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3,100 | Sen. Warren slams 'shockingly weak' punishments for corporate crime | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren released on Friday a report criticizing what she called “shockingly weak” punishments for corporate crimes and condemned the Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission for their lax approach. Warren, in a 13-page report titled “Rigged Justice,” outlined 20 civil and criminal cases from 2015 that she said illustrated patterns of weak and problematic enforcement of white-collar crimes, either as a result of “limited resources or lack of political will.” “The Obama administration has made repeated promises to strengthen enforcement and hold corporate criminals accountable, and the DOJ announced in September that it would place greater emphasis on charging individuals responsible for corporate crimes,” Warren wrote. “Nonetheless ... accountability for corporate crimes is shockingly weak.” Warren, a favorite among progressives, criticized the Justice Department and federal law enforcement agencies for rarely prosecuting individuals. She called the SEC “particularly feeble” and said loose regulation at other agencies often turns legal rules into suggestions, which companies can freely ignore. Warren said federal law is unambiguous in stating that if a corporation has committed a violation, individuals working there also must be at fault, but that federal agencies rarely pursue convictions of large corporations or their executives. “If justice means a prison sentence for a teenager who steals a car but it means nothing more than a sideways glance at a CEO who quietly engineers the theft of billions of dollars, then the promise of equal justice under the law has turned into a lie,” she wrote. “The contrast between the treatment of highly paid executives and everyone else couldn’t be sharper.” The report, which Warren said will be the first in an annual series on enforcement, described low-punishment cases ranging from for-profit colleges engaging in deceptive recruitment practices to General Motors covering up years of ignition switch problems in its vehicles. Another example listed was the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster, in which Massey Energy CEO Donald Blankenship was convicted of one misdemeanor following a mine explosion that killed 29 people, despite his company’s history of safety failures. | 1 |
3,101 | SHERIFF CLARKE OUTRAGED AT RALLY VIOLENCE: ” Where’s the FBI and DOJ?” | Sheriff Clarke weighs in on the violence at the Trump rally in San Jpse: | 0 |
3,102 | WHO urges Trump to expand Obamacare, ensure healthcare for all | GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday urged U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to expand Obamacare and ensure all Americans have access to healthcare. The real estate magnate takes office next month after promising to repeal outgoing President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare policy which helped millions more Americans get medical insurance but has been a target of Republican attacks. Agnes Soucat, the WHO’s director of health system governance and financing, said there were various ways of providing health cover to more people, and it amounted to “political choices.” “We as the WHO really encourage the new administration to make sure that the social contract is expanded and that all U.S. citizens have access to health care,” Soucat told a news briefing in Geneva. The United States is the only country among the 35 member states of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) not to provide universal health care, a key U.N. Sustainable Development Goal for 2030, she said. The Affordable Care Act, known commonly as Obamacare, has provided some 25 million previously uninsured Americans with health cover. Republicans say it has created unwarranted government intervention in personal healthcare and private industry. Trump in late November picked Republican U.S. Representative Tom Price, an orthopedic surgeon from Georgia and Obamacare critic, to be his health secretary. Price has long championed a plan of tax credits, expanded health savings accounts, and lawsuit reforms to replace Obamacare. Republicans are divided over how quickly an Obamacare repeal should go into effect, with some saying a delay would give them time to work on a replacement, instead of throwing millions of Americans out of their health insurance with no substitute. “There are different strategies to make universal health care particularly pro-poor,” Soucat said. “So what we are saying is, yes, this would be a setback if people would lose coverage.” | 1 |
3,103 | Factbox: Contenders for senior jobs in Trump's administration | (Reuters) - The following are people mentioned as contenders for senior roles as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump puts together his administration before taking office on Jan. 20, according to Reuters sources and other media reports. Trump already has named a number of people for other top jobs in his administration. * Navy Admiral Mike Rogers, director of the National Security Agency * Ronald Burgess, retired U.S. Army lieutenant general and former Defense Intelligence Agency chief * Robert Cardillo, director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency * Pete Hoekstra, Republican former U.S. representative from Michigan * Debra Wong Yang, a former U.S. attorney who was appointed by former President George W. Bush * Ralph Ferrara, a securities attorney at Proskauer Rose LLP * Paul Atkins, a former SEC commissioner who heads Trump’s transition team for independent financial regulatory agencies * Daniel Gallagher, Republican former SEC commissioner * John Allison, a former CEO of regional bank BB&T Corp and former head of the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank * Paul Atkins, former SEC commissioner * Thomas Hoenig, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp vice chairman and former head of the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank * Dan DiMicco, former CEO of steel producer Nucor Corp * Robert Lighthizer, former deputy U.S. trade representative during the Reagan administration * Wayne Berman, senior executive with private equity and financial services firm Blackstone Group LP * David McCormick, president of investment manager Bridgewater Associates LP * Mick Mulvaney, Republican U.S. representative from South Carolina * David Malpass, former chief economist with investment bank Bear Stearns and a senior Trump adviser * Chuck Conner, a former acting secretary of the U.S. Agriculture Department and current head of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives * Tim Huelskamp, Republican U.S. representative from Kansas * Sid Miller, Texas agriculture commissioner * Sonny Perdue, former Georgia governor * Scott Brown, former Republican U.S. senator from Massachusetts * Sarah Palin, former Alaska governor * Jeff Miller, former Republican U.S. representative from Florida who was chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee * Dr. Scott Gottlieb, a venture capitalist, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and former Food and Drug Administration deputy commissioner * Jim O’Neill, a Silicon Valley investor who previously served in the Department of Health and Human Services The Trump transition team confirmed the president-elect would choose from a list of 21 names he drew up during his campaign, including Republican U.S. Senator Mike Lee of Utah and William Pryor, a federal judge with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. | 1 |
3,104 | FBI clears Clinton in email review two days before election | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The FBI said on Sunday it stood by its earlier finding that no criminal charges were warranted against Democrat Hillary Clinton for using a private email server for government work, lifting a cloud over her presidential campaign two days before the U.S. election. FBI Director James Comey made the announcement in a letter to Congress, saying the agency had worked “around the clock” to complete its review of newly discovered emails and found no reason to change its July finding. “During that process, we reviewed all of the communications that were to or from Hillary Clinton while she was secretary of state,” Comey said. “Based on our review, we have not changed our conclusions that we expressed in July.” A law enforcement source told Reuters the decision closed the FBI probe of Clinton’s email practices. Comey informed Congress of the newly discovered emails more than a week ago, throwing the race for the White House into turmoil and helping to erode Clinton’s lead over Republican candidate Donald Trump in the final stretch before Tuesday’s vote. “We’re glad this issue is resolved but for the record, this could easily have been learned before 1st letter was sent,” Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon wrote on Twitter. At a rally in Michigan, Trump questioned the thoroughness of the FBI review and said he was confident the issue would not go away. “The investigation will go on, the rank-and-file special agents won’t let her get away with her terrible crimes,” he told supporters in Sterling Heights, Michigan. Clinton did not mention the FBI email decision during campaign appearances in Ohio and New Hampshire. U.S. stock index futures rose more than 1 percent after the FBI announcement, suggesting Wall Street was poised to end its longest skid in more than three decades. The U.S. dollar also jumped in Asian trading against the yen, euro and Swiss franc. U.S. Treasury futures dropped and Tokyo’s Nikkei share average opened up 1.31 percent. Global financial markets slipped last week as opinion polls showed the presidential race tightening. The latest emails were discovered as part of a separate probe of former Democratic U.S. Representative Anthony Weiner, the estranged husband of Clinton aide Huma Abedin. Weiner is the target of an FBI investigation into illicit text messages he allegedly sent to a 15-year-old girl in North Carolina. Federal investigators got a warrant to examine the emails to see if they were related to the probe into Clinton’s private server. Democrats reacted angrily to Comey’s intrusion into the race and demanded quick action in examining the emails. “I am very grateful to the professionals at the FBI for doing an extraordinary amount of high-quality work in a short period of time,” Comey said on Sunday. But Democrats did not let Comey and the FBI off the hook. U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein of California said Sunday’s announcement made Comey’s earlier letter “even more troubling” and called for the Justice Department to review its procedures to prevent similar actions to influence future elections. “By confirming that the new emails were meaningless, today’s letter underscores the irresponsibility of Director Comey’s original letter,” Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said. Republicans kept up their criticism of Clinton despite Comey’s announcement. “She simply believes she’s above the law and always plays by her own rules,” House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan said in a statement, arguing that Clinton’s use of a private email server “compromised our national security.” Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Preibus said that while the probe had not led to criminal charges, it produced evidence that Clinton broke the law and “repeatedly lied to the American people about her reckless conduct.” News of the renewed probe had appeared to fuel a recent slide in Clinton’s poll numbers. The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll showed Clinton with a 5 percentage point lead over the New York businessman nationally - 44 percent to 39 percent support - while races in the swing states of Florida and North Carolina shifted from favoring Clinton to being too close to call. The Reuters/Ipsos States of the Nation project estimates that Clinton has a 90 percent chance of winning the election. | 1 |
3,105 | Donald Trump Gets A Big Endorsement From A Former Candidate And It Makes So Much Sense | Donald Trump is currently steamrolling his way to victory and Republicans seem to finally be waking up to the nightmare that he s going to win the nomination whether they want him to or not.One man who clearly has no problem with swallowing his pride and giving into Trump mania is current New Jersey governor and former Republican candidate for president, Chris Christie. On Friday, he announced that of all the candidates left, Trump is the one who most represents his values. Which actually makes a lot of sense, right? Donald and I have been friends for over a decade, Christie said. The Republican governor, who dropped out from the race himself after the New Hampshire primary, called Trump a clear standout who can provide strong, unequivocal leadership. What exactly does Christie mean by strong, unequivocal leadership ? Bullying.It s a strange, twisted irony that Chris Christie saw his election chances dwindle to zero because the brash, quick-to-anger, petty governor was outdone by Trump, a man who could do all of those things, only infinitely better than Christie himself. Christie was planning on running on his record of bullying teachers and union employees, screaming at constituents and attacking political rivals with underhanded tactics. That was supposed to, in Republican terms, make him look tough and capable. But then Trump came along a guy who had no problem telling his fans to physically beat up protesters. Who bragged about being able to kill a person in broad daylight. Who used any slight real or imagined to viciously go after his opponents in ways that were ugly, even for Washington. Trump is the man Christie wishes he could be.But it s a two-way street. No doubt, Christie s endorsement will help Trump solidify his place as the real front-runner in the race. Christie is considered an establishment Republican and his support of Trump legitimizes the former reality television star. It also helps that Christie, before he bowed out, single-handedly destroyed Marco Rubio during a debate. Now that Rubio is running at a distance second place to Trump, Christie can serve as an ever-present reminder of that surreal Robot Rubio software glitch moment.Notice in the wake of the endorsement, nothing is being said of Christie s integrity -that s simply because Christie has none. The man will gladly bash Obama to earn votes then give him a hug when he comes to save his state from a natural disaster. Then he ll go right back to bashing him. Likewise, for months, Christie told voters that Trump was a dangerous and unserious candidate. Now, he throws his reputation behind him, happy to ride his coattails all the way to a cabinet position in a Trump White House.Opportunistic, self-serving and two-faced, it s like Christie was born to endorse Trump. They have so much in common.Featured image via YouTube screenshot | 0 |
3,106 | Guinean forces kill one, wound several in bauxite mining town riot | CONAKRY (Reuters) - At least one person was killed and several wounded when Guinean security forces opened fire to break up a riot in the bauxite mining hub of Boke, witnesses said on Wednesday. Boke has suffered waves of rioting rooted in a perceived failure of mining to raise living standards, despite 15 million tonnes of aluminum ore being extracted annually by the West African nation s largest mining companies Societe Miniere de Boke (SMB) and Companie Bauxite de Guinee (CBG). Rioters on Wednesday pillaged a gendarmerie post and set fire to a security forces vehicle, before Guinean forces opened fire to push them back. They also blocked streets to prevent mine workers from going to work, although SMB said its basic operations were still in order. We feel the tension has increased somewhat, Frederic Bouzigues, general manager of SMB, told Reuters. Many of our employees have not been able to get back to work and this affects us even if our essential operations are not blocked. Guinea sits on about a third of the world s bauxite, but it remains one of the world s poorest countries, and unemployment around mining sites is not significantly lower than in other places. Residents of Boke protested this week over electricity shortages, another major gripe of residents. The government said calm had now been restored, after two days of demonstrations. I saw one person dead at the hospital, witness Mamadou Diallo told Reuters by telephone. It was a young man of 25 years. I saw about twenty people wounded, he added. Similar riots at the end of April paralyzed Boke, and youths trashed several government buildings before being pushed back by security forces firing live rounds, also killing at least one protester. It was a difficult situation but we took steps to restore calm, government spokesman Damantang Albert Camara said by telephone. Boke residents complain that while seeing none of the wealth from mining, they still suffer associated problems such as pollution from dust blowing off the back of trucks. | 1 |
3,107 | Deutsche Bank asks for more time for U.S. query on Trump, Russia: source | FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germany’s largest bank has asked for more time to respond to a request from Democrats on a U.S. House of Representatives panel for details about U.S. President Donald Trump’s possible ties to Russia, a person familiar with the matter said on Monday. Deutsche Bank’s (DBKGn.DE) external counsel sent a letter dated Friday June 2 to the Democrats saying it needed additional time, the source told Reuters. The person spoke on condition of anonymity and declined to specify how much more time the bank’s counsel needed. Several Democrats on the U.S. House Financial Services Committee sent a letter last month to John Cryan, chief executive officer of Deutsche Bank, seeking details that might show if Trump’s loans for his real estate business were backed by the Russian government. The letter asked for details of internal reviews of Trump’s transactions and gave the German bank until Friday to respond. Deutsche Bank has declined to comment about any business dealings with Trump. The Republican president is mired in controversy over FBI and congressional probes into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and potential collusion between Moscow and the Trump campaign. Moscow has denied the allegations, and Trump has denied any collusion. Maxine Waters, Democrat representative for California and a member of the committee, was one of the original letter’s five signatories. She confirmed through a staff member on Monday that Deutsche did not provide “substantive responses to our requests”. “Congress remains in the dark on whether loans Deutsche Bank made to President Trump were guaranteed by the Russian government, or were in any way connected to Russia,” the Democrats wrote in their request to Deutsche Bank. “It is critical that you provide this committee with the information necessary to assess the scope, findings and conclusions of your internal reviews,” they said. The Democrats cannot compel Deutsche Bank to hand over the information. The House committee has the power to subpoena the documents, but Republican committee members - who make up the majority of the panel - would have to cooperate. No Republicans have signed the document request. The congressional inquiry is also seeking information about a Russian “mirror trading” scheme that allowed $10 billion to flow out of Russia. In January, Deutsche Bank agreed to pay $630 million in fines for organizing the scheme that could have been used to launder money out of Russia. The trades involved, for example, buying Russian stocks in roubles for a client and selling the identical value of a security for U.S. dollars for a related customer. | 1 |
3,108 | Report: After Millions Promised, Trump Gave Barely More Than $1,000 A Year To Charity | While he s a lot wealthier, Donald Trump is no Paul Newman. Like Trump, Newman pledges that the proceeds from his signature food sales will go to charity. Trump promised that sales from Trump Vodka, Trump University and two books would go to charity. Unlike Trump, Newman makes good on his promise. In fact, the last time Trump gave to charity, it was 2008.If Trump stands by his promises, such donations should be occurring all the time. In the past 15 years, Trump has promised to donate earnings from a wide variety of his money-making enterprises: The Apprentice. Trump Vodka. Trump University. A book. Another book. If he honored all those pledges, Trump s gifts to charity would have topped $8.5 million.But in that time, public records show, Trump donated about $2.8 million less than a third of the pledged figure through a foundation set up to give his money away. And there is no evidence that Trump has given to his foundation lately: The last record of any gift from him to his foundation was in 2008.Source: Washington PostThe Washington Post has been on this story for a while, likely because amid claims that he gives millions of his personal funds to charity, Trump refuses to offer up any proof in the way of tax returns or anything else.All of this seems very strange for a man who has his own charitable foundation. While the foundation seemed to start off on the right foot, in later years, it resembles more of a way to collect money from other people than anything resembling generosity on the part of Trump.When he founded the Donald J. Trump Foundation in 1988, the mogul gave half a million dollars, and donated another million the next year. But throughout much of the 1990s, Trump contributed little to his foundation. And despite his vaunted personal wealth allegedly totaling in the billions, according to publicly available records, Trump personally contributed $5,093,512 to his foundation between 1988 and 2014. (During that same time period, an additional $7,072,645 was donated by outside individuals and organizations.) In seven of those years, Trump personally contributed nothing.Even in some cases where foundation records show Trump likely did follow through, the donations don t match the original lofty boasts. In 1989, for instance, Trump released Trump: The Game, a version of Monopoly. He bragged that the game would earn $20 million and that he d give it all to AIDS and cerebral palsy research and toward helping the homelessness. Trump barely gave money to his foundation for most of the 1990s, however.Two years later, a lawsuit against Trump revealed that the game had earned him just $866,800 in royalties, with Trump speculating that the game was perhaps too complex to be a big seller. In that same lawsuit, Trump reportedly said he donated the full proceeds to his charitable foundation. He publicly said that total donations resulting from the game amounted to $1 million, an amount corroborated by public records.Source: BuzzfeedThat s just the tip of the iceberg. Buzzfeed documented numerous times when Trump promised money and never delivered.The Washington Post went even further and contacted 167 charities in search of those missing gifts promised over the last severn years. They found just one donation. It was somewhere between $5,000 and $10,000 to the Police Athletic League of New York City. That was it. One charity, one paltry amount of money. It makes one wonder if he wants the presidency as a money laundering scheme.Featured image via Darren McCollester with Getty Images. | 0 |
3,109 | Mothers Of The Movement Bring DNC To Tears, So Right-Wing Racists Come Out In Droves (VIDEO) | The second day of the Democratic National Convention took an emotional turn when a group of black women, whose children s lives were lost long before their time, stepped on the stage and began to tell their heartbreaking stories and say emphatically: Black Lives Matter.The room hushed as Mothers of the Movement told of their children and the violent ways they had left this earth. Geneva Reed-Veal (mother of Sandra Bland), Lucia Bath (Jordan Davis) and Sybrina Fulton (Trayvon Martin) explained to the crowd of delegates why they were standing there in front of them, somewhere they never expected to be. Their stories brought the DNC to tears. You don t stop being a parent when your child dies. I am still Jordan Davis s mother. His life ended the day he was shot and killed for playing loud music. But my job as his mother didn t, Bath said. I lived in fear my son would die like this. I even warned him that because he was a young, black man, he would meet people who didn t value his life, she said. That is a conversation no parent should ever have to have. So naturally, right-wing racists came out in droves.@Tyronem07172460 @RedPillTweets The mothers of the movement are a freaking joke. a group of idiots who didnt raised their kids properly. Mauricio (@Shelby14_02) July 27, 2016There aren t any #FathersOfTheMovement. They all ran out!#MothersoftheMovement Donald Bateman (@NationalismRise) July 27, 2016LMAOOOO, they have Mothers of the Movement on stage. AKA, women who raised their sons to beat, fight with, shoot, or aim at police & ppl. Dav (@DavosFox118) July 27, 2016Mothers of the movement or should I say Mothers of the Racist Hate Group Black Lives Matter Trever Talley (@trever_talley) July 27, 2016#MothersoftheMovement If they actually cared about their kids, they would be still alive. No sympathy from me. #FunctioningIlliterates. DNC IS CORRUPT (@PCiscancerous) July 27, 2016Mother of victims of police violence? they must not have done a great job raising them Mothers of the Movement #DemConvention rewrite omitted#7089 (@JohnFict) July 27, 2016Despite the reactions of bigots, the stories of these grieving mothers are as powerful as they are heartwrenching. The inclusion Mothers of the Movement at the DNC is proof that the Democratic party and Hillary Clinton do believe Black Lives Matter.You can watch these mothers give their moving speech here: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eW8_tr3JCEk]Featured image via Alex Wong/Getty Images | 0 |
3,110 | Iran's Guards flex muscle in Middle East despite Trump warning | BEIRUT (Reuters) - A week after U.S. President Donald Trump delivered a blistering speech about Iran s Revolutionary Guards, the most powerful military and economic force in the Islamic Republic has shown it has no intention of curbing its activities in the Middle East. In defiance of other world powers, Trump chose in a speech last Friday not to certify that Tehran is complying with a pact to curb Iran s nuclear work and singled out the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), accusing Tehran of destabilizing the region. A senior IRGC commander said after the speech Trump was acting crazy and was following U.S. strategy of increasing the shadow of war in the region . Iran s Shi ite militia proxies have made formidable military gains in recent months in Syria as well as Iraq, stretching from northern Iraq to a string of smaller cities and this week, after the Trump speech, re-captured the oil-rich city of Kirkuk. In the short-run clearly Trump has increased the power and aggressiveness of the IRGC, said Abbas Milani, the director of the Iranian Studies program at Stanford University. The IRGC can t back down from a street fight. Their domestic and regional prestige is predicated on the fact that they fight a good fight and they don t back down. The day after Trump spoke, the head of the Guards al Quds overseas operations, Major General Qassem Soleimani, traveled to Iraq s Kurdistan region. He held talks about the escalating crisis between Kurdish authorities and the Iraqi government after a Kurdish independence referendum. The niece of the late Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani, Alaa Talabani, told the al Hadath TV channel that Soleimani met with members of her family on Saturday. He had come to pay respects to Jalal, a former Iraqi president and founder of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) party who died this month. Other Iraqi and Kurdish officials told Reuters Soleimani held meetings with Kurdish leaders to persuade them to retreat from Kirkuk ahead of the Iraqi army push into the city. I don t deny that Mr. Qassem Soleimani gave us the advice to find a solution to Kirkuk, she said. He said Kirkuk should return to the (Iraqi) law and constitution and to have an agreement about Kirkuk and give up the intransigence about the referendum which was a decision not thought out. Within days, Iran s mostly Shi ite allies in Baghdad launched a lightning assault, pushing Kurdish fighters out of disputed territories such as Kirkuk and consequently strengthening Iran s hand in Iraq. Commanders of the Kurdish forces, known as the Peshmerga, have accused Iran of orchestrating the Shi ite-led Iraqi central government s push into areas under their control, a charge senior Iranian officials have denied. A video posted by the Kurdish Rudaw channel online on Wednesday showed an Iraqi Shi ite militiaman loyal to Iran hanging a picture of Iran s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the Kirkuk governorate office. Iran, which has a large Kurdish minority, has reason to be wary of Iraqi Kurdish independence. It fears it might encourage its own Kurds, who have also pushed for separatism. After the independence vote in Iraqi Kurdistan on September 25, videos posted online showed hundreds of people celebrating in the streets in the Kurdish areas of Iran. FRONT-LINE PLAYER Regional analysts say the emergence of Iran in Iraq, Syria, Kurdistan and Lebanon, where it wields influence through its allied Shi ite Lebanese Hezbollah militia, means Tehran has become a front-line player in the region which Washington could not afford to ignore. Trump s stupidity should not distract us from America s deceitfulness ... If the U.S. tears up the (nuclear) deal, we will shred it, said Khamenei. Americans are angry because the Islamic Republic of Iran has managed to thwart their plots in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and other countries in the region. Speaking after Trump s speech, Amir Ali Hajizadeh, head of the Guards aerospace division, said: From the start of the Islamic revolution ... (presidents) have increased the shadow of war in the region ... Dear brothers and sisters today Trump is acting crazy to gain concessions through this method. The ramping up of tension could put the two countries on a collision course in the Gulf where clashes have only been narrowly avoided in recent months. Small boats from the Revolutionary Guards navy veered close to U.S. naval vessels in the Gulf at least twice this year, prompting the U.S. military to fire warning shots and flares. In August, an unarmed Iranian drone came within 100 feet (31 meters) of a U.S. Navy warplane, risking a crash, according to a U.S. official. Some recent naval showdowns between Iran and the United States took place near the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway where up to 30 percent of global oil exports pass annually. During the presidential campaign last September, Trump vowed that any Iranian vessels that harassed the U.S. Navy in the Gulf would be shot out of the water . The Guards could also target U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria through tens of thousands of loyal Shi ite militia fighters without directly acknowledging a role in any attacks. The IRGC can claim ignorance of Shi ite militia attacks against the U.S. military, said Ali Alfoneh, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council who has done extensive research on the Guards. In early October, an American soldier was killed in Iraq by an explosively formed penetrator, or EFP, a type of roadside bomb which was often used by Iran s Shi ite militia proxies in Iraq, according to the U.S. military. This is the first time that we ve seen it used in this area, U.S. Army Colonel Ryan Dillon, a coalition spokesman, said. Dillon said the U.S. military has not yet concluded who carried out the attack. Dozens of American soldiers in Iraq were killed and injured by EFPs used by militia groups linked to Iran after the 2003 invasion of Iraq by U.S. forces, according to the U.S. military. Asked about the threat posed by Shi ite militias allied with Iran in Iraq and Syria, particularly after Trump s speech, Dillon said: We re always assessing the threats no matter where they come from. During certain announcements or certain dates or when certain events happen, we make proper adjustments. Trump s new plan, observers say, will also weaken a group that had made progress in curbing the Guards political and economic ambitions in recent years: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and the pragmatist politicians in his cabinet. Since becoming president in 2013, Rouhani and members of his cabinet repeatedly pushed back against the Guards economic influence and involvement in political matters. Now, Rouhani s push against the Guards has been tempered because of the hardening in Trump s approach to Tehran, regional observers said. What this has done is that even those who were critics are now defending the Revolutionary Guards, said Nasser Hadian-Jazy, a political science professor at Tehran University. | 1 |
3,111 | China says its hard work on denuclearization of Korean peninsula is obvious | BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s hard work in trying to ensure the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula is obvious to all, China’s Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said Beijing was not helping to control North Korea. Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang, speaking at a regular press briefing, also urged the United States to recognize the sensitivity of the Taiwan issue after Trump left open the possibility of meeting Taiwan’s president if she visits the United States after he is sworn in on Jan. 20. | 1 |
3,112 | Syrian army battles Islamic State in al-Mayadin town: report | BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Syrian army and its allies have captured areas of Islamic State-held al-Mayadin in eastern Syria, a Hezbollah-run military news outlet reported on Thursday, in an advance into the jihadist group s main urban base of operations in Syria. Backed by Russia, Iran and Shi ite militias, the Syrian army encircled the militants in al-Mayadin on Sunday. In June, two U.S. intelligence officials told Reuters that they believed Islamic State had moved most of its diminished command structure and propaganda team to al-Mayadin, southeast of its former capital of Raqqa. | 1 |
3,113 | Episode #160 – SUNDAY WIRE: ‘Hail to the Deplorables’ with special guest Randy J | Episode #160 of SUNDAY WIRE SHOW resumes this November 13, 2016 as host Patrick Henningsen brings a 3 HOURS special broadcast of LIVE power-packed talk radio on ACR LISTEN LIVE ON THIS PAGE AT THE FOLLOWING SCHEDULED SHOW TIMES:SUNDAYS 5pm-8pm UK Time | 12pm-3pm ET (US) | 9am-12pm PT (US)This week s edition of THE SUNDAY WIRE is on the road broadcasting LIVE from the Valley of the Sun. This week host Patrick Henningsen covers this week s top stories in the US and internationally. In the first hour we ll conduct a post-mortem on the incredible US Election which has produced President Elect Donald J Trump, and the aftermath a nation divided punctuated by numerous street protests in part fuelled by Soros and the Democratic Party Machine. Later, we re joined by our roving everyman, ACR Boiler Room contributor, Randy J, for an on the ground take on Election events from the West Coast, and beyond SHOUT POLL: Which of these two US oligarch families is more corrupt (and why)? SUPPORT 21WIRE SUBSCRIBE & BECOME A MEMBER @21WIRE.TVStrap yourselves in and lower the blast shield this is your brave new world *NOTE: THIS EPISODE MAY CONTAIN STRONG LANGUAGE AND MATURE THEMES*Listen to Sunday Wire EP #160 Hail to the Deplorables with Randy J on Spreaker.Direct Download the Most Recent Episode// <![CDATA[ broadstreet.zone(46707); // ]]>Sunday Wire Radio Show Archives | 0 |
3,114 | Republicans Furious That Even Fox News Is Reporting How Low The Deficit Is Under Obama (VIDEO) | Something extraordinary happened that is certain to have Republicans and Republican voters everywhere furious Fox News just admitted that the United States deficit is at its lowest level since 2008. That s right, since the last Republican was in office. You have to admit, this must have taken a lot of courage on the behalf of Fox News to admit something like this. It goes directly against their bash President Obama for everything policy.However, there it is, in bold print on FoxBusiness.com:They even published this, which will make every Republican that follows Fox News as a religion and believe without question, do a double take: The U.S. ran a budget surplus in January, dropping the annual deficit to its lowest level since August 2008, the Treasury Department said Wednesday.The U.S. deficit fell to $405 billion over the 12-month period ended January, or around 2.2% of gross domestic product, boosted by a $55 billion surplus in January. The deficit figure was down from the year-earlier $495 billion, or 2.8% of GDP. Quite a change of heart when Fox News actually sees the results of Obama s actions. Unlike how they behaved years ago after the president first took office, which you can view here, when they completely ignored deficit reduction:Fox Business even explained how the reduction in deficit was achieved: Revenues stood around 6% above their year-earlier levels, while outlays were around 3% higher. Receipts of $314 billion collected by the Treasury was a record for the month of January.The latest report showed annual revenues posted their slowest rate of growth since August 2012. Corporate tax receipts for the fiscal year, which began Oct. 1., ran around 10% below their year-earlier level. Individual taxes withheld by employers and payroll tax revenues were up 3%, while other individual taxes, such as capital gains, were 8% higher. Funny how when you have a president that truly believes in math, they can actually achieve success in regards to deficit reduction, and understands that in order to pay for things, we need revenue coming in. Republicans have yet to figure that out.Now, if only we could get Republicans to actually look at the presidents latest budget, which as of now, they have simply refused to even entertain.The GOP is literally a vomit stain on the rug of America that we can t seem to remove.Featured image from Flickr | 0 |
3,115 | U.S. Senate Leader McConnell opposes lifting Russia sanctions: Politico | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate’s Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Friday he opposes lifting any sanctions on Russia, a day before President Donald Trump is to have his first official telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “These sanctions were imposed because of their behavior in Crimea, eastern Ukraine and now we know they’ve been messing around in our elections as well,” McConnell said in an interview with Politico on Friday. “If there’s any country in the world that doesn’t deserve sanctions relief, it’s Russia.” | 1 |
3,116 | Factbox: Market participants react to U.S. presidential debate | (Reuters) - Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump traded barbs and accusations on Monday in the first debate ahead of the Nov. 8 U.S. presidential election. Following is a compilation of reaction to the debate from investors, economists and financial market analysts: FACTBOX: Swing states that may determine the election: reut.rs/1UhE642 MORE COVERAGE: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=us-2016 JAMES ATHEY, INVESTMENT MANAGER AT ABERDEEN ASSET MANAGEMENT: “What we’re seeing in markets this morning is a small, collective sigh of relief because most commentators, and the few polls that have been released, suggest Clinton won the debate. Equities have undone much of yesterday’s weakness and key Trump indicators such as the Mexican peso and Canadian dollar have rallied. This supports the notion once again that Trump is seen as protectionist and anti-globalization. “The reality is that these moves are all fairly insignificant. Polls on voting intentions still show that the race is essentially neck and neck. It will be these polls which truly have the power to drive a genuine re-pricing.” MICHAEL METCALFE, HEAD OF GLOBAL MACRO STRATEGY AT STATE STREET GLOBAL MARKETS, LONDON: “In a similar way that sterling became the market proxy for Brexit risk, so moves in the Mexican peso and expected volatility of the Mexican peso appear to have become the main market proxy for expressing the probability of a Trump presidency. “While there are many weeks of the campaign to run, the market reaction to the first debate does not mean that volatility will dissipate, but it does suggest Trump’s recent momentum has been arrested.” “The recent narrowing in the polls means that markets have had to discount more uncertainty, and one debate will not settle that.” “The press verdict on the first U.S. presidential debate is that Hillary Clinton ‘won’, but Donald Trump didn’t lose badly enough to really reduce the uncertainty. The market verdict is that the Mexican peso, the South African rand and the Korean won all won, while the Japanese yen was the loser.” JACK ABLIN, CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER AT BMO PRIVATE BANK IN CHICAGO: “Investors celebrated that Hillary didn’t lose. Market trading higher and the peso is strengthening.” “Hillary came through the debate unscathed. Trump spent more time on the defensive.” BRIAN JACOBSEN, CHIEF PORTFOLIO STRATEGIST, WELLS FARGO FUNDS MANAGEMENT, MENOMONEE FALLS, WISCONSIN: “I’m not sure I learned anything new listening to the debate. Neither candidate imploded, but based on the strengthening of the Mexican peso ... I think this round goes to Clinton.” RANDY FREDERICK, MANAGING DIRECTOR, TRADING AND DERIVATIVES, CHARLES SCHWAB, AUSTIN, TEXAS: “The positive reaction in the (equities) futures markets probably implies that Hillary Clinton was perceived as the winner. The market is often said to dislike uncertainty, and most experts seem to consider Donald Trump as the more uncertain candidate.” PETER KENNY, SENIOR MARKET STRATEGIST, GLOBAL MARKETS ADVISORY GROUP, NEW YORK: “Both futures and the Mexican peso are accurate indicators of how markets interpreted the debates. Both moved only modestly but both moved in tandem - higher. I believe that investors pricing in the odds of either candidate winning. Modest positive moves suggest the Clinton campaign both managed expectations and delivered on beating them. The fear for investors was that she would either have some physical issue, look weak or have an excuse for one or both. She looked sharp, on point and clearly delivered on a message and style that reassured markets.” BRIAN BATTLE, DIRECTOR OF TRADING, PERFORMANCE TRUST CAPITAL PARTNERS, CHICAGO: “Debate really was not outside expectations. Trump was Trump and Clinton kept calm and seemed bemused. “It was underwhelming on policy and there were no gaffes or revelations. It was a personality debate, not a policy discussion.” AARON JETT, VICE PRESIDENT, GLOBAL EQUITY RESEARCH, BEL AIR INVESTMENT ADVISORS, LOS ANGELES: “The market wants Hillary to win. The better she does (or the worse Trump does) the better the market will do in the short term. She did well enough to sustain the market for now. She did fine and Trump rambled on at times making her look better. We should gain back some of what we lost on Monday.” “It is interesting that in a debate that was so full of negatives from both sides, the result in the Stock Index Futures was very positive. I guess it does show that some positives can come from an absolute free for all. I don’t know that we learned much about the candidates but the market definitely liked it. Don’t forget in the middle of this we also had some numbers showing slightly better growth than previously expected and that also helped the last 5 points or so in the futures rally. “After a weak day some of this may just be people covering their risk overnight.” MOHAMED EL-ERIAN, CHIEF ECONOMIC ADVISER, ALLIANZ, NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA: “While both candidates spoke to the importance of higher economic growth whose benefits are shared more broadly, the debate highlighted their different approaches to tax policies and what ultimately delivers greater prosperity.” HUGH JOHNSON, CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER, HUGH JOHNSON ADVISORS, ALBANY, NEW YORK: “Both presented different views on reviving the economy. Secretary Clinton’s tax and spending plans were well articulated and well thought out. Trump’s thoughts that included significant tax cuts and implicit promises of infrastructure spending were emotionally appealing but not nearly as well thought out or economically sensible. Each will appeal to different sets of voters. A good example of Trump’s emotional, yet uninformed, thoughts were his comments (a) that the recovery was the ‘worst’ ever, (b) that Janet Yellen was political, (c) the rise in stock prices has been a bubble that would ‘burst’ if interest rates were increased.” “I would be inclined to give Secretary Clinton a modest edge although Trump did a good job presenting himself as the candidate of change. “Her stamina answer was a real good - close to a clincher.” JEFFREY GUNDLACH, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, DOUBLELINE CAPITAL, LOS ANGELES: “It’s the establishment versus the anti-establishment. No one ‘wins’ a debate in September. Trump did himself a little bit of good and set up the later debates to his advantage.” DAN IVASCYN, GROUP CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER, PIMCO, NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA: “We continue to believe a Clinton victory will be the most likely outcome. Nothing tonight to change that view STOCKS: S&P 500 emini futures gained ground over the course of the debate, with the contract price moving from down 5 points as the event began to up 14 points by early Tuesday, a few hours after it finished. BONDS: 2- and 10-year Treasury yields rose modestly FOREX: The Mexican peso gained 1.7 percent against the dollar. The dollar index, meanwhile, was little changed as were exchange levels against the yen and euro | 1 |
3,117 | Trump's Chicago rally called off for safety reasons amid chaos | CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump canceled a rally scheduled for Friday night in Chicago after the event turned into a chaotic scene with thousands of attendees split into opposing camps of supporters of the Republican front-runner and protesters inflamed by his candidacy. A Trump campaign staffer took the stage nearly a half hour after the rally was slated to begin and said it would be postponed for safety reasons. A campaign statement issued slightly later said the event would be held on another unspecified day. Following the announcement, the crowd began to chant and cheer. Scuffles broke out as signs were ripped from hands and police moved in to quickly defuse the most serious scuffles. Cries of “We dumped Trump! We dumped Trump!” rose inside the University of Illinois at Chicago pavilion where the event was held. An opposing group yelled: “We want Trump! We want Trump!” Outside the pavilion, chants of “We shut it down!” rippled through the crowd on news of the cancellation. Chicago activists had spent the week leading up to the rally planning how to disrupt it. Trump has become a particularly polarizing candidate in the presidential campaign. He has both inspired impassioned supporters and ignited a backlash of angry dissent with his promise to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border to keep out illegal immigrants and his call to temporarily ban the entry of Muslims into the country. One group at Friday’s event, Showing Up for Racial Justice, coordinated with minority student groups on campuses, using group email chains and messaging so that protesters could stay in constant communication. One of the organizers, Nathaniel Lewis, 25, a master’s degree student in public health at the University of Illinois at Chicago, said he was shocked they succeeded in shutting the rally down. “I’m happy, I’m at peace because we came together as a collective,” Lewis told Reuters. “This is the last thing we expected to happen, it shows the power of unity.” Trump, speaking to MSNBC by telephone shortly after the canceled event, said he met with law enforcement after arriving in Chicago. Though he believed it would have been possible to move forward, he said he made the “wise decision” to postpone the rally to keep everyone safe. “We were not consulted or involved in the decision to cancel the event,” Chicago Police Department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told Reuters. Trump brushed off questions from MSNBC’s Chris Matthews about whether such widespread disruptions were to be expected given the increasingly aggressive tenor of recent campaign events. Trump said his supporters had planned for a peaceful rally but it was derailed by the crowd of protesters. “You can’t even have a rally in a major city in this country anymore,” Trump said. “Up until this point we’ve had no problem.” Trump told MSNBC he expected support for his candidacy would only increase. Earlier in the day, at a rally in St. Louis, Missouri, Trump had been speaking for less than 10 minutes when protesters began interrupting him. The disruptions continued over the next hour as Trump urged security to “get them out.” “Can I be honest with you, it adds to the flavor, it’s more exciting. Isn’t this better than listening to a long boring speech?” Trump said of the disruptions. At some events, altercations have turned physical. In New Orleans last week, several protesters supporting the Black Lives Matter movement were dragged out as Trump shouted “get them.” In Fayetteville, North Carolina, on Wednesday, protesters interrupted Trump’s speech more than 16 times. One was punched as he was led from the arena. Jedidiah Brown, 29, dashed onto the Chicago stage where Trump was expected to speak Friday and tore the campaign sign from the podium before police took him outside. He was not arrested. “I was born and raised in Chicago so I felt it was my responsibility to let him know he’s not welcome here,” Brown said. “The message Trump is spreading all over the country, it doesn’t work here.” Outside, Tess King, 25, a social sciences and law student, was carrying a sign that said “Chicago Rejects Trump.” King had tried to get into the rally but the event was canceled before she got in the door. “I feel incredibly happy that in our city we managed, through peaceful expression, to make this happen,” King told Reuters. As the crowd began to trickle out, Josh Glaspie, 28, smoked a cigarette on a sidewalk strewn with discarded signs. Glaspie, an Army veteran who is trying to open a restaurant in Chicago, said he supports Trump. “Trump’s not racist,” Glaspie said. “These people don’t even know why they’re protesting.” (Additional reporting by Ginger Gibson, Eric Walsh and Amanda Becker; Writing by Amanda Becker; Editing by Leslie Adler, Robert Birsel) This article was funded in part by SAP. It was independently created by the Reuters editorial staff. SAP had no editorial involvement in its creation or production. | 1 |
3,118 | Turkish plane investigated in Copenhagen airport after threat | COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Danish police were investigating a plane at Copenhagen airport due to depart for Istanbul, in response to a threat against aircraft of Turkish airline Atlasglobal in Europe, the airport said on Monday. Copenhagen police have said there is a threat against all Atlasglobal s planes in Europe, a Copenhagen Airports spokesman said. The Atlasglobal plane had been moved to a remote part of the airport while police carried out further investigations. Authorities briefly closed ten gates at the airport due to the investigation, but these were later reopened. Copenhagen police confirmed to Reuters that officers were investigating a suspicious incident at the airport but did not give further details. A spokesman for Atlasglobal said the airline was not immediately able to comment and would likely release a statement later. | 1 |
3,119 | Spanish auditors demand Catalan leaders pay for previous independence vote: El Pais | MADRID (Reuters) - A Spanish audit office has demanded the former leader of Catalonia and other politicians from the region pay 5 million euros ($5.96 million) for holding a consultative independence ballot in 2014, El Pais newspaper said on Tuesday. The report, which cited judicial sources, came a day before Catalonia is expected to approve plans to hold an Oct. 1 referendum on a split from Spain. The 2014 vote was non-binding, a symbolic ballot by pro-independence campaigners that was declared illegal by Spain s Constitutional Court. Catalonia, along with Britain s Scotland and Belgium s Flanders, has one of the most active independence movements in the European Union. El Pais said the former head of the Catalan government, Artur Mas and other regional leaders, were being told by the audit body in charge of overseeing the financing of political parties and the public sector to pay out of their own pocket for organizing the consultation vote. The money was due by Sept 25, it said. The audit office was not immediately available for comment. The current head of the Catalan government, Carles Puigdemont, said the move was the Spanish state spreading fear . Catalan lawmakers are due to vote on Wednesday on laws approving the referendum and the legal framework to set up an independent state. The laws are expected to be approved because pro-independence parties have a majority in the regional parliament. The populous, north-eastern region, with its capital Barcelona, has a strong national identity with its own language and traditions, although polls show support for self-rule waning as Spain s economy improves. | 1 |
3,120 | This Reporter Just Won The Biggest Prize In Journalism For Exposing Trump’s Lies (DETAILS) | The winners of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize have been announced and this year s theme was all about exposing Trump.Of particular note was the prize for National Reporting going to David A. Fahrenthold of The Washington Post, whose contribution to reporting during the presidential campaign was to unflinchingly go after Trump s lies, particularly as they related to his contributions to charity.As the Pulitzer committee put it, Fahrenthold deserved the award:For persistent reporting that created a model for transparent journalism in political campaign coverage while casting doubt on Donald Trump s assertions of generosity toward charities.During a campaign when many reporters and pundits struggled to keep up with Trump s lies, or pretended Trump wasn t lying at all, Fahrenthold decided to hold Trump s feet to the fire. After Trump repeatedly dodged questions about his donations to charity, Fahrenthold compiled an exhaustive list of charities Trump was said to have given money to and painstakingly eliminated each one. In the end, the reporting showed that Trump was perhaps one of the least charitable rich people in the country. He also ran down individual anecdotes exposing Trump has a showboating opportunist who cynically exploited charity events for PR but avoided giving any money.In one example discovered by Fahrenthold, Trump stagecrashed an event meant to honor donors, stole the seat of a legitimate donor and then left before anyone knew what had just happened. Nobody knew he was coming, said Abigail Disney, another donor sitting on the dais. There s this kind of ruckus at the door, and I don t know what was going on, and in comes Donald Trump. [He] just gets up on the podium and sits down. Trump was not a major donor. He was not a donor, period. He d never given a dollar to the nursery or the Association to Benefit Children, according to Gretchen Buchenholz, the charity s executive director then and now.It is for exposing stories like this and others that Fahrenthold has become reviled in the Trump White House and in conservative circles. He does what fearless journalism has always done: Speak truth to power.Hilariously, Farhrenthold isn t the only person to win the prestigious award for his coverage of Trump. Miami Herald cartoonist Jim Morin earned a Pulitzer for equally biting criticism of Trump. To highlight the point, his latest cartoon is a particularly brutal take down of Trump.Another loudmouth draft-dodging sanctimonious hypocrite phony patriot republican sending us to war #morintoon #TrumpSyria #ChemicalAttack pic.twitter.com/YHXtRaRff3 Jim Morin (@MorinToon) April 8, 2017And the New York Times took home the international reporting Pulitzer for coverage that also caused Trump no shortage of headaches. The paper exposed the rampant corruption and cruelty of the Putin regime in Russia. This made things extremely awkward for Trump. He, of course, benefited greatly from Putin s willingness to undermine democracy specifically America s 2016 election. Trump has also praised the autocrat as a strong leader and at one time claimed him as a friend.It s extremely telling that so many of the top honors went to people who either directly or indirectly stood up to Trump s administration whether it be clear-eyed reporting on the corruption from within the White House or the disastrous effects of the policies they and their allies in Congress have forced upon the country. In dark days, fearless critical reporting is more valuable than ever. And with Trump already threatening to crank up censorship laws, it s a rare and powerful commodity.Featured image via Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images | 0 |
3,121 | Creationist Freak Ken Ham LOSES IT Because The Press Cares About A Gorilla (TWEETS) | Ken Ham is a right-wing, young-Earth creationist lunatic. EVERYTHING in this man s world revolves around the Bible and he wants the rest of us to be just as nuts. On Wednesday, this idiot turned his attentions to the fact that the press has been covering the tragic death of a gorilla who was shot dead because a 3-year-old fell into his enclosure. Proving that he is as heartless as he is crazy, Ham went off on the press for covering the story via his Twitter account. Here are the unhinged tweets:In 5 days thousands babies murdered by abortion, 700 refugees drown, 68 shot in Chicago and a Gorilla dominates news https://t.co/Ar4gG2qgQv Ken Ham (@aigkenham) June 1, 2016We cannot impose human emotion/morality on a gorilla it is not made in the image of God https://t.co/Ar4gG2qgQv Ken Ham (@aigkenham) June 1, 2016That s right we shouldn t feel badly about this poor, innocent animal s death because of something written in a 2,000-year-old book and interpreted by a person who is arguably one of the craziest men alive right now. As if that weren t bad enough, Ham took to his blog to use the bible to insist that he is right and everyone else is wrong to be concerned about the tragic death of this so-called sin-cursed gorilla. He ranted: Because we live in a fallen world, sin has affected everything, including gorillas and three-year-olds. Therefore when deciding what to do in a situation where a human being, made in God s image, is in the control of a sin-cursed animal with no sense of human morality, we must do all we can to protect the child from harm. Sure, we have to protect the kid from the gorilla, but that doesn t mean that it isn t a tragedy just the same. Ken Ham, you are insane. Please seek help. Further, you might want to stay off Twitter until you do.Featured image via Mark Lyons/Getty Images | 0 |
3,122 | Irish minister says expects election to be avoided | DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland s minister for social protection said she expects the government and main opposition party to avoid a snap election that a dispute between the two has left them 24 hours away from triggering. I think we all know an election is coming but it just isn t right for the country to have that election right now and I do expect us to come back from the brink, Regina Doherty told the Newstalk radio station on Monday. | 1 |
3,123 | White House says looks to reschedule meeting with Mexico's president | PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - The White House said on Thursday that it would look for an opportunity to reschedule President Donald Trump’s meeting with Mexico’s president after Enrique Pena Nieto canceled a visit next week. “We will look for a date to schedule something in the future. We will keep the lines of communication open,” White House spokesman Sean Spicer said. | 1 |
3,124 | THE ULTIMATE HYPOCRITE: Who Are The Billionaires Funding Campaign Of Candidate Who Mocks…Billionaires | While Bernie Sanders has pitched himself as the presidential candidate for the little guy tapping into the wallets of voters angry over Wall Street s influence in politics a deeper dive shows Sanders has enlisted an arsenal of millionaire and billionaire backers who have backed his political career since his early Senate runs a decade ago.That big-money support stands in sharp contrast to Sanders calls for corporate fat-cats and the uber-wealthy to pay their fair share in taxes by closing loopholes and removing breaks that benefit the mega-rich.At a rally last Sunday at The Ohio State University, Sanders told a cheering crowd, You can tell a lot about a candidate based on how he or she raises money for his or her campaign. The comment goes hand-in-hand with the theme Sanders has been hammering for months. I am not raising money from millionaires and billionaires, Sanders said during the CNN Democratic primary debate in Las Vegas on Oct. 13. In fact, tonight, in terms of what a political revolution is about, there are 4,000 house parties 100,000 people in this country watching this debate tonight who want real change in this country. Sanders war chest has been driven by smaller donations he raised $26 million in small increments in the third fund-raising quarter.Jeff Weaver, Sanders campaign manager, insists the fancy fundraisers and big-name donors are few and far between and that there is no contradiction in what the Vermont Democrat and self-described socialist practices and what he preaches. We don t have a super PAC, Weaver told FoxNews.com. We rely on small contributions. Average contribution is $27. Are there some, a few people in there who have more money, personal money who give larger contributions? Yeah, of course they do, but within the federal $2700 limit. No, you know, no 50, 100, 2 million contributions. But for years Sanders has enjoyed donations from a handful of wealthy donors including media moguls Leo J. Hindery and Steven C. Markoff.Markoff, who donated to Sanders 2012 Senate campaign, began trading rare coins when he was 11. By 2004, his company A-Mark Entertainment was listed as the 65th largest privately held company in the U.S., and the second largest in Los Angeles.Hindrey, managing partner of the private equity fund InterMedia Partners and former chief executive of AT & T Broadband and of the YES Network, also maxed out on contributions to Sanders. Hindrey, while advocating for fewer tax breaks for the wealthy, is among the biggest Democratic fundraisers in the country.Another big money donor to Sanders campaign is David Geffen, co-founder of DreamWorks Animation and worth a cool $6.9 billion. According to campaign finance records, Geffen donated the max at the time $2,500 to Sanders Senate campaign on Jan. 27, 2012.But Lara Brown, director of George Washington University s political management program, told FoxNews.com that she doesn t see a big push-back from Sanders supporters. By and large, Democrats tend to believe these individuals are giving because they have a strong progressive/liberal orientation in their politics and they are doing this because it equates to them giving to a cause, she said, adding that the same would be true for big-money donors in Silicon Valley and the tech industry.Via: FOX News | 0 |
3,125 | Planning group puts $43 billion price tag on Illinois transportation fix | CHICAGO (Reuters) - Cash-strapped Illinois needs $43 billion over 10 years to repair and improve its transportation network and boost the state economy, according to a report released on Monday by the Metropolitan Planning Council. “The $43 billion needed to rebuild and improve our transportation infrastructure is less than what we’re wasting today on vehicle repairs due to poor road conditions, time lost to traffic congestion, and population and jobs going to neighboring states,” Jim Reilly, a senior fellow at the nonprofit, nonpartisan Chicago region planning group, said in a statement. The fifth-largest U.S. state is in its 10th month without a full fiscal 2016 budget due to an impasse between its Republican governor and Democrats who control the legislature. Illinois is struggling with a $6.7 billion bill backlog as pensions and debt payments gobble up a big chunk of available revenue. The report called for raising $2.7 billion a year by increasing the current 19 cents-a-gallon state gasoline tax by 30 cents and hiking vehicle registration fees, which cost $101 a year for most cars, by 50 percent. Half of the new money would be tapped for pay-as-you-go projects, with the other half backing $25 billion of 25-year bonds. The money would be spent on state and local roads, mass transit and railroads. The council recommended an amendment to the Illinois Constitution creating a transportation trust fund to ensure the new revenue is not diverted for other purposes. | 1 |
3,126 | Three Kurdish fighters killed, five wounded in blast south of oil city Kirkuk | ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - Three Kurdish Peshmerga fighters were killed and five wounded on Saturday when an explosive device blew up near their vehicle south of the Iraqi oil city of Kirkuk, security sources said. The explosion happened in Daquq, a region bordering Islamic State-held areas, the sources said. It took place as the Kurdistan Regional Government prepares for a referendum on Monday on independence for the region under its control in northern Iraq, including Kirkuk, a multi-ethnic region also claimed by the central government in Baghdad. | 1 |
3,127 | India's push to broaden use of its biometric database | (Reuters) - India s Supreme Court ruled on Thursday the right to privacy is a fundamental right protected by the Indian Constitution, in a potential setback to the government s push to mandate the use of Aadhaar, or unique ID numbers for a variety of routine tasks. Over a billion Indians have already registered for Aadhaar cards, which ascribe unique ID numbers, and record fingerprints and iris scans of each person. The database was originally set-up to streamline welfare benefit payments and reduce wastage. The current government however, has been keen to mandate the use of Aadhaar for everything from the filing of income taxes to the operating of one s bank accounts. Below is a timeline on the various Aadhaar developments: March 2006: India s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology approves a Unique ID (UID) scheme for poor families. December 2006: Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) constituted to collate two schemes -the National Population Register under the Citizenship Act, 1955 and the UID scheme. 2007: At its first meeting, the EGoM recognizes need to create a residents database. This leads to the creation of Aadhaar. 2009: The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is created to issue unique identification numbers. Nandan Nilekani appointed the first chairman. December 2010: The National Identification Authority of India Bill, 2010 (NIAI Bill) introduced in Parliament. September 2011: Number of Aadhaar holders crosses 100 million. December 2011: Standing committee on Finance rejects NIAI Bill in initial form; recommends requirement of privacy legislation and data protection law before continuance of scheme. 2012: Former High Court judge files petition contending that Aadhaar violates fundamental rights of equality and privacy. September 2013: Supreme Court passes interim order stating no person should suffer for not having an Aadhaar card. December 2013: The number of Aadhaar holders crosses 510 million March 2014: The Supreme Court revokes orders made by agencies demanding Aadhaar for welfare schemes. Court also forbids UIDAI from sharing information in the Aadhaar database with any agency without the individual s consent. December 2014: Number of Aadhaar holders crosses 720 million. August 2015: Three-judge bench of Supreme Court limits use of Aadhaar to certain welfare schemes, orders that no one should be denied benefits for lack of an Aadhaar card. It refers question of right to privacy as a fundamental right to a constitution bench. February 2016: Number of Aadhaar holders crosses 980 million. March 2016: Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial & Other Subsidies, Benefits & Services) Bill introduced as a money bill in the lower house of parliament. Bill passed by Parliament; receives presidential assent. January-March 2017: Various ministries make Aadhaar mandatory for welfare, pension, and employment schemes. Aadhaar made mandatory for filing of income tax returns. Aadhaar holders crosses 1.14 billion. [Data compiled from Software Freedom Law Centre and State of Aadhaar Report 2016-17] | 1 |
3,128 | Obama Just Made A Surprise Appearance At A Rap Show And Twitter Can’t Handle It | While Donald Trump and his brownshirts are busy destroying the country, President Obama is committing his time and energy to making the country a better place.On Saturday, the former President made a surprise video appearance at a Chance the Rapper show in Chicago where he did his usual thing and delivered a positive message.Obama thanked the performer for serving as the grand marshal of Chicago s annual Bud Billiken parade (the largest and oldest African-American parade in the country) and thanked him for helping provide school supplies to Chicago s students. The Hill notes that:Chance the Rapper s charity, SocialWorks, and Brooklyn-based backpack company STATE bags reportedly donated 30,000 backpacks filled with school supplies to Chicago students at the parade, the news outlet reported, adding that the rapper also handed out free tickets to his concert. He previously donated more than $1 million to the Chicago Public Schools foundation.Chance the Rapper in a recent interview said his platform and voice are bigger than President Trump s. I have a bigger voice than Donald Trump, you know what I m saying? Than literally anybody that works in politics, he said. We want to make sure our kids are safe, we want to make sure that they are ready to go back to school. We want to make sure that we are nurturing and protecting and encouraging and loving the next generation of leaders all throughout the city of Chicago, Obama says in a video posted to Twitter by Black Owned Chicago. So Chance, I m grateful for everything that you ve done on behalf of the young people back home. President @BarackObama had some words of encouragement for @chancetherapper tonight at his #BBBash concert. #BlackOwnedChicago pic.twitter.com/aebsFgk4Pd Black Owned Chicago (@blackownedchi) August 13, 2017This has many Americans nostalgic for when they had a President they could respect:.@nastywomanatlaw You seein this shit?! Why wasn't I there? Jared Rogers Martin (@Jaredrog) August 13, 2017 pic.twitter.com/ckvwYyMIKS Michael ? (@maxmc785) August 14, 2017It made me so proud to watch this video of President @BarackObama we need him back in the White House. Tiamat (@EvaTiamatMedusa) August 13, 2017COME BACK OBAMA!! We need you now more than ever!! Ritchie K. Blackmore (@Ritchie_1966) August 13, 2017OBAMA, THIS NATION REALLY NEEDS,YOU MORE THAN EVER BEFORE Vero/Roni/Vee (@prettywings24) August 13, 2017Unfortunately, President Obama can t come back no matter how much the country wants him to but we can get rid of Donald Trump, who is currently destroying education, safety net programs, and the world s sense that Americans have any sense of decency.Featured image via screenshot | 0 |
3,129 | MUSLIM CONGRESSMAN Abruptly Leaves DC: Uses Finely Honed Divisive Race Skills To Lead Fight Against Cops In MN | Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) is more than just a radical activist, he s also a devout Muslim U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison abruptly left Washington earlier this month to fly back to Minneapolis and emerged at the center of explosive confrontations between black activists and police outside the Fourth Precinct station.In those first, uncertain days after a fatal police shooting of an unarmed black man in north Minneapolis, Ellison displayed credibility among different factions of the black community, and also had stature in the mayor s office and could help broker a sit-down meeting between Gov. Mark Dayton and the family of the shooting victim, Jamar Clark.The unrest has elevated Ellison s profile, but it has also become his biggest test yet as a political leader trying to negotiate a truce in the latest flare-up of long-running tensions between police and the local black community. People have successfully gotten the attention of political leadership, Ellison said from the protest site, less than a mile from his home. We just have to make sure we do not waste it, and we make sure we gather it up and turn it into some tangible benefits for the people here. Striking a tone that was conciliatory but also challenging, he added: There s absolutely no doubt that we have to get established, responsive government. The unrest hit uncomfortably close to home for the fifth-term Democrat just a few days after the shooting. During a particularly fraught night, his son, Jeremiah, was photographed with his hands up as police in riot gear pointed a gun toward him and other protesters. Ellison later shared the photo on his Twitter account, calling it agonizing. It was retweeted nearly 4,000 times.Behind the scenes, Ellison, 52, has been navigating several constituencies, including the governor s office, city officials, progressive allies and black activists who themselves are split over how to best accomplish their goals. Some black community members say they hope the shooting will finally get the attention of state leaders, whom they say have allowed Minnesota s racial disparities to fester for decades.Those connected to Ellison say his latest role is one that he has honed after years of deep involvement in divisive racial issues around Minneapolis. They say he radiates a cool confidence in person, and is enormously skilled at connecting with people in the midst of conflicts. People who don t know him, especially from outside of Minneapolis, see a firebrand out in the streets, playing that one really important role he plays, rallying the community to be empowered, former Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak said. The other role that most people don t see, that I have the benefit of, is a very savvy adviser who would never moderate his views but would bring a sophisticated understanding of how government worked. For entire story: Star TribuneSo who exactly is Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) and why do Muslim lawmakers like hime and Andre Carson (D-IN) in America matter?Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) is perhaps the most well known Muslim in the U.S. Congress but he s not the only one. The other is Rep. Andre Carson (D-IN). While speaking at the ICNA-MAS convention, Carson told those in attendance that America s schools should be modeled after madrassas (Islamic schools).Incidentally, the ICNA (Islamic Circle of North America) was identified in a 1991 Muslim Brotherhood document as one of 29 like minded organizations. The goal of these organizations? According to the document itself: their work in America is a kind of grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and sabotaging its miserable house by their hands so that God s religion [Islam] is made victorious over all other religions. MAS (Muslim American Society) was formed in 1992, one year after the date of the document, which might explain why they weren t one of the 29. Bolstering that case further is the fact that MAS has identified two groups who are on the list of the notorious 29 Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and Muslim Students Association (MSA) as being like-minded.So, as DHS is more concerned with rightwing extremism than it is with Jihad, a sitting U.S. Congressman is a featured speaker at a convention filled with those who want to destroy Western civilization (America) from within. Watch Muslim Congressman Andre Carson bemoan the lack of Muslims in lawmaking roles. He also expresses his concern about anti-Sharia legislation being passed in many states:Via: Shoebat | 0 |
3,130 | Macedonia wants EU membership process, Greek talks to run in tandem | LONDON (Reuters) - Macedonia hopes it has done enough to convince the European Union to start accession talks while a quarter-of-a-century-long row with neighbouring Greece rumbles on, its foreign minister said on Wednesday. Greece has vetoed the ex-Yugoslav republic s attempts to join both the EU and NATO because it says the name Macedonia implies a territorial claim over Greece s own northerly region of Macedonia. Macedonia s suggestion last month to use the name the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia as it does at other international bodies was not immediately embraced by Greece, Macedonia s Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov told Reuters. The two sides are set to meet again later this month at the U.N. General Assembly in New York. Whatever the outcome, Macedonia wants the EU to agree that accession talks - which could take years - can at least get under way. If we have enough in terms of reform at home, we hope we will reach that stage (to start EU accession talks) and deal with the name issue in parallel, Dimitrov said. The time it takes to go through the EU membership process might give Greece, which has previously insisted that Skopje use a compound name such as New or Upper Macedonia, enough comfort that process can be halted if needed. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker gave a boost to Macedonia s EU hopes, and those of Serbia, Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia and Kosovo, saying on Wednesday: We must maintain a credible enlargement perspective for the Western Balkans. Joining NATO is more clear cut, meaning that for now there is unlikely to be much leeway from Greece. We cannot fight our way into the NATO alliance, we have to talk our way in, Dimitrov said. We need to be seen in Athens as an ally ... In the long run it is also in the Greek interest to have a law-governed neighbour to their northern border. Macedonia, a small ex-Yugoslav republic of about 2 million people, declared independence in 1991 and avoided the violence that accompanied much of the breakup of Yugoslavia. It was later rocked by an insurgency among its large ethnic Albanian minority that almost tore the country apart in 2001 and it has just emerged from two years of political turmoil after a wiretapping scandal brought down the previous ruling nationalist VMRO-DPMNE party bloc in 2015. Tensions boiled over again in April when protesters stormed parliament and assaulted the country s now prime minister after his party and ethnic Albanian allies voted to elect an Albanian as parliament speaker. Macedonia s position just above Greece meant it was also on the key Syrian refugee and north African migrant transit route to northern Europe until the EU and Turkey struck a deal to stem the flow. Turkey is due in the coming months to receive a tranche of the money that came with the deal and Dimitrov said it was important the arrangement remained firm. We think it is very important for Europe to continue to assist Turkey. I think closing the Balkan route and the Turkish-EU (financial) deal together helped both Europe and the refugees have a more organised approach to the problem so both are very important and we need both to stay in place. (This version of the story removes wrongly attributed acronym from paragraph 3) | 1 |
3,131 | Anti-Trump protesters: patchwork of people and Facebook pages | KANSAS CITY, Mo./BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (Reuters) - Donald Trump has called them thugs, professional organizers and supporters of Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders. But the protesters who have stepped up their actions against the Republican presidential front-runner are a disparate group from different walks of life, with no national organization to speak of. They assemble through a patchwork of Facebook pages and myriad advocacy groups. After demonstrators swarmed a large Trump rally in Chicago on Friday and forced its cancellation over security concerns, protesters are looking for ways to keep up the momentum as the billionaire businessman seeks in primaries this week to clear a path toward the Republican nomination for the Nov. 8 election. Trump has drawn fervent support as well as harsh criticism, including from within his own party, for his calls to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and impose a temporary ban on Muslims entering the country. Kevin Bailey, 25, who helped lead an anti-Trump protest on behalf of the Progressive Youth Organization at the candidate’s Kansas City, Missouri, rally on Saturday, said protesters had two goals - to disrupt proceedings as much as possible and signal their outrage over Trump’s divisive rhetoric. Trump spent a good part of his time on stage shouting down the protesters. Bailey said his group watched a similar protest staged by a sister organization in St. Louis on Friday as well as other protests to see if there were lessons to be learned. “We want to learn what works as far as, especially, going inside and disrupting rallies,” he said. Using smaller groups of protesters to enter rallies and station themselves around the venue, as well as staggering the disruptions to maximize their duration, are some of the strategies that seem to work best, Bailey said. Before Friday’s rally at the University of Illinois at Chicago, organizers used Facebook and worked with student groups on campuses in the Chicago area to encourage them to attend. Inside the stadium, there might have been as many protesters as supporters and a long line of people were waiting to get in when the Trump campaign scrapped the event. Skirmishes broke out between the two camps, making for some tense minutes that received national television coverage and raised security concerns around the Trump campaign. One organizer, Nathaniel Lewis, a 25-year-old graduate student, said the cancellation was “the last thing we expected to happen. It shows the power of unity.” It happened just days before five nominating primaries on Tuesday in which Trump, 69, is trying to cement his lead over his remaining Republican rivals - U.S. Senators Ted Cruz of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida and Ohio Governor John Kasich. Trump’s Republican and Democratic rivals accused him of sowing tension with divisive rhetoric. But on Sunday, he said: “I don’t accept responsibility. I do not condone violence in any shape.” He called the protesters professional “disrupters” sent to his events by Sanders, the U.S. senator from Vermont. “Be careful Bernie, or my supporters will go to yours!” Trump said on Twitter on Sunday. Trump’s campaign rallies have been boisterous, with the real estate mogul often pausing to scold protesters and ask security officers to take them away. At some events, protesters and journalists have been punched, tackled or hustled out. A 78-year-old man was charged with assault and communicating a threat after he was seen on video punching a young black protester at a North Carolina rally last week. The threat of violence affected Trump personally on Saturday. Secret Service officers rushed on stage to protect Trump when a man broke through a security barrier at a rally in Ohio. Trump said the man “was looking to do harm.” Some in the Trump camp believe the protesters’ actions in Chicago will benefit their candidate by galvanizing his supporters. “Some people were energized,” said Michael McKinney, 47, as he attended a Trump rally in Ohio with his family on Sunday. “I watched a lot of videos - all the protesters were throwing the first punch,” he added. Over the weekend, President Barack Obama made a call for civility in the political process and “resolving our differences without encouraging or resorting to violence.” While young people are a visible contingent among the protesters and some are supporters of Sanders, the demonstrators are a mixed group operating in small clusters. For a Trump rally in Bloomington, Illinois, on Sunday, Sonny Garcia, a 44-year-old facilities manager, said a loosely organized group called “Dump Trump Illinois” rallied protesters through a “Dump Trump” Facebook page. Some 2,000 people gathered. Forty members of the local chapter of a national anti-hate advocacy group called “Not in Our Town” showed up to protest, wearing white armbands. High school student Aishwarya Shekara, 16, joined them. “I’m here because Trump stands for everything I don’t,” she said. “He’s the definition of a demagogue.” | 1 |
3,132 | U.N. agrees international experts to probe Yemen war crimes | GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations agreed on Friday to establish a group of eminent experts to examine all human rights violations commmitted in Yemen s war and to identify those responsible. In a last-minute compromise hammered out between Western powers and Arab countries, the U.N. Human Rights Council adopted by consensus without a vote a resolution which the Yemen delegation said it accepted. A credible international investigation is necessary in order to comprehensively, transparently, independently and impartially establish facts and circumstances surrounding violations with a view to put an end to the cycle of impunity in Yemen, the Dutch delegate told the forum on behalf of a core group of Western states. (This version of the story corrects second paragraph to say adopted without a vote, not with a vote). | 1 |
3,133 | Trump predicts riots if denied Republican presidential nomination: CNN interview | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump, fresh off a string of election victories, said on Wednesday he was confident he would get enough delegates to win his party’s nomination and warned of unrest if it were denied to him. Trump, in an interview with CNN, said if he got a large number of delegates yet was denied the nomination: “I don’t think you can say that we don’t get it automatically. I think you’d have riots. I think you’d have riots. I’m representing many, many millions of people.” | 1 |
3,134 | Putin says wants constructive relations with Trump | MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday he wanted constructive relations with the United States under President-elect Donald Trump. | 1 |
3,135 | Clinton Team Takes Aim At Trump For His Full-Blown Hysterics Over Recount (TWEETS) | When Donald Trump heard the news that Hillary Clinton was going to back Jill Stein s recount efforts in three separate states, he didn t take it too well. Trump proceeded to flaunt his rage by having a full-blown meltdown on Twitter, because of course he did. What remains of Clinton s campaign team is finally responding to Trump s hysterics.Christina Reynolds, who was the Clinton campaign s deputy communications director, addressed Trump s Twitter rant in a few tweets of her own. She specifically took on Trump s claim that he had lost the popular vote only because of millions of people who voted illegally. Winning the electoral college won him the presidency, so Trump s excuses on why he lost the popular vote by millions are just small and sad. Christina Reynolds (@creynoldsnc) November 28, 2016To my knowledge, the very very rare cases of people voting illegally found so far were Trump voters. https://t.co/Bc7AEFEFbU Christina Reynolds (@creynoldsnc) November 28, 2016Marc Elias, Clinton s campaign lawyer,was responsible for writing the post on Medium which announced Clinton s support for Stein s recount efforts in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. He also took to Twitter regarding Trump s attacks.We are getting attacked for participating in a recount that we didn t ask for by the man who won election but thinks there was massive fraud Marc E. Elias (@marceelias) November 28, 2016So far, Clinton herself has not addressed the recounts at all. Stein, who was the candidate of the Green Party, has lead the efforts and has raised over $6 million to cover the cost of the recounts. Clinton s team has been cautious, making sure it is understood that they are merely responding to the requests of voters and are just trying to be helpful to Stein. Because we had not uncovered any actionable evidence of hacking or outside attempts to alter the voting technology, we had not planned to exercise this option ourselves, but now that a recount has been initiated in Wisconsin, we intend to participate in order to ensure the process proceeds in a manner that is fair to all sides, Elias wrote.Neera Tanden is the head of the Center for American Progress. She was not part of the campaign but was a top Clinton ally, she pointed out that Trump s claims of voter fraud only strengthened the argument for recounts and questioned what is making Trump so nervous.Let s do recounts across the country to check this. Then we can see how sure you are of EC. https://t.co/L2zbhQ7Ntt Neera Tanden (@neeratanden) November 27, 2016I think this is Trump s way of asking to #AuditTheVote https://t.co/L2zbhQ7Ntt Neera Tanden (@neeratanden) November 27, 2016Given what Trump has said, shouldn t we audit the vote in all close states? Just to be sure. Neera Tanden (@neeratanden) November 27, 2016Standing back:Between his statement attacking Stein & then his numerous twitter meltdowns, isn t Trump acting like something is wrong in WI? Neera Tanden (@neeratanden) November 28, 2016I m pretty sure that the Electors were created to stop a madman from becoming president. #alwaystrustHamilton Neera Tanden (@neeratanden) November 28, 2016It is important to note that so far, no one associated with the Clinton campaign has claimed that election was rigged.Featured image via Justin Sullivan/Getty Images | 0 |
3,136 | Pentagon probes Trump's ex-adviser Flynn over foreign payments | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon inspector general has launched an investigation into whether Michael Flynn, U.S. President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, accepted money from foreign entities without the required approval, according to a letter released by House Democrats on Thursday. The new probe compounds the legal problems Flynn faces for taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from the state-run Russia Today (RT) television network and a firm owned by a Turkish businessman after the former Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) director retired as an Army lieutenant general in 2014. Senior lawmakers said this week that Flynn likely broke the law by failing to request and receive permission to accept $45,000 to speak at a 2015 RT gala dinner at which he sat with Russian President Vladimir Putin. If substantiated, such a failure would violate regulations rooted in the Constitution that bar current and retired military officers from accepting “emoluments” from foreign powers, the letter said. White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters on Thursday that the inspector general’s probe was “appropriate.” “If they think there’s wrongdoing, then the department’s inspector general should look into that,” he said. Spicer said Flynn did not undergo a security review before he was named Trump’s first national security adviser. “Why would you rerun a background check on someone who was the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency that had and did maintain a high-level security clearance?” he said. However, a former senior White House official familiar with ethics and security clearance issues said that during the administration of former President Barack Obama, the White House Counsel’s office always conducted its own background investigations of candidates for senior White House jobs, even if they already held security clearances. These reviews included questionnaires and interviews, and would have included issues such as whether the candidate had drug problems, had hired prostitutes, or had personal or financial problems, the former official said. Flynn is also the subject of congressional probes into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election that U.S. intelligence agencies have said was intended to sway the vote in favor of Trump, the Republican candidate, over his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton. Russia denies the allegation. The Defense Department inspector general is investigating whether Flynn “failed to obtain required approval prior to receiving any emolument from a foreign government,” according to an April 11 letter released by Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. If substantiated, such a failure would violate military regulations that apply a constitutional provision that bars current and retired officers from accepting “emoluments” from foreign powers, the letter said. Representative Elijah Cummings, the House committee’s top Democrat, released other Defense Department documents on Thursday showing that the DIA found no evidence that Flynn requested permission to accept foreign funds, despite a 2014 warning against taking such payments. One document, a redacted version of a letter the DIA sent to the committee on April 7, said the agency had not found “any records referring or relating to LTG (Lieutenant General) Flynn’s receipt of money from a foreign source.” Flynn’s attorney, Robert Kelner, said in a statement that Cummings mischaracterized the DIA letter, saying a partially redacted section confirmed that Flynn gave the Pentagon “information and documents on a thumb drive” about the RT event. The materials included documents that Flynn used a speakers bureau for the event, said Kelner, adding that the former national security adviser also briefed the Pentagon before and after the Moscow visit. He called on the DIA to release the unredacted letter and details of the briefings. Kelner’s statement, however, did not address the issue of whether Flynn requested and received permission to accept foreign government payments. Separately, the committee’s Republican chairman, Representative Jason Chaffetz, asked the acting Army secretary for a “final determination” about whether Flynn violated the law by accepting foreign payments, according to a letter released by his office on Thursday. In addition to looking into the RT funds, the House committee is scrutinizing Flynn’s work last year as a foreign agent hired to promote Turkish government views by a Netherlands-based company owned by a Turkish businessman. The company paid Flynn’s now-defunct firm, Flynn Intel Group, a total of $530,000 beginning in August, when he was the Trump campaign’s top foreign policy adviser. Flynn registered as a foreign agent with the Justice Department only in March, weeks after he resigned as Trump’s national security adviser following his failure to disclose his contacts with Sergei Kislyak, Russia’s ambassador to the United States, before Trump took office. | 1 |
3,137 | BREAKING BOMBSHELL: UNDERCOVER VIDEO Shows NY Dem Elections Official Explain STUNNING Voter Fraud Scams In Minority Areas…No ID’s…Absentee Votes | This video will leave you breathless, as you watch a NY Democrat out the Democrat party and the unbelievable voter fraud the commit. Mayor DeBlasio and Hillary should be sharing a cell together! The Manhattan Democratic representative on the city s Board of Elections was caught on a secret video slamming Mayor Bill de Blasio s municipal ID program as contributing to all kinds of fraud including at the polls. He gave out ID cards, de Blasio. That s in lieu of a driver s license, but you can use it for anything, Commissioner Alan Schulkin said in the undercover video recorded by a muckraker for conservative nonprofit Project Veritas. But they didn t vet people to see who they really are. Anybody can go in there and say, I am Joe Smith, I want an ID card, he said in the bombshell tape. It s absurd. There is a lot of fraud. Not just voter fraud, all kinds of fraud . . . This is why I get more conservative as I get older. Schulkin didn t hold back to the undercover journalist, who identified herself as a political consultant at a United Federation of Teachers holiday party on Dec. 16.Not realizing he was being recorded, he broke with his own party s position that voter ID requirements hurt the poor and minorities.Schulkin said he backed the IDs to prevent rampant fraud. The law says you can t ask for anything. Which they really should be able to do, Schulkin said, according to a copy of the video and transcript provided to The Post. I believe they should be able to do it, he added.The videographer asked point-blank, You think they should have voter ID in New York? Schulkin responded, Voters? Yeah, they should ask for your ID. I think there is a lot of voter fraud. Conservatives claim ID checks help curb voter fraud.Liberal and civil rights groups argue such rules discourage voting and discriminate against minorities and the poor. You know, I don t think it s too much to ask somebody to show some kind of an ID . . . You go into a building, you have to show them your ID, Schulkin said.While discussing the potential for fraud, Schulkin volunteered that in some parts of the city, they bus people around to vote . . . They put them in a bus and go poll site to poll site. Asked which neighborhoods, Schulkin said, I don t want to say. When the undercover mentions black and Hispanic neighborhoods, Schulkin responded, Yeah . . . and Chinese, too. At another point in the conversation, he discussed potential absentee ballot fraud. Oh, there s thousands of absentee ballots . . . I don t know where they came from, he said.The undercover offered that people can cover their faces to shield their identity when voting, which triggered a conversation about burqas. The Muslims can do that, too. You don t know who they are, Schulman said. Via: NYP | 0 |
3,138 | Bernie Sanders Comforts Frustrated Voters, SHREDS New York’s Closed Primary (VIDEO) | On Tuesday, Bernie Sanders slammed New York s closed primary system after a frustrated voter vented to him about not being able to vote.The voter, 21-year-old Mike Cantalupo of Massapequa, New York, went up to Sanders and explained how the system had not only confused, but ultimately failed him. Cantalupo said that he d been trying to enroll as a Democrat since last spring, but couldn t succeed because he was told that by the Department of Motor Vehicles that his paperwork was lost. Then, when he tried to register again in December, he was told that the deadline for a change-of-party in New York had passed (the deadline is October). Despite all of his efforts, he couldn t change his registration and was ultimately prevented from casting his ballot. He told Sanders: New York has terrible voting laws. Right now I m trying to do everything I can to get my vote cast for [Sanders]. I can sign a court order and an affidavit and whatever I need to do, and I m going to do that, but it shouldn t be this hard to vote. Sanders heard Cantalupo s concerns and nodded. He agreed that No, it should not be this hard for people to vote. He added: Today, 3 million people in the state of New York who are independents have lost their right to vote in the Democratic or Republican primary. That s wrong. You re paying for this election; it s administered by the state, [and] you have a right to vote. That s a very unfortunate thing that I hope will change in the future. You can watch Cantalupo s conversation with Sanders below:WATCH: @BernieSanders tells independent voter by Times Square: You have a right to vote https://t.co/1dXt1G3Cauhttps://t.co/PztjYBywWU ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) April 19, 2016Because of these issues, 3 million people that are registered outside of Republican or Democratic parties may not be able to vote in the primary. Jose Ruiz, a polling site coordinator, estimated I d say 30% are not registered, even though they thought they were. And it wasn t just registration that voting New Yorkers had trouble with. In other cases, polling places were moved without adequately notifying voters, and some polling sites were set up hours later than their scheduled time.Despite all of the issues and setbacks, Sanders is still hopeful. Continuing to bash the primary problems that voters are now referring to as sabotage, Sanders said: We re feeling very good. If there is a large voter turnout despite the impediment of 3 million people not being able to participate I think we re going to do just fine. Compared to the rest of the United States, New York is generally low in voter participation regardless of whether it s a local or national election. Open primary states, or those with same-day registration, have much higher turnouts.Featured image via Spencer Platt / Getty Images | 0 |
3,139 | BREAKING #MayDay : Journalist Attacked For Asking May Day Protesters Why They’re Carrying North Korean Flag [Video] | WASHINGTON, D.C. May Day is the day for commies to come out in force The Antifa thugs are proudly marching for communism but when a journalist asked why they were carrying a North Korean flag, this happened:Jack Posobiec Attacked by Antifa Uses Reasonable Force for Self Defense https://t.co/1HQ606sJBt Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) May 1, 2017 Attacked again Assaulted by Antifa again and I defended myself #MayDay2017 pic.twitter.com/3DDqK1nAYn Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) May 1, 2017The Antifa medics say We expect violence Antifa yells "Can I get a shoutout on 4chan!" #MayDay2017 pic.twitter.com/QNA8qxULt7 Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) May 1, 2017The hate for America is big! The sign below says: SMASH THE STATE AMERICA WAS NEVER GREAT Antifa just can t help but be violent they have proven to be total thugs! They even sell knives on their website! They were successful in threatening the city of Portland until they shut down a traditional parade:PORTLAND ANTIFA SHUTS DOWN TRADITIONAL PARADE:The irony in this entire cancellation of a tradition in Portland, Oregon is that now the Antifa (Anti Fascists) have pissed off the more moderate lefties. One group was going to speak at the parade event against white supremacy but now they won t get the chance. It s turning out that the Antifa group is more violent than any other radical group we ve known. They re even selling knives on their website! A threatening email has derailed one of the Portland Rose Festival s signature events, and spurred new debate about the ongoing political protests in Portland.Organizers of the 82nd Avenue of Roses Parade announced Tuesday that the event will be canceled, for fear that the east Portland parade could be disrupted by the type of riots which happen in downtown Portland. (see video below)Originally scheduled this Saturday, April 29, the parade is meant to highlight the local community and businesses along Southeast 82nd Avenue, aiming to turn around the negative perception many people have of the area. It started in 2007 and has since become a popular event on the Rose Festival calendar.This year s parade was once again set to feature the Multnomah County Republican Party as one of the many groups slated to march, but that inclusion drew ire from some of the city s left-leaning protest groups.At least two protests were planned for the day of the parade, one by Oregon Students Empowered and another by Direct Action Alliance. Both events were mentioned in an email sent to parade organizers on Saturday, threatening to shut down the event with hundreds of protesters in the street. You have seen how much power we have downtown and that the police cannot stop us from shutting down roads so please consider your decision wisely, the anonymous email said, telling organizers they could cancel the Republican group s registration or else face action from protesters. This is non-negotiable. The parade is organized by the 82nd Avenue of Roses Business Association, a part of the neighborhood business organization Venture Portland. Representatives from neither organization returned calls for comment.The cancelation isn t necessarily a win for the protest groups. Jacob Bureros, an organizer with the Direct Action Alliance, said the organization which intended to speak out against fascism and white supremacy during the parade is sad to hear the news. We are disappointed that the parade was canceled, he said. We re members of this community and this is an awesome parade. James Buchal, chairman of the Multnomah County Republican Party, said his group was ready to march despite the protesters. He said the party had no hand in cancelling the event, and was taken by surprise when they heard the news. After seeing the email last weekend, they had no plans to back out. We weren t willing to just walk away quietly, he said. The next thing we knew the whole thing was canceled. The problem is the police said they couldn t offer additional security for the parade so the organizers backed out. We know the Portland Police Department can move to stop this type of activity.Check out this recent shut down of protesters blocking a bus in downtown Portland:Portland protesters were doing the usual idiotic tactic of blocking the street and not letting traffic proceed What they didn t realize is that the police aren t taking this anymore Watch the takedown of these punks Awesome!Check out the lady with the thumbs up! Haha! Read more: Oregon Live | 0 |
3,140 | ANGELA MERKEL Running For Re-Election Makes Stunning Announcement To BAN BURKAS, After Flooding Nation With 2 Million (Mostly Muslim) Migrants | ANGELA Merkel today completed an astonishing U-turn as she formally endorsed a full burka ban following a backlash over her open-door migration policies.The German chancellor made the comments at a Christian Democratic Union (CDU) conference having recently declared she will seek re-election.She told the annual congress that it was legitimate to expect integration from newcomers, underlining her party s bid to ban the full face veil. The full veil must be banned wherever it is legally possible, she said to a large round of applause.Merkel also stressed her determination to ensure that there s no repeat of last year s huge migrant influx as she seeks a new two-year term in charge of her conservative party. Sun UKAn official within the ruling CDU/CSU coalition said regional states have to obey the law and warned those who didn t would lose funding.This comes in spite of German Chancellor Angela Merkel s long-standing open-door migrant policy, which began last year and has seen more than one million migrants enter the country since.The country is now home to more than 200,000 failed asylum seekers, who continue to live in Germany despite officials confirming they would be at no risk if they were forced to go back to their home countries. Express UK | 0 |
3,141 | Ted Cruz Gets His Unethical A** Handed To Him By Seth Myers (VIDEO) | Seth Meyers destroyed Republican presidential wannabe Ted Cruz on Tuesday night for running a campaign of dirty tricks and lies.The Late Night host brutally examined Tricky Ted during the Closer Look segment for the way he has used unethical maneuvers to smear his opponents and fool voters into casting their votes for him.It all started in Iowa when Cruz s campaign put the word out that Ben Carson was dropping out of the race, which may have caused some Carson supporters to switch their allegiance to the Texas Senator.The stolen votes likely helped Cruz capture victory in Iowa but it hurt him in the media, forcing him to request a meeting with Carson in an effort to make amends. The only problem is that instead of a meeting in a normal setting, the two chose a storage closet instead, which as Meyers pointed out, is pretty ironic considering both men are anti-gay. That s right, Cruz and Carson met inside of a storage closet. A moment I m sure both of them, as anti-gay rights advocates immediately regretted when they realized that eventually they would have to come out of the closet, together, Meyers quipped.But Cruz hasn t only played dirty tricks against Ben Carson. His new target has been Marco Rubio with ploys such as making it appear like Rubio and President Obama are alike or making up stories about how Rubio trashed the Bible in front of Cruz staffers.Meyers also noted that even Republicans have called out Cruz for saying and doing anything to get elected, regaling the audience about how Cruz took a pro-fireworks stance on a local issue because staffers found 60 people who would vote for him if he took up their cause.Here s the video via YouTube.Ever since he won Iowa, Ted Cruz has not fared very well. New Hampshire chose Donald Trump, and even South Carolina couldn t stomach Ted Cruz as the nominee as evangelical voters abandoned him for the billionaire loudmouth. It even looks like he could lose in his home state of Texas as newspapers in Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio are endorsing anybody but Cruz as the GOP nominee. And now Cruz is looking more and more like a desperate man whose dream of world domination is slipping further and further away. Featured image via Raw Story | 0 |
3,142 | Mattis says U.S. effort on North Korea aims for diplomatic solution | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States hopes to find a diplomatic solution to the situation in North Korea and is addressing it through an international process, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Tuesday, hours after President Donald Trump, in a U.N. address, escalated his standoff with Pyongyang. We are dealing with the North Korea situation through the international process and we will continue to do so. Secretary Tillerson is leading the effort and we will hopefully get this resolved through diplomatic means, Mattis said before the start of a meeting with Romania s defense minister. | 1 |
3,143 | Wingnut Pastor: The Pope Is ‘Confused,’ Should Ask ‘Forgiveness’ From Trump (VIDEO) | Donald Trump decided to war with the one person most politicians have enough sense not to touch: The Pope. Pope Francis was asked what he thought of Donald Trump, and said that it was not a Christian thing to do, to talk of building walls instead of building bridges. Of course, Trump being Trump, he retaliated in fury. Pope Francis said: A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not of building bridges, is not Christian. This is not the gospel. I would only say that this man is not Christian if he has said things like that. Now, an idiot pastor has joined the fray, and is saying that the Pope, of all people, is confused about what it means to be a Christian. Pastor Robert Jeffress went on-air on The Sean Hannity Show, and said to the right-wing host: Sean, I think the Pope needs to ask Donald Trump s forgiveness for making such an outlandish statement. I want to remind our listeners that it was exactly one year ago this week that 21 Coptic Christians had their heads chopped off by ISIS on a Libyan beach and then ISIS said, we are coming to Rome next. As if that wasn t enough, the man actually suggested that the Pope is the one who is confused here about what he should be doing as Pope. And the fact that we have a candidate like Donald Trump who wants to protect America, that s not unbiblical. The Pope is confused between the role of the Church, which is to show compassion, and the role of government, which is to uphold order and to protect its citizens. And I want to make a prediction. I think the Pope has succeeded in doing what no other man on Earth could do, and that is creating a martyr in Donald Trump. Well, Pastor Jeffress, as many issues as I have with the Catholic Church, I think you d do well to step away from this one. If the Pope himself doesn t know what the Church should be doing and saying here, who does?Watch the video below, via Media Matters for America:Featured image via video screen capture from YouTube | 0 |
3,144 | Trump’s Disastrously-Misspelled Terrorist Attack List Earns Him A Smackdown From The DICTIONARY (TWEETS) | When Trump s White House released a list of terrorist attacks they say the media did not cover, one thing was clear: the dictionary is the Trump administration s worst enemy. Attacker was spelled attaker, the list referenced a country called Denmakr, San Bernardino was missing an r, and so on. Eventually, the Merriam-Webster dictionary caught wind of the error-ridden list and offered some advice. Reminder that our app has voice search, so you can look a word up even if you re not sure how it s spelled, the Dictionary tweeted, adding a link to their ( there in Trumpspeak) app.Reminder that our app has voice search, so you can look a word up even if you're not sure how it's spelled. https://t.co/gAH5JjwU32 https://t.co/oyxk2zwpWO Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) February 7, 2017This one was more subtle than the more recent times that the Dictionary has smacked Trump around like when he tweeted about unpresidented acts or when Sean Spicer couldn t define betrayal but it was clear what Merriam-Webster was saying, and people couldn t be happier with the shade that was thrown:@MerriamWebster ????Was that an attak? Krista Ritzman Reed (@smokelvr) February 7, 2017.@MerriamWebster pic.twitter.com/xzHNf1kLTH Alt-Thin Brown (@jteeDC) February 7, 2017@MerriamWebster you guys are certainly winning at internet. pic.twitter.com/eesiHbOscx Wendy Lady (@NerdRage42) February 7, 2017@MerriamWebster Whatever this company pays you, oh Twitter person, it isn't enough. I never thought I would enjoy following a dictionary so. CLLynch (@lynchauthor) February 7, 2017@MerriamWebster oh, dictionary, you're so salty. Paging Mrs. Herman (@THerman23) February 7, 2017@MerriamWebster I've never loved a dictionary so much. Lee Koh (@eunleekoh) February 7, 2017@MerriamWebster @noropthony Burn level, EPIC! Epic: 2 a : extending beyond the usual or ordinary especially in size or scope Tracy JSM (@Trinityapp) February 7, 2017@MerriamWebster our country is going to be saved by Merriam-Webster. Kendra Kendall (@kikuandjuju) February 7, 2017@MerriamWebster on that low-key spelling shade ?? goldee-loxs? (@goldee_loxs) February 7, 2017Merriam-Webster later announced they added shade to the dictionary We added shade to the dictionary. https://t.co/dbxSsggzLo pic.twitter.com/4bpkoJVvAF Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) February 7, 2017 followed by side-eye. 'Side-eye' is now in the dictionary. Our earliest example of it in use comes from 1797. (GIF by @GIPHY Studios.) https://t.co/ClvewjDi0K pic.twitter.com/3bhMrce7F0 Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) February 8, 2017They even re-added a new (old), fun term to call Donald Trump:Yes like snollygoster, "a shrewd & unprincipled person, especially an unprincipled politician." Just added it back. https://t.co/DsYIshSZDU https://t.co/lv5HKPyNum Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) February 7, 2017But they were clear that of the 1,000 new words added to the dictionary, unpresidented is not one of them:@MerriamWebster Is unpresidented one of them? Caitlin Luce Baker (@Cait_onthe_Luce) February 7, 2017No. https://t.co/F62W8BBmHl Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) February 7, 2017Trump s team is built from the absolute worst our country has to offer: white supremacists, warmongers, corporate warlords, and the absolute dumbest people one could ever imagine.In just a few weeks, Donald Trump has managed to make a mockery of almost every aspect of our government, appointing a slew of unqualified people to positions they should never be near and even getting tricked into making a white supremacist one of the most powerful men in the country.Take the time to laugh, but be sure to resist the snollygoster in the White House in every way you can for the next four years or, of course, until he is ultimately impeached for being completely and utterly incompetent.Featured image via Getty Images (Pool)/screengrab | 0 |
3,145 | Oops! BILL CLINTON SAYS Hillary Has Had Other “Episodes”…CBS Edits Out To Cover For Hillary! | Bill Clinton somehow seems to sabotage Hillary quite frequently. It s kind of funny but she s probably not too happy with Bill. In an interview with Charlie Rose, Bill Clinton makes a major admission about Hillary s episodes . The most disturbing part about this is that this part of the video will not vein the interview to air tomorrow on CBS! Because frequently, Clinton began, according to CBS website, before correcting himself, well not frequently, rarely but on more than one occasion, over the last many, many years, the same sort of thing happened to her when she got severely dehydrated. Bill Clinton s attempt on Monday at downplaying his wife s recent fainting spell may have backfired.During an interview with CBS News Charlie Rose, the former president said that Hillary Clinton has on more than one occasion had a fainting episode after becoming severely dehydrated. Rose asked Bill Clinton if the episode indicates that his wife has more serious medical issues. Well if it is, it s a mystery to me and all of her doctors, he responded. Because frequently, Clinton began, according to CBS website, before correcting himself, well not frequently, rarely but on more than one occasion, over the last many, many years, the same sort of thing happened to her when she got severely dehydrated. She s doing fine, she was even better last night before she went to sleep, he continued.Clinton s frequently slip is not included in CBS s broadcast of the interview.Read more: Daily Caller | 0 |
3,146 | War-scarred neighborhoods in Ukraine's rebel-held Donetsk | DONETSK, Ukraine (Reuters) - Ruined houses, shell craters and deserted streets - this is a typical scene in the Oktyabrsky district of Donetsk, the largest city of Ukraine s pro-Russian rebel region that bears the same name. The self-styled Donetsk and next-door Luhansk people s republics broke away from central rule in 2014 after months of violent street protests in Kiev toppled Ukraine s Moscow-leaning president and propelled pro-Western nationalists to power. In this calm suburb of Donetsk, many people stood aloof of politics. But then fierce clashes broke out between Ukrainian government troops and pro-Russian separatists for control over the nearby Donetsk Airport. A glistening air hub of steel and glass, specially built for the UEFA Euro 2012 of which Donetsk was a venue, the local airport was leveled to the ground, and many of the buildings in Oktyabrsky shared its fate. A Reuters photo essay (reut.rs/2jONmoo ) captures images of hardship and despair of the dwellers of this district on the frontline of many battles. Restored water and electricity supplies to local homes, with some households enjoying even gas supplies and heating, give a slight relief to some of the lucky locals as winter cold starts to bite. I try to keep away from politics, I only care about my family, said Marina, aged 30. The woman, her husband and three children, one of whom is seriously ill, lost their house in 2014 when an artillery shell hit it. With no money, we were left in the street, with absolutely nothing. Everything burned, nothing was left ... even spoons and forks were gone, she said. Her family changed several apartments, moving from one friend to another, before deciding that they would restore their house, using the bricks that had remained intact to build new walls. But they fast ran out of cash to buy construction materials. The fragile ceasefire agreed in 2015 is often shattered by outbursts of gunfire and explosions of shells. More than 8,000 private homes and more than 2,000 apartment houses were badly damaged in Donetsk, according to data provided by its administration. Most of these homes are uninhabitable and cannot be rebuilt. A total of 64 temporary shelters for those who lost their homes in the war have been organized in various parts of Donetsk, a city of around one million residents. Sometimes, student hostels accommodate the homeless. They include Alexandra Nikolayevna, 68, who survives with her several grandchildren at University Hostel No.4 mainly due to handouts of humanitarian aid. The fourth year of this ordeal has failed to shatter her political views. We must be only with Russia, we only hope for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin to take us under his wing, she repeats. Anyway, everyone says it s Russian land. The feeling of relative normalcy which prevails in most parts of Donetsk, dissipates when you realise the city center is just slightly more than 10 km (6.3 miles) from the frontline. The war is felt in the volatile rates of several currencies circulating in the city, in low wages and poor quality of local food. And it is felt in the families which lost loved ones in the war that has claimed a total of more than 10,000 lives so far. | 1 |
3,147 | ISLAND FULL OF ESTABLISHMENT MILLIONAIRES Wants To Stop Trump…Will They Succeed? | The establishment isn t happy about a Donald Trump lead in the polls so they gathered at beautiful Sea Island to plan to dump Trump.Off the coast of Georgia last weekend a group of nervous business moguls and politicians met up at a private island resort.They weren t visiting Sea Island to party, though; they were all guests at an annual closed-press event hosted by a conservative Washington think tank. And this year they banded together around one common goal: stopping Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump, as The Huffington Post reports.Apple CEO Tim Cook was there; so was Google s Larry Page and Elon Musk from Tesla and SpaceX. Top Republican brass there included Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Karl Rove, and even New York Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger, among others.The event, the American Enterprise Institute s World Forum, is a top-secret annual meeting known for bringing top business executives and politicians together to do well, we re not exactly sure what.But this year, as The Huffington Post reported, everyone s minds were on how Trump made it this far and how to stop him. Karl Rove reportedly presented focus group findings on Trump, while others simply wondered how this happened. Read more: Fortune | 0 |
3,148 | U.S. border officials violated court orders on travel ban: watchdog | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Department of Homeland Security violated two court orders in the days after U.S. President Donald Trump issued a temporary travel ban on citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries, according to the department’s watchdog. DHS Inspector General John Roth summarized his findings in a letter dated Monday to three Democratic U.S. senators, saying he has been unable to release the full 87-page report, completed six weeks ago. He said the delay was due to a dispute with DHS higher-ups over redactions, which would “deprive Congress and the public of significant insights into the operation of the Department,” Roth said. After the Jan. 27 order by the president, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency (CBP) “was very aggressive in preventing affected travelers from boarding aircraft bound for the United States, and took actions that, in our view, violated two separate court orders,” Roth said. Trump banned the entry of citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries for 90 days. His order was issued with little warning to major U.S. agencies, sparking confusion at airports in the United States and around the world over its scope and impact. Civil rights groups quickly challenged the travel ban, managing to block implementation of some of its key measures as protesters, lawyers and elected officials rushed to major U.S. airports where citizens of the seven countries had been detained. At U.S. ports of entry, CBP officials largely complied with court orders blocking the ban, though they were hampered by a lack of guidance from superiors, Roth wrote in his letter. CBP officials “had virtually no warning” that Trump was issuing his travel ban “or of the scope of the order, and was caught by surprise,” Roth said. Still, CBP officers at U.S. airports “attempted in good faith to obey court orders,” he said. In one case, at Dulles International Airport near Washington, CBP stopped a departing airplane that was taxiing so an affected traveler could be admitted to the United States. From Jan. 29 to Feb. 3, CBP instructed airlines to prevent Boston-bound passengers from the seven countries from flying to the United States in violation of an order by a federal court in Massachusetts. All of the airlines except Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) followed CBP instructions. When Lufthansa’s passengers arrived in Boston, they were allowed to enter, Roth said. CBP also continued to issue “no board” instructions to airlines even after a separate nationwide federal court order on Jan. 31 blocked the agency from doing so, Roth said. Top DHS officials are reviewing Roth’s report and may invoke a form of governmental privilege which he said “would prevent us from releasing to you significant portions of the report. I am very troubled by this development.” Agency officials “conducted themselves professionally, and in a legal manner, as they implemented an executive order issued by the president,” said Tyler Q. Houlton, a DHS spokesman. Parts of the report are subject to “privileges afforded by well-recognized law,” he said since the travel ban’s implementation is subject to lawsuits and court orders. | 1 |
3,149 | Trump intensifies attacks on Ryan with four weeks left until Election Day | OCALA, Fla./WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump escalated his attacks on U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan on Wednesday, deepening a fracture in the party with only four weeks to go until the Nov. 8 election. Trump, at a rally before thousands of supporters jammed into a livestock arena in Ocala, Florida, also attempted to drive voters away from Democratic rival Hillary Clinton with an overwhelmingly negative speech in which he described her as corrupt and unqualified for the presidency. Ryan said on Monday he was no longer going to campaign for or defend Trump and advised House Republicans not to support the White House candidate if they did not want to. His move followed outcry over a video that surfaced last Friday showing Trump bragging in 2005 about groping women and making unwanted sexual advances. Trump’s response to being abandoned by Ryan, the country’s most senior elected Republican, has veered between saying he feels free now to campaign on his own terms and assailing Ryan and other “disloyal” Republicans. “Already the Republican nominee has a massive disadvantage and especially when you have the leaders not putting their weight behind the people,” the New York businessman said on Wednesday, complaining that Ryan and others had not called to congratulate him on what he felt was a strong performance at a debate against Clinton on Sunday. “You’d think they’d say great going Don, let’s go. Let’s beat this crook,” Trump said. “No, he doesn’t do that,” he added of Ryan, as the crowd booed in sympathy. “There is a whole deal going on there. There is a whole deal going on and we’re going to figure it out. I always figure things out. But there’s a whole sinister deal going on.” The release of the video has plunged Trump and the Republican Party into a deep crisis that has jeopardized his chances of winning the White House, when he was already lagging Clinton in national opinion polls, and possibly put Republican control of the U.S. Congress in danger. Trump’s fresh round of attacks came even as his campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, heard concerns from some House Republicans that Trump’s criticism of Ryan was distracting from his message on how to defeat Clinton and win the White House. Conway convened a conference call with House Republicans who support Trump that lasted about an hour. A congressional aide said Conway went through a list of differences between Trump and Clinton and talked about how to make the case for Trump and against Clinton. The general theme of comments from lawmakers on the call was that Trump needed to focus on his message to the United States and distinguish it from Clinton’s, the aide said. The aide said members specifically brought up Trump’s attacks on Ryan as a distraction from that message. The tone from House Republican was one of frustration at Trump’s attacks on a fellow Republican, the aide said. The campaign and Conway did not respond to requests for their comments about the call. Nonetheless, Ryan has been facing considerable blowback from a number of his fellow House Republicans since announcing his decision to focus on electing Republicans in Congress. Oklahoma Republican Jim Bridenstine, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, tweeted on Wednesday that he will not support Ryan – presumably, for speaker in the next Congress — because of Ryan’s failure to defend Trump. “Given the stakes of this election, If Paul Ryan isn’t for Trump, then I’m not for Paul Ryan,” Bridenstine tweeted. Republican Senator John Thune, who called for Trump to withdraw from the race in a Saturday tweet, says his position has not changed but that he will vote for all Republican candidates on the ticket including Trump. “I intend to support the nominee of our party. But he’s got a lot of work to do, I think, if he’s going to have any hope of winning this election,” Thune told KELO-TV in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in an interview that aired late on Tuesday. Thune was among a string of Republican officials and former officials who called on Trump to withdraw from the race over the weekend. | 1 |
3,150 | UK parliament says government must publish secret Brexit impact studies | LONDON (Reuters) - British lawmakers ramped up pressure on the government to publish its assessment of the impact Brexit will have on the economy, passing a motion in parliament on Wednesday which could compel the government to release the papers. The government said on Monday it had carried out 58 economic assessments, covering sectors from aerospace to tourism, but has so far refused requests from lawmakers to publish them, saying they could undermine their negotiating position in Brexit talks. That has irked lawmakers - including some from Prime Minister Theresa May s own party - who say the documents should be subject to parliamentary scrutiny and used to help shape the public debate around what a good EU exit deal would look like. Parliament agreed a motion stating that the documents should be released to a parliamentary committee. The government did not oppose the motion but it was unclear if its passage would force them to act. The debate ended in confusion with the Speaker of the House indicating that he believed the government was obliged to comply with the motion, but saying he would wait to see what their response was before acting further. We take all parliamentary votes seriously and recognize that parliament does have rights relating to the publication of documents, a Brexit department spokeswoman said. Ministers also have a clear obligation not to disclose information when doing so would not be in the public interest. We will reflect on the implications of the vote and respond in due course. Labour said the result was clear and called on Brexit minister David Davis to set a date for the papers publication. Labour has been absolutely clear since the referendum that ministers could not withhold vital information from Parliament about the impact of Brexit on jobs and the economy, said Labour s Brexit policy chief Keir Starmer. Binding or not, a rancorous debate underlined the extent to which May s approach to Brexit is generating dissent in parliament and potentially undermining her ability to rely on its support when passing crucial laws to implement the EU exit. I m not going to stand by and see the future of my children s generation and the grandchildren which I hope will follow being trashed or ruined without any form of debate and disclosure as to the consequences, said Anna Soubry, one of several Conservative lawmakers who said they were ready to rebel. The central plank of May s Brexit strategy, a piece of legislation known as the EU (Withdrawal) Bill, will require all May s lawmakers to back her if the minority Conservative government is to avoid making concessions. A debate on the bill is due to begin on Nov 14. | 1 |
3,151 | Republicans call on new Trump chief of staff to fix White House chaos | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans on Sunday urged President Donald Trump’s new chief of staff John Kelly to rein in the chaos within the White House on Monday but said the retired Marine Corps general will be challenged to assert control. In his first six months in office, Trump has upended White House convention with a loose decision-making style and an open-door policy to his Oval Office for advisers, both internal and external. Infighting among his senior staff has become bitter and public. “He’s going to have to reduce the drama, reduce both the sniping within and reduce the leaks, and bring some discipline to the relationships,” Karl Rove, a Republican strategist and former White House adviser to George W. Bush, said on “Fox News Sunday.” Trump announced Kelly would replace his embattled chief of staff Reince Priebus at the end of a particularly chaotic week that saw his first legislative effort - healthcare reform - fail in Congress. “He (Trump) is in a lot of trouble. This week was the most tumultuous week we’ve seen in a tumultuous presidency,” Rove said. On top of the healthcare debacle, Trump came under fire for banning transgender people from the military, and was pilloried for politicizing a speech he made to the Boy Scouts. Adding fuel to the fire, his new communications director Anthony Scaramucci unleashed a string of profane criticism about Priebus and Trump strategist Steven Bannon to a New Yorker magazine reporter. Republicans welcomed Trump’s decision to bring in Kelly, who starts on Monday. “I think he will bring some order and discipline to the West Wing,” said Republican Senator Susan Collins and Trump critic on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” The last week heightened concerns in Trump’s party that the distractions and West Wing dysfunction would derail other legislative priorities, including tax reform and debt ceiling negotiations. White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney said he thought Priebus had been effective “but was probably a little bit more laid back” in the way he ran the office. “I think the president wants to go in a different direction, wants a little bit more discipline, a little more structure in there,” said Mulvaney, who reports to the chief of staff. It is not yet clear whether all of Trump’s senior staff will answer to Kelly. Some members, including Scaramucci and senior counselor Kellyanne Conway, report directly to Trump, a structure which gives them more power. “I will do whatever the president and our new chief of staff General Kelly ask me to do,” Conway told Fox News’ “Fox News Sunday.” Kelly should be empowered to be the gatekeeper to the Oval Office, said Mike Huckabee, the former Republican governor of Arkansas, whose daughter Sarah Sanders is Trump’s spokeswoman. “That’s what needs to happen, but that’s going to be up to the president,” Huckabee said on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.” “The president has a very different style, he’s very open, the door is open, he invites people to just come on it to a meeting,” Huckabee said. To be effective, Kelly needs to find a way to work within Trump’s untraditional style, said Corey Lewandowski, who was a former campaign manager to Trump, and remains close to the president. “The thing that General Kelly should do is not try to change Donald Trump,” Lewandowski said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “Anybody who thinks they’re going to change Donald Trump doesn’t know Donald Trump,” Lewandowski said. | 1 |
3,152 | Trump says he will hold a news conference January 11 in New York | (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said on Twitter on Tuesday he will hold a news conference on Jan. 11 in New York. Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, has not held a news conference since he was elected on Nov. 8. | 1 |
3,153 | Trump strategy document says Russia meddles in domestic affairs worldwide | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration said on Monday that Russia interferes in the domestic political affairs of countries globally, but stopped short of accusing Moscow of meddling in the 2016 U.S. election. The criticism of Russia, laid out in a new national security strategy based on Trump’s “America First” vision, reflects a view long held by U.S. diplomats that Russia actively undermines American interests at home and abroad, despite Trump’s own bid for warmer ties with President Vladimir Putin. “Through modernized forms of subversive tactics, Russia interferes in the domestic political affairs of countries around the world,” said the document. It avoided directly citing what U.S. intelligence agencies say was Russian meddling in last year’s U.S. presidential election. “Russia uses information operations as part of its offensive cyber efforts to influence public opinion across the globe. Its influence campaigns blend covert intelligence operations and false online personas with state-funded media, third-party intermediaries, and paid social media users or ‘trolls,’” the document said. Trump has frequently spoken of wanting to improve relations with Putin, even though Russia has frustrated U.S. policy in Syria and Ukraine and done little to help Washington in its standoff with North Korea. In a speech laying out his strategy, Trump noted that he received a call from Putin on Sunday to thank him for providing U.S. intelligence that helped thwart a bomb attack in the Russian city of St. Petersburg. Trump said the collaboration was “the way it’s supposed to work.” “But while we seek such opportunities of cooperation, we will stand up for ourselves and we will stand up for our country like we have never stood up before,” he said at the Ronald Reagan Building in downtown Washington. The audience of about 650 people frequently applauded the speech. It included the military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, several Cabinet secretaries, lawmakers, military personnel and officials from the intelligence community and other agencies. A U.S. Justice Department investigation is looking into whether Trump campaign aides colluded with Russia, something that Moscow and Trump both deny. U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded Russians tried to tip the election to Trump through hacking and releasing emails to embarrass Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and spreading social media propaganda. Facebook, Google and Twitter Inc are facing a backlash after saying Russians used their services to anonymously spread divisive messages among Americans in the run-up to the election. Other Western nations, including France, have accused Russia of trying to interfere in their elections. Congress mandates that every U.S. administration set out its national security strategy. The new Trump strategy is influenced strongly by the thinking of top national security officials rather than that of the president himself, said one official involved in preparing the document. The Republican president’s strategy reflects his “America First” priorities of protecting the U.S. homeland and borders, rebuilding the military, projecting strength abroad and pursuing trade policies more favorable to the United States. Talking points sent to U.S. embassies worldwide on what diplomats should say about the new strategy makes clear that the official U.S. position is tough on Russia. An unclassified State Department cable, seen by Reuters, said: “Russia tries to weaken the credibility of America’s commitment to Europe. With its invasions of Georgia and Ukraine, Russia has demonstrated a willingness to use force to challenge the sovereignty of states in the region.”Harry Kazianis, an analyst at the conservative Center for the National Interest think tank, said, “While things with Moscow might be warm and fuzzy for the moment, President Putin will not take too kindly to being labeled as what essentially amounts to as an enemy of America.” It drops Democratic former President Barack Obama’s 2016 description of climate change as a U.S. national security threat, aides said. Trump has vowed to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate accord unless changes are made to it. The Trump administration lumps together China and Russia as competitors seeking to challenge U.S. power and erode its security and prosperity. The singling out of China and Russia as “revisionist powers” also comes despite Trump’s own attempts to build strong relations Chinese President Xi Jinping. A senior administration official said Russia and China were attempting to revise the global status quo - Russia in Europe with its military incursions into Ukraine and Georgia, and China in Asia by its aggression in the South China Sea. Russia denies the allegations that it meddled with the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Trump has been working with Xi to exert pressure on North Korea over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. The administration warned that intellectual property theft by China is a national security problem. “We need to protect data in different ways. We need to ensure that the legislation we have, like CFIUS, is up to date and reflects the kinds of strategic investments that are taking place by other countries,” an administration official said. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which reviews the purchase of U.S. assets by foreign companies, has recently taken a strong stand against technology transfers to Chinese companies. | 1 |
3,154 | State Department describes plans for cuts, offers few specifics: sources | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - State Department officials briefed Senate staff on Friday on plans to cut up to $10 billion from the department’s budget over five years, but offered few specifics to ease concerns that the administration risked weakening U.S. standing in the world. The plan is the result of an ongoing assessment of the department ordered by President Donald Trump’s secretary of state, Rex Tillerson. It includes broad goals such as “maximizing the impact of foreign assistance” and “improving governance” for information technology platforms, according to a copy of the presentation seen by Reuters. Members of Congress have been vying with the Trump administration for more influence over foreign policy. In particular, many lawmakers, including some of Trump’s fellow Republicans, worry about his plans to slash the State Department budget to help boost military spending. The Republican-led Senate Appropriations Committee issued a blistering report last week accompanying its spending plan for State, accusing the Trump administration of pursuing a “doctrine of retreat” on foreign policy. Last week, the committee voted 31-0 for legislation allocating more than $51 billion for the State Department and foreign operations next year, nearly $11 billion more than the Trump administration’s request. The presentation was more specific as it listed what State and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) did not intend to do. That list said there is no plan to dismantle State and USAID, eliminate the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, or concentrate power in Tillerson’s hands. A Senate aide who attended said both Republicans and Democrats seemed frustrated at the lack of specifics. “It was tense in the room at times, with staff from both parties asking for specifics and warning the State Department officials that it would be difficult to defend this given the lack of specificity and the ongoing problems with early, consistent Congressional consultation on a range of issues,” the aide said. Tillerson wants to eliminate more than 2,000 positions at State, out of some 75,000 worldwide. At a news conference this week, Senator Lindsey Graham, the Republican chairman of the subcommittee that oversees State Department spending, spoke of his opposition to such cuts to diplomacy and foreign aid. “I fear that we’re going to get caught blindsided without a robust State Department,” Graham said, saying that ensuring national security requires soft power as well as a strong military. | 1 |
3,155 | New GOP Bills Would Let Corporations Strip Away Our First Amendment Rights | While we re focused on the ridiculous Donald Trump tweets or the equally ridiculous Obamacare replacement bill, Republicans are debating a bill that would put us at the total mercy of corporations, no matter what they do.Currently, there are a few bills in the House and in the Senate, which are different, but identical in one way: They both strip us of our right to free speech, and, well, they do both put to rest the idea that Republicans are for the free market. There s H.R. 985, the Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act that Rep. Bob Goodlatte (VA) introduced in early February.It would place a slew of new restrictions on class action lawsuits, like barring judges from certifying a class action where the lawyer representing the plaintiffs is in anyway related to anyone in that plaintiff class. Not just familial relations either; if the attorney has any sort of working relationship with a class member outside of that particular lawsuit, the case would be shut down.Source: ConsumeristThink about that for a moment. While corporations might have in-house council or their usual team of lawyers to represent them, we, as consumers, would not be allowed to work with an attorney that anyone in the class action suit had worked with, or had known, before. Since most consumers don t have an army of attorneys at their disposal, this gives a serious advantage to the corporations.Other bills introduced in recent weeks by GOP lawmakers seek to limit more specific types of legal claims. One piece of legislation could make it more difficult for victims of asbestos to collect their claim by imposing new paperwork requirements on the trusts administering these funds. Another bill would preempt state medical malpractice laws and cap non-financial damages at $250,000.Democrats, thankfully, are attempting to expand consumer rights.One bill, by our current hero Al Franken (D-MN), would allow us to sue corporations instead of being forced into arbitration typically with the arbiter chosen by the corporation.Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) has a similar bill, which would ensure that states follow state and federal laws.For example, Airbnb was recently able to compel arbitration in a lawsuit alleging violations of federal civil rights laws, and Wells Fargo is trying to sidestep a massive consumer fraud lawsuit by compelling the cases into arbitration. When Americans enter into agreements to obtain cellphone service, rent an apartment, or accept a new job, most are not made aware of the forced arbitration clauses that are tucked away in the legal fine print, said Leahy. But these dangerous provisions force us to abandon our Constitutional right to protect ourselves in court, and instead send hardworking Americans to face wealthy corporations behind closed-doors in private arbitration. While all of these binding arbitration and these restrictions on how complaints can be addressed are completely anti-consumer, the one that should be called a violation of our most basic rights to free speech are non-disclosure agreements, which even Republicans should object to. In fact, one Republican, former Fox host Gretchen Carlson, objects strongly, since she was a plaintiff in a sexual harassment suit against her former employer. Arbitration silences millions of other survivors who might have come forward if they knew they weren t alone, said Carlson, who contends that this should not be a partisan issue: Harassers come from all political parties. She s right and the party that favors the free market should agree. The only way a free market could even begin to work is if consumers have all the information that s available. By silencing consumers, we are not only violating the First Amendment rights, we are leaving it open for future consumers to be hurt in the exact same way.Silencing consumers in favor of corporations isn t exactly new, but it s a huge step toward fascism. Strengthening those laws aren t good for small businesses, and they are horrible for the consumer, and as with any fascist country, corporations are king.Featured image of Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) via Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images | 0 |
3,156 | Trump Laughably Claims He Knows More About Cyber Attacks Than The CIA | Donald Trump is now saying that he knows more about computer hacking than the experts at the CIA and our other intelligence agencies.During an interview with the New York Times prior to a New Year s Eve party at Mar-a-Lago, Trump once again defended Russia and Putin by questioning the validity of an assessment by the intelligence community concluding that Russia meddled with our political process. I just want them to be sure because it s a pretty serious charge, Trump said before invoking the lack of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. If you look at the weapons of mass destruction, that was a disaster, and they were wrong. So I want them to be sure. I think it s unfair if they don t know. But that s not exactly true. Former CIA official Tyler Drumheller said in 2006 that the Bush Administration ignored intelligence concluding that Iraq did NOT have weapons of mass destruction. When presented with the assessment, Bush and his team refused to believe it and went to war in Iraq anyway.So when Trump blames the intelligence community for getting WMDs in Iraq wrong, it s inaccurate. They actually got it right. Bush was the one who was wrong by ignoring them.Trump didn t stop there, however. Just like when he claimed to know more about ISIS than our generals, Trump claimed to know more about hacking than the experts at our intelligence agencies. And I know a lot about hacking, Trup continued. And hacking is a very hard thing to prove. So it could be somebody else. And I also know things that other people don t know, and so they cannot be sure of the situation. He basically said the same thing on Twitter in December.Unless you catch hackers in the act, it is very hard to determine who was doing the hacking. Why wasn t this brought up before election? Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 12, 2016So apparently, Trump fancies himself a military genius and a computer expert.Seriously, Trump needs to stop pretending he knows things that he doesn t really know. The reality is that he has never served in our military. He s an expert at draft-dodging but he is certainly no expert on ISIS. And while he clearly knows how to use social media, Trump definitely does not know how to hack a computer. HOur intelligence agencies know how to trace hacks because hacking leaves traces and signatures that can be used to determine where the hack originated.That s how we know Russia hacked us. It s incredibly dangerous for Trump to claim that he knows all this stuff and that he knows more than the experts. Because then he can undermine the experts all the time and his gullible supporters will believe him instead of the facts, which is what Trump has been doing for over a year and a half now. If Trump knows more about something, it s being a con artist. He s been doing that for decades so he s total pro.Featured image via Drew Angerer/Getty Images | 0 |
3,157 | Kansas asks U.S. appeals court to reinstate strict voter ID rule | DENVER (Reuters) - Kansas on Tuesday asked a U.S. appeals court to reinstate rules requiring proof of U.S. citizenship from people registering to vote, the latest political battle over stringent identification laws enacted in Republican-led states ahead of the 2016 presidential election. The mandate that Kansans present passports, birth certificates or other proof of citizenship when registering to vote while obtaining driver’s licenses was challenged by a U.S. District Court judge in May. Her ruling restored the right to vote in the Nov. 8 election for thousands of people who were asked if they wanted to register while at motor vehicle offices, but not required to submit the additional documentation. Judge Julie Robinson ordered those people to be re-registered. She said that Kansas could identify only three non-citizens who voted between 2003 and the onset of the law in 2013. Kansas’ law is one of the strictest voter identification statutes in the country, making the state a symbol for mostly Republican Party supporters who say the rules are meant to prevent voter fraud. Opponents, mostly Democrats, say they discriminate against minorities. “Every time a noncitizen votes, it effectively cancels out the vote of a citizen,” Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach said in court filings ahead of Tuesday’s oral arguments. In arguments before the Denver-based U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, Kobach said, “We don’t need to be authorized by the federal government” to set up rules to manage state and local elections. Arguing for the lower court’s decision to be upheld, the American Civil Liberties Union specifically targeted a portion of Kansas law that deals with people who register to vote at motor vehicle department offices. The ACLU argued that the requirement conflicts with a federal law from 1993 aimed at making it easier for people to register to vote by doing so when they apply for a driver’s license. Because that law does not require people to bring more documentation than they would need to get a driver’s license, Robinson ruled that about 18,000 people whose registration had been invalidated by the state should be re-registered. Republican Party presidential candidate Donald Trump, who earlier this month said that voters who opposed his candidacy are “going to vote 10 times,” is asking supporters to volunteer to be election observers at the polls. He routinely calls Democratic Party nominee Hillary Clinton “crooked” and has said that if he loses, it will be because the system is rigged against him. Led by lawyers from the ACLU, opponents of the voter identification laws have filed lawsuits in several states, successfully overturning or delaying implementation of some statutes. Last month, a federal judge in Wisconsin ruled that voters who do not have photo identification will be able to vote in the presidential election, and the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a North Carolina law requiring voters to bring a photo ID to the polls. Seventeen states have put new voting restrictions in place since the last presidential contest, according to the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law. | 1 |
3,158 | OOPS! CRYBABY HAMILTON STARS Who Lectured Pence Haven’t Voted In Years [VIDEO] | There are no records available for this year, so it s unclear if the cast members voted in 2016, but years prior show many were absent on Election Day.The Broadway smash hit players caused a controversy after Brandon Dixon, who plays Aaron Burr, read the message to Pence, who arrived on Friday to taken in the show with his family.Here is Dixon s disrespectful rant at Vice-President elect Mike Pence:Audience members booed Pence as he entered the theater and after the cast s curtain call, the statement was read.Dixon s message was written by show creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, director, Thomas Kail and lead producer, Jeffrey Seller, according to the New York Times. We, sir, we are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us, our planet, our children, our parents, or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights. We truly hope that this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and to work on behalf of all of us, Dixon said, reading the message aloud.But cast members were able to give input. RadarOnline investigated whether or not the actors had voted and revealed many leads hadn t in years.Dixon s records show he didn t vote during president Obama s reelection bid in 2012.Javier Munoz, playing the titular role of Hamilton, registered to vote in 2006 and voted in the mid-term elections, but hasn t been on record as voting since.Seth Stewart, who plays Thomas Jefferson, voted in 2008 when Obama ran for the first time. He did not vote in 2012.Okieriete Oak Onaodowan, who players James Madison and Hercules Mulligan, registered to vote in 2005 but hasn t been on record voting since.Since the clash with the Hamilton cast, Pence told Fox News he wasn t offended by the message and said the booing is what freedom sounds like . Daily Mail | 0 |
3,159 | Trump gets one presidential intelligence briefing a week: sources | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Donald Trump is receiving an average of one presidential intelligence briefing a week, according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter, far fewer than most of his recent predecessors. Although they are not required to, presidents-elect have in the past generally welcomed the opportunity to receive the President’s Daily Brief (PDB), the most highly classified and closely held document in the government, on a regular basis. It was not immediately clear why Trump has decided not to receive the intelligence briefings available to President Barack Obama more frequently, or whether that has made any difference in his presidential preparations. An official on the transition team said on Thursday that Trump has been receiving national security briefings, including “routine” PDBs and other special briefings, but declined to specify their content or frequency, saying these matters were classified. Trump has asked for at least one briefing, and possibly more, from intelligence agencies on specific subjects, one of the officials said. The source declined to identify what subjects interested the president-elect, but said that so far they have not included Russia or Iran. Indiana Governor Mike Pence, Trump’s vice president-elect, has been receiving his own PDB at least six days a week, the sources familiar with the matter said. Former Central Intelligence Agency briefer David Priess, the author of a book about PDBs, said that traditionally, Trump and Pence’s predecessors sat for “daily or near-daily intelligence briefings” between their elections and their inaugurations. He said Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan did not start receiving their daily briefings until later in November, while the delayed election result in 2000 meant that George W. Bush did not start receiving his until December. The briefings are not compulsory. Priess said that after his first election, Richard Nixon spurned face-to-face briefings, so paper PDBs were delivered to his office, only for a “stack” of them to be later returned to the CIA, unopened. Trump’s casual attitude to the briefings attracted criticism from Representative Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee. “It is deeply disturbing that the president-elect has time for rallies but not for regular intelligence briefings,” Schiff said. During the run-up to the Nov. 8 presidential election, Trump and a handful of advisers received at least two briefings from intelligence officials about broad national security issues. However, the pre-election briefings did not include the kind of secrets that are included in the PDBs that Obama, Trump and Pence now have access to. Such secrets include information about U.S. espionage sources and covert operations overseas. PDBs are presented to presidents and their closest aides by representatives of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), though material in them is prepared by the CIA, the National Security Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency and other parts of the U.S. intelligence community, the officials said. During and after the election campaign, Trump raised questions about the intelligence on hacking of U.S. political institutions. In a statement on Oct. 7, ODNI and the Department of Homeland Security expressed confidence that the Russian government had “directed” hacking into “emails from U.S. persons and institutions” that was “intended to interfere with the U.S. election process.” Trump, however, has repeatedly dismissed suggestions that Russia was behind the efforts, telling Time magazine earlier this week: “I don’t believe they interfered ... It could be Russia. It could be China. And it could be some guy in his home in New Jersey.” (Corrects to say Iran, not France, in fifth paragraph) | 1 |
3,160 | Trump Admits ‘2017 Will Be The Worst Year Yet,’ Then Blames Obama | While Donald Trump was campaigning, he slammed what he called political correctness in America s culture. As usual, the amateur president took to his Twitter account this morning to unleash more nonsensical messages, likely just a distraction from his mounting scandals. It is amazing how rude much of the media is to my very hard working representatives. Be nice, you will do much better!, he tweeted.It is amazing how rude much of the media is to my very hard working representatives. Be nice, you will do much better! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 13, 2017In the following tweet, Trump wrote, ObamaCare is imploding. It is a disaster and 2017 will be the worst year yet, by far! Republicans will come together and save the day. ObamaCare is imploding. It is a disaster and 2017 will be the worst year yet, by far! Republicans will come together and save the day. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 13, 2017First off, Obamacare is not imploding and Trumpcare will largely affect Trump supporters. Trump s tweets went down as well as can be expected on the social media site.@realDonaldTrump you're making it implode, and then blaming Obama. Ben Wikler (@benwikler) March 13, 2017Fixed!.@realDonaldTrump fixed. pic.twitter.com/XTSktQag5x Travon Free (@Travon) March 13, 2017@realDonaldTrump will TrumpCare be as stupid as your dumbass description of it: pic.twitter.com/8u3ZBcFkNS Rod Blackhurst (@rodblackhurst) March 13, 2017@realDonaldTrump Your presidency is imploding if you think you can take health care away from millions and not pay a price you're nuts ? (@jaytay777) March 13, 2017@realDonaldTrump "save the day" lol Erick Fernandez (@ErickFernandez) March 13, 2017@realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/rtSJC0SgiJ nasty mouse ???? (@ajabs4258) March 13, 2017@realDonaldTrump TrumpCare pic.twitter.com/D5ZAReqwrD Blobert ? (@blobert) March 13, 2017.@realDonaldTrump fixed pic.twitter.com/B2fvg6To9K Sam Weiner (@sam_weiner) March 13, 2017@realDonaldTrump You're a liar. It is not imploding. It could be made better if you gave a shit about the USA. Stop trying to tarnish Obama! Robert Thomson (@50MaDeuce) March 13, 2017Trump telling the media to be nice is like Guy Fieri giving cooking advice.@oppstn Jordan Uhl (@JordanUhl) March 13, 2017Trump launched a war on the media and now wants them to be nice and not rude. That s rich coming from a guy whose vile attacks are well documented. Trump calls outlets critical of his alleged presidency fake news while he reads Infowars and Breitbart. Republicans have had 7 years to come up with a viable replacement for Obamacare and they presented the public with a godawful plan which will leave millions of Americans without coverage.Trump repeatedly vowed to repeal Obamacare and replace it with a Republican alternative that would provide insurance for everybody at a lower price but that s not what s happening. It does give a healthy tax break to the wealthy, though. It s a great plan if you re rich, but if you re of low-income status and/or older, you re fucked.Each crazy-time tweet of Trump s is well calculated. It s a distraction from his many scandals. Let s see now: Russia, conflicts of interest, lack of transparency and profiting greatly from the presidency.Meanwhile, the Intelligence panel wants Trump to provide evidence of his claims that former President Barack Obama had his phones wiretapped before the election. They want that today. Tick tock, Mr. Trump. And by the way, Infowars is not evidence. Photo by David Becker/Getty Images. | 0 |
3,161 | Turkish capital bans LGBT cinema, exhibitions | ISTANBUL (Reuters) - The Turkish capital Ankara has banned the public showing of films and exhibitions related to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues, the governor s office said on Sunday, citing risks to public safety. The move is likely to deepen concern among rights activists and Turkey s Western allies about its record on civil liberties under President Tayyip Erdogan s Islamist-rooted AK Party. Starting from Nov. 18, 2017, concerning our community s public sensitivity, any events such as LGBT... cinema, theater, panels, interviews, exhibitions are banned until further notice in our province to provide peace and security, the governor s office said in a statement. It said that such exhibitions could cause different groups in society to publicly harbor hatred and hostility toward each other and therefore pose a risk to public safety. Authorities in Ankara had already banned a German gay film festival on Wednesday, the day before it was due to start, citing public safety and terrorism risks. In addition, gay pride parades have been banned in Istanbul for the last two years running. Unlike in many Muslim countries, homosexuality is not a crime in Turkey, but there is widespread hostility to it. Civil liberties in Turkey have become a particular concern for the West following the attempted military coup in July 2016. Since then, more than 50,000 people have been jailed pending trial on suspicion of links to the coup. Some 150,000 people have been sacked or suspended from their jobs. Human rights groups and Turkey s Western allies fear Erdogan is using the coup as a pretext to quash his opponents. Ankara says the measures are necessary, given the extent of the security threat it faces. | 1 |
3,162 | Health secretary says healthcare bill is 'work in progress' | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price said on Tuesday that President Donald Trump supports the Republican bill to replace Obamacare. “The president and the administration support this step in what we believe is in the right direction,” Price told reporters at a White House briefing. Asked whether the administration supported everything in the bill, he said: “This is a work in progress and we’ll work with the House and Senate in this process.” | 1 |
3,163 | The Plans For The Republican Convention Just Suffered An Embarrassing Blow (VIDEO) | The plans for the Republican convention have suffered an embarrassing snag, because the country s leading and most renowned performers are refusing to play at the event. In short, the GOP is being boycotted by America s finest entertainers and performers.The GOP planned a concert on July 17 to kick off their convention, but performers are simply refusing to play ball. Seemingly after a number of rejections, the party got desperate and tried to trick performers into playing by selling the gig as a benefit for veterans. They managed to convince Eagles singer/songwriter Joe Walsh to play under this ruse. But when Walsh rumbled their plans, he immediately pulled out and issued a furious statement: It was my understanding that I was playing a concert which was a non partisan event to benefit the families of American veterans on Monday, July 17 in Cleveland. The admat I approved said this specifically. Today it was announced that this event is, in fact, a launch for the Republican National Convention. In addition, my name is to be used to raise sponsorship dollars for convention-related purposes. Therefore, I must humbly withdraw my participation in this event with apologies to any fans or veterans and their families that I might disappoint.I am very concerned about the rampant vitriol, fear-mongering and bullying coming from the current Republican campaigns. It is both isolationist and spiteful. I cannot in good conscience endorse the Republican party in any way. I will look at doing a veteran related benefit concert later this year. And Joe Walsh wasn t alone. Powerpop legends Cheap Trick told the Guardian they were also offered a staggering amount of cash by the GOP to play the convention, but also turned it down as a matter of principle. They explained: The Republican National Committee called our office and offered us $100,000 to play at their convention in Cleveland [this summer]. We turned it down. Then we had second thoughts. Maybe we should have accepted it but we would all have got swastika guitars made. At this rate the GOP convention will be rocking it out to Ted Nugent, followed by a Chuck Norris marital arts display. The party is now so toxic, even formerly open conservative performers won t taint themselves by association.Featured image via Flickr Creative Commons | 0 |
3,164 | U.S. Congress tangles with Facebook, other social media firms over Russia probe | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Despite public promises of cooperation from Facebook and other social media companies, congressional investigators are battling over how much data the companies should hand over to them on Russian efforts to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Congressional sources said this week that Facebook Inc (FB.O) has been slow to cooperate. The company and others have said they are turning over information, but also that they are legally obligated to protect their users’ privacy. On visits to Capitol Hill on Wednesday and Thursday, Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s chief operating officer, met with leaders of the House Intelligence Committee and said the company wanted to help investigators and would turn over more information. “Things happened on our platform that shouldn’t have happened” in the lead-up to the election, Sandberg told the Axios website on Thursday. So far, however, the congressional sources said investigators have found it hard to extract all the relevant information from Silicon Valley about alleged Russian activity. But the committees have so far seen no need to issue subpoenas for the data, the sources added. Facebook and other major internet companies including Alphabet Inc’s Google (GOOGL.O) and Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) have faced a stream of recent revelations about how Moscow sought to use their platforms to sow discord in the United States and influence the election in favor of the Republican White House candidate, Donald Trump. Facebook disclosed last month that it had found some 3,000 politically divisive advertisements believed to have been bought by Russia before and after the presidential campaign. The company has now shared with congressional investigators the ads, information on how they were paid for, and how they were targeted, a Facebook spokesman said. Sandberg told congressional investigators on Thursday that in addition to the ads, the company would provide the rest of the information from accounts linked to Russia, the spokesman said. The sources said investigators were also pressing Twitter, Google and other companies for similar data, and urging Twitter to conduct a more comprehensive search of its data banks. “We have a set of strict ads policies including limits on political ad targeting and prohibitions on targeting based on race and religion,” a Google spokeswoman said, asked about the issue. “We are taking a deeper look to investigate attempts to abuse our systems, working with researchers and other companies, and will provide assistance to ongoing inquiries.” A Twitter spokesperson did not respond to an email requesting comment. “Twitter has likely not released all potentially relevant data to congressional investigators in part because of their policy requiring a court order and their track record of defending user privacy by fighting such requests,” Adam Sharp, former head of news and government at Twitter, said in an interview. Twitter engineers are trying to regenerate some of the lost data, and may be able to retrieve some of it, said a person familiar with the company’s technology. The use of social media platforms was part of what U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded was a broader Russian effort to meddle in the election campaign, an allegation the Kremlin has denied. Several congressional committees, as well as special counsel Robert Mueller, are investigating Russian interference, including any potential collusion between Trump associates and Moscow. Trump has denied any such collusion. In September, Facebook disclosed that it had evidence that an operation based in Russia had spent $100,000 on thousands of sponsored posts promoting divisive social and political messages in a two-year period through May 2017. Facebook said it believed the messages were likely bought by people in Russia before and after the 2016 election. Sources familiar with Facebook’s contacts with Congress said that as recently as July this year, company officials were denying the existence of any paid Russian messaging, and only later acknowledged that the company had found $100,000 in sponsored traffic linked to 478 Facebook accounts. The sources said investigators think the paid messaging was generated by a group called the Internet Research Agency in St. Petersburg. U.S. officials have called it a “troll factory” that creates false identities or copies real ones to spread real, skewed, and fake information for the Kremlin. Congressional sources said some of the Facebook messaging went to groups with seemingly legitimate names such as Heart of Texas, Defend the Second, and United Muslims of America, which they said all had as many as 250,000 followers. These groups now appear to have been bogus, or set up to look like legitimate political organizations, and investigators want to learn more about the groups, their followers, and their origins, the sources said. They said Facebook lawyers have argued that turning over additional data could compromise its promise of privacy to its users. However, congressional investigators say that if Russian messengers used fake identities, they would have no legal claims to privacy. | 1 |
3,165 | Iran says Trump should stay committed to the nuclear deal: Tasnim news | BEIRUT (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump should stay committed to the international nuclear deal with Iran, Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency on Wednesday. “The United States should fulfill its commitments in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (the nuclear deal) as a multilateral international agreement,” Zarif was quoted as saying while on a visit to Romania. | 1 |
3,166 | JUST IN: NYC TERRORIST Allegedly Entered U.S. On NY Democrat Senator Chuck Schumer’s ‘DIVERSITY VISA” Program | Mark Levin dropped a bombshell on his show tonight about the Muslim terrorist who killed 9 people in Manhattan and injured dozens. The Diversity VISA program was given the green light by none other than New York Democrat Senator Chuck Schumer... Mark Levin; NYC muslim terrorist came to US under Diversity VISA Program a bizarre lottery to shove more foreigners down our throats Deplorable MD (@MDDeplorable) October 31, 2017According to ABC 7:Authorities say he came to the United States seven years ago from Uzbekistan under what is called the Diversity Visa Program, which offers a lottery for people from countries with few immigrants in America.DIVERSITY LOTTERYOn May 1, 2017, the Washington Post wrote an article designed to criticize President Trump, as millions were concerned that this could be the last year of the Diversity Lottery .According to the Washington Post, the lottery s premise is simple. Each year, the Diversity Visa Lottery, as it is officially known, provides up to 50,000 randomly selected foreigners fewer than 1 percent of those who enter the drawing with permanent residency in the United States.It s not connected to employment or family members in the United States. The only requirement is that entrants be adults with a high school diploma or two years of work experience. Winners can bring spouses and children. Citizens of countries that have sent 50,000 people to the United States in the past five years such as Canada, China, India, Nigeria and Mexico are ineligible to participate.The current lottery coincides with an intense debate over immigration and comes amid policy changes that have made the country less welcoming to new arrivals. President Trump has cracked down on illegal immigration and pressed forward with plans to build a wall along the border with Mexico. He has issued executive orders targeting foreign workers, refugees and travelers from certain majority-Muslim countries.But he hasn t said a word about the green-card lottery.Its days may be numbered, nonetheless. The lottery appears to conflict with the president s call for a merit-based immigration system. And at least two bills in the Republican-controlled Congress seek to eliminate the program. The Diversity Lottery is plagued with fraud, advances no economic or humanitarian interest, and does not even deliver the diversity of its namesake, according to a news release from Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), a co-sponsor of one of the bills.The program operated from a consular center in Williamsburg, Ky. has been on the chopping block before. It came under attack in 2002 after an Egyptian terrorist who killed two people in Los Angeles was found to be in the United States through his wife s diversity visa. Mohamed Atta, another Egyptian and one of the 9/11 suicide pilots, had entered the lottery twice before entering the United States on a different visa to study aviation. If you re a terrorist organization and you can get a few hundred people to apply to this from several countries . . . odds are you d get one or two of them picked, Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) told The Washington Post in 2011 after introducing an ill-fated bill to kill the program.State Department officials insist that lottery winners are vetted just as thoroughly as other potential immigrants to the United States.Here s how the Diversity Immigrant VISA program works:Twitter responded to the idiocy of the diversity visa program:Muslim terrorist slaughters 8 in NYC today. Wait for it, wait for it here on a diversity visa. Thank you, libtards Wayne's World (@WayneSense) November 1, 2017 | 0 |
3,167 | Indonesians uncover syndicate spreading hate speech online: police | JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesian authorities have uncovered a group spreading hate speech and fake news online, one of many that they fear could undermine national unity. Indonesia has an ethnically diverse population of 250 million people, most of them Muslim but with significant minorities from other religions, and unity across the archipelago has been a priority of governments for generations. Three people were arrested this week on suspicion of being part of a syndicate being paid to spread incendiary material online through social media, police said. If this is allowed to continue, it isn t just about violating the law but also has the potential to damage the unity of this country, said presidential spokesman Johan Budi. Budi said it was up to investigators to determine the motive of those behind the campaign, adding police should investigate the issue right down to its roots . National police spokesman Awi Setiyono said the material involved religious and ethnic issues and posts defamatory to government officials. He declined to comment on the motive, saying investigators were still building their case and had yet to identify who was behind the syndicate, which calls itself Saracen, that has been spreading the material. The police cyber crime unit said dozens of Facebook and other social media accounts were being sued to spread the material to an estimated 800,000 social media accounts. Setiyono said investigators had uncovered money transfers of up to $5,000 to pay those spreading the material. Religious and ethnic tensions flared in the capital, Jakarta, this year when city elections pitted an ethnic Chinese Christian governor, who was accused on insulting Islam, against a Muslim candidate. Authorities have scrambled to remove hate speech from social media and online forums in an attempt to defuse tension but a growing amount of content encouraging religious intolerance or radicalism is being shared. Search giant Google said this month it was working with authorities to tackle content deemed to be offensive. | 1 |
3,168 | Trump’s Son-In-Law OBLITERATED By His Jewish Family After Defending Trump’s Anti-Semitic Tweet | Jared Kushner, who is Ivanka Trump s husband and therefore King Donnie s son-in-law, played the good son-in-law by stepping up and boldly defending His Royal Anti-Semite s anti-Semitic tweet against Hillary, just like everyone else who thinks the whole brouhaha is just political correctness run amok. The problem is, he did so by invoking his Jewish grandparents history in the Holocaust, and now his family is rightfully livid at him for it.Because really, he s going to defend an anti-Semitic image by saying his grandparents are Holocaust survivors so he knows better than the evil media what is and isn t anti-Semitic? Where has he been living that he thinks this is okay? In a bubble that s under a rock, which is deep in a cave in the middle of the Himalayas?Marc Kushner, Jared s first cousin, responded to this brown-nosing butt-fuckery with a link to Jared s op-ed, and this simple statement at the top: I have a different take-away from my Grandparents experience in the war. It is our responsibility as the next generation to speak up against hate. Anti-semitism or otherwise. It was Jacob Schulder, another cousin, though, that really let loose on both Jared and the Anti-Semite-in-Chief with a comment that appears to have since been deleted, but that Politico still has: When an out of touch with reality nominee hires an out of touch with reality campaign manager, who is also a son -in- law, you get the BS Jared wrote. I don t think Trump is an anti Semite; I think he s a lying idiot (among other things) with little to no experiences outside his teetering fiefdom of failed development projects, divorces, bankrupted sports leagues, fraudulent Universities and golf courses (and the list keeps going). The very first thing a responsible campaign manager should do, I d think, and I mean the very first thing, would be to take away his father- in -law s Twitter account. Even Joseph Kushner would ve had the street smarts to figure that one out while living on boiled potatoes in the forest. Schulder went on to explain exactly how the rest of us know that this was no accident, and King Dunce isn t the least bit sorry, so it ll probably happen again: That my grandparents have been dragged into this is a shame. Thank you Jared for using something sacred and special to the descendants of Joe and Rae Kushner to validate the sloppy manner in which you ve handled this campaign. From the references to Palestine at the AIPAC conference (which got Donald jeered) to the justification of the itchy Twitter fingers your father in law has, you ve managed to further prove what so many of us have known for many years. Kudos to you for having gone this far no one expected this. But for the sake of the family name, which may have no meaning to you but still has meaning to others, please don t invoke our grandparents in vain just so you can sleep better at night. It is self serving and disgusting. So what did he say that was so offensive? In an op-ed posted to Observer.com on Wednesday, Kushner said: [T]he worst that his detractors can fairly say about him is that he has been careless in retweeting imagery that can be interpreted as offensive. He then launched into a narrative of his grandparents history of trying to escape the Nazis in Russia, and some of the horrors they endured while doing so. His grandmother did escape and joined a resistance cell, where she met his grandfather, who had been living in a literal hole in the ground for three years, trying to remain hidden from the Nazis. Then he said: I go into these details, which I have never discussed, because it s important to me that people understand where I m coming from when I report that I know the difference between actual, dangerous intolerance versus these labels that get tossed around in an effort to score political points. Where he s coming from? Oh, that s right, he s coming from His Royal Racism s rear end in the same manner as diarrhea. The thing is, using the Star of David in the manner of that tweet, along with the fact that it originally came from neo-Nazis, is intentionally anti-Semitic. This was no accident of ignorance in any way, shape or form, and someone with family that survived the Holocaust should know a lot better than this.But Kushner has drunk the Kool-Aid mixed by King Dunce himself, and is brainwashed into believing that the Serial-Racist-Tweeter-in-Chief can t possibly be that hateful and bigoted. With that explanation out of the way, the only one left is that the tweet was not anti-Semitic, and Trump is just a little careless.Please.Of course, a source close to Kushner says that he hasn t even spoken to these people in ten years, so they don t matter. That s a bunch of bull cookies right there. Kushner may not have spoken to them in ten years, but he invoked his history, which is their history too, in a public forum. Therefore, it matters. End of.The entire campaign is rife with broad racism, which includes anti-Semitism. Trump has a bad habit of retweeting white supremacists, including neo-Nazi groups. Kushner shouldn t be telling anybody that the anti-Semitic tweet was a mere mistake, especially not if he s going to insult his own family, and their Jewish history, in doing so.Featured image by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for FINCA | 0 |
3,169 | Marco Rubio Just Had The Most Hilarious Reaction To Trump Touching Him (VIDEO) | No one likes to be touched by Donald Trump not even his own fellow Republicans.On Thursday, the full extent of Trump s repulsiveness was on display when he spoke with Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who was also one of his competitors in the 2016 primaries.Trump was visiting Florida on a tour of the damage left by Hurricane Irma, when he took a moment to commend Rubio, who clearly wasn t having it. Perhaps he remembered how disgusting Trump s behavior was while he was running against him in the primaries, so the look on Rubio s face said it all. When Trump approached and touched his shoulder, Rubio couldn t hold back a grimace and nearly shuddered on camera. You can watch this horrible, cringe-worthy moment below:Watch: While standing next to Marco Rubio, Trump says he hopes Rick Scott runs for Senate https://t.co/9cThL4c0S9 NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) September 14, 2017Trump was encouraging Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) to run for the Senate seat that is now being occupied by Democratic Senator Bill Nelson. Trump said to the cameras: What do I know? But I hope this man right here, Rick Scott, runs for the Senate. It s unclear if Rubio was wincing because he isn t happy with Trump s choice after all, Scott previously suggested that his millionaire buddy Carlos Beruff should take Rubio s seat or because he really doesn t like Trump touching him.Rubio would be far from the only person who doesn t want Trump getting that close to him. Recently, reporter Katy Tur detailed a truly disturbing encounter she had with Trump, which resulted in the POTUS planting an unwanted kiss on her cheek. It has also been widely documented that First Lady Melania Trump winces or looks extremely uncomfortable whenever Trump touches her. It s clear that there s definitely something wrong with Trump s transfer of affection, and it seems to make everyone feel dirty.Featured image via Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images | 0 |
3,170 | U.S. and Iran argue over inspections at nuclear watchdog meeting | VIENNA (Reuters) - The United States and Iran quarreled over how Tehran s nuclear activities should be policed at a meeting of the U.N. nuclear watchdog on Monday, in a row sparked last month by Washington s call for wider inspections. Key U.S. allies are worried by the possibility of Washington pulling out of a 2015 landmark nuclear deal under which Iran agreed to curb its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions against it being lifted. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley last month called for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to inspect a wider range of sites in Iran, including military ones, to verify it is not breaching its nuclear deal with world powers. Her remarks were rejected by a furious Tehran. We will not accept a weakly enforced or inadequately monitored deal, U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry told the IAEA General Conference, an annual meeting of the agency s member states that began on Monday. He did not say whether he thought the deal was currently weakly enforced. The United States ... strongly encourages the IAEA to exercise its full authorities to verify Iran s adherence to each and every nuclear-related commitment under the JCPOA, Perry added, referring to the deal by its official name the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Perry was speaking shortly after the General Conference formally approved the appointment of Yukiya Amano, a 70-year-old career diplomat from Japan, to a third term as IAEA director general. U.S. President Donald Trump has called the accord the worst deal ever negotiated and has until mid-October to make a decision that could lead to Washington reimposing sanctions on Iran. Iran s nuclear chief, Ali Akbar Salehi, told the meeting in Vienna that Washington had made a host of unjustifiable peculiar demands with regard to the verification of our strictly peaceful nuclear program . We remain confident that the (IAEA) will resist such unacceptable demands and continue to execute the agency s ... role with strict objectivity, fairness and impartiality, he said. Salehi also criticized what he called the American administration s overtly hostile attitude The IAEA has the authority to request access to facilities in Iran, including military ones, if there are new and credible indications of banned nuclear activities there, but diplomats say Washington has yet to provide such indications. Amano often describes his agency s work as technical rather than political and has declined to comment on Haley s remarks about inspections. In a speech on Monday, however, he defended the deal as an important step forward. The nuclear-related commitments undertaken by Iran under the JCPOA are being implemented, Amano said. Iran is now subject to the world s most robust nuclear verification regime. | 1 |
3,171 | Trump Can’t Even Spell Sarah Palin’s Name Correctly On His Website (IMAGE) | Things just keep going from bad to worse in regards to everything coming out of the Donald Trump campaign. If he s not being a racist blowhard or blaming the media for himself being a douchebag, then he s throwing insults around like a schoolyard bully who doesn t have any friends.Now, on top of the many, MANY misspelled tweets coming from the Trump campaign, misspellings so bad even the Merriam-Webster dictionary felt compelled to call him out on them, he now can t even spell the name of one of his key endorsements properly on his website.As we all know by now, Donald Trump embraced Sarah Palin s bombastic personality full-on. Likely because the pair goes together like peas and carrots. Neither have the experience to run for any sort of public office, but both feel just because they are loud and inappropriate that should be enough to get bigots to the polls to vote. However, as much as Trump seems to love having Palin s endorsement, he and his staff couldn t take the time to spell her name correctly:via donaldjtrump.com As we all know, Palin spells her name Sarah not Sara and you d think if Trump respected Palin as much as he says he does, he would ve at least taken the time to spell her name properly.Is this a big deal? No, but considering this just continues to fit the pattern of Trump s inability to spell, it makes you wonder if he s even capable of tying his own shoes, let alone run the nation.Featured image: YouTube | 0 |
3,172 | WATCH: Hannity Loses His Sh*t And Refers To Hillary As ‘President Clinton’ During UNHINGED Rant | Sean Hannity threw a massive temper tantrum on Monday night in defense of Donald Trump.The Fox News host went off on a seriously delusional rant about Hillary Clinton, even referring to her as President Clinton on two occasions.Hannity whined about the indictments against Paul Manafort and Rick Gates, and just like Donald Trump, attempted to shift the focus from Trump s Russia collusion to Hillary Clinton. This is beyond insanity and it s inexcusable, Hannity whined. Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, the Obama Administration allowed your national security to be compromised in what is an unprecedented way and few in the media will touch this story. Major crimes were committed. They knew about it. They did nothing before the deal. Hannity is referring to the Uranium One deal the Obama Administration made with Russia back in 2010. Trump himself has been bellowing about it for quite some time now in a desperate effort to distract from his very real crimes.Basically, the deal gave a Russian company no more than a 51 percent stake in a Canadian-based mining company and ownership of 20 percent of the currently licensed uranium in-situ recovery production capacity in the U.S. This deal does not harm our national security as Hannity claims, nor did Hillary Clinton personally approve of the deal. Factcheck.org recently gave a run-down of the deal and thoroughly debunked Trump and Hannity s claims. As we ve written before, there is no evidence that donations to the Clinton Foundation from people with ties to Uranium One or Bill Clinton s speaking fee influenced Hillary Clinton s official actions, FactCheck.org wrote. That s still the case. In fact, not only did such a deal require approval from several federal agencies and committees, only 11 percent of overall U.S. production of uranium comes from Uranium One. And that uranium is sold to operators of commercial nuclear reactors. Basically, the uranium is being sold to us as it would have if Uranium One was not held by a Russian company. This deal was under a lot of scrutiny before it went through, and was even publicly announced. But Hannity did not utter one word about it when it happened.Of course, Hannity is still insisting that the evidence is on Trump s side despite the fact that there is a lot of evidence proving that he and Trump are full of shit and that Trump committed treason to steal an election. We are at a major crisis point in America tonight. Do we have equal justice under the law in this country today? If you or I or anybody in this room with me now or watching TV with you, if we ever did anything close to what the Clintons, the DNC, and others did, we would be rotting in a jail cell tonight hoping our friends would send us a cake that had a file. The only difference between Trump/Russia collusion is that we have the evidence, and after a year of black helicopter conspiracy theories, they have none. And just like we have the evidence, when it comes to Clinton and her email server scandal, why hasn t she been charged? Here s the video via YouTube.Hillary Clinton has not been charged because she didn t commit any crimes and there is ZERO evidence that she did. Trump, on the other hand, is about to go down for collusion.Clearly, nobody gives Trump a blowjob like Sean Hannity. And frankly, he and Fox News should be sued for slander.Featured Image: Screenshot | 0 |
3,173 | BLACK LIVES MATTER TERRORISTS Take To Social Media: ANGRY Over Attention Given to FRANCE TERROR VICTIMS | There are no words for these selfish sub-humans Here are a couple of profiles from Twitter of the people tweeting about BLM being ignored because of Nice terror tragedy. They have both made their Twitter accounts private:We found this sweet self-described Georgia Peach listed as a Fashion Contributor at company called xoNecole.com Feel free to send a message to her boss on their Facebook page. Click HERE for link.Here s another pathetic Twitter user: @_nehoda_ who whined about the attention victims of the Nice terror attack were taking from the BLM movement. She s lists herself as living in London, but calls Egypt the motherland ?? Hmmm How does a Muslim woman living in London get hooked up with BLM terrorists in US?And then there s the other Muslim living in London who s a bit more brash with his tweets: Don't #PrayForNice we are fighting a civil war against whites. #BLM Andre Johnson (@LarryKingfisher) July 15, 2016Here are a few replies to Omar s tweet:Here are a few of this Muslim punk s remarks threatening a caliphate and boasting about how the Muslims have already won the war against the West:Here s real bright guy who s got nothing better to do than take to Twitter complaining about the plight of black people on the day after a major terror attack that killed over 80 people. Never mind that people just lost their husbands, wives, children, kids, friends, relatives or co-workers.Some white people die in Europe and now the media can ignore the plight of black people being exterminated #blacklivesmatter #NiceAttack Bob Schmidt (@bobschmidt857) July 15, 2016We tryna rise up for equality n somehow a 'muslim' attacks people? #BlackLivesMatter #FakeShit #NiceAttack Daye Hazit (@YurBoyDW) July 15, 2016The real tragedy about the #NiceAttack is that it takes the spotlight away from #BlackLivesMatter TheAltRightProfessor (@NationalistProf) July 14, 2016And finally this guy nails it:Nice job with PR #BlackLivesMatter Nothing makes people want to support you like whining about "getting the limelight stolen" by #NiceAttack Pink Snow kitty (@HugoThePinkCat) July 15, 2016 | 0 |
3,174 | Syrian govt delegation to return to Geneva on Sunday for peace talks: SANA | BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad s negotiating team is set to arrive in Geneva on Sunday to participate in peace talks, Syria s state news agency SANA reported on Thursday, quoting a foreign ministry source. The delegation, led by Bashar al-Ja afari, walked out last week and returned to Damascus. Negotiations resumed on Wednesday without the Syrian government delegation. The talks began last week and after a few days with little apparent progress, the U.N. mediator Staffan de Mistura said that the government delegation was returning to Damascus to consult and refresh . The government delegation blamed its departure on the opposition s uncompromising stance on Assad s future. Last month, the opposition drew up a statement in a meeting in Riyadh that rejected any future role for Assad in Syria. During last week s sessions, de Mistura shuttled between the representatives of the two warring sides, who did not meet face-to-face. He had planned to continue the round until Dec. 15. The opposition negotiating team arrived at the U.N. offices in Geneva on Wednesday morning to resume talks with de Mistura. France accused the Syrian government on Wednesday of obstructing the peace talks with its refusal to return to Geneva and called on Russia not to shrink its responsibilities to get Damascus to the negotiating table. | 1 |
3,175 | GUESS WHO WE SPOTTED IN THE VIP SECTION AT A CLINTON RALLY? Hillary’s Campaign Couldn’t Get Any Creepier | You won t believe who was spotted in the special section behind Hillary Clinton at her rally yesterday in Kissimmee, Florida? The section behind a candidate is typically reserved so the campaign knew he was going to be there. Remember that after the Orlando attack this man was awful and blamed the attack on guns. He is a local politician and a total creep.What s up with these Democrats?It s Seddique Mateen, father of Orlando terrorist Omar Mateen:Mateen refused to speak to local reporters at the rally but they caught up with him at a rest stop on the road:Via: WPTV We ve been cooperating with the federal government, and that s about it, he said. Thank you. Mateen didn t want to answer any other questions, but just hours later, we ran into him by chance at a rest stop on the way back to West Palm Beach. He wanted to do an interview and show us a sign he made for Clinton. Hillary Clinton is good for United States versus Donald Trump, who has no solutions, he said.He had a sign with him Note the bullet point that reads GOOD FOR NATIONAL SECURITY . | 0 |
3,176 | At least 93 dead in Mexico after quake :officials | MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - At least 93 people were killed when a powerful earthquake struck central Mexico on Tuesday, officials said. The state of Morelos, just south of Mexico City, saw the highest death toll, with officials reporting 54 deaths. The state of Puebla, where the epicenter of the quake struck, saw at least 26 deaths, the governor said. At least four people were killed in the capital, while nine people were left dead in the neighboring state of Mexico, officials said. | 1 |
3,177 | Russian hopes of thaw with Trump dented after his top security adviser quits | MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia’s parliament applauded on learning that Donald Trump had won the U.S. election. But prospects for better relations with Washington have suffered setbacks since then and the resignation of Trump’s national security adviser is the biggest blow yet. The Kremlin still believes a rapprochement is feasible, even if it might take longer than initially thought. But the clock is ticking: Vladimir Putin is expected to run for another presidential term next year, and an easing in Western sanctions could speed Russia’s recovery from a recession and safeguard his national popularity. For now, Russia plans to keep working with the Trump administration towards a rapprochement, looking to improve the atmosphere. With relations having sunk to a post-Cold War nadir under Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama as a result of Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Crimea, they could hardly get worse. A first meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, expected in Germany later this week, will give the Kremlin a chance to grasp what Washington is now thinking and where this may lead. The resignation of national security adviser Michael Flynn, who was seen in Moscow as a leading advocate of warmer ties with Russia, has underscored for the Kremlin the difficulties of reaching a settlement with Washington and drove home the urgent need to find new areas of common interest. Flynn, who shared dinner with Putin in 2015 and favoured Washington uniting with Russia against Islamic State militants, quit on Monday after revelations he had improperly discussed the issue of U.S. sanctions on Russia with the Russian ambassador to Washington before Trump took office. A U.S. official said Flynn indicated to the envoy that the sanctions “would not necessarily carry over to an administration seeking to improve relations between the U.S. and Russia”. “Flynn, unlike many other high-ranking Americans, was at least open to dialogue,” said Konstantin Kosachev, head of the upper house of parliament’s foreign affairs committee. “Either Trump has not gained the requisite independence and is being gradually (and not unsuccessfully) backed into a corner, or Russophobia has already infected the new administration.” Other Russian politicians suggested Flynn had been forced to resign to harm relations with Moscow. But the Kremlin, anxious not to feed fears of Russian media manipulation to influence U.S. politics, said only that it was an internal U.S. matter. Trump came to power talking of wanting cooperative U.S.-Russian relations, for example to take joint action against Islamic State militants. So far, there’s been scant improvement. Trump spoke by phone to Putin on Jan. 28, but Reuters learnt that the call had not gone smoothly: Trump used it to denounce a treaty that caps U.S. and Russian deployment of nuclear warheads as a bad deal for the United States. The Kremlin is also struggling to set up a meeting. Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesman, said on Tuesday he could not say when or where the Russian leader would meet Trump and that it was “premature” to even talk about what direction U.S.-Russian relations might take. A series of U.S. Senate confirmation hearings for Trump’s cabinet nominees did not go the Kremlin’s way either, with the incoming defense secretary and secretary of state both raising concerns about the dangers of Russia as an unpredictable military player. Russian officials are frustrated too that Trump has not yet filled key senior staff positions at the State Department, leaving Russian diplomats feeling they have nobody to work with. “To have cooperation, you need someone to promote it from the other end,” Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, testily told a news briefing last week. Moscow seems to have been taken aback by the strength of Congressional opposition to Trump overseeing a rapprochement with Russia, a factor that would make it hard for him to ease sanctions even if he wanted to. In a further reverse for the Kremlin, senior U.S. senators have introduced legislation that would give Congress the right to review any move to relax sanctions on Russia. Sergei Kislyak, Russia’s ambassador to the United States, told state television last week Moscow was aware of how difficult the domestic U.S. scene was becoming for Russia. “Does the lack of political consensus inside the U.S. create problems for our bilateral relations?” Kislyak asked rhetorically. “That is an objective reality.” There were muted expectations in Moscow that Trump might move fast to reverse Obama’s expulsion in December of 35 suspected Russian spies over allegations of Russian-backed cyber attacks on U.S. election campaign groups to help Trump win. Obama shut down two Russian compounds at the same time that he said were used by Russian personnel for “intelligence-related purposes”. Back then, Trump praised Putin for refraining from retaliation, calling him “very smart”. But Trump has given no indication since that he will roll back any of the measures. One of the biggest setbacks for Moscow followed a flare-up in fighting in eastern Ukraine where government forces are facing off against pro-Russian separatist forces. Before the escalation in January, which both sides blame on each other, the Trump administration gave the impression it was open to looking at reviewing sanctions on Russia. Afterwards, Nikki Haley, the new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, blamed Russia for the fighting and said Ukraine-related sanctions would not be lifted until Moscow returned Crimea to Ukraine, something Russia says it will never do. Flynn’s resignation may hurt more, though. “Flynn was the main lobbyist for the ‘big deal with Putin’ project,” said Russian opposition activist Ilya Yashin. “There was nobody in Trump’s entourage who so persistently lobbied to cancel the sanctions as Flynn. Today is a black day for Kremlin diplomacy and for Putin personally.” | 1 |
3,178 | Hannity Defends Trump With Psychotic Threat To Morning Joe, This Could Ruin Him (TWEET) | One of Donald Trump s biggest fans, Fox News host Sean Hannity, has just tried to come to his rescue after the POTUS was condemned for his disgusting attack on Morning Joe hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski.On Saturday, as Trump himself was having a meltdown on Twitter, Hannity decided to join the chaos by defending Trump and his petty, nasty attacks on the Morning Joe hosts. In a disgusting attempt to kiss Trump s *ss, Hannity made an insane threat to the MSNBC news couple, hinting that he had some incriminating dirt on the Morning Joe hosts.No one really knows what the hell going there' actually means, but he s likely trying to channel Trump in his ominous threat and if he s really trying to emulate Trump, we can bet that he s bluffing.Hannity has a history of going after Scarborough, having previously claimed that Scarborough has many skeletons in his closet (& office). When Hannity had made those statements, he was referring to an incident in which a dead intern was found in Scarborough s district office during his time as a Congressman in 2001. While Scarborough had nothing to do with the intern s death, he resigned from his position due to the conspiracy theories surrounding the incident. Coincidentally, Trump also loves conspiracy theories.While we re not aware of what other nonsense Hannity might want to spread about Scarborough and Brzezinski, is certainly a shame that he s threatening the couple just because they re speaking out against Trump.Hannity s cryptic tweet proves that Fox News and its reporters will do anything to defend Trump, no matter how bad it makes them look. Just last month, Hannity said he would be willing to pay for therapy for the Morning Joe hosts because he felt they d become unhinged. Clearly, it s the other way around.Featured image is a screenshot | 0 |
3,179 | Two arrested after French counter-terrorism raid near Paris | VILLEJUIF, France (Reuters) - Two people were arrested after police found products that can be used to make explosives in a flat south of Paris on Wednesday, French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said. Some of the products found in the flat in Villejuif could be used to make the unstable explosive TATP, one source close to the investigation said. TATP has been used by militants in several attacks in western Europe in recent years, including Manchester in May, Brussels in 2016 and Paris in 2015. Gas bottles were also found in the flat, other sources said. The police raid followed a tip from a craftsman, Collomb said in a statement. One source said it was a locksmith who saw chemical products and tools when looking into the flat. The two people arrested were driving a small van that belongs to the flat s tenant, a police source said. France s counter-terrorism prosecutor is in charge of the investigation, a judicial source said. (This story has been refiled to correct typo in paragraph 2) | 1 |
3,180 | THE NERVE! #KathyGriffin Blames the Victim in Ridiculous Presser with Lawyer: “He broke me!” [VIDEO] | A ridiculous Kathy Griffin breaks down over the fall out from her controversial photo: I don t think I will have a career after this. I m going to be honest, he broke me. Nice job of blaming the victim! How dare this woman try and turn this around to blame the Trump family and President Trump. Please see the comment below the video that makes clear that Griffin stated she wanted to go after Barron Trump BEFORE this all happened! This woman is responsible for everything that s happened to her!In case you missed it: Kathy Griffin is now digging herself a deeper hole. She s hired a high profile attorney because she s now claiming to be the victim after she pulled a horrific stunt that shocked people on both sides of the aisle. The word is that Griffin is saying the Trump family bullied her! If you ever wondered how low victimhood can go this could be it. This woman did something that traumatized the Trump family but is now claiming SHE S THE VICTIM???Lisa Bloom s twitter feed is full of extreme left tweets and claims about Barron Trump that are outrageous! She s a total lefty who s in this for the same reason Griffin is flailing around like she was just bullied LIBERALISM REALLY IS A MENTAL DISORDER!Proud to announce that I represent Kathy Griffin. We will be holding a press conference tomorrow morning. Here s the details. pic.twitter.com/1FejPNGzoV Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) June 2, 2017Lisa Bloom is Gloria Alred s daughter! | 0 |
3,181 | Trump on Twitter (Dec 22) - Tax cut, Missile defense bill | The following statements were posted to the verified Twitter accounts of U.S. President Donald Trump, @realDonaldTrump and @POTUS. The opinions expressed are his own. Reuters has not edited the statements or confirmed their accuracy. @realDonaldTrump : - Our big and very popular Tax Cut and Reform Bill has taken on an unexpected new source of “love” - that is big companies and corporations showering their workers with bonuses. This is a phenomenon that nobody even thought of, and now it is the rage. Merry Christmas! [0747 EST] - At some point, and for the good of the country, I predict we will start working with the Democrats in a Bipartisan fashion. Infrastructure would be a perfect place to start. After having foolishly spent $7 trillion in the Middle East, it is time to start rebuilding our country! [0805 EST] - “The President has accomplished some absolutely historic things during this past year.” Thank you Charlie Kirk of Turning Points USA. Sadly, the Fake Mainstream Media will NEVER talk about our accomplishments in their end of year reviews. We are compiling a long & beautiful list. [0917 EST] - With all my Administration has done on Legislative Approvals (broke Harry Truman’s Record), Regulation Cutting, Judicial Appointments, Building Military, VA, TAX CUTS & REFORM, Record Economy/Stock Market and so much more, I am sure great credit will be given by mainstream news? [1004 EST] - Will be signing the biggest ever Tax Cut and Reform Bill in 30 minutes in Oval Office. Will also be signing a much needed 4 billion dollar missile defense bill. [1007 EST] -- Source link: (bit.ly/2jBh4LU) (bit.ly/2jpEXYR) | 1 |
3,182 | White House delays revamped immigration order to next week: official | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House has pushed back the release of a new executive order to replace its directive suspending travel to the United States by citizens of seven mostly Muslim countries, a White House official said on Wednesday. The order is now expected to be issued “sometime next week,” the official said. President Donald Trump said last week he expected to release the new order this week. Trump said the new directive will address legal concerns raised in Washington state, San Francisco and elsewhere about the original order, which was issued on Jan. 27. The order, which was quickly implemented, caused chaos at airports around the world as visa holders heading to the United States were pulled off planes or turned around upon arrival at U.S. airports. Americans were deeply divided over the order, which was condemned by prominent U.S. companies and allies before being temporarily blocked by federal courts. Trump criticized the court’s action in a series of tweets, including one that read: “The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law-enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned!” | 1 |
3,183 | Uncovered Video: Trump Makes CREEPIEST Comments Yet About His Daughter (VIDEO) | It s clear that Donald Trump thinks his daughter is beautiful. There s nothing wrong with that. All fathers are supposed to believe that, but Trump s fatherly admiration of Ivanka goes far beyond just thinking she s beautiful he finds her sexually attractive and that s creepy as hell. The latest video to come out adds a new dimension to Trump s attraction to his own daughter.There is certainly history. Trump loves to have Ivanka sit on his lap, to the point of her appearing to give him a lap dance.Image courtesy of Snopes.The GOP presidential candidate (the best they apparently could come up with) has joked numerous times about dating, or even marrying, his daughter.Still, in none of these instances did Trump specifically mention sex. This newly uncovered video, from just three years ago, does. In an appearance on the Wendy Williams show, Trump and Ivanka were asked what they had in common. Ivanka answered as you might imagine the daughter of a rich person. She said that golf and real estate are their two main common interests. Her father, though, said something entirely different, well, I was going to say sex, but I can t relate that to her. Oh, thank goodness he stopped himself from saying sex, right after he said sex. Check out the look on her face:Here s the screen grab of the very brief (if you blink, you d miss it) but telling moment:Maybe this is just an innocent joke of some kind, but even if it is, it s very telling. Donald Trump seems to see women through just one prism, and that s whether or not he s sexually attracted to them. It s also highly likely that when Ivanka was a child, her father had almost nothing to do with her, so that could have something to do with the apparent fact that he doesn t have normal fatherly feelings toward his daughter. Instead, like all women, Trump sees her as a sex object.Featured image via video screen shot | 0 |
3,184 | U.S. will only talk to North Korea about freeing U.S. citizens: White House | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration will not hold any talks with North Korea at this time, except for possible conversations about freeing U.S. citizens who have been detained there, the White House said on Monday. We ve been clear that now is not the time to talk, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters, amplifying on a tweet from President Donald Trump over the weekend that had been seen as undercutting U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. The only conversations that have taken place, or that would, would be on bringing back Americans who have been detained, Sanders said. Beyond that, there will be no conversations with North Korea at this time. | 1 |
3,185 | SWITZERLAND’S NOT PLAYING GAMES With Muslim Immigrants: “If you reject our culture, we will reject your application for citizenship | Assimilate or go home In the latest move to deny citizenship to anyone who chooses not to assimilate with Swiss culture, authorities have rejected the naturalization application of two Muslim girls who refused to take required swimming lessons at school because boys would be present in the pool.The girls, ages 12 and 14, who live in the northern city of Basel, had applied for Swiss citizenship several months ago, but their request was denied, Swiss media reported Tuesday.The girls, whose names were not disclosed, said their religion prevents them from participating in compulsory swimming lessons with males in the pool at the same time. Their naturalization application was rejected because the sisters did not comply with the school curriculum, Basel authorities said. Whoever doesn t fulfill these conditions violates the law and therefore cannot be naturalized, Stefan Wehrle, president of the naturalization committee, told TV station SRF on Tuesday.The case shows how those who don t follow Swiss rules and customs won t become citizens, even if they have lived in the country for a long time, are fluent in one of the national languages German, French or Italian and are gainfully employed.In April, members of an immigrant family in the Basel area were denied citizenship because they wore sweatpants around town and did not greet passersby a sure sign that they were not sufficiently assimilated, the naturalization board claimed.Another recent case sparked widespread outrage in Switzerland when two Muslim brothers refused to shake hands with their female teacher, also citing religious restrictions. Shaking hands with a teacher is a common practice in Swiss schools.After that incident was widely publicized, authorities suspended the naturalization request from the boys father, an imam at the Basel mosque.The swimming case involving the two girls is the first to deny naturalization applications for not complying with a school program, setting precedence for future cases, Wehrle said.This is not the first time Switzerland s Muslim community has stirred controversy over swimming lessons. In 2012, a family was fined $1,500 for forbidding their daughters to participate in swimming classes.The matter eventually ended up in the Supreme Court, which ruled that no dispensations from swimming lessons should be made on religious grounds.In Switzerland, unlike in the United States and many other countries, integration into society is more important for naturalization than knowledge of national history or politics. Candidates for citizenship must prove that they are well assimilated in their communities and respect local customs and traditions. DC Watchdog Via: Shoebat | 0 |
3,186 | Cruz, Rubio say Iran prisoner swap a 'dangerous precedent' | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidates Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio praised Iran’s release of five detained Americans on Sunday, but sharply criticized the deal the White House made to win their freedom saying it would lead to more Americans being taken “hostage.” U.S. President Barack Obama pardoned three Iranian-Americans charged for violating sanctions against Iran, a lawyer for one of the men said, while prosecutors moved to drop charges against four Iranians outside the United States. Iran agreed to free five Americans including Rezaian and Saeed Abedini, an Iranian-American Christian pastor sentenced to eight years in prison in 2013 on charges of undermining Iran’s national security. Cruz, speaking to Fox News Sunday, said, “Praise God that the prisoners are coming home” but Iran got the better end of the prisoner swap. “We released seven terrorists who had helped Iran with their nuclear program, and we agreed not to prosecute another 14 terrorists for doing the same thing. That’s 21 terrorists helping Iran develop nuclear weapons that they intend to use to try to murder us,” Cruz said. He said the deal was a “very dangerous precedent.” Obama on Sunday defended the move describing the release as a “reciprocal, humanitarian gesture” that was a one-time event. But Rubio, speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press, said the deal traded American “hostages” for Iranian “prisoners who did commit a crime”. Obama has “put price on the head of every American abroad,” Rubio said. “Our enemies now know that if you can capture an American, you can get something meaningful in exchange for it.” Rubio said that the deal shows “weakness” on the part of Washington, and if he were elected president, Iran would not dare to detain Americans because it would face tough consequences. He said the start of his presidency would be like that of Ronald Reagan in 1981, when Iran released hostages taken at the American embassy in Tehran in 1979. A senior Obama administration official pushed back against criticism of the prisoner swap, saying that those held in the United States were not a major threat, and the administration made a “judgment” that brought detained Americans home. “If people want to say that they were for leaving these Americans in prison, they should say so. But the fact of the matter is this was our opportunity to bring them home,” the official told reporters on a conference call. (Reporting By David Lawder; Editing by Alan Crosby) SAP is the sponsor of this coverage which is independently produced by the staff of Reuters News Agency. | 1 |
3,187 | White House says Israeli settlement building may not help peace | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration said on Thursday that Israel’s building of new settlements or expansion of existing ones in occupied territories may not be helpful in achieving peace with Palestinians, adopting a more measured tone than its previous pro-Israel announcements. In a statement issued two weeks before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to visit U.S. President Donald Trump, the White House said the administration “has not taken an official position on settlement activity.” Trump, a Republican, has signaled he could be more accommodating toward settlement projects than his Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama. The latest statement reflects slightly more nuanced language on how the new administration views settlement activity. “While we don’t believe the existence of settlements is an impediment to peace, the construction of new settlements or the expansion of existing settlements beyond their current borders may not be helpful in achieving that goal,” the White House said in a statement. The statement could disappoint Israel’s far-right, which had hoped Trump would give an unqualified green light on rapid settlement construction in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem - areas Israel captured in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. In the first Israeli reaction to the statement, Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, said it was too early to tell how it would affect future building. “It’s still too early to tell ... I would not categorize this as a U-turn by the U.S. administration but the issue is clearly on their agenda ... the issue will be discussed when the prime minister (Netanyahu) meets the president in Washington,” Danon told Israel Radio. “We will not always agree on everything,” he added. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson spoke by phone with Netanyahu on Thursday, the State Department said. It did not say whether they discussed the White House statement. Obama routinely criticized settlement construction plans and his administration often described settlement activity as lacking legitimacy and impeding peace. The White House statement came as Israel has ratcheted up settlement activity. On Wednesday, it said it would establish a new settlement in the occupied West Bank, the first since the late 1990s. It also announced plans for 3,000 more settlement homes in the West Bank, the third such declaration in less than two weeks since Trump took office. An announcement a week ago by Israel that it would build some 2,500 more dwellings in the West Bank, where Palestinians now seek statehood, drew rebukes from the Palestinians and the European Union. | 1 |
3,188 | (VIDEO) UN CLIMATE CHANGE FREAKS: “We should make every effort to decrease the world population” | What an evil bunch of freaks! The agenda is so important to them that they can t see the forest for the trees. Overpopulation is a problem in itself but connecting it to the scam that is global warming is just crazy. These people have such a twisted view of everything that it s really scary. I m 100% FED Up! with the UN climate freaks and their agenda.Climate One founder Greg Dalton and the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) Christiana Figueres, held a discussion in 2013 on the role of women in fighting Global Warming.During the interview Secretary Figueres stated, We should make every effort, to reduce the world s population in an effort to fight Climate Change:DALTON: A related issue is fertility rates in population. A lot of people in energy and environmental circles don t wanna go near that because it s politically charged. It s not their issue. But isn t it true that stopping the rise of the population would be one of the biggest levers and driving the rise of green house gases?FIGUERES: I mean we all know that we expect nine billion, right, by 2050. So, yes, obviously less people would exert less pressure on the natural resources.DALTON: So is nine billion a forgone conclusion? That s like baked in, done, no way to change that?HERE S THE VIDEO-IF YOU WANT TO SKIP THE BS THEN JUST GO TO THE 4:20 MARK: A LITTLE MORE ON CHRISTIANA FIGUERES-THE 70 S CALLED AND THEY WANT THEIR RADICAL HIPPIE BACK! AT THE 2:40 MARK SHE SAYS WE NEED A TRANSFORMATION (SOUND FAMILIAR) AND A REVOLUTION TO CHANGE OUR WAY OF LIFE: FIGUERES: Well there again, there is pressure in the system to go toward that; we can definitely change those, right? We can definitely change those numbers and really should make every effort to change those numbers because we are already, today, already exceeding the planet s planetary carrying capacity, today. To say nothing of adding more population that is really going to overextend our capacity. So yes we should do everything possible. But we cannot fall into the very simplistic opinion of saying just by curtailing population then we ve solved the problem. It is not either/or, it is an and/also.Via: Progressives Today | 0 |
3,189 | Debate stifled in Cambodia as crackdown spreads fear | PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - We speak our mind , says the website of a group of young Cambodians who have met at weekends for the past six years to discuss politics over mugs of coffee. But discussions by the Politikoffee group were postponed indefinitely by the organizers after the main opposition party was dissolved last week at the request of authoritarian Prime Minister Hun Sen s government. For participants, the suspension of their meetings because of the difficult environment was just one more sign of debate being shut down in what has been one of Southeast Asia s most open societies. People are sensitive in talking about politics or talking about what the government is doing right now, said Noan Sereiboth, 28, a researcher for health projects who was a regular attendee at the Politikoffee gatherings. Sometimes people s parents tell them not to talk about politics to stay safe, he said. The arrest of opposition leader Kem Sokha for alleged treason in September and the ban on his party have eliminated the main obstacles to Hun Sen extending more than three decades in power in a general election next year. But the crackdown by the government has been felt much deeper: to once vocal civil society groups nurtured by Western donors, to independent media and to anyone posting subversive comment on social media. Local NGOs have been paralyzed and scattered, said Naly Pilorge of the Licadho human rights group, which has a long record of reporting on detentions and land seizures. People say space is shrinking. It s not shrinking, it s closed, she told Reuters at her office in Phnom Penh. Three other groups declined to comment or did not respond to requests for official comment. It was not lost on the groups that their names featured as associates of the opposition during testimony at the Supreme Court on banning the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), which was accused of plotting a revolution with American help. The opposition says there was never a plot, dismissing accusations as a ploy to eliminate Hun Sen s rival. The government said nobody had reason to fear in a country that has been transformed since the devastation wrought by the Khmer Rouge genocide in the 1970s. Everyone has full freedom of expression in every way, said Huy Vannak, undersecretary of state at the Interior Ministry. We have long graduated from fear. Civil rights groups and other non-governmental organizations flourished in Cambodia with the help of Western countries that hoped to build a liberal democracy after the first multiparty elections in 1993. That brought a more open environment than in neighboring countries such as communist Vietnam and Laos or military-ruled Thailand, with its harsh sentences for criticizing the monarchy. But Western donors lack the weight they one had in Cambodia and Hun Sen has brushed of their criticism of the crackdown. China is now the biggest aid giver. Since the ban on the CNRP, it has voiced support for Cambodia in the name of protecting political stability and economic development. Politikoffee, which gets speakers from all sides for its debates, said that postponing its recent events because of the difficult environment did not mean it was giving up. We hope we can weather the dramatically changing political order, team leader Aun Chhengpor told Reuters. The forum will be back in place soon. Although the debates among a few dozen participants cost little to organize, Politikoffee uses space provided by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, a German pro-democracy group which said it had no say over the group s discussions. The political troubles are not evident in the daily bustle of Phnom Penh, capital of a country of 16 million people which has recorded economic growth of around seven percent for the past six years. But few wish to speak about politics. We must just keep quiet and let it pass, said Chrock Soth, 46, who just about makes a living selling bananas from his bicycle on the outskirts of the city. In an informal survey of more than 30 people in and around Phnom Penh, traditionally a stronghold of the opposition, roughly half declined to comment on the situation or said they did not care about politics. The rest were unhappy, but said they could do nothing. Youths care about politics, Noan Sereiboth said. But in the current situation they can t do anything except watch. | 1 |
3,190 | Senator McCain says could subpoena U.S. sailors held by Iran | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Republican Senator John McCain said on Sunday he would subpoena 10 U.S. sailors to testify about their brief detention by Iran if the Obama administration does not provide the findings of an investigation into the incident by March 1. “It’s an option that I do not want to exercise,” McCain, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, told reporters as he was returning to the United States from an international security conference in Germany. The sailors were detained by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps after their two patrol boats strayed into Iranian waters on Jan. 12. U.S. officials later blamed a navigational problem. The Americans were freed the next day after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry intervened with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, averting a diplomatic crisis just days before implementation of the Iran nuclear deal and the lifting of international sanctions on Tehran. Iranian media broadcast videos of the detainees, including scenes in which Revolutionary Guards personnel trained weapons on the sailors as they kneeled. The Obama administration has said the sailors’ speedy release showed the power of diplomacy and the promise of its new engagement with Iran. The U.S. Navy had briefed McCain several times about the incident, and would continue to do so as the investigation proceeded, said one U.S. official. Republicans have been critical of the deal with Iran, and some say the detainment of the sailors showed how little regard Iran had for the United States. McCain said he had been told the sailors were still being debriefed, but added that he assumed that administration members were “dragging their feet” in completing an investigation into the incident, which he accused Iran of exploiting for propaganda purposes. “I guarantee you, if they don’t have a debrief by the first of March like they said, we’ll have a hearing and we’ll subpoena. We’re not going to wait any longer,” McCain said. “We will subpoena the individuals if we have to.” McCain said he raised the case in a meeting on Saturday with Kerry on the sidelines of the security conference in Munich. | 1 |
3,191 | Senior Republican says Obama seeking moderate Supreme Court justice | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A senior Republican on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee said on Thursday that President Barack Obama was looking for someone who was “very moderate” to be his nominee to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court. “He said he was going to try to find a justice who would be very moderate,” Senator Orrin Hatch told Fox News Channel. But Hatch said even if Obama were to put forward a Republican for the empty seat, the Senate should not consider it during “the throes of a very intense, and some people think horrific, presidential campaign.” Separately, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi told reporters she thought it would be a good idea for Obama to consider nominating a Republican. | 1 |
3,192 | France opens door to strengthen Iran nuclear deal for post-2025 | NEW YORK (Reuters) - France on Monday gave a staunch defense of the Iran nuclear deal, suggesting there could be talks to strengthen the pact for the post-2025 period but that allowing it to collapse could lead Iran s neighbors to seek atomic weapons. It is essential to maintain it to avoid proliferation. In this period when we see the risks with North Korea, we must maintain this line, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told reporters. France will try to convince (U.S.) President (Donald) Trump of the pertinence of this choice (keeping the accord) even if work can be done to complement the accord (after 2025), he said. Speaking on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly annual gathering of world leaders in New York, Le Drian said a collapse of the deal could lead to a regional arms race. Key U.S. allies are worried by the possibility of Trump effectively pulling out of the landmark 2015 nuclear deal under which Iran agreed to curb its nuclear program in exchange for relief from economic sanctions. Le Drian also made clear France s opposition to an Iraqi Kurdish independence referendum, saying Iraq s constitution had important provisions on the autonomy of the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq and all other initiatives are inappropriate. He also said the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States on Thursday would discuss the possibility of a contact group on Syria, now in its seventh year of civil war. | 1 |
3,193 | black trump supporter we need somebody that loves america | why every man must take control of his finances how to profit off of the collapse image credits flickr n
the world that we live in is nothing like the world that our parents lived in back in the preglobalization era of roughly it was completely feasible to expect a corporation to pay your salary and help ease you into retirement
back in this golden era corporations actually looked out for their employees through various financial means such as the roth k or a conventional pension employers could expect to be getting a reliable deposit bimonthly in order to help them sustain their standard of living all throughout their retirement years
it also used to be that a college degree was something to aspire to something that guaranteed you a wellpaying job that would allow you to support a family of four with just a single college graduates income this is obviously no longer the case
now in the rate of unemployment for college graduates is officially but we all know the games that the economists play | 0 |
3,194 | This Hidden Camera Footage Reveals A Disturbing Fact About Kids And Guns (VIDEO) | New footage from a hidden camera reveals that this country greatly needs to embrace gun reform, despite what the National Rifle Association and right-wing gun nuts would like to have the rest of America believe.Just this year alone, toddlers have shot 23 people. When small children stumble upon a gun, accidental shootings can easily happen, and have become far too common because part of this country is severely underestimating just how ineffective current gun safety measures are.The NRA has insisted that its Eddie Eagle program, which attempts to educate children about firearms, satisfies gun safety requirements for children but that couldn t be further from the truth. Many parents also believe that while it s unfortunate that some kids get a hold of guns, it couldn t possibly be *their* child.To investigate this, local Charlotte station Fox46 set up a scenario that gave a group of children the opportunity to pick up a gun. With the help of Mecklenburg County Sheriff Irwin Carmichael, several unsupervised toddlers were placed in a playroom with a realistic-looking BB gun and several other toys and games. The only thing Carmichael told the children before he left them alone to play was, So if you find a gun do you touch it? No. No, what should you do? Tell and adult go tell an adult. Simple enough, right?Some of the children s parents who d volunteered their kids for the experiment were very confident that their child would be smart enough to follow instructions or leave the gun alone. Some parents admitted that they d never even had a conversation with their child about gun safety. What happened next shocked them: Basically proving that guns can be dangerous no matter how clearly you warn a child, the footage showed that a toddler s short attention span and desire to play will often override the safety measures adults try to teach them especially if they know they re not being watched. While not every child engaged with the fake firearm, it only took 60 seconds of unsupervised playtime before a little boy discovered the BB gun. Just a few minutes later, many of the children were firing the gun at each other.Unfortunately, this is exactly how so many accidental gun deaths happen, and it s time that the NRA and gun-loving conservatives that are against gun safety measures embrace this reality.Featured image via video screen capture | 0 |
3,195 | Russian PM says U.S.-Russia ties at low ebb but Trump 'friendly' | MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday that U.S.-Russia ties were the worst he could recall, but that U.S. President Donald Trump struck him as a friendly person keen to establish positive working contacts with Russia. Trump took office in January, saying he wanted warmer ties with Russia which had fallen to a post-Cold War low. But since then, ties have frayed further after U.S. intelligence officials said Russia had meddled in the presidential election, something Moscow denies. Medvedev, who met Trump in Manila this month, suggested he and President Vladimir Putin both found Trump constructive and friendly in person, but accused other U.S. politicians of playing what he called the Russian card to achieve their own aims and influence Trump s attitude towards Russia. The impression he (Trump) makes is that of a friendly political figure ready to establish full-scale contacts and who reacts reasonably towards everything, Medvedev said in an interview with Russia s main TV channels. Medvedev said he had chatted to Trump briefly over dinner at a regional summit in Manila. He (Trump) recalled our cooperation during World War Two, saying that it was important both for Russia and America, said Medvedev. It was a pretty normal exchange I am sure and President (Vladimir) Putin has spoken about just that - that everything is fine when it comes to our relations when we meet in person. But Medvedev said that was of secondary importance because overall U.S.-Russia relations were appalling. They are very bad, I would say appalling. They are the worst I can remember. Medvedev said the political climate towards Russia in the United States reminded him of the 1950s when U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy helped launch a campaign against anyone he regarded as pro-communist in the United States. But still, even then there was no talk of settling accounts with your own president, said Medvedev. | 1 |
3,196 | Russia may impose counter-measures on U.S. after new sanctions: foreign ministry | MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia may impose counter-measures on the United States after U.S. President Donald Trump signed into law a new round of economic sanctions on Moscow, the Russian foreign ministry said on Wednesday. The new U.S. penalties were short-sighted and risked harming global stability, it said in a statement on its website. “It’s high time to realize that threats and attempts to exert pressure on Russia will not make it change its course or sacrifice its national interests,” the statement read. | 1 |
3,197 | White House meeting on Paris climate deal postponed: official | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A White House meeting that was to help determine whether the United States should withdraw from the Paris climate accord has been postponed, an administration official said on Tuesday. Some of President Donald Trump’s top advisers, including Energy Secretary Rick Perry and Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt, were scheduled to meet on Tuesday to discuss how Trump should handle the 2015 climate deal. The meeting was canceled because “some of the principals are traveling today,” the White House official said. The meeting will be rescheduled, but no date has been set, the official said. White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters on Air Force One as Trump was returning from a visit to Wisconsin that the meeting “could be as soon as tomorrow, but I know that they’re working on trying to find a time that works for everybody.” The accord, agreed on by nearly 200 countries in Paris in 2015 and ratified in 2016, aims to limit planetary warming in part by slashing carbon dioxide and other emissions from the burning of fossil fuels. Under the pact, the United States committed to reducing its emissions by 26 to 28 percent from 2005 levels by 2025. Trump has said the United States should “cancel” the deal, but he has been mostly quiet on the issue since he was elected last November. The White House has said it would take a position on the agreement before a summit of the Group of Seven wealthy nations in late May. | 1 |
3,198 | Petition filed at Kenya's Supreme Court challenging election results | (Reuters) - A former lawmaker filed a petition at Kenya s Supreme Court on Monday challenging the results of last month s presidential election, a Reuters witness said, opening the door to potential legal challenges to President Uhuru Kenyatta s re-election. The petition, filed by former legislator Harun Mwau, seeks to overturn Kenyatta s victory in the Oct. 26 election, which was held after the Supreme Court nullified Kenyatta s win in an Aug. 8 presidential election on procedural grounds. The grounds for Mwau s petition were not immediately clear since his lawyer did not answer questions. | 1 |
3,199 | Big Corp. Is So Afraid Of A Liberal SCOTUS They Just Settled A MASSIVE Lawsuit | It looks like Justice Antonin Scalia s untimely death is not just causes Republicans to lose their minds in fear, a giant corporation embroiled in a class action lawsuit is just as scared. In fact, they are so afraid of the possibility of a split or liberal Supreme Court that they have settled their lawsuit for almost a billion dollars.Dow Chemical was set to go in front of the SCOTUS after a 2013 ruling by a Kansas court upheld a massive $1.06 billion judgement against the company for price-fixing. The company sued and found liable after being accused of colluding with four other chemical companies (Bayer AG, BASF SE, Huntsman International LLC and Lyondell Chemical Co.) to fix the prices of polyether polyol products which are used to make urethane foam in order to overcharge customers in the 90s and early 2000s.The company was counting on Scalia to rule in their favor and overturn the huge judgement, but then he died. His death meant that one of two things would happen 1.) they d go in front of 8 justices and get a split decision which would uphold the $1.06 billion ruling, or 2.) they would face a liberal court if Obama gets someone on the court and the judgement would also be upheld. When they realized that they were screwed they issued a statement announcing they d settled and blamed it on Scalia s death:The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW) has entered into a settlement agreement to resolve the In re Urethanes Class Action litigation. In this settlement agreement, Dow has agreed to pay the plaintiff class $835 million Growing political uncertainties due to recent events within the Supreme Court and increased likelihood for unfavorable outcomes for business involved in class action suits have changed Dow s risk assessment of the situation. Dow believes this settlement is the right decision for the company and our shareholders.Translation: Scalia died and f*cked us over, so now we are being forced to pay $835 million to all of the people we hurt.Scalia s death didn t just hurt Dow though, there are a number of other huge corporations set to go in front of the court, including Microsoft and Tyson Foods.What s actually really infuriating about this is that Dow was so sure that they were going to win this case until Scalia croaked. This guy was such a corporate shill (as are the rest of the conservative members) that big companies who had judgements levied against them were happy to go in front of the court because they knew they d win.So, while this sudden settlement may be hilarious, it is also pretty damning. It really highlights how much the conservative Supreme Court has hurt average Americans in order to help big business.Featured image via Wikipedia | 0 |
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