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22,500 | U.N. to vote on rival U.S., Russia bids to renew Syria inquiry | UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations Security Council is due to vote on Thursday on rival U.S. and Russian bids to renew an international inquiry into chemical weapons attacks in Syria, diplomats said, a move that could trigger Russia s 10th veto to block action on Syria. The mandate for the joint inquiry by the U.N. and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which found the Syrian government used the banned nerve agent sarin in an April 4 attack, expires at midnight Thursday. The United States was first to ask for a vote on its draft resolution, followed quickly by Russia. A resolution needs nine votes in favor and no vetoes by the United States, France, Russia, Britain or China to be adopted. Diplomats say there is little support among the 15-member council for the Russian draft, which Russian U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia has said aims to correct systemic errors of the inquiry, known as the Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM). Russia has vetoed nine resolutions on Syria since the conflict started in 2011, including blocking an initial U.S. bid on Oct. 24 to renew the JIM, saying it wanted to wait for the release two days later of the inquiry s report that blamed a sarin gas attack on the Syrian government. The United States hopes the Security Council will stand united in the face of chemical weapons use against civilians and extend the work of this critical group, the U.S. mission to the United Nations said in a statement on Wednesday. Not doing so would only give consent to such atrocities while tragically failing the Syrian people who have suffered from these despicable acts, it said. While Russia agreed to the 2015 creation of the inquiry, known as the Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM), it has consistently questioned its findings, which also concluded that the Syrian government used chlorine as a weapon several times. A spokesman for the U.S. mission to the United Nations said on Monday that Russia has refused to engage in negotiations on the U.S. draft resolution. Diplomats said the United States had amended its draft in a bid to win Russian support. British U.N. Ambassador Matthew Rycroft warned on Wednesday that if the inquiry ended: The only victors would be people who want to use chemical weapons in Syria, which is the (Syrian President Bashar) al-Assad regime plus Daesh (Islamic State). Everyone in the Security Council would be shooting ourselves in the foot if we allowed that to happen, he said. The Russian mission to the United Nations was not immediately available for comment on the impending council vote. If the inquiry is not renewed, Nebenzia said on Monday: It may send a bad signal, but the way the investigation has been conducted sends an even worse signal. Syria agreed to destroy its chemical weapons in 2013 under a deal brokered by Russia and the United States. | 1 |
22,501 | Colombia's FARC rebels to meet Kerry in Cuba during Obama trip | HAVANA/BOGOTA (Reuters) - Members of Colombia’s Marxist FARC guerrillas will meet U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Cuba, a spokeswoman for Colombia’s government peace negotiators said on Sunday, adding a twist to a historic visit to the island by U.S. President Barack Obama. The meeting with Kerry on Monday will be the first time a U.S. secretary of state has met the negotiators from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, who have been talking peace with the Colombian government in Havana for more than three years. “At around 4 p.m. (2000 GMT), the meeting between Kerry and the FARC delegation will take place,” after the Colombian government delegation meet him, the spokeswoman said. A source at Colombia’s Office of the High Commissioner for Peace said the rebels and Colombian government negotiators would also go to an exhibition game between Major League Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays and Cuba’s national team on Tuesday. That game will be attended by Obama, who on Sunday became the first sitting U.S. president to visit Cuba in nearly 90 years. But FARC negotiator Pastor Alape said he was not aware of an invitation to attend the baseball game. He said that before meeting with Kerry, the rebels would meet the U.S. special envoy for Colombian peace talks, Bernard Aronson, to agree on an agenda. The United States sees the Colombian peace talks hosted in Havana as an example of how restoring normal relations with Cuba can help its wider goals in Latin America. Latin America’s longest war has killed some 220,000 people and displaced millions of others since 1964. The government and rebels are attempting to reach a deal that would be placed before Colombian voters for approval, with a U.N. mission supervising rebel disarmament. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and FARC leader Rodrigo Londono, better known by the nom de guerre Timochenko, had set a self-imposed March 23 deadline to reach a comprehensive pact but have since conceded that goal may not be reached. Washington designated the FARC as a foreign terrorist organization in 1997, and many of its leaders have been indicted in the United States on charges of cocaine trafficking. | 1 |
22,502 | BRITAIN’S ISLAMIC REALIST Tommy Robinson Tears Into Leftist Reporter: “50,000 British Muslims Downloaded A Terrorist Magazine Last Year…These People Are Waging War On Us!” [VIDEO] | Former English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson went to town on a reporter today after he was interrupted in the midst of a Rebel Media interview at the scene of the London terror attack.Robinson was speaking with Rebel Media s Caolan Robertson on the unsurprising nature of the incident in light of the suspected perpetrator s identity being released. This isn t a shock to me, said Robinson. I don t understand people who are surprised by this. We have over 3,000 Muslims who are monitored 24 hours a day 7 days a week at a cost of nine billion [pounds] a year. We re following them, waiting for them to do this. As Robinson continued to rant, a crowd apparently formed around him and began filming. Among them was a reporter who quickly took the offense against Robinson. Do you have information that no one else seems to have? inquired the reporter. I have information that shows there was four terrorist attacks last week in France, shot back Robinson. There was 12 planned last year. Driving your car like this man has done is exactly what the Inspire magazine, which is Al Qaeda s magazine, which was downloaded by 50,000 British Muslims last year 50,000 British Muslims downloaded a terrorist manual. Milo | 0 |
22,503 | Muhammad Ali’s Son Detained At Airport Because His Name Sounds Too Muslim | Immigration officials in Florida proved how out of control things are in Trump s America by detaining the son of Muhammad Ali because his name happens to sound too Muslim for their liking.Muhammad Ali Jr. and his mother, Khalilah Camacho-Ali, were on their way home after speaking at a Black History Month event in Montego Bay, Jamaica. On Feb. 7, they flew into Fort Lauderdale, Florida. And then things took a disturbing turn.Chris Mancini, a lawyer and friend of the family says they were pulled to the side as they were going through customs. Khalilah Camacho-Ali was released when she pulled out a photo of her with the legendary boxer, but Muhammad Ali Jr. didn t have such a photo. Apparently, being related to a famous person would have meant more to officials than the fact that he s an American citizen with a U.S. passport to prove it.Ali Jr. was held by immigration officials and questioned for almost two hours. Where did you get your name from? they asked him over and over. When they asked him if he was a Muslim, he said yes, and that really set off alarm bells for officials. They continued to question him about his religion and repeatedly asked him where he was born. Just for the record, he was born in Philadelphia in 1971.USA Today reports:While Ali Jr. was detained, Camacho-Ali ran around the airport asking, Where s my son? and begging for help, according to Mancini. Because incidents involving customs officials are considered to be on federal soil, local police had no jurisdiction to help her. Ali Jr. was eventually released two hours later, and the family contacted Mancini the following day.They have both traveled all over the world and never, ever, have they been subjected to this kind of treatment, said Mancini. To the Ali family, it s crystal clear that this is directly linked to Mr. Trump s efforts to ban Muslims from the United States, he added. Imagine walking into an airport and being asked about your religion, he said. This is classic customs profiling. According to Mancini, the Ali family is debating whether or not to file a federal lawsuit and are searching for others who have been subjected to this kind of racial profiling and harassment.Featured image via Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images for the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson s Research | 0 |
22,504 | Islamist militants 'taken out of action' in Mali: French military | PARIS (Reuters) - The French military has targeted Islamist militants in northern Mali near the border with Algeria and took 15 militants out of action , an armed forces spokesman said on Thursday. It was not immediately clear if the operation had any connection to the pursuit of assailants who killed four U.S. soldiers in an ambush on Oct. 4 in western Niger, about 400 kilometres to the south. The French operation in the region of Abeibara took place overnight on Monday and targeted members of Islamist militant group Ansar Dine, the spokesman said. It involved French Mirage jets, attack helicopters and forces on the ground, he added without providing details on how many of the 15 militants targeted had been killed or wounded. France intervened in Mali to ward off an offensive by Islamist militants that began in 2012. Around 4,000 of its troops remain in the region as part of Operation Barkhane, where they work alongside around 10,000 U.N. peacekeepers in Mali. The U.S. deaths have drawn attention to counter-terror efforts in the arid Sahel region where an Islamist insurgency involving countless armed groups has been intensifying for years, regularly killing local soldiers. | 1 |
22,505 | Iran nuclear deal cannot be renegotiated: Rouhani | BEIRUT (Reuters) - Iran s president said on Thursday its nuclear accord with world powers cannot be renegotiated, after the Trump administration warned it was weighing whether the deal signed by its predecessor served U.S. security interests. Under the 2015 deal, Iran agreed to limit its disputed nuclear program in return for the easing of economic sanctions. U.S. President Donald Trump called the deal an embarrassment during his first speech at the United Nations on Tuesday. There was some discussion by some people that the nuclear deal isn t very bad but shouldn t stay as it is. (That) it s a deal that s good but we should sit down again and debate to see if it can be improved. If it has flaws we can fix them, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said. They were told clearly and definitively (by us) that the nuclear deal cannot be renegotiated, he told a press conference in Tehran broadcast live on state television after his return from the U.N. General Assembly. Trump told reporters this week he had made a decision on what to do about the agreement, approved by his predecessor Barack Obama along with leaders of Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany, but would not say what he had decided. However, although Trump does not like the deal, his speech to the United Nations on Tuesday did not mean Washington would withdraw from the pact, Nikki Haley, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., said on Wednesday. The prospect of Washington reneging on the deal has worried some of the U.S. allies that helped negotiate it, especially as the world grapples with another nuclear crisis, North Korea s nuclear and ballistic missile development. If Trump does not certify next month that Iran is complying with the accord, the U.S. Congress will have 60 days to decide whether to reimpose sanctions waived under the deal. U.N. inspectors have verified Iranian compliance with the terms. In contrast with Obama s policy of detente with Iran after decades of mutual hostility, Trump called Iran a corrupt dictatorship on Tuesday and accused it of supporting terrorism and destabilizing the Middle East. (Trump) made big mistakes in this speech, Rouhani said. There were baseless and unfounded accusations. It wasn t worthy of the United Nations or an individual who sees himself as the president of a country. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the highest authority in the Islamic Republic, also criticized Trump during a meeting Thursday with the Assembly of Experts, a body tasked with choosing the next Supreme Leader. This speech was not a sign of power but rather a sign of anger, frustration and stupidity, Khamenei said, according to a report on his official website. In recent months, tensions have ramped up between Iran and the United States in the Gulf, with both sides accusing each other of provocative naval maneuvers. | 1 |
22,506 | Putin calls tougher North Korea sanctions senseless, warns of 'global catastrophe' | XIAMEN, China (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that imposing tougher sanctions on North Korea over its nuclear missile programme would be counter-productive and said threats of military action could trigger a global catastrophe . Putin, speaking after a BRICs summit in China, criticised U.S. diplomacy in the crisis and renewed his call for talks, saying Pyongyang would not halt its missile testing programme until it felt secure. Russia condemns North Korea s exercises, we consider that they are a provocation ... (But) ramping up military hysteria will lead to nothing good. It could lead to a global catastrophe, he told reporters. There s no other path apart from a peaceful one. Putin was speaking after South Korea said an agreement with the United States to scrap a weight limit on its warheads would help it respond to the North Korea threat after Pyongyang conducted its sixth and largest nuclear test two days ago. Russia, which shares a border with North Korea, has repeatedly joined China in calling for negotiations with Pyongyang, suggesting that the United States and South Korea halt all major war games in exchange for North Korea halting its testing programme. While describing additional sanctions as the road to nowhere , Putin said Russia was prepared to discuss some details around the issue, without elaborating. The Russian leader also lashed out at the United States, saying it was preposterous for Washington to ask for Moscow s help with North Korea after sanctioning Russian companies whom U.S officials accused of violating North Korea sanctions. It s ridiculous to put us on the same (sanctions) list as North Korea and then ask for our help in imposing sanctions on North Korea, said Putin. This is being done by people who mix up Australia with Austria, he added. The United States has floated the idea of requiring all countries to cut economic links with North Korea to try to strong-arm Pyongyang into changing its behaviour. In Moscow s case, that would mean stopping using North Korean labourers, tens of thousands of whom work in Russia, and halting fuel supplies to Pyongyang. Russia has so far refused to contemplate doing either. | 1 |
22,507 | netflix and pill streaming firm boss reveals the future of tv could be a matrixstyle hallucinatory drug | in a previous article i discussed stretchingnamely why stretching is important for the masculine man and several stretches that you should use in your training to maximize your physical fitness and while that advice is still valid i neglected a very important concept in that first article the techniques that detail how to stretch
i am not referring to a specific stretch or some sort of hypothetical stretching mindset but rather a set of techniques that can be utilized for any stretch to increase ones flexibility immediately but before i can discuss those i have to discuss the incorrect way of stretching that many people still use
how not to stretch many people believe that stretching is a literal act of forcing the muscles and connective tissue to stretch avoid this at all costs first and foremost as i have discussed previously in these pages you should never apply any stretching pressure to the connective tissue they evolved solely to hold fast and keep things in one piece they should never be stretched at all
the muscles are the anatomical feature that stretches as they evolved to do when stretching your body should always be positioned in a way where the connective tissues are stable and the muscles are moving
even when you are positioned properly no part of stretching should involve the athlete forcing his muscles to stretch as that risks muscular tearing which is a nagging injury that never truly goes away this is because the human body has naturally evolved what is referred to as the antistretch reflex to prevent muscular tearingstretching the muscles increases in difficulty the farther and deeper the stretch is and your body responds to this stress with pain this is a biological sign telling you that if you go further youll be risking muscle tears and should normally be a heeded warning
however if you want to do advanced stretching such as that nighimpossible benchmark of fitness the splits you will have to find a way to overcome this reflex without hurting yourself and as luck would have it there is
relax into stretching reflexes can be overcome with gradual and repeated practicejust ask your friendly neighborhood hooker about how she overcame her gag reflex similarly your antistretch reflex that keeps your joints actually your muscles stiff and immobile can be overcome with a few techniques
the most basic of these techniques is the one that i have had the best results with as usual the simple but difficult answer is usually the correct one and that is the titular concept of relaxing into a stretchwith thanks to pavel tsatsouline for naming the concept
to use this technique take an easy form of the stretch you want to do using the splits as an example you would do a seated groin stretch engage the stretch just to the point where you feel tension in the target muscle and thensit and wait
yes paradoxically relaxation is the key to increasing your physical fitness in this context you are literally going to sit there and wait for your muscles to stop fighting the stretchin other words youre going to exhaust your reflex until it stops being reflexive
this is not something that happens quicklyfrom my experience it will take minutes per stretch so it is perfectly acceptable for you to get a book or watch tv while doing this as a side note this is literally the only time where its acceptable to have a visual distraction during exercise in my opinion
as you might expect once your muscles have relaxed and the pain has melted away you can increase the stretch a little bit more and hold it for another minutes repeat this process until your muscles are in pain and you judge that you cant go any furtherthis is a personal call that you will have to decide for yourself as i cant judge when your muscles are demanding you to stop
this technique can be utilized for any stretch and in many cases will give you the progress that you so desire however there are other methods in the relax into stretch family of exercises that can be utilized as well such as meditationmentally relaxing will lead to muscular relaxation
or you can try forced relaxation where you flex the muscle simultaneously while stretching forcing the muscle to relax
either way you slice it dont just brute force your stretching utilize these techniques for better results
read more why stretching is essential for the body with beginner stretches to get you started | 0 |
22,508 | NEW “Fair Share” App, “EQUIPAY” Allows Users To Split Restaurant Bill Between Guests, Based On Gender, Sex and Race | A Socialists dream! Now you can check your privilege at the door. With the Equipay app, you ll never have to walk away from a restaurant with friends wondering if you paid your fair share It s a huge dilemma for progressives: on the one hand, it s terribly patriarchal for a man to pay for a woman s dinner. On the other hand, the gender pay gap of feminist mythology holds that women only make 77 cents for every dollar earned by a man. So isn t the failure to pay just another contribution to structural sexism?Equipay, a new app for Android and the iPhone has a solution. Developed by San Francisco-based comedian Luna Malbroux, the app divides bills between dinner guests according to their race and gender. For example, black women, who allegedly make just 64 cents on the dollar compared to white men, would only pay 64 per cent of their share of the bill.According to the app s website, Equipay helps you avoid the entrenched discrimination that exists in our society. It doesn t split the bill equally it splits it equitably. You pay what you should to balance out the wage gap. The app is free to use unless you re a member of a high-privilege group. Then there s a surcharge. As the site explains: When dining out with a high privilege group, Equipay automatically adds an EquipayItBack Surcharge. This fee subsidizes meals for others and funds Equipay s charitable arm. Thanks! Last but not least, the app allows users to let their followers know whenever they ve used the app to smash the patriarchy at the dinner table. In a live presentation of the app, Melbroux described how a user, Graham shares his Equipay-powered purchase on social media to show that he is a social justice ally. Of course, having informed the world of his use of Equipay, it remains to be seen if Graham will ever be invited out for a meal again.The app won first prize at San Francisco s Comedy Hack Day, which brings comedians, developers, and designers together. However, Melbroux insists that the app isn t a joke. In an interview with Care2, she expressed hopes that the app would start a serious conversation: I hope that this, more than anything, starts a discussion and helps people to start thinking a little bit differently about how we can use more technology and more innovation to address inequality and wage inequality. For the rest of us, the app s social media sharing function will give us a useful list of people to never invite out for dinner. Via:Breitbart | 0 |
22,509 | Iran denies U.S. accusation of destabilizing the region | BEIRUT (Reuters) - Iran s foreign ministry denied on Wednesday U.S. accusations that the Islamic Republic is playing a destabilizing role in the region, state media reported. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had said on Tuesday that Iran is carrying out destabilizing actions by supporting Hezbollah in Lebanon, supplying missiles to Houthi forces in Yemen and sending weapons and militia fighters to Syria. Repeating the groundless accusations and lies will not help solve the large and strategic mistakes America has made in recent decades against Iran and the region, foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi was quoted as saying by state media. While there s time remaining, Mr. Tillerson should become more familiar with the realities and history of the region and American policies, and its effects which has led to serious instability and the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent women, children and people. Tillerson also said during a visit to Brussels on Tuesday that Iran must comply with the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal under which the Islamic Republic agreed to curbs on its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of a number of sanctions. U.S. president Donald Trump dealt a blow to the pact in October by refusing to certify that Tehran was complying with the accord even though international inspectors said it was. | 1 |
22,510 | URGENT! Join #AntiHillaryFlashMob Rally Against Hillary In San Antonio (Click on link for details) | Event organizers are asking protesters to come out on Thursday, Oct. 15th to help them stand against Hillary and speak out against her support for amnesty. The message they are asking protesters to share with Hillary is: It s not racist to have a border! Join Infowars reporter Joe Biggs and let Hillary hear your voice!Historic Sunset Station12:30 pm1174 E. Commerce St.San Antonio, TX.Live coverage starts at 11 am at Infowars.com | 0 |
22,511 | democrat electors try to persuade gop electors to abandon trump | on the kelly file monday actor tim allen discussed the hypocrisy of hollywood liberals who he noted constantly complained about trump being a bully but now are the ones doing the bullying of the tiny minority of trump supporters wh | 1 |
22,512 | the dream team of hillary clinton and michelle obama fire democrats up in north carolina | richard w painter wrote in a new york times an oped the fbis job is to investigate not to influence the outcome of an election
such acts could also be prohibited under the hatch act which bars the use of an official position to influence an election that is why the fbi presumably would keep those aspects of an investigation confidential until after the election the usual penalty for a violation is termination of federal employment
and that is why on saturday i filed a complaint against the fbi with the office of special counsel which investigates hatch act violations and with the office of government ethics i have spent much of my career working on government ethics and lawyers ethics including two and a half years as the chief white house ethics lawyer for president george w bush and i never thought that the fbi could be dragged into a political circus surrounding one of its investigations until this week
this is the second complaint to be filed against fbi director comey the democratic coalition against trump has also filed a complaint against comey for interfering in a presidential election as a federal employee
suspicion around comeys actions has grown as the fbi director is not expected to make any additional statements on this matter before the presidential election director comey appears to have set himself for problems after the election as senate democrats are making it known that they are open to holding hearings to investigate the fbi investigation if they win back the senate majority
unless trump wins and republicans take control of congress director comey is going to have to answer for his decisions
as the complaints pile up it looks like congressional testimony may be the least of james comeys future problems | 1 |
22,513 | OOPS! Did The Media Think Voters Would Forget About HILLARY’S “FRIEND and MENTOR” Late KKK Leader Robert Byrd? [VIDEO] | The astounding hypocrisy of the leftist media has been left unchecked for decades. All of that is about to change. And no matter what side of the aisle you find yourself on, forcing the media to do their jobs and report the news is a benefit to every single American. It s not their job to be popular amongst their peers or to have opinions their readers agree with. Their job is to report the news. Perhaps this little video or nugget of truth slipped their minds?Despite mounting criticism for Donald Trump s failure to disavow former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard David Duke s support, Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton once heaped praise for late Klan leader Sen. Robert Byrd.In a video uploaded to the State Department s official YouTube page on June 28, 2010, Clinton commemorated late Sen. Byrd by saying, Today our country has lost a true American original, my friend and mentor Robert C. Byrd. Via: Daily CallerAnd when the former KKK member, Senator Robert Byrd died, Barack Obama gave the eulogy:President Obama lauded the late Sen. Robert C. Byrd today for keeping faith with his family, his state of West Virginia and his beloved U.S. Constitution. He was a Senate icon, he was a party leader, he was an elder statesman, and he was my friend, Obama told thousands who gathered for Byrd s funeral on the steps of the golden-domed West Virginia statehouse. That s how I ll remember him. | 0 |
22,514 | The economy of Wolfgang Schaeuble - at a glance | LONDON (Reuters) - Wolfgang Schaeuble, Germany s pro-austerity finance minister, is preparing to quit his job and become head of the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, various sources said on Wednesday. As the following graphic shows, his time as finance chief starting in 2009 has been one of general improvement for Germany s economy, if not exactly smooth. After recovering from the 2007-2008 financial crisis, Germany has put in a series of solid growth years. Indeed, although the government s projection of 1.5 percent this year would be slower than 2016, it is widely expected to be upgraded soon. Germany s leading economic institutes are expecting 1.9 percent growth this year, the same as in 2016. With much of the focus of Schaeuble s term being on growth, inflation - very low but a German fixation nonetheless - and fiscal rectitude, one macro improvement has been fairly neglected. The unemployment rate since Schaeuble took office has plummeted. It was above 8 percent when he took the reins at the finance minister; the latest reading was 5.7 percent, by far the lowest since Germany s reunification and some time before that. GDP per capita is not such a bullish story. After taking off in the immediate post-crisis years, it has leveled off, suggesting Germans may be a bit worse off than they were. | 1 |
22,515 | BADASS CAMPUS COPS Cite Students For Wearing EMPTY Holster At College That Bans Water Guns [VIDEO] | Trigger warning If liberal schools and badass campus cops offend you, this video may cause a spike in your blood pressure Two University of South Alabama students were confronted by campus police Wednesday, and one student was cited for causing alarm by wearing an empty holster. This week is the empty holster protest for Students for Concealed Carry in Alabama to demonstrate that students are defenseless on campus, D.J. Parten, president of Students for Concealed Carry, told Campus Reform. Along with fellow club member Kenneth Tews, Parten was also promoting an upcoming screening of the movie Can We Take a Joke? when three campus police officers approached their table demanding identification.Video footage, obtained by Campus Reform, shows one of the police officers asking to search the students, and when they exercise their right to refuse, another officer becoming aggravated and warning that he will find something to charge them with if they remain uncooperative a threat that is eventually carried out against Parten.The school s website states that all weapons are prohibited in University housing buildings, parking lots, and on University property adding that this includes, but is not limited to, bullets, ball bearing bullets, bullet balls, pellets, firearms, guns, knives, paintball guns, air guns, hunting bows, archery bows, swords, martial arts weapons, and replicas of such weapons. Toy and water guns are prohibited. Parton protested that nothing in the policy even implies that he is not allowed to wear the empty holster, particularly since he was doing it as a way of drawing attention to the school s no-gun policy, but made no headway with the intractable officer, who insisted that the empty holster represented a potential safety hazard because it implied the existence of a firearm whose whereabouts he could not ascertain. Is this just because I have a holster on me? Parten asks the officer after turning over his identification. Yeah, it is, because somebody called it in, the officer replies matter-of-factly. You know there s a no-weapons policy out here, but still you want to push it. Uh this is a protest, Parten submits after a short pause, evidently caught off-guard by the notion that an empty holster might violate the policy. Did you get permission to wear it? the officer queries him. I don t need permission to wear it, Parten replies confidently. You need permission from the university. To wear a holster? he asks with undisguised incredulity.Standing his rhetorical ground, the officer simply shrugs off the challenge and says, There s a no-weapons policy here. It s not a weapon. I understand that, the officer concedes. Take it up with Dean of Students, then, because y all are gonna be written up for disciplinary [sic], and I will put in there your attitude, you understand? Assuming a more confrontational demeanor, the officer then turns to Parten and states, So I m gonna ask you one more time: where s the weapon? I don t have it, Parten tells him. It s at home. Later in the video, though, the first officer calls Parten over after the others have stepped away and acknowledges that neither of the students had technically done anything wrong, then requests for your safety as well as mine that they be more compliant in the future when officers respond to reports of a possible weapon. What you re doing is not against the rules or the law, he explains, but when we get a call thinking somebody might have a gun, you have to be polite and cooperative, because if you start being difficult, [it looks like] you re carrying something. Your friend here had his hands in pockets, and he kind of laughed when I asked him to take them out, but he forgot that he put this little folding knife that has a clip on the outside in his pocket. Parton and Tews counter that, at least with respect to the holsters (which were the reason the officers were called, in the first place), they were engaged in a public display that was explicitly billed as an empty holster protest. Via: Campus Reform | 0 |
22,516 | Trump, in law and order speech, calls for African-American support | WEST BEND, WIS. (Reuters) - U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Tuesday delivered his most aggressive call yet to woo African-American voters, vowing to restore law and order, only days after a fatal police shooting of a black man sparked more street violence. Speaking a few miles from Milwaukee, which was rocked by weekend riots, Trump accused his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton of “bigotry” and vowed to protect the jobs of minorities from immigrants. Trump has been repeatedly called a “bigot” by his Democratic opponents. “I’m asking for the vote for every African-American citizen struggling in our society today who wants a different and much better future,” Trump said. “Jobs, safety, opportunity, fair and equal representation: We reject the bigotry of Hillary Clinton which panders to, and talks down to, communities of color and sees them only as votes – that’s all they care about – not as individual human beings worthy of a better future.” Earlier, Trump held three events in Milwaukee, a city still reeling from violent protests after the death of Sylville Smith, 23. Authorities said Smith was stopped for acting suspiciously and was shot by police because he was carrying an illegal handgun and refused orders to drop it. Trump encountered only a handful of peaceful protesters while in the city, including some at a closed fundraiser. He held a brief meeting with veterans and law enforcement, including Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke and Inspector Edward Bailey. But news media representatives were escorted out and not permitted to hear the discussions. Clarke, who is black and spoke at last month’s Republican National Convention, has criticized the protests, writing in an opinion piece for The Hill that they were “a collapse of the social order, where tribal behavior leads to reacting to circumstances instead of waiting for facts to emerge.” Trump also taped a town hall meeting with Fox News, in which he blamed President Barack Obama for what he sees as hostility toward police. “He has not been good to the police, simply, and the police are not big fans of his,” Trump said. Trump traveled 45 minutes outside of Milwaukee, which is 40 percent black, to deliver his appeal to African-American voters in the suburb of West Bend, Wisconsin, a community that is 95 percent white. He spoke before an almost entirely white audience. “A vote for her (Clinton) is a vote for another generation of poverty, high crime and lost opportunities,” Trump said. “Crime and violence is an attack on the poor and it will never be accepted in a Trump administration.” Clinton won the Democratic nomination in part thanks to her large victory margins among minorities in nearly every state, including overwhelming support from African-Americans in the South. “With each passing Trump attack, it becomes clearer that his strategy is just to say about Hillary Clinton what’s true of himself,” Clinton spokeswoman Jennifer Palmieri said. “When people started saying he was temperamentally unfit, he called Hillary the same. When his ties to the Kremlin came under scrutiny, he absurdly claimed that Hillary was the one who was too close to Putin. “Now he’s accusing her of bigoted remarks - we think the American people will know which candidate is guilty of the charge.” Trump also took aim at Clinton’s past acceptance of large speaking fees, saying he would force top administration officials to sign a pledge not to accept speaking fees from corporations with registered lobbyists or foreign countries for five years after leaving office. Police violence against African-Americans has set off intermittent, sometimes violent protests in the past two years, igniting a national debate over race and policing in the United States and giving rise to the Black Lives Matter movement. Trump said critics of the police “share in the responsibility for the unrest in Milwaukee and other places in our country.” “The war on our police must end and it must end now,” Trump said. “The war on police is a war against all peaceful citizens.” The shooting of Smith was likely justified, Trump argued in an interview with Fox News on Tuesday morning. “But the gun was pointed at his (a police officer’s) head, supposedly ready to be fired. Who can have a problem with that? That’s what the narrative is,” Trump said. “Maybe it’s not true. If it is true, people shouldn’t be rioting.” Officials from the Office of Director of National Intelligence are expected to give Trump a briefing on national security issues this week, an adviser to Trump and a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. Presidential candidates are entitled to a briefing of classified information after formally securing the nomination, which Trump did last month. Hillary Clinton, Trump’s Democratic rival for the Nov. 8 election, is also entitled to receive a briefing if she requests one. Democrats have criticized Trump’s positions on foreign policy and national security, besides some freewheeling remarks. Democratic President Barack Obama has called Trump “unfit” for the presidency and this month warned the Republican candidate that briefing information must be kept secret. | 1 |
22,517 | The Very Scary Reason Trump’s Evangelicals Don’t Care About Cuts To Programs For Those In Need | As our current administration continues to prove that it has no actual concern for the working class, it s hard to image why Trump is supported by anyone other than the rich. The White House s current budget proposals put support for the poor, sick, and elderly on the chopping block in favor of tax breaks for the wealthy. Besides being economically unjust, wouldn t these slashes in services be against the Christian obligation to charity? Why do evangelicals stand strong in their support for Trump?The fact that Trump is a seemingly odd choice for political leadership among evangelicals has been debated since he first announced his bid to run. The prevailing explanation for their support is that evangelicals merely tolerate Trump because they care about fighting abortion/LGBTQ and therefore the preservation of their religious freedom.But why the support for tax cuts over the assistance for those in need? According to an article by Religion Dispatches, it s about more than just toleration. The huge budget cuts are part of the religious right keeping up their understanding of a biblical worldview and are an important part of its agenda.According to sphere sovereignty a theory of how the Bible rules every aspect of life God has given authority to men in government, but this authority has very limited roles. This view holds that man s role in civil government only allows for property protection and criminal punishment. According to this view, it is the families job to help the poor, with some secondary help from the church. If tax money is used to help the poor it is seen as tyrannically exceeding the biblical authority of the government and is considered stealing.This arcane position is held and popularized in some mainstream evangelical circles and articulated by radio host David Barton. It s also taught in Christian school curricula and promoted in books and conferences.This view is the basis for many new administration policies, and the reason many of Trump s appointees are trying to shut down the agencies they are in charge of. Even the Department of Education is being led by a person who strongly believes that it s the families responsibility to educate children and that civil government should stay out of it.Trump himself probably doesn t hold these theoretical views, but Mike Pence sure does, and he s already making sure the biblical worldview is the basis for Trump s policies.Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images | 0 |
22,518 | Not over yet: Reid cautions Democrats relishing Trump election battle | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - For some Democrats, Donald Trump may seem to be a gift - set to steer Republicans into a trainwreck election in November - but senior Democrat Harry Reid said on Thursday he worried people might be too confident. “Am I concerned about it? Of course I am,” the U.S. Senate Democratic leader said in a conference call with reporters. “I think this race could be a debacle for the Republicans,” Reid added. “But I’m not taking anything for granted. I’m not being over confident.” Trump effectively clinched the Republican presidential nomination for the Nov. 8 election this week after a primary battle that angered many - including in his own party’s establishment - for his bombastic style and proposals such as building a wall along the southern U.S. border to keep out Mexicans. Some Democrats believe that divisive style makes him an easier opponent than some of the other 16 Republicans who started out in the race. Trump’s Democratic opponent will likely be former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Reid, who is retiring from the Senate after this year, used his position as the Senate’s Democratic leader in 2012 to aggressively attack then-Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. During a teleconference to discuss Trump and Republican opposition to Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland, Reid made clear that he will perform in a similar role against Trump. “By nominating Trump, I guess it’s the natural evolution of a party that’s spent eight years defining itself entirely on what it’s against: anti-immigrant, anti-woman,...anti-Obama, anti-working people,” said the senator from Nevada. Reid, who has called Trump a “monster,” said there should be a closer look at Trump’s business dealings and called on the real estate developer to open up his tax records. Reid recalled some of his own campaigns in his political career that were lost or won by razor-thin margins, adding, “I can speak from personal experience. You cannot be over-confident.” | 1 |
22,519 | Tillerson says does not agree with Trump comments on nuclear arms | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson said on Wednesday that he does not agree with President-elect Donald Trump’s comments that it would not be a bad thing if other countries, including Japan, acquired nuclear weapons. Asked by Democratic Senator Edward Markey about Trump’s comments, Tillerson said during his Senate confirmation hearing that he did not think anyone would advocate for more nuclear weapons on the planet. Pressed further by Markey on whether he agreed with Trump’s remarks, Tillerson replied: “I do not agree.” | 1 |
22,520 | This Explains A Lot: Trump Said To Have Fox News-Destroying Dirt, Using It To Keep Network In Line | Why has Fox News been Donald Trump s cheerleader, even while he viciously attacks its employees? The answer may be as simple as blackmail.While much of the Republican establishment has turned on Donald Trump (conservative newspaper National Review published an entire issue bashing Trump, recall), Fox News has been conspicuously on the sidelines. It s certainly not because they want to remain neutral to the political process. This is the network, remember, that has no problem criticizing Obama for, say, eating at a nice restaurant or doing a comedy show. They ve never shied away from wearing their hack-y opinions on their sleeves.But even as Trump goes after one of Fox News biggest stars, Megyn Kelly, with sexist, disgusting digs at her, the network has repeatedly bent over backwards to accommodate the Republican front-runner.An explosive report in New York magazine may reveal a clue as to why:An odd bit of coincidence had given him a card to play against Fox founder Roger Ailes. In 2014, I published a biography of Ailes, which upset the famously paranoid executive. Several months before it landed in stores, Ailes fired his longtime PR adviser Brian Lewis, accusing him of being a source. During Lewis s severance negotiations, Lewis hired Judd Burstein, a powerhouse litigator, and claimed he had bombs that would destroy Ailes and Fox News. That s when Trump got involved.Trump has often bragged about this encounter, citing it as an example of his superior negotiating skills. But he also got something out of it. When Roger was having problems, he didn t call 97 people, he called me, Trump said. Burstein, it turned out, had worked for Trump briefly in the 90s, and Ailes asked Trump to mediate. Trump ran the negotiations out of his office at Trump Tower. Roger had lawyers, very expensive lawyers, and they couldn t do anything. I solved the problem. Fox paid Lewis millions to go away quietly, and Trump, I m told, learned everything Lewis had planned to leak. If Ailes ever truly went to war against Trump, Trump would have the arsenal to launch a retaliatory strike.Information that Fox News head Roger Ailes paid millions to keep quiet is floating around Trump s brain somewhere, just ready to come out of his mouth should the network really provoke him. It s no wonder Ailes has freaked out each time Trump threatened to go nuclear on the network. In a telling moment, when things had come to a head between Fox and Trump, Ailes the man behind the most watched news network in America rolled over and showed his belly. Unconditional surrender. Trump won.Roger Ailes just called. He is a great guy & assures me that Trump will be treated fairly on @FoxNews. His word is always good! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 10, 2015In another example, after Trump went after Kelly, the Fox host opened up to Charlie Rose about how bad for the network Trump s animosity would be:Speaking for herself and Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes, Kelly told Rose, Neither one of us wanted any sort of a war with Donald Trump. We didn t think that benefited the channel, we didn t think it benefited me, and we don t think it benefited Donald Trump, adding that she believes Trump would agree.Kelly said they just wanted to forge forward and put it behind us and not pour anymore fuel on that fire. The result is some cringeworthy segments that feature Fox pundits twisting themselves into pretzels to defend Trump s nonsense. When Trump recently changed his position on abortion three times in two days, with each new stance more nonsensical than the last, Fox s reliably dim-witted Andrea Tantaros found a way to blame his gaffes on a trap set by Hillary Clinton to make Trump look stupid.For years, Ailes had exploited Trump s star power to take shots at Obama. The billionaire was a regular guest on the network, and Fox no doubt introduce Trump s brand of egocentric conservatism to millions of viewers. When they had a common enemy in Obama, things were fine. Ailes never seemed to anticipate being placed in a position where Trump would use the dirt he had on Ailes against him. Like the GOP more broadly, Fox helped create the Trump Monster and now seem shocked to find that he has wrested control away from them and is on the warpath. It would almost be funny, if it weren t so scary.Featured image via ThinkProgress screenshot | 0 |
22,521 | JUST IN: TRUMP Will Remove “Climate Change” From List Of National Security Threats | Thank goodness we finally have a President who refuses to dump our taxpayer funds into climate scam that our former President actually identified as a national security threat According to The Federalist, The Trump administration will reverse course from previous Obama administration policy, eliminating climate change from a list of national security threats. The National Security Strategy to be released on Monday will emphasize the importance of balancing energy security with economic development and environmental protection, according to a source who has seen the document and shared excerpts of a late draft. Climate policies will continue to shape the global energy system, a draft of the National Security Strategy slated to be released on Monday said. U.S. leadership is indispensable to countering an anti-growth, energy agenda that is detrimental to U.S. economic and energy security interests. Given future global energy demand, much of the developing world will require fossil fuels, as well as other forms of energy, to power their economies and lift their people out of poverty. During his successful campaign, Trump mocked Obama s placement of climate change in the context of national security. Here s a sample of his approach from a campaign speech in Hilton Head, South Carolina, in late 2015:So Obama s always talking about the global warming, that global warming is our biggest and most dangerous problem, OK? No, no, think of it. I mean, even if you re a believer in global warming, ISIS is a big problem, Russia s a problem, China s a problem. We ve got a lot of problems. By the way, the maniac in North Korea is a problem. He actually has nuclear weapons, right? That s a problem.We ve got a lot of problems. We ve got a lot of problems. That s right, we don t win anymore. He said we want to win. We don t win anymore. We re going to win a lot if I get elected, we re going to win a lot. (Applause)We re going to win so much we re going to win a lot. We re going to win a lot. We re going to win so much you re all going to get sick and tired of winning. You re going to say oh no, not again. I m only kidding. You never get tired of winning, right? Never. (Applause)But think of it. So Obama s talking about all of this with the global warming and the a lot of it s a hoax, it s a hoax. I mean, it s a money-making industry, OK? It s a hoax, a lot of it. And look, I want clean air and I want clean water. That s my global I want clean, clean crystal water and I want clean air. And we can do that, but we don t have to destroy our businesses, we don t have to destroy our And by the way, China isn t abiding by anything. They re buying all of our coal; we can t use coal anymore essentially. They re buying our coal and they re using it. Now when you talk about the planet, it s so big out there we re here, they re there, it s like they re our next door neighbor, right, in terms of the universe.The draft of the National Security Strategy makes this approach policy, emphasizing national security and economic growth over climate change.President Obama made climate change, and the burdensome regulations that accompany its focus, a primary focus of his administration, including in his National Security Strategy released in 2015. [W]e are working toward an ambitious new global climate change agreement to shape standards for prevention, preparedness, and response over the next decade, that report said.Watch Barack Obama explain how climate change is national security threat: By contrast, President Trump s National Security Strategy will focus on conventional and immediate national security risks. The draft says, in part:North Korea seeks the capability to kill millions of Americans with nuclear weapons. Iran supports terrorist groups and openly calls for our destruction. Jihadist terrorist organizations such as ISIS and al Qaeda are determined to attack the United States and radicalize Americans with their hateful ideology. States and non-state actors undermine social order with drug and human trafficking networks, which drive violent crimes and cause thousands of American deaths each year . Strengthening control over our borders and immigration system is central to national security, economic prosperity, and the rule of law. Terrorists, drug traffickers, and criminal cartels exploit porous borders and threaten U.S. security and public safety. These actors adapt quickly to outpace our defenses.As for climate change, the draft report says The United States will remain a global leader in reducing traditional pollution, as well as greenhouse gases, while growing its economy. This achievement, which can serve as model to other countries, flows from innovation, technology breakthroughs, and energy efficiency gains not from onerous regulation. FOX News reported on the NOAA intentional manipulation of data that was given to President Obama and other world leaders prior to the 2015 Paris Climate summit where Western nations agreed to spend billions to combat phony climate change: | 0 |
22,522 | Austria's conservatives, Social Democrats to sue each other ahead of vote | VIENNA (Reuters) - Austria s co-governing Social Democrats (SPO) and conservative (OVP), who are leading in polls ahead of the Oct. 15 election, said on Friday they would sue each other in an escalating political smear scandal. A public outcry over derogatory Facebook pages targeting OVP leader Sebastian Kurz, run by campaign consultants hired by the SPO, has already led to the departure of its campaign manager and loss of popularity in a recent poll. The limit has been reached. We re suing, OVP general secretary Elisabeth Koestinger told a news conference. She said her party was preparing a libel suit against an employee of SPO campaign consultant Tal Silberstein, whom the SPO fired in August, to force him to retract comments that the OVP had offered him 100,000 euros ($116,980) to switch sides. We are also preparing to sue the SPO in relation to incitement, she said, adding the lawsuit could be broadened. SPO chairman Christoph Matznetter said the SPO was preparing a lawsuit against Kurz s spokesman seeking to clarify whether he did or did not offer money to Silberstein s employee. He said such an act could amount to bribery and industrial espionage . SPO Chancellor Christian Kern, who has governed in a tension-ridden grand coalition with the OVP, has said he knew nothing of the dirty campaigning pages and has asked Facebook to unmask the people running them. At the behest of the SPO, Vienna prosecutors are investigating unnamed persons for defamation as the pages also included derogatory content aimed at Kern. The OVP is leading pre-election polls at around 34 percent, while the SPO has slipped to third place at 22 percent below the far-right, anti-immigrant Freedom Party at 27 percent. | 1 |
22,523 | Students LOSE IT After Conservative Speaker Tells Them Feminism Is ‘Cancer’ (VIDEO) | On Monday, Milo Yiannopoulos an editor for conservative website Breitbart offended students at the University of Massachusetts when he told them that feminism was a cancer on society during a panel about political correctness organized by the school s College Republicans group.Let s just say those misogynistic conservative views didn t go over too well. While some students were cheering for the panel, it was clear that several students did not like what the conservative speakers had to say. Once Yiannopoulos announced, Feminism is cancer. Thank you very much, everything began to go downhill. It didn t take long before one brave, outspoken female student began to protest, shouting F*ck you! F*ck you! to Yiannopoulos and called him a rape apologist. As Christina Hoff Sommers, another speaker on the panel, tried to ignore the inflammatory situation happening in the audience by moving onto the subject of how evil third-wave feminism was, the protester continued to only get louder. The student shouted over everyone, This is free speech! Keep your hate speech off this campus! She added, Stop talking to us like children! Sommers fired back at the student, Then stop acting like a child! The entire assembly quickly fell apart, causing chaos to errupt as several more students began objecting to the panel s misogynistic views.You can watch the insane footage from the event below, courtesy of college news website Campus Reform:The students disrupted the panel so much that Yiannopoulos actually threatened to donate $50 to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump s campaign every time they were interrupted.Sadly, Yiannopoulos wasn t the only a**hole speaker disrespecting the students at this gathering. While addressing the packed audience of students, conservative comedian Steven Crowder called the protesters silly liberal fruitcakes when they tried to counter the speakers hateful rhetoric. Crowder was also kind enough to remind the students that Yiannopoulos Dangerous Faggot Tour was a response to protesters like themselves. He said, This monster right here that you re so afraid of the face you see in your nightmares, was created by social justice warrior a**holes like you. Just to prove what a misogynist Yiannopoulos really is, this is what he tweeted after the event:NEW CLUB BANGER https://t.co/ZGcq1Pcp6e Milo Yiannopoulos (@Nero) April 27, 2016The anti-woman attitude of the entire panel is extremely disgusting. You can watch the entire assembly below, with Yiannopoulos cancer remarks starting at about 3 minutes in:Featured image is a screenshot | 0 |
22,524 | Trump on Putin: 'we get along very, very well' - CBN interview | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Wednesday his lengthy meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit was a good sign and showed the two countries can work together on issues like the ceasefire in Syria where they share interests. In an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network, Trump said: “I think we get along very, very well. We are a tremendously powerful nuclear power, and so are they. It doesn’t make sense not to have some kind of relationship.” The U.S. leader also took a dig at his Democratic campaign rival Hillary Clinton, saying Putin would have been much happier with her as president because she wouldn’t have spent as much on the U.S. military as he plans to. | 1 |
22,525 | WATCH: Democratic Rep SHREDS Republicans For Trying To Repeal Obamacare | Republicans are poised to take healthcare away from millions of Americans, but incoming Democratic Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester won t let them do so without a fight.During an appearance on CNN with Jake Tapper, Rochester took on two Republicans over their pathetic ideas to replace the Affordable Care Act and she made it clear that she definitely belongs in the House of Representatives.Darrell Issa and Marsha Blackburn spewed quite a bit of nonsense during the panel discussion, with Blackburn insisting that repealing Obamacare would make health care cheaper and that nobody would fall through the cracks. The goal is to make certain that everyone has access to affordable heath care, Blackburn said. And then as you phase out, let s say the insurance components, Title I of the Obamacare bill. And you set that up to phase out, so you get rid of the mandate, you get rid of the excise tax, you allow portability and you pass legislation of across-state-line health insurance and open up the insurance marketplace. So Blackburn s solution is to strip Americans of the insurance over time and then replace the law with new laws that don t have anything to do with the current protections Obamacare provides.She also doesn t appear to understand that Obamacare already makes health insurance more affordable and accessible and that without the mandate many young Americans will simply opt out of buying insurance, which will weaken the pool and make insurance more expensive.Rochester responded by informing Blackburn that Obamacare not only makes health insurance affordable and accessible, it provides many protections that would be lost by repealing the law. That was a landmark I will always remember, the Delaware Democrat said. That was sort of like seeing an FDR thing in my own lifetime. I talked to a lot of people in my state. And everybody agreed that no law is perfect. But to the extent that we ve touched every single American, everything from dealing with pre-existing conditions to discriminating against women for your coverage to your children who are 26 years or under being able to covered, there are so many good things. And what I would hope is that we would come together and say, Okay, what are things that we can agree on? There are parts to this that you can t just pull apart. It s not that simple. Issa, meanwhile, added his idea to replace Obamacare that has nothing to do with making healthcare accessible and affordable. He not only wants to eliminate federal subsidies that would prevent low-income individuals and families from affording health insurance, he wants to strip patients of their right to pursue legal action if their doctor or hospital screws up their care, like removing the wrong leg during an operation.Rochester had a response to that as well. I hope that we will come up with the solutions before we try to get rid of something that will impact all Americans, she said. I think it would be malpractice, pun intended. Here s the video via YouTube.Repealing Obamacare is going to be more difficult than Republicans realize. Not only would they enrage millions of Americans, they d be pissing off their own constituents since many conservatives in red states also rely on Obamacare.But these Republican ideas are not a real plan. They fail to address most of the aspects of Obamacare that people like, which Rochester listed such as requiring insurance companies to cover people with pre-existing conditions and treating women equally.Taking health care away from Americans while stripping them of their rights as patients does nothing but hurt people and it would cause the uninsured rate to skyrocket and return America back to the not so distant days when a major health crisis could cause a family to go bankrupt and lose their home. It s time for Republicans to accept that Obamacare should remain intact and move on to dealing with real problems that need solutions.Featured image via screenshot | 0 |
22,526 | Watch Jennifer Lawrence PERFECTLY Identify What’s Wrong With Modern Day Life (VIDEO) | Modern day culture is far from what it used to be. Technology has taken over human contact and conversation, and people are seemingly forgetting what it s like the actually speak with a person who is directly in front of them. This forgetfulness can also be seen in the depths of Twitter as trolls seem to feel they can say anything to anyone at any time with no remorse for their actions or words because there is no human face attached to who they are attacking.A great example of this lack of human interaction experience occurred after Jennifer Lawrence won her Golden Globe for her performance in Joy. In what some people are calling rude, the actress was just being brutally honest and some people forget what it s like to point something out to someone s face. In actuality, the person who was being rude was a particular reporter who was asking Lawrence a question surrounding her win.The reporter begins to ask Lawrence a question, but the Oscar winner quickly cuts him off and says: You can t live your whole life behind your phone, bro You can t do that. You ve got to live in the now. You know? The reporter continuing on, mentioned the Oscars, so Lawrence, being the quit-witted person that she is, drove home her point: We re at the Golden Globes. If you put your phone down, you d know that. Now, to the people calling Lawrence rude Really? She was clearly giving that reporter her undivided attention and was making herself available to answer his question, and he was still staring at his phone. So, who was rude? It certainly wasn t Lawrence for pointing it out.If you go back and watch the Golden Globes during the part when Amy Schumer and Jennifer Lawrence were announcing each other s films, you can see that there was a jab at people using their phones then, too.We ve become a culture all too reliant on our cell phones and technology that we ve forgotten basic human interaction skills, better known as social skills. Don t call someone rude for pointing out rude behavior. Take what they are saying to heart, understand why it may offend you, because you may be just as guilty, and remember that human beings should, in fact, have human interaction without technology getting in the way.Lawrence perfectly points out what s wrong with modern-day life, and kudos to her for doing so. We all need to live in the now. Life is happening before our very eyes if we make the decision to look up from our mobile devices. Jennifer Lawrence calls out a reporter for not looking up from his phone. #GoldenGlobes #backstage https://t.co/anWeQCsIL6 Variety (@Variety) January 11, 2016 Video/Featured image: Twitter | 0 |
22,527 | MN: Why Did Police “Stand Down”? GROTESQUE VIDEO Shows Male Hillary Supporter PUNCHING Elderly Trump Supporter Several Times, Other Trump Supporters Spit On, Assaulted And Robbed | Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump was in Minneapolis Friday night for a fundraiser held at the city s convention city that was besieged outside by violent liberal protesters.Trump supporters attending the rally were punched, spit on and robbed while Trump s Secret Service motorcade was blocked by protesters who jumped on one of the vehicles.Update: Protests at Donald Trump event turn unruly late. Police: No arrests, minor damage. https://t.co/T6fT3A7dk1 pic.twitter.com/RbJLBZK024 Star Tribune (@StarTribune) August 20, 2016Now this The Trump supporters said the police stood back at they were assaulted, robbed and spit on. No arrests were made. PJ Media reported:A week ago in Minneapolis, Republican donors attending a Trump fundraiser were assaulted, robbed and spat upon by a violent leftist mob as they were leaving the event. Attendees say that even though there was a strong law enforcement presence at the convention center downtown where the fundraiser was held, they were not afforded any police protection when coming to and leaving the event and even more incredibly, there were no arrests.Many people who attended the event told Fox 9 that police seemed to back down from intervening, but the Minneapolis Police Department insists there was no stand-down order. GP | 0 |
22,528 | BREAKING: PROTESTER JUMPS ON STAGE…Grabs Trump…Secret Service REACTS…Trump Reaction Is PRICELESS [Video] | A protester tried to attack Trump today at a rally in Dayton, OH but was subdued by the Secret Service. The crowd went nuts! Trump s reaction is PRICELESS: | 0 |
22,529 | Nasralla practically assured of Honduras election win-official | TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - With 70 percent of ballots counted in the Honduran presidential election, opposition candidate Salvador Nasralla maintains a five point lead over President Juan Orlando Hernandez, and is set to win, an election official said on Monday. The technical experts here say that it s irreversible, said Marcos Ramiro Lobo, one of four election tribunal magistrates. (Nasralla) is practically the winner. Speaking to Reuters, Lobo said Nasralla had kept up a five point advantage over the incumbent Hernandez, who had been widely expected to win before the election took place. | 1 |
22,530 | Conservative Supreme Court Ruling Just Gave The Oil Companies A Big Win | In what is considered a massive set-back not just to Obama s environmental policy, but to the very planet we live on, the Supreme Court just killed the best chance America had to combat climate change in the foreseeable future. And if you think this wasn t politically motivated the five Justices responsible all come from the right side of the bench.In a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court ruled to stay the requirements that energy companies needed to rein in the ludicrous amount of carbon that they were pouring into the atmosphere. For decades, scientists have warned that this carbon is among the number one contributors to global warming. Obama had hoped to address this with a landmark move to curtail these emissions with an initiative he named the Clean Power Plan. With strong but achievable standards for power plants, and customized goals for states to cut the carbon pollution that is driving climate change, the Clean Power Plan provides national consistency, accountability and a level playing field while reflecting each state s energy mix. It also shows the world that the United States is committed to leading global efforts to address climate change.Or not.Instead, America s right-wing showed the world once again that it is not remotely serious about trying to combat climate change. Naturally, this lack of initiative gives other major polluters like China a fantastic excuse to not curtail their own emissions. We will, when you do, they might say.For now, the oil and gas companies get to ignore the rule. This is a major victory for the corporations that are most responsible for polluting in the first place. The Koch brothers, of course, were vehemently opposed to the new plans. So too were the Republican politicians they sponsor. How desperate were Republicans to let their pollution-heavy friends off the hook? Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell broke with all existing protocol to deliver a letter to all 50 United States governors telling them to simply ignore Obama s EPA requirements altogether.The four liberal justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan all wrote that they objected to the stay.But if all of this shady monkey wrench tossing is giving you a sense of hopeless, the silver lining is this: All that is standing in the way of bold new plans like this becoming law are five aging conservative members of the Supreme Court. It s expected that the next president will get to appoint at least two new Justices. The ability to change the course of not just America s, but the world s climate rests with who Americans chose as their next president this year. That s a lot of power. Let s use it to elect a person who has our interests in mind, not the Koch brothers.Feature image from YouTube | 0 |
22,531 | The GOP Will Hate This Humiliating Fact Harry Reid Just Pointed Out About SCOTUS Nominations | Politifact just humiliated Senate Republicans big time.During an appearance on Meet The Press on Sunday, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid pointed out that Democrats have never held up a Supreme Court nominee the way Republicans are doing now. You have to look at what has happened, Reid said. We have never held up a Supreme Court nomination. Since 1900 in a lame-duck session, there have been six that have all been approved. Here s the video via NBC:Republicans are probably crying foul at this point, but Politifact took up the case and investigated Reid s claims, and conservatives are definitely not going to like the results.As it turns out, Politifact rated Reid s claim as Mostly True. Despite Republican claims that Democrats started some kind of precedent for their own actions in the present day, the fact-checking organization found that only Republicans have ever not held hearings for a Supreme Court nominee.Politifact pointed out that when President Bush nominated Harriet Miers to a fill a vacancy on the high court both Democrats and Republicans objected, therefore, Democrats are not solely responsible for denying a nominee a full hearing. Miers also at least was allowed to meet with the Senate Judiciary Committee, which under Republican control is flatly denying current nominee Merrick Garland a meeting of any kind.Then Politifact moved on to the 1987 nomination of extreme conservative Robert Bork, which was highly contentious. Democrats did, indeed, launch much public opposition against him, but in the end, even Bork received a full hearing and lost.The nomination of Samuel Alito in 2005 drew filibuster attempts by Democrats, including Reid and then-Senator Obama, but as Reid pointed out to Chuck Todd, Alito is sitting on the Supreme Court bench now because Democrats dropped their filibuster effort and he was confirmed.Despite the latter two contentious nomination battles, Politifact ruled that they can t find a time when a Democratic Senate refused to hear a Republican president s nominee. Even if they were opposed, they allowed the nominee to come to a confirmation vote. In short, only Republicans have refused to even hold hearings for a Supreme Court nominee and it s not because of some non-existent tradition started by Democrats or some non-existent precedent that goes back 80 years regarding election year nominations. It s because Republicans are throwing a temper tantrum because they don t want the black president to extend his legacy through the Supreme Court. That and they think only a conservative is entitled to replace Scalia.The bottom line, however, is that Senate Republicans need to suck it up and do their jobs because the American people and the Constitution demand it.Featured image: Cagle | 0 |
22,532 | Oregon governor signs tiered minimum wage measure into law | PORTLAND, Ore. (Reuters) - Earnings for minimum-wage workers in Portland, Oregon will rise by $5.50 an hour over the next six years, with lesser increases set for smaller towns and rural areas under a first-of-its-kind measure signed into law on Wednesday by Oregon’s governor. Oregon has been in the vanguard of a growing number of U.S. states and cities that have moved in recent years to bolster the federal minimum wage, which has remained at $7.25 an hour since 2009. The latest measure builds on a current Oregon wage floor that already stands at $9.25 an hour statewide under a law enacted in 2002. Supporters say such measures are necessary to help low-paid workers who have been slipping into poverty due to stagnant earnings and rising living expenses. Opponents say raising the mandatory wage floor puts an undue strain on businesses still struggling to rebound from a prolonged U.S. economic slump. The bill passed by Oregon’s Democratic-led legislature and signed by Governor Kate Brown, also a Democrat, seeks to strike a balance by setting different pay tiers based on geography. Starting July 1, the minimum wage for Oregon workers statewide will climb by 50 cents an hour, with graduated increases set at higher rates for the state’s biggest city, Portland, as compared to smaller municipalities and rural communities where the cost of living is generally lower. By 2022 under the new statute the hourly minimum wage will rise to $14.75 in Portland, to $13.50 in smaller cities and towns, and to $12.50 in rural areas. “It means just an extra $15 or $20 a month starting in July, but for a mom of three just that small amount makes a big difference,” Brown said in signing the measure. She said the gradual, differentiated pay hikes would ensure that “businesses have time to plan for the increase. That’s the Oregon way.” U.S. Labor Secretary Thomas Perez hailed Oregon’s approach, adjusting the wage floor according to regional economic differences, as a model for other states to follow until Congress passes a higher national minimum wage supported by President Barack Obama. A Democratic-backed proposal to raise the federal minimum to $10.10 stalled on Capitol Hill in 2014. More recent proposals by some lawmakers call for a federal minimum wage of up to $15 an hour. Oregon Republicans who opposed the increase predicted it would cost businesses in the state $1.2 billion. | 1 |
22,533 | Democratic champion of 1986 tax reform says Trump plan may backfire | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former U.S. Senator Bill Bradley, a Democrat who helped bring about former Republican President Ronald Reagan’s bipartisan tax reform more than 30 years ago, said on Wednesday that President Donald Trump’s tax plan could backfire on Republicans. Bradley said the lack of detail in the nine-page plan and the ambitious goal of passing legislation before January could give lawmakers little time to digest the implications of the tax overhaul. The details are expected to be unveiled next week when lawmakers introduce legislation. “That’s like handing somebody a Molotov cocktail with the fuse going,” he told Reuters in an interview. “Nobody will know what it is. You hand this to somebody. They’re supposed to vote. Then they vote and the whole thing explodes,” said Bradley who represented New Jersey and was a former professional basketball star and presidential candidate. As a senator, Bradley co-sponsored a bill in 1983 that moved Reagan and Congress toward tax reform. He worked with the Republican administration and a Republican-led Senate to get a final bill enacted. By contrast, Trump and senior Republicans plan to pass their bill over a span of several weeks with little support from Democrats. Earlier on Wednesday, House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan lamented the absence of “Bill Bradley Democrats” in Congress, saying in a separate Reuters interview that the Republican plan would see significant bipartisan support if today’s Democrats were more like Bradley. But Bradley criticized Republicans for not providing details to Democrats and for pursuing a tax reform plan that he said lacks concrete principles and an effective strategy. “We haven’t seen anything specific. In the 1980s, you had three separate extremely detailed proposals,” Bradley said, referring to two in-depth Treasury Department reports on tax reform and his own legislation. The Senate Finance Committee also held more than 30 days of hearings. “You can’t work bipartisan unless you have something to work with,” Bradley added. “And the whole strategy is, ‘Do what I say or I’m going to come into your state and defeat you.’ That’s the whole strategy. That’s not a strategy. What about the country?” Bradley dismissed Trump’s four principles of tax reform: simplification; middle-class tax relief; international repatriation and competitive business tax rates. “Those aren’t principles. Those are objectives,” Bradley said. In the 1980s, lawmakers’ tax reform principles included equal incomes having equal taxes, those who earn more paying more in tax and the market as the best allocator of resources. Since Reagan, other presidents and Congresses have tried to thoroughly reform the tax code, but all have failed. Democrats and Republicans generally agree the code is too complex and inefficient. But each of its many tax breaks is zealously defended by lobbyists and lawmakers representing special interests, making comprehensive reform difficult. Bradley’s advice to Trump and Republicans? “Put something out and wait three months, four months, five months. See what the reaction is. And then you’re probably going to have to modify it because certain things are not going to work,” he said. | 1 |
22,534 | Trump says U.S. upholds and sticks to 'one China' policy: Xinhua | BEIJING (Reuters) - The United States government upholds and sticks to the “one China” policy, U.S. President Donald Trump told Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday during talks in Beijing, China’s official Xinhua news agency reported. As president-elect, Trump broke with protocol and accepted a congratulatory phone call from the Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in December, angering China, which claims the self-ruled island as integral Chinese territory. | 1 |
22,535 | Forgetful ministers keep Mugabe's name alive at Zimbabwe congress | HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe s Robert Mugabe may have been deposed as president, but some of the ruling party s senior officials are struggling to stop mentioning the man who dominated their country for 37 years. Two government ministers were left embarrassed at a party congress on Friday when they used the name of the veteran leader when referring to the man who replaced him after last month s de facto coup, new president Emmerson Mnangagwa. Energy Minister and ZANU-PF spokesman Simon Khaya-Moyo chanted Forward with President Mugabe! in the native Shona language before hastily correcting himself to Forward with President ED Mnangagwa . Mnangagwa, who was sworn in as president of the southern African country on Nov. 24, initially sat stony-faced before breaking into a smile when another official whispered to him. Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa also started referring to Mugabe as the party s candidate for elections due in 2018 before correcting himself. Mnangagwa was endorsed as the ZANU-PF leader and candidate for the top job for the vote which he said on Thursday said could be sooner than expected. Mugabe himself was out of the country. Sources said he visited a hospital in Singapore this week, apparently for medical checks. | 1 |
22,536 | Clinton considering Warren, not Sanders, for running mate: WSJ | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Hillary Clinton is considering U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren for her running mate for the Democratic presidential ticket, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing several people familiar with the process. Warren, a leading progressive voice among Democrats, is among those Democratic presidential candidate Clinton is vetting for the vice presidential position, the newspaper reported. Clinton’s rival Bernie Sanders is not, it added. Sources told Reuters earlier this month that Warren, who represents Massachusetts, is considering the potential role. Representatives for Clinton, Sanders and Warren did not immediately reply to requests for comment on the report. Clinton is the Democratic Party’s presumptive nominee for the Nov. 8 presidential election, having won the last primary contest this week in the District of Columbia. Although Clinton and Sanders met this week, the senator from Vermont does not plan to end his campaign or endorse Clinton in a video speech to supporters scheduled for later on Thursday, his spokesman said. While the search for a potential partner in the race is still in its early stages, the Journal reported several Democrats said Clinton’s campaign is looking at a number of potential candidates, including Warren. Other prospective running mates include U.S. Labor Secretary Tom Perez and U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro, according to the report. Senators Tim Kaine of Virginia, Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Cory Booker of New Jersey as well as U.S. Representatives Xavier Becerra of California and Tim Ryan of Ohio are also under consideration, it said. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti is also a potential candidate, it added. Warren threw her support behind Clinton last week as the former secretary of state moved her sights from the nominating contest toward a Nov. 8 match-up against presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump. Warren could help Clinton win over Sanders supporters from the party’s more liberal wing after a surprisingly protracted primary race. Sanders, a self-described Democratic socialist, has not yet dropped out. She also would give Clinton a vocal boost in her fight against Trump. Warren has called Trump a threat to the country and has vowed to keep lashing out at him. (This story has been refiled to remove superfluous word “endorsed” in paragraph nine.) | 1 |
22,537 | LOL! TRUMP TWEETS Hilarious Message To #CrookedHillary…Suggests She Gives It “Another Try” In 2020 | President Trump on Saturday criticized Hillary Clinton, the Democrat he defeated in the 2016 White House race, for her recent and repeated questioning of the election results. Crooked Hillary Clinton is the worst (and biggest) loser of all time, Trump tweeted. She just can t stop, which is so good for the Republican Party. Hillary, get on with your life and give it another try in three years! Crooked Hillary Clinton is the worst (and biggest) loser of all time. She just can t stop, which is so good for the Republican Party. Hillary, get on with your life and give it another try in three years! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 18, 2017The Republican president was likely responding to a Mother Jones interview published Friday in which Clinton questioned last year s election results, amid evidence that Russia tried to influence the race outcome. She called for an independent commission to investigate the matter.Clinton, in the interview, also alleged voter suppression in the 2016 race, saying, In a couple of places, most notably Wisconsin, I think it had a dramatic impact on the outcome. FOX NewsIn case America has forgotten why Donal Trump trounced Hillary in the polls, watch the short clip from their second presidential debate below:The very sick Hillary Clinton barely made it through to the November election without needing a stretcher, while running her very lackadaisical 2016 presidential campaign. It would be very interesting to see Hillary attempt a comeback 4 years later.Watch, as Hillary collapes while attempting to enter her van after leaving a 9-11 memorial service early, reportedly because she was suffering a mysterious medical situation that required her to leave during the ceremony. At first, her campaign said she was suffering from heat exaustion, after the American public refused to buy their excuse, the campaign then said she had pnuemonia. After several weeks of watching her being propped up and carried around by the arm like a candidate who has one foot on a banana peel and the other in her grave, following her 9-11 incident , we re definitely not buying it.This IS NOT heat related. #HillarysHealth pic.twitter.com/PFNfCEVFrV John Cardillo (@johncardillo) September 11, 2016And then, there is the long list of crimes committed by Hillary, that she has yet to be prosecuted for.The list of Hillary s crimes continues to grow, even after the election. Just before the 2016 presidential election, Breitbart put together a list of a few of the most well-documented crimes and national security nightmares that are in her resume. Here is the list:Clinton is promising expanded numbers of Syrian refugees brought to the United States, despite the fact that 99.1% of the 13,210 refugees admitted to the US in 2016 are Muslim and the FBI has said there is no way to adequately vet them for terrorist connections and sympathies.Our true national scandal is not that Clinton has so far escaped indictment, it is that so many of our civic and political institutions have been corrupted by a misguided loyalty to the Clinton crime syndicate.From the board rooms of Wall Street to the editorial boards of local newspapers and the town halls of the League of Women Voters, the defense of the progressive cause has come down to defending the indefensible pay-for-play cronyism, open borders and national security breaches on a global scale.A full chronicle of Hillary Clinton s crimes will someday fill a large shelf of books, if not a whole library.There could be no better news for President Donald Trump in 2020, than the announcement that Hillary was going to throw her hat in the ring for the third time. Bring it Hillary America can t wait! | 0 |
22,538 | CTBTO looking at "unusual seismic activity" in North Korea | ZURICH (Reuters) - Nuclear proliferation watchdog CTBTO is examining unusual seismic activity in North Korea that took place around 50 km (31 miles) from previous nuclear testing in the isolated country, it said on Saturday. Analysts looking at unusual #seismic activity of a much smaller magnitude in the #DPRK, CTBTO Executive Secretary Lassina Zerbo said in a Twitter post. Korean Peninsula unusual #seismic activity: LAT=41.36 LON=129.76 mb=3.5 About 50km from prior tests. #CTBT Analysts investigating, he said in a subsequent post. China s earthquake administration said it had detected a magnitude 3.4 quake in North Korea that was a suspected explosion , raising fears that Pyongyang might have conducted another nuclear bomb test. A CTBTO spokeswoman said Zerbo s remark about a smaller magnitude referred to its monitoring of an event in North Korea on Sept. 3 which the agency described as consistent with a man-made explosion but stopped short of calling a nuclear blast, pending testing for airborne radioactivity. North Korea has described the Sept. 3 incident as a test of an advanced hydrogen bomb for a long-range missile, marking a dramatic escalation of the regime s stand-off with the United States and its allies. The CTBTO (Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization) was founded in 1996 to monitor compliance with an accord negotiated in the 1990s that bans nuclear explosions. The treaty has not come into effect because eight countries with nuclear technology have yet to sign it. | 1 |
22,539 | The Only Pittsburgh Steeler To Stand For National Anthem Speaks Out, And Trump Fans Will HATE It | Conservatives cheered when Pittsburgh Steeler Alejandro Villanueva, who s also a combat veteran, came out and stood for the national anthem while the rest of the team stayed in the locker room. They won t be happy with what Villanueva has said about it since, though. They think he s just like them, a jingoist among a sport full of traitors to America, and this is really going to ruin that.First off, it doesn t look like Villanueva intended to be defiant this way:Villenueva asked Ben after Sat night meeting if he could be out in front with captains. Agreed to. Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) September 25, 2017Villenueva turned around when the Bears fan flag came in, he looked back to his teammates,then the anthem started. He couldn t walk out then Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) September 25, 2017So it looks like there might have been some miscommunication about what they were doing, or maybe that Villanueva wasn t totally sure what the team had agreed to do.He also said he knew, every time he saw the flag on a fellow soldier s shoulder during a mission, that they were fighting for each other. He also did say, People die for the flag; there s no way else to put it There s nothing else that would justify dying for that mission. (It s likely the mission he meant was whatever mission he and his fellow soldiers were on, rather than the mission of fighting for the flag that Trump fans are glomming onto).But it s what he says about how he feels about what happened that will have Trump fans seething. Seriously:Alejandro Villanueva: This national anthem ordeal has sort of been out of control, and there s a lot of blame on myself Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) September 25, 2017Villenueva: I made coach Tomlin look bad, and that is my fault and my fault only. I made my teammates look bad, and that is my fault only Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) September 25, 2017Alejandro Villanueva: Unfortunately, I threw (my teammates) under the bus, unintentionally. Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) September 25, 2017Alejandro Villaneuva: Every single time I see that picture of me standing by myself, I feel embarrassed. Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) September 25, 2017Al Villanueva: For anybody who thinks that Coach Tomlin is not as patriotic as you can get in America I m offended by that. Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) September 25, 2017Villanueva: We as a team tried to figure it out, obviously we butchered it . I m not gonna pretend I have some kind of righteous voice. Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) September 25, 2017Alejandro Villaneuva: I will support all my teammates, and all my teammates and all my coaches have always supported me. Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) September 25, 2017And then there s this:Villenueva says he absolutely would be OK if teammates kneeled or sat during the anthem. Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) September 25, 2017Al Villanueva says some players who have been kneeling during anthems have approached him after/before games and thanked him for his service Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) September 25, 2017Al Villenueva: Every single one of my teammates is extremely supportive and extremely patriotic. I can honestly said that. Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) September 25, 2017Al Villaneuva: The team meeting that we had on Saturday night brought the whole team together. Absolutely, We had great conversations. Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) September 25, 2017Trump fans really don t understand why people are so angry at them for whining about professional athletes not standing for the national anthem. The jingoism is dangerously strong among them, along with the cluelessness and blind followership. In fact, many of them are on the above thread and totally, utterly and completely misunderstanding it. They aren t the patriots they believe themselves to be. Not even close.Featured image via Joe Robbins/Getty Images | 0 |
22,540 | Indonesia passes law to ban organizations deemed against its ideology | JAKARTA (Reuters) - Around 1,000 Indonesians, led by hardline Islamist groups, protested outside parliament on Tuesday as lawmakers approved a presidential decree banning any civil organizations deemed to go against the country s secular state ideology. Tuesday s approval puts into law a policy President Joko Widodo set in a decree in July. The policy was aimed at containing hardline groups who have cast a shadow over the long-standing reputation for religious tolerance in the world s largest Muslim-majority nation. We have seen mass organizations that are against the Pancasila (state ideology) and have created social conflict, said Arya Bima, a lawmaker in favour of the policy. This law doesn t impede freedom of organization or assembly, it strengthens it. In late 2016 and early this year, groups such as Hizb-ut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI) and the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), which call for Islamic law to be imposed in Indonesia, led mass street rallies attacking Jakarta s governor, a Christian, whom they accused of insulting Islam. Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, who in April lost an election to get a new term, was jailed one month later after being convicted of blasphemy, in a court ruling widely criticized in Indonesia and overseas as unjust. The presidential decree Widodo signed in July ordered the disbanding of all organizations deemed to be in conflict with the secular state ideology. HTI, which seeks to establish an Islamic caliphate, was the first organization to be disbanded under the policy. Pancasila or five principles is Indonesia s state ideology, which includes belief in god, the unity of the country, social justice and democracy, and which enshrines religious diversity in an officially secular system. Under the new law, anyone who embraces, develops of spreads ideology that is in conflict with the (state ideology) Pancasila can face imprisonment of six months to life, according to a copy of the draft law reviewed by Reuters. Rights activists and civil organizations have decried the move, saying it harks back to the era of authoritarian ruler Suharto, who demanded loyalty to Pancasila and took repressive measures against some opponents. Opposition lawmaker Al Muzamil Yusuf said the new law could violate democratic rights and remove checks and balances on the government . During the protest outside parliament on Tuesday, around 5,200 police and military personnel stood guard around the complex in central Jakarta. A hashtag supporting Widodo s policy was a top trending topic on Indonesian Twitter. This policy is not about (Widodo) or any political party, it s about safeguarding the unity of the country, said user @Senopati. | 1 |
22,541 | Polish reforms of judiciary pose threat to rule of law: EU Commission | BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Polish reforms of its judiciary pose a systemic threat to the rule of law in the country and Warsaw must change tack, the deputy head of the European Commission said on Monday. Poland has been locked in a deepening dispute with the European Union s executive over democratic standards since the nationalist-minded, eurosceptic Law and Justice (PiS) party won power in late 2015. Many other EU member states, the Polish opposition and human rights groups have also sharply criticized the PiS government, but Warsaw says its overhaul of the judiciary is in line with European standards. I have to say very clearly to you today, the Commission is of the opinion that these laws do create a threat to the rule of law, a systemic threat to the rule of law in Poland, Frans Timmermans told the European Parliament. The Commission says the new laws undermine the independence of the judiciary by giving the justice minister - a politician of the ruling party - the right to sack and appoint senior judges. Brussels also says the PiS government violated Poland s constitution in its reform of the Constitutional Tribunal, a court which decides whether new laws approved by the PiS parliamentary majority are in line with the constitution. The PiS government accuses Timmermans, who has led a legal case against it for more than a year, of waging a vendetta against Poland, but the commissioner said his views were shared by a range of international bodies including the European organization of judges and the U.N. Rapporteur on the judiciary. Surely, surely the Polish government cannot just simply ignore all of that and pretend as if there s only one guy in the Commission that has a problem and there is not an issue at all apart from that, said Timmermans, who is Dutch. Surely the Polish government knows by now there are many concerns in many member states about this..., he said. Timmermans urged the Polish government to heed the warnings. You have so much room for maneuver with the political mandate you got from your voters without having to go after the rule of law. There s no need to do that. Please refrain from doing that, Timmermans said. He also said EU member states were too closely linked together for violation of the rule of law in one of them not to affect others. If we do not maintain the rule of law in Europe, then we will take leave of the most fundamental values of a European cooperation. And this will not just affect the member state Poland. It will affect all of us, he said. | 1 |
22,542 | Senate Democrats seek Trump tax returns | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Democrats urged the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday to review President Donald Trump’s tax returns, as part of a campaign in Congress that has begun to show signs of attracting Republican support. Defying decades of precedent, Trump has refused to release his tax returns while his tax affairs are under federal audit. Democrats and other critics contend that the documents could show whether his global business empire poses any conflicts of interest as the president moves his agenda forward on issues ranging from tax reform to foreign relations. In a letter dated Wednesday, seven Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee urged the panel’s Republican chairman, Orrin Hatch, to request the documents from the U.S. Treasury so that lawmakers can review them in a closed session and determine whether the returns can be released to the public. Democrats in the House of Representatives said they planned to pose a similar request on Thursday to Hatch and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady in a bipartisan letter signed by 140 lawmakers, including House Republicans Mark Sanford of South Carolina and Walter Jones of North Carolina. The Democratic efforts face long odds in the Republican-controlled Congress. Three attempts in the House have met with defeat this year. Hatch and Brady responded to the Senate request in a joint letter saying Democrats were suggesting “an abuse of the tax-writing committees’ statutory authority” that would set “a dangerous precedent”. Democrats say they hope to create a bipartisan juggernaut to require the disclosure of Trump’s and future presidents’ tax returns by pushing forward on multiple fronts. On Monday, the House voted down a Democratic effort seeking the Republican president’s returns, with Sanford and Jones voting “present” rather than opposing the measure. Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine told an interviewer last month she could be open to a subpoena of Trump’s taxes as part of a Senate Intelligence Committee probe of alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential elections. On Wednesday, Politico quoted Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina as saying he wanted presidential candidates to be required by law to release their tax returns beginning in 2020. “The tax return is the lowest ethical bar that you can have for a presidential nominee or a president,” said Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, top Senate Finance Democrat who introduced legislation in January requiring nominees and sitting presidents to disclose their returns. | 1 |
22,543 | Trump Tried To FIRE The Woman He Worked So Hard To Sleep With After She Spurned Him | The woman that Trump claimed he tried so hard to sleep, and admittedly failed to do so, is Nancy O Dell, who hosted the Miss USA pageant in 2004 and 2005. Trump spoke of sexually assaulting her in 2005, but what many may not know is that he apparently tried to have her fired after that.At the time, he said he didn t like the way she looked while she was pregnant. TMZ reported, back in 2007, that Trump couldn t do that. O Dell s contract was with NBC, not with Trump, and he got overruled. O Dell kept her job, and Trump got to sulk in the background.So the official reason for wanting to fire her was that he didn t like the way she looked pregnant. Knowing Trump, though, he was butthurt that she d spurned him and wanted to punish her for the audacity. This is the man that pretended to be a PR person to hype up his own prowess with women back in the early 90s, after all.Trump claims he was just joking with Billy Bush on an Access Hollywood bus when the ahem disgustingly unfortunate comments about assaulting O Dell were made. O Dell was slated to host Miss USA with Bush that year, making this all the more terrible.Billy Bush is now a co-host of NBC s Today Show, and is probably in some hot water, considering this is the third time he s given NBC problems. He issued an apology for his role in pushing sexual harassment and assault as something men can just do when they re famous, saying: I was younger, less mature, and acted foolishly in playing along. I m very sorry. Yeah, younger and less mature totally excuses this. It also totally excuses trying to fire her afterward. Trump s true motives may never be known, but it s highly suspicious, and knowing Trump, it s because her rejection just rankled him and he had to put her in her place.Photo of Donald Trump by Ralph Freso/Getty Images. Photo of Nancy O Dell by David Becker/Getty Images. Images merged by Rika Christensen | 0 |
22,544 | BOILER ROOM: As the Frogs Slowly Boil – EP #40 | Tune in to the Alternate Current Radio Network (ACR) for another LIVE broadcast of The Boiler Room starting at 6 PM PST | 9 PM EST every Wednesday. Join us for uncensored, uninterruptible talk radio, custom-made for barfly philosophers, misguided moralists, masochists, street corner evangelists, media-maniacs, savants, political animals and otherwise lovable rascals.Join ACR hosts Hesher, & Spore along with Andy Nowicki from Alt Right Blogspot, ACR/21Wire contributor Randy J and Stewart Howe. In this broadcast we re going off the rails and off the cuffs, listeners will be hearing us go around the BOILER ROOM on a myriad of topics tonight including relief booths in the city, Sarah Palin s endorsement of Donald Trump, whether or not there is any hope in the political system, reported sexual assaults in Cologne, the Oregon standoff and El Chapo owning Fast and Furious weapons. If you want to participate, bring something interesting to throw into the boiler Join us in the ALTERNATE CURRENT RADIO chat room.BOILER ROOM IS NOT A POLICTALLY CORRECT ZONE! Live ACR player below Show goes live at 6 PM PSTThis week s topics: | 0 |
22,545 | FBI AND CIA Host Job Fair In U.S. City With 40% MUSLIM Population…Feeling Safer Yet? | Who better to help root out terror than a person whose religion forbids them from ratting out someone of their own faith? The FBI and CIA are looking to increase the diversity of their agencies and that includes hiring more Arab Americans.One of the ways it hopes to achieve its goal of greater diversity is by holding a career fair in America s most Islamic city Dearborn, Michigan.In Stop the Islamization of America: A Practical Guide to the Resistance, renowned activist Pamela Geller provides the answer, offering proven, practical guidance on how freedom lovers can stop jihadist initiatives in local communities.Notices about the career fair have been posted on the Arab-American Chamber of Commerce s Facebook page, as well as in local news publications in Dearborn.The Press and Guide, for instance, ran a public notice that stated the following; Learn about working for two top government agencies during an informational session being held by The Central Intelligence Agency and Federal Bureau of Investigation. Attendees will learn about both agencies and have the chance to hear about career opportunities as well as network with CIA and FBI representatives. The event takes place at 6 p.m. July 19 at the Ford Motor Company Conference & Event Center, 1151 Village Road, Dearborn. A formal presentation will run from 6 to 7:30 p.m. followed by networking from 7:30 to 8:30. Both the FBI and CIA are seeking to increase diversity within the organizations and find specifically skilled applicants to fulfill critical roles within the agencies. Those at the event will hear about specific job positions and qualifications through a panel discussion as well as the agencies similarities, strategic differences and shared commitment to thwart threats to national security. Dinner will be provided, but seating is limited. RSVP by July 12 to Christina Petrosian at chrissp@ucia.gov. Petrosian did not immediately respond to emails from WND.Dick Manasseri, communications director for Secure Michigan, a citizen-watchdog group fighting what it sees as the Islamization of Michigan, said he found the advertisements troubling, but not surprising. How can the FBI/CIA vet job applicants when they cannot mention the word Shariah? Manasseri said.Manasseri was referring to the scrubbing of all FBI training manuals, removing all references to Shariah and Islam that were seen as discriminatory by Muslim groups. That concession was made in response to complaints by the Council of American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, by then-Deputy National Security Adviser John Brennan, who is now in charge of the CIA. How can the FBI/CIA vet the information provided on applications from Shariah-adherents who are encouraged to lie to non-Muslims when it furthers the goals of Shariah? Manasseri told WND.The Obama administration has also invited former CAIR officials into its circle of advisers within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The opportunities for further federal government infiltration increases the probability that we will see Shariah courts in Southeast Michigan before long, Manasseri said.Dearborn s population is about 40 percent Arab and includes both Sunni and Shiite Muslims. A minority of the Arab-American community in Dearborn are Christian.And the Dearborn area is getting more Muslim by the month thanks to the current Syrian refugee program being carried out by President Obama. Just in the last nine months the U.S. State Department has delivered 143 Syrians to Dearborn for permanent resettlement.Another 174 Syrians have been sent to Troy, which is only 25 miles north of Dearborn.Michigan has been targeted to receive nearly half of the 10,000 Syrian refugees Obama has promised the United Nations he would admit into the U.S.After getting off to a slow start, Syrian arrivals are now occurring by the hundreds per day. On Wednesday another 249 Syrians arrived in the U.S. for permanent resettlement.Obama s pledge of 10,000 Syrian refugees in fiscal 2016, which ends Sept. 30, now appears to be a deadline he will make. His State Department has delivered nearly 60 percent of the 10,000 with two and a half months to go. Via: WND | 0 |
22,546 | WATCH: War Veteran John McCain DESTROYS Draft-Dodger Trump’s Anthem Protest Whining | John McCain is far more qualified to comment on the NFL anthem protests than Donald Trump.After all, McCain spent over five years as a prisoner of war suffering brutal torture at the hands of his Vietnamese captors.He is a decorated military veteran who served his country and risked his life.Trump, on the other hand, dodged the Vietnam War draft several times, clearly too much of a coward to fight for America. Thousands of others died far away from home while Trump spent his daddy s money and slept around.So when it comes to choosing who we should listen to when it comes to talking about the NFL anthem protests, John McCain is the most credible.On Friday, Trump called NFL players who kneel during the anthem to protest racial injustice sons of bitches and called for them to be fired.Over the course of the weekend that followed and into this past Tuesday, Trump repeatedly attacked NFL players on Twitter.If NFL fans refuse to go to games until players stop disrespecting our Flag & Country, you will see change take place fast. Fire or suspend! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 24, 2017 NFL attendance and ratings are WAY DOWN. Boring games yes, but many stay away because they love our country. League should back U.S. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 24, 2017Sports fans should never condone players that do not stand proud for their National Anthem or their Country. NFL should change policy! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 24, 2017The issue of kneeling has nothing to do with race. It is about respect for our Country, Flag and National Anthem. NFL must respect this! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 25, 2017The NFL has all sorts of rules and regulations. The only way out for them is to set a rule that you can t kneel during our National Anthem! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 26, 2017But ratings for the NFL remained extremely high, and players responded to Trump by kneeling en masse, something that had not happened prior to Trump attacking them and ordering them to stand.It should be pointed out that the government cannot force anyone to stand for the national anthem, just like the government can t force kids to say the Pledge of Allegiance. Hell, even flag-burning is protected free speech, therefore, so is kneeling.Also, players are not kneeling to disrespect the flag. They are doing so to protest racial injustice.And in one short sentence, John McCain obliterated Trump s whining. That s their right to do what they want as citizens, McCain told TMZ when asked about the protest.Here s the video via YouTube.Let s keep in mind that Donald Trump himself has repeatedly disrespecting military veterans. During the campaign, he said that McCain is not a war hero because he got captured. Trump also insulted a Gold Star family whose son was killed while courageously saving the lives of his fellow soldiers.Silently kneeling during the national anthem is not disrespectful at all. These NFL players are shedding light on injustice in this country. An injustice that goes against everything the American flag is supposed to stand for. This protest is not about the troops or the flag as Trump claims. It s about injustice and the right to protest against it.Featured Image: Steve Pope/Getty Images | 0 |
22,547 | Turkish air strikes kill 29 Kurdish militants in northern Iraq: army | ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish warplanes hit Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) targets in northern Iraq on Monday and killed 29 of the group s militants, Turkey s armed forces said. The PKK fighters were believed to be preparing an attack on Turkish border posts from the Hakurk and Metina regions of northern Iraq, the army said in a written statement. Several caves and shelters used by the militants were destroyed in the air strikes, it said. The PKK, which has been waging an insurgency in southeast Turkey since the 1980s, is designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict. | 1 |
22,548 | Russia's Putin, pulling no surprises, says he'll seek re-election | NIZHNY NOVGOROD/MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin confirmed Russia s worst kept political secret on Wednesday, saying he would run for re-election in March 2018 - a contest he seems sure to win comfortably and extend his grip on power into a third decade. Putin, 65, has been in power, either as president or prime minister, since 2000, longer than veteran Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and outstripped only by dictator Josef Stalin. If he wins what would be a fourth presidential term, he will be eligible to serve another six years until 2024, when he turns 72. Backed by state TV, Putin regularly enjoys approval ratings of around 80 percent, and his decision to run for re-election which he announced at a car-making factory in the Volga river city of Nizhny Novgorod was widely expected. I will put forward my candidacy for the post of president of the Russian Federation, Putin said, in answer to a question from a factory worker who told the Russian leader that everyone without exception in the hall supported him. There s no better place or opportunity to make this announcement, said Putin. I m sure that everything will work out for us. The workers then broke into a chant of Russia! Allies laud Putin as a father-of-the-nation figure who has restored national pride and expanded Moscow s global clout with interventions in Syria and Ukraine. Critics accuse him of overseeing a corrupt authoritarian system and of illegally annexing Ukraine s Crimea in 2014, a move that isolated Russia internationally. Opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who is unlikely to be allowed to run against Putin due to what he says is a trumped up criminal conviction, said Putin was overstaying his welcome. He wants to be in power for 21 years, Navalny wrote on social media. To my mind, that s too long. I suggest we don t agree. Despite the Central Election Commission ruling him ineligible to stand, Navalny has organized mass protests and set up campaign headquarters across the country, hoping he can pressure the authorities into allowing him to stand. The challenge for Putin though is not other candidates nobody, including Navalny, looks capable of unseating him. Instead, his toughest task will be to mobilize an electorate showing signs of apathy to ensure a high turnout which in the tightly-controlled limits of the Russian political system is seen as conferring legitimacy. Whilst next year s election in March is devoid of real suspense about who will win, what follows is more unpredictable as attention will turn to what happens after Putin s final term - under the current constitution - ends. There is no obvious successor. Many investors say the lack of a clear succession plan, and likely jockeying for position among Russian elites for dominance in the post-Putin era, is becoming the biggest political risk. Putin, once re-elected, will have to choose whether to leave Dmitry Medvedev as prime minister, or to appoint someone else. That decision will trigger a round of intrigue over the succession, as whoever holds the prime minister s post is often viewed as the president s heir apparent. In the meantime, perhaps the Kremlin s biggest task will be to make it look as if Putin faces real electoral competition. In a move critics suspect is a Kremlin ploy to split the liberal opposition vote while injecting a patina of interest, TV celebrity Ksenia Sobchak, the daughter of Putin s political mentor, is standing against him, offering voters unhappy with his rule someone to back. A political ing nue, Sobchak has scant chance of winning. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has denied her candidacy is a Kremlin ploy. Sobchak said on Wednesday that Putin would probably win as always, but that she still planned to run to represent people who wanted change. Otherwise, Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov, 73, and nationalist firebrand Vladimir Zhirinovsky, 71, - both political retreads - are likely to run. They are broadly supportive of the Kremlin s policies and have repeatedly run for president, behavior critics say is a ruse to create the illusion of genuine political choice. Putin draws much of his support from outside the two biggest cities Moscow and St Petersburg where many credit him with raising their living standards despite an economic crisis Russia is only now recovering from. State TV, where many Russians still get their news, affords Putin blanket and uncritical coverage while ignoring or denigrating his opponents. | 1 |
22,549 | Kremlin says in touch with France over possible Macron visit to Russia | MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Monday that it was in touch with the French government over a possible visit to Russia next year by President Emmanuel Macron, but that nothing had yet been confirmed. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, on a conference call with reporters, was responding to a report in the Kommersant daily newspaper which said that Paris was ready to accept an invitation for Macron to visit the St Petersburg International Economic Forum in May. The participation of the French side (in the forum) is in Moscow s interests, said Peskov. As you know, France is a very important partner of the Russian Federation. Peskov said that Putin s first meeting with Macron, at the Palace of Versailles in May this year, had been characterized by a very positive momentum. Proceeding from this, we of course would be glad to see French businesses at the St Petersburg forum ... And there are contacts regarding high-level participation, but I wouldn t run ahead of myself for now. | 1 |
22,550 | WHOA! West Virginia Coal Miners Just Made Powerful VIDEO To Make Sure Hillary Is NOT America’s Next President | The economic devastation is very real in West Virginia. Obama promised to shut down the coal industry as one of his bold campaign promises in 2008. Hillary s plan is to keep the dream of shutting down the coal industry alive long after Obama is out of office. Coal miners are taking and stand and letting America know they are not going to sit back and watch their livelihoods and towns destroyed by a radical leftist President. Watch here:https://youtu.be/Gbj5WwwEkJw Let s put it this way. Hillary Clinton says she s going to shut you down. Bernie Sanders says the same thing. Then you got Donald Trump saying we re going to put you back to work, we re going to save your jobs. I mean, that means a whole lot to us. Whether it s true or not, the man is the first one who says we re going to put you back to work. So I m going to support him. I mean if he goes back on his word, we got another election if four years, we ll vote him out. West Virginia Coal Association VP speaks out against Hillary here: | 0 |
22,551 | ANTIFA BEWARE! BIKERS FOR TRUMP Makes Huge Announcement On Tonight’s Phoenix Rally [VIDEO] | BIKERS FOR TRUMP announced their support for Pro-Trump attendees at tonight s Phoenix Rally for Trump. This just got more interesting because the bikers will not put up with the Antifa violence. Check out the announcement below:The statement released by bikers for Trump s Steven emery:This group of brave Patriots deserves our support! Please check out the Go Fund Me for bikers for Trump.Don t forget that violence against trump supporters has been over-the-top since last year. How could we forget the Chicago, San Diego and other cities that brought out the leftists who only wanted violence.It s a good thing Bikers for Trump will be a presence in Phoenix tonight. Please pray for their safety.IN CASE YOU FORGOT ABOUT WHAT THE LEFT DID LAST YEAR:When will the media report on this nice group of illegal aliens and racist American thugs SINCE THE MEDIA WON T REPORT ON ATTACKS ON CONSERVATIVE TRUMP SUPPORTERS, WE VE GOT THE LIST FOR YOU: Pro-Trump supporters have known the truth for a long time that conservatives are being attacked. Do you have any idea of the number of attacks? You might be shocked to see the list created by The Daily Caller.We feel like it s even more important to know who s behind the effort to attack and silence conservatives in America. There are groups like MoveOn.org and Black Lives Matter that have been instigating violence in a big way. Antifa is the worst with their tactics of extreme violence and destruction.Just as destructive as the violence is the left s effort to hijack the narrative anytime something happens between both sides. It s an Alinsky tactic that the left has been using long before President Trump came on the scene. The only difference now is that they re on overdrive with the attacks on Trump! It s downright scary!Take the The Huffington Post s recent article calling for the execution of Trump and everyone assisting his agenda. If you ve noticed a hijacking of the narrative on just about everything to do with President Trump then look no further than the attack on his comments yesterday. Trump s words were twisted, replaced and totally misinterpreted. So it shouldn t surprise anyone that you haven t heard much about physical attacks on conservatives what s the left got to gain by telling the truth? Suppression of information is right up there with lying A low as you can get!HERE S THE TRUTH AND IT S SHOCKING: Protesters jumped on cars, stole hats, fought with and threw eggs at Trump supporters outside a Trump rally in downtown San Jose, Calif. Trump supporters sued San Jose over the violence.July 2016:-A Hillary Clinton supporter lights a flag on fire and attacks a Trump supporter in Pittsburgh.August 2016:-Anti-Trump protesters attacked pushed, spit on and verbally harassed attendees forced to walk a gauntlet as they left a Trump fundraiser in Minneapolis, Minn., and beat an elderly man. Protesters also attacked Trump s motorcade. A Tennessee man was assaulted at a garage sale for being a Trump supporter.-A Trump supporter in New Jersey was attacked with a crowbar on the street.September 2016:-Protesters in El Cajon, Calif., chased and beat up a Trump supporter.October 2016:-A GOP office in North Carolina was firebombed and spray painted with Nazi Republicans get out of town or else. November 2016:-A high school student was attacked after she wrote that she supported Trump on social media. The perpetrator ripped her glasses off and punched her in the face.-The president of Cornell University s College Republicans was assaulted the night after Trump won the election.-Students protesting Trump punched and kicked a Maryland high school student wearing a Make America Great Again hat.-A high school student was arrested in Florida after he punched a classmate for carrying a Trump sign at school.-A group of black men in Chicago attacked a white man while raging against Trump.-Maryland high school students punched a student who was demonstrating in support of Trump, and then kicked him repeatedly while he was on the ground.- You support Trump. You hate Mexicans, a California high school student yelled at a Trump supporter, before viciously beating the girl.-An anti-bullying ambassador was arrested for shoving a 74-year-old man to the ground in a fight outside Trump tower where people upset over his win had gathered. The woman tied to Black Lives Matter caused the man to hit his head on the sidewalk.-A Texas elementary school student was beaten by his classmates for voting for Trump in a mock election.-Two men punched and kicked a Connecticut man who was standing with an American flag and a Trump sign.December 2016:-A Trump supporter was beaten and dragged by a car.January 2017:-A Trump supporter was knocked unconscious after airport protesters repeatedly beat him on the head.-A Trump supporter was attacked after putting out a fire started by anti-Trump protesters.-When Trump protesters encountered a driver with a pro-Trump flag on his car, they surrounded the vehicle, ripped off and began burning the flag, and pounded the car. They also punctured the tires.February 2017:-California GOP Rep. Tom McClintock had to be escorted to his car after a town hall because of angry protesters. The tires of at least four vehicles were slashed.-Protestors knocked a 71-year-old female staffer for California GOP Rep. Dana Rohrabacher unconscious during a protest outside the representative s office.-Milo Yiannopoulos speech at the University of California-Berkeley was cancelled after rioters set the campus on fire and threw rocks through windows. Milo tweeted that one of his supporters wearing a Trump hat was thrown to the ground and kicked.March 2017:-Masked protesters at Middlebury College rushed AEI scholar and political scientist Charles Murray and professor Allison Stranger, pushing and shoving Murray and grabbing Stranger by her hair and twisting her neck as they were leaving a campus building. Stranger suffered a concussion. Protesters then surrounded the car they got into, rocking it back and forth and jumping on the hood.April 2017:-A parade in Portland, Ore.,was canceled after threats of violence were made against a Republican organization.-Fears of violent protests shut down Ann Coulter s UC Berkeley speech. Campus police had gathered intel on protesters who were planning to commit violence.May 2017: Republican Rep. Tom Garrett, his family and his dog were targeted by a series of repeated death threats deemed credible by authorities.-FBI agents arrested a person for threatening to shoot Republican Rep. Martha McSally over her support for Trump.-Police in Tennessee charged a woman for allegedly trying to run Republican Rep. David Kustoff off the road.-Police in North Dakota ejected a man after he became physical with Republican Rep. Kevin Cramer at a town hall.-A former professor was arrested after police said they identified him on video beating Trump supporters with a U-shaped bike lock, leaving three people with significant injuries. June 2017:-James Hodgkinson opened fire on a congressional GOP baseball practice, injuring five, including House Majority Whip Steve Scalise.-Republican Rep. Claudia Tenney received an email threat that read, One down, 216 to go, shortly after the shooting at the Republican congressional baseball practice.-A man driving a white Malibu reportedly fired several shots at a man driving a truck displaying a Make America Great Again flag in Indiana. | 0 |
22,552 | As Trump visits, Gulf states seen quietly curbing opposition | DUBAI (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump, departing from his predecessor’s practice, is expected to sidestep human rights questions when he meets Gulf Arab leaders at the weekend and focus, to the dismay of beleaguered government critics, on business and security. Civil liberties monitors point to freedom of expression as a right increasingly constrained in Gulf Arab states including summit host Saudi Arabia, which is planning to buy tens of billions of dollars’ worth of U.S. arms. Gulf Arab states began stepping up the muffling of political discussion in the dying months of former president Barack Obama’s term and have continued this under Trump, they say. “Given Trump’s tenuous relationship with freedom of the press and free expression in general, we have no expectation that Trump would raise these issues during his visit,” said Adam Coogle, Middle East researcher at Human Rights Watch. In Washington, a senior Trump administration official said human rights would not take center stage in Riyadh, where Arab leaders are expected to discuss combating Islamist militancy and what they see as the growing influence of adversary Iran. The official said Trump preferred to keep such conversations private, much as he did with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi recently when he obtained the release of an Egyptian-American humanitarian worker. Trump’s visit is likely to contrast with one Obama paid to Egypt in 2009 when he made an appeal to the Muslim world promoting self-determination, democracy and individual rights. The Saudis “don’t want any more talk about human rights, democracy, political reform or gender equality. They had enough of that from Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton,” said Bruce Riedel of the Brookings Institution think tank in Washington. “They’re pretty confident they’re not going to hear it from Donald Trump.” While experts are not surprised, since the Gulf states’ monarchies abhor discord and dislike free-wheeling political debate as practised in the West, they are nevertheless dismayed. The output of several columnists, economists and clerics in regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia and some of its smaller neighbors has either dried up or grown circumspect since the second half of 2016 in what critics see as an unacknowledged state drive to stifle public criticism, rights monitors say. Among those who have fallen silent are critics, both liberal and conservative, of the kingdom’s ambitious plan to diversify the economy and open up the country culturally under a plan known as Vision 2030. Until late last year Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi commented about issues including Trump’s rise to power on social media and a column in the pan-Arab al-Hayat daily. He also spoke in public appearances at think tanks. In December, news circulated on social media that Kashoggi, former editor of the Arabic-language al-Watan daily, one of the kingdom’s top newspapers, had been ordered to stop writing or Tweeting. His account has been silent since November last year. Khashoggi declined to comment on the reported ban. Since the 2011 Arab Spring, Gulf states have stepped up efforts to curb dissent with tough new cyber crime laws, sentencing offenders to prison terms for Web posts deemed insulting to rulers or threatening to public order. But in the past two years, unnerved by low oil prices and the slow progress of a war in Yemen targeting the influence of arch foe Iran, Gulf authorities became even less patient with dissenting voices in the media, analysts and rights groups say. Madawi Al-Rasheed, visiting professor at the Middle East Centre, London School of Economics, said Riyadh was engaged in an effort to muzzle intellectuals with “dissenting voices”. “There are so many of them, both men and women, who have left the kingdom,” she said. Activists say muzzled writers include economists, academics, columnists and Muslim clerics. There are no precise figures on how many have been affected, but estimates by activists put the number at more than 20 from Saudi Arabia alone. While some were merely advised not to air their views on social media, more vocal critics have found themselves behind bars, facing possible indictments on charges such as disobeying the ruler or incitement against the state, rights activists say. “The pursuit by security is increasing rapidly and ... it is killing the voice of moderation,” said Walid Sulais, a Saudi rights activist who fled abroad in late 2016 after authorities summoned him for questioning over his rights work. Gulf Arab officials did not respond to requests for comment on the issue of free expression. But asked about the expected absence of human rights from Trump’s agenda, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said the issue was one of definition. “We look at human rights as the right to safety, the right to a decent life, the right to a job, the right to food. We see it as the right to live your life without people imposing on you,” he told a news conference on Thursday. “Every Saudi has the right to petition his monarch or the governors. The doors of our leaders are open. We have built institutions. We have a thriving press corps. We have a consultative council that started with 60 members, today it has 150 members, and 30 of them are ladies, distinguished ladies.” Gulf states have increasingly chafed at what they see as a campaign of vilification by Western media and rights groups. They insist they respect rights which do not violate Islamic Sharia laws and their societies’ conservative traditions. Political parties are banned in Saudi Arabia as are protests, unions are illegal, the press is controlled and criticism of the royal family can lead to prison. Riyadh says it does not have political prisoners, while top officials have said monitoring activists is needed to keep social stability. In a statement on Jan. 15, Bahrain’s information minister scolded Gulf media, warning outlets to “shoulder their responsibilities” and counter foreign attempts to “spread sedition” in Gulf states - an apparent reference to Iran which Bahrain accuses of fomenting unrest among Bahraini Shi’ites. Iran denies interfering in the affairs of Gulf states. Other Gulf countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman, have also been accused by rights groups of curbing free expression. In Qatar, activists noted that Faisal al-Marzoqi, a prominent commentator with more than 100,000 Twitter followers, had not tweeted since November 2016. The UAE said on March 21 it had arrested political activist Ahmed Mansoor, an electrical engineer and poet, on charges of spreading sectarianism and hatred on social media, a move criticized by Amnesty International. Defending the move, Mohammed al-Hammadi, editor of the pro-government al-Ittihad newspaper, wrote that Mansoor “either will be convicted or will be cleared through the rule of law and the justice of the judiciary, so what is the problem with this?” In February Saudi social media reported the arrest of prominent clerics Sheikh Essam al-Owayed and Saad al-Breik. In a Twitter post on Feb. 23, Owayed wrote in apparent reference to liberalizing reforms: “Any decision-maker who thinks he can change the faith and identity of this country by opening the doors to decadence would be calling for a war in which he would be the main loser, no matter who he is.” Owayed’s Twitter account has had no new postings since then, while the last Twitter message on Breik’s account dates to March 20. Neither Owayed nor Breik could be reached for a comment. On May 4 on a visit to Saudi Arabia, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism Ben Emmerson urged Riyadh to stop using a 2014 counter-terrorism law and security prohibitions against human rights defenders and writers. “When he is meeting with his counterparts from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries there, he should be equally as clear that any counter-terrorism efforts must include safeguards to protect the rights of individuals to express their opinions and assemble peacefully,” Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s director for the Middle East and North Africa, told Reuters. | 1 |
22,553 | independents tilt decisively to trump | how the nevertrumpers sunk themselves november
bruce thornton is a shillman journalism fellow at the david horowitz freedom center
the chorus of nevertrumpers is wailing ever louder as election day and hillarys supposed victory approach after more than a year of complaining about trump crashing their political soiree the republicans attacking trump still dont seem to get how their own behavior contributed to the perception that they are outoftouch elites disdainful of the republican masses
a recent example comes from premier nevertrumper bret stephens of the wall street journal in his column stephens bids farewell to a republican party stupid enough to nominate trump contrasting it with his imagined golden age of republican policy excellence that trump and his followers have destroyed one policy in particular immigration reveals the distance between the political and pundit elite and the voting masses that helped make trump the nominee
at a republican primary debate in houston candidates george hw bush and ronald reagan were asked whether the children of illegal immigrants should be allowed to attend public schools for free mr bush said they should were creating a whole society of really honorable decent familyloving people that are in violation of the law he lamented
reagan agreed instead of putting up a fence he asked why dont we make it possible for them to come here legally with a work permit and then while theyre working and earning here they pay taxes here for good measure reagan suggested we should open the border both ways
where in the populist fervor to build a wall with mexico and deport millions of human beings is that republican party today
take bush seniors statement first it repeats basically the same clichés that the bipartisan gang of eight recycled in during their push for comprehensive immigration reform another euphemism for amnesty all those hardworking familyvalues illegal immigrants are embryonic conservatives we were told who just need legal status and social recognition so they can come out of the shadows as john mccain said and start voting republican the political apple doesnt fall far from the tree son jeb ended his presidential ambitions by calling illegal immigration an act of love
this stance on illegal immigration by republican politicos and pundits is obviously lightyears from the experience and position of many ordinary people take mccains oftrepeated trope of living in the shadows seriously illegal alien young people openly protest on live television knowing they are not going to be deported millions visit emergency rooms for free and wrangle food stamps welfare transfers school lunches and all sorts of largess all the while they live protected by sanctuary cities and living in the shadows doesnt deter them from committing felonies given that even if caught convicted and deported theyll soon be back remember juan francisco lopezsanchez the illegal alien deported five times who murdered kate steinle or angel gilberto garciaavalos another fivetime deportee who just this month started a million fire in sequoia national park he had just been released from the kern county jail but could not be deported because of californias lunatic sanctuary city law which prohibits a sheriff from contacting federal agents
simply repeating the hardworking family values religious mantra doesnt address the problems of illegal immigration there are such illegal immigrants as i know from over sixty years of personal experience living in the san joaquin valley one of the largest concentrations of illegal aliens in the country i grew up with mexicanamericans theyre members of my immediate family theyre my friends students and colleagues theyre also the victims of the crimes and disorder caused by our porous border
some illegals do transition into these sort of immigrants but many do not a rigorous vetting process might sort out the wheat from the chaff but bush mccain and stephens have not proposed a workable rigorous mechanism for determining who should stay and who should go that means with any form of amnesty citizenship will likely be granted indiscriminately with only the most egregious felons sifted out if any are stupid enough to apply for citizenship rather than continuing to live in the shadows but all those guilty of duis hitandruns or defrauding the welfare system with fake ids will stayand then bring their extended families under the provisions of the disastrous immigration act which enshrined family reunification with no limits on relatives of us citizens
equally tonedeaf is stephenss bringing up ronald reagans open the border both ways thats exactly what he did in when he signed the simpsonmazzoli act which granted amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants with promises of border enforcement that never materialized stephens doesnt mention that as a result the number of illegal immigrants increased from about million to million creating todays crisis the obvious lesson is secure the border first then figure out what to do with the million it would be governmental malfeasance to repeat reagans mistake
the problem with politicians and pundits like stephens is they dont live with the consequences of indiscriminately letting in people from very different cultures and mores people like stephens dont live daily with the disorder and crime that results theyre not aware of the extensive damage to quality of life the illegal immigration version of broken windows such as dogs without rabies shots running free health and safety codes ignored building codes shrugged off garbage and refuse dumped everywhere copper wire stolen from pumps and street lights and chronic petty theftand thats on top of stolen cars hitandruns driving without insurance gangbanging and dealing drugs
and if mr stephens thinks im just a nativist or xenophobe or racist i dare him to visit the san joaquin valley better yet let him bring his wife and children to live there for a month come and tour a hospital emergency room a social security disability office a public school a county jail and then wax lyrical about these honorable decent familyloving people it would take just a week for mr stephens to develop a fervor for a fivefoot high wall around his house and buy four or five pit bulls and a shotgun then again he wouldnt last that long within a day hed scurry back to his nice white secure tony neighborhood where he doesnt have to pay the cost of his moral preening
and that hypocrisy is where trump came from in the perception of millions of votersperceptions nevertrumpers have fed so incessantly that they look a lot like realitythe conservative politicians and pundits care more about their privileged status and purity of principle than they do about the welfare and interests of their partys voters and so they would rather see a venal perjurious corrupt mediocrity become obama and continue the progressive destruction of the constitutional order than see elected the nominee of their own party what sort of principle is that | 1 |
22,554 | Factbox: Some Trump assertions on Iran questioned by experts | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In Friday s speech laying out his strategy toward Iran and his decision not to certify it is complying with the 2015 nuclear agreement, U.S. President Donald Trump made a series of statements that analysts questioned. Trump said he might terminate the deal under which Iran agreed to curb its disputed nuclear program in return for the lifting of economic sanctions, and laid out a more aggressive approach to counter Iran s ballistic missile programs and its support for militant groups. Below are some of Trump s controversial comments, along with analysis of their basis in fact. TRUMP: The previous administration lifted these sanctions, just before what would have been the total collapse of the Iranian regime, through the deeply controversial 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. Several foreign policy analysts said there was no reason to believe that the government of Iran, whose economy suffered from economic sanctions that targeted its oil industry, was close to falling apart. There is no evidence that I aware of that would suggest that regime was on the verge of collapse, said Michael Singh, an expert with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy who served on Republican President George W. Bush s National Security Council staff. The sanctions were having a pretty strong impact on the Iranian economy. Especially because of the oil sanctions, you had a real contraction of Iranian economy, he said. But saying anything beyond that is a matter of speculation. In fact, Singh argued, the pressure brought on Tehran from international sanctions could actually help to unite factions within Iran and thereby strengthen its rulers. TRUMP: The nuclear deal threw Iran s dictatorship a political and economic lifeline, providing urgently needed relief from the intense domestic pressure the sanctions had created. It also gave the regime an immediate financial boost and over $100 billion its government could use to fund terrorism. The $100 billion, in fact, already belonged to Iran and represented foreign assets blocked by sanctions. It was unfrozen with the lifting of international sanctions under the deal, formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). But, experts said that Tehran would see only a fraction of that sum because of debts it owed, including $20 billion to China for infrastructure projects. Various estimates put the actual amount Tehran received at between $60 and $35 billion. In addition, roughly $1.7 billion was handed over to Iran that stemmed from an uncompleted arms deal between the United States and the government of the late Shah, which paid a $400 million deposit before being toppled in Iran s 1979 revolution. The remaining $1.3 billion represented interest owed on the $400 million, according to U.S. officials, who used the money as leverage to obtain the release of five U.S. citizens held in Iran. The Obama administration repaid the deposit with pallets of cash delivered by aircraft. ON IRAN HAVING MADE MULTIPLE VIOLATIONS OF THE NUCLEAR DEAL TRUMP: The Iranian regime has committed multiple violations of the agreement. For example, on two separate occasions, they have exceeded the limit of 130 metric tons of heavy water. Until recently, the Iranian regime has also failed to meet our expectations in its operation of advanced centrifuges. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.N. nuclear watchdog charged with monitoring the deal, says that Tehran is in full compliance a judgment the Trump administration twice previously affirmed - and that nuclear-related commitments undertaken by Iran under the JCPOA are being implemented. At present, Iran is subject to the world s most robust nuclear verification regime, IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano said in a statement after Trump s speech. Iran has exceeded the 130-metric-ton cap on its heavy water stockpile and run more advanced centrifuges the devices that purify uranium than permitted by the deal and arguably exceeded the limits on its low-riched uranium supply. But experts say that Iran quickly corrected all of the infractions and, most importantly, argued that Iran had not committed a deal-rupturing material breach. Multiple violations is an exaggeration. There are very few actual violations, said Robert Einhorn, a nonproliferation expert who worked at the State Department under former President Barack Obama and is now at the Brookings Institution think tank. They sought to exploit any ambiguity in the text, but when they did that the United States pushed back and a reasonable outcome was reached in every case, he said. | 1 |
22,555 | Trump Attacks Hillary In PSYCHOTIC Twitter Meltdown Over Vote Recount (TWEETS) | To say that President-elect Donald Trump is bent out of shape over the recount initiated by Green Party candidate Jill Stein is a serious understatement. Not only did Trump recently call Stein s filing for a recount in Wisconsin a scam, but he had a meltdown of epic proportions on Twitter last night, which carried over into this morning.In a massive tweetstorm, Trump attacked his former rival for the White House, Hillary Clinton, and the Democratic Party. He tweeted: The Democrats, when they incorrectly thought they were going to win, asked that the election night tabulation be accepted. Not so anymore! Hillary Clinton conceded the election when she called me just prior to the victory speech and after the results were in. Nothing will change. Trump s obviously nervous, because there were already discrepancies in votes found in several precincts in Wisconsin and they only showed on Trump s ballots. There s a problem when there are more votes than actual people who voted.Trump continued and tried to portray Clinton as a hypocrite for getting behind Stein s recount, using her own words against her. Quoting Clinton s response to Trump s own accusations that the election was rigged against him and his refusal to concede if he lost, Trump wrote: That is horrifying. That is not the way our democracy works. Been around for 240 years. We ve had free and fair elections. We ve accepted the outcomes when we may not have liked them, and that is what must be expected of anyone standing on a during a general election. I, for one, am appalled that somebody that is the nominee of one of our two major parties would take that kind of position. Trump also pointed out that Clinton called Trump s refusal to accept the election s results a direct threat to our democracy. It should be noted that Clinton gracefully accepted the results, and promised to regardless of the outcome unlike Trump. In a last attempt to make Clinton look bad, Trump used a quote from her concession speech. He tweeted: We have to accept the results and look to the future, Donald Trump is going to be our president. We owe him an open mind and the chance to lead. And completely oblivious to the fact that the Republican Party has wasted more than enough money on the ridiculous scavenger hunt into Clinton s emails, Trump said: So much time and money will be spent same result! Sad. Here s the full tweetstorm:TwitterTwitterTwitterTwitterTwitterTwitterTwitterTwitterTwitterFeatured image via Andrew Renneisen / Getty Images | 0 |
22,556 | We'll lift Russia sanctions when east Ukraine is peaceful: Merkel | BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday that she wanted European Union sanctions against Russia lifted, but only once peaceful conditions had been achieved in eastern Ukraine. Speaking at an election campaign rally in the eastern town of Strasburg, Merkel said Russia s grave violations of international law made sanctions necessary. I spend much of my time working to achieve reasonable, good relations with Russia, Merkel said, adding that she was trying, along with France, to achieve peaceful conditions in eastern Ukraine, where Moscow-backed separatists are fighting a war against the Kiev government. The moment we get that, we will also lift the sanctions, she said, adding that Russia s annexation of the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine and its backing for separatists were against the principles that we have had in place since World War Two . If Russia s actions were allowed to stand, there was a risk they would be repeated, Merkel said. | 1 |
22,557 | BOILER ROOM – EP #55 – Roasting the Wretched Hive of Scum and Villainy | Tune in to the Alternate Current Radio Network (ACR) for another LIVE broadcast of The Boiler Room starting at 6 PM PST | 9 PM EST every Wednesday. Join us for uncensored, uninterruptible talk radio, custom-made for barfly philosophers, misguided moralists, masochists, street corner evangelists, media-maniacs, savants, political animals and otherwise lovable rascals.Join ACR hosts Hesher, & Spore along with Randy J of 21Wire, Andy Nowicki from Alt Right Blogspot and Daniel Spaulding of Soul of the East and Jay Dyer from Jays Analysis. Tonight the Boiler Gang brings the internet show with a bubbling cauldron of media, politics, comedy and the bones of baby dolls. If you want to participate, bring something interesting to throw into the boiler Join us in the ALTERNATE CURRENT RADIO chat room.BOILER ROOM IS NOT A POLICTALLY CORRECT ZONE! LISTEN TO THE SHOW IN THE PLAYER BELOW ENJOY! REFERENCE LINKS: | 0 |
22,558 | dr duke and reverend dankof on the state of the campaign the synagogue of satin | dr duke and dr macdonald call for prosecution of hillary for treasonous support of isis october at am
dr duke and dr macdonald call for prosecution of hillary for treasonous support of isis
today dr duke and professor kevin macdonald talked about the tide turning in donald trumps direction in spite of the efforts by the zio media to divert voter attention to donald trumps alleged problems with women hillarys treasonous crimes are increasingly difficult to hide
the fact is that hillary should be prosecuted not inaugurated she has supported isis in its war against syria its terrorism against america she has sent paid thugs to disrupt trumps political events she has used her government positions to peddal influence she really should be in prison
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22,559 | BOOM! Hey Democrats….Why The Violent Riots? YOUNG AMERICAN Proves Dems Really Don’t Care About Jobs, Helping Minorities or Women [VIDEO] | Watch:You want a #JobsReport?Here's a jobs report: President Trump is bringing jobs back to America & keeping promises. #FlashbackFriday pic.twitter.com/qViMRO9OOv #ThePersistence (@ScottPresler) March 10, 2017 | 0 |
22,560 | Trump, Biden attend same Pennsylvania college graduation | (Reuters) - Presidential politics crept into the graduation ceremony at the University of Pennsylvania on Sunday, with presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump and Democratic Vice President Joe Biden in attendance to cheer on family members. The two men sat relatively near each other at the event in Philadelphia, where the Trump family gathered to watch the real estate tycoon’s daughter, Tiffany, graduate from the Ivy League school. Biden came to support granddaughter Naomi. Tiffany Trump, 22, is the daughter of Trump and his ex-wife Marla Maples. Naomi Biden is named after the vice president’s one-year-old daughter, who died in a 1972 car accident along with the girl’s mother, Biden’s first wife. Donald Trump, who earlier this month effectively secured the Republican nomination for the Nov. 8 presidential election, also attended the University of Pennsylvania, graduating from its Wharton business school. Biden, who is not running in the 2016 election, has been a bitter critic of Trump’s policies and campaign tactics, calling the Republican front-runner’s remark that Mexico was sending rapists and other criminals across the border a “sick message.” | 1 |
22,561 | Advocates for Americans held in Iran worried by Trump's hard line | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Advocates for Americans imprisoned by Iranian authorities said on Friday they were concerned the Trump administration’s hard line on Iran would close off the chance for talks to secure the prisoners’ release. In a major shift in U.S. policy, President Donald Trump announced he would not certify that Iran is complying with a 2015 nuclear deal and warned that he might ultimately terminate the agreement. The administration also designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the dominant player in the country’s security, economy and politics, as a terrorist group, a move one expert said would make the group less willing to negotiate over the prisoners. Jason Rezaian, a Washington Post reporter who was detained by Iran for 18 months, said on Twitter that Trump’s Iran strategy “will only hurt American hostages being held in Iran.” “I hope I’m wrong, but it looks to me as though Americans being held hostage in #Iran were just abandoned by @realDonaldTrump,” Rezaian wrote, using Trump’s Twitter handle. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. A State Department official said the United States calls for the “immediate release” of U.S. citizens held “unjustly” in Iran. The seven known American citizens and permanent residents who have been detained in the last two years in Iran are businessman Siamak Namazi and his 81-year-old father Baquer Namazi; Princeton doctoral student Xiyue Wang; art gallery owner Karan Vafadari and his wife Afarin Niasari; Robin Reza Shahini, an Iranian-American from California; and Nizar Zakka, a Lebanese national with U.S. permanent residency. “My biggest frustration is still the U.S. government has no plan for how to resolve this, and my husband has been in prison for 15 months,” Wang’s wife, Hua Qu, told Reuters. She said the new U.S. sanctions made her “afraid” for her husband’s fate, because they show “that the relationship is deteriorating.” Wang was arrested in August 2016 while doing dissertation research and has been sentenced to 10 years in prison on espionage charges, allegations his family and university deny. “I don’t know when the U.S. government is going to engage Iran,” Qu said. “He is living in this terror everyday. He is in despair.” Karim Sadjadpour, an Iran expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, said on a conference call with reporters that designating the IRGC as a terrorist group would “make it far more difficult to have a direct line of communication with them.” “The IRGC is going to be in much less of a mood to engage in a serious negotiation with the United States after this,” said Sadjadpour, a friend of Namazi. In January 2016, the Obama administration secured the release of five Americans imprisoned in Iran by agreeing to a much-criticized prisoner swap after protracted direct talks with Iran. In the months following the swap, the Iranian government arrested several more Americans. The IRGC is typically the entity that has detained and interrogated the Americans, according to their family members and human rights groups. Jason Poblete, a U.S.-based attorney for Zakka, said the sanctions could be helpful “if it gets these parties talking to each other.” He criticized the Obama administration’s approach to Iran as not being focused enough on “the unconditional release of hostages.” “Anything that moves us to speaking clearly with one another, which is what the president’s doing, is much better than all this flimsy talk that had been taking place until now,” Poblete said. | 1 |
22,562 | Trump’s Own Diversity Council Member Fact-Checks Him On DACA: ‘He’s A Liar’ (VIDEO) | Donald Trump s team is turning against him at record speed, and he s just been sent a strong message by a member of his own diversity council.Recently, Trump announced that he is going to get rid of the DACA program, marking his latest attack on immigrants. While much of America is furious over this, it seems like Trump has pissed off even his own team. Javier Palomarez, president of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and diversity council member to Trump, just destroyed Trump for recently claiming that he loved the 800,000+ people in the program. Palomarez pretty much tore Trump apart on CNN as he told Jim Acosta: If he gets rid of DACA, he s showing that he s a liar. He has said to this country that he is going to try to protect the people in the DACA program, that he was focused on getting rid of criminals. Palomarez made sure to point out the positives of DACA recipients, which includes high graduation and employment rates far from the drug dealers and rapists labels that Trump had made up for immigrants during his 2016 presidential campaign. Palomarez even stated that he was so disgusted with Trump s announcement that he is considering resigning from Trump s diversity council. He said: I m gonna work right up until the bloody end to try to convince this president to do the right thing by these 800,000 Dreamers who reside in this country. Trump s policies and plans are disgusting even members of his own team. So far, any of Trump s staff have resigned over his inhumane ideas, and there aren t any signs of this pattern slowing down. Trump is a nightmare for any administration members that give a damn about human rights, and it s clear that many members are struggling with the lack of morale. You can watch the interview below:Featured image via Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images | 0 |
22,563 | JIHAD FOR DUMMIES: How US Army Enlistee, Mohammed Abdullah Hassan Was Caught Attempting To Bomb US Army Base | Note to little Johnny you might want to consider using a diary next time you write about how you d like to engage in violent jihad in the name of ISIS.A 20-year-old Kansas man plotted to kill American soldiers with a vehicle bomb at the Fort Riley military base, an attack he planned to carry out on behalf of the ISIS terror group, prosecutors announced Friday.John T. Booker, also known as Mohammed Abdullah Hassan, was arrested as part of a lengthy FBI investigation. Federal authorities said he was arrested near the army base in Manhattan, Kansas, as he completed final preparations to detonate the bomb, which had, in fact, been rendered inert while he was under FBI surveillance. As alleged in the complaint, John Booker attempted to attack U.S. military personnel on U.S. soil purportedly in the name of (ISIS), said Assistant Attorney General John Carlin. Thanks to the efforts of the law enforcement community, we were able to safely disrupt this threat to the brave men and women who serve our country. Protecting American lives by identifying and bringing to justice those who wish to harm U.S. citizens remains the National Security Division s number one priority. Prosecutors said Booker repeatedly stated he wanted to engage in violent jihad on behalf of ISIS. He became an Army recruit and said he intended to commit an insider attack against American soldiers, like Major Nidal Hassan at Fort Hood in Texas.Booker is the latest among a number of ISIS sympathizers who have been arrested by the FBI in recent weeks.A criminal complaint unsealed Friday charged Booker with one count of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction (explosives), one count of attempting to damage property by means of an explosive and one count of attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.He was due to appear Friday afternoon in federal court in Topeka.The criminal complaint Friday alleged that Booker spent months developing and attempting to execute a plan that would result in his own death as an ISIS suicide bomber. It also alleged that he planned to pull the trigger of the explosives himself so that he would die in the explosion, Kansas U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said at a news conference. I want to assure the public there was never any breach of Fort Riley Military Base, nor was the safety or the security of the base or its personnel ever at risk, said Kansas City FBI Special Agent in Charge Eric Jackson. Recently the Command Staff at Fort Riley has been working hand in hand with law enforcement to ensure the utmost security and protection for the men and women who serve our country, and the surrounding community that supports the base. Booker allegedly plotted to construct an explosive device for attack on American soil for months during meetings with two FBI informants. He told one killing Americans was permissible because the Koran says to kill your enemies wherever they are. Prosecutors said the jihadi wannabe advanced the plot by acquiring components for a vehicle bomb, producing a propaganda video and renting a storage locker to store components for the explosive device.Prosecutors said he identified Fort Riley as the target and talked about his commitment to trigger the device himself and become a jihadi martyr.His arrest came behind the wheel of a van he belived was packed with 1,000 pounds of explosive.Last year FoxNews.com reported exclusively that Booker was under investigation for threatening online to commit a Fort Hood-inspired act of terror just weeks away from reporting for basic training.The military learned of his radicalism which had apparently been on display for months in online posts where he praised Usama bin Laden and pledged to die for radical Islam.FoxNews.com reported then that Booker was the subject of an FBI alert. Getting ready to be killed in jihad is a HUGE adrenaline rush! I am so nervous, read a March 19. 2014 post on the Facebook page authorities believe belonged to Booker. NOT because I m scared to die but I am EAGER to meet my lord. FoxNews.com reported Booker enlisted in the Army in February 2014 and was due to report for basic training less than two months later on April 7. But the FBI interviewed him in March and alerted the Army, which formally discharged him.Via: FOX News | 0 |
22,564 | FOX News MOCKS MSNBC’s Chris Matthews, Who Actually Said “Big Story” of G20 Was How Far President Trump and Putin Spread Their Legs [VIDEO] | MSNBC s Chris Matthews deemed the big story of the much anticipated G20 meeting between President Trump and Vladimir Putin to be the manspreading that took place.Matthews started his Hardball show with a clip of of President Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin as they appeared to be having a casual conversation, while sitting next to each while facing the media. The big story was the way they both engaged in the art of manspreading, widening their legs as far as the wings of the chairs would allow them. When they stopped laughing, Fox News hosts mocked MSNBC s thrill-up-his-leg for Obama Chris Matthews for making such an embarrassing and petty observation. Fox News host went on to discuss President Trump s very successful foreign trip G20 meeting with world leaders, discussing things like Trump s movement in encouraging China to reign in North Korea. | 0 |
22,565 | Trump to sign executive order Tuesday on infrastructure projects | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Tuesday “establishing discipline and accountability in the environmental review and permitting process for infrastructure projects,” the White House said in a statement on Monday. Trump, who is visiting his residence at Trump Tower in New York City, will also participate in a discussion on infrastructure and give a statement on the subject at 3:45 p.m. (1945 GMT). The White House did not give additional details on the executive order. Trump, who was a real estate developer before becoming president, made rebuilding the country’s crumbling infrastructure a top campaign issue. He has proposed leveraging $200 billion in government spending into $1 trillion of projects to privatize the air traffic control system, strengthen rural infrastructure and repair bridges, roads and waterways. In June, Trump said one of the biggest obstacles to new infrastructure projects was “the painfully slow, costly and time-consuming process for getting permits and approvals to build.” | 1 |
22,566 | Syrian opposition: Russia conference aims to rehabilitate Assad | BEIRUT (Reuters) - The main Syrian opposition body said on Thursday a Russian-sponsored Syrian peace conference later this month represented a deviation from U.N.-led diplomacy and an attempt to rehabilitate President Bashar al-Assad s government. We, in the High Negotiations Committee (HNC), insist on rejecting discussion of Syria s future outside the legal, U.N. framework, the HNC said in a statement sent to Reuters. | 1 |
22,567 | WATCH THIS: DID GOOGLE MANIPULATE Search For Hillary Clinton For Favorable Results? [Video] | While researching for a wrap-up on the June 7 Presidential Primaries, we discovered evidence that Google may be manipulating autocomplete recommendations in favor of Hillary Clinton. If true, this would mean that Google Searches aren t objectively reflecting what the majority of Internet searches are actually looking for, possibly violating Google s algorithm. According to a research paper cited in this video, that kind of search result manipulation has the potential to substantially influence the outcome of actual elections. | 0 |
22,568 | WATCH: Trump’s Deplorable Fans Attack Mom And Her Disabled Daughter For Leaving Rally | She was there to learn more about Donald Trump in order to decide who to vote for, but after the way Trump s fans treated her in front of her disabled daughter it s clear she won t be voting for him.Jennifer Mau took her daughter Chloe to a Trump rally in Colorado in an effort to make a more informed decision on Election Day. Mau is an independent voter and is unsure about who she wants to vote for, so she decided to attend the rally to hear Trump speak.Mau and her daughter sat with a group of disabled people during the rally, but Mau didn t stay long.After 20 minutes, it became clear that Trump wasn t the right candidate for her. But when she attempted to leave with her daughter, she was soon under siege from some really hateful supporters of the Republican nominee, some of whom were also disabled. When we were leaving, somebody said, Why are you leaving? and basically struck a nerve, Mau recounted in an interview with Denver 7 News. I said, Why are you here? He makes fun of people like you. Mau was referencing an outrageous incident of Trump mocking a disabled reporter.According to Mau, Trump s supporters tried to make excuses for their candidate, but Mau s mind remained unchanged.Trump s supporters harassed her and yelled at her, and one even went so far as to tell her that she doesn t love her daughter if she doesn t support Trump. This lady is following me, screaming and yelling at me that if I loved my daughter I would vote for Trump and I need to get educated because he didn t mock somebody on purpose. It made me sad, made me want to vomit. Here s the video via YouTube.The Secret Service was forced to step in and escort Mau and her daughter out of the rally safely, but the ordeal left her daughter shaken.However, Trump lost more than one potential voter that day. As it turns out, some people actually walked out of the rally with Mau in disgust on how his hardcore supporters treated her.And while we don t know for sure who Mau will be voting for on November 8th, we can be sure that it won t be for Donald Trump.Once again, Trump s supporters prove that Hillary Clinton was right to call them deplorable.Featured Image: Screenshot | 0 |
22,569 | Katy Perry Releases AMAZING Campaign Ad That PERFECTLY Describes Why We’re All Voting For Hillary | Here on the eve of this historic election, we face what is perhaps the most important election of our lives. We ve watched not just the story of two campaigns during this general election season. We ve also watched the story of two Americas. With GOP nominee Donald Trump, we see a dark, divisive vision of America, a country that deports vulnerable, hard-working immigrants without cause, a country that shuns LGBTQ people, controls women s bodies, and threatens political opponents with prison.On the other hand, with Hillary Clinton, we see a beautiful, diverse, bright future that we can be proud of. We see inclusion, an end to crushing debt for college students, equality across the board, a nation that accepts all no matter race, ethnicity, religion, creed, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or any other defining characteristic. We see an America where everyone is welcome, where we can be proud to call ourselves a great nation that loves ALL of its people.Well, popular pop artist Katy Perry has put those ideas together in a brilliant new campaign ad for Hillary Clinton. Set to her hit song Roar, the video shows everyday Americans with hopes and dreams like we all have. Flashing across the screen, words tell the story of why they are voting for Hillary Clinton.This election decides who our country is for generations to come, my fellow Americans. I already proudly voted for Hillary, and did everything I could to campaign, donate, phone bank, and get out the vote. I know what kind of America I want us to be. Do you?Without further ado, I leave you with this video, entitled ROAR, to inspire you in this historic time.[ad3media campaign= 1323 ]Featured image via Katy Perry Instagram | 0 |
22,570 | NFL protests are protected speech but 'misguided': U.S. House speaker | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan on Thursday said National Football League players’ protests were constitutionally protected free speech, but their decision to kneel while the national anthem played at games was “misguided.” “Clearly people have a right to express themselves,” Ryan told reporters at a news conference. But doing so in front of the U.S. flag, “it looks like you’re protesting against the ideals of America... I think it’s misguided,” he added. | 1 |
22,571 | Under Trump travel ban, Syrian Christians still see no light | BEIRUT (Reuters) - Mixed messages from Washington have left Syrian Christians confused about the effect of U.S. restrictions on refugees and travelers from several Muslim-majority countries, with some seeing hope fading away. U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday that put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily barred travelers from Syria and six other countries. The order also seeks to prioritize refugees fleeing religious persecution, a move Trump separately said was aimed at helping Christians in Syria to leave. But hopes were dashed for at least one Syrian Christian Orthodox family, who were turned away at Philadelphia international airport and had to return to Lebanon. Christians in Damascus, where Syria’s conflict is still felt as fighting rages through much of the country, said pledges to prioritize minorities made little difference to them. “Getting U.S. visas has been the dream of all citizens in developing countries, no matter their religion,” said Youssef Touma, 34, attending a church service in Damascus on Sunday. “Syrians of all faiths were used to queueing at the U.S. embassy’s gates (to try to get visas). But it was almost impossible to get them, and has been harder since the war started. “What I heard is that there will be exceptions for Christians from the ban, but not the easing of Christians’ travel - so that means there are still the same difficulties getting a visa,” Touma said. Norma, a 30-year-old IT worker at the same church who declined to give her surname, said travel to the United States was a distant and impracticable dream. “I don’t know or have anyone in the U.S. If there was someone I knew, an aunt or uncle, then I’d think about going myself, of course. And it would be better to undertake a safe journey to America instead of a risky one by boat to get to Germany,” she said. Syrians in neighboring countries like Lebanon and Turkey have said they will primarily seek refuge in Europe, where some countries like Germany have taken in hundreds of thousands of refugees. Many have made dangerous crossings by boat from Turkey. Christians wishing to leave Syria said the U.S. preference for religious minorities could play into the hands of Islamist extremists. At the very least, it would have no real impact. “I think (Islamist) extremists here would love for us to leave, to be rid of us,” said Damascus resident Joseph Memari, reached by phone. Trump wrote on his Twitter account on Sunday: “Christians in the Middle-East have been executed in large numbers. We cannot allow this horror to continue!” Touma said statements made no difference. “Minorities are always targeted by extremists and Trump’s statements will not increase or decrease that,” he said. “They have been targeted since before Trump became president. The Christians of Maaloula (near Damascus) left the country before Trump was even considering the presidency. “Christians of the Damascus countryside, like Harasta and Douma, were forced to leave their homes five years ago,” he said. | 1 |
22,572 | WATCH Veteran Rip Trump A New One: I Defended This Country Alongside The People You Hate | It s not just white American men who fight and die for this country. Women, Muslims, and Hispanics have as well and this military veteran wants Donald Trump to know it.During a protest against the Republican nominee in New York, U.S. Army veteran Perry O Brien declared that he proudly put on the uniform and defended the nation against terrorists in Afghanistan alongside women, Muslim, and Hispanic soldiers who also wore the uniform donning the red, white, and blue American flag patch. When I served in Afghanistan I served with women, I served with Muslims, and I served with Latinos all groups that Donald Trump has maligned or even threatened, O Brien said. All of those folks actually donned the uniform. They actually served the country. As far as we can see as veterans in the military community, Donald Trump only seems interested in serving himself. Indeed, Donald Trump has never fought for this country. In fact, he repeatedly dodged the draft during the Vietnam War through a series of deferments. And even though he was too cowardly to serve his country during wartime, Trump has repeatedly disrespected Vietnam War veterans ever since.In 1997, Trump infamously referred to his sleeping around with various women his personal Vietnam because he didn t get an STD. I ve been so lucky in terms of that whole world. It is a dangerous world out there. It s scary, like Vietnam. Sort of like the Vietnam-era, Trump said. It is my personal Vietnam. I feel like a great and very brave soldier. And last year, Trump insulted Senator John McCain by questioning his war hero status because he was captured by the enemy and tortured relentlessly to the point where McCain can no longer lift his arms over his head. He s not a war hero, Trump claimed. He s a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren t captured, OK? Trump has also repeatedly insulted women, referred to Mexicans as rapists, and called for banning Muslims from the country from the first day of his campaign.So it s no wonder why veterans like Perry O Brien are pissed off about the possibility of Trump becoming commander-in-chief.O Brien even slammed Trump for not donating money to veterans organizations before running for president because it looks like he is only doing it to improve his image right now. I think we all believe in the veterans community that it would be fantastic if Trump had decided he was interested in donating any of his vast wealth which he loves to talk about so much to veterans organizations in any substantive way before he decided he wanted to be the next commander-in-chief. Here s the video via YouTube.A Trump presidency also makes it more likely that more American soldiers will come home as wounded vets or in flag-draped caskets since ole small hands himself has suggested the possibility of waging nuclear war along with waging wars against other nations that would definitely require ground troops.Donald Trump is not the presidential candidate our veterans deserve. They need a president who will do everything possible to avoid war and they need a president who will make sure they and their families are well taken care of if war is necessary.Featured image via screenshot | 0 |
22,573 | BREAKING RAMADAN UPDATE: OBAMA’S “Not Islamic” JV Team Yells “Allahu Akbar”…Takes 20 “Foreigners” Hostage In Bangladesh Restaurant [VIDEO] | Isn t Alluha Akbar Islamic? I m pretty sure these cowards aren t Christians. Obama will still try to convince the world these nine armed terrorists have no affiliation with the religion of peace. All kidding aside, please pray for the innocent people who are trapped inside this restaurant by these Islamic monsters DEVELOPING: A group of up to nine attackers set off bombs and took hostages while shouting Allahu Akbar inside a restaurant frequented by both locals and foreigners in a diplomatic zone in Bangladesh s capital, local media reported Friday.ISIS Amaq News Agency later reported that ISIS fighters carried out the attack.Bangladesh TV stations reported that the attackers entered the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka s Gulshan area around 9:20 p.m. Friday and were holding customers and staff hostage.The exact number of hostages was not known. While some reports said there could be up to 60, others put the figure lower.The TV reports said the identities of the attackers were not immediately known.The U.S. State Department said all Americans working at the U.S. mission in the area had been accounted for, according to Reuters. We have accounted for all Americans working for the chiefof mission authority in Dhaka, John Kirby, a State Department spokesman said. He called the situation fluid. The reports say a huge contingent of security guards cordoned off the area and the restaurant as they traded gunfire with the attackers who set off explosions.Jamuna Television reported, quoting a kitchen staff worker at the restaurant who escaped the attack, said that the gunmen chanted Allahu Akbar as they launched the attack.Sumon Reza, the worker, told The Daily Star that several armed men entered the restaurant and took hostages. They blasted several crude bombs, causing wide-scale panic among everyone. Benazir Ahmed, director general of the elite anti-crime force Rapid Action Battalion or RAB, told reporters that security forces were working to save the lives of the people trapped inside. Several foreigners are believed to be among the hostages. Some derailed youths have entered the restaurant and launched the attack. We have talked to some of the people who fled the restaurant after the attack. We want to resolve this peacefully. We are trying to talk to the attackers, we want to listen to them about what they want, Ahmed said. Via: FOX News | 0 |
22,574 | trump vps plane slides off runway at new york airport | reply on today at pm part mother child worship httpswwwyoutubecomwatchvtwtzpgrpm logged the answer to is i am one of the people not a fictional entity created by an incorporated state issued birth certificate | 1 |
22,575 | Trump Spent The Night Retweeting A White Supremacist Convicted Criminal | While most of us were sleeping, Donald Trump spent his night retweeting a white supremacist who was convicted in the UK for harassing a Muslim woman in front of her two young children. Jayda Fransen was arrested in October during a neo-Nazi rally for violating terms of her bail. Fransen, Deputy Director of Britain First is thrilled to have been retweeted three times by the so-called president of the United States. Trump even retweeted a video of a boy on crutches being murdered, just in case you haven t had enough gore in your life.The former reality show star s retweets even stunned Paul Joseph Watson, Infowars editor-at-large who suggested the move was not great optics. Yeah, someone might want to tell whoever is running Trump's Twitter account this morning that retweeting Britain First is not great optics. Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) November 29, 2017Even Infowars thinks Trump went too far. Let that sink in for a moment.Here s a screen capture of the snuff film Trump retweeted.Fransen was super excited that Trump shared her anti-Muslim videos to his 44 million followers and went all caps in her tweet. THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, DONALD TRUMP, HAS RETWEETED THREE OF DEPUTY LEADER JAYDA FRANSEN S TWITTER VIDEOS! Fransen tweeted. DONALD TRUMP HIMSELF HAS RETWEETED THESE VIDEOS AND HAS AROUND 44 MILLION FOLLOWERS! GOD BLESS YOU TRUMP! GOD BLESS AMERICA! THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, DONALD TRUMP, HAS RETWEETED THREE OF DEPUTY LEADER JAYDA FRANSEN'S TWITTER VIDEOS! DONALD TRUMP HIMSELF HAS RETWEETED THESE VIDEOS AND HAS AROUND 44 MILLION FOLLOWERS! GOD BLESS YOU TRUMP! GOD BLESS AMERICA! OCS @JaydaBF @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/BiQfQkTra9 Jayda Fransen (@JaydaBF) November 29, 2017Trump cult member Piers Morgan was shocked by the retweets, too. Good morning, Mr President @realDonaldTrump what the hell are you doing retweeting a bunch of unverified videos by Britain First, a bunch of disgustingly racist far-right extremists? he tweeted. Please STOP this madness & undo your retweets. Good morning, Mr President @realDonaldTrump what the hell are you doing retweeting a bunch of unverified videos by Britain First, a bunch of disgustingly racist far-right extremists? Please STOP this madness & undo your retweets. Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) November 29, 2017The video of the man being pushed off of a rooftop was filmed in Egypt during the 2013 overthrow of president Mohamed Morsi and the man complicit of the crime was hanged after being found guilty, according to BuzzFeed News.When British Labour Party politician Jo Cox was murdered by a far-right terrorist, he shouted, This is for Britain , keep Britain independent , and Britain first as he attacked her.Cox s husband responded to Trump s retweets, writing, Trump has legitimised the far right in his own country, now he s trying to do it in ours. Spreading hatred has consequences & the President should be ashamed of himself. Trump has legitimised the far right in his own country, now he s trying to do it in ours. Spreading hatred has consequences & the President should be ashamed of himself. Brendan Cox (@MrBrendanCox) November 29, 2017Trump just promoted a woman who was convicted of a hateful act in Britain, much to the distress of a widowed man whose wife s murder shocked the world. Either Trump doesn t know how to Google or he s a hateful bigot or both. You choose.Photo by Zach Gibson Pool/Getty Images. | 0 |
22,576 | Ryan says 'getting really close' to U.S. government funding deal | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan said on Wednesday negotiators are close to reaching a deal to fund the U.S. government through October as Congress faces a Friday deadline to pass a spending bill. “We’re getting really close. I think we are making really good progress,” Ryan told reporters. “We’re very, very close on everything else and now it’s just getting down to the final details.” | 1 |
22,577 | 2012: JUSTICE KENNEDY READ A SCATHING DISSENTING OPINION ON OBAMACARE…Why He May Be The Vote That Saves Obamacare Today | Whether federal spending legislation crosses the line from enticement to coercion is often difficult to determine, and courts should not conclude that legislation is unconstitutional on this ground unless the coercive nature of an offer is unmistakably clear. In this case, however, there can be no doubt. Justices Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas, and AlitoJustice Anthony Kennedy was furious when a majority on the U.S. Supreme Court upheld President Barack Obama s healthcare law. As he read the dissenting opinion from the bench three years ago, his anger was palpable. The majority regards its opinion as judicial modesty, he declared. It is not. It amounts instead to a vast judicial over-reaching. That was Kennedy on June 28, 2012.Now, as the country awaits a ruling in the second major challenge to Obama s signature Affordable Care Act, a question is whether the justice who was the voice of the opposition then could provide the critical fifth vote to uphold the law on the nine-justice court now.At stake are the tax-credit subsidies that have helped low- and moderate-income Americans obtain health insurance. The challengers say the government unlawfully extended those subsidies to states that did not create local insurance exchanges but instead relied on the federal exchange. If the court strikes down the subsidies, millions of Americans in at least 34 of the 50 states could lose coverage.Five years after its passage, the Affordable Care Act has become ingrained in American life even as it remains politically divisive. This is now part of the fabric of how we care for one another, Obama, a Democrat, declared in a speech last week. Republicans have called for repeal and among the related lawsuits simmering in lower courts is a dispute brought by Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives over Treasury Department payments to healthcare insurers.IMPOSSIBLE TO PREDICTIn the case before the court, the unique issue along with Kennedy s record and his comments in oral arguments raise the possibility he will join the four liberal justices to endorse the law. Three years ago, his fellow conservative Chief Justice John Roberts cast the swing vote with the liberals to uphold the law. It marked a rare episode when Kennedy, the usual key justice on this divided bench, did not control the outcome of a momentous case.It is impossible to predict with confidence how the court will resolve the case, King v. Burwell. A ruling is anxiously awaited by officials in Washington and the insurance and healthcare industries nationwide.What is known: Two days after the March 4 oral arguments this year, the justices, per their usual practice, took a vote in a small conference room off Chief Justice Roberts chambers. The most senior justice on the winning side then assigned the opinion for those in the majority; the senior justice on the dissenting side tapped a writer for the main dissent. Drafts of dueling opinions began circulating among the chambers.In this conversation through memos, the justices will sharpen their arguments, sometimes compromising in reasoning and rhetoric to keep a majority together. Those in dissent similarly hone their retorts. The process is shrouded in secrecy, and the public will only know who is writing which opinion when they are issued.For King v. Burwell, the decision could come down as soon as Monday morning, when the justices next take the bench. It is more likely to be issued later this month. The toughest disputes tend to be resolved right up against the traditional end-of-June deadline for the court s nine-month session. Among the 20 awaited cases is also the question of whether the U.S. Constitution guarantees a right to same-sex marriage.A PIVOTAL POSITIONOn healthcare, either Kennedy or Roberts could tip the balance. Yet the 78-year-old Kennedy, appointed to the bench in 1988 by Republican President Ronald Reagan, may be in a more pivotal position based on his respect for state sovereignty and concern for the practical consequences of a decision.While the 2012 dispute posed a broad-ranging constitutional challenge to the individual insurance mandate before it even took effect, this one turns on a mere four-word clause allowing tax credits for insurance purchased through exchanges established by the state. The challengers, libertarian lawyers who were among those who lodged the 2012 attack, say that means that the subsidies are not available to people who have bought insurance through federally facilitated exchanges, which vastly outnumber state-run exchanges. The Obama administration contends the law, taken as a whole, makes clear that Congress, when it passed the law, intended the subsidies to apply to all exchanges.During oral arguments Justice Kennedy suggested the challengers view of the law could put unconstitutional federal pressure on states, because if they failed to set up exchanges, they would lose subsidies: The states are being told either create your own exchange or we ll send your insurance market into a death spiral, he said.Kennedy also does not rigidly interpret the words of a statute. He considers how a decision may play out, and he noted that if people pay mandated taxes and are denied tax credits, the cost of insurance will be sky-high. Still, Kennedy may harbor skepticism about the law known as Obamacare, and he acknowledged during arguments the possibility that the challengers could prevail on the plain words of the statute. Via: Reuters | 0 |
22,578 | Obama wants Pacific trade deal to pass this year: White House | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama wants Congress to approve the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal this year to help write the rules on global trade while keeping a competitive edge, the White House said on Friday. “This will be something that Congress has to contend with. They can either cede that ground to China - the president believes that is the wrong approach, that we have the opportunity, we’re in the catbird seat to write the rules of the road for trade right now and we should absolutely do that,” White House spokesman Eric Schultz said. “The president absolutely believes this deal should pass this year.” | 1 |
22,579 | France's Macron urges continued EU ties with Turkey | PARIS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron said Turkey remained a vital partner of the European Union and ties should be maintained even if the country had strayed from the EU path, according to a newspaper interview published on Thursday. A senior Turkish official said EU states must decide whether they wanted Turkey as a member, but there was a sense they no longer want the marriage...(but) want cohabitation . Comments from the French president followed German Chancellor Angela Merkel s remarks in a television debate on Sunday that the EU should halt membership talks with Ankara. Turkey has indeed strayed away from the European Union in recent months and worryingly overstepped the mark in ways that cannot be ignored, Macron told Greece s Kathimerini newspaper. But I want to avoid a split because it s a vital partner in many crises we all face, notably the immigration challenge and the terrorist threat. The EU is eager to preserve a deal with Turkey that has stemmed the mass migration via Turkish territory of people from conflict areas. Turkey has in the past questioned the EU s sincerity in keeping its side of the arrangement. Relations with Ankara and the European Union have deteriorated since a failed July 2016 coup that has been followed by the arrests of tens of thousands of people across the country. Critics accuse President Tayyip Erdogan of using the coup attempt as pretext for a reckoning political opponents. Turkey, which signed an association agreement with the EU in 1963, began formal negotiations to join the union in 2005. However, several members, including France, have opposed talks on certain subjects meaning that only 16 negotiation chapters out of 35 have been opened. Speaking to reporters in Paris, Turkey s ambassador echoed President Erdogan s comments that the EU had to make its mind up about membership and dismissed any notion of an alternative special partnership . Integrating Turkey into the EU is not a Turkish question, but a European question now. Of course we have the impression of being duped, Ismail Hakki Musa told reporters in Paris. They no longer want the marriage they want cohabitation. For a privileged partnership it s too late and Europe must now be honest and sincere. Turkey s relationship with France is not as bad as that with Germany, but ties have been strained following the arrest of French journalists in the country. The most recent, Loup Bureau, was seized by Turkish border guards on the frontier with Iraq in early August. Musa said Macron and Erdogan had asked their respective interior and justice ministers to find a way to solve the problem. We have to find a solution without tainting the fundamentals of the Turkish system, he said. France s foreign minister is due in Ankara on Sept. 14. Finland s Foreign Minister Timo Soini, arriving in Brussels for talks with counterparts, said he was against ending membership talks with Turkey. It s always useful to have a dialogue. We know there are problems with human rights in Turkey. While Macron has sought not to anger Erdogan since taking office, when responding in an interview last month on why being on the world stage was not so easy, Macron appeared to take a veiled swipe at the Turkish president. I am the one who has to talk with Erdogan every 10 days, he told Le Point without elaborating. | 1 |
22,580 | Cambodia's Hun Sen warns his party it could still lose election | PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has warned his party it could still lose next year s election even after the banning of the opposition and demanded that it improve its image, according to a recording leaked online on Thursday. Hun Sen s Cambodian People s Party (CPP) played down the importance of the message, in which Hun Sen tells senior officials they must stop corruption, extortion and other illegal practices and start making people happy. The opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) was banned at the government s request last week, deepening Hun Sen s fight with Western donors who accuse him of demolishing democracy in the country he has ruled for over 32 years. It doesn t mean that now the opposition is dissolved we can be careless, Hun Sen says in the 12-minute recording of a message to party officials, warning that his opponents could start a new party and should not be underestimated. If we get bad results and lose it would be twice as bad after we already dissolved the opposition party... People can also dissolve us through an election. He said the international community could try to revive their puppets and channel funding to Cambodia despite a five-year political ban on 118 CNRP politicians. The CNRP was banned after its leader, Kem Sokha, was arrested for allegedly plotting treason with American help. He has rejected the accusations as a ploy to let Hun Sen win next year s election. In his message, Hun Sen called on party officials to stop corruption, extortion, illegal logging and other irregularities that had pushed Cambodians to vote for the opposition. Votes were cast because of anger due to our mistakes in the past and that cannot happen again, Hun Sen said in the recording. CPP spokesman Sok Eysan said the message had not been secret. He did not say when the recording had been made. There is nothing to hide, he said. He was doing his work as the party leader and the prime minister. The 55 parliamentary seats that the CNRP won in the last election in 2013 were allocated to smaller parties on Thursday by the National Election Committee. The biggest winner was the royalist Funcinpec party of Prince Norodom Ranariddh, who was once Hun Sen s main rival but is now aligned with the prime minister. Funcinpec will get 41 seats in parliament - a third of all the seats - despite winning less than 4 percent of the vote in 2013. The ruling party did not get any more seats, but already had a majority with 68 seats. The will of the people has been violated, said Mu Sochua, a deputy to Kem Sokha who fled abroad in fear of arrest. The National Assembly of the Kingdom of Cambodia has lost its legitimacy. | 1 |
22,581 | Highlights: The Trump presidency on Feb. 9 at 7:50 P.M. EST | (Reuters) - Highlights of the day for U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration on Thursday: A U.S. federal appeals court in San Francisco unanimously upholds a temporary suspension of President Donald Trump’s order that restricted travel from seven Muslim-majority countries. Trump plans to announce the most ambitious tax reform plan since the Reagan era in the next few weeks, the White House says; the dollar and stocks rise after the announcement, despite signals from Congress that the timeline for tax reform is slipping. Nine senators from his own Republican party urge Trump to take a “tough-minded” approach to Russia, joining a growing chorus of lawmakers addressing concerns that he might be too conciliatory toward Moscow. In his first call as president with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Trump denounced a treaty that caps U.S. and Russian deployment of nuclear warheads as a bad deal for the United States, sources say. Considering his comments about Russia, NATO allies are looking for signs that Trump will stick with the U.S. commitment to the alliance made by the Obama administration. Trump disputes bipartisan accounts that his U.S. Supreme Court nominee privately voiced dismay over Trump’s attacks on the judiciary, saying Judge Neil Gorsuch’s comments had been misrepresented. Trump meets with airline executives and then laments what he called an out-of-date U.S. air traffic control system while criticizing current modernization efforts as the “wrong system” and too expensive. A dozen Democratic senators urge the Trump administration to reconsider overhauling and renaming a U.S. government program so it would focus solely on countering Islamist extremism, saying it could jeopardize security and may be illegal. Stephen Feinberg, chief executive of private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management [CBS.UL] who backed Trump’s election campaign, is being considered to lead a review of the vast U.S. intelligence operation and whether it can be restructured, current and former officials tell Reuters. Senior White House adviser Kellyanne Conway draws sharp criticism from a top Republican lawmaker and complaints over the ethics of using her position to urge Americans to buy product lines of Trump’s daughter Ivanka, a day after Trump attacked Nordstrom for dropping them. Trump uses the swearing-in ceremony of Attorney General Jeff Sessions to sign three executive orders, including ones targeting transnational drug cartels and those who commit crimes against law enforcement. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will propose new Cabinet-level U.S.-Japan talks on trade, security and macroeconomic issues, including currencies, when he meets Trump on Friday in Washington, a Japanese government official says. Trump and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani discussed opportunities to strengthen ties, security, counterterrorism cooperation and economic development during a telephone call on Thursday, the White House says in a statement. | 1 |
22,582 | U.S. Corporations Plead With Trump On Front Page Of NY Times: Don’t Abandon Paris Deal | Some of the biggest corporations in the United States have come together to beg Donald Trump not to abandon the Paris Climate Agreement and they did it on the front page of the New York Times. Dear President Trump, they began. As some of the largest companies based or operating in the United States, we strongly urge you to keep the United States in the Paris Agreement on climate change. Climate change presents both business risks and business opportunities, the open letter to Trump explained. Continued U.S. participation in the agreement benefits U.S. businesses and the U.S. economy in many ways. These include strengthening competitiveness, creating jobs, markets, and growth, and reducing business risks, the letter added, going into each point in detail.The letter was signed by several of the biggest companies in America, including Adobe, Apple, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Danfoss, Facebook, Gap, Inc., Google, The Hartford, Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, Ingersoll Rand, Intel Corporation, Johnson Controls, Levi Strauss & Co., Mars Incorporated, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, National Grid, PG&E Corporation, Royal DSM, Salesforce, Schneider Electric, Tiffany & Co., Unilever, and VF Corporation all signed on to the open plea.The letter was also published in several other major newspapers throughout the country. As businesses concerned with the well-being of our customers, our investors, our communities, and our suppliers, we are strengthening our climate resilience, and we are investing in innovative technologies that can help achieve a clean energy transition. For this transition to succeed, however, governments must lead as well, the coporations said to Trump. U.S. business is best served by a stable and practical framework facilitating an effective and balanced global response. The Paris Agreement provides such a framework. As other countries invest in advanced technologies and move forward with the Paris Agreement, we believe the United States can best exercise global leadership and advance U.S. interests by remaining a full partner in this vital global effort, the letter concluded.Trump has gone back and forth on whether or not to pull the United States out of the climate deal. Axios announced that it was a done deal and Trump would be withdrawing from the agreement. But the New York Times reported on Tuesday that Trump is once again on the fence about the matter and has been influenced by the negative response from big businesses urging him not to abandon the deal.Featured image via Olivier Douliery Pool/Getty Images | 0 |
22,583 | Trump will send envoys to Middle East to discuss peace: official | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump is sending his son-in-law Jared Kushner and negotiator Jason Greenblatt to the Middle East soon to meet regional leaders and discuss a “path to substantive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks,” a White House official said on Friday. Deputy national security adviser Dina Powell will also be on the trip, which will include meetings with leaders from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan, Egypt, Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the official said. “While the regional talks will play an important role, the president reaffirms that peace between Israelis and Palestinians can only be negotiated directly between the two parties and that the United States will continue working closely with the parties to make progress towards that goal,” the official said. Kushner, who serves as a senior adviser to his father-in-law, was charged with helping to broker a deal between Israelis and Palestinians after Trump took office. The president went to Saudi Arabia and Israel during his first post-inauguration trip abroad and has expressed a personal commitment to reaching a deal that has eluded his Republican and Democratic predecessors. The timing of the trip was pegged to the recent “restoration of calm and the stabilized situation in Jerusalem” after a spate of violence last month sparked by Israel’s installation of metal detectors at entry points to the Noble Sanctuary or Temple Mount compound there. Trump directed that the talks focus on a pathway to peace talks, fighting “extremism,” easing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and identifying economic steps that can be taken to ensure security and stability, the official said. “To enhance the chances for peace, all parties need to engage in creating an environment conducive to peace-making while affording the negotiators and facilitators the time and space they need to reach a deal,” the official said. | 1 |
22,584 | WHOA! BLACK WOMAN FED UP WITH BLACK RACISTS NAILS IT: “Many Black People Voted For Barack Obama Simply Because He Was Black…And Now Your Black god Has Failed You!” [VIDEO] | WOW This woman absolutely nails it! | 0 |
22,585 | HILLARY LIES AGAIN…She’s NOT The First Female Presidential Nominee …She’s Not Even the First Female COMMUNIST Nominee …Here’s PROOF | What a role model for women and young girls, a presidential candidate who has one foot in prison and the other on the campaign trail That Hillary If she s not lying she s never mind, she s probably lying Clinton is merely the first woman to earn a major party nod but she follows these party standard-bearers who also tried to break the ultimate glass ceiling:1872: Equal Rights Party, Victoria WoodhullNearly 50 years before women earned the right to vote, Victoria Woodhull headlined a progressive all-star ticket, running with former slave and abolitionist leader Fredrick Douglass. Woodhull s agenda was well ahead of the Reconstructionist times; the newspaper editor turned Presidential nominee championed suffrage, civil rights and free love which is a radical threesome.1888: Equal Rights Party, Belva LockwoodLockwood was born in a log cabin and the first woman to argue a case before the Supreme Court, but her bootstraps story didn t impress some wags of the day. Old lady Lockwood, the Atlanta Constitution warned, would subject the country to petticoat rule. She got 4,100 votes in an age when half the electorate women still could not vote and most blacks were still disenfranchised.1940: Surprise Party, Gracie AllenLike Donald Trump s candidacy, what began as a joke between comedian Gracie Allen and her husband and show time side-kick George Burns, soon became a national amusement. Allen, who s political slogan was Down with common sense, vote for Gracie and vowed to resolve the California-Florida boundary dispute, seized the nation s attention with a series of campaign stops and satirical policy platform. It s estimated that she received 42,000 votes in November.1968: Communist Party USA, Charlene MitchellMitchell, a card-carrying member of the CPUSA from age 16, was the first African-American woman to be nominated for president. The ticket, which made it onto only two state ballots, received just over 1,000 votes.1972: Socialist Worker s Party, Linda JennessAt age 31, Jenness could not have actually served if she had been elected but that was part of the point. We think that constitutional requirement is ridiculous, Jenness said. Turning 35 does not make you a genius, politically, as so many of our politicians have proven. Jenness was an outspoken anti-war candidate and vocal critic of rival nominees, the Republican Richard Nixon and Democratic George McGovern.1976: People s Party, Margaret WrightThe World War II shipyard worker featured in the 1980 documentary The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter fronted the People s Party ticket, a coalition of various socialist and anti-war organizations. The party received 49,016 votes, or .06% of the national total.1980: Right to Life Party, Ellen McCormackMcCormack s single-issue candidacy brought the pro-life agenda to the nation s attention. After a successful run as a Democrat that earned her 238,000 primary votes and raised over $500,000 in campaign contributions, McCormack s 1980 campaign received 32,000 votes in the three states in which she qualified. I think we are teaching working mothers it is more prestigious to work than be home with their children, the self-described housewife once said.1984: Citizens Party, Sonia JohnsonFor entire list go here: NYDaily News | 0 |
22,586 | Right-Wing Rag NY Post Promotes Scalia Death Conspiracy Theory: He ‘Could Have Been Poisoned’ | Right-wing morons everywhere are panicking about what will happen to the Supreme Court now that notoriously bigoted Justice Antonin Scalia has died. Of course, immediately this became a political situation before the man s body was even cold, and with politics comes conspiracy theories. One of the biggest theories out there among the Right is that President Obama had Scalia assassinated. Of course, this absolutely ridiculous, but that holds no water with idiots. What is, however, especially horrible is when widely read papers repeat this nonsense, which is just what the NY Post has just done.Citing a report from a supposed forensics expert, the paper ran a grossly irresponsible story saying that Scalia could have been poisoned. Among other things, the Post said in its trashy article:Lethal poisoning could have left Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia s body in virtually the same condition in which it was found, a top forensic pathologist told The Post on Wednesday. It would look like he s asleep. It doesn t show anything on the body, said Dr. Michael Baden, who spent 25 years in the city s chief Medical Examiner s Office.The paper, of course, left out the fact that this forensics guy had no ties to examining Scalia at all, as well as the fact that his passing due to natural ailments was perfectly plausible, too.Well, considering the fact that the man was almost 80 years old, there s absolutely no reason for there to be suspicion that he didn t just die in his sleep. In fact, he had already lived past the usual age for an American man.Whoever wrote this crap at the NY Post should be ashamed of themselves. Then again, after seven years, we re used to the right wing blaming President Obama for literally everything, even things he couldn t have possibly had anything to do with.Featured image via Legal Geekery | 0 |
22,587 | Puerto Rico governor hopes for 'open dialogue' with Mnuchin | (Reuters) - Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello said on Friday he was “committed to establishing a working relationship” and fostering “open dialogue” with U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, after the two met in Washington. Rossello, who took office on Jan. 2, met with Mnuchin to discuss his efforts to “put Puerto Rico’s financial house in order,” a statement from the governor’s office said. Rossello has signed more than 20 bills and executive orders aimed at cutting spending and fostering economic growth, but Puerto Rico faces a long haul out of an economic crisis characterized by a 45 percent poverty rate, near-insolvent public pensions and healthcare systems, and almost $70 billion in debt. Under former President Barack Obama, the Treasury took a hands-on approach in Puerto Rico, working with federal lawmakers on legislation aimed at giving the U.S. territory a way to cut debt. President Donald Trump has given little indication of how his administration may handle Puerto Rico. The island’s finances are under the supervision of a federally appointed board. Rossello on Tuesday is scheduled to present the board with a 10-year blueprint for the island’s fiscal turnaround. The board has said the plan should find $4.5 billion a year in savings and revenue, including a 10 percent reduction in pension benefits and $1 billion in annual savings on healthcare spending. In an interview with Reuters on Thursday, Rossello said his plan will generally meet the board’s criteria, with some exceptions, particularly on healthcare spending. “A $1 billion reduction in healthcare would not only severely hamper the people of Puerto Rico, it would also cripple what is a healthy industry, the healthcare industry,” Rossello said. Puerto Rico’s Medicare system is on the brink of insolvency, in part because, as a U.S. territory, it receives proportionately less federal reimbursement than states. Rossello has said he will lobby the federal government to increase such funding, but the board has said the turnaround plan should not assume any funding changes or help from Washington. | 1 |
22,588 | Democrats block U.S. energy bill in fight over Flint aid | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Democrats teamed up with some of their Republican counterparts on Thursday and blocked a wide-ranging U.S. energy bill in a fight over aid to Flint, Michigan, to help rectify its drinking water crisis. The Republican-led Senate failed in two procedural votes to advance the bill after behind-the-scenes bipartisan talks broke down. Negotiators hope to find a compromise on an amendment that would have allocated millions of dollars to replace Flint’s contaminated water system and provide healthcare for people sickened by it. The legislation fell far short of the 60 votes needed to clear procedural roadblocks and bring it to a vote. Democrats are making support for Flint, a poor city of mostly African Americans and Latinos near Detroit, a wider issue ahead of the November presidential election. Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are due to hold a March presidential debate in Flint. Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska and a co-sponsor of the bill, proposed making up to $550 million available to Flint. Only $50 million would be immediately available to the city, where thousands of children have ingested lead from polluted water, and the water is still dangerous. “It’s not about the money, it’s about how quickly it could get to the state and the form of it. What we need is dollars up front,” Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan told reporters after the vote. Financially strapped Flint changed its water supply in 2014 from Detroit’s system to the Flint River. Corrosive water from the river that runs past dumping grounds caused lead to leach from aging pipes in Flint, a city of 100,000. Lead is a toxin that can harm the brains of children and cause other health problems. Stabenow and Michigan Senator Gary Peters had proposed an amendment to the bill to direct up to $600 million to Flint. The energy bill would have taken steps to speed permitting of liquefied natural gas facilities, fund research into advanced nuclear reactors and protect the power grid from cyber attacks. Senator John Cornyn of Texas, the Senate’s No. 2 Republican, said Democrats were trying to “embarrass” Republicans by making it look like they did not want to help Flint. Stabenow noted that when a fertilizer plant exploded in West, Texas, in 2013, Cornyn pressed the federal government to direct millions of dollars to deal with the crisis. Republican Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma had proposed a deal in which money for Flint would come from a fund for advanced vehicles. Democrats said such a deal would harm workers in the region, an automotive industry hub. | 1 |
22,589 | Yemen humanitarian situation likely to worsen with Saleh death: Mattis | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Tuesday that the killing of former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh would, in the short term, likely worsen an already dire humanitarian situation in the country. Saleh was killed in a roadside attack on Monday after switching sides in Yemen s civil war, abandoning his Iran-aligned Houthi allies in favor of a Saudi-led coalition. Coupled with a Saudi-led blockade and internal clashes, the stalemate has contributed to a human catastrophe. Some 7 million people are on the brink of famine, while one million are suspected to be infected with cholera. Mattis, speaking with reporters on a military aircraft en route to Washington after a brief trip to parts of the Middle East and South Asia, said it was too early to say what impact the killing would have on the war. He said it could either push the conflict towards U.N. peace negotiations or make it an even more vicious war. (But)one thing I think I can say with a lot of concern and probably likelihood is that the situation for the innocent people there, the humanitarian side, is most likely to (get) worse in the short term, Mattis said. He did not explain his reasoning. The war has already killed more than 10,000 and displaced millions. So this is where we ve all got to roll up our sleeves. Now, what are you going to do about medicine and food and clean water and cholera, Mattis said. I think there has got to be a lot more focus on the humanitarian side right now. Analysts said Saleh s death would be a huge moral boost for the Houthis and a serious blow to the Saudi-led coalition that intervened in the conflict to try to restore the internationally recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. Saudi Arabia and its allies receive logistical and intelligence help from the United States. Mattis said he did not believe the U.S. military would play a role in easing the humanitarian situation. | 1 |
22,590 | Japan, U.S. agree economic talks should produce 'concrete results' near term | TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan and the United States agreed to structure bilateral economic talks along three policy pillars and to generate concrete results in the near term, Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso and Vice President Mike Pence said in a joint statement. The U.S. vice president and the deputy prime minister “look forward to engaging again in the dialogue by the end of this year”, according to the statement, issued on Tuesday after the first round of the Japan-U.S. economic dialogue. | 1 |
22,591 | South Korea 'fired 249 warning shots' to fend off Chinese fishing boats | SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea s coast guard said it fired 249 warning shots over a group of Chinese fishing boats swarming around one of its patrol ships in South Korean waters, prompting a call for restraint from Beijing. South Korean coast guard vessels regularly chase Chinese boats suspected of fishing illegally in South Korean waters, at times sparking violent confrontations, complicating a relationship which is key to efforts to try to rein in North Korea s nuclear and missile programs. A fleet of 44 Chinese fishing boats fortified with iron bars and steel mesh on Tuesday began to rush the patrol boat which broadcast warnings to steer clear, the coast guard said. The coast guard vessel fired 249 shots over the boats until they retreated. The Chinese fishing boats sought to swarm around and collide with our patrol ship, ignoring the broadcast warnings, the coast guard said in a statement. China, which has in the past lodged diplomatic protests with South Korea over the use of force by its coast guard, expressed serious concern about the reports. We hope that South Korea appropriately handles the relevant issue and in the course of law enforcement takes no extreme actions that endanger people s safety, foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters in Beijing. Seoul s foreign ministry said the coast guard followed domestic law in its use of weapons in a legitimate step against the boats which made a mass violation of the country s waters for illegal fishing . In September last year, three Chinese fishermen were killed in a fire on their boat when a South Korean coast guard crew trying to apprehend them for illegal fishing threw flash grenades into a room where they were hiding, according to the South Korean coast guard. A month later, two Chinese fishing boats illegally fishing in South Korean waters crashed into and sank a coast guard vessel, the coast guard officials said. | 1 |
22,592 | Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders in good health: doctor | NEW YORK (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is in “overall very good health,” with no limitations on his work as a U.S. senator, his physician said in a letter released on Thursday. The letter from Brian Monahan, the attending physician for Congress, detailed the health of the Vermont senator, who is vying with Hillary Clinton for his party’s nomination to the November 2016 presidential election. “You are in overall very good health and active in your professional work, and recreational lifestyle without limitation,” said the Jan. 20 letter posted on Sanders’ campaign website. Presidential candidates often release such statements to assure voters that they are fit for the presidency. The race between Clinton and Sanders, 74, has tightened in recent weeks, and polls show the two in a statistical dead heat for the Iowa caucus on Feb. 1. The letter notes that Sanders has, over the years, been treated for conditions ranging from gout to hypothyroidism to diverticulitis. He has also had surgery to repair hernias and excise a vocal cord cyst, the letter said. The senator also takes levothyroxine daily and indomethacin occasionally, it added. Levothyroxine is used to treat hypothyroidism, and indomethacin is used treat stiffness and pain from osteoarthritis, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Sanders’ main Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, released a statement from her own doctor last year giving her a clean bill of health. (Reporting by Luciana Lopez; Editing by Richard Chang) SAP is the sponsor of this coverage which is independently produced by the staff of Reuters News Agency. | 1 |
22,593 | HILARIOUS! FOX News’ Greg Gutfeld Introduces New Sponsor Of His Show…”Victima” [VIDEO] | At the start of the Fox News Greg Gutfeld Show, Gutfeld showed a hilarious clip mocking the hysteria of the Democrat Party. Gutfeld began his show by telling his viewers, I m really excited to introduce a new sponsor to our show. It s a new drug. It s called Victima' Gutfeld went on to explain that the drug was created to help Democrats who are feeling defeated after the brutal election of Donald Trump cope: When identity politics no longer work, try Victima .America s been witnessing the embarrassing meltdown of liberals ever since President Trump shocked the world with his stinging defeat of Crooked Hillary, so Gutfeld decided to have a little fun by mocking the embarrassing behavior of the left.The voice in the commercial mimics the typical TV drug commercials with sappy music playing in the background: It s not what it used to be. It used to be fine.The Democratic Party it s not performong.It s slow, sluggish, confused, prone to fits of despair. It may be time for Victima . Victims, when your old identity politics no longer work, Victima gives you that added boost to get you to where you want to be. When I take Victima, I see everyone as a racist . It really works. Watch:Ironically, FOX News fired Bob Beckel, the only liberal on the Gutfeld Show the day after this show aired, after he allegedly made a racist remark that offended a black employee working at FOX. Hmmm | 0 |
22,594 | In a corner of a French field, memories of U.S. segregation | ARDEUIL ET MONTFAUXELLES, France (Reuters) - In a half-forgotten field in France stands a worn monument to a regiment of U.S. soldiers who faced down racism at home and in their ranks to become World War One s most decorated unit of African American soldiers. In the run up to Veterans Day on Nov. 11, campaigners say the record of the 371st infantry regiment needs to be fully recognized. One man is trying to have one of the unit s soldiers finally decorated with the Medal of Honor the U.S. military s highest award a century after his death. The 371st was largely made up of poor black laborers from segregated South Carolina. They were drafted into the army by a military machine keen to keep them away from potential frontline glory by putting them in support roles. But they soon found themselves in the heat of battle under the command of the French army, which was desperate for manpower in the dying days of the war. You had these African Americans in the early 1900s who were subject to Jim Crow, racism was rampant, the military was segregated, said Gerald Torrence of the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC), a government agency that serves as guardian of U.S. military memorials and cemeteries overseas. These men were victimized in their daily life in the United States, yet they were not victims in their minds, said Torrence, who is co-author of Willing Patriots: Men of Color in the First World War . Until 2015, when President Barack Obama posthumously decorated a soldier from another regiment, the 371st contained the war s only African American winner of the Medal of Honor. But now Jeff Gusky, a campaigner, explorer and photographer, has dug through the records and believes it deserves another. Private Burton Holmes was in his early twenties on Sept. 28, 1918 when he was badly injured during an assault on a ridge in Champagne, eastern France. In the face of heavy machinegun fire, he returned to headquarters to re-arm and fought on, rallying the troops before being killed. He was recommended for the Medal of Honor but it was downgraded to a lesser award, a decision Gusky believes was down to institutional racism. An African American comrade of Holmes, Freddie Stowers, was also recommended for the Medal of Honor during the war but his paperwork was misplaced for decades and he was only recognized in 1991, 73 years after his death. Now veterans organizations say the case of Holmes needs to be reviewed too. I think the burden is on the present day U.S. army to tell us why he wouldn t deserve the Medal of Honor, Gusky said. In the tiny village of Ardeuil et Montfauxelles in eastern France (population 86), the residents have not forgotten the sacrifice of the soldiers. Local man Frank Lesjean treks through a field after work to tend to their memorial, accessible only by a muddy track. He touches up the names of those who died with red paint and looks after the roses around the chipped granite. Restoring this monument helps their memory to endure, he told Reuters. Without it, they d be even more forgotten. | 1 |
22,595 | Cambodia's Hun Sen will fall like Mugabe, says opponent Rainsy | PARIS (Reuters) - Cambodia s Prime Minister Hun Sen will be driven from power like President Mugabe in Zimbabwe, veteran opposition chief Sam Rainsy told Reuters on Thursday, adding that Western states should impose targeted sanctions after his party was dissolved. The opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) was banned at the government s request last week, deepening Hun Sen s fight with Western donors who accuse him of demolishing democracy in the country he has ruled for over 32 years. Rainsy resigned in February from the party, saying he feared it would be banned if he did not. Defamation convictions that he calls politically motivated drove him to flee Cambodia for France in 2015. Cambodia is at a tipping point. The people are fed up with Hun Sen and what is happening in Zimbabwe is inspiring, Rainsy told Reuters in an interview. Mugabe has fallen and it will soon be the turn of Hun Sen, who has become unacceptably anachronistic. Mugabe, who had led Zimbabwe from independence in 1980, stepped down on Tuesday after the army seized power and the ruling party turned against him. Hun Sen s government called for the CNRP ban after arresting its leader Kem Sokha on Sept. 3. It charged him with treason for an alleged plot to take over the Southeast Asian country with the help of the United States. His opponents say the charges were intended to eliminate Kem Sokha from next year s election so the strongman, who is currently the world s longest serving prime minister, can extend his rule. Rainsy, who announced his return to politics on Nov. 15, described the party ban as just on paper . He said the opposition needed to demonstrate that it continued to garner strong support after winning some 3 million votes in the 2013 elections, and push Cambodia s main western donors to shy away from the Phnom Penh government. What is important is to show Hun Sen that what he did was unacceptable. The world is not going to do business as usual with this government ... and needs to tell him it would never recognize a government that came out of these elections, he said. According to a recording leaked online on Thursday, Hun Sen has warned his party it could still lose the vote even after the CNRP was banned, and he demanded that it improve its image. Western countries have condemned the government s crackdown on the opposition, civil rights groups and independent media and have called for the release of Kem Sokha to allow credible elections. Washington has said it is cutting planned aid for holding elections and will take further steps. France, which ruled the country for almost a century before its 1953 independence, on Thursday said the government needed to abide by a democratic process. Hun Sen, a former commander in the ultra-leftist Khmer Rouge led by Pol Pot which is blamed for the deaths of around two million people in the 1970s, has brushed off Western criticism, and warned that trade sanctions will hurt the people first. Rainsy said the U.S. and European Union should initially withdraw all assistance for the elections and impose targeted sanctions ranging from visa bans to asset freezes. He stopped short of calling for economic sanctions, saying that this could be used further down the line. We need personal sanctions that target individuals so that it won t hurt the people, but (hurt) the leaders who have hidden their ill-amassed fortunes abroad. They react when their personal interests are hurt, he said. When asked about Hun Sen increasingly turning to China, Cambodia s biggest donor, Rainsy said he believed the relationship would eventually unravel. China looks beyond Hun Sen. No government is stupid enough to continue to bet on him. What is happening in Cambodia now is reminiscent of the Khmer Rouge era. Pol Pot was isolated from the world and relied on China, but ... when it didn t need him it threw him out. | 1 |
22,596 | Austria's supreme court paves way for same-sex marriage from 2019 | VIENNA (Reuters) - Same-sex couples will be allowed to marry in Austria from 2019, the country s supreme court ruled on Tuesday and said a law to the contrary violated the principle of non-discrimination. The move brings Austria into line with many other European nations including Germany, France, Britain and Spain. It also comes at a time when stories of sexual harassment under the #MeToo hashtag have flooded social media, sparking a rethink of attitudes towards sexual discrimination. Today is a truly historic day, said lawyer Helmut Graupner, who represented the two female plaintiffs in court. Austria is the first European country to recognize marriage equality for same-gender couples as a fundamental human right. All the other European states with marriage equality introduced it (just) the political way, he said in a Facebook post. Austria s constitutional court examined a 2009 law that allows registered partnerships for same-sex couples but prevents them from getting married. It acted at the request of two women who were rejected by two lower authorities. The distinction between marriage and registered partnership can no longer be upheld without discriminating against same-sex couples, the court said in a statement. The resulting discriminatory effect is seen in the fact that ... people living in same-sex partnerships have to disclose their sexual orientation even in situations, in which it is not and must not be relevant, and ... are highly likely to be discriminated against, the court said in its ruling. The conservative People s Party (OVP), who s leader Sebastian Kurz is expected to be sworn in as chancellor next month, said it will accept the ruling. The far-right Freedom Party (FPO), Kurz s chosen government coalition partner criticized the ruling. Now there is equal treatment for something that s not equal, said Herbert Kickl, FPO General Secretary, in a statement. A marriage between women and men needs protection as only these partnerships can create children, he said. The OVP and the FPO voted against same-sex marriage in parliament a few months ago. The court decision comes days after French President Emmanuel Macron unveiled a plan to curb violence against women and weeks after Scotland apologized to gay men for historical convictions. The Homosexual Initiative Vienna (HOSI) welcomed the court s decision. We are very happy, said HOSI chairman Christian Hoegl. We want to use the opportunity for a renewed call for a fundamental reform of marriage. Same-sex marriage is legal in 25 countries. Australia aims to pass a law to this effect early next month after 62 percent of voters favored marriage equality in a national survey. In Germany, women and men are allowed to wed to a same sex partner since October. The first country to legalize same-sex marriage was the Netherlands in 2001. | 1 |
22,597 | US SWIMMER Kicks Some Russian Booty After Russian Swimmer Shakes Finger At Her | US Swimmer Lilly King gave a Russian swimmer a lesson in swimming clean when she raced and beat the swimmer who wagged her finger at her the night before. The interview after the finger wagging was great! Lilly basically said the Russian swimmer s record of not passing the drug test was not cool . Soooo Lilly went out today and kicked some Russian booty The American beat Yulia Efimova in the 100-meter breaststroke and set an Olympic record, too a night after she called out the Russian for bragging after failing a drug test.Efimova was .57 seconds behind King, who finished in 1 minute, 4.93 seconds. American Katie Meili won bronze[ ]King s victory made a statement, too. Asked if she thought the win made a statement to Efimova, King said: I hope I did, that we can still compete clean. That s how it should be. | 0 |
22,598 | Teacher Unbelievably DEFENDS Punching Autistic 11-Yr-Old Hard Enough To Give Him A Concussion (VIDEO) | Milton Parker, a former paraprofessional (like a teacher but not quite) from New York, is currently defending punching an 11-year-old autistic student so hard that the child suffered a concussion. His defense? It was a reflexive action. That might fly if Parker was facing an adult but he was facing an 11-year-old sitting in the cafeteria of PS 225, located in Brooklyn.Here s the disturbing video:The parents of the student are suing Parker for $5 million because they say their son is now afraid to go into school buildings and has to be homeschooled. As the parent of an autistic child, I can attest that one horrible incident can leave that kind of impact and as the parent of a non-autistic child as well, I can attest that it s MUCH harder for an autistic child to get over a traumatic incident. Finally, I can fully attest that if a teacher hit my son like that, they d be lucky if I stopped at a concussion. After punching the child, Parker was charged with felony assault (but plead down to misdemeanor assault) and put in for retirement (perhaps sensing that he had become a danger to children?) but maintains he did nothing wrong:Milton Parker, who is being sued along with the city by the parents of Anatoly Veltman, said the blow he delivered was a reflex act in response to the boy hitting him first. Who gets hit and doesn t respond? Parker told The Daily News. The kid punched me in the eye first and as a reflex he got hit back. I knew it was on camera, Parker, 59, said. If it was intentional, I would have taken him to another room and beaten the snot out of him. Perhaps Parker is mistaking in anger for as a reflex ? Because we ve all seen people lash out as a startled reflex followed by immediate remorse and concern for the person they hit. Watching that video, his body language is less Oh crap! I m sorry! and more Yeah, you had that coming, punk! If I were Parker, I would not be happy that video exists because he s going to have to convince a jury that he felt bad about throwing a full strength punch at a little kid.God luck with that, you prick.Featured image via WABC screen capture | 0 |
22,599 | Biden tops Clinton list for U.S. secretary of state: reports | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Vice President Joe Biden tops a short list for secretary of state that is being compiled by the transition team of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, two media outlets reported. Politico on Thursday night cited an unidentified source as saying Clinton and her aides were discussing how to approach Biden about the post, should she win the Nov. 8 presidential election. Most national opinion polls show Clinton, who served as President Barack Obama’s first secretary of state, leading Republican Donald Trump in the race for the White House. Biden became a respected voice on foreign policy during his 36 years in the U.S. Senate, where he was chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee and at one point served alongside Clinton, when she was a senator from New York. “He’d be great, and they are spending a lot of time figuring out the best way to try to persuade him to do it if she wins,” the source familiar with Clinton’s transition planning told Politico. NBC News later confirmed that Biden was under consideration for the job of top U.S. diplomat. Biden, of Delaware, had considered running for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016. He has campaigned vigorously for Clinton in her race against Trump, a New York real estate tycoon and former reality television personality who has never run for office. The vice president said at a campaign event for Clinton in Pennsylvania this week that he is frequently asked whether he wished he had been debating Trump, who has insulted women, Muslims and immigrants and thumbed his nose at political norms. “No, I wish we were in high school. I could take him behind the gym. That’s what I wish,” Biden said, prompting a similarly pugilistic retort from Trump a couple of days later. In excepts from an interview released from CBS’ Sunday program “Face the Nation,” Biden made it clear he wanted to continue his public service. “I’m not going away. I’m, you know, everything from this issue of violence against women, to income inequality, to the cancer moonshot, I’m gonna devote the rest of my life to this.” | 1 |
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