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2,200 | North Carolina governor requests vote recount in tight race | (Reuters) - North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory announced on Tuesday he has officially requested a recount of votes from the Nov. 8 election with official results showing him trailing his Democratic challenger, Attorney General Roy Cooper, by one-tenth of a point. The gubernatorial race in the ninth largest U.S. state remained undecided two weeks after Election Day. Officials with the State Board of Elections were continually updating results as they arrived from the state's 100 counties. (For official results see: bit.ly/2fV0APx) A recount is mandatory if the margin is less than 10,000 votes once all 100 counties have finished their canvasses, a spokesman for the election board said. As of Tuesday afternoon, Cooper’s lead was 6,187 out of 4.7 million votes cast. The election had been widely seen as a referendum on McCrory’s support for a state law denying transgender people the right to use the public bathroom matching their gender identities, instead forcing them to use those corresponding to the gender assigned at birth. The law led to widespread boycotting of North Carolina by entertainers such as Bruce Springsteen and Itzhak Perlman while sports organizations such as the National Basketball Association and the National Collegiate Athletic Association moved major events out of state. McCrory's request came in a letter to the election board dated Friday and made public on Tuesday. (For a copy of the letter, see: bit.ly/2f3JfEE) McCrory’s campaign has questioned the validity of the posted results, saying Cooper’s total may be inflated by votes from dead people or felons ineligible to cast a ballot. “With serious concerns of potential voter fraud emerging across the state, it is becoming more apparent that a thorough recount is one way the people of North Carolina can have confidence in the results, process and system,” McCrory said. Cooper, however, has already claimed victory. “This is nothing but a last-ditch effort from Governor McCrory to delay and deny the results of this election,” Cooper campaign manager Trey Nix said in a statement. “Roy Cooper leads by 8,569 votes – a number that is growing daily as counties finalize election results. We are confident that a recount will do nothing to change the fact that Roy Cooper has won this election.” The Cooper campaign said it came to its larger vote margin by citing election observers in each county who have tallied numbers not yet uploaded onto the election board site. | 1 |
2,201 | Mexico ruling party leans to outside candidate to save presidency | MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The threat of losing power to a fierce leftwing rival next year is tempting Mexico s ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) to enlist outside help for the first time in its nine-decade history. Corruption scandals, sluggish growth, failure to curb gang violence and persistent allegations of electoral fraud have seriously eroded the centrist party s already rocky reputation ahead of the July 2018 presidential election. That has opened the door to Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a leftist former mayor of Mexico City and twice runner-up for the presidency who has set the early pace with a relentless campaign against government corruption. The PRI s presidential hopefuls can begin registering on Dec. 3 and many officials believe Jose Antonio Meade, currently finance minister, will be chosen in a bid to detoxify its brand. A fixture in the Cabinet across two rival administrations, Meade has no formal party affiliation and has distinguished himself as a discreet and diplomatic public servant with a grasp of finance and economics matched by few in Mexico. More importantly, he has avoided the damaging scandals that have engulfed the PRI under President Enrique Pena Nieto, who cannot seek a second six-year term. Heriberto Galindo, a senior PRI politician, said Meade s probity and economic savvy make him an ideal choice at a time of nagging uncertainty for Mexico due to U.S. President Donald Trump s threats to ditch the NAFTA trade deal. The Mexican public s main social concerns are corruption and impunity, and Jose Antonio Meade has a reputation for being honorable and honest, and he is honorable and honest, Galindo said. That s why I think he should be the candidate. The PRI said on Thursday that the party s candidate would be elected by a national convention on Feb. 18. By then, the candidate may be obvious. CROSS-PARTY APPEAL Nearly a dozen PRI lawmakers, serving or former government officials consulted by Reuters said they believed Meade would most likely be chosen, pointing to his cross-party appeal. None forecast it would be the most prominent PRI contender, Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong, who has failed to tame gang violence and was pilloried for the 2015 jail break of kingpin Joaquin El Chapo Guzman. Meade has been coy about whether he wants the presidency, and some PRI grandees caution the party might spring a surprise. Education Minister Aurelio Nuno, 39, Pena Nieto s former chief of staff and one of his closest allies, as well as health minister Jose Narro, are viewed as the most likely alternatives. Speculation over Meade intensified when the PRI changed its statutes in August to make it easier for outsiders to run, but Pena Nieto has sought to dispel talk of the finance minister. Polls show he would have work to do. Meade is not widely recognized by the public, and one survey this week by polling firm Buendia & Laredo put him 14 percentage points behind Lopez Obrador in a match-up with a third leading contender. However, PRI officials supportive of Meade believe he could persuade enough Mexicans opposed to Lopez Obrador to cast a so-called voto util (useful vote) and win. Much of that calculus, they argue, rests on Meade s ties to the center-right National Action Party (PAN), which ruled Mexico from 2000 to 2012 and has fought bitterly with Lopez Obrador. Entering government bureaucracy in the 1990s, Meade was by 2011 minister for energy, and later that year, finance. Many PAN lawmakers speak warmly of him and say that if the 2018 race became a choice between Lopez Obrador and Meade, they could back the latter. Yet the fact the PRI is considering somebody from outside its ranks shows the extent of the party s troubles, said Ernesto Cordero, a PAN senator who preceded Meade as finance minister. An October study by pollster Mitofsky showed that while the PRI slightly lagged the PAN and Lopez Obrador s MORENA party in terms of active support - backed by about 18 percent of voters - it was easily the most unpopular, rejected by over half. In strategic terms, the PRI needs a candidate that can say his hands are clean, Cordero said. Pena Nieto made Meade foreign minister in 2012 before he eventually returned to the finance ministry last year, making him, at 48, the most experienced Cabinet member in government. Expectations that the PRI could soon pass the torch to Meade were heightened on Wednesday when Pena Nieto s top aide, foreign minister Luis Videgaray, described the Yale-educated economist in glowing terms at an event. Under the leadership of Jose Antonio Meade, Mexico today has a direction, stability and has clarity in its decision-making on economic policy, Videgaray said. However, on Thursday Pena Nieto attempted to knock down the impression Videgaray s words had created. Don t be fooled, he told reporters. The PRI doesn t choose its candidate on the basis of praise or applause. | 1 |
2,202 | Trump Signals He May Be Done With Kushner – For The Most Trump Reason Ever | Donald Trump may be realizing that there s something to the sage advice of not working with family. On Tuesday, Trump joked that his son-in-law Jared Kushner is becoming more famous than him. For Kushner, who is becoming an albatross around the neck of the administration, that joke could be the kiss of political death.Trump has made a similar joke before. Then it was directed toward FBI Director James Comey. Months later, Comey was gone. Jared has actually become much more famous than me I m a little upset at that, Trump said, prompting the room to erupt in laughter.House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) turned to Kushner and said, That s a badge of honor. Kushner smiled but did not respond, according to a reporter in the room.Source: The HillThe joke came after Kushner made the cover of Time Magazine. It doesn t matter that the portrayal wasn t completely flattering or that Kushner s implications in the Russian election scandal are front and center in the article. What matters to Trump is that Kushner, who s perhaps best known as a man of few words, is beginning to eclipse Trump in the media. Except that he s not. Most news stories are still about Trump and not Kushner.Trump doesn t see that, though. When a member of his administration, any member of his administration, becomes a focus of the media, that means at least a little attention is being taken off of him. Trump can t deal with that.Two days after his inauguration, Trump joked that James Comey had become more famous than me. Then as now, Trump still dominated most headlines, but for Trump, it wasn t enough. Comey was soon gone.Trump s White House advisors are a hodgepodge of people whose only qualifications are their ability to boost Trump s ego. Once they ve outlived that purpose, they ve outlived their usefulness to Trump, even if they are family.Featured image via Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images | 0 |
2,203 | House Republicans to push Puerto Rico bill by end of March | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans plan to bring a bill addressing Puerto Rico’s debt crisis to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives by the end of March, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said on Monday. McCarthy, speaking to reporters at a press briefing, offered no details on the content of the planned legislation. He said two House committees will be in charge of developing legislation, adding that one of them is looking at a “control panel” to help the Caribbean island U.S. territory out of its debt problems. The U.S. Treasury Department has called on Congress to create a fiscal control board for Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla has said his administration would seek to ensure that any such board would respect the island’s autonomy. “Chapter 9” bankruptcy for municipalities also has been discussed, McCarthy said. Last year, House Speaker Paul Ryan said he wanted the Republican-led House to come up with a response to Puerto Rico’s fiscal crisis during the first quarter of 2016. “It’s our intention to meet that deadline to get a bill ... on the floor, before the end of the first quarter,” McCarthy said. Separately on Monday, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Ryan was likely to discuss Puerto Rico’s crisis during Tuesday’s scheduled meeting at the White House with President Barack Obama and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. | 1 |
2,204 | levers of power flushing the vote down the memory hole | kurds worried turkey will stab them in the back as they fight isis turkey publicly opposes isis while supporting them behind the scenes image credits kurdish ypg fighters kurdishstruggle
two months after being purged from the border town of jarablus in northern syria by a turkishled force and just days after being targeted by turkish airstrikes near albab syrian kurds now fear a stab in the back from turkeys military as plans for a usled push to clear isis fighters from raqqa are carried out
it is very important raqqa is liberated a chief political leader of the main syrian kurdish party the pyd told reuters but one point which is bothering us is that if we go toward raqqa we will be stabbed from the back
at the end of august turkish forces took part in a usled operation to eject isis from the northern border of syria once inside syria however turkish forces leading free syrian army fsa rebels took aim at kurdish fighters in the town of jarablus which sent them scurrying across the euphrates river in retreat
the issue here is that the us claims to find the kurds useful in the fight against isis the kurds in fact make up a significant portion of one of the primary ussupplied rebel forces in the region as reuters explains
kurdish militia have played a big role in the past year in the syrian democratic forces sdf a usbacked umbrella group as it has seized large areas of territory from islamic state laying the ground for an assault on raqqa
however turkeys intervention in syria in august in support of rebel groups fighting under the free syrian army fsa banner has complicated that equation leading to clashes between them and kurdish groups allied to the sdf
the problem is one of trust turkey believes the kurdish militants are aligned with the kurdish pyd party which the turks believe is allied with kurds within turkey whove been waging a religious insurgency for over three decades
so regardless of whether the us finds the kurds useful turkey has made it clear it intends to sleep with one eye open for the foreseeable future in fact its taking a much more proactive stance than that
last thursday in a campaign of airstrikes that were the heaviest against the ypg since turkey launched a military incursion into syria turkey targeted three kurdishcontrolled villages along the northern syrian border the turkish military later confirmed it had carried out strikes on areas recently taken by the kurdish ypg militia and had killed between and combatants
turkeys major concern is that kurdishcontrolled enclaves will physically unite thereby creating a de facto kurdish ministate along the turkish border as such turkey has warned kurds to keep out of towns like manjib which is just northeast of the heaviest fighting in aleppo
this tangled web of strained alliances and old feuds will likely only grow more confusing as the usled operation to purge isis from raqqa draws nearer in any case turkish president erdogan seems to have discovered a newfound independence and the days of him obediently even if somewhat grudgingly bending to the us will appear to be fading as well
from now on we will now wait for problems to come knocking on our door we will not wait until the blade is against our bone and skin we will not wait for terrorist organizations to come and attack us erdogan said from his palace last week let them go wherever until we find and destroy them i am saying this very clearly they will not have a single place to find peace abroad newsletter sign up get the latest breaking news specials from alex jones and the infowars crew related articles | 0 |
2,205 | (VIDEO) BREAKING: WHY OBAMA WAS SNUBBED BY SAUDI AND OTHER ARAB LEADERS IN SECURITY SUMMIT | It s a snub don t believe the pundits on this one. It s concern over the Iran deal that s got Saudi and other leaders so peeved at Obama. He might be able to get away with talking out of both sides of his mouth with everyone else but not with the Saudis who re having nothing to do with this upcoming summit. The White House was scrambling Monday to put a positive face on an upcoming summit of Persian Gulf states after learning leaders from four of the six invited nations are expected to skip.While those nations are still sending representatives to the summit being hosted by President Obama later this week at Camp David, the absence of crucial heads of state notably, Saudi Arabia s new king could present an awkward situation for the administration.In a statement Sunday, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said Thursday s summit coincides with a humanitarian cease-fire in Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition is fighting Shiite rebels known as Houthis. He said Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who is also interior minister, would lead the Saudi delegation and the king s son, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is defense minister, will also attend but the king would not.Obama had planned to meet Saudi Arabia s King Salman one-on-one a day before the gathering of leaders at the presidential retreat. The White House, though, did not present his decision to skip the summit as a sign of any substantial disagreement with the U.S.Read more: Gateway Pundit | 0 |
2,206 | Trump vows 'insurance for everybody' in replacing Obamacare | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump aims to replace Obamacare with a plan that would envisage “insurance for everybody,” he said in an interview with the Washington Post published on Sunday night. Trump did not give the newspaper specifics about his proposals to replace Democratic President Barack Obama’s signature health insurance law, but said the plan was nearly finished and he was ready to unveil it alongside the leaders of the Republican-controlled Congress. The Republican president-elect takes office on Friday. “It’s very much formulated down to the final strokes. We haven’t put it in quite yet but we’re going to be doing it soon,” Trump told the Post, adding he was waiting for his nominee for health and human services secretary, Tom Price, to be confirmed. The plan, he said, would include “lower numbers, much lower deductibles,” without elaborating. “We’re going to have insurance for everybody,” Trump said. “There was a philosophy in some circles that if you can’t pay for it, you don’t get it. That’s not going to happen with us.” Trump was also quoted as saying in the interview that he would target pharmaceutical companies over drug pricing and insist they negotiate directly with the Medicare and Medicaid government health plans for the elderly and poor. U.S. House Republicans won passage on Friday of a measure starting the process of dismantling the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare, despite concerns about not having a ready replacement and the potential financial cost of repealing the law. With the vote, Republicans began delivering on their promise to end Obamacare, also a campaign pledge of Trump, who has called the program a “disaster.” The law, which expanded health coverage to some 20 million people, has been plagued by increases in insurance premiums and deductibles and by some large insurers leaving the system. Republicans have called Obamacare federal government overreach and have sought to undermine it in Congress and the courts since it was passed by Democratic majorities in the House and Senate in 2010. Democrats say Obamacare has allowed growing numbers of Americans to get medical insurance and helped slow the rise in healthcare spending. | 1 |
2,207 | TRUMP AIDE GORKA Calls Out Chris Cuomo for “Classic Fake News” [Video] | Chris Cuomo tries to argue with the brilliant Sebastian Gorka This is epic!The discussion began on the travel ban and devolved into CNN s rating and fake news Cuomo begins: I explain it by you wanting to go with the original model to make it easier to pass because you were mimicking what Obama did, and therefore masking your true intention was to not make it about travel, make it about Muslims. And as you well know, not just in your own rhetoric but the president s, he has said time and again that he thinks there s a problem with Islam and that he thinks that the Muslims may have a problem with us. As you know, with what we re seeing in the U.K. right now, attachment to the community of Muslims is so important, and the concern is that a move like this, trumpeted by the president in the midst of crisis in the U.K., sends an ugly message to our Muslim community here in the United States. Gorka responded with this awesome comment: Well, unfortunately, what you ve just spun is classic fake news, Haha! The argument soon turned to one about CNN s ratings:GORKA: That s why your viewing figures are in the tank. CUOMO: No, actually we re up over 100 percent year over year. But don t let the facts get in your way. You re good at avoiding them. GORKA: Unless you re being mandatory in every airport in America, you re in the tank, Chris. CUOMO: We re up 100 percent year over year, Sebastian. What you said is foolishly wrong it s not just abusive of fact, but its silly with its own logic. CNN has benefited so greatly from the current dialogue and the demand for fact and testing power, that it is demonstrable by any metric you want to use. But I don t care about that. Let s put that to the side. GORKA: Chris, you re just comedy now. It s just comedy. CUOMO: You may think it s comedy, but I want to address things that really matter. GORKA: Getting two viewers instead of one is a 100 percent increase, Chris. You know that, right? CUOMO: Excuse me? GORKA: Getting two viewers instead of one is a 100 percent increase as well. CUOMO: That s not the numbers. Those aren t the numbers involved. But again, that s not the point. GORKA: Chris you re playing games. You re playing games. CUOMO: Good try. Good try. I give you points for that, Sebastian. Next time I see you, the meal is on me. GORKA: Good spin, Chris. CUOMO: But this isn t about CNN s success, because that s obvious. GORKA: No, it s about relevance.Gorka is awesome! | 0 |
2,208 | Ai Wei-Wei critical of China at opening of Swiss exhibit | LAUSANNE, Switzerland (Reuters) - Ai Wei-Wei denounced China s crackdown on lawyers and free speech on Wednesday but saw little hope that the upcoming Communist Party Congress would lead to more freedoms. The Chinese dissident artist spoke while inaugurating an exhibit in the Swiss city of Lausanne that includes some of his political works symbolizing repression. They are not accepting what we call common values such as democracy and freedom of speech and the freedom of religious practice and independence of the press or independence of a judicial system or people having the right to vote, Ai told a news conference. China has been booming and become very powerful in the economic sense but at the same time it doesn t trust its own people, he said. After 60 or 70 years in power, still its own people are not trusted to have a chance to vote. Asked about the five-yearly leadership reshuffle of the ruling Communist Party set to begin on Oct. 18, Ai said: You have a party that functions more like a family. It doesn t matter how many meetings they have, it s always closed-door. So there s no trust remaining in society. Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday that China has launched more rigorous investigations into rights lawyers and law firms that take on politically sensitive issues. Ai, who lives in Berlin but returns to China regularly, voiced concern about two friends who are human rights lawyers ruthlessly put in jail for five and 10 years, respectively. So the danger is there but I have no fear for myself because I have been through everything and what I have done is not for myself. It s for my father s generation and my son s generation, the 60-year-old said. The exhibit entitled It s Always the Others , on view at the Cantonal Fine Arts Museum in Lausanne until Jan. 28, brings together 46 works made in wood, jade, porcelain, bamboo, and silk, along with photographs and videos. Dragon in Progress , a 50-metre-long bamboo and silk kite hung from the ceiling, transforms a traditional symbol of Chinese imperial power with quotes from imprisoned or exiled activists including Nelson Mandela, Edward Snowden and Ai. A marble sculpture, Surveillance Camera with Plinth , depicts a camera set up outside his Beijing studio. I m a free man, that means I can go and come back. Which is fine. They kept their promise, they didn t touch me. But of course when a state is not really ruled by law you can see that anything still can happen at any moment because it s unpredictable, you re not protected by law. | 1 |
2,209 | Ten Things We’ve Learned from Hurricane Harvey and the Texas Flood 2017: ‘Race doesn’t divide us, the media divides us’ | Ten Things that we have learned from Hurricane Harvey and the Texas Flood 2017 . 1. AT&T was sketchy and Verizon is owned by a Cajun. 2. The Cajun Navy and Texan Navy are better equipped than the Fed Govt and are much faster. 3. Race does not divide us, the media divides us. 4. CNN stands for Covers Negative News and CN stands for Cajun Navy. 5. We will find the means to cook in any situation. 6. All Lives Matter .including animals. 7. No water is too deep or too shallow for passage. 8. A Cajun and a Texan can launch a boat anywhere including roadways. 9. Our strength is Togetherness . 10. Under no circumstances will we be defeated.We love this list! What would you add to it?THE AMERICAN SPIRIT IS ALIVE AND WELL! MAGA!LOUISIANA CAME OUT STRONG FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP! SAY CHEEEESE! Harvey Evacuees Say Meeting President Trump Changed Their Opinion Of Him:Two women who took a selfie with President Trump (see video below) and had a chance to speak with him have a totally different view of him now: I think he s a wonderful man! These #Harvey evacuees say meeting @realDonaldTrump changed their opinion of him. I think he s a wonderful man! https://t.co/FDOJhzNhAM pic.twitter.com/3K7r5Tauec Elex Michaelson (@abc7elex) September 3, 2017These two women changed their opinion of Trump after this fun encounter:Together, we will prevail in the GREAT state of Texas. We love you!GOD BLESS TEXAS & GOD BLESS THE USA pic.twitter.com/1rzmEenQIb Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 3, 2017President Trump Serves Food at NRG Stadium: This is awesome! President Trump puts on gloves to serve food. He turns to the press and says My hands are too big! PresidentAs he puts on plastic gloves to serve food at NRG Stadium President Trump turns to press and says: My hands are too big! pic.twitter.com/WIUTLOS4XD Pat Ward (@WardDPatrick) September 2, 2017President Trump hands out food boxes and meets with Harvey victims: We will get through this and rebuild President Trump is handing out food boxes & meeting with #Harvey victims in Houston. We will get through this and rebuild.#TexasStrong pic.twitter.com/4DAKfnBRIk Alex (@SoCal4Trump) September 2, 2017 | 0 |
2,210 | WATCH: Rachel Maddow Laughs At Republican Effort To Pass Universally Hated Trumpcare Bill | House Republicans failed to pass their disastrous healthcare bill on Thursday and Rachel Maddow hilariously mocked them for it.Due to the deep unpopularity of the legislation, Republican leadership decided to cancel the vote on the bill at the last minute rather than see it get humiliatingly defeated.Many Republicans are leaning against the bill because it fails to lower premiums and would strip healthcare away from over 20 million Americans, many of whom are conservatives who rely on the Affordable Care Act, which actually does keep premiums lower and covers more people.Under the Trumpcare bill, senior citizens would have to pay nearly ten times as much money on healthcare than what they currently pay under the Affordable Care Act. And since senior citizens are a major voting block for the GOP for some reason, Republicans are backing away from the bill.Of course, Republicans have been rehearsing the repeal of the Affordable Care Act for years, holding over 60 separate votes in the House over the years just to make their conservative base happy. But now that more people understand what the Affordable Care Act actually has done, they are fiercely opposing any repeal effort.Rachel Maddow noted the angry crowds of constituents at Republican town halls and pointed out with a laugh that the GOP bill is more unpopular than despised New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. In the universe, including our weird politics. A day after the election, nobody would have told you that Republicans would have any trouble repealing Obamacare. That s what they could do on their own, they d push on an open door. The Affordable Care Act, they d been rehearsing repealing it for years. It would definitely be their first casualty, no problem. Then they d get on to the hard stuff. But people all over the country in every congressional district in the country changed the course of that otherwise inevitable history.The Republican plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act has a 17 percent approval rating. That s worse than Chris Christie. There is not a single Congressional district in this country where the number of people who like the Republican idea out-number the people who strongly hate the Republican idea. Not in a single Congressional district. That happens for a reason. That political climate doesn t exist in nature, it is created by people engaged in political action. Maddow concluded the 2-minute segment by reminding everyone that Republicans failed to pass their bill despite having majority control of the House and said it s all thanks to people who have added their voices to the chorus of those opposed to killing a law that actually helps people. For the people who have been trying to save the Affordable Care Act all over the country, even what just happened tonight is huge, Maddow said. Everybody thought Republicans would be able to move at will on this but people said nope. Here s the video via YouTube:Donald Trump s healthcare plan would literally kill people in this country and that s not right. It s inhumane. It forces people to choose between getting medical care or not going bankrupt and that s morally wrong. Healthcare is a human right and it s a need that no one should be priced out of having.If Republicans somehow ram this legislation down our throats they should be brutally punished for it. Because any lawmaker who supports something that kills people is not someone who should be in public office.Featured image via screenshot | 0 |
2,211 | Trump Goes On Bizarre Twitter Rant That Will Make Businesses Laugh At Him | Trump is a terrible businessman and will be an even worse president. And his latest Twitter rant is proof.In a string of tweets on Sunday morning, Donald Trump simultaneously promised to give businesses massive tax cuts and threatened to tax them if they leave the United States.The U.S. is going to substantialy reduce taxes and regulations on businesses, but any business that leaves our country for another country, Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 4, 2016fires its employees, builds a new factory or plant in the other country, and then thinks it will sell its product back into the U.S. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 4, 2016without retribution or consequence, is WRONG! There will be a tax on our soon to be strong border of 35% for these companies Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 4, 2016wanting to sell their product, cars, A.C. units etc., back across the border. This tax will make leaving financially difficult, but .. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 4, 2016these companies are able to move between all 50 states, with no tax or tariff being charged. Please be forewarned prior to making a very Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 4, 2016expensive mistake! THE UNITED STATES IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 4, 2016Here s the thing. Trump literally just stated that he will substantially reduce taxes on businesses, which is basically the plan Kansas Republicans put in place and their state budget is now a disaster. Trump also intends to do away with regulations, which basically gives business owners the ability to do whatever the hell they want, which will be especially dangerous if the regulations Trump is talking about are safety regulations, food quality, etc Big businesses will be especially happy about this because they already pay little in taxes anyway.But then Trump threatens to punish businesses with a 35 percent tax if they move operations overseas.This doesn t make a lot of sense and businesses are probably laughing their asses off right now. Trump is already giving them a massive tax cut and less regulations, which means taxing them 35 percent isn t going to be much of a punishment at all.In fact, Trump s recent Carrier deal is the perfect example of how corporations will treat Trump s threats. Despite claiming that he saved jobs, Trump s so-called deal with Carrier cost taxpayers $7 million. Carrier gets that money and they STILL sent more jobs to Mexico than they kept in Indiana and then announced that they are closing another factory. Basically, Carrier took the money and moved jobs overseas anyway, which is exactly what other businesses are going to do because Trump doesn t know what the hell he is doing.Donald Trump is the idiot big businesses have been waiting for. Not only will corporations get to still move jobs overseas at a higher rate than ever before, they ll be able to fleece taxpayers for every cent they can get with Trump s willing assistance. Then they can move operations overseas anyway and use taxpayer money to pay Trump s 35 percent tax penalty.In other words, American workers and taxpayers better get ready because they are about to be screwed while CEOs laugh all the way to their offshore bank.Featured Image: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images | 0 |
2,212 | Trump Supporter Pulls Gun On Man Because He Refused To Vote For Trump | Of course, this happened in Florida.After reportedly failing to convince a man to support Donald Trump during a heated argument at a polling place in a Lake Worth church, a Trump supporter resorted to pulling a gun on him.Palm Beach County Sheriff s deputies responded to the incident and promptly arrested the Trump supporter, who was seen wearing his Make America Great Again hat as he was being placed in the back of a police cruiser.A witness said the Trump supporter got into an argument with the voter after he refused to vote for Trump.Here s some images of the man being taken into custody via Facebook.With the results of the election only hours away, one has to wonder if incidents like this will explode across the country if Donald Trump loses to Hillary Clinton.After all, Trump supporters have repeatedly threatened bloody violence, including assassination attempts and a coup in retaliation if their side loses.And since Donald Trump has repeatedly called the election rigged and has refused to say that he would concede if he loses, we can only wait and see how the results unfold and watch the reaction.Voting should be a safe civic activity for every person in this country. Pulling a firearm just because another voter does not share your choice of candidate is uncivilized and damages the democratic process. Polling places should be safe spaces no matter how much we disagree with each other.This is one of the nastiest elections in American history and it may end up being one of the most violent. That s what Trump and his deplorable supporters have done this year. And it s absolutely disgraceful.Featured Image: Facebook | 0 |
2,213 | dakota access pipeline violence grows as militarized police use extreme force tear gas on praying protesters | mike pences campaign plane slide off the runway during its landing at laguardia airport in new york on thursday according to several reports despite sliding off the runway and barreling through a fence nobody was injured in the incident
video
nbc news nbcnews october pence campaign plane slid off the runway at laguardia airport no one injured emergency crews are on site nbcs vaughnhillyard reports
bradd jaffy braddjaffy october
the plane made a rough impact when it landed the pilot slammed on the brakes and travelers could smell burning rubber according to a cbs report pence says mud splashed on the front windows of the cockpit
once the plane came to a stop emergency crews were quickly activated
it was the craziest landing ive ever experienced pence said according to fox news
cbs notes that laguardia is closed until further notice
mike pence campaign plane slides off runway after landing at laguardia airport added by sean colarossi on thu oct th | 0 |
2,214 | U.S. expulsion of Cuban diplomats includes all business officers | HAVANA (Reuters) - The Cuban diplomats expelled from the United States this week included all those dealing with U.S. businesses, Cuba s embassy in Washington told Reuters on Thursday, dealing another blow to bilateral commercial ties. In an escalating crisis between the Cold War foes, the Trump administration on Tuesday expelled 15 diplomats to protest Communist-run Cuba s failure to protect U.S. embassy staff in Havana from a mysterious spate of alleged health attacks. Due to this decision, the activities developed by the Economic and Trade Office of the Embassy of Cuba to the United States ... will be seriously affected, one Cuban diplomat said in a farewell message to a U.S. group that takes investors to the Caribbean s largest island. The Cuban embassy is often the first step in the process for U.S. companies to explore opportunities and make a pitch. Officials help them submit a trip proposal, seek out counterparts at state-owned enterprises in the centralized economy, and receive a business visa to travel to Havana. Whether the embassy will still be issuing such visas remains unclear, given one diplomat will remain in the consular section. On the American side, the downgrade of the U.S. embassy - Washington last Friday ordered the departure of all non-emergency staff - will likely make it harder for U.S. companies to find their way in Cuba. It s the chilling effect of a diplomatic crisis, said Pedro Freyre, a Cuban-born attorney who heads the international practice at law firm Akerman. Some U.S. companies may choose to stay on the sidelines until relations improve, he said, adding that his clients already pursuing opportunities in Cuba were staying the course as they saw it as a long-term play. U.S. companies flocked to Cuba in the wake of the detente former Democratic President Barack Obama agreed in 2014. Some deals allowed by new exemptions to the decades-old U.S. embargo have come to fruition. American Airlines (AAL.O) and United Airlines (UAL.N) now run commercial flights to Cuba. Royal Caribbean (RCL.N) and Carnival Corp (CCL.N) operate cruises there. The original frenzy in U.S. commercial interest in Cuba was tempered by the realization that doing business in cash-strapped Cuba was difficult and even harder with a trade embargo in place. Businesses now face a hostile stance from Republican U.S. President Donald Trump, who in June ordered tighter restrictions on travel and trade that have yet to be unveiled. Last Friday, his administration issued a warning on travel to the island. | 1 |
2,215 | Sao Paulo Mayor Doria could quit party for presidential bid | SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Presidential hopeful Jo o Doria, the mayor of Brazil s largest city, made it clear on Monday that he is not married to the centrist Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB) and is open to courtship from other parties. The stance of the rising young star of Brazilian politics will put the PSDB under pressure since his mentor and party stalwart, Geraldo Alckmin, the governor of Sao Paulo, also plans a presidential bid in next year s elections. I will become a candidate the day I declare and have the support of a party, Doria told reporters after addressing a business conference in Sao Paulo on Monday, without naming the PSDB. While he has not announced that he will run, the 59-year-old self-made millionaire and former TV presenter has said he would accept if nominated by his party. A Datafolha poll in June showed Doria is little known by Brazilian voters compared to Alckmin, but he has a far lower rejection rate and is on track to become more popular than the governor, who lost a presidential bid in 2004 to Workers Party incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Alckmin has said publicly that he intends to run in the Oct. 7 election and favors a U.S.-style primary if the PSDB has several contenders for the nomination. Doria opposes holding a primary and has not ruled out quitting the party. In an interview published on Monday by the Estado de S.Paulo newspaper, the mayor said the party should pick its candidate based on who the opinion polls say is more popular. Doria said he would continue in the PSDB but that other parties were reaching out to him and he left open the option of leaving to run for president. I intend to continue in the PSDB, until some circumstance prevents me from doing so, he told the newspaper in Paris, where he met on Friday with French President Emmanuel Macron, a similarly young untested politician who rapidly rose to office. Doria, an outsider who won his first election last year in a landslide victory for Sao Paulo mayor, has become a potential favorite center-right candidate offering an fresh clean face among Brazil s corruption-plagued political class. | 1 |
2,216 | Man In ‘I Stand For The National Anthem’ Shirt Thinks American Flag Is A Lawn Chair | You know how Trump supporters are screaming because brown people are protesting police violence and discrimination by peacefully kneeling for the National Anthem? Well, a photograph has surfaced that perfectly demonstrates the hypocrisy of the fornicate with the flag movement or whatever those screaming about it are calling themselves these days.Trump fans love to wave around their American flags while screaming America First but when you look at the respect conservatives actually show for their flag and country, you have to consider having a physician on standby to prevent you from dying of laughter.One right-wing protester wearing a shirt that says I STAND FOR THE NATIONAL ANTHEM was captured at a Jets game Sunday casually lounging on the same American flag he waves as he claims he s the biggest patriot in the history of patriotism with his trusty beer next to him.Deadspin reports that the person who snapped the photo saw the spectacle as they were walking with a friend through the stadium during the third quarter of the game. There is a huge tv screen by the food carts right inside the stadium where people gather to watch. We went over there to check it out and we saw him spread the flag out and sit down, they said. I thought it was too ironic so I snagged a picture. He sat on it for a few minutes before leaving. This is the reality of the Patriots on the Right. They talk a big game whenever they see a rainbow American flag or whenever an an African-American person is kneeling in front of one as the National Anthem plays. But when it comes to respecting the flag well, you see what happens.Featured image via screengrab | 0 |
2,217 | UNREAL! HOUSE MOVES TO BAN SALE OR DISPLAY OF CONFEDERATE FLAG IN FEDERAL CEMETERIES | WHAT THE HECK! What s happened to the Southern leaders? Confederate flags should be placed on the graves of Civil War soldiers. This is way over the top and a knee-jerk reaction to the shooting in Charleston, SC.The House has voted to ban the display of Confederate flags at historic federal cemeteries in the deep South.The low-profile move came late Tuesday after a brief debate on a measure funding the National Park Service, which maintains 14 national cemeteries, most of which contain graves of Civil War soldiers.The proposal by California Democrat Jared Huffman would block the Park Service from allowing private groups from decorating the graves of southern soldiers with Confederate flags in states that commemorate Confederate Memorial Day. The cemeteries affected are the Andersonville and Vicksburg cemeteries in Georgia and Mississippi.Pressure has mounted to ban display of the flag on state and federal property in the wake of last month s tragic murders at a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina.SELLING CONFEDERATE FLAGS BANNED TOO:The House voted to affirm that stores on federal lands operated by the National Park Service cannot sell Confederate flags, in light of a new policy announced in the aftermath of the shooting in Charleston, S.C.Adoption of the amendment to the 2016 Interior Department appropriations bill came easily on a voice vote after just six minutes of debate, where no one spoke in opposition. The amendment reflects a policy announced by the National Park Service in June to ban the sale of Confederate flag merchandise from its gift shops and bookstores.Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), the author of the amendment, said it was important that Congress prevent the sale of the Confederate image on federal property. This House now has an opportunity to add its voice, by ending the promotion of the cruel, racist legacy of the Confederacy, Huffman said. While many concessionaires have agreed to do this, I am dismayed by reports that some will continue to sell items with Confederate flag imagery. Read more: The Hill | 0 |
2,218 | WATCH: THINGS GET UGLY WHEN Canada’s Self-Proclaimed “FEMINIST” Prime Minister ELBOWS Woman From Conservative Party On House Of Commons Floor | The self proclaimed feminist apparently has no problem with using physical force against a woman who is part of a party that opposes his radical ideology Apparently, he forgot about his softer side when he elbowed NDP MP Ruth Ellen Brousseau in the chest Following the fracas on the floor of the House of Commons Wednesday night, opposition members of Parliament have taken turns scolding Justin Trudeau for his behaviour, with some even suggesting that the prime minister might be guilty of a crime.Justin Trudeau elbows his way into a bad dayJustin Trudeau apologizes for failing to live up to a higher standard NDP MP Niki Ashton said that physical violence had taken place in the House and that people would call what happened here assault. Conservative MP and deputy justice critic Michael Cooper suggested that Trudeau s physical encounters with two MPs could be defined as criminal assault. And Tory MP Mark Warawa tweeted that Trudeau was guilty of physical assault. And technically speaking, they might have a point.Ahead of a vote to limit debate on the government s doctor-assisted dying bill, Trudeau walked across the aisle and took Conservative Party whip Gord Brown by the arm while inadvertently elbowing NDP MP Ruth Ellen Brosseau in the chest. Trudeau has apologized repeatedly for the incident and said his behaviour was unacceptable. Assault definition is broadBut the act of taking Brown by the arm and ushering him to his seat, in the most technical sense probably meets all the requirements for assault, said Toronto lawyer Daniel Lerner, who was a former Ontario Crown prosecutor. The basic definition of an assault is if a person intentionally uses force on another person without their consent. (Brown said he told the prime minister to let go of him.)But that definition is broad and can capture quite a lot, Lerner said.Via: CBC | 0 |
2,219 | Factbox: Republican side-deals build support for Senate tax bill | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Republicans were considering a raft of last-minute changes to their sweeping tax bill on Friday, as they edged toward a final vote that could move Congress to year-end enactment of tax cuts for businesses and individuals. Deals include a higher tax deduction for owners of pass-through businesses and a phase-out of full expensing for business capital investments. To pay for these changes, Republicans say they will no longer repeal the alternative minimum taxes for corporations and individuals and will raise tax rates on the repatriation of corporate profits held overseas. Senate Republicans have yet to unveil a final bill for adoption. But here is an unofficial list of anticipated changes, according to lawmakers and lobbyists. * PASS-THROUGHS: Senators Ron Johnson and Steve Daines announced their support for the tax bill after securing agreement on a bigger tax break for the owners of pass-through enterprises, including small businesses, S-corporations, partnerships and sole-proprietorships. An original 17.4 percent deduction would rise to 23 percent. * FULL EXPENSING: Senator Jeff Flake, who was a holdout over deficit concerns, agreed to vote “yes” after Republican leaders agreed to change a provision allowing the full expensing of business capital investments to sunset after five years. Flake worried that Congress would be unable to eliminate the benefit cold turkey, allowing it to bleed red ink for years to come. But the Arizona Republican says the change would instead phase out full expensing over three years beginning in year six. * RETIREMENT SAVINGS: Senator Susan Collins said she persuaded Republican leaders to retain catch-up contributions to retirement accounts for church, charity, school and public employees. * MEDICAL EXPENSES: Collins also said she was able to include language to reduce the threshold for deducting unreimbursed medical expenses for two years to 7.5 percent of household income from 10 percent. * STATE AND LOCAL PROPERTY TAXES: Collins has proposed an amendment that would retain a federal deduction for up to $10,000 in state and local property taxes. * INDIVIDUAL ALTERNATIVE MINIMUM TAX: Rescinding a proposed repeal of the AMT and instead increase exemption levels and phase-out thresholds is also on the table. * CORPORATE ALTERNATIVE MINIMUM TAX: So is rescinding a proposed repeal of the corporate AMT. * REPATRIATION: Another change could be to increase tax rates on U.S. corporate profits held overseas to 14 percent for liquid assets and 7 percent for illiquid holdings, up from 10 percent and 5 percent, respectively. | 1 |
2,220 | Here Are 12 Tweets Trump DEFINITELY Regrets Sending | As you are probably aware, Donald Trump loves to tweet. He loves it more than he loves Vladimir Putin which, according to him, is a lot.While Trump doesn t publicly express regret ever he probably has had second thoughts about at least some of his tweets like this one about leadership.Leadership: Whatever happens, you're responsible. If it doesn't happen, you're responsible. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 8, 2013After Trumpcare once again failed to happen because Republicans couldn t come up with a workable plan if it saved their lives (like Obamacare has for so many), Trump said he was just going to let the Affordable Care Act fail. I m not going to own it, he pronounced.He also used to criticize Republicans for trying to gut Medicaid and Social Security.The Republicans who want to cut SS & Medicaid are wrong. A robust economy will Make America Great Again! https://t.co/u25yI5T7E8 Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 11, 2015These days, Trump is all about doing exactly those things.Trump probably also isn t too fond of the fact that he sent out this tweet criticizing President Obama for allegedly failing to accomplish things and stuff. After all, he had full control for two years. He can never take responsibility, Trump said at the time.Obama's complaints about Republicans stopping his agenda are BS since he had full control for two years. He can never take responsibility. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 26, 2012Now, almost five years later, he is desperately avoiding taking responsibility for his own failures despite having complete control.Speaking of control, Trump criticized Obama s alleged weakness with regard to Russia of all places in 2014.Putin has shown the world what happens when America has weak leaders. Peace Through Strength! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 28, 2014Now, he s rubbing Vladimir Putin s back in public and engaging in long intimate meetings his own wife can t break up. But he s tough on Russia. Totally tough. I mean, it s not like he s ever publicly fantasized about Vladimir Putin being his bestie or anything Do you think Putin will be going to The Miss Universe Pageant in November in Moscow if so, will he become my new best friend? Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 19, 2013Oh.Then, of course, there s this one. Trump is going out of his way to destroy our relationships with various world leaders and is currently pushing us into a war with North Korea, an ally of both Russia and China:Be prepared, there is a small chance that our horrendous leadership could unknowingly lead us into World War III. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 31, 2013At one point, speaking of Obama s non-scandals often promoted by Fox News, Breitbart, and Trump s other trusted media sources, Trump posed the question: Can we handle another scandal in D.C.I wonder what the next scandal will be in D.C.? Can we handle yet another? Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 16, 2013Now, his administration is plagued by numerous actual scandals (usually involving Russia) often reported by the FAKE NEWS (sources he doesn t like) media like, um, CNN Great move by CNN if they sign Jeff Zucker. He was responsible for me and The Apprentice on NBC became #1 show! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 29, 2012Boy, that one is probably embarrassing for him given his numerous attacks on the Fraud News Network or whatever he s calling CNN these days.One of those FAKE NEWS stories he complains about is that he spends a lot of time playing golf something he used to complain about the President doing.We pay for Obama's travel so he can fundraise millions so Democrats can run on lies. Then we pay for his golf. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 14, 2014Now, we spend millions so he can go golfing at his own properties on a regular basis.Trump also used to complain that Obama wouldn t release his records to the public specifically, his birth certificate and college records to prove he wasn t born in Kenya (a lie The Donald used to push).Obama thinks he can just laugh off the fact that he refuses to release his records to the American public. He can't. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 6, 2012We can t even get The Donald to release his taxes, something every other presidential candidate (and indeed President) in recent history has done.Trump is crazy and incompetent someone most of the world thinks should not be in charge of our nuclear arsenal. Embarrassingly, Trump agrees. Well, he agreed when the leader in question was not him.The global warming we should be worried about is the global warming caused by NUCLEAR WEAPONS in the hands of crazy or incompetent leaders! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 8, 2014But at least Mr. 45 is with the rest of us when it comes to the need for a leader who isn t laughed at by the entire world, someone who is truly great and knows how to win.We need a President who isn't a laughing stock to the entire World. We need a truly great leader, a genius at strategy and winning. Respect! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 9, 2014 Someone entirely unlike him.Featured image via Getty Images | 0 |
2,221 | Iran airs 'confessions' of researcher facing death for spying | LONDON (Reuters) - Iranian state television broadcast on Sunday what it described as the confessions of an Iranian academic with Swedish residency who it said had provided information to Israel to help it assassinate several senior nuclear scientists. His wife, speaking by telephone from Stockholm, said he had been forced by his interrogators to read the confession. Iran s Supreme Court upheld last week a death sentence against Ahmadreza Djalali, a doctor and lecturer at the Karolinska Institute, a Stockholm medical university. Djalali was arrested in Iran in April 2016 and later convicted of espionage. He denied the charges. In the television report, Djalali was linked to the assassination of four Iranian scientists between 2010 and 2012 that Tehran said was an Israeli attempt to sabotage its nuclear energy program. Djalali said in the report that he had given the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad information about key nuclear scientists. They were showing me pictures of some people or satellite photos of nuclear facilities and were asking me to give them information about that, Djalali said in the television report. Vida Mehrannia, Djalali s wife, said her husband had been forced to read a pre-agreed confession in front of the camera. After three months in solitary confinement, his interrogators told him that he would be released only if he reads from a text in front of the camera, she told Reuters by telephone from Stockholm. My husband told me that they shouted at him each time he was saying something different from the text and stopped the filming, Mehrannia added. The film said Djalali had agreed to cooperate with Israel in return for money and residency of a European country. We have not received money from anyone and our lifestyle shows that. We don t have a house or a car. We got our Swedish residency after finishing our studies here, Mehrannia said. The film also contained interviews with Majid Jamali Fashi, an Iranian athlete who was hanged in 2012 over the killings of the nuclear scientists. Djalali is the second person found guilty in the same case. Djalali did not have any sensitive information about Iran s nuclear program. If he had, he would have been barred from leaving the country, Mehrannia said. Sweden has condemned the death verdict against Djalali and said it had raised the matter with Iranian envoys in Stockholm and Tehran. Seventy-five Nobel prize laureates petitioned Iranian authorities last month to release Djalali so he could continue his scholarly work for the benefit of mankind . They said Djalali has suggested it was his refusal to work for Iranian intelligence services that led to this unfair, flawed trial . The United Nations and international human rights organizations regularly list Iran as a country with one of the world s highest execution rates. Iran s Revolutionary Guards have arrested at least 30 dual nationals during the past two years, mostly on spying charges. | 1 |
2,222 | The Most Conservative States Depend Far More On Federal Aid – This Proves It (IMAGE) | A new analysis by the Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan research group devoted to educating taxpayers, shows that some of the most conservative states in the nation are the most dependent on the federal government. Really? How can this be, you say? Republicans hate the federal government, right? While some conservative states certainly do, the reddest states (most particularly the Bible Belt in the south) actually rely on Uncle Sam far more than the most liberal states in the nation. It s pretty hilarious, actually.Looking at the data, you ll see that five of the ten most conservative states in the country are considered to be in the top 10 (out of 50) that are most reliant on the federal government. The numbers are calculated as a share of government revenue coming from the Fed, as opposed to self-reliant sources within their own state. Each state is given a percentage (located on the map below). This can include Medicaid payments, education funding, infrastructure financing, grants, etc.Pic via GallopGo ahead and take a look. You will see that Mississippi is #1 in both categories; it s the most conservative and the neediest. That s just one example. We have a feeling that each state would turn blue real quick if Republicans got their way on most of their economic policies directed towards the poor. This proves that some of the most conservative states in the country would barely be able to get by without the federal government.Pic via Washington PostSee where California ranks? Not only is it the most populous (by far), but it s considered to be one of the top six most liberal states, you know, the sort that passes all kinds of progressive reforms conservatives claim to hate. Well, guess what? It s one of the LEAST dependent on Uncle Sam. That s right the state s liberal politicians do a better job generating revenue by itself i.e. creating jobs, making sure education is a priority, all those liberal ideas that actually make a difference in people s lives without needing as much help.It s information like this that is sure to blow the mind of any Republican reading it that is if they re open minded enough to digest objective facts. But, we know better than this. Conservatives don t care about facts. They just know they hate welfare anyone else receiving welfare; just not the monies they personally get.Featured image via Wikipedia. | 0 |
2,223 | END OF THE ROAD FOR AMERICA’S CORPORATE DARLING? Hillary’s Shocking “Take” Of $21 MILLION Over 2 Year Period From Corporate Trough Is Revealed | Thank goodness for mandatory financial disclosures otherwise we d never know what complete GRIFTERS the Clintons are! Every American should read this list! It s a complete sellout for millions! There have been cries for transcripts of the speeches to be released but the more concerning thing is the simple fact that the Clintons have taken money from horrible dictators and from all the huge banks and businesses you could possibly think of. Also, does anyone remember Hillary s dead broke comment? When you look at the list below, you ll know it was just another lie from CROOKED HILLARY!Mandatory financial disclosures released this month show that, in just the two years from April 2013 to March 2015, the former first lady, senator and secretary of state collected $21,667,000 in speaking fees, not to mention the cool $5 mil she corralled as an advance for her 2014 flop book, Hard Choices. Throw in the additional $26,630,000 her ex-president husband hoovered up in personal-appearance honoraria, and the nation can breathe a collective sigh of relief that the former first couple who, according to Hillary, were dead broke when they left the White House in 2001 with some of the furniture in tow can finally make ends meet.No wonder Donald Trump calls her crooked Hillary. A look at Mrs. Clinton s speaking venues and the whopping sums she s received since she left State gives us an indication who s desperate for a place at the trough and whom another Clinton administration might favor.First off, there s Wall Street and the financial-services industry. Democratic champions of the Little Guy are always in bed with the Street they don t call Barack Obama President Goldman Sachs for nothing, but Mrs. Clinton has room for Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice and their 10 best friends. Multiple trips to Goldman Sachs. Morgan Stanley. Deutsche Bank. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. UBS Wealth Management.As the character of Che Guevara sings in Evita : And the money kept rolling in. And all at the bargain price of $225,000 a pop . . . to say what? We don t know, because Hillary won t release the transcripts.Read more: NYP | 0 |
2,224 | Billy Joel Just Publicly Humiliated The Donald–Oblivious Idiot Trump THANKS HIM For It (TWEETS) | Billy Joel made a fool of Donald Trump this weekend with a shoutout tribute to the orange man in front of a capacity crowd at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Trump made a fool of himself shortly thereafter by showing he has no clue what sarcasm is and thanking Joel for the kind gesture:Thank you @BillyJoel many friends just told me you gave a very kind shoutout at MSG. Appreciate it- love your music! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 28, 2016The very kind shoutout went something like this:Billy Joel dedicated The Entertainer to Donald Trump because he's kept him entertained these past couple of months Emma (@Emma_S12) May 28, 2016That s right the tribute to Trump was The Entertainer, which if Trump actually liked Joel s music he would know was a shot at his farce of a candidacy. The iconic song includes the lyrics:I am the entertainer And I know just where I stand Another serenader And another long-haired band Today I am your champion I may have won your hearts But I know the game, you ll forget my name And I won t be here in another year If I don t stay on the chartsI am the entertainer And I ve had to pay my price The things I did not know at first I learned by doin twice Ah, but still they come to haunt me Still they want their say So I ve learned to dance with a hand in my pants I let em rub my neck and I write em a check And they go their merry wayI am the entertainer Been all around the world I ve played all kinds of palaces And laid all kinds of girls I can t remember faces I don t remember names Ah, but what the hell You know it s just as well Cause after a while and a thousand miles It all becomes the sameIt s a song about the trials and tribulations of being in the business of entertaining people, you twit. Billy Joel just thanked you for keeping him entertained, not for inspiring him or making him believe you were good for anything else. The song is a testament to the futility of your existence because unlike Billy Joel, you have zero talent and nothing worthwhile to offer anyone.This wasn t the first time Joel has made the joke, either. Remember when Trump thought it was hilarious that New York State Of Mind was dedicated to Ted Cruz? He failed to recognize that Billy had also dedicated a song to him in Denver. Which song? The Entertainer, of course:This is also not the first time @billyjoel has made this joke https://t.co/52fPgijHDH pic.twitter.com/F7eZoaEWO8 Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) May 28, 2016It s good to know a man just a few million votes from access to our nuclear arsenal has a hard time understanding basic humor. It should make critical foreign policy negotiations a hoot.Featured image by Mike Coppola/Getty Images | 0 |
2,225 | WATCH: Trump Supporter Tells Muslims That They Will Be Treated Like Hitler Treated The Jews | This madness needs to stop and that means Donald Trump should not be president.Trump supporters have been rampaging ever since Election Day. Emboldened by the results, they have committed hundreds of hate crimes and the number continues to rise. Nazis and racists are celebrating because they believe Trump will turn America into a whites only nation.And one Trump supporter couldn t have made that any clearer.A San Jose mosque recently received a threatening letter from a Trump supporter promising them that Trump will treat them like Hitler treated the Jews. As we all know, six million Jews were systematically exterminated during World War II in an effort to wipe them out. In short, this Trump supporter threatened Muslims with mass genocide.Referring to them as the Children of Satan, the Trump supporter praised Trump and declared that he will cleanse America. You Muslims are vile and evil people, the letter began before hurling racist insults at their fathers and mothers. There s a new sheriff in town President Donald Trump. He s going to cleanse America and make it shine again. And he s going to start with you Muslims. He s going to do to you Muslims what Hitler did to the Jews. You Muslims would be wise to pack your bags and get out of Dodge. This is a great time for patriotic Americans. Long live President Trump and God bless the USA. The Trump supporter didn t even have the balls to use their real name, cowardly signing the letter, Americans for a Better Way. Here s an image of the letter via Twitter.(2). @SanJosePD investigating. Letter: You worship the devil. But your day of reckoning has arrived . Calls Muslims vile & filthy people pic.twitter.com/99WGI2giLF Damian Trujillo (@newsdamian) November 26, 2016San Jose police are now investigating but the mosque refuses to let hate win. We wanted to let law enforcement know so that in case there s an unfortunate event people are prepared, Evergreen Islamic Center Board President Faisal Yazadi told ABC7. Our doors are never locked. I hope that person knows that we re more than happy to have a dialogue. Hopefully, we learn a thing or two from him or her, and he or she learns something from us. Here s the video via NBC.Donald Trump has done nothing but bring about a rise of hate in this country and he hasn t even taken office yet. Just imagine how emboldened his supporters will be once that happens. The Electoral College can stop Trump from being president. All they have to do is vote for Hillary Clinton on December 19th. And we can do our part by asking them to do so by signing this petition. Hate cannot be allowed to win in this country, therefore, we need to make sure Trump loses.Featured image via Drew Angerer/Getty Images | 0 |
2,226 | Seoul considers unilateral sanctions against North Korea | SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea is considering levying its own sanctions on North Korea as the isolated state ramps up tension with its missile and nuclear provocations, the South s vice foreign minister said on Wednesday, but no decision had been made yet. Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam made the remarks at a news conference in Seoul with Deputy U.S. Secretary of State John J. Sullivan and Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Shinsuke Sugiyama. | 1 |
2,227 | NORDSTROM STOCK TAKES NOSEDIVE After Trump Tweets About Their Decision To Discontinue Ivanka’s Brand | UPDATE: Nordstrom stock closed up slightly today, after taking a hit yesterday following President Trump s tweet.President Trump tweeted about Nordstrom dumping his daughter s brand today and the company is seeing an immediate, negative market reaction. Nordstrom and its outlet store, Nordstrom Rack, announced last week that they were dumping Ivanka s line of shoes and accessories because of poor sales and likely pressure from liberal boycotters who made Nordstrom a top target in their anti-Trump actions.Here is his tweet: My daughter Ivanka has been treated so unfairly by @Nordstrom. She is a great person always pushing me to do the right thing! Terrible! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 8, 2017And here are a few tweets from women who are saying they re finished with Nordstrom: https://twitter.com/immigrant4trump/status/829529883671945216Conservatives protest w/ their wallets, Democrats protest by rioting, looting & wearing vagina outfits Deplorable Mary E (@CarverCallie) February 9, 2017If Nordstrom's want to get involved in politics, then I will do my part as well. Nordstrom card in pieces now. DrainTheSwamp (@zfamilymn) February 8, 2017And then there was this public service tweeter who actually offered Twitter users a phone number to call to cancel customer credit cards:# to call to Cancel Nordstrom credit card: 800.964.1800 Tweetheart (@tweetheart2017) February 9, 2017While Trump s missive caused, as usual, a wave of outraged responses on Twitter, it also hit Nordstrom in the pocketbook. As soon as Trump Tweeted, shares of Nordstrom stock took a dive.This might be the last thing Nordstrom needs: its stock had remained steady most of 2016, but took a 14% hit in December on news that department stores had a rough holiday season.But the Seattle-based luxury retailer isn t alone in suffering the Trump effect. A number of companies, including Boeing, Carrier and even Amazon have suffered the same result after Donald Trump took to social media to complain about their business models or product prices. Heat Street | 0 |
2,228 | New Study Shows Why Major Insurers Hate The ACA – It Actually Forces Them To Help Sick People | Major insurers everywhere have dumped massive cash into lobbying against the ACA. Their corporate-owned Republicans have insisted it would destroy America in any number of strange and unusual ways. Now a new study reveals why they say helping sick people afford to see a doctor is bad for the country.Data has become available for 2014 and 2015 enrollees to Blue Cross and Blue Shield, who were picked up through the Affordable Care Act s health insurance exchanges. It shows that the people who the ACA was specifically created to help are actually going to the doctor and using medical services. Huge shock, right? The entirety of the Republican and corporate establishment s opposition to the ACA resides in a single thing money. More for them, and none for regular people. If the poor and middle class suffer and die needlessly, that s just their cost of doing business.People who got back into the insurance market, thanks to the ACA, were shown to have a 22 percent higher medical cost than those with employer-based coverage in 2015. The average monthly spending numbers for the new enrollees was $559 in 2015 compared to $457 for group members who had it through an employer. The same new enrollee segment increased from $501 in 2014 to the previously mentioned $559 in 2015.The irony of the situation is that the very corporations who are whining about having to pay the bills of sick people were the primary engineers of their own self-imposed disaster. These are the same corporations that spiked health insurance costs, causing people to be unable to afford it. They are also the same corporations that outright refused to sell people coverage, because of pre-existing conditions. Pre-existing conditions that could be literally anything they wanted them to be. After sometimes decades of unmanaged health issues, these new enrollees are consuming services at elevated rates. Insurers basically screwed themselves for short-term profits, and now they have to pay some of it back. Pardon me if I am less than sympathetic towards them.This shows just how desperately needed the ACA is, and how incredibly dishonest health insurers are about their business model. The fact insurance payouts rose as much as they did in as short a time is proof just how many Americans were suffering without need. That is where the darker truth of the health insurance industry comes into plain view. These companies are still wildly profitable. They just want to keep more money for themselves. Simply put, they ve become a caricature of their own greedy reputations.The tragedy of this all is that the same data showing how desperately needed the ACA is, also is being used as misinformation to completely lie to America about how bad it is for the country. The only tidbit being presented is that it is increasing costs to insurance companies, which does mean their premiums might go up. However, the overall increase in premiums is at a slower rate than before Obamacare became law, even with the increased payouts for more consumption of services.Right wingers and unscrupulous insurance companies are taking the very truth about why it is a good law, and perverting it into a lie about how it is bad by purposefully omitting all context until the truth is whatever they want it to be. If you add in the fact that initial expenditures are going to be higher until we catch up with decades of a lack of care, you can argue a case that premiums would have actually dropped if all other things were equal, due to massive amounts of new customers spreading out the cost burden.As more new data becomes available, and initial over-consumption tapers off, the last arguments to be made against the law will ultimately boil down to profit over people. If anything will prove how obsolete the American health insurance industry is, and why single-payer is needed, that will be it.Featured image via Joe Raedle / Getty | 0 |
2,229 | Bill O’Reilly Says Our Economy Will IMPLODE If We Don’t Keep Pushing Poverty | When Bill O Reilly calls himself a journalist, he shows he has no idea what that word actually means because he seems to be wholly unable to fact-check anything. On The O Reilly Factor Wednesday night, he went after Democrats and the economy the same way Republicans love to, by attacking the idea of helping low-wage workers as something that will destroy absolutely everyone.Basically, he believes that if we want people to live comfortably on only 40 hours of work per week, we ll have to raise wages so high that we ll cause the U.S. economy to collapse. In fact, he seems to think that reducing poverty by raising the minimum wage is a radical left-wing, fringe idea that will ruin our economy if we actually go ahead and implement it.In short, he says it s a horrible idea because he has no idea how our economy works.The funny thing is that he used to trumpet a higher minimum wage at least, he used to support a $10/hr minimum wage. However, he s also claimed that raising the minimum wage will only help a tiny fraction of the population, because reasons. Why hurt everyone to only help a very few people who don t deserve it anyway, right?He s also accused the government of at least being a major contributor to the problem, if not the whole source of the problem. Big government doesn t work, he says, while literally millions of Americans are the victims of corporate greed. No, earning power has not improved much under President Obama, but there are two problems that Billo the Clown is overlooking: First is an obstructionist Congress, and second is just how limited the president s power actually is when it comes to the economy. If Congress won t do what he wants, even on economic measures, then he s stuck except for where federal contractors are concerned.There s a reason Bill O Reilly has earned the nickname Billo the Clown, and it s because of utter bull cookies like this. He fancies himself a journalist. The facts are not on his side.Featured image by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for The Rumble 2012 | 0 |
2,230 | Trump shows interest in bipartisan tax reform as Obamacare repeal collapses | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump told U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday he wants bipartisan cooperation on tax reform, as pressure on him to produce a legislative victory on any front escalated with the collapse of the latest Republican push to repeal Obamacare. The administration and Republicans in Congress are due to unveil a tax plan on Wednesday. The plan has been developed over several months by six White House and congressional Republicans working behind closed doors and with no input from Democrats. On the eve of its unveiling, Trump told members of the House of Representatives tax committee from both parties: “I’ve asked lawmakers of both parties to join us to discuss our framework. ... It’s time for both parties to come together.” He said lawmakers should expect a “very, very powerful document” that would deliver a big tax cut for the middle class. “We will cut taxes tremendously for the middle class - not just a little bit, but tremendously,” said the president, who is set to travel to Indianapolis on Wednesday to unveil the plan. Republicans, who control the White House and both chambers of Congress have been unable to deliver a significant legislative win on any topic since Trump took office in January. Senate Republicans admitted failure on Tuesday in their latest push to replace the 2010 Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare,, raising pressure on the party to overhaul the tax code this year, although that difficult effort has repeatedly been delayed. Republicans and Democrats who met with Trump on Tuesday said afterward that the president indicated an interest in working with Democrats on both tax reform and healthcare going forward. “He said you get a better deal if it’s bipartisan,” said Representative Richard Neal, the panel’s top Democrat. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch has also called for bipartisan tax reform. Details of the Trump tax plan that have leaked out showed that the corporate income tax rate would be slashed to 20 percent from 35 percent, the rate for “pass-through” businesses to 25 percent from 39.6 percent, and the rate for top individual earners to 35 percent from 39.6 percent The U.S. tax code has not been overhauled since 1986 under Republican President Ronald Reagan. In the years since, it has gotten much more complex, skewed toward special interests and insufficient for raising enough revenue to cover Washington’s spending, producing a federal budget deficit. As the Trump administration and congressional Republicans have tried in recent months to forge a tax plan, their work has focused mostly on cutting tax rates and less on attempting a comprehensive overhaul of the code. The Trump plan is expected to be light on specifics, particularly on how to pay for its proposed tax cuts, although Neal said the White House pushed hard on the idea of eliminating the deduction for state and local tax payments. Lawmakers said some key tax rates were still in flux on Tuesday. Without offsets such as the closing of lucrative tax loopholes to pay for lower tax rates, the proposed tax cuts would deeply cut federal revenue by about $5 trillion in a decade, according to the nonpartisan Tax Foundation think tank. Such huge revenue losses, as well as the plan’s anticipated inclusion of a tax cut for the wealthiest Americans, could make cooperation difficult for Democrats, who want tax reform to be revenue neutral and to offer no relief for top earners. Neal said Trump showed a readiness to avoid cutting taxes for the wealthy during their meeting. “He said, quote, the rich will not benefit,” said the Massachusetts Democrat. Representative James Renacci, a Ways and Means Committee Republican, said individual tax rates were still under discussion, including the possibility of raising the tax rate for the poorest taxpayers to 12 percent from 10 percent. “There are a lot of questions on where we’re at in that area at this point. Some things are not totally tied down,” Renacci told Reuters. “We’ve got some tweaking to do.” Among Republicans, even fiscal hawks were showing a willingness to accept huge revenue losses, predicting that aggressive tax cuts would drive future economic growth and produce new tax revenues that would pay for lower rates. Such economic assumptions have been questioned by Democrats, who say that the Trump tax plan will unfairly favor the wealthy and that providing them with tax cuts does not drive growth. Senate Republicans tentatively agreed last week that tax legislation could lose up to $1.5 trillion over a decade, but become revenue neutral thereafter due to economic growth. On Tuesday, Mark Meadows, chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, said he would not support a tax reform plan with a corporate tax rate above 20 percent or a small-business tax rate above 25 percent. | 1 |
2,231 | WATCH KELLYANNE CONWAY vs Total Jerk Chris Cuomo On Fake Russian Hacking [Video] | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VN1maBEKIk | 0 |
2,232 | Jewish Elders Warn Their Grandchildren: Vote For Hillary, ‘We’ve Seen This Before’ (VIDEO) | This election will ask us to choose one of the following: an overqualified, dignified woman, or a fascist, xenophobic billionaire. The woman, Hillary Clinton, has dedicated her life to fighting for the rights and dignities of all, while the man, Donald Trump, has fought only for himself and his pockets.One group that tends to vote Democrat but has been leaning a little more towards the right recently are Jewish people. In 2008, 78 percent of Jewish Americans voted for President Obama, as did 74 percent in 2012.This year is different. Instead of facing off against John McCain or Mitt Romney, the Democrats are facing off against the definition of fascism and xenophobia. And they have a message to their grandchildren: vote for Hillary Clinton.Why? Because they ve seen this before.In a video titled A Message From Grandma & Grandpa: We ve Seen This Before, a group of elderly Jewish Americans plead with their younger generations to get out and vote, and warns against the type of man Donald Trump is. They enlisted some powerful allies in the effort to defeat Donald Trump: grandparents. And they aren t holding back: This is probably one of the most important elections, because there is so much is at stake. Of course, their experiences with Germany take front and center: We have seen this before. We saw it in Germany, and don t want to see it again. Their hatred for Trump is not hidden, and for good reason: Trump is more than a tyrant. He s an obnoxious lying individual and I haven t any respect for him. I have tremendous fears for the country and and for you, my grandchildren. Adding some lighthearted (but important) humor, one grandparent tells their grandkids: If you vote the future is yours. If you don t vote for Hillary, and that crazy man Trump is elected, I ll haunt you when I die. Another promises to be a major spoiler: I ll spoil every episode of Game of Thrones. When you re having a dinner party, I ll come down and say something racist, but if you re voting for Trump, you probably don t care. The powerful video, sponsored by Bend the Arc Jewish Action, was released to warn future generations not to forget their history, and to listen to the wisdom of their elders, especially ones that know oppression when they see it: We, as Jews, recognize that [Trump s] candidacy has echoed times when the Jewish community experienced the dangers of fascism, anti-immigration and persecution against religious minorities. We ve seen this before and we wanted to make sure that as Jews we were speaking out boldly and loudly and making sure it was known the Jewish community rejects Trump for the platform of hatred and bigotry that he has unleashed. Watch the powerful ad here:Featured image from the video | 0 |
2,233 | ONE BRUTAL IMAGE Perfectly Captures The Truth About Hillary’s Plans To “Donate” Weinstein’s Campaign Contributions | A spokesperson for the Clinton Foundation claims the group will not return Weinstein s donations, which totaled between $100,000 and $250,000.Because oops! The Clinton Foundation has already spent the money. But don t worry, Harvey s dirty money went to very good causes supporting women and children. And we all know how much Bill loves to take care of women This image by cartoonist Antonio F. Branco, perfectly illustrates just how generous the Clinton s are with their charitable donations.The spokesman said the foundation already spent the money on its programs, such as lowering the cost of HIV medication and supporting women and girls in developing countries.The foundation said it supports commitments to combat human trafficking, and runs the No Ceilings Project which aims to advance the full participation of girls and women around the world through data-driven analysis on gender inequality, an in-depth conversation series, innovative partnerships, and CGI commitments. The explanation comes after foundation board member Chelsea Clinton ducked questions about Weinstein s money from a DailyMail.com reporter while attending a Clinton Global Initiative University event at Northeastern University in Boston on Saturday.The former first daughter hustled out a side door after the event, evading a reporter as she rushed to her car surrounded by aides and security.The Clinton Foundation and a spokesperson for Hillary Clinton had previously declined to comment on the Weinstein matter.Organizations have been divided on whether to return money to Weinstein, who gave to numerous political and philanthropic causes over the years. Daily Mail | 0 |
2,234 | Italy's ruling PD party slips further in polls, newspaper reports | MILAN (Reuters) - Italy s ruling Democratic Party (PD) has lost further ground over its rivals after political infighting and fallout from a banking scandal, an opinion poll showed on Sunday. The poll comes just weeks before parliament is expected to be dissolved before elections early next year. The PD share of the vote fell 1 percent, from eight days ago, to 23.4 percent, its lowest level in five years, according to the Ipsos poll in the newspaper Corriere della Sera. Support for the PD, headed by former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, has fallen steadily in recent months, with the group damaged by deep schisms and personality clashes. The party has also come under fire over allegations cabinet undersecretary Maria Elena Boschi took steps to try to save Banca Etruria, a local bank based in her home town of Arezzo. Boschi has repeatedly denied exerting any political pressure in deciding the future of Banca Etruria. The Ipsos poll said growing support from smaller allies had raised the center-left bloc s share of the vote to 26.2 percent, as of Dec. 14, from 24.8 percent. That was well short of the 36 percent polled by the center-right bloc led by former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi. It was also behind the 28.2 percent share of the 5-Star anti-establishment party. The 5-Star Movement is predicted to emerge as the largest single party in the next parliament, but it has repeatedly ruled out joining any coalition. Italy has just introduced a new electoral system that is expected to handicap 5-Star, favoring instead mainstream political blocs. Italy s parliament is likely to be dissolved between Christmas and the New Year, opening the way for national elections in early March that look unlikely to produce a clear winner. | 1 |
2,235 | Report accuses Tennessee lawmaker of inappropriate sexual conduct | (Reuters) - A Tennessee state lawmaker was accused of inappropriate sexual conduct with 22 women over a four-year period in a state attorney general’s report released on Wednesday. Republican Representative Jeremy Durham repeatedly made unwelcomed advances toward female legislative staff, interns and lobbyists since being elected in 2012, according to a report issued to a legislative committee investigating his conduct. Durham declined to be interviewed by investigators, the report said, and he was not immediately available for comment. “The investigation has been a politically motivated, unfair and unconstitutional process,” said Durham’s attorney Bill Harbison in a statement to the Nashville CBS affiliate News Channel 5. The report details interviews with 22 unnamed women who described numerous occasions when the married legislator flirted and made suggestive sexual comments or physical advances toward them. In one case, Durham had sex with an 20-year-old campaign worker in his legislative office and again in his home. On several occasions, he sent text messages or used social media to make “inappropriate” comments to several women. One of the women described the messages as “terribly inappropriate” while another said his behavior “creeped her out.” A lobbyist told investigators that Durham suggested he would vote for a bill she was promoting if she entertained his advances. “I’m for your bill but I’m going to expect something in return,” he told her according to the report. In a memo attached to the report, the committee said it will leave Durham’s fate to the voters as he is up for re-election in November. | 1 |
2,236 | Putin says U.S. hacking scandal not in Russia's interests | MOSCOW (Reuters) - The scandal that erupted in the United States over allegations Russia hacked Democratic Party emails has not been in Moscow’s interests and both sides in the U.S. election campaign are just using Russia to score points, Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday. The U.S. government on Friday formally accused Russia for the first time of a campaign of cyber attacks against Democratic Party organizations ahead of the Nov. 8 presidential election. And the White House said on Tuesday it would consider a variety of responses to the alleged hacks. “They started this hysteria, saying that this (hacking) is in Russia’s interests. But this has nothing to do with Russia’s interests,” President Putin told a business forum in Moscow. Putin said the accusations were a ploy to divert U.S. voters’ attention at a time when public opinion was being manipulated. “Everyone is talking about ‘who did it’ (the hacking),” said Putin. “But is it that important? The most important thing is what is inside this information.” The Kremlin said earlier on Wednesday it took a negative view of White House statements about a planned “proportional” response to the alleged cyber attacks. Putin complained that all sides in the U.S. presidential race were misusing rhetoric about Russia for their own ends, but said Moscow would work with whoever won the election “if, of course, the new U.S. leader wishes to work with our country”. “About a decade ago, they wouldn’t mention Russia at all, because it was not even worth talking about, such a third-rate regional power and not interesting at all. Now Russia is problem number one in the entire election campaign,” said Putin. “All they do is keep talking about us. Of course it’s pleasant for us, but only partly because all participants are misusing anti-Russian rhetoric and poisoning our bilateral relations.” | 1 |
2,237 | Eric Trump Unveils New Haircut In The Style Made Famous By Alt-Right Neo-Nazis (PHOTO) | Eric Trump has a new haircut and that haircut looks to be an outrageously offensive political statement.Moving away from the slicked back caricature of a Wall Street sleazeball, Eric landed on a hairstyle that is, at this moment, mostly popular with a collection of up-and-coming neo-Nazis. As the Washington Post described it last year in a article titled Does this haircut make me look like a Nazi? , the style looks as follows:It is short on the sides and long on the top. It is clean and tidy, with a military sheen. It s been popular among young people for several years. But now this haircut is making us ask ourselves, with seriousness that seems unthinkable in 2016: hipster or Nazi?Thanks to high profile Nazis like Richard Spencer, the answer in 2017 is: Nazi.The look, once popular with hipsters, is now decidedly one meant to symbolize an alt-right ideology. In fact, the cut was co-opted by Nazis because it had connections to Hitler. The style was a modern take on one made popular by the Hitler Youth in Nazi Germany. You re probably familiar with it:(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)Now, it s obvious that not everyone with that particular haircut is associated with white supremacy. It s a haircut. But within white supremacy circles, the haircut is used to signal to other members that the wearer is part of the team. In the same way a particular piece of clothing or hand gesture can identify you as a member of a group, the haircut has become the calling card of many prominent neo-Nazis.Here s Spencer today still with the haircut along with his buddy wearing a slightly shorter variation of the same haircut:Nathan Damigo! pic.twitter.com/YNr4X8YFD4 Richard ? Spencer (@RichardBSpencer) June 25, 2017And now Eric Trump has it, too:Eric Trump has a fascist haircut.This cannot possibly be unintentional. pic.twitter.com/9mqUbwENqQ Ali Gharib (@Ali_Gharib) June 25, 2017Is it intentional? You d be forgiven for thinking so. Eric and his brother Donald Jr. s behaviors since the election are only fueling the controversy. Since their father s win, the family has been growing increasingly close with the alt-right, a group that breeds neo-Nazis. Donald Jr, in particular, has globbed onto the group, retweeting articles and figureheads of the alt-right movement. Now Eric is styling himself, physically, after them.That s a lot of smoke and the question we need to ask ourselves now is, Where s the fire? Featured image via Fox News | 0 |
2,238 | Palestinian negotiator says 'no talking' with U.S. until Trump reverses Jerusalem decision: Al Jazeera | CAIRO (Reuters) - Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat told Al Jazeera TV on Friday that the Palestinians will not talk to the United States until President Donald Trump has reversed his decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel s capital, the channel reported. Erekat also said the Palestinian leadership was considering all options in response to Trump s announcement, the channel reported in a newsflash, without giving further details. | 1 |
2,239 | Trump criticized in Britain and U.S. for sharing anti-Muslim videos | WASHINGTON/LONDON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Wednesday shared anti-Muslim videos posted on Twitter by a far-right British party leader, drawing condemnation from Britain, U.S. Muslim groups and some members of Congress. The White House defended the retweets by the Republican president, who during the 2016 U.S. election campaign called for “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States,” saying that he was raising security issues. As president, Trump has issued executive orders banning entry to some citizens of several Muslim-majority countries, although courts have partially blocked the measures from taking effect. “Look, I’m not talking about the nature of the video,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters. “The threat is real and that’s what the president is talking about is the need for national security, the need for military spending, and those are very real things. There’s nothing fake about that.” Jayda Fransen, deputy leader of anti-immigration Britain First, posted the videos which she said showed a group of people who were Muslims beating a teenage boy to death, battering a boy on crutches and destroying a Christian statue. Fransen was convicted earlier this month of abusing a Muslim woman and was ordered to pay a fine and legal costs. Some British lawmakers demanded an apology from Trump for sharing the videos with his nearly 44 million Twitter followers and U.S. Muslim groups said he had been incendiary and reckless. “It is wrong for the president to have done this,” the spokesman for British Prime Minister Theresa May said. “Britain First seeks to divide communities through their use of hateful narratives which peddle lies and stoke tensions. They cause anxiety to law-abiding people,” the spokesman said. Trump fired back at May over her criticism. “Theresa @theresamay, don’t focus on me, focus on the destructive Radical Islamic Terrorism that is taking place within the United Kingdom. We are doing just fine,” Trump tweeted, using an incorrect Twitter handle for May. He later issued a tweet with her correct handle, “@Theresa_May”. Reuters was unable to immediately verify the videos and Fransen herself said they had come from various online sources which had been posted on her social media pages. “I’m delighted,” Fransen, who has 53,000 Twitter followers, told Reuters. She said Trump’s retweets showed the president shared her aim of raising awareness of “issues such as Islam”. The White House repeatedly refused to be drawn into the content of the videos or whether Trump was aware of the source of the tweets. “It’s about ensuring that individuals who come into the United States don’t pose a public safety or terrorism threat,” White House spokesman Raj Shah told reporters aboard Air Force One. Fransen thanked Trump and said, “The important message here is Donald Trump has been made aware of the persecution and prosecution of a political leader in Britain for giving what has been said by police to be an anti-Islamic speech.” ANTI-IMMIGRATION One of the videos that Trump retweeted first circulated on social and Egyptian state media in 2013, showing what appeared to be supporters of now-ousted Islamist President Mohammed Mursi throwing two youths from a concrete tower onto a roof. In reference to another video that was titled “Muslim migrant beats up Dutch boy on crutches!”, the Netherlands embassy in the United States tweeted back at Trump saying: “@realDonaldTrump Facts do matter. The perpetrator of the violent act in this video was born and raised in the Netherlands. He received and completed his sentence under Dutch law.” Trump’s promotion of the videos contrasts with the way he often criticizes mainstream U.S. media, lambasting some outlets for “fake news” when they air segments he regards as being against him. “What we saw today is one of many videos that is circulating on anti-Muslim hate websites,” said Ilhan Cagri with the U.S.-based Muslim Public Affairs Council. “It is years-old and simply aims to breed fear for Muslims and Islam and breed violence. It has nothing to do with the practice of Islam itself,” Cagri said. The Anti-Defamation League said the retweets would only encourage “extremists and anti-Muslim bigots in the United States and abroad who exploit the propaganda value.” “Such content is the engine that fuels extremist movements and will embolden bigots in the U.S. who already believe the president is a fellow traveler,” the ADL said in a statement. Democrats in Congress and at least one Republican lawmaker were also critical of Trump. “The violence depicted in these videos is horrific, but it is abhorrent that President Trump would choose to deliberately fan the flames of hatred and religious bigotry,” Democratic U.S. Senator Jack Reed said in a statement. Republican Senator John McCain, a frequent critic of Trump, said he was “surprised” that Trump had chosen to retweet those videos. “What do I think about it? Obviously, surprised. Surprised,” he told Reuters as he left a meeting with Jordanian King Abdullah at the U.S. Senate. Britain First is a peripheral political party which wants to end all immigration and bring in a comprehensive ban on Islam, with anyone found to be promoting the religion’s ideology to be deported or imprisoned. The group, which rarely garners any media attention but attracts a few hundred protesters to its regular street demonstrations, states on its website it is a “loyalist movement.” Critics say it is simply racist. Last week, Fransen was charged by the police in Northern Ireland with using threatening, abusive or insulting words in a speech at a rally in Belfast in August. Along with the group’s leader, she was also charged in September with causing religiously aggravated harassment over the distribution of leaflets and posting online videos during a court trial involving a number of Muslim men accused and later convicted of rape. Politicians in Britain condemned Trump, with Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the opposition Labour Party, describing his tweets as “abhorrent, dangerous and a threat to our society.” In contrast, David Duke, a former Ku Klux Klan leader who has run for political office in Louisiana, praised Trump. “He’s condemned for showing us what the fake news media won’t,” Duke wrote on Twitter. “Thank God for Trump! That’s why we love him!” | 1 |
2,240 | ‘Never Trump’: Another Well-Known GOP Figure Endorses Hillary | Despite some noises being made by some Republican detractors, for all intents and purposes the party is stuck with Donald Trump as its nominee and the choice will be official at the party s upcoming convention.While some major Republicans like George W. Bush and Mitt Romney have announced their opposition to Trump, not as many have gone all-in and endorsed Hillary Clinton for President, instead preferring to simply oppose Trump without offering up a serious alternative.Former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson has gone a step further, and in an op-ed published in the Washington Post, is now endorsing Clinton.He doesn t mince his words:The GOP, in putting Trump at the top of the ticket, is endorsing a brand of populism rooted in ignorance, prejudice, fear and isolationism. This troubles me deeply as a Republican, but it troubles me even more as an American. Enough is enough. It s time to put country before party and say it together: Never Trump.Paulson just absolutely blasts Trump s supposed business prowess noting, he takes imprudent risks and, when his businesses fail, disavows his debts. Citing his first-hand experience with passing TARP after the economy began collapsing and the need to get Democrats and Republicans to agree on it, Paulson notes: This requires a president who exhibits an ability to compromise and basic civility neither of which Trump displays. It isn t as if Paulson has become a liberal overnight. He points out that he still supports Republicans at the state level, and the overall tone of his essay is that he would support a standard-issue Republican if Trump were one.But he isn t, and as a result he lays out the case for Clinton as better for business even if he disagrees with some of her philosophy.He concludes:I ll be voting for Hillary Clinton, with the hope that she can bring Americans together to do the things necessary to strengthen our economy, our environment and our place in the world. To my Republican friends: I know I m not alone.Featured image via YouTube | 0 |
2,241 | FOX NEWS BIGGIE Promoting Mass Immigration To The U.S. Via FOX News | Has anyone else out there noticed the total bias with promotion of certain candidates running for president? I ve noticed who they re supporting like never before. I should say I ve noticed who they detest also Trump No matter which candidate you support, this isn t fair to the American people who really want the truth in the media to come back. FOX is now no better than the liberal leaning CNN and MSNBC. Watch with caution after you read this excellent piece about the connections between big business, politics and the push for mass immigration to America. Yes folks, it s all about cheap labor and money Mr. Rupert s most visible investment is Fox s princess Megyn Kelly, who just coincidentally signed a book deal with another of Ruperts business interests, Harper Collins books.Murdoch is a long time supporter of Senator Marco Rubio. The Fox News head even structured media coverage on behalf of Rubio during the Gang-of-Eight legislative fiasco in 2013.Mr. Murdoch, who is also leading the executive decision-making on Fox programming, also contracts pollster Frank Luntz to appear on Fox News broadcasting during the 2016 election cycle.[ ] since June, Murdoch has been attending Ailes s daily executive meeting held on the second floor of Fox headquarters. The secretive afternoon gathering in Ailes s conference room is attended by about a half-dozen of the network s most senior lieutenants. It s where some of the most sensitive decisions about running the channel are discussed. (link)Frank Luntz has sub-contracts with Marco Rubio and a long-term relationship with Rubio going back to the Freshman Senator s time in the Florida Legislature. Rubio alone has paid Luntz $350,000+Frank Luntz focus groups regularly find Marco Rubio as the winner of debate and opinion programming.The executive in charge of Fox News debate programming, debate questioning and debate structure is Bill Sammon. (circled below)The Washington Post has an outline describing how Bill Sammon runs the entire show at Fox regarding debates; and how he is the person who Chris Stirewalt, Megyn Kelly, Chris Wallace and Brett Baier directly report to for all debate issues, construction, and question organization.In essence, Bill Sammon runs the show.Bill Sammon s daughter is Brooke Sammon who is the press secretary for Marco Rubio s presidential campaign.A generally interested observer would consider this a conflict of interest worthy of full disclosure. However, none of the above have ever been publicly disclosed prior to the media presentation by any Fox entity.During the Fox Business News debate several political junkies noted a rather curious omission: Senator Marco Rubio was never questioned about the 2013 Senate Gang-of-Eight bill and his stance on Comprehensive Immigration Reform. In fact, if you were to review the debate substance you d note that candidate Rubio wasn t directly questioned about his immigration positions at all.Read more: Conservative Treehouse | 0 |
2,242 | SUNDAY SCREENING: ‘The Clinton Chronicles’ (1994) | 21st Century Wire says Our weekly documentary film, curated by our editorial team at 21WIRE.This film documents a series of early scandals and state corruption surrounding Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton. The film came under heavy criticism in the US media at the time, with Democratic Party officials and mainstream media labelling it as a partisan hit piece. While Clinton proponents and critics of this film maintain that it s part of a vast right-wing conspiracy, this film produced by Citizens for Honest Government does cover actual events which took place in and around Arkansas during the Clinton s reign as Governor there, and contains numerous facts and revelations regarding those events including a massive cocaine smuggling operation into Mena, Arkansas under the watch of the Clinton governorship. Watch:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35mG57pUy80 . Run time: 1 hr 41 min Director: Patrick Matrisciana Producer: Patrick Matrisciana Released: 1994SEE MORE SUNDAY SCREENINGS HERE SUPPORT 21WIRE SUBSCRIBE & BECOME A MEMBER @21WIRE.TV | 0 |
2,243 | RONALD REAGAN: Remembering Our Heroes [Video] | This speech, delivered by President Ronald Reagan on Memorial Day, epitomizes our debt of gratitude to those who died in battle serving the cause of liberty here in the United States and around the world. We will never forget you! | 0 |
2,244 | House lifts block on Google-hosted apps, Yahoo Mail remains blacklisted | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives’ information technology team this week reinstated access on its internet network to software applications hosted on a Google cloud service after the company addressed potential security fears, according to an email seen by Reuters. Yahoo Mail remains inaccessible, however, and has been blacklisted since the House Information Security Office said in an April 30 memo it had detected an increase of ransomware attacks on the network. The two restrictions were not related, but came within days of each other and made some communication among lawmakers and their staff more difficult, several congressional aides said. Devices connected to the House’s internet via Wi-Fi or ethernet cables were barred from accessing appspot.com, the domain where Alphabet Inc’s Google hosts custom-built apps, on May 3 due to concerns about a potential security vulnerability identified publicly by the FBI in June 2015. “Based on Google’s corrective actions of removing suspicious applications from appspot.com, InfoSec has unblocked access to appspot.com on the House Network,” an email sent by the House’s technology service desk on Monday said. It is unclear if that apparent appspot.com flaw caused any damage or presented any actual threat. The House Information Service Office did not respond to a request for comment. In a statement, a Yahoo spokesperson said it had been working with the House’s technology staff to address their questions. “Unfortunately, we have been disappointed that they have not moved as quickly on recommended changes that would better protect its employees” the spokesperson said. Two individuals fell victim to ransomware by clicking on infected Word document email attachments, sources familiar with the hacking said. The infected files were able to be recovered without paying any ransom, sources told Reuters last week. | 1 |
2,245 | Seth Meyers Takes No Prisoners In GLORIOUS Smackdown Of The Entire GOP Clown Car (VIDEO) | It s clear most of America has had just about enough of the GOP clown car and this primary season. Recognizing this, Seth Meyers absolutely tore apart the most recent Republican debate in a segment called GOP Debate Antics: A Closer Look. The Late Night host took no prisoners and one by one just completely pummeled them, and righteously so. From the botched intro to the very end.In pointing out Rubio s robotics he even suggested that he might as well go with a GIF of Donald Trump s facial expressions as a running-mate if he were to get the nomination, because it would work every time.Meyers mercilessly mocked Bush and Trump s back and forth, as well as how Trump went after the New Hampshire debate audience, arguing that the real estate mogul seems to hate them, but loves waterboarding. Which is true.Ben Carson, of course, didn t escape being lampooned, Meyers roasted him by pointing out the ridiculous introduction portion of the debate, asking: Is Ben Carson really a brain surgeon, or did people just start calling him that sarcastically and it just stuck? Oh yeah, that guy s a real brain surgeon. Your surgery will start any moment, we just need to get Doctor Carson in here. Meyers then pretends to wave him in, just like with what happened at the debate when he didn t seem to realize he needed to walk out on stage.All in all, if these Republicans want to say and do the things that they say and do, they need to realize that it s all being recorded and will be played back and mocked for all eternity.Well done, Meyers.Here s the whole clip: Video/Featured image: YouTube | 0 |
2,246 | Cuba says investigating 'incidents' concerning U.S. diplomats in Havana | WASHINGTON/HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuba said on Wednesday it was investigating allegations by the United States that unspecified “incidents” caused physical symptoms in Americans serving at the U.S. Embassy in Havana, after two Washington-based Cuban diplomats were expelled. “Cuba has never, nor would it ever, allow that the Cuban territory be used for any action against accredited diplomatic agents or their families,” the foreign ministry said in a statement late on Wednesday. “It reiterates its willingness to cooperate in the clarification of this situation.” Havana said it had started a “comprehensive, priority and urgent investigation” into the alleged incidents after it had been informed of them by the embassy in February. Earlier on Wednesday, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters that the exact nature of the incidents was unclear, but Americans serving in Cuba had returned to the United States for non life-threatening “medical reasons.” The United States first learned of the issues at the embassy in late 2016, she said. “We don’t have any definitive answers about the source or the cause of what we consider to be incidents,” Nauert said. “It’s caused a variety of physical symptoms in these American citizens who work for the U.S. government. We take those incidents very seriously, and there is an investigation currently under way.” As a result, the United States on May 23 asked two Cuban officials in Washington to leave the country and they have done so, Nauert said, an action that Cuba described as “unjustified”. “What this requires is providing medical examinations to these people,” Nauert said. “Initially, when they’d started reporting what I will just call symptoms, it took time to figure out what it was, and this is still ongoing. So we’re monitoring it.” A U.S. government official said several colleagues at the U.S. embassy in Havana were evacuated back to the United States for hearing problems and other symptoms over the past six months. Some subsequently got hearing aids, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Washington and Havana re-established diplomatic relations in 2015 after more than five decades of hostilities, re-opening embassies in each other’s capitals and establishing a new chapter of engagement between the former Cold War foes. President Donald Trump rolled back part of his predecessor Barack Obama’s policy toward Cuba, but has left in place many of the changes, including the re-opened U.S. Embassy in Havana. | 1 |
2,247 | JOHN BOLTON GETS IT: ‘This is the First Attempted Coup D’etat in America’s History’…Who’s Behind It? [Video] | Ambassador Bolton gets it! He and so many others see what s going on and how the left is trying to destroy the Trump administration Ambassador Bolton: They are trying to prove the administration is illegitimate.Lou Dobbs: That s what you can see.Ambassador Bolton: They are the ones who are illegitimate The Wall Street Journal says this is the first coup d tat in American History. It s a mini coup d tat but it goes right along with the idea that they should have won the election.. And one recalls the famous scene in the debate where during the debates where, I believe it was Chris Wallace, who asked both candidates if you lose will you accept the result LOU DOBBS WHO S BEHIND IT? THIS IS HUGE! Lou Dobbs joined Sean Hannity to discuss the constant effort to destroy President Trump. Dobbs has mentioned a coup before (SEE BELOW) but is doubling down on his concern that the deep state and lefty media are in a full court press to get Trump out of office ASAP.Lou Dobbs had this to say about the effort to destroy Trump: The double standard is more than that by a long measure. This is an effort to subvert the administration of President Donald Trump. It is nothing less. It is an effort by the Deep State to roll over a duly elected president and a legitimate government and to break the will of the American people. This is no longer about Republicans and Democrats, conservatives and liberals, this is about a full-on assault by the left, the Democratic party to absolutely carry out a coup d etat against President Trump.LOU DOBBS AND CLINTON CASH AUTHOR DISCUSS THE DEEP STATE AND THE EFFORT TO TAKE DOWN TRUMP: Never in American history has there been a more highly organized group of people, the deep state , attempting to subvert the will of the American people, in this case, the Trump presidency. Peter Schweizer discusses the efforts of the deep state , their conspiracy campaign against Donald Trump and its potential impact on President Trump s administration.TAKE NOTES AND CALL OUT YOUR CONGRESSMEN IF THEY RE NOT SUPPORTING PRESIDENT TRUMP! | 0 |
2,248 | EU court migrant ruling comes gift-wrapped for Orban re-election bid | BUDAPEST (Reuters) - A rap on the knuckles from the EU s top court will not end Hungary s opposition to accommodating asylum seekers, and may even help Prime Minister Viktor Orban in his campaign for re-election next year. Rightwinger Orban has been one of the bloc s most vocal opponents of attempts by Brussels to force member states to take in quotas of mainly Syrian refugees, and the fence that Hungary built on its southern border to keep them out has been criticized by other governments and rights groups. But that unapologetic stance has gone down well with voters at home and, with Orban s Fidesz party already firmly ahead in opinion polls, initial responses from Budapest to Wednesday s ruling suggested the legal setback would help keep the issue of migration high on the domestic political agenda. Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said the European Court of Justice s dismissal of appeals by Hungary and Slovakia against the migrant quota system the European Union launched in 2015 was entirely unacceptable . The real battle only starts today, he told a news conference. I want to assure all citizens ... that the Hungarian government will do everything it can to protect Hungary and the Hungarian people. Hungary argues that the obligatory relocation of asylum seekers arriving in Greece and Italy from the Middle East would undermine its sovereignty and social fabric, and Orban s government held a referendum in 2016 on whether to accept any future EU-wide migrant relocation quotas. More than 3 million Hungarians, an overwhelming majority of participants, rejected the EU initiative then - and Orban would win a third term in office next April with their support alone. Orban could use a rejection of Hungary s claim (by the court) to fuel his electoral campaign with anti-EU-arguments, said Professor Hendrik Hansen, an expert on international and European politics at Budapest s Andrassy University. The migration issue is a winning point for the Orban government independently of what the European court decides, added Tibor Attila Nagy, of the Centre for Fair Political Analysis said ahead of the court ruling. The square in front of Budapest s Eastern Railway station was a focus of the world s media when thousands of migrants camped there in September 2015, hoping to scramble on to trains bound for Austria and Germany. On a bright late summer morning two years later its flagstones are eerily quiet, but locals hurrying to work have not forgotten the days when Hungary was the main transit route for hundreds of thousands of refugees from war and poverty en route to richer western states. Many remain opposed to the country taking in migrants. The fence is very good (to have) as it protects us from the explosions and violence and everything, catering worker Ilona Nagy, 55, told Reuters. I would vote for Fidesz, only Fidesz. It was only Hungary which did what it had to do and protected the Schengen borders, and this is still the case, said pensioner Peter Lazar, 73, another Fidesz supporter. But some preferred to focus on other matters. I believe the whole migration crisis is government propaganda nothing more, said Karoly Szenasi, 50. Monika Fenyvesi, 33, out walking with her child in a stroller, said the scenes at the station had been scary and it was good that Hungary had imposed controls. But issues such as support for families, healthcare, taxation, and wages would determine which party got her vote. It will be hard to decide but it will not be the current government. | 1 |
2,249 | CNN’s Don Lemon: Is He an Alcoholic or Just a Drunk? | Day in and day out, CNN works hard to try and convince American audiences that it s a legitimate news outlet, and it hopes that the public will take seriously the troubled news network s various on-screen actors and quasi-journalists. On New Year s Eve, one of CNN s highly paid anchors, Don Lemon could be seen on national TV in New Orleans with co-presenter Brooke Baldwin, as Lemon proceeded to pound shots of tequila live on air, slurring his speech and shouting, while simultaneously getting his ear pierced during the program. Lemon then went on to sink into a melancholy diatribe about not being in a relationship (Lemon is gay) and personal struggles with his own narcissism.The episode prompted many critics to question his psychological state, and also to ask whether or not Lemon might have a serious drinking or substance problem.Things got so bad that network producers had to pull the audio feed while drunk Lemon began shouting 2016 was awful. On the New York City feed, onlookers from CNN were obscure female American comedian, Kathy Griffin, joined by news presenter and actor Anderson Cooper, both of whom were enjoying the spectacle not at all concerned with the potential damage to Lemon s reputation as a result of his alcoholic episode on air.Griffin could be seen shouting, Nipples! Nipples! Nipples! as Lemon began to unbutton his dress shirt.Watch Don Lemon drunk on air during CNN s New Years broadcast:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNWx-ZfrKOU . | 0 |
2,250 | U.N. rights chief urges Yemen inquiry after 'minimal' effort for justice | GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations has verified 5,144 civilian deaths in the war in Yemen, mainly from air strikes by a Saudi-led coalition, and an international investigation is urgently needed, U.N. human rights chief Zeid Ra ad al Hussein said on Monday. The minimal efforts made toward accountability over the past year are insufficient to respond to the gravity of the continuing and daily violations involved in this conflict, Zeid said in a speech to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva. The devastation of Yemen and the horrific suffering of its people will have immense and enduring repercussions across the region. It is the third time that he has appealed for an international inquiry into human rights violations in Yemen where a two-year conflict pits the Saudi-backed Yemen government against Iran-supported Houthi rebels. Last week Zeid s office said the 47 countries on the Human Rights Council were not taking their responsibilities seriously, and urged them to probe the entirely man-made catastrophe . The U.N. says the civil war has created the world s biggest humanitarian crisis, with the conflict compounded by an economic collapse that has pushed millions to the brink of famine. The crippling of the health and sanitation systems has enabled cholera to take hold with unprecedented speed, with about 650,000 people infected since late April, five times the global cholera caseload in 2016. During the three-week U.N. Human Rights Council session, Saudi Arabia and the Netherlands are expected to propose rival resolutions, inviting the council to continue backing Yemen s national human rights probe or to set up its own inquiry. For the past two years, Saudi Arabia has prevailed, but the situation in the country has not improved, and Zeid s office has said Yemen s national investigation is not up to the job. The draft Dutch resolution backs Zeid s position, a Western diplomat said. The common assessment is that the situation has deteriorated. The compromise that was put in place last year hasn t delivered, the diplomat said. One of the resolutions will need to be dismissed. | 1 |
2,251 | Trump budget preserves aid for Israel, other countries being evaluated: State Dept. | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department said on Thursday that President Donald Trump’s proposed budget for the 2018 fiscal year would not reduce U.S. aid to Israel but that assistance levels to other nations, including Egypt and Jordan, were still being evaluated. “Our assistance to Israel is ... guaranteed and that reflects obviously our strong commitment to one of our strongest partners and allies,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said. “With respect to other assistance levels, foreign military assistance levels, those are still being evaluated and decisions are going to be made going forward,” Toner added, noting that treaty obligations would be a factor. The United States provides assistance to Jordan and Egypt as part of their peace treaties with Israel. (This version of the story corrects headline by adding dropped word “preserves”) | 1 |
2,252 | Russia's Lavrov and Iran's Zarif discuss nuclear issue by phone: Russia | MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif discussed the Middle East and Iran s nuclear deal in a phone conversation, Russian foreign ministry said on Monday. | 1 |
2,253 | In Kenya, polarizing election re-run rekindles ethnic tensions | MUHORONI, Kenya (Reuters) - Kenya s repeat presidential election, boycotted this week by millions, has reignited long-running tensions between ethnic communities in some areas, leading inhabitants of one small village in the west to pick up traditional arms on Saturday. In the bright green sugarcane fields where the western Nyanza region rolls toward the Nandi hills, two tribes the Luo and the Kalenjin have lived in relative peace for years. But in the village of Koguta, down the road from the town of Mugoroni in Kisumu County, Thursday s polarizing vote reignited old grievances. The stand-off, defused by an emergency intervention of three county governors, was a stark reminder of how easily Kenya s months-long political crisis could spark the type of ethnic violence that killed 1,200 people after a flawed 2007 vote. On one side of Koguta are Kalenjins, here ardent supporters of President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Kalenjin deputy, William Ruto. But the Luos across the road support opposition leader Raila Odinga, who called for a boycott of the vote because he said it would not be fair. Some of the Luos here fought police to stop ballot boxes being delivered. The Luo accused the Kalenjin of stealing cattle and burning their sugarcane crop in revenge, prompting both sides to grab machetes, spears, bows and arrows, and wooden clubs. This is an area where they tried to come in with ballot boxes, there was serious resistance, so that was the genesis of all this enmity between the Kalenjins and the Luos, said Julius Genga, a county legislator, as a colleague stood atop a sports utility vehicle to calm a crowd of men with spears. The opposition dismissed the vote as a sham although Kenyatta s supporters say it was legitimate. Protests stopped four counties from opening polling stations at all. Only a third of voters turned up, and the opposition is likely to challenge the poll in court. This has to do with politics, said Collins Owuor, 21, holding a machete. Before politics we did not have problems with these people. In the distance, where smoke rose from sugarcane fields, Reuters saw police speaking to spear-wielding Kalenjins, but the local police chief warned journalists away. By the end of the afternoon s meetings, the cattle had been returned and officials said they hoped the risk of violence had been quelled. Koguta is not the only place where simmering ethnic tensions have broken into the open. On Friday night in the Nairobi slum of Kawangware, a man was beaten to death and homes and shop burned down amid rumors that a TRIBAL militia had infiltrated the neighborhood of a different tribe. In Thursday s vote, Kenyatta only faced six minor candidates, none of whom won more than 1 percent in August, and that and the low turnout have quashed his hopes of securing a decisive mandate to lead east Africa s richest economy. Deputy president William Ruto, Kenyatta s running mate, told CNN on Saturday he expected the final tally from the vote to be ready by Sunday: Shortly we will be having a declaration and finally a swearing in, in accordance with the constitution. The election board said on Saturday it would soon announce a new plan for the nearly 30 of 290 constituencies that have not voted yet. The constitution says the vote must be held in every constituency. More legal cases against the election are expected next week. If the courts fail to find a path out of the crisis, including a possible order for another rerun, the protracted and economically damaging stalemate between the Kenyatta and Odinga camps is likely to continue. The electoral saga is polarizing the nation and slowing growth in what has been one of Africa s most vibrant economies, which is also a regional trade hub and a security ally for Western nations. In Odinga strongholds, residents accused authorities of trying to force voter participation. This is pure oppression, said Hassan Hussein, a Muslim community leader. The law says if you want to vote, you vote, if not, you don t. | 1 |
2,254 | Silicon Valley mocks Trump over his tech bubble warning | SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Tuesday warned that a dangerous financial bubble has formed in the technology industry - and Silicon Valley responded with a collective eye roll. In a Reuters interview, the New York billionaire said technology start-ups that had never earned a profit were able to sell shares at very high prices, likening the situation to the overheated stock market in 2007. “I’m talking about companies that have never made any money, that have a bad concept and that are valued at billions of dollars, so here we go again,” Trump said. Many tech watchers have repeatedly warned of a tech bubble as the number of private companies valued at $1 billion or more - known as unicorns - have soared to 163, according to venture capital research firm CB Insights. So Trump’s declaration, in the eyes of Silicon Valley’s entrepreneurs and venture capitalists, was nothing new. Investors and others took to Twitter to poke fun at Trump’s campaign slogan “Make America Great Again!” by repeating the phrase, “Make Bubbles Great Again.” “FINALLY someone calls it out,” Marc Andreessen, a general partner at the prominent venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, tweeted, mocking Trump. In the interview, Trump said the high valuations that tech start-ups are able to fetch today remind him of 2007, when an overheated housing market helped drive U.S. stocks to unsustainable valuations before the bubble burst. “You have a stock market that is very strange,” the presumptive Republican nominee said. “You look at some of these tech stocks that are so, so weak as a concept and a company, and they’re selling for so much money. And I would have said can that ever happen again? I think that could happen again.” Some startup founders rejected Trump’s generalization that all companies are burning cash and overvalued; certainly many of them are, and in the last several months a correction has started to rectify years of exuberant investments. Still, other companies continue to raise money successfully and turn profits. “So far he has been saying dumb things but they seem to be getting dumber and dumber,” Vivek Wadhwa, an entrepreneur and Stanford University fellow, told Reuters. “I was going to tweet (the comments) while calling Peter Thiel and saying, ‘Here is your buddy.’” Thiel, an influential investor well-known for his contrarian ideas, is one of the few Silicon Valley leaders to openly support Trump. Thiel was not immediately available for comment. “There is nothing in his (Trump’s) track record to show that he has been out here and met with any technology leaders and knows this industry and knows about innovation,” said Aaron Ginn, co-founder of the Lincoln Initiative, a community that promotes libertarian and technology-friendly values. Which is ironic, Ginn said, given how much technology - especially Twitter - has helped Trump’s campaign. “He says things and does things that are made for entertainment,” Ginn said. Read more on our interview with Trump here | 1 |
2,255 | Texas lawyer sues Cruz to challenge eligibility | NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Texas lawyer has filed the first suit seeking clarification on whether Republican candidate Ted Cruz is eligible to be president because he was born in Canada. Newton Schwartz, 85, of Houston also cited Cruz’s stance on issues such as abortion rights, gay marriage and the Bible in a 27-page argument against the Texas senator’s eligibility. Billionaire Donald Trump, the front-runner in the Republican presidential race, has repeatedly questioned whether Cruz is eligible and warned he could be sued, throwing the party into chaos and handing the election to the Democrats. A lawyer in Boston who reviewed the suit and who generally believes Cruz’s eligibility should be questioned said the suit was “defective” and would most likely be thrown out. Schwartz’s suit, which cites a “crescendo” of questions over the matter, was filed on Thursday in federal court in the Southern District of Texas. It is a class action, meaning other people can join, and it requests that a court rule on the issue before November’s presidential election. “If I lose the suit that’s fine, he’s eligible, but if he’s elected and he’s determined to be ineligible after the election, that would cause massive confusion,” Schwartz, a self-described liberal, said. Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks said there is no connection between Trump and Schwartz. Cruz was born in Calgary, Alberta. His mother was a U.S. citizen and his father is Cuban. He has dismissed attacks on his eligibility and pointed out during a Republican candidates’ debate on Thursday that 2008 Republican presidential nominee John McCain and 1968 Republican candidate George Romney also were born outside the United States but still were considered eligible to be president. A Reuters poll found a quarter of Republicans think Cruz is not qualified because of his birthplace.[nL2N14Z098] A Cruz spokesman declined to comment on Schwartz’s suit. The U.S. Constitution says a president or vice president must be a “natural born citizen” but does not say whether the term means the candidate must be born on U.S. soil or just be a citizen at birth. Any child born to an American mother, no matter where, is considered a U.S. citizen. Schwartz’s lawsuit mentions domestic issues that could be affected if Cruz were president because he opposes abortion and gay marriage. Reached by phone, Schwartz said the issues did not relate to Cruz’s citizenship but that he had wanted to include them as examples of “some of the downside consequences of his being elected.” Vincent DeVito, a Boston lawyer who represented President George W. Bush during the contested 2000 presidential election, said the suit was “likely defective” and should have been filed in state court. “On its merits, the claim is legitimate,” DeVito said, “but the Schwartz pleading itself is poorly written and does not have a sophisticated legal nexus.” DeVito said he expected more suits to be filed challenging Cruz. The case is Schwartz v. Cruz, 4:16-cv-00106, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas (Houston). SAP is the sponsor of this coverage which is independently produced by the staff of Reuters News Agency. | 1 |
2,256 | Vatican would see U.S. Paris deal exit as slap in face: official | VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican, which under Pope Francis’ insistence has strongly backed the Paris climate change deal, would see a U.S. exit as a slap in the face and a “disaster for everyone,” a senior official said on Thursday. At their meeting last month, the pope gave U.S. President Donald Trump a signed copy of his 2015 encyclical letter that called for protecting the environment from the effects of climate change and backed scientific evidence that it is caused by human activity. Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin urged Trump in a separate meeting not to quit the Paris accord. “If he really does (pull out), it would be a huge slap in the face for us,” said Bishop Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, head of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, which has hosted numerous international conferences on climate change. “It will be a disaster for everyone,” he told the Rome newspaper La Repubblica. In a telephone call with Reuters, Sanchez Sorondo confirmed the comments in the newspaper. Trump was due to announce his decision later on Thursday. A source briefed on the decision has told Reuters in Washington that he will follow through on his campaign pledge to pull the United States out of the global agreement. The accord, agreed on by nearly 200 countries in 2015, aims to cut emissions blamed for global warming. The United States committed to reducing its own by 26 to 28 percent, compared with 2005 levels, by 2025. Sanchez Sorondo said he believed the U.S. oil lobby was behind the decision and that the industry had “maneuvered” Trump. A withdrawal “would not only be a disaster but completely unscientific,” he said. “Saying that we need to rely on coal and oil is like saying that the earth is not round. It is an absurdity dictated by the need to make money.” Trump has called the idea of global warming a hoax. In March, Cardinal Peter Turkson, the pope’s point man for the environment, immigration and development, urged Trump to listen to “dissenting voices” and reconsider his position on climate change. Former U.S. President Barack Obama helped broker the Paris accord and praised it during a trip to Europe this month. Canada, the European Union and China have said they will honor their commitments to the pact if the United States withdraws. | 1 |
2,257 | Exclusive: Clinton plans ad blitz as primaries kick off - campaign document | NEW YORK - Democrat Hillary Clinton plans to pour half of her presidential campaign’s budget into advertising in the first three months of this year as she seeks to fend off an increasingly tough challenge from chief rival Bernie Sanders, according to a summary of her spending plans reviewed by Reuters. The first-quarter advertising blitz would represent almost a doubling of the proportion of money that the campaign devoted to such spending, on average, during 2015. The report, prepared by her team’s finance committee, aims to paint a picture of a fiscally prudent campaign operation that has been spending heavily on digital tools and organizing last year and is now ready to ramp up ad spending as the 2016 White House race moves into a critical new phase. “The significant early resources mobilized by our Finance Committee in 2015 helped us make smart early investments in key areas – and will enable us to continue with strategic allocations in Q1 of 2016,” the report reads. The first quarter is a crucial period in the presidential nominating contest. It kicks off with the Iowa caucus on Feb. 1, followed by the New Hampshire primary on Feb. 9 and a series of other early votes through March, including “Super Tuesday” on March 1 when 11 states hold nominating contests. Many of the contests during March, the report notes, “are in big states with expensive media markets.” In 2015, the campaign devoted nearly 10 percent of its spending to technology and digital tools, about a fifth of the budget on list-building and almost another quarter on state organizing, according to the year-end document. List-building refers to amassing names of potential voters who a campaign wants to woo. The Clinton campaign declined to comment on the spending report. The increased focus on advertising spending comes as the campaign expects to shrink the ratios of spending in other areas, especially those that appear related to infrastructure. State organizing, for example, is projected to go from 23 percent in 2015 to 18 percent in the first quarter of this year. List-building is expected to go from 21 percent in 2015 to 14 percent in the first three months of 2016. The report comes two weeks before the Iowa contest, with Clinton locked in a tightening race with Sanders, the fiery U.S. senator from Vermont who has been drawing big crowds in the early-voting states with his calls to crack down on Wall Street. The emphasis on fiscal prudence is part of a broader effort by the Clinton campaign to reassure supporters that it has learned from her 2008 campaign, which was plagued by missteps, including a failure to match the organizational and digital prowess of Barack Obama, who ultimately won the Democratic nomination - and the general election. Clinton’s campaign raised more than $112 million last year for the primary fight, according to a previously released statement from Jan. 1. That includes $37 million raised in the fourth quarter. The campaign had nearly $38 million in cash on hand headed into this year, according to the statement. The year-end report only notes budget categories as a percentage of total spending and does not include dollar amounts for categories or line items. Nor did the document include a dollar amount for the overall budget. Through the third quarter of last year, the campaign spent more than $12 million on direct marketing, online ads and media buys, according to campaign finance filings. Federal Elections Commission filings for the fourth quarter for all presidential campaigns are due Jan. 31. (Additional reporting by Emily Flitter and Grant Smith; Editing by Caren Bohan and Leslie Adler) SAP is the sponsor of this coverage which is independently produced by the staff of Reuters News Agency. | 1 |
2,258 | THIS AWESOME WOMAN JUST DESTROYED The Media on Their Lies About Charlottesville Narrative [Video] | WE LOVE THIS LADY! She gets what s really happening. She calls out the media and the left on hijacking the narrative on Charlottesville: I Don t Care About Charlottesville, the KKK, or White Supremacy White supremacy and the KKK. Really? That s what you guys want me to be concerned about this week? I mean there are around 6,000 klansmen left in our nation. You want me to seriously process that every day when I wake up? Why did we not hear a single thing about David Duke, white supremacy and the KKK the entire time Obama was in office? Do you think they were all hiding underground waiting for the next white president? Meeting by the light of the moon? Do you really actually mean they weren t still meeting, holding protests and having rallies? Maybe the media wasn t covering it. Use your brain. I mean the media is actually fabricating a reality tonight Honestly everybody involved in this fake racial war is a loser. | 0 |
2,259 | Watch Rep. Jim Jordan Nail Hillary On Her HUGE Lie About Benghazi [VIDEO] | Will anyone on the left even care? If she were in prison, they d still vote for her. Obama in a dress BOOM! Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) just nailed Hillary Clinton on her Benghazi lies! This was devastating.@HillaryClinton LIED. Her secret emails reveal she KNEW #Benghazi was a terror attack from the START! pic.twitter.com/Izf6YxzQi5 Progressives Today (@ProgsToday) October 22, 2015Hillary Clinton told the American people the night of the Benghazi attack that it was a reaction to a Youtube video.At 11:00 that night after she told the public it was a reaction to a YouTube video she wrote her family and told them it was an Al-Qaeda attack.this is 1st time we've heard about HRC emailing FAMILY #Benghazi was attacked by al qaeda-like group, mins after she publicly blamed video Peter Doocy (@pdoocy) October 22, 2015She knew it was a terror attack from the start.https://youtu.be/AQLQExjD990Via: Gateway Pundit | 0 |
2,260 | SHIFTING PARADIGM: You’ll Only Understand Trump and Brexit If You Understand the Failure of Globalization | 21st Century Wire says It s hard to not to draw a comparison between the Brexit referendum and the stunning surprise victory of Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election in America. Many now argue that both were a repudiation on globalization.Indeed, anxiety over the global economy as a whole contributed to 2016 s historic rejection of the status quo: big trade, big banks and Wall Street.Yesterday in his overseas speech, even President Obama acknowleged that the globalized policies of the world have absolutely contributed to a political upheaval that has given rise to Brexit vote and a Trump presidency: The current path of globalization demands a course correction, adding Any legislation that is proven flawed can be corrected through the process of democracy. Earlier this year, conservative leaning Washington Times discusssed the nature of falied policy that has led to such sluggish growth in the US over the past 7-8 years: The previously bullish Fed finally and openly acknowledged that sluggish growth is the long term new normal for America. Secular stagnation is here to stay. The growth rate has limped out of the 2008-09 recession at a 2 percent pace now for seven years. The Joint Economic Committee of Congress tells us a normal recovery gives us about 3.5 percent growth and the Reagan and JFK booms were closer to 4 percent. So the GDP today thanks to President Obama is about $2 to $3 trillion smaller than it should be. This is roughly the equivalent of losing the entire annual output of every business and worker in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana combined.Instead of speeding up to recover all this lost ground, we re decelerating. Growth was 1.4 percent in the 4th quarter of 2015. It was 0.8 percent in the first quarter of this year. The Fed now has downgraded growth now to less than 2 percent for the rest of 2016 down from an original forecast of 2.4 percent. One day after the US election, The Intercept s Glenn Greenwald (of Snowden fame) captured the frustartion that led to the Brexit vote and Trump s win. Here s a short passage from his piece: The institutions and elite factions that have spent years mocking, maligning, and pillaging large portions of the population all while compiling their own long record of failure and corruption and destruction are now shocked that their dictates and decrees go unheeded. But human beings are not going to follow and obey the exact people they most blame for their suffering. They re going to do exactly the opposite: purposely defy them and try to impose punishment in retaliation. Only time will tell what the future holds for Brexit or Trump but for the moment, the voice of the everyday man has been heard loud and clear.More from Washington s Blog below (Image Source: Onmanorama). Washington s BlogTrumpTrump made rejection of globalization a centerpiece of his campaign. In his July 21st acceptance speech as the Republican nominee, he said:Americanism, not globalism, will be our credo.The Boston Globe bannered this headline on Thursday: Trump won. Globalization lost. Now what? On election night, CNN s Jake Tapper explained that many Americans voted for Trump because they are sick of the income inequality, globalization, and politics-as-usual that the status quo have given us. He pointed out that only a handful of people have gotten rich off of globalization, and a lot of people have been left behind.Counterpunch wrote Friday:The real meaning of this upset is that Wall Street s globalization project has been rejected by the citizens of its homeland.***Trump voters had several reasons to vote for Trump other than racism . Most of all, they want their jobs back, jobs that have vanished thanks to the neoliberal policy of transferring manufacturing jobs to places with low wages.BrexitSimilarly, Brexit was largely a vote against globalization.For example, the Guardian ran an article in June explaining, Brexit is a rejection of globalisation :Britain s rejection of the EU. This was more than a protest against the career opportunities that never knock and the affordable homes that never get built. It was a protest against the economic model that has been in place for the past three decades.***Europe has failed to fulfil the historic role allocated to it. Jobs, living standards and welfare states were all better protected in the heyday of nation states in the 1950s and 1960s than they have been in the age of globalisation. Unemployment across the eurozone is more than 10%. Italy s economy is barely any bigger now than it was when the euro was created. Greece s economy has shrunk by almost a third.***Inevitably, there has been a backlash, manifested in the rise of populist parties on the left and right. An increasing number of voters believe there is not much on offer from the current system. They think globalisation has benefited a small privileged elite, but not them. They think it is unfair that they should pay the price for bankers failings. They hanker after a return to the security that the nation state provided, even if that means curbs on the core freedoms that underpin globalisation, including the free movement of people.***Torsten Bell, the director of the Resolution Foundation thinktank, analysed the voting patterns in the referendum and found that those parts of Britain with the strongest support for Brexit were those that had been poor for a long time. The result was affected by deeply entrenched national geographical inequality , he said.There has been much lazy thinking in the past quarter of a century about globalisation. As Bell notes, it is time to rethink the assumption that a flexible globalised economy can generate prosperity that is widely shared. But What Do the Experts Say?Mainstream economists, organizations and politicians including the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (and see this), McKinsey & Company and Obama now admit that globalization creates inequality. People worldwide are furious at runaway inequality and it s affecting elections globally.The Bank of International Settlements the Central Banks Central Bank says that financial globalization itself makes booms and busts far more frequent and destabilizing than they otherwise would be.The Economist pointed out in July:Most economists have been blindsided by the backlash [against globalization]. A few saw it coming. It is worth studying their reasoning .David Autor, David Dorn and Gordon Hanson have documented how the costs of America s growing trade with China has fallen disproportionately on certain cities. And so on.Branko Milanovic of the City University of New York believes such costs perpetuate a cycle of globalisation. He argues that periods of global integration and technological progress generate rising inequality .Supporters of economic integration underestimated the risks both that big slices of society would feel left behind .The New York Times reported in March:Were the experts wrong about the benefits of trade for the American economy?***Voters anger and frustration, driven in part by relentless globalization and technological change [has made Trump and Sanders popular, and] is already having a big impact on America s future, shaking a once-solid consensus that freer trade is, necessarily, a good thing. The economic populism of the presidential campaign has forced the recognition that expanded trade is a double-edged sword, wrote Jared Bernstein, former economic adviser to Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.What seems most striking is that the angry working class dismissed so often as myopic, unable to understand the economic trade-offs presented by trade appears to have understood what the experts are only belatedly finding to be true: The benefits from trade to the American economy may not always justify its costs.In a recent study, three economists David Autor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, David Dorn at the University of Zurich and Gordon Hanson at the University of California, San Diego raised a profound challenge to all of us brought up to believe that economies quickly recover from trade shocks. In theory, a developed industrial country like the United States adjusts to import competition by moving workers into more advanced industries that can successfully compete in global markets.They examined the experience of American workers after China erupted onto world markets some two decades ago. The presumed adjustment, they concluded, never happened. Or at least hasn t happened yet. Wages remain low and unemployment high in the most affected local job markets. Nationally, there is no sign of offsetting job gains elsewhere in the economy. What s more, they found that sagging wages in local labor markets exposed to Chinese competition reduced earnings by $213 per adult per year.In another study they wrote with Daron Acemoglu and Brendan Price from M.I.T., they estimated that rising Chinese imports from 1999 to 2011 cost up to 2.4 million American jobs. These results should cause us to rethink the short- and medium-run gains from trade, they argued. Having failed to anticipate how significant the dislocations from trade might be, it is incumbent on the literature to more convincingly estimate the gains from trade, such that the case for free trade is not based on the sway of theory alone, but on a foundation of evidence that illuminates who gains, who loses, by how much, and under what conditions. Continue reading Washington s Blog here READ MORE ELECTION NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire 2016 FilesSUPPORT 21WIRE SUBSCRIBE NOW & BECOME A MEMBER @21WIRE.TV | 0 |
2,261 | WATCH: Anderson Cooper BEATS DOWN Trump Campaign Manager For Being A Hypocrite | Kellyanne Conway finally got buried by a barrage of questions calling her and Trump out for being hypocrites, and it was totally epic.When FBI Director James Comey first cleared Hillary Clinton of any wrongdoing, Donald Trump attacked Comey and called the system rigged. And then Trump did the opposite when Comey announced the discovery of some more emails. Now Donald Trump is once again attacking Comey.During an interview on CNN, Anderson Cooper asked Conway to explain why Trump is still saying that Hillary is going to be indicted when the facts don t support him. Wasn t it irresponsible of him at that point to be saying such things without having any facts, particularly now that Comey has come forward and said there was nothing there? Cooper asked.Conway then launched into complaints that Hillary s campaign attacked Comey, only to be reminded by Cooper that Trump s campaign has done the same thing every time they didn t get the result they wanted.Cooper asked his original question again, and Conway still refused to answer by attacking Clinton. Conway also reasoned that it s okay for Trump to speculate without facts because some people on CNN have done so. But Cooper told Conway that just because people jump off a bridge doesn t mean you should. Conway finally was forced to say that she doesn t think Trump is being irresponsible.Conway then whined about Hillary going negative against Trump, which forced Cooper to remind her that Trump has been going negative throughout his campaign.Then Conway swerved again and focused on the Clinton Foundation. But once again, Cooper foiled her talking points by noting that we know more about the Clinton Foundation than we know about Trump s tax returns, because unlike Trump, Hillary released documents. Isn t it a little hypocritical to be using information that you know about the foundation because they actually have released all of their financial records when your candidate hasn t done any of that? Cooper asked.Of course, Conway denied the blatant hypocrisy and quizzed Cooper to answer how Trump made his money. Cooper zinged back by saying people build buildings and Trump slaps his name on them for licensing fees, which made Conway cry foul.Conway then returned to whining about Hillary s campaign attacking Comey after praising him in July. But again, Cooper hit Conway with the fact that Trump has also gone back and forth attacking and praising Comey.And then Conway claimed that Hillary had her maid print out information. Cooper flattened that claim by pointing out that it was a story by the New York Post that hasn t been confirmed.Finally, Conway claimed that Hillary is desperate by hanging out with performers like Beyonce and Jay-Z, but claimed that people are only going to those rallies to see the celebrity singers. But when Cooper pointed out that Ted Nugent is appearing with Trump at rallies Conway insisted that people are going to those rallies to see Donald Trump.Here s the video via YouTube.Over and over again, Kellyanne Conway flat out committed hypocrisy and got called out for it by Cooper. How she can actually look herself in the mirror every morning knowing that she is lying and being a hypocrite every day is a mystery. But when this election is over, Conway should never be allowed to work again in politics or in the media. And Donald Trump certainly should not be allowed to become president.Featured Image: Screenshot | 0 |
2,262 | Donald Trump Just Posted The Weirdest Ad You’ll See This Entire Election (VIDEO) | Everyone knows that Republican front runner Donald Trump s Twitter account is filled with nonsense and an absolute nightmare for any level-headed American. Trump has successfully funneled all of that bigotry and offensive rhetoric to his Instagram account, as the business mogul has just posted a completely baffling ad meant to insult Hillary Clinton while nearly destroying his friendly relationship with Russian president Vladimir Putin.Trump has previously spoken positively about Putin and defended the Russian leader several times, which won him Putin s support for presidency. But in the ad, it doesn t seem like Trump likes Putin at all it even seems like he s trying to destroy their mutually respectful bond. In the video, Putin performs MMA-style combat moves for a few seconds before a clip of an ISIS soldier pointing a gun at the camera is shown. The text reads: When it comes to facing our toughest opponents, the Democrats have the perfect answer And right as the text disappears, Trump goes after Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton by showing a clip where Clinton is barking which is ironic since Clinton was actually doing this to mock Republicans for not being able to fight our toughest opponents. This footage of Clinton is from a campaign rally in February, and happened after telling a story about an old campaign ad that made a dog bark whenever someone lied. Clinton was implying that the GOP candidates were lying through their teeth about several of their claims. Having this clip in Trump s ad is completely out of context, and makes it even more confusing.After the footage of Clinton barking, the video cuts to some really uncomfortable footage of Putin giggling creepily. The last line in the ad reads, We don t need to be a punch line! The ad is about 15 long seconds that make absolutely no sense just like Trump himself.Is this what we want for a President?A video posted by Donald J. Trump (@realdonaldtrump) on Mar 16, 2016 at 9:15am PDTFor someone who doesn t want America to become a punchline, Trump has done an amazing job making our politics look like a joke. Unfortunately, this video is getting tons of positive attention from Trump s 1.2 million Instagram followers. Since being posted this afternoon, it has already received over 22,000 likes and thousands of comments.Trump has previously railed against Clinton for imitating a dog. During a South Carolina rally, Trump criticized the former Secretary of State, stating that the press would bury him if he acted the same way. He said, If I ever did that, I would be ridiculed all over the place. I won t do it. I m not going to imitate her. However, we all know that Trump has done far worse.Given that Trump has a history of misogyny and attacks on women, this strange anti-Clinton ad is nothing new. And it makes about just as much sense as he does. Featured image via Evan Guest / Flickr | 0 |
2,263 | After delay, Republicans in Congress prepare to introduce tax bill | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives were expected on Thursday to release a tax bill offering plenty of flexibility, as they grapple with stubborn internal disagreements on paying for the tax cuts they propose. After an embarrassing one-day postponement of the bill’s unveiling on Wednesday, lawmakers have made plans for a measure that will seek up to $6 trillion in tax cuts over 10 years but likely not spell out completely how to offset them. Asked if the bill would contain a permanent corporate tax rate cut to 20 percent from 35 percent, U.S. House of Representatives tax panel Chairman Kevin Brady told reporters: “That’s our goal and I think it’s going to take several steps ... to achieve that.” Lobbyists said Republicans were having trouble reaching consensus on where to find revenue to pay for tax cuts and would likely have to make the corporate cut temporary as a result. After a White House meeting with advisers, President Donald Trump told reporters: “Sometime tomorrow, we’ll be announcing massive tax cuts and reform.” House Republican leaders and tax panel members were slated to meet with Trump in the White House on Thursday afternoon. From mortgage interest and 401(k) retirement plans to the federal deficit and state and local taxes, numerous unanswered questions swirled around the tax-cut plan as lawmakers met into the evening on Capitol Hill. Representative Tom MacArthur, asked if fellow Republicans could meet their ambitious deadline of approving a tax bill by the Nov. 23 Thanksgiving holiday, told reporters: “I’ve been called a lot of things but ‘prophet’ is not one of them.” Since taking over Congress and the White House in January, the Republicans and Trump have yet to score a major legislative accomplishment. That will change, they say, when they overhaul the tax code for the first time in 31 years. But they are fast discovering why every attempt to do that has failed since former Republican President Ronald Reagan’s historic tax reform in 1986. Unlike the nearly three-year Reagan effort involving public hearings and bipartisan cooperation, the Trump tax plan was developed in secret over a few months by six senior lawmakers and White House advisers who took little input from rank-and-file Republicans and largely ignored the Democrats. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said in a statement that the “chaotic delay” of the tax bill’s release showed Republicans were “pushing a half-baked tax bill with ruinous consequences for workers and middle-class Americans.” MacArthur said the plan’s biggest challenge was a proposed elimination of a deduction for state and local tax (SALT) payments, which is among several revenue-raising changes meant to offset proposed tax cuts. Other lawmakers and lobbyists cited different concerns with the bill.. Republicans from high-tax states where upper-middle-class voters would be hardest hit by the SALT deduction repeal were unsure if the bill on Thursday would address their concerns. Representative Lee Zeldin from New York said he wanted “major changes” to preserve state and local tax deductibility. “I was encouraged when I heard Chairman Brady refer to the draft that’s about to get released as not being the final text,” said Zeldin. MacArthur, from New Jersey, said a compromise proposal being worked on to maintain and cap the deductibility of property tax payments was a good start but the cap would need to be raised to earn his support. Trump, largely playing cheerleader in the debate, tweeted advice on paying for the cuts. “Wouldn’t it be great to Repeal the very unfair and unpopular Individual Mandate in ObamaCare and use those savings for further Tax Cuts,” he said in a Twitter post. Afterward, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters that the administration still wanted to repeal and replace Obamacare, but “we still think it’s probably more likely to do something like that in the spring.” An attempt to dismantle former Democratic President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare, failed dramatically in the Republican-controlled Senate in July. 401(k) IN PLAY Another contentious revenue-raising proposal in the plan is to limit how much money Americans can put into their 401(k) retirement accounts and individual retirement accounts (IRAs) on a pre-tax basis. There was also a proposal to limit the deductibility of interest payments by businesses. Restrictions are opposed by businesses with little access to equity financing, including farmers, ranchers and small businesses. A rough framework of the tax plan was unveiled in late September, but its basic components were changing. It originally called for reducing the number of tax brackets to three from seven, with the current top tax rate of 39.6 percent reduced to 35 percent, a win for high-income taxpayers. Partly in response to Democrats who dismissed the plan as a giveaway to corporations and the wealthy, lawmakers are expected to restore a fourth 39.6 percent tax bracket but increase the income level where it applies, perhaps to $1 million, more than double the current level. Questions remained about the original framework’s proposal to repeal the estate tax on inheritances, another policy change that would favor wealthy Americans. Discussion was ongoing about possibly phasing it out. Lawmakers also have not resolved a challenge posed by Trump’s plan to lower the tax rate on pass-through enterprises, such as partnerships and sole proprietorships, to 25 percent from as high as 39.6 percent, they said. | 1 |
2,264 | Border crossing closed as body of Pakistani diplomat shot in Afghanistan returned | ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - The Khyber Pass border between Pakistan and Afghanistan was closed to all traffic on Tuesday for the return of a Pakistani diplomat who was shot dead in Afghanistan by unknown gunmen. Pakistan summoned the Afghan charge d affaires in Islamabad to protest against the killing of consular official Nayyar Iqbal Rana on Monday near his residence in the eastern city of Jalalabad, Pakistan s foreign office said in a statement. Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have been going through a stormy period with tensions over the latest U.S. strategic plan for the region and disputes over the Torkham border crossing, which Pakistan has closed periodically. We received the body of late Nayyar Iqbal Rana in Torkham today, a government official in Torkham who asked not to be identified told Reuters. The Pakistan-Afghanistan border was closed for all types of traffic. Afghanistan s ambassador to Pakistan, Omar Zakhilwal, condemned the killing in a message on Twitter and said he had conveyed his government s sympathies to the ministry of foreign affairs in Islamabad. The killing comes around a week after the deputy governor of Kunar province in eastern Afghanistan was kidnapped near the Pakistani city of Peshawar, although there was no immediate indication of any connection between the two. | 1 |
2,265 | Desperation? The Clinton Grifters Go Back On The Campaign Trail | The World Class Grifters aka The Clintons are going on the road to campaign. Does anyone else smell desperation? Can Hillary not stand on her own two feet? Bill is also known as Slick Willy so perhaps Hillary s thinking everyone forgot his sexcapades while in office. This could make for some great political theatre Ol Bubba is the gift that keeps on giving. Just when he thought it was safe to hit the road again, Hillary reminds a new generation of voters why wise and prudent men lock up their wives and daughters when Bubba s in the neighborhoodShe has dispatched Bubba to campaign for her next week in New Hampshire. Bubba knows how to do politics there s nobody better and Hillary, who s a whiz at squeezing boodle from contributors with payback on their minds, hasn t a clue. When she occasionally has a good week, she follows the next with a blunder.Bubba has stepped forward in recent days to take over the retail end of the family business, and was looking forward to doing what he does best. But he forgot to put a leash and a muzzle on Hillary, who decided it was a good time to take on Donald Trump. Not a good idea.She was offended by the Donald s coarseness and rudeness, forgetting who was talking. She pretended to be shocked by the Donald s locker-room swagger, and specifically his mockery of her campaign prowess against Barack Obama in 2008. She was going to beat Obama, the Donald had told a crowd in Grand Rapids. She was going to beat she was favored to win and she got schlonged. She lost. It s not clear whether the lady was offended by the reminder of how she squandered that opportunity, or by his use of obscure Yiddish slang for a man s most precious junk.Nevertheless, the first lady who frequently turned the White House air blue with her muleskinner language played the delicate-flower card as defender of women against the Donald and the Republican war on women. Read more: WT | 0 |
2,266 | Earthquake hits off Papua New Guinea | LONDON (Reuters) - A magnitude 5.9 earthquake hit off the coast of Papua New Guinea in the early hours of Monday local time, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said. The quake struck at a depth of 37 km (23 miles), in the sea southwest of Kandrian soon after midnight (1426 GMT Sunday), the center added. | 1 |
2,267 | Marseille attacker probably radicalized by brother: police | ROME (Reuters) - The brother of the man who killed two women with a knife outside Marseille train station last week was probably a foreign fighter in Syria and Iraq, Italian investigators said on Monday. Italian police arrested 25-year-old Tunisian Anis Hannachi in Northern Italy on Saturday evening. He had been in Italy since Oct. 4 or earlier, police said. His older brother, the 29-year-old Ahmed, was shot dead by a French soldier after killing the two women on Oct. 1. Ahmed lived south of Rome with his Italian wife from 2008 to 2014, and was known to police only for petty crimes , Italy s chief anti-terrorism prosecutor Franco Roberti told reporters. Ahmed never showed any signs of radicalization in Italy, Roberti said. The investigative hypothesis we re working on is that the younger brother radicalized the older one. The militant Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the Marseille attack, but did not name Ahmed as the assailant. Anis has refused to talk to Italian investigators, Roberti said. He was arrested on an international arrest warrant issued by the French, who are investigating the Marseille attack as a probable terrorist action. It is likely that Anis will be extradited to France in a matter of days, Roberti added. Anis was flagged as a dangerous individual who probably had been a foreign fighter in Iraq and Syria, Claudio Galzerano, director of an Italian anti-terrorism police squad, told reporters. Anis was arrested on suspicion of complicity in his brother s attack and membership of a terrorist group. He had been fingerprinted and photographed by police in 2014, when he reached Italy by boat and was immediately sent back home. However, that previous identification meant police were sure they had arrested the right man when they tracked him down on Saturday evening riding a bicycle in the center of Ferrara, in Northern Italy. He had no identification on him, gave police a false name, and told them he was Algerian, Galzerano said. Police are now investigating Anis s possible contacts in Italy. The Marseille attacker s estranged wife told Italy s Corriere della Sera newspaper on Sunday that she did not believe Ahmed had become a radical Islamist. He didn t care about religion, Ramona Cargnelutti told Corriere in an interview. I ve never seen him enter a Mosque. While admitting she had not seen him for more than two years, she said the murder of the two women was more likely a robbery gone wrong because he was a drug user and always in need of cash. Roberti said Italian prosecutors will be talking to Cargnelutti in the coming days as part of their investigation. | 1 |
2,268 | Syrian army captures Islamic State position, eyes final stronghold | BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Syrian army and its allies seized an oil pumping station in eastern Syria from Islamic State, paving the way for an advance towards the jihadists last remaining Syrian stronghold, a Hezbollah-run news service reported on Thursday. The T2 pumping station is considered a launch pad for the army and its allies to advance towards the town of Albu Kamal ... which is considered the last remaining stronghold of the Daesh organization in Syria , the report said. Albu Kamal is located in Deir al-Zor province at the Syrian border with Iraq, just over the frontier from the Iraqi town of al-Qaim. Iraq declared on Thursday the start of an offensive to capture al-Qaim and Rawa, the last patch of Iraqi territory still in IS hands. Islamic State s self-declared caliphate has crumbled this year with the fall of the Syrian city of Raqqa and the Iraqi city of Mosul. In Syria, the group is now mostly confined to a shrinking strip of territory in Deir al-Zor province. The U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State is waging a separate campaign against the group in Deir al-Zor, focused on areas to the east of the Euphrates River which bisects the province. Albu Kamal is located on the western bank of the river. | 1 |
2,269 | Those Intel Reports That Nunes Ran To Trump With Reveal A BOMBSHELL That Trump Will HATE | Remember the House Intelligence Committee s investigation into the Trump-Russia connection, and how Chairman Devin Nunes compromised it by running to Trump with documents he should have shown to his fellow committee members first? And how he then had to recuse himself from the investigation for all of that? It seems that those documents do, in fact, contain a bombshell, but it s not the one that Trump insisted we d find.House Republicans and Democrats have completed their review of those documents, and they demonstrate that nobody in the Obama administration wiretapped Trump at any time, nor did they do anything unusual, let alone illegal, with foreign surveillance. Even the scandal that Republicans tried to create around Susan Rice s request to unmask certain members of Trump s campaign turned out to be a big ol nothingburger.One particular Congressional source said that Rice s requests were both normal and appropriate, and another said that there are absolutely no smoking guns present that demonstrate Rice and Obama did anything wrong. This vindicates Rice s assertions that her requests were normal: There were occasions when I would receive a report in which a US person was referred to name not provided, just a US person and sometimes in that context, in order to understand the importance of the report, and assess its significance, it was necessary to find out, or request the information as to who the US official was.The notion that some people are trying to suggest, is that by asking for the identity of a person is leaking it, is unequivocally false. There is no connection between unmasking and leaking. Trump isn t going to like this. It makes him look like a bigger paranoid, narcissistic moron than ever over these tweets:Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my wires tapped in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 4, 2017Is it legal for a sitting President to be wire tapping a race for president prior to an election? Turned down by court earlier. A NEW LOW! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 4, 2017I d bet a good lawyer could make a great case out of the fact that President Obama was tapping my phones in October, just prior to Election! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 4, 2017How low has President Obama gone to tapp my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 4, 2017He also said he felt somewhat vindicated by what was in those reports. But besides that, he thought this was going to be a yuuuuuuuuuuge story. When he was asked whether he thought Rice acted illegally, he said, Do I think? Yes, I think. He also said: I think it s going to be the biggest story. It s such an important story for our country and the world. Nunes looks like an idiot too, and now should probably resign his chairmanship. If Trump says anything, expect him to double down on his accusations. He doesn t let anything go and he doesn t ever admit he s wrong.Featured image by Alex Wong via Getty Images | 0 |
2,270 | Second House panel approves Obamacare replacement plan | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Republican plan backed by President Donald Trump to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system passed through a second congressional panel on Thursday, despite controversy among lawmakers, hospitals and insurers about its unknown costs and impact on coverage. The House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee approved the proposal to repeal and replace former President Barack Obama’s “Affordable Care Act” by a vote of 31-23, after debating the draft legislation for more than 24 hours. The plan had been approved early on Thursday by the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee. | 1 |
2,271 | Sean Spicer: When Trump Blamed ‘Obama’ Earlier ‘Obviously’ He Didn’t Mean ‘Obama’ (VIDEO) | Lyin Donald Trump tweeted this morning that former President Barack Obama was responsible for 122 vicious prisoners being released from Guantanamo Bay and returning to the battlefield. However, that never happened. Trump is blaming an unemployed black guy for his predecessor s actions. Trump s tweet read, 122 vicious prisoners, released by the Obama Administration from Gitmo, have returned to the battlefield. Just another terrible decision! That s some real Alt-fact thinking right there. So White House press secretary Sean Spicer had to clean up after his boss s mess but he did a terrible job.The Office of the Director of National Intelligence states that 113 of the 122 former detainees who have taken up arms again were released before Obama s first term, meaning during the Bush administration s time in office. Obviously the president meant in totality, the number that had been released on the battlefield that have been released from Gitmo since individuals have been released, Spicer told reporters on Tuesday. That is correct. We know that hurts your brain, too.Sure, OBVIOUSLY, when Trump said Obama he really meant something else.The White House is backpedaling on Trump s accusation that Obama tapped the amateur president before the election. CNN s Jim Acosta asked Spicer, Where is the proof? Spicer said that it s not a question of new proof or less proof or whatever, but it s about bringing in Congress to get to the bottom of this.Then this happened:New York Times Glenn Thrush followed up by pressing Spicer again on the evidence for Trump s claims, and after that Reuters Ayesha Rascoe asked Spicer about whether Trump can just make declarative statements like that on Twitter and then get committees to look into it.Spicer went on to insist that going through the intelligence committees is the proper avenue for investigating. Rascoe asked whether we should, then, be taking Trump s tweets at face value. Watch Spicer squirm:That s what you call a swing and a miss, Sean.White House spokesman Sean Spicer says WH will not present any proof of President Trump's allegation that President Obama committed a crime. Binyamin Appelbaum (@BCAppelbaum) March 7, 2017Spicer doesn t want the GOP plan to replace Obamacare called Trumpcare and we don t blame him because it s a fucking raw deal for everyone except the wealthy.Sean Spicer "It's not TrumpCare, it's PatientCare."Yes, be PATIENT because you'll need to win the lottery to afford it.#PressBriefing Tommy Campbell (@MrTommyCampbell) March 7, 2017Back to Gitmo. As it happens, more than 500 detainees were released by George W. Bush and we re not hatin .Here s the video:Featured image via screen capture. | 0 |
2,272 | BREAKING! SHOCKING VIDEO FROM CHARLOTTE RIOTS: “The situation is out of control!” | Protest underway in Charlotte: Things got completely out of hand @Boris_Sanchez is on the ground w/ the latest. https://t.co/UQ8XOOnFyN Anderson Cooper 360 (@AC360) September 22, 2016 | 0 |
2,273 | Libyan forces hit Islamic State camp with air strike: commander | BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - East Libyan forces said they launched air strikes against suspected Islamic State militants on Wednesday south of the jihadist group s former stronghold of Sirte. The Libyan air force struck and destroyed the biggest concentration of Daesh (Islamic State) south of Sirte, after monitoring the site over a period of time, said Sherif al-Awami, an air force commander with the Libyan National Army. The site contained a large camp with military vehicles and stocks of petrol and water and had been used as a base for mounting attacks, he said. Islamic State was driven from Sirte last year and has been trying to regroup in the desert to the south, launching occasional forays into inhabited areas and attacks against local forces. The United States has reported launching three sets of air strikes against jihadist camps in the area this year. | 1 |
2,274 | U.S.-led jets strike in Syria to block Islamic State evacuation deal | BEIRUT (Reuters) - U.S.-led warplanes on Wednesday blocked a convoy of Islamic State fighters and their families from reaching territory the group holds in eastern Syria and struck some of their comrades traveling to meet them, a coalition spokesman said. The strikes were aimed at stopping an evacuation deal for Islamic State fighters to leave their enclave on the Lebanon-Syria border for areas they hold in eastern Syria, arranged by the Lebanese Hezbollah group and the Syrian army. It was part of a ceasefire agreed after offensives last week by the Lebanese army on one front, and the Syrian army and Hezbollah on another, that pushed Islamic State back into a small part of its enclave straddling the frontier. The deal has been criticized by the coalition and by Iraq, whose army is also fighting Islamic State in areas contiguous with the eastern Syria region to which the convoy was headed. The convoy, carrying 308 militants and 331 civilians according to Hezbollah, is now effectively stranded, unable to move forward into Islamic State territory. It shows how easily such evacuations to other areas, which the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has increasingly used to push rebel pockets to surrender, can be derailed in a conflict with many sides. A commander in the military alliance supporting Assad said the coalition had contacted the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, which is accompanying the convoy and warned that if it entered Islamic State territory, it might attack. Islamic State is on the back foot in both Syria and Iraq, losing swathes of its territory and its most important towns and cities after taking advantage of chaos including the six-year civil war in Syria to win ground. In Syria, the U.S.-led coalition is backing an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias in the north which are assaulting the jihadist group s former de facto capital of Raqqa. The Russian-backed Syrian army and allied Shi ite militia from Iraq and Lebanon including Hezbollah have this year seized most of the central desert from the group, and are advancing eastwards to relieve the army s besieged enclave in Deir al-Zor. The coalition strikes to block the convoy moving into Islamic State territory took place east of Humeima, near the edge of land held by the Syrian government, coalition spokesman Ryan Dillon told Reuters. We did crater the road and destroyed a small bridge to prevent this convoy from moving further east, Dillon told Reuters by phone. He later said the coalition had struck vehicles containing Islamic State fighters that were heading to that area from deeper inside the territory they control to the east. He did not know if the evacuation convoy, which contains buses of fighters and their family members, as well as ambulances carrying wounded fighters, was now in Islamic State or Syrian government territory. On Tuesday morning a Hezbollah-run military media unit reported the convoy had reached an exchange point into Islamic State territory. The evacuation deal also involved Islamic State revealing the fate of nine Lebanese soldiers it took captive in its border enclave in 2014, and surrendering Hezbollah and Syrian army prisoners and bodies in east Syria. The commander in the pro-Assad military alliance said it was considering an alternative location for the convoy to cross into Islamic State territory. Now things are moving to change the place from Humeima and head north towards Sukhna, the commander said. We re not bound by these agreements, Dillon said, apparently referring to the ceasefire deal. They re clearly fighters and they re moving to another location to fight yet again. In accordance with the law of armed conflict ... we will strike them if we are able to do so, he said, adding that direct strikes on the convoy would only take place if the militants could be separated from civilians. Brett McGurk, the U.S. envoy to the coalition, criticized the evacuation deal in a statement early on Wednesday before the strikes were reported, saying: Relocating terrorists from one place to another for someone else to deal with is not a lasting solution . Separately, the leader of Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, defended the Lebanese group s involvement in the evacuation deal in a statement responding to criticism of the move from Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. Abadi said on Tuesday: Transporting this number of terrorists from long distance to eastern Syria adjacent to Iraqi borders is unacceptable . Nasrallah said it was a Hezbollah deal agreed upon by the Syrian leadership, that the fighters were few in number, and were being moved from one front Hezbollah was fighting in to another. Lebanon is a major recipient of U.S. and British military aid. It says its offensive against Islamic State last week was separate to the simultaneous one made against the same pocket from inside Syria by the Syrian army and Hezbollah, regarded by the U.S. and Britain as a terrorist group. On Wednesday the Lebanese army said its head General Joseph Aoun had been phoned by the commander of U.S. Central Command Joseph Votel congratulating him on the offensive and pledging to continue arming Lebanon s army. | 1 |
2,275 | ABOVE THE LAW: Obama Goes Around Congress (Again) To Place Gag Order On Reporting About Firearms | Ultimate gun control is the end game of Barack Obama and his regime period.On June 1 Breitbart News reported on Obama s Spring 2015 Unified Agenda. The gun control measures contained therein which were to be passed by executive fiat.Since that time Representatives like Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY)91% (R-KY-4th) have placed riders on a DOJ appropriations bill to stop portions of the executive gun control push in its tracks. Now the NRA-ILA is revealing that the Obama administration is working behind the scenes to stifle reporting on firearms.From the NRA-ILA:Even as news reports have been highlighting the gun control provisions of the Administration s Unified Agenda of regulatory objectives, the Obama State Department has been quietly moving ahead with a proposal that could censor online speech related to firearms.How can this happen?Like this: The administration is reworking the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). One of the many things regulated by ITAR are technical data tied to defense articles. This includes, but is not limited to, detailed design, development, production or manufacturing information about ammunition and firearms.More specifically, this kind of technical data would be blueprints, drawings, photographs, plans, instructions or documentation related to ammunition and firearms.While ITAR and its regulations have not been a concern in the past, as far as constraining or limiting material posted on publicly available websites, there are some within the current State Department arguing that anything published online in a generally-accessible location has essentially been exported, simply by virtue of being posted, and is therefore under the purview of ITAR.Moreover, last week the State Department put forth a proposal clarifying how to handle releases containing technical data which are posted online or otherwise distributed into the public domain. Ultimately, the proposal would require those releasing technical data on ammunition or firearms to first seek government approval.Here s how the NRA-ILA summed it up:The proposal would institute a massive new prior restraint on free speech. This is because all such releases would require the authorization of the government before they occurred. The cumbersome and time-consuming process of obtaining such authorizations, moreover, would make online communication about certain technical aspects of firearms and ammunition essentially impossible.Public comments on the proposed changes to ITAR will be accepted until August 3, 2015. You can submit those comments at regulations.gov or e-mail them to DDTCPublicComments@state.gov with the subject line indicating the comments concern the ITAR Amendment Revisions to Definitions; Data Transmission and Storage. Via: Breitbart News | 0 |
2,276 | Clinton Foundation Didn’t Report $20 Million In Foreign Donations | Gosh, I wonder why The Clinton Foundation has come under fire in the past for foreign donations:A previous donor, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, has given between $10 million and $25 million since the foundation was created in 1999.This is all a question of ethics both for the donations to possibly curry favor with Clinton and the omission of lots and lots of money .The Clinton Foundation failed to report $20 million in donations from governments to the Internal Revenue Service, newly refiled tax returns show.Reuters reported that the foundation disclosed the $20 million it received from governments, most of them foreign, between 2010 and 2013 when it and a spin-off organization refiled tax returns from six years to fix errors.The Bill, Hillary, & Chelsea Clinton Foundation did not previously separate out its donations from governments on old tax returns as is mandated by the IRS.The foundation refiled tax returns from 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013 and a charity spun off from the foundation, the Clinton Health Access Initiative, refiled its own returns from 2012 and 2013 after both were found to have made errors reporting funds from foreign governments. The revelations about inaccuracies came just as Hillary Clinton, a Democratic candidate for president, endured scrutiny for the millions of dollars that her family foundation has received from foreign governments.Via: WFB | 0 |
2,277 | Senate confirms FCC chairman to new five-year term | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Monday confirmed Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai for another five-year term on the telecommunications regulatory panel where he faces decisions over dismantling Obama-era internet protections and a major television station merger. Pai won confirmation by 52-41 over objections from Democrats, who criticized him for moving to deregulate U.S. telecommunications rules. Republicans praised him for taking steps to boost rural internet service. The former Justice Department, FCC and Capitol Hill staffer has been moving swiftly to undo many of the regulations adopted by the FCC during the Obama administration since assuming the chairmanship and vowed in December to take a “weed whacker” to unneeded rules. Pai pledged in a statement on Monday to continue to focus “on bridging the digital divide, promoting innovation, protecting consumers and public safety, and making the FCC more open and transparent.” He joined the FCC as a commissioner in March 2012 and was elevated to chairman by President Donald Trump in January. In April, Pai proposed overturning the 2015 net neutrality rules, with a final vote expected later this year. Pai “has established a clear record of favoring big corporations at the expense of consumers, innovators, and small businesses,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said. The rules, which the FCC put in place under Democratic President Barack Obama, prohibit broadband providers from giving or selling access to a speedier internet - essentially a “fast lane.” Senator John Thune, a Republican who chairs the Commerce Committee, praised Pai’s proposal to withdraw the Obama internet rules and “rebalance its regulatory posture.” The rules reclassified internet service providers much like utilities. They were favored by web companies like Facebook Inc, Alphabet Inc and others, which said they would guarantee equal access to the internet. Internet providers such as AT&T Inc, Verizon Communications Inc and Comcast Corp argue the net neutrality rules make investment in additional capacity less likely and could lead to rate regulation. In April, the FCC voted 2-1 for Pai’s proposal to reverse a 2016 decision that limits the number of television stations some broadcasters can buy. That cleared the way for Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc’s proposed $3.9 billion acquisition of Tribune Media Co. Senator Elizabeth Warren on Monday criticized Pai for “working for the most powerful communications corporations” and making it easier for the Sinclair deal to proceed. | 1 |
2,278 | Trump BETRAYS House Republicans, HUMILIATES Them For Trying To Weaken Ethics Office (TWEETS) | Yesterday, House Republicans set themselves up for loads of humiliation after they quietly voted to take away the independence of the Office of Congressional Ethics without giving any warning whatsoever.Republicans in Congress had been trying to take away the ability of the ethic watchdog to do its own independent investigations. As soon as the announcement was made, these GOPers were faced with an onslaught of criticism for trying to help aide corruption and keep the public in the dark. To make the criticism even more humiliating, one of those people was President-elect Donald Trump.On Tuesday morning, Trump decided to abandon the Republican Party and blast them on Twitter for making the gutting of the ethics office their first priority when there were more pressing matters at hand:Twitter TwitterIt is important to note that Trump isn t necessarily condemning the House GOP s choice to limit the ethics office Trump is merely upset about the timing of it. Sean Spicer, Trump s incoming press secretary, set the record straight with reporters that Trump s annoyance with the Republicans had nothing to do with the action itself, as Jennifer Bendery pointed out:TwitterThe GOP has been so humiliated by the response from Trump and many others that they ve practically been forced to take back their vote. Shortly after Trump tweeted his disapproval of the initiative, the House GOP held an emergency meeting where they unanimously voted to abandon the issue for now. Many Republicans plan to return to the idea later on, once the criticism has died down.TwitterThe GOP has truly gotten an embarrassing start to 2017, already having to back down from one of their corrupt ideas after their own Republican Party leader trashed it. If the GOP thought Trump was going to have their back all the time, they have another thing coming.Featured image via Mark Wilson / Getty Images | 0 |
2,279 | Trump Made Comedy Central Sorry They Ever Wanted To Roast Him In 2011 | The Comedy Central roasts of celebrities are well known and hilarious, for the most part. While it doesn t look like the roastees know what s going on, and that everything is entirely off-the-cuff, the truth is that there is a lot of preparation ahead of the actual roast. Roastees get some input, even getting to tell the comedy writers what subjects are off-limits for jokes, but, beyond that, they don t dictate very much.And then there s Donald Trump. Putting his roast together seems to have been one long, horrific chore for the Comedy Central team assigned to it. In fact, that roast is perhaps some of the strongest evidence we ve got that Trump is unconscionably thin-skinned, and will continue to be after the election. Roastees for the Comedy Central roasts know what s involved. They know they re going to be skewered. If they don t like the idea, they don t have to do it.It makes us want to look at Trump and say, DUH! At Comedy Central, Trump apparently wanted to dictate everything, all the way down to the level of beauty in the women who were to escort him on stage. According to the stage manager: The proposed woman [who would take his coat onstage], Trump said, was not somebody he wanted to be associated with at that moment, Ferkle recalled. In other words, she was not pretty enough. To appease Trump, Comedy Central moved the actress elsewhere on the stage, Ferkle said. The show went on. That s fairly typical Trumpian misogyny, so not all that surprising. What s perhaps more surprising were the other ways that Trump drove the staff up the wall. For instance, he was apparently giving the show s writers and producers hell over whether jokes about his hair were allowed. The lead writer, Ray James, tried working with Trump on why hair jokes were a necessary part of the roast. Trump resisted, because of course he did: I had to explain to him why he needed to have some jokes about his own hair. I said, You have to own it. If you have a great hair joke, you will be impervious to hair jokes.' Instead, Trump kept nixing the hair jokes, and wanted to replace one of them with a simple, Look how great [my hair] looks. Because that s just hilarious. But perhaps the most annoying thing was that the writers had to draft multiple rebuttals for Trump. The rebuttal comes at the end of the roast, when the roastee gets up and turns it all back on his or her roasters. Trump was returning scripts marked up entirely with black Sharpies, including blacking out punchlines.Nobody blacks out punchlines, according to the roast s producers and writers. One writer, Jesse Joyce, said: I have done this a long time and nobody blacks out punchlines. [Scrapping punchlines represents] a classic lack of an understanding of how a joke works. And Trump couldn t be consistent about his edits (if, indeed, they can be called that), either. He took out some opportunities to be crass while wallowing in others. He also changed some of the jokes from funny to not funny; again, showing a fundamental unwillingness to even try and understand what was being put before him: Trump made a few lackluster attempts at cracking wise. He changed a joke meant to slam [Seth] MacFarlane from: The only way you ll ever draw a crowd is with a pencil. Trump s revision: The only crowd you ll attract is flies.' He also wanted to roast the entire dais at once by, well, being entirely himself. How this is even a joke is beyond us, since everything he does is to feel superior to everyone on the planet: Their [sic] all losers and I like associating with loser because it makes me feel even better about myself. It got to the point where Ray James just wanted to destroy Trump in any way possible: I begged any writer to get on board, James said. Let s write jokes about this guy having a small cock. I wanted to destroy this man and expose him as having a tiny penis because that will hurt him more than any jokes about his family or orange skin.' That didn t work. Furthermore, given the fact that Trump just had to talk about his penis size in response to Rubio s jab about his tiny hands during a televised debate, it s likely the dick jokes probably wouldn t have made it in anyway. If they had, he probably would have lost it up onstage.The entire roast was classic Trump. He sat on the stage with a tight smile, not really responding, much the same way he did at the 2011 White House correspondents dinner when Obama roasted him. Despite knowing what was coming, he couldn t take anyone making fun of him and probably relished trying to hurt them back.Comedy Central s president sees the roast as prophetic of what s happening today: It is impossible to not see how absurd the whole thing is. If you go back and watch the roast, there re probably a lot of oddly prophetic things being said that are relevant today. But just the idea that someone who did a Comedy Central Roast [is] a major party [nominee] for president is pretty shocking. Especially when that person couldn t handle being criticized, teased, or otherwise treated as anything other than the god he thinks he is.Featured image by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images | 0 |
2,280 | Trump and spy chief differ on what was said in call on Russia dossier | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. spy chief James Clapper and President-elect Donald Trump gave different accounts of a phone conversation they had about a dossier of unverified, salacious claims linking Russia to Trump, who is locked in a war of words with the intelligence agencies he will command in eight days. A newcomer to politics, businessman Trump has been at odds with U.S. spy agencies for months, disputing their conclusions that Russia used hacking and other tactics to try to tilt the 2016 presidential election in his favor. On Wednesday, he acknowledged the point but opened a new battlefront, responding to media reports of unsubstantiated claims that he was caught in a compromising position in Russia by accusing intelligence agencies of practices reminiscent of Nazi Germany. In a Wednesday night statement Clapper, director of national intelligence, said that in a call with Trump he expressed his dismay over media leaks. Clapper added that he did not believe the leaks came from U.S. intelligence agencies. Clapper said he emphasized to Trump that the report was not produced by U.S. intelligence agencies and that they had not judged whether the information was reliable. He did not say the document was false. By contrast, Trump suggested in a tweet on Thursday that Clapper agreed that the report was untrue. “James Clapper called me yesterday to denounce the false and fictitious report that was illegally circulated. Made up, phony facts. Too bad!” Trump wrote. Democratic congressman Adam Schiff, an opponent of the Republican Trump, was asked by CNN on Thursday morning about Trump’s characterization of Clapper’s statement that the document was false. “Sadly, you cannot rely on the president-elect’s tweets or statements about what he’s receiving in intelligence briefings. And that’s a real problem,” said Schiff, the leading Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee. “If people really want to know what Director Clapper had to say to Donald Trump, do not rely on Donald Trump’s tweets, rely on Director Clapper’s statement.” At a news conference before speaking to Clapper, Trump accused U.S. intelligence agencies of leaking the document to the media. Two U.S. officials said the allegations about Trump, which one called “unsubstantiated,” were contained in a two-page memo appended to a report on Russian interference in the 2016 election given to Trump and President Barack Obama. CNN reported on Tuesday about the existence of the memo. BuzzFeed published a fuller 35-page document produced by a former British foreign intelligence official that outlined the allegations of compromising behavior by Trump and his purported ties with people in Russia. The claims were included in reports about Trump known as opposition research reports prepared for political rivals of Trump during the 2016 presidential election campaign. | 1 |
2,281 | House Speaker Ryan says rates must be permanent in tax reform | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan on Thursday rejected speculation that future tax legislation could include temporary tax cuts for businesses, saying macro-economic elements of tax reform including rates must be permanent. “We very passionately believe that permanence is very, very important. So the big decision-making provisions in the tax code? - That stuff’s got to be permanent,” Ryan said in an interview with CNBC television. “There are other things you can do that can have time dates on it, to make sure that the numbers work. But the big macro-economic policies - the rates and things like that - that stuff has to be made permanent.” Ryan also said Republicans intend to keep a popular homeowner deduction for mortgage interest payments that some have talked about capping to help pay for tax cuts. But he indicated the deduction could change. “We recognize, acknowledge and believe you need to maintain the mortgage interest deduction. Whether it can be improved and how it works, that’s a discussion we’ll have on an ongoing basis,” Ryan said. President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress have vowed to slash business tax rates and overhaul the U.S. tax code before year end, with a Republican-only strategy that requires a special parliamentary procedure to get legislation through the Senate on a simple majority. Republicans control the Senate by only a 52-48 margin. But they have struggled to find ways to pay for lower rates without violating Senate rules by expanding the federal deficit outside a 10-year budget window. Lobbyists say closed-door discussions between Congress and the Trump administration have considered an approach that would make tax cuts sunset after a decade, avoiding a Senate rule violation. But without permanent tax rates, Ryan said that businesses would be less likely to make the multi-year, multibillion-dollar investments necessary for driving economic growth, which Republicans say is their ultimate goal. “There are some who have said that because of our budget process, we might want to go temporary. It doesn’t actually work that way,” he said. “Permanence works, permanence is necessary and permanence is absolutely doable.” | 1 |
2,282 | HILLARY JUST CAN’T STOP LYING…Even after she lost the election | The chance encounter a mother hiking with her daughter had with Hillary Clinton the day after losing the election may not be what it has been made out to seem.Margot Gerster was out hiking with her daughter when she ran into Hillary and Bill Clinton in the upstate New York town of Chappaqua, where the Clintons have a home. She took a photo with the former first lady who beamed from ear to ear, appearing to have had the weight of the world lifted from her shoulders as she stood next to Gerster. Clinton was said to have been out walking her dogs with former president Bill Clinton, when Gerster spotted them.The chance encounter Gerster had with Clinton gained national media attention as it was the first time Clinton had been photographed after losing the election. However, some critics allege that their meeting while hiking was staged and not random at all. Adding more fuel to those claims is the fact that it s actually not the first time they ve met. When Gerster was in high school, her mother held a fundraiser for Clinton at Crabtree s Kittle House in Chappaqua. Gerster and her sister posed for a photo with Clinton inside the restaurant which happens to be one of the politician s favorites, as the siblings smiled next to a beaming Clinton. The fundraiser their family hosted may have been during the period of time Clinton was running for senator or when she served as senator for New York. Read more: DAILY MAIL | 0 |
2,283 | Obama Shows How He’s Going To Destroy Trump This Fall And It’s Hilarious | President Obama is widely expected to be an extremely valuable asset for the Democratic Party in this November s general election, and he gave a preview of just how he d rip Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump to shreds at a campaign event on Friday night.Speaking to Democrats in Austin, Texas, President Obama talked about Trump s ridiculous Trump steaks show and tell session, noting that there s a debate inside of the other party that is fantasy, and school yard taunts, and sellin stuff like it s the home shopping network. Obama also mocked the Republican establishment for claiming they are surprised by the hate that Trump has whipped up. From the White House pool report:Obama also again mocked establishment Republicans, who he argues say We re shocked someone is fanning anti-immigrant or anti-muslim sentiment! We re shocked!. We re shocked that someone could be loose with the facts. Or distort someone s record. Shocked! How could you be shocked? This was the guy who was sure I was born in Kenya. And wasn t letting go As long as it was being directed at me they were fine with it. It was a hoot and suddenly they re shocked! That gamblings going on in this establishment, he said.Obama said Donald Trump is A distillation of what has been going on in their party for more than a decade this is the message that s been fed that you just deny the evidence of science. That compromise is a betrayal. That the other side isn t simply wrong, we disagree the other side is destroying the country. Or treasonous. Look it up, that s what they ve been saying. So they can t be surprised when somebody says, I can make up stuff better than that.' As other Democrats have made clear, Obama said the right had to own what is happening in Trump s campaign: The reaction is something they have to take responsibility for and then make an adjustment. It is clear that Obama will be out on the trail, making sure that a campaign of hate does not usher in his successor. Trump has a world of rhetorical hate coming towards him from the President.Featured image via YouTube | 0 |
2,284 | France says Syrian government obstructing peace talks | PARIS (Reuters) - France accused the Syrian government on Wednesday of obstructing U.N.-led peace talks with its refusal to return to Geneva and called on Russia not to shirk its responsibilities to get Damascus to the negotiating table. Talks on ending the war in Syria resumed on Wednesday, but with no sign of President Bashar al-Assad s negotiators returning to the table in Geneva. The process began last week. But after a few days with little apparent progress, the U.N. mediator Staffan de Mistura said the Syrian government delegation led by Bashar al-Ja afari was returning to Damascus to consult and refresh . France condemns the absence of the delegation of the regime and its refusal to engage in good faith in the negotiations to achieve a political solution, French foreign ministry deputy spokesman Alexandre Georgini told reporters. This refusal highlights the obstruction strategy of the political process carried out by the Damascus regime, which is responsible for the absence of progress in the negotiations, he added. He said Russia, as one of President Bashar al-Assad s main backers, needed to assume its responsibilities so that the Syrian government finally entered the negotiations. De Mistura had said he expected talks to resume around Tuesday Dec. 5, but Ja afari said before leaving that he might not come back because the opposition had stated that Assad could not play a role in a future interim government. During last week s sessions, de Mistura shuttled between the representatives of the two warring sides, who did not meet face-to-face. He had planned to continue the round until Dec. 15. | 1 |
2,285 | Afghan civilian casualties from air strikes rise more than 50 percent, says U.N. | KABUL (Reuters) - Civilian casualties from Afghan and American air strikes have risen more than 50 percent since last year, the United Nations said on Thursday, as troops increase attacks on militants under a new strategy announced by U.S. President Donald Trump in August. As of the end of September, at least 205 civilians had been killed and 261 wounded this year in air strikes in Afghanistan, U.N. investigators said in a quarterly report. At least 38 percent of those casualties were caused by international military forces, while the majority were attributed to the Afghan Air Force, which has begun to conduct more attacks on its own. More than two thirds of the civilian victims were women and children, the report said. In September, U.S. warplanes dropped more bombs than in any single month since 2010, driven largely by Trump s strategy of trying to reassert pressure on militants after several years of drawdown by foreign troops. A spokesman for the U.S. military command did not immediately comment on the report. General Dawlat Waziri, spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Defence, rejected the findings and said the government took civilian casualties seriously. It is quite obvious that Taliban and other insurgent groups cause more civilian casualties, he said, adding that insurgents also use civilians as human shields and hide in residential areas . Overall civilian casualties decreased slightly compared to the same period last year, the report said. At least 2,640 civilians were killed and 5,379 injured this year, compared to 2,616 killed and 5,915 injured in the same period of 2016. The drop reflected fewer casualties from fighting in populated areas, the report noted, as militants failed to capture any major cities. The head of the U.N. mission in Afghanistan, Tadamichi Yamamoto, praised the Afghan government for formally endorsing a national policy designed to reduce civilian casualties. The government owes it to its citizens, particularly the victims of the armed conflict, to ensure full implementation of the policy through a concrete action plan, he said. Overall the U.N. attributed 64 percent of civilian casualties to anti-government militants like the Taliban and Islamic State. Pro-government forces were responsible for 20 percent overall, while the remainder was attributed to joint fighting or unidentified groups, according to the U.N. | 1 |
2,286 | ISIS SUPPORTER RESPONDS TO KILLING OF TOP ISIS OPERATIVE: “If they took Abu Sayyaf, we will take Obama” | A JV team threat Shaken by a daring U.S. military strike deep in ISIS territory, supporters of the extremist organization were vowing revenge for the killing of senior leader Abu Sayyaf or claiming the special operations mission never took place, a Vocativ analysis reveals. If they took Abu Sayyaf, we will take Obama, one ISIS supporter posted in the hours after the raid near the eastern Syrian city of al-Amr.Translation: If your goal is killing Abu Sayyaf then our goal is killing Obama and the worshipers of the cross. We have attacks coming against you.Elite American commandos carried out the rare, overnight military operation, killing Sayyaf, capturing his wife, and freeing a Yezidi woman believed to have been held as their slave, the Pentagon said Saturday. Defense Secretary Ash Carter heralded the mission as a significant blow to the Islamic State.Vocativ analyzed social media across Syria in the wake of the strike and discovered some ISIS supporters claimed the news was U.S. propaganda timed to counter ISIS momentum after taking most of the Iraqi city of Ramadi this week. Others tweeted from outside the Syrian city of Raqqa vowing revenge for the strike, saying they heard explosions and helicopters.Carter said Sayyaf was responsible for directing many of the group s military activities and funding, directing its illicit oil, gas, and financial operation. No U.S. forces were killed or injured during the operation, which represented another significant blow to the group, Carter said. And it is a reminder that the United States will never waver in denying safe haven to terrorists who threaten our citizens, and those of our friends and allies, he continued in the statement.The mission included the arrest of Sayyaf s wife, Umm Sayyaf, and the freeing of the Yezidi woman. The trading of Yezidi women has been a major inducement and reward for ISIS fighters in the past. The Yezidis follow a strand of Islam that is rejected by mainstream Muslims as heretical. ISIS last year surrounded the Yezidis villages in northern Iraq, killing and capturing dozens, and taking many of the girls and women as slaves. U.S. forces captured Umm Sayyaf, who we suspect is a member of ISIS, played an important role in ISIS s terrorist activities, and may have been complicit in what appears to have been the enslavement of a young Yezidi woman rescued last night, Carter said. The White House said in a statement that Umm Sayyaf had been moved to a U.S. military detention facility in Iraq. The Yezidi woman would be freed. We intend to reunite her with her family as soon as feasible, Bernadette Meehan, the National Security Council spokeswoman, said in a statement.The operation was coordinated with Iraqi officials, but the U.S. government did not coordinate with the Syrian regime, nor did we advise them in advance of this operation, Ms. Meehan said.According to reports, a team of the Army s Delta Force troops traveled in Black Hawk helicopters and Osprey aircraft into al-Amr in eastern Syria. The Washington Post quoted an unnamed defense official who said a firefight broke out after the troops touched down near a building where Abu Sayyaf was believed to be, and that ISIS fighters tried to use women and children as human shields. It was a real fight, the official told the Post, saying there was hand-to-hand fighting and about a dozen militants were killed. He told the Post that troops collected items that might prove useful intelligence.Via: Vocativ.com | 0 |
2,287 | Here’s What The Fracking Industry Gave To Oklahoma In 2015 (IMAGES) | The fracking industry has given the state of Oklahoma a new claim to fame that no one in Oklahoma wanted. In 2015, Oklahoma had more earthquakes than the entire continental United States combined. There were 857 earthquakes in Oklahoma with a magnitude of 3.0 or higher. The total number of earthquakes for the continental United States with a 3.0 magnitude or higher was 1,556.Nearly two dozen peer reviewed, scientific papers have been published that show that there is a likely link between waste water injection wells used by the fracking industry and the increased number of quakes that have rocked the state.Oklahoma has seen a dramatic increase in the number of earthquakes over the past few years, that coincide with the state s fracking boom. In 2014, there were 585 quakes, a record for the state. In 2013, there were a comparatively stable 106.Here is a chart that shows the rising number of earthquakes. It is important to note that there were 84 less quakes in 2015 than was projected. As devastating as the quakes can be for the local population, they are also a matter of national security. The small town of Cushing, Oklahoma is considered a top target for terrorist attacks. That s because Cushing is the largest oil hub in North America. Cushing holds a considerable amount of crude oil. Bloomberg reports that some of the tanks can fit a Boeing 747 jet inside of them. Though they are generally used to store around 10 million barrels of crude oil. On Oct. 10, 2015 a 4.5 earthquake occurred just three mules from Cushing.The irony that a process used to extract oil is putting the United States largest oil hub in grave danger, should not be lost on anyone.In 2015, the ban on oil exports was lifted, setting the stage for increased use of fracking in the United States, far more so than what was already expected to occur.Featured Image Credit: Oklahoma Office Of The Secretary Of Energy & Environment via Ecowatch | 0 |
2,288 | California’s Jerry Brown Just Expanded Obamacare, And Trump Voters Are Fuming | While nearly every governor in the country is either looking for ways to take healthcare away from their citizens, or at the very least, shying away from President Obama s signature legislation, California s governor, Jerry Brown, is about to make it bigger. Not just bigger, though, he s opening it to *gasp* undocumented immigrants.The legislation directs California to negotiate a waiver with the federal government to expand coverage to a population that was intentionally carved out from Obamacare during the law s drafting. The California proposal is sure to receive strong opposition from anti-immigration forces and could reignite a fierce health reform controversy in the Obama administration s final months.The plan s supporters say there s no reason undocumented immigrants should be barred from the exchanges if they can afford a plan without federal aid. The proposal, they argue, could help spur enrollment among mixed-status families with a combination of legal residents and undocumented immigrants who may have been reluctant to purchase health insurance because of misguided fears about deportation.Source: PoliticoThis is a pretty gutsy move in an election year where immigration is front and center. It s sure to anger all of the Trump voters, who are looking forward to the imaginary wall the billionaire claims to want to build. Like clockwork, they re taking their complaints to Twitter:Corrupt as Hillary&Obama is Jerry Brown! California liberals will soon want a bail out like Detroit while they give illegals Obamacare! Mary carr (@Marycar08639249) June 8, 2016 California lawmakers try to extend ObamaCare to illegal immigrants via the @FoxNews app Fuck #jerrybrown https://t.co/5RSsr7Qoci (@casello_tony) June 6, 2016California Moves Toward Extending Obamacare to Illegal Immigrants- Really????? Who is paying for this #JerryBrown ???? Nancy (@NancyLovesDean) June 4, 2016Actually, Nancy, the immigrants would be paying for it. It s a much better deal than we have now. When undocumented immigrants get sick, they don t have a lot of options. Many go to emergency rooms, where taxpayers often get stuck with the bills. This would take the burden off of taxpayers. It would also expose fewer people to contagious diseases after all, healthcare is in the public interest. Jerry Brown knows this. I m not sure why Republicans don t.It s pretty understandable that Republicans would be upset. They ve been telling voters for years that Obama wanted to include undocumented immigrants and now they re saying that about Hillary Clinton.California s legislation might not pass federal standards. So far, that s the only roadblock. If it does, look for the Obamacare expansion to take place possibly as early as next year.Featured image via Justin Sullivan with Getty Images. | 0 |
2,289 | car bomb kills over people south of iraqi capital | news bulletin afp
farewell to the old captain hundreds of mourners have gathered in rio de janeiro to pay tribute to the brazilian football legend carlos alberto who died at the age of after suffering a heart attack former capitan of brazils world cup winning team carlos alberto torres is buried at irajá cemetery in rio de janeiro brazil on october afp
albertos coffin was carried for burial at the cemetery on wednesday with a brazilian flag draped over it
the former captain is mostly remembered for scoring the iconic fourth goal in brazils victory over italy in the world cup final
alberto won caps for his national side and won domestic titles with club teams | 1 |
2,290 | Obama administration ends special immigration policy for Cubans | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration on Thursday repealed a measure granting automatic residency to virtually every Cuban who arrived in the United States, whether or not they had visas, ending a longstanding exception to U.S. immigration policy. The end of the “wet foot, dry foot” policy, which allowed any Cuban who reached U.S. soil to stay but returned any picked up at sea, is effective immediately. Cuban officials had sought the change for years. The shift had been in the works for months. It was announced abruptly because advance warning might have inspired thousands more people to take to the seas between the Communist-ruled island and Florida in order to beat a deadline. The United States and Cuba spent several months negotiating the change, including an agreement from Cuba to allow those turned away from the United States to return. “With this change we will continue to welcome Cubans as we welcome immigrants from other nations, consistent with our laws,” Obama said in a statement. The Department of Homeland Security also ended a parole program that allowed entry for Cuban medical professionals. That program was unpopular with Havana because it prompted doctors to leave, sapping the country’s pool of trained health workers. The U.S. Coast Guard intercepts thousands of Cubans attempting the 90-mile (145-km) crossing to Florida every year, but tens of thousands who reach U.S. soil, including via Mexico, have been allowed to stay in the country, while immigrants from other nations have been rounded up and sent home. Cuba welcomed the policy changes, saying they would benefit the whole region by discouraging people-trafficking and dangerous journeys that led to bottlenecks of Cubans in Central America last year. “Today, a detonator of immigration crises is eliminated. The United States achieves legal, secure and ordered migration from Cuba,” said Josefina Vidal, the Cuban foreign ministry’s chief for U.S. affairs. El Salvador’s foreign ministry also welcomed the move, saying “there cannot be migrants of different categories.” Honduras, from where thousands flee each year without the attraction of favorable U.S. immigration policies, said it would wait to see if the flow of Cubans actually reduced. Anticipating the end of the policy, Cuban immigration has surged since the 2014 normalization, said Ben Rhodes, Obama’s deputy national security adviser. “People were motivated to migrate,” Rhodes told reporters on a call, noting some 40,000 Cubans arrived in 2015 and about 54,000 in 2016. The administration had rejected Cuban entreaties to overturn the policy before President Barack Obama’s historic visit to the island last year, although even some White House aides argued that it was outmoded given efforts to regularize relations between the former Cold War foes. “Wet foot, dry foot” began in 1995 under President Bill Clinton after an exodus of tens of thousands of Cubans who were picked up at sea by the Coast Guard as they tried to reach Florida. Obama has been working to normalize relations with Cuba since he and President Raul Castro announced a breakthrough in diplomatic relations in December 2014. His administration has eased restrictions on travel and trade, allowing more U.S. business with Cuba and improved communications with the island. The move to end the policy comes just eight days before the Democratic president turns the White House over to Republican Donald Trump, who has said the United States should get more concessions from Havana in exchange for improved relations. U.S. immigration policy has given Cubans benefits granted to nationals from no other country. Until now, virtually every Cuban who made it to U.S. soil was granted the right to stay in the country, the right to apply for work permits and, later, green cards, which convey lawful permanent residency. Jeh Johnson, secretary of Homeland Security, said on a call that Cuba will take back citizens as long as less than four years have passed between the time the migrant left Cuba and the start of the U.S. deportation proceedings. Under the agreement Cuba will take back some 2,700 people who left the island among 125,000 others during the Mariel boat lift of 1980, fulfilling an agreement made in 1984 to take back 2,746 people who the United States did not grant citizenship to, mainly people with criminal convictions. Cuba has previously taken back only a handful of that group. The new policy sparked mixed emotions in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood. Mario Garcia, a Cuban mechanic in Little Havana, said the change angered him. “It’s not like Communism has ended in Cuba, so why stop this that has saved people’s lives?” he said. But Eulalia Jimenez, who is Venezuelan, said the policy was not fair to migrants from other countries who also flee bad conditions. “Why should only the Cuban people be able to come and make a life for themselves?” Jimenez said. Some U.S. lawmakers had been demanding a fresh look at the immigration rules, saying Cubans coming to the United States simply for economic reasons should not be automatically granted benefits intended for refugees. “This is a welcome step in reforming an illogical and discriminatory policy that contrasted starkly with the treatment of deserving refugees from other countries,” Senator Patrick Leahy, a Democrat, said in a statement. Republican Senator Jeff Flake also said eliminating the policy was “a win for taxpayers, border security and our allies in the Western Hemisphere.” Flake and Leahy both support Obama’s moves toward freer trade and travel with Cuba. But U.S. Senator Marco Rubio said the incoming Trump adminstration should reverse the part of the executive order that ended the medical parole system, and said Cubans fleeing political persecution should receive asylum. The Department of Homeland Security is also eliminating an exemption that prevented the use of expedited removal programs for Cuban nationals picked up at ports of entry or near the border. But an existing Cuban Family Reunification Parole Program is not affected by Thursday’s announcement and remains in effect. | 1 |
2,291 | House delays vote on healthcare bill: MSNBC | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives on Thursday delayed a vote on legislation to begin dismantling Obamacare as President Donald Trump and leaders in Congress labored to find enough support among fellow Republicans for their version of a new federal healthcare policy, MSNBC reported, citing multiple House leadership sources The reported delay marked a setback for Trump, who is seeking his first major legislative victory and who campaigned on a promise to repeal and replace President Barack Obama’s landmark law. | 1 |
2,292 | Trump spends more time than predecessors in White House bubble | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In his first 100 days in office, Donald Trump made fewer appearances outside of the presidential bubble than his three immediate predecessors, venturing less beyond the White House or his private Mar-a-Lago estate, according to a Reuters review. The U.S. president cast himself during his election campaign last year as a Washington outsider and a populist champion, and often seemed most comfortable at raucous campaign rallies. Trump still constantly tells Americans what is on his mind through prolific use of Twitter messages, but he has not traveled out into the country often since taking office on Jan. 20. Trump made comments at official appearances 132 times in the first 100 days, compared with 139 by Barack Obama in the same period, 177 by George W. Bush and 162 by Bill Clinton. (tmsnrt.rs/2p8M8EU) Some 22 of his appearances were in settings other than the White House, Air Force One, a government agency or at Mar-a-Lago, a Florida resort that his administration has called the “winter White House.” That compares to 62 such appearances by Obama in his first 100 days, 80 for Bush and 46 for Clinton. Reuters reviewed public remarks delivered by the presidents using White House websites, pool reports and documents archived by the American Presidency Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Trump made public comments on five separate occasions at Mar-a-Lago. None of the other three presidents spoke to the public from a personal residence during their first 100 days, although Bush spoke twice at Camp David, the rustic presidential retreat in Maryland. Asked about his travel, Trump’s advisers say he is focused on implementing the promises he made at his campaign rallies. “There is obviously a premium on his time,” said White House spokeswoman Natalie Strom. “We proceed with any additional travel very thoughtfully.” Bradley Blakeman, who was deputy assistant for scheduling and appointments under Bush, said Trump may be missing out on opportunities to sell his message to the public. “Deals are made in Washington on Pennsylvania Avenue, but they are sold on Main Street, USA,” Blakeman said. “It’s an important part of the bully pulpit.” He said Trump should do targeted events focused on specific legislative priorities that will get coverage by local news outlets, where stories on presidential visits tend to be more positive than in the national media. During his first 100 days, Bush visited more than half a dozen schools in Washington and at least five different states as he promoted his education initiative, No Child Left Behind. Trump’s first major legislative push has focused on reforming the U.S. healthcare system, but he has not yet delivered remarks at a medical facility. In an interview with Reuters last week, Trump lamented the confining nature of the presidency with its 24-hour Secret Service protection. “You’re really into your own little cocoon, because you have such massive protection that you really can’t go anywhere,” he said. Still, he remains a constant focus of public attention, helped by his use of Twitter, a tool that was seldom used or was entirely unavailable to his most recent three predecessors. “Interaction online does not completely replace the value of in-person appearances, but you can’t ignore the fact that there is no limit on the amount of people the president’s tweets can reach,” Strom said. Larry Jacobs, director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the University of Minnesota, said that while Trump’s use of social media had opened a new chapter in presidential communication, his lack of sustained attention on any one issue undercut his message. “There’s not a focus there. When a president is all over the map, then he loses his power,” Jacobs said. | 1 |
2,293 | Pope candidly admits Church 'arrived late' in confronting abuse | VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis, in some of his most candid and personal comments on the sexual abuse of children by priests, said on Thursday that the Catholic Church had arrived late in dealing with the problem. Francis, speaking in unscripted remarks to a commission advising him on how to root out sexual abuse, also acknowledged that early in his papacy he had made one bad call in being too lenient with an Italian priest who later went on to abuse again. He also said he had decided to change current procedures for dealing with abusive priests by eliminating appeals trials in cases where there was definitive proof. Francis surprised members of the commission by putting aside his entire prepared speech and chatting to them. There is the reality that the Church arrived at the consciousness of these crimes a bit late, he said. When consciousness arrives late, the means to resolve the problems also arrive late. I am aware of this difficulty but it is reality and I say it plainly: We arrived late. Church sexual abuse broke into the open in the United States with reports of cases in Louisiana in 1984 and exploded in 2002, when journalists in Boston found that bishops had systematically moved abusers to new posts instead of defrocking them. Thousands of cases have come to light around the world as investigations have encouraged long-silent victims to go public, shattering the Church s reputation in places such as Ireland, and more than $2 billion has been paid in compensation. The old practice of moving people around and not confronting the problem made consciences fall asleep, he said. Francis acknowledged that the commission, which was founded in 2014, had to swim against the tide, a reference to high level defections from its ranks. Marie Collins of Ireland, a non-clerical member who was victim of priestly abuse when she was a child, quit in frustration in March, citing a shameful lack of cooperation within the Vatican. Another, Peter Saunders of Britain, took a leave of absence last year in protest over a lack of progress. Francis said that everyone had to realize that sexual abuse is a sickness with a high probability of relapse. That person may repent today ... but may commit it again after two years. We have to put it into our heads that this is a sickness, he said. Francis said he would change current Vatican procedures to severely limit chances of appeal for pedophile priests convicted by church tribunals, saying they often were overly legalistic, allowing for reduced sentences on procedural grounds. I have decided to balance this out and say that if an abuse of a minor is proven, it is sufficient and there should be no recourse. If the proof is there. Period. It s definitive, he said. Francis, who was elected in 2013, acknowledged he made one bad judgment early in his papacy concerning an Italian priest, Mauro Inzoli. In that case, the bishop of Crema, had ruled that Inzoli would be removed from the public ministry while remaining a priest but a Church tribunal ruled that he be defrocked. The pope sided with the bishop. I was new (in the papacy) I did not understand these things well and chose the more benevolent of the two sentences but after two years the priest had a relapse. I learned from this, Francis said. | 1 |
2,294 | It’s Time To Stop Excusing Trump Supporters And Start Shaming Them For The Awful People They Are | For nigh on two years now, people have been making the argument that not all Trump voters are racist, misogynistic bigots. This could be true; after all, there are people who voted for Barack Obama twice, but then switched to Donald Trump. The idea of this makes most of us scratch our heads because Obama was everything Trump isn t. President Obama is dignified, classy, smart, experienced, accepting of all people. Trump is bigoted to his core, narcissistic, incompetent, impulsive, undignified, unpresidential. Therefore, how could people who voted enthusiastically for Barack Obama vote for Donald Trump? I still don t know the answer to that question. What I do know is this: It s time to stop making excuses for Trump voters and start shaming them, because that is what they deserve.Even if someone who voted for Donald Trump isn t personally a racist, a misogynist, a homophobe, or an Islamophobe, they certainly are tolerant of those various bigotries and then some. They were able to look at the Access Hollywood tape, Trump s call to ban all Muslims from the nation, his kicking off his campaign by calling Mexican immigrants rapists and criminals, his promise (and current attempts to carry out that promise) to round up hundreds of thousands of people and kick them out of the nation, his five-year-long crusade to delegitimize the first Black president all of it and still vote for him. They were able to realize just what a Trump Administration and all of its disgusting white supremacist glory would do to every American who is not a straight, white, Christian man and still pull the lever for him. These voters are selfish people who took an unconscionably callous position when it comes to the fate of millions of Americans. They knew he d do things like stacking the courts lifetime appointments, by the way with conspiracy theorists, racists, misogynists, and birthers, and they still voted for Trump.I could go on, but you get the picture.Trump voters watched the same campaign the rest of us did, and they saw the abhorrent behavior, the unending stream of bigotry, the dangerous flirtation with authoritarian figures around the world, the clear unfitness, and they voted for him anyway. These are not good people. It s time to stop making excuses for the people who voted for the most bigoted, ignorant, dangerous president in modern history. We have literal Nazis working in the White House because of these people. We have, in Jeff Sessions, a man who was deemed too racist in 1986 to be a federal judge as Attorney General. We have birthers on the federal bench. That s all their fault.There are no good people who are Trump voters. It s time we recognized a hard truth: There s no such thing as a good person who supports Donald Trump. Stop excusing them and start shaming them. It s up to us to recognize the ills in the American populous starting with the absolute imbeciles who voted for Donald Trump.Featured image via Daily Kos | 0 |
2,295 | SNL Perfectly SLAMS Trump Supporters With ‘Racists For Trump’ Campaign Ad (VIDEO) | If you haven t noticed by now that Donald Trump rallies have become white pride events then you are either willfully ignorant, or living under a rock. In fact, some of Trump s most fervent supporters are members of white supremacist groups, including former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke. It s gotten to the point where shouting Trump Trump Trump is synonymous with shouting white pride. And if you disagree with that sentiment, take a good long look at yourself in the mirror and think about why you disagree.Noticing how racist Trump supporters are, along with the rest of the sane world, is none other than the folks over at Saturday Night Live. They put together the perfect spoof campaign ad to attack these nincompoops head-on. In a sketch titled, Racists for Trump they start by showing what seems to be average Americans working hard and simply loving what Trump stands for. The commercial begins: The media s been saying some pretty negative things about Donald Trump, but what are real Americans saying? Trump was then labeled a winner, authentic, job creator, negotiator, an outsider, and above all else, the candidate who can Make America Great Again. It s at that point when it s revealed that all the supporters speaking are involved some way or another in a white supremacist organization. Whether it be neo-Nazis, the KKK, or simply white pride, SNL does not hold back in slamming the hate and bigotry that s been spewing out of the Trump campaign alongside his supporters.But of course, all that hate is disguised in clever coded language to make it seem like we don t notice, but guess what? We notice.Bravo to SNL, this is absolutely perfect. Well done.Featured image via image screen capture | 0 |
2,296 | Cambodian opposition party to boycott parliament vote on leader | PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Cambodia s main opposition party will boycott a parliamentary vote to strip their detained leader of immunity on Monday and will instead go to Kem Sokha s jail to demand his release, one of his deputies said on Sunday. Kem Sokha, the head of the Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP), was arrested a week ago and charged with treason for allegedly plotting to win power with the support of the United States, escalating a crackdown on critics of Prime Minister Hun Sen and independent media ahead of a general election next year. Two aid groups run by the publisher of the Cambodia Daily, shut a week ago in a dispute over a crippling tax bill, said they were suspending work after their accounts were frozen. Parliament is due to vote on whether to remove the immunity from prosecution which Kem Sokha gets as an elected member of parliament. The ruling Cambodian People s Party s (CPP) majority means the motion is certain to pass anyway. CNRP deputy leader Mu Sochua said the parliament vote was illegal. We can t accept this. We will demand that Kem Sokha, who has not done anything wrong, be released, she said, adding members of parliament would hold a protest at the prison where he is being held near the border with Vietnam. CPP spokesman Sok Eysan said the opposition boycott would be unconstitutional, but the CPP had enough votes to strip Kem Sokha of his immunity anyway. Hun Sen, a 65-year-old former Khmer Rouge commander, has ruled Cambodia for more than 30 years and said last week he planned to stay in power for another decade. Next year s election had been expected to be his toughest electoral test, but Western countries and human rights groups have raised doubts as to whether the vote will be fair. They have criticized Kem Sokha s arrest, but China has given its backing to close ally Hun Sen. The evidence presented against Kem Sokha so far is a video recorded in 2013 in which he discusses a strategy to win power with the help of unspecified Americans. His lawyers have dismissed the evidence as nonsense and said he was only discussing election strategy. In recent weeks, Hun Sen has also expelled the National Democratic Institute, a non-governmental organization that promotes democracy, and ordered 19 radio stations off the air. The independent English-language Cambodia Daily shut last week after being given a month to pay a $6.3 million tax demand. Japan Relief for Cambodia and World Relief for Cambodia, aid groups financed by the paper s publisher, said their accounts had been frozen and they would have to suspend building schools and teaching English and computing to thousands of pupils. | 1 |
2,297 | Pope Francis Slams The United States For Its “Brazen” Gun Obsession | Pope Francis, while appearing at the United Nation s World Food summit, slammed the United States (and the rest of the world) over its obsession with guns after the terrorist attack in Orlando left 50 people dead and another 53 wounded. Calling the obsession brazen, the Pope chided world leaders for their strange paradox over the politics of food and international aid, but not guns:It makes no difference where arms come from they circulate with brazen and virtually absolute freedom in many parts of the world.The Pope also chastised the world for numbing itself to people s pain, saying We are bombarded by so many images that we see pain, but do not touch it; we hear weeping, but do not comfort it; we see thirst but do not satisfy it. Hours after the brutal attack, the Holy See released a strongly worded condemnation of the attacks, calling his homicidal folly and denouncing those responsible:The terrible massacre that has taken place in Orlando, with its dreadfully high number of innocent victims, has caused in Pope Francis, and in all of us, the deepest feelings of horror and condemnation, of pain and turmoil before this new manifestation of homicidal folly and senseless hatred We all hope that ways may be found, as soon as possible, to effectively identify and contrast the causes of such terrible and absurd violence which so deeply upsets the desire for peace of the American people and of the whole of humanity.The condemnation is exactly what the United States deserves, especially when some right wing politicians (the same one who do nothing about gun violence) proclaim that we are a Christian nation. But how can we claim to be when we allow ourselves to become so numb to the epidemic that is gun violence?Perhaps the faux-Christians should listen to the Pope (yet again) and lead by example.Featured image via Flickr | 0 |
2,298 | Panama to send immigration envoys to China as visa limits lifted | PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - Panama s government will send an immigration and security delegation to China, the country s president said on Tuesday, as part of the lifting of visa restrictions for Chinese visitors. Chinese visitors to Panama will now need an electronic visa stamped in a consulate instead of a restricted visa obtained through a lawyer to visit the country, part of measures the government hopes will promote tourism and investment. The security and migration delegation will travel to China for the opening of the Panamanian consulate, though there was no exact date yet, said President Juan Carlos Varela. In June, Panama established diplomatic ties with China, breaking with self-ruled Taiwan in a major victory for Beijing, the second most important customer of its key shipping canal. | 1 |
2,299 | Macedonian court sentences ex-secret police official to 18 months in prison | SKOPJE (Reuters) - A senior official of Macedonia s secret police was sentenced to 18 months in prison for destroying evidence that could have helped identify who was behind a wiretapping scandal that brought down a previous government. Goran Grujevski, who ran the secret police department conducting the wiretapping operations, was found guilty of destroying documents from the period when the wiretapping took place. He is awaiting extradition after being arrested in Greece last month. Macedonia was thrown into political turmoil in 2015, when opposition parties accused then-Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and his counter-intelligence chief of orchestrating the wiretapping of more than 20,000 people. The political crisis led the European Union to broker an agreement in which parties agreed to hold early elections and set up a special prosecutor to investigate the wiretappings. Wednesday s verdict is the first ruling in a case the special prosecutor opened two years ago. In June, Macedonia s special prosecutor filed charges against 94 people, including former high government officials, over their involvement in possible crimes revealed by the surveillance scandal. Macedonia s new government, which took over in May, said it would assist in investigating and bringing to justice the perpetrators of the wiretapping scandal. | 1 |
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