rather than completely separate businesses. Representatives for the city could not be immediately reached for comment. Commenting on the lawsuit last year, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, a Democrat who championed the wage hike, said: “Rather than investing in lawyers to prevent workers from earning higher wages, it is time for these large businesses to begin investing in a higher minimum wage for their employees.” A federal judge last March denied the group’s lawsuit, saying it failed to back up its discrimination claims. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that decision in September. The law, which took effect on April 1 last year, requires businesses in Seattle with more than 500 employees nationwide to raise their minimum wage to $15 by 2018. Smaller companies have until 2021. Seattle is among a number of large U.S. cities to pass laws raising the minimum wage above $10 an hour. The franchise association’s lawsuit could have an impact in cities like Chicago and San Francisco. The association said it expected the Supreme Court to say in the spring whether it would take the case. | 1 |
2,103 | U.S. Republicans ax disclosure, emissions rules on energy | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Republicans on Friday repealed a securities disclosure rule aimed at curbing corruption at energy and mining companies and voted to ax emissions limits on drilling operations, part of a push to remove Obama-era regulations on extractive industries. In a 52-47 vote, the Republican-controlled Senate approved a resolution to eradicate a rule requiring companies such as Exxon Mobil and Chevron Corp to publicly state taxes and other fees paid to foreign governments like Russia. The House of Representatives already passed the measure. President Donald Trump is expected to sign it within days. On Thursday, the Senate repealed a rule that would have limited coal companies from dumping waste into streams. After a number of legal battles, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in June 2016 completed the regulation, which supporters said could help expose questionable financial ties U.S. companies may have with foreign governments. Senate Democrats raised concerns that Exxon’s chief executive during those legal fights was Rex Tillerson, who was recently confirmed as U.S. secretary of state and has worked extensively in Russia. “It should be lost on no one that in less than 48 hours, the Republican-controlled Senate has confirmed the former head of ExxonMobil to serve as our secretary of state, and repealed a key anti-corruption rule that Exxon Mobil and the American Petroleum Institute have erroneously fought for years,” Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland said, referring to the oil industry’s trade group. Exxon and other major energy corporations fought for years to block the rule, required by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law. Cardin, the senior Democrat on the foreign relations committee, wrote the Dodd-Frank section on the payments to foreign governments with Richard Lugar, a former Republican senator. Critics of the rule said it duplicated existing regulations, was too costly and burdensome for companies to implement and that it put U.S. companies at a competitive disadvantage with state-owned companies in other countries that do not have to divulge such information. The change could give American companies an edge over Canadian and European companies that face some of the toughest transparency rules in the world. Republicans have taken advantage of a seldom-used law known as the Congressional Review Act to overturn recently enacted rules with simple majorities in both chambers, denying senators the opportunity to filibuster and stall a vote. Democrats said Republicans were using the review act to help companies not the public. “When it comes to giving public resources to private interests and gutting our nation’s health, environmental and financial standards, the Republicans can’t seem to act fast enough,” said Representative Raul Grijalva. “Whoever they’re doing this for, it isn’t the American public.” The Congressional Review Act also bars agencies from revisiting overturned rules, which could pose a legal conundrum for the SEC, which is required by law to enact a payments regulation. The Senate will next consider repealing a rule limiting venting and leaking of the powerful greenhouse gas methane by oil and gas drillers on federal and tribal lands, mostly in the U.S. West. The repeal was passed by the Republican-controlled House on Friday. The Interior Department finalized the methane rule in November. The oil industry has argued that it would add to costs for new and existing wells. Environmentalists have said the rule would protect human health and return more than $800 million in royalties to taxpayers over 10 years. | 1 |
2,104 | Iraq refuses talks with Kurdistan about independence referendum results | BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The Iraqi government will not hold talks with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) about the results of the unconstitutional referendum on independence held on Monday in northern Iraq, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said. We are not ready to discuss or have a dialogue about the results of the referendum because it is unconstitutional, Abadi said in a speech broadcast on state TV on Monday night. Masoud Barzani s KRG says the referendum is not binding and was meant to be a legitimate mandate to negotiate with Baghdad and neighboring countries over the secession of the Kurdish-controlled region from Iraq. The vote was expected to deliver a comfortable yes , and final results should be announced in 72 hours. | 1 |
2,105 | U.S. special envoy says Kurdish referendum has 'a lot of risks' | NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. presidential envoy to the coalition fighting the Islamic State insurgent group said on Friday that a referendum on Kurdish independence in northern Iraq carries a lot of risks. The envoy, Brett McGurk, told reporters: The (Kurdish) referendum just carries an awful lot of risks and that s not something the United States can control. ... In terms of the consequences of the referendum it s not something that we can fully control, (it) just carries a lot of risks. | 1 |
2,106 | 200 SOCIALIST RADICALS Storm Heritage Foundation In DC: “We’re shutting it down!” [Video] | A group called People s Action just held their big gathering in Washington, DC yesterday. They had the usual suspects like Keith Ellison and Socialist Bernie Sanders speak at the meeting. They were protesting against cuts from the budget The bottom line is the radicals don t want any cuts to big government because they want to keep the cradle to grave freebies going. Socialist Bernie Sanders was ready to fill their minds with visions of freebies from big government.EARLIER TODAY, the group decided to hit Heritage Foundation headquarters by storming the offices with 200 thugs.HERE S WHAT THEY SAID: We re shutting it down at @Heritage because it continues to be @realDonaldTrump s think tank. #RiseUp2017 #Budget4ThePeopleWe re shutting it down at @Heritage because it continues to be @realDonaldTrump s think tank. #RiseUp2017 #Budget4ThePeople pic.twitter.com/bnerOnBBa0 People s Action (@PplsAction) April 25, 2017Soros funded groups are all over DC with their push to keep Obama s agenda going. They got some help from Socialist Bernie Sanders who wants justice, justice, justice He s playing to his base in the video below:We must stand with @PplsAction and people all over this country in the fight for justice. Mr. Trump, you will not divide us up. pic.twitter.com/7kYBB7ZfvX Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) April 24, 2017PEOPLE S ACTION SHEEPLE! | 0 |
2,107 | Why Obama Fears A Hillary Presidency | And why Obama may be better off with a Republican President Edward Klein paints a very compelling picture of what is going through narcissist Barack Obama s head:(If we could get a sneak peek at Barack Obama s secret diary, this is what we might read.)I ll have to endorse Hillary if she gets the nomination which looks almost certain now but I won t have my heart in it.When I leave office in little over a year, I ll be the youngest ex-president since Teddy Roosevelt. I ll still have that same big-shouldered Chicago lust for power that drove me from Greenwood Avenue in Hyde Park to Pennsylvania Avenue in three short years.But if Hillary replaces me in the Oval, she and Bill will take control of the Democratic Party it ll become the Clinton party once again and they ll block me from having any future influence.I ll end up like Jimmy Carter hammering away in Appalachia for Habitat for Humanity.On the other hand, if a Republican wins in 16, the Clintons will be finished their foundation and their speaking fees will dry up and they ll be a thing of the past. But I ll still be the titular head of the party. I ll be able to continue my push to transform America into a European-style socialist state.So, personally, I d be better off if the next president is a Republican.I was hoping it wouldn t come to this. I had hopes that Old Joe would get in the running and knock Hillary off her pins. Joe in the White House would be like my third term. I d have plenty of influence in a Biden administration.But Joe hemmed and hawed until it was too late.For a while, Val and Miche tried to convince me that Martin O Malley was the one to snatch the nomination away from Hillary. They said he was O Malleable and would share the levers of power with me. But I knew from the get-go that Martin didn t have the right stuff.Still, it s amazing to me that Hillary hasn t imploded. Everybody knows she deliberately tried to cover her tracks with her home-brew e-mail server and that she did it with felonious intent. My biggest fear all along has been that Hillary s mess will end up tainting my presidency and my legacy.Val and Miche are dead set against that happening. They re hoping that Hillary is indicted sooner rather than later. Then Uncle Joe could ride in like the cavalry and save the party.Just the other day, Hillary asked for another meeting in the Oval. I threw a major fit because I knew she wanted me to shut down the investigation of her e-mails and all her cover-ups.Generally, I don t lose my composure, but this time, I leaped from my desk and threw a rubber ball across the room. Almost broke the china.I even yelled at Val: Tell the Clintons to go to hell! I never want to see Hillary s face again. I never want her or Bill in my house lecturing me. They have no respect for this office or for me, and I m not taking it anymore. She has lied about everything. I also told Val: Make sure that any smidgen of wrongdoing that is in Hillary s files is turned over to the authorities everything. Obviously, I can t be seen influencing the FBI investigation in any way. But I ve made it clear to Jim Comey over at the FBI and Loretta at Justice that I want a thorough investigation and, if warranted, a vigorous prosecution.If Hillary winds up being sentenced, maybe a presidential pardon can be worked out. Nobody wants to see a former first lady and secretary of state rotting in jail. | 0 |
2,108 | Spineless Speaker: Paul Ryan Caves To Trump’s Most INSANE Campaign Fever Dream (VIDEO) | Just a few months ago, the idea of Donald Trump s actually being able to get Congress to agree to a massive wall along the U.S.-Mexico border seemed like an absolutely insane idea to Democrats and Republicans alike. Now, however, it seems that Trump s crude, nationalistic monument is about to become a reality and Speaker of the House of Representatives Paul Ryan is rolling over like the spineless puppy dog we all know him to be when it comes to Trump, and he insists that Trump s wall will be built. Also, it will come at the cost of the American taxpayer.Sitting down with MSNBC s Greta Van Susteren, Speaker Ryan says of Trump s wall: We re going to pay for it and front the money up. After that, Ryan rambled on about how it s about national security and keeping America safe from immigrants you know the kind of rhetoric that was unthinkable from an American leader just a few shorts months ago: This is about keeping Americans safe. We are committed to working with the administration to stop the influx of illegal immigration along the southern border, protect our homeland, and uphold the rule of law. I applaud President Trump for keeping his promise to make this a national priority. Then, he went on to agree with the looniest part of Trump s plan to force Mexico to pay for the wall. Ryan says: There are a lot of different ways of getting Mexico to contribute to doing this. So, let me get this straight Paul Ryan, who likes to pretend he s one of the reasonable Republicans on Capitol Hill, the guy who people looked to in order to challenge Trump s insanity, is now caving to one of the craziest plans Trump has hatched.If anyone had any comforting delusions that GOPers on The Hill would do anything about Trump s nutty plans, you best get rid of them now and #RESIST.Watch a short clip of the interview below:Featured image via Mark Wilson/Getty Images | 0 |
2,109 | Trump’s White House IMPLODES As Kellyanne Conway Attacks Fellow Top Staffer (VIDEO) | The amount of in-fighting that we ve seen in Donald Trump s administration is like nothing we ve ever seen before. There have been an unprecedented amount of leaks coming from inside the White House, and Trump s top staffers routinely throw each other under the bus, proving that Trump s administration is actually more like The Apprentice than anything elseWhite House counselor Kellyanne Conway displayed this perfectly, when she recently argued that White House Communication Director Anthony Scaramucci was demoralized because he had to fill out financial disclosure forms before taking up his new position in Trump s administration. Those very disclosure forms were leaked this week, and Scaramucci pretty much blamed White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus for it. As expected, Conway couldn t wait to get on Fox & Friends to make it even worse. Trump s most abrasive mouthpiece said: The most important part of Anthony s tweet is when he talked about the FBI and the DOJ. He s making clear that even though these documents are eventually procurable publicly that somebody doesn t want him here. And somebody is trying to get in his way and scare him off from working here, which is a huge mistake. Conway complained that administration members like Scaramucci have been completely demoralized and I think completely disinclined to do so based on the paperwork that we have to put forward. Divesting assets, the different hoops you have to run through. Because this White House is transparent and accountable and we all comply with those rules. Conway continued to attack Priebus, stating: There are leaks, and then there are people using the press to shiv each other in the ribs. That s different than a leak. A leak is, Did you see the memo Kellyanne put out on this matter? Did you hear what Jared said in the senior staff meeting? That s a classic leak. Fox News host Steve Doocy stated that the elephant in the room was Priebus, and whether or not he was the big leaker. Conway was more than happy to issue this ominous warning: Leakers are easier to figure out than they may think. The West Wing is a very small place. You can watch Conway attack her fellow Trump staffer below:Featured image via Kevin Hagen / Getty Images | 0 |
2,110 | Japanese PM Abe sends ritual offering to Yasukuni shrine for war dead | TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent a ritual offering to the Yasukuni Shrine for war dead, seen in China and the two Koreas as a symbol of Japan s past militarism, to mark its annual autumn festival, the shrine said on Tuesday. Abe was expected to refrain from visiting the shrine during the festival, which will last until Friday, the Nikkei business daily and Kyodo news agency reported. He is scheduled to visit northern Japan, Akita prefecture and Yamagata prefecture, for an election campaign stump on Tuesday, Kyodo news said. His ruling coalition is on track for a big win in Sunday s general election - even though almost half the country s voters don t want him to keep his job, a media survey showed on Monday. Abe s snap election comes amid heightened global tension following North Korea s nuclear tests and missile launches, which prompted the U.N. Security Council to impose fresh sanctions. Health Minister Katsunobu Kato also sent an ritual offering to the shrine, a spokesperson for the shrine said. Past visits to Yasukuni by Japanese leaders have outraged Beijing and Seoul because it honors 14 Japanese leaders convicted by an Allied tribunal as war criminals, along with Japan s war dead. China s position on the shrine was clear, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told reporters in Beijing. We urge the Japanese side to earnestly, squarely and deeply reflect on their history of aggression, appropriately handle the relevant issue and take actual steps to win the trust of their Asian neighbors and the international community, Lu said. Abe has only visited the shrine in person once, in December 2013, since becoming premier the previous year. Rather than attend in person, Abe sends a ritual offering on several occasions in an effort to improve ties with China and South Korea, which have been strained by territorial and other disputes. Japan, China and South Korea are trying to hold a summit meeting this year, the Nikkei business said. | 1 |
2,111 | Ex-Connecticut Governor Rowland appeals conviction | NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former Connecticut Governor John Rowland on Friday urged a federal appeals court to overturn his conviction on charges that the Republican tried to use sham contracts to hide his political work in two U.S. congressional campaigns, saying prosecutors went too far in applying the law. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York heard arguments over whether Rowland used illegal consulting contracts for candidates who in 2010 and 2012 ran unsuccessfully for the House of Representatives. Rowland, who was sentenced to 2-1/2 years in prison in March 2015, is free on bail during his appeal. He had previously spent 10 months in prison following his 2004 guilty plea to separate charges arising from his acceptance of illegal gifts while he was governor. Rowland resigned from office that year. Andrew Fish, Rowland’s lawyer, told the appeals court on Friday that a draft contract rejected by one of the candidates, Mark Greenberg, did not constitute a falsified document. “Frankly, the government saying that a contract proposal is a falsified document makes little sense,” Fish said. He said prosecutors went too far in trying to criminalize Rowland’s conduct under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, a governance law passed after Enron Corp’s collapse, that prohibits falsifying documents to hide financial wrongdoing. Assistant U.S. Attorney Liam Brennan countered that the case was in the “heartland” of the statute. “This is creating a fake record to have in the file in case there is an investigation,” he said. A federal jury in New Haven found Rowland guilty in March 2015 on charges of conspiracy, falsifying records in a federal investigation, causing false statements to be made to the Federal Election Commission, and causing illegal campaign contributions. Prosecutors said Rowland, 58, sought to advise Greenberg, who testified that in 2010 he rejected Rowland’s offer and a contract to conceal the ex-governor’s role. Rowland was also accused of negotiating a deal to work for a nursing home company owned by Brian Foley, the husband of 2012 congressional candidate, Lisa Wilson-Foley, and receive $35,000 intended to compensate him for advising her campaign. Wilson-Foley and Foley pleaded guilty to conspiring to make illegal campaign contributions. Wilson-Foley received a five-month prison term, while Foley was sentenced to three months in a halfway house. | 1 |
2,112 | BREAKING: CROOKED SEC OF STATE HILLARY Knew Taking $12 MILLION From King Mohammed VI of “Corrupt” Morocco Might Hurt Campaign…Took It Anyway [VIDEO] | Why is this woman not in jail?The evidence is overwhelming that Hillary was putting our national security at risk by taking money for the Clinton Foundation Slush Fund from foreign governments while Secretary of State, in return for favors. The latest Wikileaks email shows that our nations security was second to Hillary s desire to not get caught so it wouldn t hurt her chances at winning the election for the highest office in our nation. Here is the insane story of more Hillary corruption:Hillary Clinton solicited a $12 million donation from a government that her State Department considered corrupt, then realized the mess it would cause to her presidential run, a newly leaked email reveals.King Mohammed VI of Morocco agreed to give the money to the Clinton Foundation, provided that it hold a convention in his country in May 2015 with Clinton as the keynote speaker.But Clinton realized that the conference, slated for a month after she announced her run for president, would hurt her candidacy. No matter what happens, she will be in Morocco hosting CGI [Clinton Global Initiative] on May 5-7, 2015. Her presence was a condition for the Moroccans to proceed so there is no going back on this, top Clinton aide Huma Abedin wrote to campaign manager Robby Mook in a November 2014 email revealed by Wiki Leaks.In another email, Abedin warned that if Clinton didn t attend, the $12 million would be off the table. Just to give you some context, the condition upon which the Moroccans agreed to host the meeting was her participation. If hrc was not part if it, meeting was a non-starter, Abedin wrote in a January 2015 email to Mook and campaign manager John Podesta. CGI also wasn t pushing for a meeting in Morocco and it wasn t their first choice. This was HRC s idea, our office approached the Moroccans and they 100 percent believe they are doing this at her request. The King has personally committed approx $12 million both for the [foundation s] endowment and to support the meeting, Abedin continued. It will break a lot of china to back out now when we had so many opportunities to do it in the past few months. She created this mess and she knows it. The king gave the money to the Clinton Foundation and underwrote the CGI summit with the quid-pro-quo understanding that Hillary would attend, and other dignitaries attending were led to believe that she would be there.But Hillary sent Bill and Chelsea Clinton while she campaigned in Nevada and California.The deal with Morocco was struck even though the State Department under Hillary Clinton accused the country s government of arbitrary arrests and corruption, according to Fox News.It was unclear exactly how much went directly for the summit and how much went to the Clinton Foundation but the total added up to $12 million, according to the emails.Guests at the May 2015 CGI summit which was closed to the media stayed at the five-star Selman-Marrakesh hotel, a posh lodging featuring a stable of Arabian horses and luxury amenities.The meeting was officially paid for by OCP, a Moroccan government-owned mining company that has been accused of human rights violations.Hillary Clinton supported the monarch when she was secretary of state, and the US-financed Export-Import Bank gave OCP a $92 million loan guarantee during her tenure, the Daily Caller reported.Politico reported in 2015 that Clinton was seen by [the Moroccan capital] Rabat as among its staunchest supporters in the Obama administration. The Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice charged OCP with serious human-rights violations, the Daily Caller said.For entire story: NYP | 0 |
2,113 | Canadian police probe 'suspicious' deaths of billionaire couple | TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadian police said they were investigating the mysterious deaths of Barry Sherman, founder of Canadian pharmaceutical firm Apotex Inc, and his wife, Honey, one of the nation s wealthiest couples whose bodies were found in their mansion on Friday. Police said they learned of the deaths after responding to a midday (1700 GMT) medical call at the Sherman s home in an affluent section of northeast Toronto. Two bodies covered in blankets were removed from the home and loaded into an unmarked van on Friday evening. The circumstances of their death appear suspicious and we are treating it that way, said Constable David Hopkinson. Homicide detectives later told reporters gathered outside the home that there were no signs of forced entry. Their neighbors, business associates and some of Canada s most powerful politicians said they were saddened by the deaths. Our condolences to their family & friends, and to everyone touched by their vision & spirit, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote on Twitter. Toronto Mayor John Tory said in statement he was shocked and heartbroken to learn of the deaths, noting that the couple had made extensive contributions to the city. Toronto Police are investigating, and I hope that investigation will be able to provide answers for all of us who are mourning this tremendous loss, Tory said. The Shermans recently listed their home for sale for nearly C$7 million ($5.4 million). A real estate agent discovered the bodies in the basement while preparing for an open house, the Toronto Globe and Mail reported, citing a relative. Sherman, 75, founded privately held Apotex in 1974, growing it by introducing large numbers of low-cost generic drugs that took market share from branded pharmaceuticals. He stepped down as chief executive in 2012 but remained executive chairman. Forbes has estimated Sherman s fortune at $3.2 billion. Apotex is the world s No. 7 generic drugmaker with 11,000 employees and annual sales of more than C$2 billion in more than 45 countries, according to its website. The couple was known for their philanthropy, giving tens of millions of dollars to hospitals, universities and Jewish organizations, CBC reported. They were extremely successful in business, but also very, very giving people, former Ontario Premier Bob Rae told CBC. It s going to be a very, very big loss. The Globe and Mail reported in February that Lobbying Commissioner Karen Shepherd was investigating a complaint about a 2015 political fundraiser that Trudeau had attended. | 1 |
2,114 | Obama Infuriates GOP By Proving Cubans Are Not Scary Communists In This Comedy Skit (VIDEO) | Conservatives love to portray Cuba as an unviting hellhole, and its citizens complete monsters, so Barack Obama decided to do something about that. Preceding his historic first visit to the island nation, the President filmed a skit with Cuban TV star P nfilo Friday so the Cuban people could get to know him.In the skit, P nfilo accidentally calls the White House while attempting to call the Meteorological Institute in Casa Blanca to check the weather for a baseball game. Instead of receiving information on what Mother Nature is up to, however, he ends up on the phone with Obama. Penfilo, unaware of the identity of the person on the other end, asks if the President can convey a message to himself. When Obama replies, This is President Obama, the comic feigns an exaggerated panic before returning the (corded) phone to his ear. But Obama, he stammers, the REAL Obama. Yes, the real Obama, the President replies. Who s this? After introductions, P nfilo tells the President he is glad for the upcoming visit so that [Obama] can get to know the country and its people. The President replies with an important message to which anti-Cuban conservatives should pay attention: The Cuban People and the American people are friends. P nfilo jokes with the President about long waits at the airport and offers to pick him and the First Lady up. He even offers to allow them to stay at his house.P nfilo is a fictional character played by Luis Silva. The show is incredibly popular, reaching about 2/3 of the country s population. The Obamas will leave for Cuba on Sunday and will stop in Argentina afterward. Obama s visit will be the first to Cuba by an American President in 88 years, and an effort to solidify or new friendship with our island neighbor to the South.While our friends on the Right still hate Cuba, the response on the Cuban Embassy s Facebook page was overwhelmingly positive a sign that, at least on their end, friendship between our two nations is at least possible. Let s not f*ck it up.Watch the skit below:// < ![CDATA[ // < ![CDATA[ (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); // ]]>P nfilo conversa con el Presidente Obama Adivina con qui n convers Luis Silva P nfilo! #ObamaenCubaPosted by Embajada de Estados Unidos en Cuba on Saturday, March 19, 2016Featured image via screengrab | 0 |
2,115 | cyrus mistry joins aap tata sons shortlists candidates for chairmans post | obama and hillary are all about deceit and lies both should be tried for treason if anyone thinks foreign countries have not hacked these emails they are living in a fantasy land both have unnessarily put our national security at risk unexcusable and proper action should be taken against them | 0 |
2,116 | IT’S WORSE THAN THEY THOUGHT: Doctors Discover US Embassy Victims In Cuba Have BRAIN ABNORMALITIES…”Never Before Seen Illness” | In a last-minute attempt to create a legacy for himself, Obama traveled to Cuba to hang out with Raul Castro and prove to Americans how easy it is to form relations with brutal dictators of oppressive regimes. Unfortunately for Barack Obama, it was not his finest moment, and his attempt to normalize relations with Cuba didn t work out so well for members of our US Embassy, who have now been diagnosed with brain abnormalities , after experiencing some sort of attack that many experts suspect was inflicted with a sonic weapon. The left rejoiced when President Barack Obama decided to normalize relations with the Cuban regime, reopened our embassy, and allowed travel to the island.But most of that has come to a screeching halt after mysterious attacks on our diplomats, which have caused serious health problems. The State Department has decided to recall all non-essential personnel from the embassy and urged Americans not to travel to Cuba. Legal InsurrectionThe leftist Boston Globe publication gushed over Barack Obama s historic visit to Cuba.When President Obama travels to Cuba on Sunday with his family, he is making a vital foreign policy statement, and not just about the small island off the tip of Florida. The bigger principle at play is the value of diplomatic engagement over isolation, cooperation versus Cold War thinking. The visit the first time a sitting American president has been to Cuba in almost 90 years is a manifestation of the hope that democratic ideals can spread over time once normalized relations are established.Obama will not only be meeting with President Raul Castro, but also with middle-class Cubans, entrepreneurs, and political dissidents, a symbolic yet reassuring move on behalf of democracy and fairness. Already the opening of relations is bearing fruit, with new businesses sprouting and a flourishing tourism industry taking root.Legal Insurrection The attacks on American officials at the U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba, keeps getting stranger and stranger. The latest information revealed that doctors have found brain abnormalities in the victims. From The Associated Press:It s the most specific finding to date about physical damage, showing that whatever it was that harmed the Americans, it led to perceptible changes in their brains. The finding is also one of several factors fueling growing skepticism that some kind of sonic weapon was involved.Medical testing has revealed the embassy workers developed changes to the white matter tracts that let different parts of the brain communicate, several U.S. officials said, describing a growing consensus held by university and government physicians researching the attacks. White matter acts like information highways between brain cells.Some of the victims woke up in the middle of the night and heard disembodied chirping in the room, or a strange, low hum, or the sound of scraping metal. Others described how they felt a phantom flutter of air pass by as they listened. There are some victims that did not notice anything.But the victims felt the effects of these noises or non-noises 24 hours later. These symptoms included nausea, loss of hearing or sight, headaches, vertigo, and dizziness. Symptoms appeared to have gone away once the victims came back to America. At first officials and doctors believed a sonic weapon caused the issues. Now they don t know.The officials did not say if the doctors found these changes in all of the victims. Elisa Konofagou, a Columbia University biomedical engineering professor, told the AP that acoustic waves have never been shown to alter the brain s white matter tracts and she would be very surprised if that is the cause of the abnormalities.From The Washington Post: Physicians are treating the symptoms like a new, never-seen-before illness, the AP wrote, and expect to monitor the victims for the rest of their lives, although most have fully recovered from their symptoms by now.The physicians are working with FBI agents and intelligence agencies as they look for a source, and U.S. officials have not backed down from their accusations against the Cuban government, which denies any involvement despite a history of animosity between the two countries.In October, experts provided the mysterious noise to the Ap. It s high pitched, almost like nails on a chalkboard. They do not know what kind of mechanism produced this sound or who developed it. Those who heard a sound heard the same thing:Yet the AP has reviewed several recordings from Havana taken under different circumstances, and all have variations of the same high-pitched sound. Individuals who have heard the noise in Havana confirm the recordings are generally consistent with what they heard. That s the sound, one of them said.As the number of affected have risen, the State Department had no choice but to take action to protect our people. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson decided in late September to bring home all non-essential personnel from the U.S. Embassy in Havana, thus cutting the staff by 60% and halt citizen travel to the island.A few days later, Tillerson decided to expel 15 diplomats from the Cuban Embassy in Washington, D.C.Instead of a legacy of a great man who built much-needed bridges with legitimate foreign nations, Barack Hussein Obama, the community organizer turned President, is left with the legacy of creating the most divided United States of America since the Civil War. | 0 |
2,117 | Israel's right wing has grand plans for Trump era | JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel’s right wing has been eagerly awaiting Donald Trump’s arrival in the White House, hoping a Republican president will usher in a new era of support for Israeli settlement-building on land Palestinians want for a state. The far-right Jewish Home party, along with members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, is promoting legislation that would effectively annex one large settlement in the occupied West Bank to Israel and another bill that would legalize dozens of unauthorized outposts. But there could be a question mark over the issue, with Netanyahu possibly looking to curb settlement laws, wary of the dangers of the far right’s ambitions being too freely unleashed as he feels his way forward with the new U.S. administration. The Israeli leader’s spokesman declined to comment on Netanyahu’s position. In its final weeks, the Obama administration angered the Israeli government by withholding a traditional U.S. veto of an anti-settlement resolution at the United Nations Security Council, enabling the measure to pass. President Barack Obama on Wednesday said he was worried that the prospects for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — the idea of Israel and Palestine living side-by-side in peace and security — were waning. Israeli right wingers contrast Obama’s warnings with what they see as positive signals from Trump that indicate Washington’s attitude towards settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, areas Israel captured in a 1967 war, is about to change. Trump’s nominee to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, echoed his condemnation of the world body over its treatment of Israel at her Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday. Trump, who has said he wants to meet Netanyahu “at the first opportunity”, has pledged to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. In his remarks on Wednesday, Obama cautioned against “sudden unilateral moves” that could be “explosive”. Israel regards all of Jerusalem as its capital but most of the world does not, seeing its final status as a matter for peace negotiations that have been frozen since 2014. In a move that has emboldened Israeli right wingers, the president-elect has already appointed a new U.S. ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, who is considered far right on issues, including settlement building. Naftali Bennett, leader of the Jewish Home, hopes that under Trump’s administration the notion of establishing a Palestinian state will be abandoned. He wants to promote a bill extending Israeli sovereignty to Maale Adumim, a West Bank settlement of about 40,000 Israelis that lies just to the east of Jerusalem. That would in effect mean Israel annexing some of the land it has occupied for almost 50 years. “It’s either (Israeli) sovereignty or Palestine,” Bennett told Army Radio this month. “The question is not what will Trump do but what will Israel ask for. What will Israel present as its vision. We are in the money-time now for forming this vision.” But Professor Itamar Rabinovich, a former Israeli ambassador to the United States, believes the right wing may be getting ahead of itself and its ambitions could backfire. “In reality, where the United States needs to live not just with us but also with the Arab and Muslim world, supporting extremist measures in Israel could turn out to be something the United States cannot live with,” Rabinovich said. Bennett ultimately advocates the annexation of most of the West Bank, leaving just the major Palestinian towns and cities in Palestinian hands. But first he is testing the water with the annexation bill, entitled “Sovereignty in Maale Adumim First”. It is due for a first discussion in a ministerial committee on Sunday, two of its drafters said. “I believe this is the gift that the people of Israel deserve in the run-up to Trump’s inauguration,” Bennett’s fellow party member, Betzalel Smotrich, told parliament on Tuesday. A spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said annexation was a red line. “Any such Israeli decision will be considered a dangerous escalation that would end any possible hope for peace,” Nabil Abu Rdainah told Reuters. Late last year, a separate bill that would retroactively legalize settlement outposts built on privately-owned Palestinian land in the West Bank passed the first of three votes in parliament required to make it law. No dates have been set for final approval, and it has since disappeared from the agenda. Asked about the delay, a source in Netanyahu’s office said: “He wants to freeze the outpost bill.” Asked about the law, a legislative source said: “It’s stuck in committee. There will be attempts to bring it back on the agenda after Jan. 20, but I think it is pretty much buried at this point,” he said, referring to the date of the inauguration. The legislation had drawn anger from the Palestinians and international condemnation. Smotrich told Reuters that it will be brought to a second and third reading in February. “We were waiting for the end of the Obama age,” he said. A political source close to Netanyahu said that with regard to the proposed Maale Adumim annexation, the prime minister may say he wishes to hold off until after he meets Trump. Tzachi Hanegbi, a Likud minister and Netanyahu confidant, said Netanyahu understood that such steps would further isolate Israel. Most countries regard Israeli settlements as illegal, a view that Israel disputes. “He does not want to shake the entire world and put Israel at the center of contention, isolation and criticism,” Hanegbi told Army Radio. “I hope the government will not let itself be dragged after Jewish Home’s agenda.” At the same time, Netanyahu is competing with Jewish Home for right-wing, pro-settlement voters. He may disagree with the party’s approach, but he can’t ignore it. “If the (annexation) bill comes up, Likud ministers will support it. They can do nothing else,” the source said. | 1 |
2,118 | Priest rescued as Philippine troops retake Marawi militant stronghold | MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine troops rescued a catholic priest held hostage for almost four months by Islamic State-linked rebels after an offensive that captured a stronghold of the militants in southern Marawi City, defense officials said on Monday. Marawi s vicar-general Father Teresito Chito Soganub was kidnapped along with other Christians as militants rampaged through the city on May 23, burning churches and schools, releasing prisoners and seizing arms in a well-planned assault. Soganub, flanked by Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and military chief General Eduardo Ano, appeared to be in good health and high spirits when he was presented to the media in Manila. He expressed his thanks but gave no statement. Our troops gained the upper hand, the terrorists were forced to withdraw to nearby structures on the periphery of the mosque, Lorenzana told a media briefing in Manila, referring to the Bato mosque held by the rebels for 117 days. Troops had opportunity to snatch Father Chito... The appearance of Soganub is some rare good news for a military that has suffered a string of setbacks in Marawi, from deadly accidents during a controversial campaign of air strikes to repeatedly missing deadlines on when the battle would be won. The siege of the city by an alliance of rebels from the island of Mindanao, and numerous foreign fighters, has been the biggest internal security crisis in years for the Philippines, a country used to separatist and communist rebellions. Soganub made an appearance under duress in a militant propaganda video about a week after his capture, urging the government to stop the military operation in Marawi in exchange for sparing lives of hostages. The priest was among scores held by militants at the Bato mosque, one of Marawi s largest, which troops captured on Saturday afternoon. He was rescued along with another hostage, Lordvin Ocopio. The rebels who laid siege to Marawi are from an extremist faction of the Abu Sayyaf group, led by Isnilon Hapilon, the so-called emir of Southeast Asia, and members of the militant Maute family, which has deep clan connections in the lakeside town and surrounding areas. Military chief Ano said about 10 foreigners were still in the battle among some 50-60 rebels, who were holding 45-50 hostages. Hapilon was among those still fighting but several of the Maute brothers were likely dead, Ano added, citing information provided by civilians who escaped and some captured rebels. As of Monday, 149 members of government forces had died in combat, along with 47 civilians. More than 670 militants have been killed, according to a military estimate of bodies recovered and targets hit. | 1 |
2,119 | Republicans have the votes to pass tax bill in Senate: McConnell | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said on Friday Republicans had enough votes to pass a tax overhaul bill in the Senate. “We have the votes,” McConnell said. Republican Senator Jeff Flake, who had been holding out support for the legislation, said he now supported the bill. Republican Senator Susan Collins, another holdout, said a deal had been reached to include her unspecified property tax deduction amendment in the Republican tax bill. | 1 |
2,120 | PARENTS OUTRAGED! FEMALE TEACHERS Get Into Major Brawl In Classroom…Terrified Students Scream In Horror [Video] | A Georgia middle school science teacher and a paraprofessional got into a vicious classroom brawl in front of horrified students who captured the fight on video. The two women, who have not been identified, started throwing punches at one another May 19 at Stone Mountain Middle School. From what I think I know the teachers were arguing about a teacher, a male teacher, and they started arguing and it went on for about three to five minutes, a student told the network. Everyone was screaming like stop, stop, stop. Cellphone video shows one of the women repeatedly punching the other in the face as two students try to break up the fight, to no avail.The brawl eventually was broken up by school staff.The school sent a letter home to parents saying two women had engaged in a physical altercation that caused a major disturbance in a classroom and that both would be disciplined. The interaction and conduct in the video is completely unacceptable and contrary to our district s tenets and core principles, school officials said in a statement. Those staff members that participated in the conduct have been removed from the learning environment. Both women were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct in a public place.Shokingly, they will be allowed to keep their jobs pending the outcome of the school district s investigation. | 0 |
2,121 | Russia, Saudi Arabia cement new friendship with king's visit | MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted Saudi Arabia s King Salman for talks at the Kremlin on Thursday, cementing a relationship that is pivotal for world oil prices and could decide the outcome of the conflict in Syria. King Salman, the first sitting Saudi monarch ever to visit Russia, led a delegation to Moscow that agreed joint investment deals worth several billion dollars, providing much-needed investment for a Russian economy battered by low oil prices and Western sanctions. Saudi Arabia said it had signed a memorandum of understanding on the purchase from Russia of S-400 air defense systems. That marked a shift for the kingdom, which buys most of its military kit from the United States and Britain. On the political front, there was no sign of any substantial breakthrough on the issues that have long divided Moscow and Riyadh, including the fact that they back rival sides in Syria s war. However, any discord was eclipsed by mutual expressions of respect, and the pomp and ceremony laid on by Russian officials to greet the Saudi king. On his journey into central Moscow from Vnukovo airport late on Wednesday, King Salman s limousine passed billboards bearing his photograph and messages in Russian and Arabic welcoming him. On Thursday, Putin received the monarch in the gold-decorated St. Andrew Hall, one of the grandest spaces in the Kremlin, attended by soldiers in ceremonial dress and with an orchestra playing their countries national anthems. I am sure that your visit will provide a good impulse for the development of relations between our two states, Putin told King Salman later as they sat alongside each other in the Kremlin s lavishly-decorated Green Parlour. Russia and Saudi Arabia, despite their differences, have been drawn together by a common interest in propping up flagging world oil prices, and by the fact that Moscow, since its military intervention in Syria, has clout in the Middle East that other players in the region cannot ignore. The Saudi king invited Putin to visit his country - an offer the Russian leader accepted - and said they planned to keep cooperating to keep world oil prices stable. Moscow and Riyadh worked together to secure a deal between OPEC and other oil producers to cut output until the end of March 2018, helping support prices. Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said Saudi Arabia was flexible regarding Moscow s suggestion to extend the pact until the end of next year. The message of further joint Saudi-Russia action on output helped push up oil prices on Thursday. Brent crude was up more than 2 percent at $57.12 a barrel by 1615 GMT. In Syria, Riyadh supports rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad s army, while Russian and Iranian forces have sided with Assad. This leaves Moscow aligned with Saudi Arabia s arch-rival Iran, whose influence Riyadh fears is growing in the region. Briefing the media after the talks, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov focused on the common ground, saying the two leaders had agreed on the importance of fighting terrorism, finding peaceful solutions to conflicts in the Middle East, and on the principle of territorial integrity. His Saudi counterpart, Adel al-Jubeir, said new horizons had opened for Russia-Saudi ties that he could not previously have imagined. Relations between Russia and Saudi Arabia have reached a historical moment, said Jubeir, speaking through an interpreter. We are certain that the further strengthening of Russian-Saudi relations will have a positive impact on strengthening stability and security in the region and the world. A package of investments announced during the visit will go some way to plugging the vacuum left by sluggish Western investment in Russia that is, in part, a result of sanctions imposed after Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014. Among the deals was an agreement between Russian sovereign wealth fund RDIF and Saudi Arabia s Public Investment Fund to invest up to $100 million in transport projects in Russia. The two countries also signed a deal to set up a $1 billion joint investment fund. Another memorandum of understanding was signed under which Russian petrochemicals firm Sibur would explore cooperation with Saudi Arabia. RDIF head Kirill Dmitriev said his fund was interested in partnering with Saudi investors to acquire a minority stake in Russian oilfield services firm Eurasia Drilling. Absent from the slew of deals was any agreement on Saudi Aramco taking a stake in an Arctic liquefied natural gas project run by Russia s Novatek. Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said earlier this month that Saudi officials were studying joint gas projects with Novatek. However, Aramco chief executive Amin Nasser said such a deal was not being discussed at this stage. | 1 |
2,122 | EPIC! TUCKER TAKES ON THE TERROR APPEASERS ON THE LEFT: If You ‘Really Care’ About America, You Won’t Let It Become Europe [Video] | Tucker Carlson nails it tonight on how we re now being conditioned to accept terrorism So true! We should NEVER accept this but it s like the more it happens the more people are just not alarmed. The commentary below is so great because Tucker talks facts on how the change in Europe s demographics has changed what s happening and what people think. He goes on to question why our terror sympathizers appease the terrorists and bend over backwards for them. This has to be one of the best commentaries ever for Tucker! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQD45EmFvCoTucker is so right on this stand up to terrorism! | 0 |
2,123 | China, U.S. create 'miracle' with $253.4 billion in dealmaking: Zhong | BEIJING (Reuters) - China and the United States have created a miracle as companies from the world s two largest economies signed deals worth some $253.4 billion over the past two days, China s Commerce Minister Zhong Shan said at a briefing on Thursday. This is truly a miracle, said Zhong on the second day of U.S. President Donald Trump s state visit to China. | 1 |
2,124 | Obama SMACKS DOWN Everyone Who Thinks Democrats Left Out White Workers (VIDEO) | The election of former reality television star Donald Trump has many people Democrats and Republicans alike upset that our country will soon be led by a complete moron with zero experience and an unpredictable temper. Now that we re facing a Trump administration, there have been many emerging theories as Americans reflect upon why Trump was able to win the vote over a much more qualified candidate, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.A popular suggestion for why Clinton failed to win the presidency is the idea that she didn t appeal to white working class the way that Trump did. While Trump connected to this demographic with fear mongering tactics and false promises, many feel that Clinton completely abandoned the middle class. However, President Barack Obama disagrees and weighed in on what he really things cost the Democrats the election in a revealing interview with former advisor David Axelrod.During this interview, Obama not only accurately stated that he could have easily beaten Trump if he d been able to run for a third term, but he shattered the notion that the Democrats have abandoned the working class. Obama couldn t have been more spot on when he said, the Democratic agenda is better for all working people. He continued: I think the issue was less that Democrats have somehow abandoned the white working class. I think that s nonsense. What Obama believed was the real issue during this election was that the Democrats weren t on the ground in rural communities. He also revealed that Clinton had faced a double standard that none of the other candidates were faced with.You can listen to Obama weigh in on the election below, via CNN:Obama: Democrats need to show Americans they care and are bleeding for these communities https://t.co/6bH8yY0qIo https://t.co/cmeuzDx0iv CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) December 26, 2016Featured image via Drew Angerer / Getty Images | 0 |
2,125 | Toxic firecracker haze darkens Indian capital after festival of lights | NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Air pollution in New Delhi hit 18 times the healthy limit on Friday under a thick, toxic haze after a night of fireworks to celebrate the Hindu festival of Diwali - despite a court-ordered ban on their sales. Residents of the sprawling Indian capital, which already ranks among the world s most polluted cities, complained of eyes watering and aggravated coughs as levels of PM 2.5, tiny particulate matter that reaches deep into the lungs, rose alarmingly. Air quality usually worsens in New Delhi ahead of Diwali, the festival of lights, and the Supreme Court temporarily banned the sale of firecrackers, aiming to lessen the risk to health. But many still lit fireworks across the capital late into the night, either using old stocks or buying them from neighboring states. Some environment activists said the court order was poorly enforced and firecrackers were still available to celebrate one of north India s biggest festivals. Breathe nitrate and ammonia, home grown, hand made! said environmentalist Vimlendu Jha in a Twitter post calling for city authorities to declare a public emergency. An index of air quality had crossed the hazardous limit of 300 on Friday, the most severe level on a U.S. embassy scale of measurement which rates a reading of 50 as good and anything above that as a cause for concern. Some parts of Delhi such as Mandir Marg showed an air quality reading of 941, close enough to the maximum level of 999 beyond which no readings are available. The index measures concentrations of PM 2.5, PM 10, ozone, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide among other indicators. A hazardous level is an alert in which everyone may experience ill effects and are advised to stay indoors. Apart from the firecracker ban, the Supreme Court also ordered diesel generators and a power plant to be shut down to try to reduce the pollution. The Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority also ordered some brick kilns to close and a halt to the burning of rubbish. Dipankar Saha, a scientist at the government s Central Pollution Control Board, said the still weather had also played a part in the toxic haze hanging over the city. But pollution levels were better than at last year s Diwali when crop burning in nearby states and firecrackers combined. It was going to be hard to beat last year s level in any case, he said. | 1 |
2,126 | Justice Department in civil rights probe of Arizona election | PHOENIX (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Justice has launched an investigation into the handling of last month’s presidential nominating contest in Arizona’s most populous county, citing complaints of exceedingly long lines at polling places with high levels of minority voters. The Justice Department’s civil rights division has asked Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, to provide detailed information that could help authorities determine whether the March 22 primary election violated federal law, including how the number and locations of polls were decided. The Justice Department made the request in a letter dated April 1. The letter followed a call for a federal probe by Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton, a Democrat, immediately after the election, calling the vote “a fiasco” as he cited “unacceptably disparate distribution of polling locations.” In what officials called a cost-cutting move, Maricopa County slashed its polling sites to 60, down from 200 in 2012. Voters last month waited in line for up to five hours to cast ballots and well into the night at the sharply reduced number of polls. In its letter, the Justice Department cites reports of “a disproportional burden in waiting times ... in some areas with substantial racial or language minority populations.” The Justice Department set an April 22 deadline for a response. Following the election, officials said their decisions on polling places were based on recent voting patterns and an increasing number of mail-in ballots. Karen Osborne, county elections director, denied there was any intent to rob voters of their rights and said officials would comply with the Justice Department request. “This is a request for information,” Osborne said in a brief interview on Monday with Reuters. “We are going to gather the information, and we will get it together by the 22nd, and we will make it public.” The state formally certified the election on Monday and candidates have five days to contest the results. In the Republican contest, Donald Trump won, while in the Democratic contest, Hillary Clinton won. An attorney for Democrat Bernie Sanders has said his campaign is considering a challenge. | 1 |
2,127 | saudis foil isis terror attacks on packed stadium | does hillary clinton care or does she only care about obtaining votes | 0 |
2,128 | Zimbabwe's ruling party set to sack Mugabe, sources say | HARARE (Reuters) - The leaders of Zimbabwe s ruling ZANU-PF party will meet on Sunday to approve the dismissal of President Robert Mugabe, the only leader the southern African nation has known since independence 37 years ago, two party sources have said. An extraordinary meeting of the party s central committee is expected to convene around 10:30 a.m. (0830 GMT) to consider removing the 93-year-old, four days after a military seizure of power ostensibly aimed at criminals within his entourage. Separately, state television said Mugabe would meet military commanders on Sunday, quoting the Catholic priest who has been mediating in negotiations with the president. On Saturday, hundreds of thousands of people flooded the streets of Harare, singing, dancing and hugging soldiers in an outpouring of elation at Mugabe s overthrow. ZANU-PF s central committee is also expected to reinstate Emmerson Mnangagwa as party vice-president, resurrecting the political career of the former security chief, nicknamed The Crocodile, whose sacking this month triggered the military s intervention. Mugabe s wife, Grace, will be fired as head of the ZANU-PF Women s League, the sources told Reuters, completing the demise of a 52-year-old former government typist who just a week ago stood in pole position to succeed her husband after Mnangagwa s dismissal. The pair s stunning downfall is likely to send shockwaves across Africa, where a number of entrenched strongmen, from Uganda s Yoweri Museveni to Democratic Republic of Congo s Joseph Kabila, are facing mounting pressure to step aside. In scenes reminiscent of the downfall of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu in 1989, men, women and children ran alongside the armored cars and troops who stepped in this week to oust the man who has ruled since independence from Britain in 1980. Under house arrest in his lavish Blue Roof compound, Mugabe has refused to stand down even as he has watched his support from party, security services and people evaporate in less than three days. His nephew, Patrick Zhuwao, told Reuters the elderly leader and his wife were ready to die for what is correct rather than step down in order to legitimize what he described as a coup. But on Harare s streets, few seemed to care about the legal niceties as they heralded a second liberation for the former British colony and spoke of their dreams for political and economic change after two decades of deepening repression and hardship. These are tears of joy, said Frank Mutsindikwa, 34, holding aloft the Zimbabwean flag. I ve been waiting all my life for this day. Free at last. We are free at last. The crowds in Harare have so far given a quasi-democratic veneer to the army s intervention, backing its assertion that it is merely effecting a constitutional transfer of power, which would help it avoid the diplomatic backlash and opprobrium that normally follow a coup. The United States, a long-time Mugabe critic, said it was looking forward to a new era in Zimbabwe, while President Ian Khama of neighboring Botswana said Mugabe had no diplomatic support in the region and should resign at once. For a graphic on Zimbabwe struggles, click | 1 |
2,129 | Trump Just Committed Obstruction Of Justice By Whining About Comey ‘Leak’ On Twitter | Donald Trump broke his Twitter silence over James Comey s Senate testimony on Friday morning by committing an act of obstruction. NOT SMART!During the former FBI Director s testimony on Thursday, Trump watched as Comey slammed him for being a liar who did fire him because he refused to drop the Russia investigation.Comey also admitted that he leaked his memos that covered conversations he had with Trump. He gave the memos to friends and instructed them to give them to the New York Times.And Trump decided to whine about it on Twitter while also declaring that he has been vindicated.Despite so many false statements and lies, total and complete vindication and WOW, Comey is a leaker! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 9, 2017Except that Trump has not been vindicated at all. He interfered in a federal investigation in order to save his own ass. That s not something innocent people do.But it turns out that Trump may have committed obstruction of justice by attacking Comey on Twitter. And alo because Trump s White House is demanding that the Justice Department investigate Comey for the leaks.According to whistleblower protection attorney Stephen Kohn, Initiating an investigation because you don t like somebody s testimony could be considered obstruction and in the whistleblower context, it s both evidence of retaliation and, under some laws, could be an adverse retaliatory act itself. Indeed, even attacking Comey on Twitter is considered obstruction because, This is a chilling effect on people not to talk about conversations they had with the president that are not classified as a matter of law, Kohn said. That is illegal that is unconstitutional. In short, Trump is intimidating people to remain silent about him and what he says and does, and that s against the law. Not everything the president says or does is classified information. Comey s memos certainly are not classified. Plus, Comey is now a private citizen so the Justice Department has no authority over him. In short, Trump shot himself in the foot when he fired Comey.If Trump forces the Justice Department to go after Comey, it would be a gross abuse of power designed for the sole purpose of retaliating against someone he considers an enemy. Doing such a thing would also scare other people in the government from speaking out. That s obstruction. And Trump should be impeached for it.Twitter even mocked Trump for being such a sore loser.Comey asked the AG that he never be left alone with you, because you would pressure him and then lie. That s obstruction of justice. Sad! Dave Hogg ? (@Stareagle) June 9, 2017Please stop lying. Comey is known for his honesty. You are known, world wide, for being a pathological liar. https://t.co/VQNevWYPmR Jack Schofield (@jackschofield) June 9, 2017It s not leaking if what he was sharing wasn t classified. Comey shared his recollection of conversations Trump had discussed on national TV pic.twitter.com/OqRRS5SEg7 Robert Maguire (@RobertMaguire_) June 9, 2017Guess who else leaked secrets of private Prez meeting? pic.twitter.com/xwwnN4hrVS Melissa Jo Peltier (@MelissaJPeltier) June 9, 2017I believe you re confused, @realDonaldTrump. Maybe this helps. vin di ca tion: the action of clearing someone of blame or suspicion. VoteVets (@votevets) June 9, 2017awww @realDonaldTrump did u get ur phone back? is twitter time out over? a guy that pees on prostitutes should not use leaker as a taunt ROSIE (@Rosie) June 9, 2017Featured Image: Win McNamee/Getty Images | 0 |
2,130 | Texas Congressman HILARIOUSLY Trolls Trump, Says What The ENTIRE Congress Is Thinking (TWEET) | Joaquin Castro of Texas is a rising star in the Democratic Party and a member of the United States House of Representatives. He s also pretty outspoken. So when Trump insisted via Twitter, of course that he won the popular vote as well as the Electoral College, but it wasn t showing in the counts due to illegal voting, Castro couldn t take it anymore. After all, Trump s tweet clearly has zero basis in reality, and like many of his bogus claims, is a combination of his overactive, childlike imagination and crackpot notions from feverish right-wing conspiracy theories. So, Rep. Castro baited Trump by Tweeting back:It's going to be hard to work with someone this delusional. https://t.co/BmLaltpMmc Joaquin Castro (@JoaquinCastrotx) November 28, 2016Now, Rep. Castro will likely take a lot of heat from his GOP colleagues in the House. It s also likely that he doesn t care, either. After all, he s right. Trump is delusional, and has displayed that fact repeatedly, not just over the course of his travesty of a presidential campaign, but over his entire life. Rep. Castro was right to call it out. After all, we re talking about the madman who will have control of America s nuclear arsenal come January 20. If his spineless GOP bedfellows won t call Trump s rantings out for what they are, at least we have Rep. Joaquin Castro to do it.Godspeed, Rep. Castro. May you survive having to work with this delusional jackass.Featured image via Alex Wong/Getty Images | 0 |
2,131 | crack in earths magnetic shield detected | bill clinton and hillary lolita express pedophilia ring in todays video christopher greene of amtv breaks down the connection between convicted felon jefferey epstein known pedophile and the clintons will this be the next shoe to drop in the wikileaks podesta dump will find out this weekend in an exclusive rt interview with the man himself julian assange analyst most americans like neither candidate press tv us democratic presidential candidate hillary clintons unpopularity among american voters has reached a new h crack in earths magnetic shield detected dna india the worlds largest and most sensitive cosmic ray monitor located in india has recorded a burst of galact feds warn nyc officials about possible al qaeda attack new york post new york city law enforcement authorities are on high alert after receiving a warning by the feds about amtv archives | 0 |
2,132 | Tillerson to back North Korea diplomacy, reject Syria's Assad: U.S. official | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, in remarks later on Tuesday, plans to say that he is optimistic about North Korea denuclearization talks and that there is no role for President Bashar al-Assad in Syria s future, a U.S. official said. The secretary is very optimistic that we can achieve denuclearization through negotiation. We are in the middle of that path and that continues, the official told reporters ahead of two planned speeches by Tillerson. | 1 |
2,133 | China's foreign minister says only diplomacy can resolve North Korea tensions | BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday diplomatic means must be used to resolve tensions on the Korean peninsula, where North Korea has vowed to continue with its nuclear and missile programs in defiance of U.N. sanctions. Wang, speaking at a news conference in Beijing, urged all sides to find a peaceful solution. | 1 |
2,134 | Kosovo says 'false' arrest warrant for PM undermines dialogue with Serbia | PRISTINA (Reuters) - Kosovo accused Serbia of undermining a European Union-sponsored dialogue between the two countries by refusing to withdraw an international arrest warrant for Kosovo s prime minister. Tensions between the states heightened early this year after Ramush Haradinaj, a former Kosovar guerilla leader who in September took over as prime minister, was arrested in France on an arrest warrant issued by Serbia. He was released after a French court rejected Belgrade s extradition request. Western officials based in Kosovo s capital of Pristina, as well as local security officials, fear Haradinaj could be arrested if he travels abroad for official visits if the arrest warrant is not withdrawn. A visit to Brussels next week, Haradinaj s second trip to a foreign country since he took over two months ago, will be the next test. Creating lists and accusing people with false evidences belongs to the dark times of the Serb state under (Slobodan) Milosevic, Halil Matoshi, a political advisor to Haradinaj, said on Friday. This does not contribute to the dialog between Kosovo and Serbia as two sovereign and neighboring states and the normalization of the relations between Belgrade and Pristina. In September Serbian authorities said that the arrest warrant against Haradinaj remains in place. Kosovo seceded from Serbia in 2008. Both states want to join the European Union but Brussels says they must normalize relations before their applications can go ahead. Both countries committed in 2013 to an EU-sponsored dialogue to resolve outstanding issues. Serbia has charged Haradinaj with murdering Serbs in the late 1990s war. The 1998-99 conflict ended after NATO bombed the now-defunct Yugoslavia, then comprising Serbia and Montenegro, for 78 days to force a withdrawal of its troops from Kosovo and end a counter-insurgency campaign against ethnic Albanians. Haradinaj, who has twice been tried and acquitted by the United Nations war crimes tribunal in the Hague, denies any wrongdoing. Kosovo declared independence in 2008 but Serbia refuse to recognize its former breakaway province. Backed by Russia and China, Serbia is blocking Pristina s membership in international organizations including United Nations and Interpol. Pristina is constantly sending requests to Interpol to remove his name from the red notice but unfortunately that is not happening, a senior Kosovo security source told Reuters. These are politically motivated charges but any police officer at any border post will see his name in red notice and it is his or her obligation to respect that notice. Kosovo is not a member of Interpol and any request to add or remove Kosovar nationals to watchlists goes through an office of United Nations in Pristina. A western diplomat in Pristina who asked not to be named said: A quick solution must be found. This is a nonsense. | 1 |
2,135 | Rubio considers running for re-election to Senate | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida said on Wednesday he is considering running for re-election and may decide to jump into the race as early as this weekend, a move that could help Republicans retain their majority in the U.S. Senate. “I’ll go home later this week. And I’ll have some time with my family. And then, if there’s a change in our status, I’ll be sure to let everyone know,” the former Republican presidential candidate told reporters in the U.S. Capitol. Rubio, 45, first elected to the Senate in 2010, announced his retirement from the Senate in March after losing Florida’s presidential primary. But Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and others have been pressuring him to reconsider, citing polling data showing him to be the only Republican who can win the election in Florida. Rubio confirmed a Politico report that he was urged to run for re-election on Sunday in Orlando, Florida, by one of the Republicans contending for the seat, his friend Lieutenant Governor Carlos Lopez-Cantera. The two men were in Orlando after the shooting that killed 49 people at a gay nightclub. Another Florida Republican hopeful, U.S. Representative David Jolly, has indicated he would step aside if Rubio entered the race. Rubio must decide whether to seek re-election by June 24, the filing deadline for Florida’s August primary. | 1 |
2,136 | Man Shoots His Ex-Girlfriend In The Face, But It’s All Good Because This Is Florida | A North Miami resident shot his unarmed ex-girlfriend after following her into the ladies room at a Denny s in 2013, and he s now facing his hearing. He s been charged with attempted murder, but he and his lawyers are invoking Florida s insanely loose stand your ground law as a defense for him. That law has been used to justify all manner of shootings in that state.Brooke Tuchinsky, the victim, survived with a broken jaw. Sean Barnes, the shooter, claims he saw her open her purse and pull out something shiny. Fearing for his life, he pulled his gun and fired. However, Tuchinsky was found unarmed, and her purse was closed. She wouldn t have been able to put the object back in her purse and close it after getting shot in the face. Barnes told a bald-faced lie right there.Barnes lawyers are maintaining that he never intended to use the gun for anything other than self-defense, and that Tuchinsky was allegedly stalking him. That s all he really needs for a defense. Florida s dangerous law has made vigilante justice, and shooting people out of anger, entirely too easy since people no longer need to prove they tried to get out of a situation before using lethal force.While Tuchinsky does have a history of causing problems for ex-boyfriends, she also said that Barnes threatened her: I bought a new gun and would love to use it on you and make it look like an accident or self-defense. In a sane state, that would be pretty damning, even if every word Barnes spoke about Tuchinsky s actions was true. But not in Florida. Never Florida. In fact, Miami judges have cleared several people from wrongdoing under stand your ground, and the Florida Supreme Court decided that anybody invoking stand your ground, had a right to a hearing before a judge, who would decide whether their claim was valid. If it is, then the case would be dismissed and the defendant wouldn t be held responsible for legal fees or court costs.It s a little difficult to claim stand your ground when you lied about the person you were facing being armed. And with that law, Barnes doesn t have to have tried to leave the Denny s after the two got into an argument requiring employees to separate them. The fact remains that, instead of leaving, he followed her, likely with intent to shoot her, and then shot her. Then he lied about what took place. That s horrible, regardless of how horrible his situation was.Featured image via screen capture | 0 |
2,137 | This NRA Radio Host Just Likened Dems Fighting For Gun Safety Laws To ‘Criminals And Terrorists’ (VIDEO) | The Republican Party s response to making America a safer place following the most devastating mass shooting in modern America has been truly despicable.Just a week after the tragic shooting at a nightclub in Orlando, Florida an incident which left almost 50 dead and dozens injured the GOP decided to strike down an attempt to pass gun control legislation yesterday. As Republicans went to lunch and then continued on with their lives without a care in the world, Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) led Democrats in staging a 25-hour sit-in on the House of Representatives floor in protest.The GOP s reaction to this powerful protest has been just as disappointing as its response to senseless gun violence. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan commented on the sit-in and called it a publicity stunt and a cry for attention. Now, a radio host for the National Rifle Association has taken those comments a step further and compared the Democrats fighting to protect Americans from gun violence to criminals and terrorists. On the NRA s radio show Cam & Company, host Cam Edwards claimed that just like terrorists and criminals, the Democrats participating in the sit-in were not following rules. He said: So in order to push legislation that the sponsors say would not have prevented the attacks in Orlando, Florida, they re also going to flout the House rules. Kind of like, you know, criminals and terrorists flout the rules that we have in place right now and will continue to do so? Edwards also said that those Democrats were in violation of House rules on photography because they continued to post the event after House Republicans turned off C-SPAN cameras.To make Edwards comments even more infuriating, he actually tried to educate Rep. Lewis, who is a civil rights legend, on civil rights movements. Edwards whitesplained the Democrats sit-in: I don t know what to call it, a sit-in, again, generally speaking we saw the sit-ins in the civil rights movement that were advocating for individuals being able to enjoy the same rights that other Americans enjoyed, right? That s what the protests were, that s what we re sitting at this lunch counter and we re not leaving until we get served. Not we re sitting at this lunch counter and we re not leaving until you remove this item from the menu.We re going to sit right here and we re not leaving until you recognize us as human beings, as Americans who have the same rights that that guy has over there and that she has over there. That s what the sit-ins were about in the civil rights movement. This, on the other hand, this isn t Congress demanding more rights for Americans, this isn t Congress demanding rights for themselves, this is Congress demanding power. These are House Democrats demanding the authority and the power to ignore the Fifth Amendment when they see fit, to view the Bill of Rights as an impediment to lawmakers, to treat it as such and to try to degrade. Kind of like what they say with ISIS right? Blind white privilege is an ugly, terrifying thing. You can watch Edwards disgusting comments below:No matter what the GOP serves up, Lewis and his fellow Dems have vowed to keep the pressure on the Republicans to change gun laws. Lewis promised that the fight would continue immediately after the July 4th holiday: On July 5, we re going to continue to push, to pull, stand up and if necessary, to sit down. Featured image via Elizabeth Warren Twitter | 0 |
2,138 | White House proposes reviving Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House’s 2018 budget plan for the U.S. Department of Energy includes $120 million for nuclear waste programs including the restart of licensing for Nevada’s Yucca Mountain, a project stalled for years by lawsuits and local opposition. The move signals that President Donald Trump may consider that nuclear waste solutions could extend the lives of existing U.S. nuclear power plants and speed up innovations in next- generation nuclear plants that backers say are safer than previous reactors. Congress will debate the budget and it is uncertain whether funds for waste will remain in the plan. While Yucca Mountain would store waste on a practically permanent basis, the budget money would also support programs for storing waste at interim sites before Yucca opens. “These investments would accelerate progress on fulfilling the federal government’s obligations to address nuclear waste, enhance national security, and reduce future taxpayer burden,” according to a summary of the budget. Yucca has been studied by the U.S. government since the 1970s as a potential repository for the nation’s radioactive waste and billions of dollars have been spent on it. But Yucca has never opened because of legal challenges and widespread opposition from local politicians, environmentalists and Native American groups. In 2010, then-President Barack Obama withdrew the license to store waste at Yucca amid opposition from then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a fellow Democrat from Nevada. Maria Korsnick, the head of the Nuclear Energy Institute industry group, said the industry was encouraged by the plan for waste projects but that nuclear energy innovators were “nervous” about cuts to programs that have supported public-private partnerships to bring new nuclear technologies to market. The budget eliminates funding for the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy and an innovative technology loan guarantee program that have been popular with both Democrats and many Republicans. Trump’s energy secretary, Rick Perry, told lawmakers at his confirmation hearing that restarting the Yucca Mountain project could not be ruled out, but that he would collaborate with states. “I am very aware that this is an issue this country has been flummoxed by for 30 years. We have spent billions of dollars on this issue,” Perry told the hearing in January. “I’ll work closely with you and the members of this committee to find the answers to this issue.” The White House proposal for the Department of Energy budget calls for an overall cut of 5.6 percent. | 1 |
2,139 | Trump adds five conservatives to list of possible Supreme Court picks | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a move certain to please conservatives, President Donald Trump on Friday added five names to his list of candidates for a prospective U.S. Supreme Court vacancy as he presses ahead with a campaign to move the federal judiciary to the right. Two of them are appellate judges who were nominated by Trump earlier this year and confirmed by the Senate: Amy Coney Barrett and Kevin Newsom. Another, Brett Kavanaugh, sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, long viewed as a stepping-stone to the high court. The others were Britt Grant, a Georgia Supreme Court justice, and Patrick Wyrick, a Oklahoma Supreme Court justice. There is no current vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court but three justices are 79 or older. During his presidential campaign last year, Trump identified 20 conservative candidates for the Supreme Court. Upon taking office, he named Neil Gorsuch to the court to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia, restoring the Supreme Court’s conservative majority. Gorsuch was confirmed by the Senate in April and has established himself as one of the Supreme Court’s most conservative justices. Speaking at a Federalist Society conference of conservative legal advocates, White House Counsel Donald McGahn said Trump is “very committed” to appointing judges who are “committed originalists and textualists,” referring to a legal philosophy that relies on the actual wording of laws and the original meaning of the U.S. Constitution. “They all have paper trails. They all are sitting judges. There is nothing unknown about them. What you see is what you get,” McGahn said. The five jurists, all with strong conservative credentials, were added to the list with input from conservative leaders, and should another seat on the court open up, Trump will nominate a candidate from the updated list of 25, the White House said. Leonard Leo, an advisor to the president on Supreme Court nominations, said Trump thought it was time to refresh the original list. “When you’re committed to picking from a list you want to make sure it’s as complete as possible,” Leo said in an interview. Kavanaugh, who was appointed to the federal bench in 2006 by Republican former President George W. Bush, served as a White House counsel under Bush and worked as an assistant to Kenneth Starr, the independent counsel who investigated Democratic former President Bill Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Grant and Wyrick both joined state challenges to the Affordable Care Act, Democratic former President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law, and Obama regulations aimed at reducing emissions from coal-burning power plants, said Carrie Severino, chief counsel of the Judicial Crisis Network, a conservative legal advocacy group. The court currently consists of five conservatives and four liberals, with conservative Justice Anthony Kennedy sometimes joining with the liberals on high-profile issues such as gay rights and abortion. At 81, Kennedy is the second-oldest justice on the court behind liberal Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 84, and some former Kennedy clerks have said he is considering retirement. Liberal Justice Stephen Breyer is 79. Should any of those step down, Trump would get a historic opportunity to shape the court in a more conservative direction for decades to come. Supreme Court appointments are lifetime jobs. Conservatives criticize the federal judiciary as too liberal, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions at the same conference lashed out at “activist judges.” Trump already has taken steps to make the federal judiciary more conservative, with 14 judicial appointees already confirmed by the Senate and more in the pipeline. Catherine Glenn Foster, president of the anti-abortion advocacy group Americans United for Life, said she was pleased with the new selections. “From their known records they tend to be strong on recognizing the protections for life,” she said in an interview. On Friday, Republican Alabama Governor Kay Ivey said she would support her party’s Senate candidate Roy Moore, who has been accused by several women of unwanted sexual contact, because of the importance of keeping the Senate under Republican control should another Supreme Court vacancy arise. | 1 |
2,140 | Factbox: Trump on Twitter (Dec 4) - Roy Moore, Stock Market | The following statements were posted to the verified Twitter accounts of U.S. President Donald Trump, @realDonaldTrump and @POTUS. The opinions expressed are his own. Reuters has not edited the statements or confirmed their accuracy. @realDonaldTrump : - Democrats refusal to give even one vote for massive Tax Cuts is why we need Republican Roy Moore to win in Alabama. We need his vote on stopping crime, illegal immigration, Border Wall, Military, Pro Life, V.A., Judges 2nd Amendment and more. No to Jones, a Pelosi/Schumer Puppet! [0617 EST] - Putting Pelosi/Schumer Liberal Puppet Jones into office in Alabama would hurt our great Republican Agenda of low on taxes, tough on crime, strong on military and borders...& so much more. Look at your 401-k’s since Election. Highest Stock Market EVER! Jobs are roaring back [0700 EST] - With the great vote on Cutting Taxes, this could be a big day for the Stock Market - and YOU! [0703 EST] - A must watch: Legal Scholar Alan Dershowitz was just on @foxandfriends talking of what is going on with respect to the greatest Witch Hunt in U.S. political history. Enjoy! [0735 EST] -- Source link: (bit.ly/2jBh4LU) (bit.ly/2jpEXYR) | 1 |
2,141 | Trump touts 'great' day in D.C. meeting with Republicans: Twitter | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump said on Thursday he had a “great day” in Washington meeting with Republican leaders, including U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan. “Great day in D.C. with (Ryan) and Republican leadership. Things working out really well!” he wrote in a Twitter post. The meetings marked an effort within the Republican Party to unify following a contentious primary battle for the Republican presidential nomination. | 1 |
2,142 | Number of uninsured unchanged in revised U.S. health bill: CBO | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A revised Republican bill to dismantle Obamacare moving through the U.S. House of Representatives would lead to the same number of Americans losing health insurance as under the initial plan, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office said on Thursday. The CBO said the revised bill would raise the number of uninsured in 2026 by 24 million, compared to current law. In an analysis of the initial bill, it had also said 24 million more Americans would end up uninsured. (bit.ly/2mVMHA9) | 1 |
2,143 | presstvputin why would we attack anybody | foreign policy during a debate at the house of commons in parliament on wednesday british prime minister theresa may shunned answering the call of labour leader jeremy corbyn to end the countrys weapons sales to saudi arabia
british prime minister theresa may has refused to withdraw support for saudi arabias place at the un human rights council despite the regimes atrocities in yemen
during a debate at the house of commons in parliament on wednesday may shunned answering the call of labour leader jeremy corbyn to end the countrys weapons sales to saudi arabia
the issues are being investigated we are very clear that the only solution that is going to work for yemen is actually to make sure that we have the political solution that will give stability in yemen may told corbyn and the parliamentarians
instead of answering the direct question may spoke about the uk governments contribution to the humanitarian aid provided to the crisistorn country
corbyn also questioned mays support for saudi arabias membership in the un human rights council a crucial vote on the membership of riyadh in the council will take place later this month a yemeni man stands on october at the site of an air raid on a funeral ceremony that killed people and wounded on october photo by afp
london has repeatedly been blamed by human rights groups including oxfam and amnesty international for fueling the yemeni war by supplying saudi arabia with weapons
since the conflict began last year the british government has approved more than billion billion in arms sales to the saudis and military contractors hope more deals are in the pipeline
yemen has been under almost daily airstrikes by saudi arabia since march international sources put the death toll from the aggression at almost
rights groups have also condemned the kingdoms crackdown on dissent and prosecution of proreform activists loading | 1 |
2,144 | Erdogan, Putin discuss Iraqi Kurdish referendum - Turkish presidential sources | ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the Iraqi Kurdish independence referendum by phone on Monday and laid stress on the territorial integrity of both Iraq and Syria, Turkish presidential sources said. They said the two leaders also talked about the Astana process regarding Syria and agreed to discuss regional developments at greater length when they meet in the Turkish capital Ankara on Thursday. | 1 |
2,145 | Defying Trump, Green Party pursues recounts in three states | NEW YORK (Reuters) - Green Party presidential nominee Jill Stein pressed her case on Monday for recounts of U.S. presidential ballots in three states, and locked horns with President-elect Donald Trump over her motives. Stein sued Pennsylvania election officials in federal court, demanding a statewide recount. Michigan workers began a Stein-requested recount after a federal judge there ordered one without delay. In Wisconsin, a recount that Stein requested continued into a second week. Even if all three recounts are completed, they are extremely unlikely to change the outcome of the Nov. 8 election in which the three states, which had voted Democratic in recent presidential elections, helped seal a victory for Trump, a Republican. On Sunday, Trump proclaimed Stein’s effort a failure and questioned her motives, saying on Twitter: “Just a Stein scam to raise money!” At a news conference on Monday across the street from Trump Tower in Manhattan, Stein said every dollar she raised for the recount was going to an account for that purpose. She has raised $7.2 million toward a $9.5 million goal, according to her website. “We urge Donald Trump to look at the facts, not to make up the facts,” Stein said. Stein said her recount push in the three “Rust Belt” states was not meant to change the election’s result but to focus attention on concerns about the integrity of voting systems in the three states. Trump and his supporters have fought to end the recounts by filing lawsuits. “We are here to assure Donald Trump that there is nothing to be afraid of,” Stein said. “If you believe in democracy, if you believe in the credibility of your victory, put down your arms, end your bureaucratic obstruction.” Some voting machines in Pennsylvania lack a paper trail, making them vulnerable to hacking or other problems, she said. A few Trump allies protested Stein’s appearance with her supporters at Trump Tower, where Trump’s offices and apartment home are located. “I think the people out here today don’t believe in democracy,” said Jim MacDonald, a 67-year-old actuary from the borough of Queens. He held a sign that read: “Dr Jill is a quack,” and said he voted for Trump. “He’s their president whether they like it or not,” MacDonald said. Stein took about 1 percent of the popular vote, far behind Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton. Although Clinton won the national popular vote, she lost to Trump in the Electoral College, the 538-person body chosen state-by-state that actually selects the president. Trump won a projected 306 electoral votes and is scheduled to be sworn in on Jan. 20. Stein won no Electoral College votes. Federal law requires states to resolve disputes over the appointment of electors by Dec. 13, adding pressure on Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin to wrap up any recounts. In Wisconsin, the recount has produced only minor shifts because of human error, state officials said on Monday. In one county, Clinton gained 13 votes that were not counted on Election Day because voters used non-standard pens to mark their ballots. An initial request by Stein for a recount in Pennsylvania failed on Saturday after a state judge ordered her campaign to post a $1 million bond. A federal lawsuit was her next best option, she said. A spokeswoman for Pennsylvania election officials said they would not comment on pending litigation. In Michigan, the state said on Monday that a recount of presidential ballots had begun after an order from a federal judge directing officials to complete the process by Dec. 13. U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith issued the written order early on Monday after a Sunday night hearing in federal court in the Eastern District of Michigan. Goldsmith ordered that, once started, the recount “must continue until further order of this court.” The state had planned to wait until Wednesday to begin the recount. In his ruling, Goldsmith wrote that “budgetary concerns are not sufficiently significant to risk the disenfranchisement of Michigan’s nearly 5 million voters.” The Michigan Republican Party filed court papers to appeal Goldsmith’s ruling. Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, a Republican, sued on Friday to halt the requested recount in the state, which Trump won by about 10,700 votes. The Michigan Court of Appeals has scheduled a hearing on Schuette’s suit for Tuesday afternoon. Although the Clinton campaign did not initiate the recount effort, it says it is participating to make sure the process is fair to all sides. | 1 |
2,146 | HOT MIC! PRESS GOES BONKERS At Trump Presser: “This sh*t is nuts … that guy was assaulting me” [Video] | President Donald Trump and South Korea s President Moon Jae-In held a press conference earlier today and it got waaay out of control complete with a hot mic moment The press is so disrespectful! A hot mic at MSNBC picked up this comment: this shit is nuts that guy was assaulting me A lamp was almost knocked over (see video below)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAKIQKn9bAEA mob of media rushed like crazy people into the Oval Office! You can hear people saying easy fellas go easy as the press and photographers all jockeyed for position.As the media frenzy continued, they bumped into the couches which pushed one of the end tables knocking over a lamp next to the President. Fortunately President Trump s personal bodyguard Keith Schiller was in position and quickly caught the lamp.Trump s bodyguard Keith Schiller catches lamp in Oval Office during visit with South Korean President Moon:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sp0VgLCXvLwPRESIDENT TURMP S BODYGUARD IS A SAINT:King Keith (Schiller) keeping POTUS safe for the past two decades.Catches lamp knocked over by unruly prestitutes aimed at POTUS head. pic.twitter.com/cnXGWZFhiV H. H. (@HH36133705) June 30, 2017 | 0 |
2,147 | Jake Tapper STUNNED By Trump’s Stupidity, SHREDS His Denial Of Global Warming (VIDEO) | If there s one thing Donald Trump has an extremely hard time accepting, it s evidence and facts. It doesn t matter how much proven, scientifically backed data you put in front of the undeserving POTUS his first impulse is to whine about how biased and dishonest the information is, even when it comes to something as serious and common sense as climate change.On Friday, CNN s Jake Tapper tore Trump a new one by making fun of his denial of what is happening to our environment. In a segment on Australia s Great Barrier Reef, Tapper mocked Trump for previously calling global warming a hoax invented by the Chinese. As Tapper spoke about coral bleaching and the effects that the rising temperatures have had on the Great Barrier Reef, Tapper stated that coral bleaching was proof that climate change, at least partially man made, is destroying the planet, noting that once-colorful coral reefs off the coast of Australia are now being bleached white. Then Tapper made sure that no one forgot that the current President of the United States is an absolute moron. Perfectly explaining why Trump s climate change denial is devastating, Tapper said: This news comes at a time at a time President Trump has proposed cutting billions of dollars from programs to study and help combat the effects of climate change which in the past he s called a Chinese hoax. It is, of course, not a Chinese hoax. It s seriously depressing to know that the man in the White House has called climate change a hoax. At a time when we cannot trust our President to make decent decisions on behalf of our country (let alone the planet), we re lucky to have reporters like Tapper reminding us that denying facts has serious consequences. You can watch Tapper take Trump to the woodshed below:Featured image is a screenshot | 0 |
2,148 | BOOM! FBI DIRECTOR CALLS HILLARY Out After She LIES About Gravity Of Investigation | It s not shocking that Hillary s lying again, but it s probably not such a good idea to start out the investigation by lying to the public about it Hillary Clinton is fond of downplaying the gravity of the FBI s investigation into her private email server by calling it a security review, but that s a term that has no meaning to FBI director James Comey.Talking to reporters during a meeting at FBI headquarters on Wednesday, Comey said that the term security inquiry does not register with him and that agents are conducting an investigation. It s in our name. I m not familiar with the term security inquiry, Comey said, according to Politico s Josh Gerstein.Clinton has refused to use the term investigation to describe the probe, which is looking at whether classified information was mishandled on her private email server. She refers to it in interviews as a security review, as do her campaign team and surrogates. Daily Caller | 0 |
2,149 | Hillary Is Asked Why Ambassador Stevens Didn’t Have Her Personal Email If He Was Such A Good Friend, But Political Hit Man Sydney Blumenthal Did [VIDEO] | Of course Hillary manages to turn the question around and make it appear as though the Congressman never asked her a direct question. Her answer to the Congressman was an admonishment asking the question was somehow calling the credibility of the diplomatic security professionals working in the State Department Hillary Clinton is a highly skilled liar who always manage to dodge the actual question and leave you wondering, How the hell did she just get out of answering that question! Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that she doesn t believe Ambassador Chris Stevens had her personal email, even though Sidney Blumenthal did in testimony before the Benghazi Select Committee on Thursday.Hillary was asked by Representative Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA) You got a lot of emails from Sidney Blumenthal, and you say that Mr. Blumenthal was a friend of yours, and he had your personal email address. You say Chris Stevens was a friend of yours. He asked numerous times for extra protection. Now, if I had been Mr. Stevens, and I think anybody out there, anybody watching this, would agree, if I had been Mr. Stevens, and I had had a relationship with you, and I had requested 20 or more times for additional security to protect, not only my life, but the people that were there with me, I would have gotten in touch with you some way. I would have let you know that I was in danger, and the situation had deteriorated to a point I needed you to do something. Did he have your personal email? She answered, Congressman, I do not believe that he had my personal email. He had the email, and he had the direct line to everybody that he d worked with for years. He had been posted with officials in the State Department. They had gone through difficult, challenging, dangerous assignments together. He was in constant contact with people. | 0 |
2,150 | The Daily Show Puts Vile Fox Host In Her Place For Accusing President Obama Of Faking Tears (VIDEO) | Trevor Noah has been criticized for not taking on Fox News as much as Jon Stewart used to do, but on Wednesday, the new Daily Show host proved he can be just as tough on them.On Tuesday, President Obama delivered a speech announcing new executive actions to combat the epidemic of gun violence in this country. As he referenced the 20 children murdered at Sandy Hook, Obama could no longer hold in his emotions and began to shed tears. Clearly, the deaths of these children and all the children who have been killed by guns affects him deeply.But the heartless hosts of Fox News quickly accused President Obama of faking crying. Andrea Tantaros of Outnumbered stirred much outrage after suggesting that Obama kept an onion in the podium. I would check that podium for like a raw onion or some No More Tears, Tantaros said in agreement with her colleagues. It s not really believable. And the award goes to we are in awards season. Trevor Noah, on the other hand, had a completely different reaction. He praised President Obama and declared that it is about time that something was finally done to combat gun violence. Noah even appreciated President Obama s raw emotion. See that thing you re feeling right now, that pain in your chest that comes from watching someone weep on national television, because he knows that society can do better than to file the shooting of children under shit happens? That feeling is how you know that you re human. No matter how opposed to Obama s policies people may be or how cynical their politics they have to at least acknowledge and respect the raw authenticity of that emotion. Or so you would think. After playing a clip of Tantaros accusing Obama of crying fake tears, Noah expressed his disgust and lamented that she shares the title of human being with everyone else. Are you fucking kidding me?! Shedding tears when you think of murdered children is not really believable? You know what? There is something here that is not really believable, the fact that the rest of us have to share the title of human being with you. Here s the video via Comedy Central.The Daily Show with Trevor Noah Get More: The Daily Show Full Episodes,The Daily Show on Facebook,The Daily Show Video ArchiveAndrea Tantaros is a vile sorry excuse for a human being for accusing President Obama of pretending to cry over children whose lives were cut unfairly short by guns. It is absolutely heartless for anyone to think such a thing, and Tantaros should be ashamed of herself.Featured image via video screen capture | 0 |
2,151 | At least 12 dead in bus crash on excursion to Mexican ruins | MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Twelve people died and 18 were injured on Tuesday in Mexico s state of Quintana Roo when a tour bus lost control and rolled over during an excursion to ancient ruins. The bus was carrying 31 passengers, including citizens of the United States, Brazil and Sweden, authorities said. A child was among the dead. Quintana Roo is one of three states on Mexico s Yucatan Peninsula, which has popular tourist sites. Twenty-seven of the passengers had been traveling on Royal Caribbean cruise ships, spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez said. Our hearts go out to all those involved in the bus accident, Martinez said in a statement. We are doing all we can to care for our guests, including assisting with medical care and transportation. The tourists were headed to the archaeological zone of Chacchoben, an ancient Mayan ruin south of the resort town of Tulum, when the vehicle veered off the highway early on Tuesday. After the accident, passengers were taken to hospitals, bus company Costa Maya said in a statement. Five have been discharged and the injured were in stable condition, it said. The government of Quintana Roo said in a statement that it was investigating the cause of the accident. The U.S. embassy in Mexico said it was working with authorities to learn whether U.S. citizens were aboard the bus. Last year, 11 tourists were killed in a crash in Quintana Roo when their bus flipped en route to Cancun, the Associated Press reported. | 1 |
2,152 | ANTI-TRUMP VANDALS Hit Dr. Ben Carson’s House…Paint “F*ck Trump” on House [Video] | Dr. Ben Carson was interviewed by a local TV station and relayed a story of grace after his home was vandalized. He also discussed the events in Charlottesville and the removal of Confederate statues. The secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said he believes dialogue can help overcome hate and bigotry.Carson said his home was vandalized earlier this summer while he was away: We were out of town and our house was toilet papered, Carson told News4 s Meagan Fitzgerald. They had painted F Trump on it as well. He said neighbors cleaned up the mess, and he responded with grace. That really is the message that I try to get out to people. You can t necessarily control the animosity and the hatred of someone else, but you can control how you react, he said.When asked about Charlottesville he said education is key | 0 |
2,153 | Poland tells EU its overhaul of judiciary in line with EU standards | WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland said on Monday that the legislative process overhauling its judiciary is in line with European standards and called the European Commission s concerns about rule of law in the country groundless. On July 26, the Commission said it would launch legal action against Poland over the reforms and gave Warsaw a month to respond to concerns that the process undermines the independence of judges and breaks EU rules. Last month, Polish President Andrzej Duda signed into a law a bill giving the justice minister the power to replace heads of ordinary courts, but after mass street protests blocked two other bills. The vetoed bills would have empowered the government and parliament to replace Supreme Court judges and most members of a high-level judicial panel. In response ... the Polish side emphasized that the legislative process which has the primary goal of reforming the justice system is in line with European standards and answers social expectations that have been growing for years, therefore the Commission s doubts are groundless, the foreign ministry said in a statement. The ministry also said that in the spirit of loyal cooperation it has provided the European Commission with all necessary information on the situation in Poland. Poland s right-wing, eurosceptic government says the reforms are needed to streamline a slow, outdated legal system and make judges more accountable to the people. It has already tightened control of state media and took steps that critics said politicized the constitutional court. | 1 |
2,154 | This Is What Fox News Considered ‘News’ As Everyone Else Covered Indictment Of Trump Camp Manager | This morning, Trump s former campaign manager was indicted for conspiracy against the United States, a.k.a. treason (among other things you can read the full list of charges here), and ordered to turn himself in to the FBI. As he did so, every news outlet was busy covering it, reporting on the situation as it developed. Except for Fox News. They must have needed some time to decide on their spin because they were reporting on candy and hamburger emojis while the story on Paul Manafort unfolded.Seriously. They were reporting on Halloween candy and some kind of hamburger emoji crisis at Google as the first indictment in Robert Mueller s Russia investigation was unsealed and handed down.8:30AM: CNN, Bloomberg, MSNBC, Fox pic.twitter.com/zfbo4PriSo Rogue CPI (@RogueCPI) October 30, 2017As of 8:41, Fox has moved on to real issues. pic.twitter.com/DwGqgthW5R Rae Whitlock (@RaeWhitlock) October 30, 2017This is FOX News currently pic.twitter.com/4yInN7exr5 Josh S nchez (@jnsanchez) October 30, 2017CNN: Paul Manafort to turn himself in to FBI today MSNBC: Manfort Told to Surrender Fox News: Important story on hamburger emojis ??? pic.twitter.com/AQ8GxpAh8N StrictlyCovfef ? (@christoq) October 30, 2017Everybody else is talking about the Paul Manafort arrest, @foxnews is talking about cheeseburger emojis. #MuellerMonday pic.twitter.com/Y8vqPcIMYG CarrieTBow (@CarrieTBow) October 30, 2017They did start talking about Manafort, and even published an opinion piece from contributor Erick Erickson, who is trying to spin this news into nothing by saying that it looks like the charges against Manafort have nothing to do with Trump. He is, of course, calling the whole thing a conspiracy in which Mueller comes up completely empty on the collusion story.Har de har har. Manafort is a slimeball. Unless Trump has something serious on him (and what could be more serious than the charges already against him?), Manafort will probably place his own ass above Trump s.Featured image via Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images and Twitter | 0 |
2,155 | Former Mexican President Challenges Trump To A Debate – In Mexico | As Donald Trump continues to attack Mexicans, with his recent comments surrounding the Trump University lawsuit judge, Mexico s former president has one message for the GOP frontrunner: debate me.After chickening out of a debate with Bernie Sanders, Vicente Fox, who served as president of Mexico from 2000 to 2006, challenged the frontrunner to a televised encounter in San Cristobal, Mexico (with a free lunch included). In an interview on Rita Crosby s radio program Election Central, Fox said: I m willing to come here, to come here, to the States, if it s for a debate. A direct personal debate with him. Yes, we can use national broadcasting, public broadcasting. With you, we can do that debate. Fox then went on to jab Trump over his $10 million request for a debate, and said that a debate would be focused on ideas and not the overly sensationalist: One condition that it s done in Mexico because I need him to see what Mexico is all about, to see what we Mexicans are all about. He will change his attitude toward Mexico would expect that he would listen to my arguments, that he would put his arguments on the table, but we both are obliged to document, to sustain with facts and numbers what we re saying, and not just lying or cheating to people. So, let s see if Trump will take his first opportunity at being presidential and have a cordial, factual conversation with a foreign leader. When he s not busy praising Putin or Jong-un, maybe he can take the time to actually listen to a real leader (one that doesn t rule with an authoritarian fist).But seeing how Trump is a chicken, and doesn t like to engage in a mature manner, the debate with Fox will be as likely as the one with Sanders. And of course Trump wouldn t dare take the bait, because once Fox proves that his people aren t what Trump paints them out to be, there goes his best talking point to his racist supporters.Featured image via Flickr | 0 |
2,156 | kanye tour cancelled after protrump rants update kanye hospitalized | meet all the pundits pandering for a trump adminstration job by aaron bandler november
with donald trump set to take office in a couple of months a number of his lackeys have reportedly been in talks about possibly serving in the administration as of this writing there are three protrump pundits that might be in the trump administration
eric bolling politico reported that bolling was seen at trump tower and was reportedly discussed for a position in the department of commerce what exactly that position that will be is not clear bolling told politico that he cant confirm anything
geraldo rivera flatout asked bolling on the five if he had been offered a job and bolling gave a nonanswer
bolling has been with fox news since where he is the cohost of the five and hosts the weekend show cashin in before then he had been an analyst on cnbc and a new york mercantile exchange nymex trader bolling has been an ardent supporter of trump from the getgo to the point where he resorted to some loony ideas
laura ingraham according to cnn money ingraham is being heavily considered for president trumps press secretary here is what ingraham has said on the matter
i am honored to be considered for that job and other jobs so well see what happens ingraham said on fox news
she cautioned i think people are getting a little far ahead of the narrative but she strongly suggested that some sort of trump administration post is in the works
its a big decision but im at the point where if my country needs me and if i can do something to actually you know advance the trump agenda which is stuff i have written about now for years with trade immigration and just renewing america then i obviously have to seriously consider that she told foxs tucker carlson
like bolling ingraham who has been a nationally syndicated radio host since has also been an early supporter of trump going as far as saying that nevertrump conservatives support partial birth abortion and her website lifezette attacked conservatives like ben shapiro for opposing the altright as usual shapiro punched back hard
jeanine pirro pirro accompanied by rudy giuliani was seen headed inside trump tower which has led to speculation that she is being considered for a job in the trump administration according to page six what that job would be is not known
pirro also has been an early trump supporter and she has claimed to have known him for years pirros exhusband al pirro has been described as a man donald trump keeps on retainer as a realestate lawyer and trump once donated to pirro when she ran for new york state attorney general
pirro has been with fox news since and hosts justice with judge jeanine on saturdays she also has an extensive legal career as a prosecutor in the state of new york and initially challenged hillary clinton when she ran for reelection in the senate before dropping out to run for state attorney general tags | 1 |
2,157 | Nearly 30,000 Kurds displaced from city near Kirkuk: aid groups | BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Nearly 30,000 Kurds have been displaced from a multi-ethnic city south of Kirkuk where sectarian tension flared after Iraqi forces took control of it, humanitarian organizations said on Wednesday. Most of those displaced from Tuz Khurmato are in need of urgent aid and staying in open shelters, officials from two international humanitarian organizations told Reuters. A third, Amnesty International, said on Tuesday that satellite images, videos, photos and dozens of testimonies indicate that hundreds of properties were looted, set on fire and destroyed in what appeared to be a targeted attack on predominantly Kurdish areas of the city of about 100,000 people. The Kurds fled after Kurdish Peshmerga fighters withdrew from the city on Oct. 16, as government forces and Iranian-backed Sh ite Popular Mobilisation moved in retaliation for an independence referendum held by the Kurdistan region authorities last month. Tuz, located between oil-rich Kirkuk and Baghdad, is also inhabited by Sh ite Turkmen and Arabs. Many of the people displaced are staying in the open and in public places, in schools, mosques or unfinished buildings, Said Jennifer Connet, Oxfam s Program Manager. They need emergency aid and also psychological support as many lost contact with children and relatives or witnessed traumatic incidents as they fled. The official of the other organization confirmed that account but gave only as background information in order not compromise its access to the displaced people. At least 11 civilians were killed, Amnesty said, citing testimonies of people who escaped from the city who said they were attacked by Turkmen Shiite paramilitaries. Popular Mobilisation, a paramilitary force trained in Iran and supporting the Iraqi government in the region, was not involved in the violence that happened in the city, spokesman Karim Nuri told Reuters in Baghdad. It was not forced displacement, our Kurdish brothers fled fearing reprisals, he said, calling on government security to put an end to the unrest. Problems happened between the different components, clans, families, he said, refuting the political nature of the exodus. The Kurds displaced from Tuz fled to the neighboring regions of Diyala, Sulaimaniya, and some to Erbil, further north, said Connet. Humanitarian access to the displaced families is possible but going to Tuz is extremely difficult, she said. | 1 |
2,158 | Secret Service says no weapon was found in Trump incident | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Secret Service said on Saturday night an incident at a campaign event for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in Reno, Nevada, began when someone shouted “gun” but no weapon was found. “Immediately in front of the stage, an unidentified individual shouted ‘gun.’ Secret Service agents and Reno Police Officers immediately apprehended the subject. Upon a thorough search of the subject and the surrounding area, no weapon was found,” the Secret Service said in a statement. “A thorough investigation is ongoing at this time by the U.S. Secret Service and the Reno Police Department,” it said. | 1 |
2,159 | Trump travel curbs pose revenue challenges for U.S. colleges | NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - President Donald Trump’s travel restrictions on people from seven countries could dampen international enrollment at U.S. colleges, at a time they have become increasingly reliant on tuition revenue from overseas students. Colleges and universities have struggled in recent years with slowing tuition growth, increased competition and a stronger focus on making education more affordable. (Graphic: here) Those factors have increased the importance of international students, who made up 5.2 percent of enrollment last year, up from 3.2 percent a decade earlier, according to the Institute of International Education, or IIE. “International student growth is important for many institutions,” said Roy Eappen, municipal research analyst at Wells Fargo. “Many international students come to the U.S. to study and are willing to pay full price for higher education.” Analysts said international student applications could be hit by the White House travel order. Trump suspended travelers from seven majority-Muslim countries - Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen - saying the move would help protect Americans from terrorist attacks. The curbs come “at a delicate point in the admissions cycle” because students are beginning to decide where to enroll this autumn, said Susan Fitzgerald, associate managing director, Moody’s. “You could see an impact in the fall. We just don’t know yet.” U.S. universities in both Democratic- and Republican-led states said over the weekend they were unnerved by the executive order. Lee Bollinger, president of New York’s Columbia University, wrote in a statement on Sunday that “if this order stands, there is the certainty of a profound impact on our University community.” Of the 1,043,839 international students in the United States during the 2015-16 school year, 17,354, or 1.7 percent, came from the countries affected by the order, IIE data shows. While that is a small portion of the total, there could be a broader impact on the country’s ability to attract students from the global marketplace if the United States becomes viewed as potentially less welcoming for international students, some analysts said. Wells Fargo’s Eappen said any kind of anti-immigration sentiment may lead to a pullback in demand from international students. IIE President Allan Goodman said in an emailed statement that “beyond the immediate impact of students from specific countries who are not able to enter the country, there could be a ripple effect of significant unintended economic consequences as students, faculty and researchers from other countries decide whether to come to the United States.” Public universities have increasingly fallen victim to state budget cuts or tuition freezes, while many private universities now discount tuition, meaning they slash their price tags to lure prospective students. In many parts of the country, enrollment numbers are on the decline and university debt is on the rise. That makes attracting international students increasingly important. International students make up an estimated 10 to 12 percent of tuition revenue among U.S. schools rated by Moody’s, Fitzgerald said. “University education for Americans is subsidized by foreigners who occupy seats in classrooms,” said David Kotok, chairman and chief investment officer of Cumberland Advisors. “Ask any dean or provost what his school’s financial structure would look like if there were no foreign students enrolled.” According to NAFSA, an international education association, international students contributed $32.8 billion and supported more than 400,000 jobs in the U.S. economy during the 2015-2016 academic year. Moody’s Fitzgerald said international students had become a counterweight to the relatively low revenue growth from domestic students among U.S. schools. “It would be an additional challenge for the sector should it fall,” Fitzgerald said. | 1 |
2,160 | U.S. to send 3,500 additional troops to Afghanistan | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will send about 3,500 additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan, U.S. officials said on Wednesday, a figure broadly in line with expectations as the United States boosts support for the Afghan military. The disclosure by the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, comes as Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine General Joseph Dunford hold closed door briefings with members of Congress about President Donald Trump s regional strategy. The Pentagon said it would not comment on additional troop numbers until Mattis makes an announcement. If confirmed, it would bring the total number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan to about 14,500. After a months-long review of his Afghanistan policy, Trump committed the United States last week to an open-ended conflict in the country and promised a stepped-up campaign against Taliban insurgents. Last week Mattis said he had signed orders to send additional troops to Afghanistan but did not specify the size of the force, saying he first needed to brief Congress. U.S. officials have for months told Reuters that Trump had given Mattis the authority to send about 4,000 additional troops to Afghanistan. The U.S. presence in Afghanistan peaked at more than 100,000 troops in 2011, when Washington was under domestic political pressure to draw down the costly operation. Some U.S. officials have told Reuters they questioned the benefit of sending more troops to Afghanistan because any politically palatable number would not be enough to turn the tide, much less create stability and security. To date, more than 2,300 Americans have been killed and over 17,000 wounded in Afghanistan. | 1 |
2,161 | Martin O’Malley Suspends Campaign After Predictably Crushing Iowa Caucus Loss (TWEET) | Democratic presidential candidate Martin O Malley likely never really had a chance against Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders, but he has to be admired for staying in the race for so long, despite such consistently terrible poll numbers. However, all of that change the night of the Iowa Caucuses. Even before all of the votes were in, ABC News tweeted that the former Maryland governor is suspending his campaign.JUST IN: Sources close to Martin O'Malley campaign tell @ABC O'Malley will suspend his campaign tonight. @maryaliceparks ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) February 2, 2016According to Town Hall, O Malley got less than one percent of the votes at the all-important caucus. This result is unsurprising, as nobody really thought that O Malley was a serious candidate.This is actually a good thing, because it s not like O Malley would have had a snowball s chance in hell of winning a general election against any serious GOP candidate, even if by some crazy twist of fate he had managed to beat both Bernie and Hillary in the primary to cinch the nomination.In short, Martin O Malley s candidacy was never anything more than an early election cycle distraction. No matter what one might think of his political positions, the guy was really never going to get very far, and thanks to the stakes being so high with the people we re up against on the crazy right, it s time to focus on the folks who can actually win.You had a good run, Governor O Malley. Thanks for doing the right thing at the right time.Featured image from Gage Skidmore/Flickr | 0 |
2,162 | SHOCKING REPORT: 50% of Babies in 24 States Born via Medicaid…Is Your State on the List? | New Mexico led all states with 72 percent of the babies born there in 2015 having their births covered by Medicaid.Arkansas ranked second with 67 percent; Louisiana ranked third with 65 percent; and three states Mississippi, Nevada and Wisconsin tied for fourth place with 64 percent of babies born there covered by Medicaid.New Hampshire earned the distinction of having the smallest percentage of babies born on Medicaid. In that state, Medicaid paid for the births of only 27 percent of the babies born in 2015.Virginia and Utah tied for the next to last position, with 31 percent of the babies born on Medicaid.However, according to KFF, some of the nation s most populous states shared the distinction of having 50 percent or more of the babies born there born on Medicaid. | 0 |
2,163 | U.S. signals accommodation of Israeli terms on defense aid | WASHINGTON/HERZLIYA, Israel (Reuters) - The Obama administration is prepared to incorporate missile defense funds in a new long-term agreement on military aid for Israel, a U.S. official said on Wednesday, accommodating in principle a key request by its ally in the yet-unresolved talks. Disputes over the scope and fine print of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) have clouded already difficult ties between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Barack Obama during the latter’s final months in office. The current MOU, signed in 2007 and due to expire in 2018, gave Israel around $30 billion in so-called foreign military financing. Israel has been seeking around $10 billion more for the next decade and that money be earmarked for missile defense projects that were hitherto funded ad hoc by the U.S. Congress. U.S. negotiators previously proposed a total of $3.5 billion to $3.7 billion annually for Israel under the new MOU, but did not say whether this might include missile defense funds. A senior U.S. official was more forthcoming on Wednesday. “We are prepared to make an unprecedented multi-year missile defense commitment as part of a new memorandum of understanding with Israel on military assistance,” the official, who requested anonymity, told Reuters. “This commitment, which would amount to billions of dollars over 10 years, would be the first long-term pledge on missile defense support to Israel, affording Israel robust support for its missile defense, as well as predictability and facilitating long-term planning.” U.S. lawmakers have in recent years given Israel up to $600 million in annual discretionary funds for missile defense, well beyond the $150 million requested by the Obama administration. On Tuesday, the White House opposed a proposal to include $600 million for Israeli missile defense to an appropriations bill for the fiscal year starting on Oct. 1. Netanyahu came out with a rare statement on the MOU talks, in the face of Israeli opposition accusations that he is endangering American largesse by feuding with Obama over Iran’s nuclear program and Palestinian peace talks. Netanyahu’s office said on Twitter that the White House’s move on Tuesday was part of an “internal debate” with Congress about supplementary missile defense funding for Israel. “There has been no cut in American assistance,” it tweeted. “Prime Minister Netanyahu is working to anchor this supplement as part of the discussions on the assistance agreement for the next ten years. Not only will security assistance for missile defense not be cut, it will be increased.” However, Netanyahu’s acting national security adviser, Jacob Nagel, made clear agreement was not a given. Israeli officials have hinted that, if the disputes persist, they might await the next U.S. president in hope of getting a better MOU. Netanyahu’s government was working to wrap up the talks with the Obama administration, Nagel told reporters. But he added: “When we conclude that we have arrived at the final (U.S.) offer, we will decide if we want it or not.” Another sticking point has been a U.S. demand to reduce the amount of aid money - now 26.3 percent - that Israel can spend on its own military industries rather than on American products. Visiting Israel for strategic talks, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday said it had received $8.5 million a day from the Obama administration in defense aid. In a speech to the annual Herzliya Conference, Blinken did not give details on the MOU talks, but he said Washington was ready to give Israel “the largest single pledge of military assistance from the United States to any country in our history, cementing an unparalleled security relationship all the way to 2029”. | 1 |
2,164 | NEW STUDY Shows Why Atheists and People Who Agree With Immigrants That Bash Their Country Use LESS BRAIN POWER | It s not at all surprising that at least 28% of Democrats consider themselves to be atheists. Fascinating This has to be embarrassing . . . if you re an atheist. A new study performed at the University of York used targeted magnetism to shut down part of the brain. The result: belief in God disappeared among more than 30 percent of participants.That in itself may not seem so embarrassing, but consider that the specific part of the brain they frazzled was the posterior medial frontal cortex the part associated with detecting and solving problems, i.e., reasoning and logic.In other words, when you shut down the part of the brain most associated with logic and reasoning, greater levels of atheism result.You ve heard the phrase, I don t have enough faith to be an atheist ? Apparently, we can now also say, I have too many brains to be an atheist. The American VisionDaily Mail The study was carried out by Dr Keise Izuma from the University of York and Colin Holbrook from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).They recruited 38 participants with an average age of 21, to take part in the study.Each of these participants said they held significant religious beliefs, and the majority held moderate to extremely conservative political beliefs.Political views were important because it suggested they were more likely to have stronger viewpoints on immigration.Half of these participants formed part of a control group and received a low-level sham procedure that did not affect their brains.The other half received enough energy through transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to lower activity in the posterior medial frontal cortex (pMFC).This part of the brain, located near the surface and roughly a few inches up from the forehead, is associated with detecting problems and triggering responses that address them.Following the treatment, all the participants were first asked to think about death before being asked questions about their religious beliefs and their feelings about immigrants.The death task including writing brief responses on the subject of their own death.To address their levels of prejudice, participants were asked to read two essays one critical and one positive written by an immigrant from Latin America about the US.After reading each essay, participants rated how much they liked the person who wrote the essay and how much they agreed with their views.Religious belief was measured using a version of the Supernatural Belief Scale.Items were presented in random order and rated according to the same scale used in the immigrant ratings.Questions included: There exists an all-powerful, all-knowing, loving God , There exist good personal spiritual beings, whom we might call angels and There exists an evil personal spiritual being, whom we might call the Devil. Circa So how do Democrats and Republicans stack up when it comes to having faith vs. athesists?According to the Pew Research Center, nones people who don t identify with any religion make up 23 percent of American adults.In the Democratic Party, that number is even bigger. 28 percent of Democrats are non-religious, Pew s research shows.Conversely, people who identify as non-religious are much more likely to vote Democratic. 70 percent of self-identifying atheists, for example, voted for President Obama in 2012, according to Pew.One of those atheists is James White, a Texas delegate for Hillary Clinton at this year s DNC. At the convention on Monday, White was wearing a shirt that read, I m actually an atheist. White said he still feels it s necessary to publicly broadcast his beliefs to promote acceptance of atheism within the party. When we make it safe for people to realize that a nearly 60-year-old Texas middle-aged white guy is an atheist and a Democrat, those things make it easier for others to come forward too, he said. There has been some progress, White said. Earlier this year, the Texas Democratic Party adopted three secular resolutions into its official policy platform.The investigators additionally found that the magnetic stimulation had the greatest effect on reactions to the critical author in the essay test. We think that hearing criticisms of your group s values, perhaps especially from a person you perceive as an outsider, is processed as an ideological sort of threat, said Dr Izuma. One way to respond to such threats is to double down on your group values, increasing your investment in them, and reacting more negatively to the critic, he continued. When we disrupted the brain region that usually helps detect and respond to threats, we saw a less negative, less ideologically motivated reaction to the critical author and his opinions. Daily Mail | 0 |
2,165 | U.S. senators seek ban on pesticide chlorpyrifos | (This version of the July 25 story corrects paragraph 11 to show that bill calls for banning chlorpyrifos and reviewing other similar pesticides, not reviewing effects of chlorpyrifos) By Emily Flitter NEW YORK (Reuters) - A group of Democratic senators hopes to ban a pesticide the U.S. government has greenlighted for use, according to a bill unveiled on Tuesday in a challenge to Republican President Donald Trump’s push to loosen environmental regulations. The bill, introduced by Senator Tom Udall of New Mexico, would outlaw chlorpyrifos, an agricultural insect-killer that has been found to cause brain damage in children. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency denied a petition to ban the chemical on March 29, and a federal appeals court on July 18 denied a petition by green groups to force the agency to reverse its decision and enact the ban. The bill is called the Protect Children, Farmers and Farmworkers from Nerve Agent Pesticides Act of 2017. Seven other senators are co-sponsoring it: Ben Cardin of Maryland, Kamala Harris of California, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Cory Booker of New Jersey, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Richard Durbin of Illinois and Ed Markey of Massachusetts. Chlorpyrifos, produced by a variety of manufacturers, including a subsidiary of Dow Chemical, is listed as a neurotoxin by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. “Current regulatory safety standard for chlorpyrifos rests on five decades of experience in use, health surveillance of manufacturing workers and applicators, and more than 4,000 studies and reports examining the product in terms of health, safety and the environment,” a Dow spokesman said on Tuesday. “Authorized uses of chlorpyrifos products, when used as directed, offer wide margins of protection for human health and safety.” The EPA considered whether to ban it for roughly a decade before Trump appointed EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, a Republican from Oklahoma, to lead the agency. In denying the petition to ban chlorpyrifos, Pruitt said the EPA had previously relied on “novel and uncertain” scientific study methods to conclude the substance was dangerous. The agency said it was still reviewing the chemical’s registration. “EPA will continue to evaluate the potential risks posed by chlorpyrifos as part of the ongoing registration review,” said EPA spokeswoman Amy Graham. Trump and Pruitt have vowed to roll back environmental regulations they say are harming business growth in the United States. Philip Landrigan, a pediatrician who is dean for global health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, said three long-term, independently funded studies showed the substance was toxic. “Chlorpyrifos has been shown beyond any shadow of a doubt to damage the brains of children, especially those of fetuses in the womb,” he said. Udall’s bill also calls for the EPA to conduct a broad review of the use of other pesticides similar to chlorpyrifos to determine which groups are most vulnerable to their harmful effects. If the review shows any people are being exposed to harmful levels of the chemicals, called organophosphates, the EPA administrator must take “appropriate regulatory action” within three months by either suspending or revoking the their registration or lowering the amount that can legally be used. “Congress must act because Administrator Pruitt has shown that he won’t,” Udall said in a statement on Monday. | 1 |
2,166 | WATCH: Fox News Host Calls President Obama Weak For Not Declaring War On ISIS | Last time I checked, the Constitution still says declaring war is Congress job.As a former lawyer and judge, one would think Jeanine Pirro would know what the Constitution says, but during an appearance on Fox & Friends on Friday morning, she demonstrated why she should never have been allowed to be in the legal profession.In response to the devastating terrorist attack in Nice, France in which 84 people have been confirmed dead and 2020 injured, Pirro trotted out the Republican talking-point of blaming President Obama for the attack and claimed that he apologizes for America and persecutes Christians. If this President would stop apologizing for what we do and what we are and stop saying you Christians, it s your turn as he did at a prayer breakfast then maybe American would be united in a way that we understand that they re coming. They re here. I gotta tell ya. I m as aggravated as everyone who has sat in this chair today. We ve got a problem at the top of this country, Pirro continued before summing President Obama s legacy as weak. One word: Weak, she said. He just doesn t have a plan. He doesn t have a policy. He should be in academia. We ve got to declare war on them. We ve got to start having a conversation about surveillance on mosques they just want to kill us! Here s the video via YouTube:President Obama has never apologized for America. Nowhere is this clearer than when he visited Hiroshima, Japan and refused to apologize for the United States dropping the atomic bomb during World War II. President Obama is also not persecuting Christians. His policies include all Americans and do not target a specific religious sect.Furthermore, President Obama has done the best he can to fight ISIS with the authority and resources he has available and that has resulted in 26,000 ISIS fighters and half of their commanders being killed by United States and coalition forces.And if Pirro really wants to blame someone for being weak against ISIS, she should point her finger at Republicans in Congress who refuse to exercise their power to declare war on ISIS, which would give President Obama the full power to wage war against ISIS. But Republicans don t want to do that because they would rather put all the responsibility on President Obama so they can continue blaming him for each and every terrorist attack that occurs around the world for cheap political points.Just so Pirro and every other conservative out there understands what the separation of powers means, here s the part of the Constitution you are blatantly ignoring. Because it s either that or you ve never actually read the document you claim to love so much.Article I, Section 8: To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water.Seriously, Republicans need to grow a pair and do their jobs if they really believe ISIS is a major threat to our country. If not, they should shut the hell up and stop attacking the only man in our government who is doing something.Featured Image: Screenshot | 0 |
2,167 | This Would Cause The Death Of Millions But Trump Says He Might Do It As President (VIDEO) | The explosion of a nuclear missile in the heart of heavily populated Europe would be an unprecedented act that would kill hundreds of thousands perhaps millions of people. Donald Trump told MSNBC s Chris Matthews that he would refuse the suggestion that he take such a horrible idea off the table.The exchange occurred during a televised town hall interview between the current Republican frontrunner and the MSNBC host.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCj0B7HhEFsWhen host Chris Matthews asked if the real estate mogul could definitively say he wouldn t use nuclear weapons, he responded: I would never say that. I would never take any of my cards off the table. Matthews pressed him, asking if he would consider using nuclear weapons in Europe. No, I don t think so, Trump said, but he again said he wouldn t definitively write off the option.In a New York Times interview published over the weekend, Trump stressed the importance of unpredictability in his foreign policy. He told Matthews Wednesday that you d be a bad negotiator for taking any strategy off the table.Trump s comments ironically echo the sentiments of 1964 Republican presidential nominee Barry Goldwater, who is considered the first person in the mold of a modern conservative to be a major party nominee in America.In an interview, Goldwater said he would consider the use of low-yield atomic bombs in North Vietnam, in order to defoliate forests, and to destroy bridges and railroad lines leading to China. The policy was so extreme and out there, that it became the basis of what is one of the most famous political ads ever, Daisy, released by Lyndon Johnson s campaign. The ad contrasted Goldwater s casual support of atomic war versus the policies of the Johnson administration.The ad only aired once. Johnson went on to one of the largest electoral victories in U.S. history. He won 61% of the popular vote and 486 electoral votes to Johnson s 52 (his home state of Arizona and the 5 states in the pro-segregation south).Featured image via Wikimedia Commons/Flickr | 0 |
2,168 | TIM ALLEN Visits Jimmy Kimmel Show…Says He Has To “Be Careful” Around Intolerant Liberals “It’s like 1930’s Germany” [VIDEO] | Jimmy Kimmel started out his interview with guest comedian Tim Allen on the Late Show Thursday night by asking him if he went to Trump s inauguration. Allen seemed a bit taken back by Kimmel s opening question that put him on the defense, and potentially set the tone for what could ve been a rough interview. Allen responded: You get in this town you gotta be real careful around here, or you ll get beat up if you don t believe what everyone believes. It s like 30 s Germany. If you re not part of the group, you know what we believe is right!' Allen was quickly able to change the subject and move away from Kimmel s obvious desire to embarrass Allen for his support for our President. That Jimmy Kimmel he sure is a funny guy No wonder his ratings are in the toilet | 0 |
2,169 | U.S. Commerce chief says EXIM Bank part of Trump 'trade toolbox' | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross held out hope on Thursday that the Trump administration will revive the U.S. Export-Import bank’s full lending powers, saying the institution is part of its “trade toolbox” to boost exports. The U.S. government trade lender has been hobbled for the better part of two years by conservative Republicans in Congress who tried to shut it down in 2015 by revoking its charter, and then limited its lending powers last year by blocking nominations to its board of directors. With only two active members on its five-seat board, the bank cannot make or guarantee loans over $10 million, preventing it from financing large exports such as U.S.-built commercial aircraft, nuclear reactors or petrochemical plants. Thus far, Trump administration officials have not said publicly whether they support reviving EXIM’s full lending powers, but some members of Congress say that Trump has told them privately that he supports the institution. “The bank is part of a domestically focused trade toolbox that this administration will continue to focus on in the coming months,” Ross said in brief video remarks to EXIM’s annual conference in Washington. “We will use that toolbox to rebalance our trade policy in order to put American workers first.” Ross did not provide details of how EXIM will be used in his trade strategy or whether the administration has specific plans to nominate new board members. He urged hundreds of U.S. manufacturers, lenders and foreign government and company officials attending the meeting to work towards increasing U.S. exports to create jobs. U.S. Representative Chris Collins of New York, a Republican Trump ally who headed a small manufacturer that used EXIM working capital loan guarantees in the past, told the conference that Trump told him on Feb. 16 at a White House meeting that he was “all in” on supporting EXIM. “We asked him very directly about the five board seats,” Collins said. “The president looked to his right and to his left and said ‘Can you get me some names? I’m all in.’ There was no hesitation whatsoever.” Reviving EXIM, however, would anger conservative groups backed by the Koch brothers, the influential billionaire Republican donors. The groups have waged a campaign that has painted EXIM as unnecessary corporate welfare even though it is self-funding through the interest and fees it charges borrowers. | 1 |
2,170 | Philippine president declares Marawi liberated as battle goes on | MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte declared the southern city of Marawi liberated from pro-Islamic State militants on Tuesday, although the military said 20-30 rebels were holding about 20 hostages and still fighting it out. In a rousing address to soldiers a day after the killing of two commanders of the rebel alliance, Duterte said he would never again allow militants to stockpile so many weapons, but Marawi was now free and it was time to heal wounds and rebuild. I hereby declare Marawi City liberated from terrorist influence, that marks the beginning of rehabilitation, Duterte, wearing a camouflage cap and dark sunglasses, said during his unannounced visit. Isnilon Hapilon, who was wanted by the United States and was Islamic State s Southeast Asian emir , and Omarkhayam Maute, one of two brothers central to the alliance, were killed in a targeted operation on Monday. Their bodies were recovered and identified, authorities said. The 148-day occupation marked the Roman Catholic-majority Philippines biggest security crisis in years and triggered concerns that with its mountains, jungles and porous borders, the island of Mindanao could become a magnet for Islamic State fighters driven out of Iraq and Syria. More than 1,000 people, mostly rebels, were killed in the battle and the heart of the city of 200,000 has been leveled by air strikes. Duterte said the liberation was not a cause for celebration and later apologized to the people of Marawi for the destruction. We had to do it, he said. There was no alternative. Armed forces chief Eduardo Ano said the remaining gunmen were now a law enforcement matter , while military spokesman Restituto Padilla described them as stragglers . There is no way that they can get out anymore, there is no way for anyone to get in, Padilla told news channel ANC. Padilla said the military believed Malaysian operative Mahmud Ahmad was in Marawi, but it could not be certain. He said Mahmud was no threat. Dr. Mahmud is an academic, he s not a fighter, Padilla said. We don t feel he is a problem. But some security experts say otherwise and believe Mahmud, 39, a recruiter and fundraiser who trained at an al Qaeda camp in Afghanistan, could replace Hapilon as Islamic State s point-man in Southeast Asia. Another leader, Abdullah Maute, has yet to be accounted for. Intelligence indicated he died in an August air strike, though no body was found. Defence officials say the core leadership was key to recruiting young fighters and arranging for extremists from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and beyond to join the push to carve out an East Asian Wilaya , or Islamic State province. Hapilon had teamed up with the moneyed Maute clan in their stronghold of Lanao del Sur, one of the Philippines poorest provinces, and brought with him fighters from his radical faction of Abu Sayyaf, a group better known for banditry. Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, who estimated Marawi operations to have cost 5 billion pesos ($97.5 million), said reconstruction could start in January. There are still stragglers and the structures are still unsafe because of unexploded ordnance and improvised explosive devices, he said on radio. The Marawi occupation set alarm bells ringing in the Philippines, with militants surprising security forces with their combat prowess, the volume of arms and ammunition they stockpiled and their ability to withstand intensive air strikes aided by U.S. surveillance drones and technical support. ($1 = 51 pesos) | 1 |
2,171 | SOMETHING WICKED IS HAPPENING With Refugees In Idaho…Why Is The Media HIDING It? | Something wicked happened in Idaho s rural Magic Valley. The evil has been compounded by politicians, media and special interest groups doing their damnedest to suppress the story and quell a righteous citizen rebellion.On June 7, a brief news item appeared on local Twin Falls, Idaho-based KMVT about a reported sexual assault that possibly occurred near the Fawnbrook Apartments five days earlier. Unconfirmed accounts of the alleged crime on conservative-leaning websites, plus reports from area members of anti-jihad activist Brigitte Gabriel s Act for America group and longtime watchdog Ann Corcoran s Refugee Resettlement Watch blog, culminated in coverage on the powerhouse Drudge Report.The social media groundswell, untethered from the constraints of political correctness, forced government authorities to respond.Pro-mass immigration advocates may not like the sources of some of the original reporting that forced the case into the sunlight, but the watchdogs got more right than wrong. These critics now have Twin Falls political leaders sputtering to cover their backsides and police brass defending themselves against explosive charges that they dragged their feet.Instead, the professional journalists dwelt on a few early factual errors about whether the boys were from Syria and whether a knife was used and filled their dismissive articles with can t we all just get along propaganda from refugee resettlement advocates and contractors with vested financial interests in the game.What these professional journalists, (who are working overtime to discredit anyone who reports about what happened) are conveniently leaving out of the story is the fact that the 5 year old girl who was reportedly sexually assaulted by three young refugee boys in GOVERNMENT FUNDED housing, was a special needs girl and that these young boys also reportedly peed in her mouth. But the media is far more concerned about getting the refugees country of origin correct. They ll never mention that these boys are more than likely Muslim, and that in their culture, rape is in most cases perfectly acceptable. They re more focused on the fact that it may have been falsely reported that the boys used a knife to threaten her. Do we really care if these young criminals used a knife? Do we really care if they came from Syria or Iraq? Americans see their way of life and their children s security being threatened by the invasion of Muslim refugees who have no intention of assimilating with Americans. That s what we care about!Police and the local prosecutor s office grudgingly confirmed that an investigation had begun into the incident. The victim: A mentally disabled 5-year-old girl. The alleged perpetrators: Three boys, ages 7, 10 and 14, from Sudanese and Iraqi immigrant families (predominantly Muslim) who have been in the country for less than two years all but confirming that they are refugees.What happened? The case is under seal because it involves minors, but prosecutor Grant Loebs said there is videotape of the alleged sexual assault (a fact which local activists first divulged). Two of the boys are in custody. It s not clear what happened to the third.Here s the sickening thing: The people who should have been asking tough questions like, you know, mainstream journalists have spent more time attacking local whistleblowers and bloggers than they have spent demanding answers and holding public officials accountable.Why? Consider the backdrop. Residents in Twin Falls have been worried about the impact of an increasing influx of refugees, many from jihad-coddling countries, over the past several years. Their concerns about crime, welfare, health care, and schools echo those of communities across the country who are bearing the coercive brunt of Beltway bleeding hearts refugee resettlement policies enacted in a shroud of secrecy.Members of the Twin Falls City Council smugly likened refugee resettlement critics to white supremacists. Regional newspapers including the Idaho Statesman and the Spokane Spokesman-Review rushed to discredit the on-scene reporting of internet writers such as Leo Hohmann, who had interviewed a witness to the crime for World Net Daily. Jolene Payne, an 89-year-old retired nurse who lives at the complex told Hohmann that she spotted one of the boys taking pictures with a camera outside the apartment complex s laundry room. She went inside and found the 5-year-old naked with two of the younger boys naked standing over her. The worst thing was the way they peed all over her clothes, she recounted.Davis Odell, a community resident who has been in close contact with the victim s family said the boys dragged the unnamed girl into a utility room in the Fawnbrook Apartments, a low-income, subsidized housing complex in Twin Falls, and assaulted her in an attack that ended when a neighbor happened upon the scene and called police. They stripped her naked, and urinated in her mouth, Odell told FoxNews.com, citing his conversations with the girl s family.Neither the Twin Falls Police Department nor Loebs confirmed the details given by Odell. Loebs did confirm that the incident was reported on June 2, and that two juvenile suspects were finally charged Thursday and arrested a day later. The prosecutor did not say why just two arrests had been made, and said the case is sealed due to its sensitive nature and the minors involved. The callousness of local officials and indifference of local and national media reminds me very much of an international incident that went viral on YouTube earlier this year in the eastern German town of Bad Schlema located in a region overrun by Muslim refugees.A concerned grandfather whose granddaughter under the age of 10 was sexually harassed by Muslim migrants protested to mayor Jens Muller. In response to his plea for help, Muller told the elderly man to direct his family to not walk in areas where refugees would be. Just don t provoke them and don t walk in those areas. Via: Townhall | 0 |
2,172 | Turkish newspaper staff remanded in custody over coup attempt links: CNN Turk | ANKARA (Reuters) - A Turkish court has remanded in custody for another two months 21 of the 30 journalists and newspaper executives from Turkish newspaper Zaman which was shut down after last year s failed coup, broadcaster CNN Turk said on Tuesday. The former employees of the Zaman newspaper are charged with membership of an armed terror organization and attempting to overthrow the government, parliament and the constitutional order through their links to cleric Fethullah Gulen. Zaman was affiliated with Gulen, the U.S.-based cleric and former ally of President Tayyip Erdogan. Gulen is blamed by Ankara for instigating the failed July 2016 coup, but denies any involvement. Zaman was first seized by the Turkish government in March 2016 before the coup attempt, and then closed down by a government decree. The indictment calls for three consecutive life sentences for the Zaman staff on charges of attempting to overthrow the constitutional order, the Turkish parliament and the Turkish government, and says the newspaper exceeded the limits of press freedom and freedom of expression. The 21 people remanded in custody had already been jailed for over a year pending trial. CNN Turk said the trial was postponed to Nov. 13. | 1 |
2,173 | Ben Carson Gets Humiliating Trump Campaign Demotion – Claims He Requested it, Fools No One | Ben Carson was (very) briefly the Republican frontrunner for President of the United States and now he s getting demoted by Donald Trump s campaign for being too big a liability. The campaign which once tweeted a picture of Trump eating a taco bowl with the caption I love Hispanics thinks Carson makes them look bad.And sadly, they re probably right.Ben Carson has managed to step on every rake in the yard in his bumbling attempt to help Trump get elected president. He s confided to reporters (on the record) that Trump might make a terrible president, but at least we re only looking at four years. How bad has Carson been for Trump? Dubbing him the worst surrogate ever CBS News Emily Schultheis pegged Carson early on:A campaign surrogate s job is to travel across the country and go on TV, saying nice things about the candidate and helping boost his or her chances at the presidency.What a campaign surrogate is not, however, supposed to do, is suggest their candidate is a bad person, admit he has a Twitter problem and an issue with humility, defend that candidate by suggesting a TV anchor has been charged with a crime, and reassure skeptics that, even if your candidate is a terrible president, it s only for four years.So when Carson made headlines yet again for screwing up this time naming a list of potential vice presidents Trump was considering including Alaskan campaign death knell Sarah Palin Carson was removed from the vice presidential planning group. Or as Carson s spin team meekly put it, he asked to be removed because he had many more super important jobs to do.That lie was exposed in less than a week. The real story is that Trump kicked Carson to the curb because Carson had absolutely no idea what he was doing.Three sources close to the Trump campaign said Carson didn t leave on his own. He was pushed.According to sources close to Trump s campaign, Carson was demoted after Trump specifically wanted him to head up the VP selection team. He submitted names that he thought would be valuable picks and inevitably lost his top spot days later. Carson allegedly called Trump afterwards and was angry that the situation played out like this.At this point, it s hard not to feel bad for Carson. Having seen the highs of being a front-runner, Carson got smoked in Iowa thanks to a vicious lie spread by Ted Cruz. Later he would be pulled into a literal closet to hear Ted Cruz tell him sorry not sorry. Only to finally give up and throw his lot in with Trump a man who once called him a pathological liar barely above a child molester. Now that same man is firing him and only because Carson s mouth almost never bothers communicating with his brain before saying things like He has some major defects, there s no question about it, just like the rest of us. But before we let Carson s sadsack routine tug on our heartstrings, let s remember that this is a man who ran for president on the premise that the Egyptian pyramids were grain silos only to give up and throw his weight behind a man he seems to have nothing but contempt for just to cling a bit longer to the political spotlight. Carson s right about one thing, he does have major defects.Featured image via Justin Sullivan/Getty Images | 0 |
2,174 | Macron touts European initiative to evacuate Africans trapped in Libya | OUAGADOUGOU (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday he would ask European leaders to help evacuate Africans in danger in Africa after reports appearing to show African migrants being traded there sparked an international outcry. I will propose that Africa and Europe come to the rescue of the people trapped in Libya, by bringing massive support to the evacuation of people in danger, Macron said in a speech in Burkina Faso without giving further details. | 1 |
2,175 | Australia police arrest man accused of plotting NYE attack in Melbourne | SYDNEY/MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Police have arrested a 20-year-old man suspected of planning to use an automatic rifle for a mass shooting on New Year s Eve in downtown Melbourne, Australia s second largest city. Victoria state police said on Tuesday that the man was acting alone and had not been able to acquire a firearm before his arrest late on Monday. Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton said the man, an Australian citizen with Somalian parents, had been monitored by authorities since the beginning of the year. He s accessed documents produced by al-Qaeda Arabian Peninsula which is a guide book in respect to how to commit a terrorist act and also how to use firearms, guns and handguns and rifles, Patton said at a press conference in Melbourne. We are alleging that ... he is a sympathiser of ISIS. The man had planned to shoot as many people as possible at Melbourne s Federation Square, which swells with crowds on New Year s Eve as the focus of the city s celebrations, Patton said. He was charged with preparing to commit a terrorist attack and gathering documents likely to facilitate a terrorist act, according to the Australian Federal Police Australia, a staunch U.S. ally that sent troops to Afghanistan and Iraq, has been on heightened alert since 2014 for attacks by home-grown militants returning from fighting in the Middle East or their supporters. A gunman in a deadly 2014 Sydney cafe siege boasted about links with Islamic State militants, although no direct ties with the group were established. The shooting murder of a police accountant by a 15-year old boy in 2016 was claimed by Islamic State. Around a dozen significant plots have been foiled since the alert was issued, according to officials, including a plot to attack prominent sites in Melbourne last Christmas Eve and a plan to blow up an Etihad Airways flight from Sydney to Abu Dhabi using a bomb disguised as a meat mincer. | 1 |
2,176 | KHAN REACTION: Read The Letter The Families Of ELEVEN Fallen Soldiers Just Sent To Trump | The families of eleven American soldiers who lost their lives serving the United States have banded together and sent a letter to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, reacting to his attack on the family of deceased Army Captain Humayun Khan.After his father Khizr Khan spoke to the Democratic Convention, Trump asked ABC News, Did Hillary s scriptwriters write it? Minimizing the loss of Khan s son, Trump also said: I think I ve made a lot of sacrifices. I work very, very hard. I ve created thousands and thousands of jobs, tens of thousands of jobs, built great structures. I ve had tremendous success. I think I ve done a lot. Karen Meredith, who lost her son Ken Ballard in Iraq, organized a letter with the families of eleven other fallen soldiers to demand an apology from Trump. Here is the letter:August 1, 2016Donald J Trump725 Fifth AvenueNew York, NY 10022Mr. Trump,We are all Gold Star Families, who have lost those we love the most in war. Ours is a sacrifice you will never know. Ours is a sacrifice we would never want you to know.Your recent comments regarding the Khan family were repugnant, and personally offensive to us. When you question a mother s pain, by implying that her religion, not her grief, kept her from addressing an arena of people, you are attacking us. When you say your job building buildings is akin to our sacrifice, you are attacking our sacrifice.You are not just attacking us, you are cheapening the sacrifice made by those we lost.You are minimizing the risk our service members make for all of us.This goes beyond politics. It is about a sense of decency. That kind decency you mock as political correctness. We feel we must speak out and demand you apologize to the Khans, to all Gold Star families, and to all Americans for your offensive, and frankly anti-American, comments.We hope you will hear us.Sincerely,Diane and Neil Santoriello, Mother and Father of 1LT Neil Santoriello, KIA, IraqSummer Lipford-Mickelson, Mother, Frederick Sirko, Father, Kirby Mickelson, Stepfather, Laura Sirko Samimy and Bridget Sirko Gentle, Sisters of PFC Steven Sirko, KIA, Iraq.Sue and Randy Loudon, Mother and Father of 2ndLt. Christopher Loudon, KIA, IraqMelanie House, Widow of HM3 John Daniel House, KIA, IraqDerek and Lorene Davey, Mother and Father of Cpl. Seamus M. Davey, KIA, IraqCeleste Zappala, Mother, and Raphael Zappala, Brother of SGT. Sherwood Baker, KIA, IraqSue Niederer, Mother of 2LT Seth Dvorin, KIA, IraqFulvio and Gilda Carbonaro, Father and Mother of Sgt. Alessandro Carbonaro, KIA, IraqKaren Meredith, Mother of 1LT Ken Ballard, KIA, IraqSergio Torres, Father, Lupe Torres, Mother and Beatriz Saldivar, Aunt of SGT Daniel Torres, KIA, IraqMG (Ret.) Paul D. Eaton, and Frank Eaton, sons of Col. Norman Eaton, KIA, VietnamThese families are right. Trump does need to apologize, instead of doubling down. Likely, he ll just launch another attack at more Gold Star families instead, though, because that is just the kind of sorry excuse for a human being he is.Featured image via Flickr | 0 |
2,177 | Protest greets former Trump adviser Bannon at Hong Kong investor event | HONG KONG (Reuters) - Protesters outside a luxury hotel in Hong Kong shouted anti-racism slogans on Tuesday ahead of a speech by former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon at an investor conference organized by a unit of China s largest brokerage. The far-right architect of U.S. President Donald Trump s 2016 election victory, Bannon is the latest controversial figure invited to address a forum hosted by CLSA, a subsidiary of state-backed Citic Securities. Bannon, whose views on immigration, climate and trade helped shape Trump s election campaign and his first months in office, was fired by the Republican president last month in a push to end factional fighting within the White House. No Bannon, no racism, chanted the group of about 15 demonstrators, who also held up a large black banner carrying the words, Nazis are not welcome here . One protester wearing a mask of Trump held up a placard depicting the U.S. president in the shape of a chicken, with the words, Toxic nationalist , on its belly. CLSA initially said Bannon s speech would be open to some print media but reversed its decision a day later, without citing a specific reason, although a CLSA spokeswoman said the event was meant for invited clients only. We reserve the right to open or close sessions as we see fit, she wrote in an emailed response to Reuters. The CLSA Investors Forum provides an agnostic platform for diverse views and opinions from people who influence policy, economies and markets. Mr Bannon is one of these, hence our decision to invite him. Past speakers at the forum have ranged from actors George Clooney and Arnold Schwarzenegger to boxer Mike Tyson, who was convicted of rape, former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, and former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, who revealed secret details of U.S. surveillance programs. In a recent interview with the CBS program 60 Minutes, Bannon predicted Republicans could lose control in the House of Representatives next year because of a looming battle over what to do about immigrants brought illegally to the United States as children. (This story has been refiled to update paragraph 9 descriptions of previous speakers) | 1 |
2,178 | ‘Bathroom Police’ Law Sets South Carolina GOP Governor Into Panic Mode: ‘We Didn’t Ask For This!’ | Nikki Haley, South Carolina s Republican governor, is hyperventilating with fear at the thought of the state Republican legislature sending her a brand new anti-transgender bathroom police law. The law would re-segregate our restrooms and force the state to impose restrictions on what bathrooms transgender individuals are allowed to use.The bill would require public restrooms to direct people to use the bathroom that aligns with their birth sex, and it would bar local governments from letting trans individuals choose which bathroom to use on their own.Let s pause for a moment and think about the first portion of that law. To enforce this law, you would need to staff public bathrooms with at least one security guard, who would require a birth certificate and visual inspection of the genitals of an individual before allowing them to use any restroom open to the public. That is literally the only way a law like this would actually be enforceable.This begs the question; what is the criminal penalty going to be for using the bathroom? Would it be a monetary fine, jail time or would it be a combination of both?Can you imagine the headlines? Local resident busted in bathroom sting by law enforcement, gets 6 months in jail for peeing.Despite Nikki s reluctance to sign this bill, the unfortunate part is that this isn t about new Republican support for transgendered individuals. There is no reason to think this has to do with anything other than money corporate money, to be exact. North Carolina is seeing the massive corporate fallout from the passage of their own anti-LGBT legislation. Big money is pulling out of North Carolina now, and Nikki Haley is terrified of the same thing happening in her state.Governor Haley tried to sound benevolent about it, suggesting that protecting religious freedom and our public bathrooms were not necessary: This is not a battle that we ve seen is needed in South Carolina. It s not something that we see that citizens are asking for. When we look at our situation, we re not hearing of anybody s religious liberties that are being violated, and we re again not hearing any citizens that are being violated in terms of freedoms. Like it or not, South Carolina is doing really well when it comes to respect and when it comes to kindness and when it comes to acceptance. For people to imply it s not, I beg to differ. Source: TPMIt s as if Nikki Haley forgot what party she belongs to. She actually is implying protections of religious freedom are not necessary. Republicans will hate her for this one.As usual, the Republicans pushing for the bill say it s all about public safety, with the implication being that adult sexual predators would enter women s restrooms to prey on people s young daughters.Here s a context in which to view this whole thing. Republicans want to pass an anti-LGBT law that restricts the rights of lawful citizens, because of the actions of potential criminals.When it comes to gun control, Republicans whine constantly about how wrong it is to restrict the rights of lawful citizens, because of the actions of potential criminals. They also say no laws ever stop criminals from doing bad things. It s good to know that the only time restricting rights and preventing crime can happen is when it comes to bathrooms, and not guns.The hypocritical pretzel-twisting that Republicans are having to put themselves into over this issue, and its associated negative consequences, would be hilarious if they were not trying to hurt people in the process. They have to answer to their corporate owners who hold the money bags, yet they also have to answer to their hateful bigoted voter base. It has to be increasingly embarrassing to be a part of their party.Featured image via YouTube screen capture | 0 |
2,179 | Factbox: What do the new U.S. sanctions on Russia target? | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump reluctantly signed into law a sweeping sanctions bill against Russia, Iran and North Korea this week. As U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meet this weekend at a regional forum in Manila, here is a look at new Russia sanctions : * The law establishes a review process that allows Congress to block any effort by Trump to ease or lift sanctions on Russia. Lawmakers passed the bill to punish Russia over its alleged interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, its annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region and its involvement in Syria’s civil war. * Trump, or any U.S. president, must submit a report to the appropriate congressional committee describing the rationale behind any easing of sanctions on Russia and how it would affect U.S. national security interests. Congress would have at least 30 days to hold hearings and then vote on any proposed change. If lawmakers back a “joint resolution of disapproval,” the president would be barred from changing the sanctions. * New sanctions are introduced on entities doing business with Russian military or intelligence agencies, companies involved in Russian off-shore oil projects, and those participating in Russian oil or gas pipeline construction within Russia. The bill targets a wide range of Russian industries, which might further hurt Russia’s economy, already weakened by 2014 sanctions imposed after the annexation of Crimea. * The law also ramps up sanctions against any entity involved in any cyber attacks on behalf of the Russian government, or that is owned by or acting on behalf of any such entity. The president is allowed to waive these sanctions if he determines it is in the national security interest to do so, subject to congressional review. * Six executive orders signed by President Barack Obama are codified, which would prevent Trump from using an executive order to revoke them. The measures, from 2014-2016, targeted Russia’s financial services, energy, defense and other industries in retaliation for its annexation of Crimea and incursion into Ukraine, as well as cyber-attacks and election interference in the United States. * The law also requires an interagency report on senior foreign political figures and oligarchs in Russia, their estimated net worth and sources of income, any indications of corruption, and their connection to Russian President Vladimir Putin. | 1 |
2,180 | “SIGN OF THE TIMES”…MAN STREAMS His Own Police Chase On Facebook Live [Video] | It s not something I ve seen in my career here in law enforcement, however, it s the sign of the times, Pasadena Police Officer Jessica Ramirez told Houston s KPRC. Everyone posts everything on social media nowadays. During his Facebook stream, a smiling Erasmo Hernandez said I m gone forever, man. Hernandez is facing charges for felon in possession of a weapon and evading arrest.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qs9O7Xulwsw | 0 |
2,181 | North Korea to make announcement at 0330 GMT: Yonhap | SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea will make an announcement at 0330 GMT, South Korea s Yonhap news agency said on Wednesday, citing the North s broadcast media, following the launch of what appeared to an intercontinental ballistic missile that landed close to Japan. The reports did not say what the announcement would be about, Yonhap added. | 1 |
2,182 | nanobots causing overwhelming depression not far off the end now | it seems there isnt going to be a halloween writing contest so i thought i would post the story i preemptively wrote for it i hope you enjoy it master of the estate this coach really is quite wonderful jonathan i can barely feel the bumps and i dont feel like im about to be thrown out the window eleanor exclaimed it is grand isnt it its all grand the trip our coachand you she said smiling and snuggling in closer to jonathan on the wide leather seat i could do without this fog though i would like to see the moon and stars later tonight he pulled the curtain aside slightly with a gloved hand and peered mournfully through the window at the white mist that nearly obscured everything he could hardly see the tops of the trees it was so thick just then a particularly large bump jostled them roughly followed closely by another oh squealed eleanor jonathans brow drew down driver he called out the window is everything alright beg pardon sir i fear i may have taken a wrong turn at that fork back a ways theres a house up aheadill check in with them and make sure sturbridge village cant be far now and were better safe than sorry with this fog rolling in if you take my meaning sir dont want to be out past dark in this soup jonathan looked at eleanor well it would be nice to stretch our legs for a moment she said she was not quite as cheerful as she had been just minutes ago the october afternoon was cooling off as evening approached and jonathan could see his breath the coach trundled past wellmaintained stone gables and a heavy wroughtiron gate standing open on one side oil lanterns hung from black hooks in the gables glowed dimly in the fog and additional lanterns spilled pools of yelloworange light on a cobblestone drive as they made their way up toward the house eleanor gasped as the massive shape of the house came into view its beautiful jonathan made a surprised hm but otherwise said nothing a welldressed footman dashed out to lower the stairs of their coach and open the door then offered a whitegloved hand to eleanor as she peered out with a flashed smile at jonathan she accepted the young mans hand and descended the driver was speaking quietly with another footman and an older man emerged from the heavy oak door of the house as jonathan descended the steps of the coach the older man clearly the butler bowed to eleanor and jonathan welcome to the anne union keyes estate i am mister walker and i am at your service the master of the estate has invited you in for the evening meal the butler spoke with some kind of british accent but beyond that jonathan not say from where exactly good lord man we just arrived unannounced yes sir but herr von graeff enjoys entertaining and was notified of your arrival as you drove up i would be honored if you would follow me he gestured toward the polished steps eleanor was the type of woman who once her mind was made up proceeded without hesitation she must have decided they were staying for dinner for with a delighted squeal she headed for the house they were greeted in the foyer by an elderly man jonathan estimated he was in his seventies hair fully white with deep creases in his face on age showing on his hands however the man was tall and straightbacked and he carried himself proudly there was a stiffness to his movements and he used a cane to walk but when jonathan shook his large hands the mans grip was as firm as a man half his age welcome he said warmly and with what jonathan thought was a german accent i am gottfried hansjürgen von graeff please be welcome in my home how may i call you the mans eyes were unusual but jonathan could not place what it was about them that seemed so he shrugged it off thank you herr von graeff i am jonathan rockport this is my fiancée eleanor harrington we really have only stopped to find our way back to the highway we are trying to get to sturbridge village to stay for the night before continuing on to fall river in the morning ah yes well you will not make it to sturbridge village in this fog herr von graeff pronounced the name of the town with a sh sound at least not before dark even if you left now it is fifteen miles yet why dont you join me for dinner stay here tonight and then resume your journey first thing tomorrow you are a generous host herr von graeff but i really would like to press on if possible i have business meetings in massachusetts and must be in fall river by tuesday ah a wonderful town fall river yes tell me how is the new railway doing i understand the esteemed mr borden opened the branch line just last year yes indeed said jonathan slowly the railway has been a smashing success in fact it is mr borden i have an appointment to see i have a business proposition for him that i think he will be quite excited about an entrepreneur exclaimed herr von graeff excellent i always enjoy conversing with a businessman especially you americans always such big ideas yes please let us carry on our conversation over dinner mister walker he continued pronouncing the butlers name with a v would you lead us to the dining hall yes herr von graeff | 0 |
2,183 | Ninth Australian lawmaker quits as citizenship crisis widens | SYDNEY (Reuters) - A ninth Australian lawmaker quit parliament on Wednesday after discovering she was a dual national, the latest casualty in a widening constitutional crisis that has already cost the government its majority. The resignation of Skye Kakoschke-Moore, one of three senators in the center-right Nick Xenophon Team, over the surprise revelation that she was a British citizen by descent, does not affect the government s position in the upper house. Their advice was extremely surprising to me, Kakoschke-Moore told reporters in Adelaide, after having learnt from Britain s Home Office that her mother s birth in then-colonial Singapore in 1957 made her British by descent. Australia s 116-year-old constitution bans dual citizens from holding national office, in a bid to prevent split allegiances. The crisis, which is likely to ripple even wider in coming weeks as lawmakers are required to prove their status, has already cut a swath through Australia s parliament. The ruling center-right coalition lost its one-seat majority in the lower house after Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce was found ineligible for office and expelled by the High Court. Another resignation has since weakened it further. Adherence to the dual-citizenship rule, in a country where more than half the population of 24 million were either themselves, or have a parent, born overseas, has only recently come under the spotlight, with the High Court adopting a strict interpretation of the law. In response, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull ordered all lawmakers to prove they comply with the laws by Dec. 5, and at least one lawmaker besides those who have quit has raised the possibility that she is ineligible. Senate votes from 2016 will be recounted to decide on a replacement for Kakoschke-Moore. By-elections set for Dec. 2 and Dec. 16, to replace Joyce and a lower-house government lawmaker who resigned on discovering he was British, are shaping as crucial for the government s survival. Joyce is expected to retain his seat, internal party polling published by the Australian newspaper showed, but former tennis champion John Alexander must contend with a high-profile rival in former New South Wales state Premier Kristina Keneally. The government would be reduced to minority rule if Alexander lost, forcing it to depend on a handful of independent lawmakers to retain power and pass laws. | 1 |
2,184 | The Merriam-Webster Dictionary Just SAVAGED Trump For His F*cking Terrible Spelling (TWEETS) | On Monday, in a tweet intended to intimidate a witness, Donald Trump demanded that the Senate ask Sally Yates the former acting Attorney General whom he fired for refusing to support an unconstitutional executive order if she knows how classified information got into the newspapers soon after she explained it to White House Council. After seemingly half the internet showed up to tell him what an embarrassmnet he is to both himself and our country, Trump removed the tweet and replaced it with one that was almost as stupid, but was lacking the glaring error that told the world our alleged leader is so stupid that a literal piece of shit would do a better job running the show.One of the many, many people who mocked Trump was his greatest nemesis outside of facts and good hair stylists: the Merriam-Webster Twitter person.Okay, fine. We weren't going to do this, but here you go. Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) May 8, 2017counsel: a lawyer appointed to advise and represent in legal matters council: ?an assembly or meeting for consultation or discussion Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) May 8, 2017Happy Monday, Internet. https://t.co/OhlWCIpEVB Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) May 8, 2017@MerriamWebster You know we love you, right? Hissy Fitz (@HissyFitz2) May 8, 2017@HissyFitz2 Yes. Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) May 8, 2017This isn t the first time Merriam-Webster has razzed President Asterisk for his atrocious spelling. When Trump talked about the unpresidented act of China seizing an unmanned U.S. Navy vessel, the Dictionary responded perfectly:Good morning! The #WordOfTheDay is not 'unpresidented'. We don't enter that word. That's a new one. https://t.co/BJ45AtMNu4 Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) December 17, 2016Merriam-Webster s phone number is (413) 734-3134. We strongly encourage you to call and demand that their social media person be given an immediate 10% raise and three extra paid vacation days per year. He or she (or even they) deserves it.Featured image via Getty Images (Pool)/screengrab | 0 |
2,185 | Venezuela arrests top oil executive, eight other PDVSA employees: sources | CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela has arrested the state oil company s boss for the western region and eight other executives at PDVSA, according to an internal company memo and a half-dozen sources in the OPEC member s oil industry. It was not immediately clear why Gustavo Malave and the other employees were apprehended, though a series of corruption probes are under way at PDVSA and have entangled other employees. The sources said Malave was arrested on Monday in Zulia state, Venezuela s traditional oil-producing region near Colombia, in what would be one of the highest-profile detentions of a PDVSA executive. PDVSA, the prosecutor s office, and Malave did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Separately, Venezuela s new chief prosecutor Tarek Saab on Thursday announced he was investigating spectacular overpricing in a dozen contracts in the nation s Orinoco oil belt, on the other side of the country. The reputation of PDVSA - short for Petroleos de Venezuela SA - has been tarnished in recent years by graft investigations involving high-profile staff. The company has blamed the problems on a small group of employees and executives, and promised a war on corruption. Last year, the opposition-led congress said $11 billion was lost at PDVSA between 2004 and 2014, when Rafael Ramirez was in charge of the company. He denied the allegations. The Caracas-based company is the financial motor of leftist President Nicolas Maduro s government, but is reeling from low oil prices, mismanagement, and lack of investments. | 1 |
2,186 | Russia's Putin says hard to hold dialogue with U.S. administration | MOSCOW (Reuters) - It is hard to hold a dialogue with the current U.S. administration because it prefers diktat to dialogue, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday. Saying that Russia was worried about the worsening of its relations with the United States, Putin said Washington had financed Ukraine’s radical opposition and assisted a coup d’etat there. Russia was then forced to protect ethnic Russians living in Ukraine, he told an economic forum. “There is a need to behave like partners and take each other’s interests into account,” Putin said, referring to U.S.-Russian ties. “We are ready for that.” | 1 |
2,187 | Great Britain’s Government Just Issued An EPIC F**K You To Trump (DETAILS) | Donald Trump is scheduled to make his first state visit to Britain later this year. Since the United Kingdom is one of America s closest and oldest allies, the utmost diplomacy and courtesy is usually afforded when either leader visits the other. That will not be the case during the Trump era, though, if UK House of Commons Speaker John Bercow has anything to say about it. Citing Trump s racism and sexism, Bercow says that he is against allowing Trump to address the UK s Members of Parliament (MP s).Bercow says that speaking before the distinguished body is not an automatic right, it is an earned honour. Many MP s were elated at Bercow s move, while others were irritated and worried that he might be straining relations with an ally that the UK needs in his proposed treatment of Trump. Bercow said of his decision: After the imposition of the migrant ban by President Trump I am even more strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in Westminster Hall. I would not wish to issue an invitation to President Trump. Bercow then added passionately: I feel very strongly that our opposition to racism and to sexism and our support for equality before the law and an independent judiciary are hugely important considerations in the House of Commons. Labour Party MP Stephen Daughtry offered high praise for Bercow s extraordinary statement: I am delighted that the Speaker has listened to members from across the house regarding our deep concerns that Donald Trump not be honoured with an address in Westminster Hall or elsewhere in the Palace of Westminster, after his comments and actions on women, torture, refugees and the judiciary. Another Labour Party MP, Yvette Cooper, said that Trump has been continuing his assault on the democratic values that the British Parliament holds dear. This really should come as no surprise, because during the election cycle, the entire British Parliament spent more than three hours excoriating Trump. He was called crazy, a buffoon, a fool, bonkers, dangerous, and more. Regardless of party, the entire House of Commons were in agreement in their contempt for then-candidate Trump. Here is a highlight reel, courtesy of the Washington Post, on that debate:All in all, Trump is ruining relationships for America, likely for years to come, just because of his repugnant personal characteristics. Good on House Speaker Bercow for putting principle above niceties. Hopefully, people continue to support this move. In the meantime, let s hope our allies don t judge all Americans by the actions of one unhinged, illegitimate leader.Featured image via Alex Wong/Getty Images | 0 |
2,188 | Watch A GOP Senate Candidate Threaten To Harm A Reporter (VIDEO) | A Republican United States Senate candidate in Colorado was caught on video appearing to threaten a reporter with bodily harm. Jon Keyser was confronted by reporter Marshall Zelinger of Denver 7 at a fundraiser and asked questions about suspicious signatures on petitions Keyser had submitted in order to get on the ballot.After initially responding with talking points assuring that he would be on the ballot against Democratic Senator Michael Bennet, Keyser apparently recognized Zelinger for having recently knocked on his door in order to get a comment on the record from the candidate. That s when he relayed his threat.Keyser told Zelinger, My dog is bigger than you are. He s huge. He s a big guy. Very protective. Zelinger, obviously surprised by the statement, asked Keyser to clarify. In response, Keyser pointed out that his dog weighs 165 pounds.Watch the video of the tense and odd exchange here:https://www.facebook.com/MZ7NEWS/videos/1313426775337589/Keyser has been under fire because he initially failed to meet the standards for the 10,500 signatures needed to be listed on the ballot in Colorado 1,500 signatures in each of the state s 7 congressional districts. A news investigation also found that several of the signatures were apparently forged:Denver7 has talked to several people whose names appeared on petitions for Jon Keyser in the first congressional district who claim their signatures were forged. Many of those signatures were collected by a woman named Maureen.A sympathetic judge overruled the Secretary of State s ruling keeping Keyser off the ballot, but now a progressive group in the state is petitioning for an investigation.ProgressNow Colorado sent a letter to Mitch Morrissey and Peter Weir, the District Attorneys in Denver and Jefferson County, respectively. We ask that you pursue a criminal investigation of Jon Keyser and his campaign immediately. Colorado voters must have full confidence in the integrity of the election process, wrote ProgressNow Colorado Executive Director Alan Franklin.Under a cloud of suspicion like that, it certainly doesn t look good for Keyser to try to intimidate the press.Featured image via screen capture | 0 |
2,189 | Pelosi says Democrats will not back short-term funding bill on Thursday | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said on Thursday her party would not support a short-term funding bill being brought up for a vote later in the day because it did not include any key Democratic priorities. Pelosi said Democrats were seeking funding for fighting opioid addiction, veterans, the children’s health program, community health centers, disaster funding and a solution for young undocumented immigrants to the United States. Her statement suggested Republicans would have to find the votes they need to pass the bill among their own members. If a short-term funding measure is not approved by the Republican-led Congress and signed by Republican President Donald Trump, all but the most essential parts of the federal government will shut down. Pelosi told a news briefing that “Democrats are not willing to shut government down,” but she also said her members “will not leave here (for the holidays) without a ... fix” to the problem of illegal immigrants who arrived in the United States as children, who are sometimes referred to as “Dreamers.” Pelosi said the temporary spending measure before the House on Thursday was a “waste of time.” “It has nothing about (the) opioid epidemic. There’s nothing about veterans’ funding, nothing about CHIP— CHIP — children’s health insurance, community health centers, nothing about, well, the DREAM Act, among other things,” she said. The short-term spending bill does provide some short-term help for states that are running out of money to finance the children’s health insurance program for lower-income children, but it stops short of renewing the program, which Congress allowed to expire at the end of September. Pelosi, discussing the immigration issue, said Democrats were willing to accept new funding for border security, but not for a border wall. “We’re not going to turn this country into a reign of terror of domestic enforcement and have the Dreamers pay that price,” she said. Republicans have a majority in both the House and Senate. But they will need some Democratic support to get the temporary spending bill past Senate procedural hurdles that require 60 votes, since there are only 52 Republicans in the 100-member chamber. | 1 |
2,190 | BREITBART SENIOR EDITOR SPEAKS OUT On Bannon’s Departure…Declares #War on the Left [Video] | Joel Pollack has been with Breitbart News through the years of Obama and beyond so he knows this is a war. It s so much more that STATUES He gets it and it s great to know Steve Bannon will be back in the trenches with Pollack.Interesting @MSNBC segment with @AliVelshi and @joelpollak https://t.co/cd011s0Wvn Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) August 18, 2017Joel Pollack: Hashtag War has been our motto since the days of Andrew Breitbart. And we use it whenever we go to war against our three main targets which are, in order- Hollywood and the mainstream media, number one the Democratic party and institutional left, number two and the Republican establishment in Washington, number three Our mission remains the same as it has been before Trump, as it was after he was elected and as it will continue to be. Great debate that we wish would happen more often Many of the comments from both sides said that this was fantastic because both sides were given a chance to speak. | 0 |
2,191 | Michigan governor denies misleading U.S. House on Flint water | (Reuters) - Michigan Governor Rick Snyder denied Thursday that he had misled a U.S. House of Representatives committee last year over testimony on Flint’s water crisis after lawmakers asked if his testimony had been contradicted by a witness in a court hearing. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee wrote Snyder earlier Thursday asking him about published reports that one of his aides, Harvey Hollins, testified in a court hearing last week in Michigan that he had notified Snyder of an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease linked to the Flint water crisis in December 2015, rather than 2016 as Snyder had testified. “My testimony was truthful and I stand by it,” Snyder told the committee in a letter, adding that his office has provided tens of thousands of pages of records to the committee and would continue to cooperate fully. Last week, prosecutors in Michigan said Dr. Eden Wells, the state’s chief medical executive who already faced lesser charges, would become the sixth current or former official to face involuntary manslaughter charges in connection with the crisis. The charges stem from more than 80 cases of Legionnaires’ disease and at least 12 deaths that were believed to be linked to the water in Flint after the city switched its source from Lake Huron to the Flint River in April 2014. Wells was among six current and former Michigan and Flint officials charged in June. The other five, including Michigan Health and Human Services Director Nick Lyon, were charged at the time with involuntary manslaughter stemming from their roles in handling the crisis. The crisis in Flint erupted in 2015 when tests found high amounts of lead in blood samples taken from children in the predominantly black city of about 100,000. The more corrosive river water caused lead to leach from pipes and into the drinking water. Lead levels in Flint’s drinking water have since fallen below levels considered dangerous by federal regulators, state officials have said. | 1 |
2,192 | Congressional Black Caucus Condemns Trump: He’s A Racist Who Cozies Up To White Supremacists | Democratic members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) condemned Donald Trump and his unbelievably tone-deaf attempt at African-American outreach, slamming him as a racist who has spent his entire campaign cozying up to white supremacists.The CBC convened a conference call on Tuesday to denounce Trump, and accused his campaign of not only perpetuating stereotypes but also deliberately dog whistling to white supremacists in an effort to turn their bigotry into votes.Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) said that the Republican nominee is one of the most racist, sexist and bigoted candidates to launch a bid for the White House in modern history, and accused Trump of having a kinship with white supremacists. He knows the audience he s trying to reach out to and it s not African-Americans, Meeks said. He s trying to appeal to David Duke and the racists of the world with what they think are stereotypes. He s trying to appeal to the worst of the white supremacists and others he s been catering to in the campaign to try and help them with turnout. In the past few days, Trump has attempted to pander to minority voters but has done an exceedingly poor job of it. In an effort to garner votes from African-Americans he claimed that their communities are war zones and that they live in fear of being shot at any moment. Trump s big selling point was that since black Americans live in poverty, have poor education, and a lack of job opportunities they might as well vote for him. After all, it isn t like they have anything to lose, right?Trump s blatant racism and p*ss poor excuse for minority outreach aren t going over well with African-American voters or lawmakers.CBC Chairman G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.) blasted Trump for giving speeches supposedly meant to draw black voters to crowds that are overwhelmingly white and said that the GOP nominee s so-called outreach is a slap in the face to the African-American community. If Donald Trump truly cared about African-Americans, he d disavow his long history of hateful and racist attacks against our community, he d apologize for having discriminated against black families he d disavow his support for white supremacists and white supremacy, Butterfield said.The Democrats taking part in Tuesday s call ripped Trump s past history of discriminatory housing practices during his years as a real estate investor and his habit of exploiting minority workers as a builder.They noted that his campaign has been littered with bigotry from the very beginning when he announced his candidacy by calling all Mexicans rapists. Since then, he has been reluctant to disavow the Ku Klux Klan and David Duke, called for all Muslims to be banned from entering the United States, accused a judge of being incapable of impartiality because of his Mexican heritage, and has refused to believe that President Obama was born in America.In response to Trump and his racist rhetoric, Democrats say they are pushing their minority voter registration efforts into overdrive and plan to set records with black and Hispanic turnout at the polls in November. To say that minority voters are eager to cast their ballots for Hillary Clinton to make sure that Trump never gets anywhere near the White House would be an understatement. Donald Trump is a voter registration machine and a citizenship-advocating engine, said Rep. Luis Guti rrez (D-Ill.). This is a little bit of thank you, because our community has never been so united or energized since that moment you set foot in national arena. Trump has said repeatedly that he will do great with African-Americans and Hispanics. It is hard to know what in the world ever gave him that idea, but his outreach isn t helping his cause and surely won t convince minority voters to turn a blind eye to the fact that he has built his entire campaign on bigotry.Featured image via Mark Wilson/Getty Images | 0 |
2,193 | The N-Word Flies As Racists Attack 49er’s Quarterback For Protesting Police Treatment Of Blacks | Just remember, Donald Trump s campaign is supported by racists, and this is how they treat people of color.Police have been unjustly killing black people at an alarming rate, and that has caused a movement to rise in protest against it. Black Lives Matter is making an effort to change the way police treat African-Americans across the nation, and that is making racists explode in rage because they cheer whenever a black person is killed in this country and they want the violence to continue.So when San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick chose to sit during the national anthem on Friday night versus the Green Bay Packers to protest police shootings of black people, the racists quickly attacked him by questioning his patriotism and calling him the N-word. I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color, Kaepernick told the press after the game. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder. And he is right. Police officers who unjustly kill black people often go unpunished and are usually sent right back out into the streets to do it again. Police departments are reluctant to do anything other than to put the offending officer on paid leave. Prosecutors are reluctant to bring charges. And even if they do, grand juries usually let what most normal people call murder slide.And let s make this clear, we are talking about officers who kill black people who are unarmed and don t resist. We are talking about officers who kill black people who run for their lives. We are talking about officers who kill black people even though suspects are supposed to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Cops are NOT supposed to be executioners.But racists believe that keeping police officers from shooting and killing black people is somehow a violation of their rights, so they viciously attacked Kaepernick.Blatant disrespect doesn t work well for impacting change. Feel free to find a country that supports you better. #Colin Kaepernick Paul Hoffman (@papac00772) August 27, 2016 Welp, I guess my Kaepernick jersey is going out with the next thrift store donations.https://t.co/31DHUM8TMg Holly Nicholas (@ilikerox) August 27, 2016This nigger Colin Kaepernick has a $114M contract to throw a fucking ball. Yeah, blacks are so oppressed in America. AdolfJoeBiden (@Bidenshairplugz) August 27, 2016 Colin Kaepernick is keepin it real and gets the prestigious nigger of the day award overtaking Will Smith in hardcore nigger status. nate (@bloodandsoil5) August 27, 2016Organizers should try the Saudi national anthem. I bet Colin @Kaepernick7 & boycotting U.S. Muslims will stand erect https://t.co/R9aiLSNuzH (((Tarek Fatah))) (@TarekFatah) August 27, 2016 All of you faggot cucks worshiping nigger athletes like Colin Kaepernick are getting what you want. You want to be shit on. Kill yourselves. MOBI-WAN (@28thVerse) August 27, 2016Of course, Americans have the freedom to not stand during the national anthem just like school children do not have to stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance. That is their right as citizens of this country. Many conservatives are claiming that Kaepernick is disrespecting our veterans and their sacrifice, but that is not the case at all. Our soldiers fight for ALL of our rights, which includes choosing not to stand during the national anthem. Just because Kaepernick is making a political statement using the platform he has been given doesn t mean he hates our troops.If anything, Kaepernick is walking in the footsteps of Muhammad Ali, whom conservatives were praising not too long ago when he passed away. The boxing legend also took a stand against rampant racism and oppression when he changed his name and refused to enter the service after being drafted for the Vietnam War. White racists howled with rage then, too.And Kaepernick was taking a stand for others, not himself. So claiming that his multimillion dollar salary means people of color like him are not oppressed is bullshit. But the fact that racists attacked him in these ways prove that racism and oppression still exist in this country and that these racists are desperate to regain the white dominated racist America of the past.And they are trying to do that by supporting Donald Trump s racist campaign for the presidency.Yet Republicans still wonder why black people won t vote for them.Featured image via Wikimedia | 0 |
2,194 | U.S. shootings heighten security concerns at Republican convention | CLEVELAND (Reuters) - Cleveland’s police union called for the suspension of a state law allowing people to carry firearms during the Republican National Convention but Ohio’s governor said he was powerless to act despite heightened security concerns with the killing on Sunday of three police officers in Louisiana. Republican Donald Trump seized on the shooting deaths in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to bolster his case the United States is leaderless and he is the better candidate in the Nov. 8 U.S. presidential election to restore law and order than his rival, Democrat Hillary Clinton. It was not immediately clear there was a link between Sunday’s shootings and recent unrest countrywide over police killings of black men, one of them a shooting in Baton Rouge about two weeks ago. Despite a lack of clarity about the motive and specifics of Sunday’s incident, Trump said President Barack Obama “doesn’t have a clue” on how to handle the problem after Obama voiced concern about inflammatory rhetoric on the campaign trail. “Our country is a divided crime scene, and it will only get worse!” Trump said. He issued statements on Twitter on Sunday, a day before the start of the four-day Republican Convention in Cleveland this week due to formally nominate him for the White House. After the shootings in Baton Rouge, in which three other police officers were wounded, the head of Cleveland’s police union, Steve Loomis, asked Governor John Kasich to suspend state laws allowing people to openly carry firearms, but Kasich said he lacked the authority to do so. Kasich, a Republican who lost his bid for the White House to Trump, issued a statement through his spokeswoman Emmalee Kalmbach, saying: “Ohio governors do not have the power to arbitrarily suspend federal and state constitutional rights or state laws as suggested. The bonds between our communities and police must be reset and rebuilt - as we’re doing in Ohio - so our communities and officers can both be safe.” Clinton called the shootings “devastating” and urged the country to work together. “We must not turn our backs on each other. We must not be indifferent to each other,” Clinton said in a statement. “We must all stand together to reject violence and strengthen our communities.” Speaking at the White House, Obama said that with this week’s Republican convention followed next week by the Democratic convention in Philadelphia, political rhetoric would likely be more overheated than usual. “We don’t need inflammatory rhetoric, we don’t need careless accusations thrown around to score political points or to advance an agenda. We need to temper our words and open our hearts, all of us,” Obama told reporters. There were no plans to delay Monday’s start of the Cleveland convention, where thousands of Republican delegates are gathering amid a threat of protests both for and against Trump, 70, a businessman-turned-candidate. Security was extraordinarily tight with downtown streets lined by concrete traffic dividers and tall metal fences, propelled by a new urgency after an attacker drove his truck into a holiday crowd in Nice, France, last week, killing 84 people. Jeff Larson, chief executive officer of the convention, said he was not worried about the open carry law. “There’s going to be plenty of law enforcement in downtown Cleveland,” he told reporters. “I feel good about the security and what we’ve done.” Trump sought to link the violence to the U.S.-led fight against Islamic State, writing: “We are TRYING to fight ISIS, and now our own people are killing our police. Our country is divided and out of control. The world is watching.” Trump enters the crucial week trailing Clinton in most national opinion polls and needs a bounce from the convention to vault him into a more competitive position. Republican strategist Hogan Gidley said the violence gave relevance to Trump’s message. “It’s something that Donald Trump and his crowd were already prepared to talk about,” he said. “This is an epidemic in this country now and we’ve got to solve it.” Democratic strategist David Axelrod tweeted that Trump’s effort to make himself a law-and-order candidate reminded him of a similar attempt by Richard Nixon in 1968, when the Republican won his first presidential election. “Someone’s been studying ‘68,” Axelrod tweeted. Trump’s goal at the convention is to get more American voters to take a fresh look at him and, he hopes, to see him in a more favorable light, after his victory over 16 other Republican candidates in a brutal battle marked by insults and inflammatory rhetoric that left many in the party divided. To that end, many speakers will talk about their views on Trump, from daughter Ivanka to women’s pro golfer Natalie Gulbis.”It’s going to be a very personal convention. I mean, you’re going to have his family speaking. You’re going to have friends who have known him speaking,” Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort told CBS’s “Face the Nation.” Many longtime party fixtures are staying away. Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, who has been a private counselor to Trump, said the convention would help Trump pivot to the general election. “He’s never run for anything before. ... I think it’s just taken longer to pivot, and I think he’s pivoting,” Priebus told NBC’s “Meet the Press.” The convention will also provide Republican faithful with their first look at his vice presidential running mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, who was announced on Saturday after a messy selection process. Hoping to win over more traditional Republicans, Trump picked the social conservative Pence over two other finalists, former House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. The disorganized nature of the running mate rollout - in which Trump failed to fully project the power of the partnership - had some Republicans worried that they could see more of the same at Cleveland. | 1 |
2,195 | THIS IS NOT A JOKE! Soros-Linked Group Has Plan To Destroy Trump…Will Register 8 MILLION “Global Voters” For Hillary [VIDEO] | The Left has been organizing for decades, and George Soros has been funding them. From the chaos of Occupy Wall Street to Black Lives Matter, wherever there is chaos and anarchy in America, George Soros and the Democrat Party are usually behind it. There have been reports for several years of voter fraud efforts, in which it has been suggested that George Soros is involved. This is just another example of his involvement in a scheme to effect the results of our elections in America by using his vast global network A new campaign, touted as the October surprise that will end Trump , is seeking to mobilise a secret swing state of more than 8 million mostly unregistered global citizens and progressive Americans living abroad to vote in the U.S. election.The 8 million Americans abroad almost never vote. This dead easy tool can fix that but only if we make it famous: https://t.co/z4l7lekdub Avaaz (@Avaaz) September 13, 2016The initiative was launched in London in the United Kingdom on Wednesday by Avaaz , a registered U.S. charity and one the world s largest and most powerful activist groups linked to globalist billionaire George Soros. Campaigners toured from the University College London down to Parliament blasting Bruce Springsteen s Born in the USA while chanting Don t Vote Trump from an open top bus.While illegal for registered U.S. charities to work with or for presidential candidates, a spokeswoman for Avaaz denied any connection to the Hillary campaign when quizzed. Campaigners with Avaaz however, were recorded shouting, Vote for Hillary! during the demonstration.A huge 88 per cent of Americans living abroad did not register to vote in the last presidential election, and Avaaz points out that this massive untapped voting block is much more likely to be progressive because 56 per cent of us [in the UK] have masters degrees and overwhelmingly donated to Democratic candidates in the last three presidential primaries.Does anybody really believe this get out the vote effort is to register LEGAL American citizens? This effort has fraud written all over it. And with only a little over a month to go before our general election, where is the manpower to pour through all of these new incoming registrations going to come from? If I didn t know better, I d think George Soros and Hillary planned to to overwhelm our system with last minute foreign votes that can t be properly vetted before the election kinda like their Muslim refugees The view for the top of the @Avaaz Stop Trump battle bus in London. American music, balloons, flags & chanting @LBC pic.twitter.com/slsTFdQti3 Rachael Venables (@rachaelvenables) September 21, 2016 Avaaz has created the world s first, global, citizen s get-out-the-vote drive , Ms. Alexander added. The more people that share it on Facebook, the more Americans abroad will see it, and the more we will be able to stop the global threat of Trump .The group chose London for the launch as the UK has the largest concentration of US expats outside of North America , and at the event several Americans registered to vote before the media to prove how easy it is with Avaaz s new tool. For months, the world has sat on the sidelines, horrified by Trump s hate. Now, global citizens have a way to fight back , Emma Ruby-Sachs, Deputy Director of Avaaz added.The charity s website encourages people to email potential U.S. voters in other countries, giving them a template that reads: 8 million Americans abroad could defeat Trump if they vote! I wanted to make sure you saw this new overseas registration tool that makes voting dead-easy. It literally takes a few minutes :) .Their efforts don t stop in the UK, they are also putting out a call to Mexicans to register to vote. Who will be checking the validity of millions of votes coming in at the last minute? From their register to vote for Hillary campaign in Mexico:1 million Americans in Mexico can stop #Trump's wall! #GringosAVotar campaign kicks off Sun 9/25 in Mexico City: https://t.co/Q68FjjJk7d pic.twitter.com/6tv7CES8Cy Avaaz (@Avaaz) September 21, 2016ENGLISH:Over 1 million US citizens live in Mexico, and their participation in this election is key to stopping Trump and his beautiful wall. This Sunday we re meeting at the Angel de la Independencia on Paseo de la Roma, in the heart of Mexico City, to spread the word and register US voters on site.There will be music, great people, and media. Come take a picture of yourself in front of a massive artistic model of Trump s wall to say: #GringosAVotar united against Trump! RSVP and share widely with friends.If you are a US passport holder and want to register to vote there on site, make sure to bring a scanned copy of your passport with you. US voters in Mexico can also register directly here: www.avaaz.org/GringosAVotarSomething tells me if Johnny Cash were alive today, he would not approve of these clowns using his music to promote the destruction of America in a foreign land:Via: Breitbart News | 0 |
2,196 | This Bill Would Get Trump The Psychiatric Care He So Desperately Needs | Donald Trump is crazy. I don t say this flippantly. I don t say this as an insult to people who have struggled with their mental health. I also don t say this as a licensed mental health professional. But as someone who has been around a lot of people with serious mental illnesses over the years, I do say that this man is f*cking nuts. And apparently, I m not the only one who thinks this. One Democratic lawmaker is taking action to get Trump some psychiatric care.Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) is planning to introduce a bill as early as next week that would require an in-house White House psychiatrist. His reasoning is clear, the man running our country is in desperate need of psychiatric help. I m looking at it from the perspective of, if there are questions about the mental health of the president of the United States, what may be the best way to get the president treatment? Lieu explained.This isn t the first time Lieu has let it be known that he is worried about Trump s mental health. Over the weekend he sent out a tweet suggesting that Trump needs to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.Last 24 hrs on Twitter, @realDonaldTrump went on rant about death & destruction, FAKE NEWS, & evil. Should he get mental health exam? Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) February 4, 2017Lieu insists that Trump s behavior is not normal. He also argues that Trump is clearly disconnected from reality. It is not normal for the president of the United States, within 24 hours, to write about death and destruction and fake news and evil, he said. The most troubling aspect of this is it is very clear he has a disconnection from the truth. The very first press conference he had in this administration, they could have talked about jobs or health care. They talked about crowd size. And then lied about it. It s one of the most bizarre events I ve witnessed in politics. His disconnection from the truth is incredibly disturbing. When you add on top of that his stifling of dissent, his attacks on the free press and his attacks on the legitimacy of judiciary, that then takes us down the road toward authoritarianism. That s why I ve concluded he is a danger to the republic, Lieu argued.Not surprisingly, Lieu isn t the only lawmaker who is a little worried about the fact that our commander-in-chief is bat-shit crazy. Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) have both publicly questioned Trump s mental health.Read more: Featured image via Andrew Harrer Pool/Getty Images | 0 |
2,197 | Saudi Arabia says Shi'ite judge killed by kidnappers | RIYADH (Reuters) - A Shi ite Muslim judge abducted in eastern Saudi Arabia a year ago has been killed by his kidnappers, the Saudi state news agency SPA reported on Monday. Sheikh Mohammed al-Jirani disappeared last December from outside his home in the Qatif region, which is home to about one million Shi ite Muslims in the predominantly Sunni Muslim kingdom. SPA said a security officer and one of the kidnappers were killed in a clash on Dec. 19 and a second kidnapper was arrested. It also said the judge s body had been found in the remote farming district of Awamiya but did not say when he had been killed. Authorities said earlier this year that three men being sought in connection with the abduction were already on a wanted list for their suspected involvement in terrorist attacks in eastern Saudi Arabia. Since 2011 the region has been shaken by frequent, though mostly peaceful, protests by the Shi ite minority. However, Shi ite militants, angry over what they say is repression of their community, have sometimes attacked Saudi security forces in the oil-producing Eastern Province where Qatif is located. | 1 |
2,198 | Obama’s Christmas In Hawaii To Cost Taxpayers $3.5 Million For Flight Time Alone | Judicial Watch has been the one organization that s been reporting on the crazy expensive trips the Obamas have taken since day one. Barack Obama has been savaged by a top spending campaigner for taking the First Family on an eighth consecutive Christmas vacation to Hawaii, at huge expense to the American taxpayer.The President was accused of treating Air Force One, which costs $206,000/hour to run, like an Uber ride ahead of his next jaunt to his home state. Fly-time alone will set taxpayers back somewhere in the region of $3.5 million as Obama, the First Lady, Sasha and Malia and their two dogs jet off for around two weeks.They have traditionally rented a luxury villa in the upscale Kailua area on Oahu, the main island, and head out for hikes, rounds of golf and restaurant meals with their friends. Tom Fitton, the head of the Judicial Watch pressure group, said Obama s holiday habit proves that he is out of touch and has to stop. He told AL.com: The Obamas travel is out of control. They are treating the Air Force One like an Uber ride. And President Obama seems oblivious to the burden he is placing on Americans with his continuous vacations, getaways, and political junkets at taxpayer expense. During the trips, the Obamas are accompanied by a substantial Secret Service detail, who costs thousands of dollars a day to accommodate in the idyllic vacation spot. Local police also work overtime and an ambulance trails the Presidential party at all times in case of disaster all of which will push the total further into the millions. Although some expenses including the rent are paid for privately, the emergency personnel and daily expenses of Obama s security detail are all publicly-funded. Exact figures for the trip outside of Air Force One are hard to obtain. According to a Watchdog.com report on the 2014 trip, there is also an Air Force cargo plane to bring Obama s helicopter and limo, which costs more than $150,000 to get to Hawaii and back. A second plane brings a Marine Corps contingent at similar cost. The Honolulu Police Department also spends in the region of $275,000 a year in overtime for its officers, while the ambulance from the local Emergency Management Services costs $15,890 to keep on call.Secret Service agents of whom there are said to be dozens each year are reportedly housed at a cost of around $200 per person per night, while material for other security measures would also be met from White House funds. It is not yet clear precisely where the Obamas will stay, though they have traditionally favored somewhere near Kailua. During their year-end trips to the Hawaiian islands the Obamas typically lounge around their rental home, venturing out only on occasion for shaved ice and dinner with their friends. Since 2013, the Obama family have gone on scenic Christmas hikes, tried out snorkeling in Hanauma Bay and dined at the gourmet Alan Wong s Restaurant. President Obama generally spends his time on the golf course or working out at a local Marine Corps base.He and the First Lady usually make a special trip to the base to to wish the troops stationed there a Merry Christmas and to thank them for their service.The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed there are temporary flight restrictions in the area from December 19 to January 4. An islander also told Honolulu TV station KHON2 he had seen Secret Service in the area and had been given a flyer about security in Kailua Bay. The Hawaii trips are not the only examples of extravagance which have been seized on by critics. In March it emerged that the White House dropped at least $1million flying the President and the First Lady to Los Angeles and back on two separate planes inside a single day so they could be on TV. Barack Obama sat down with Jimmy Kimmel to appear on his NBC show, while Michelle grabbed the change to be interviewed by Ellen DeGeneres. Despite the two shows being filmed just miles apart, the White House insisted the journeys were not in sync so required separate planes. As well as the Christmas vacation, the Obamas typically take a summer retreat to Martha s Vineyard off the Massachusetts coast, allowing the President to tot up some more hours on the golf course.Read more: UK Daily Mail | 0 |
2,199 | WATCH: Pipeline Company Attacks Indigenous Protesters With Dogs And Pepper Spray | On Saturday, dozens of indigenous people were attacked by private security while protesting the construction of the Dakota Access pipeline. The Associated Press reports that at least 30 people were pepper-sprayed and six people had been bitten by dogs, including one child. There were no police officers on site.The protestors broke through fencing and rushed towards construction crews, though none of them appear to have been acting violently. The construction crew was using bulldozers to remove top soil from the site of an ancient indigenous burial ground.Standing Rock Sioux chairman David Archambault II said in a statement that: This demolition is devastating. These grounds are the resting places of our ancestors. The ancient cairns and stone prayer rings there cannot be replaced. In one day, our sacred land has been turned into hollow ground. Democracy Now! was on the ground at the time of the attack. Here are photos and video footage that shows the damage that was done to protestors.VIDEO Dakota Access Pipeline Co Attacks Native American Protesters with Dogs & Pepper Spray https://t.co/opaGFmyLxj pic.twitter.com/uXfFAxKkej Democracy Now! (@democracynow) September 4, 2016This is just the latest incident to happen in a protest that has gone on for months. The Dakota Access pipeline once constructed would span four states. From an environmentalist s standpoint or anyone who is at least mildly concerned with combating climate change we should be thankful that the demonstrations are taking place. The pipeline is expected to transport 570,000 barrels of crude oil per day from the Bakken region in North Dakota to Illinois.Despite being sold to the public as a means of securing energy independence, The Intercept recently revealed that at least some of the oil transported by the pipeline will be exported. How much exactly will be exported is unknown. However, recent changes in oil and gas export laws, as well as changes in the oil and gas market, have created conditions that make it far more profitable to export oil than to sell it domestically.Featured image via Twitter | 0 |
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