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5,000 | Trump taps former NASA head Griffin for deputy defense role: White House | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump intends to nominate Michael Griffin, a former administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, as principal deputy undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology, and logistics, the White House said on Friday. Griffin most recently served as chairman and chief executive officer of the Schafer Corporation, a provider of scientific, engineering, and technical services and products in the national security sector, the White House said in a statement. He held the top NASA job from 2005 to 2009. | 1 |
5,001 | Trump Trolls Caught In The Act Of Spewing IDENTICAL Propaganda Over And Over Again | If you ve recently gotten into an online political debate, it s likely that you ve encountered some people claiming to be former Democrats who are now supporting Trump. Many Democrats dismiss these people as trolls, and as it turns out, they are probably right. There is a giant epidemic of people (mostly two users) spouting the exact same verbiage throughout social media.Does this sound familiar?I come from a family of Democrats and switched to Republican to over for Mr. Trump! My 80 year old father who s been a life time (sic) Democrat is voting for Donald Trump!Here it is, twice, from two different users:I suppose that could be a coincidence, in a parallel universe, but a quick Google search shows that it s not. Both Kim Smith and Daniel Mazurkiewicz show up dozens of times with the exact same quote. Here s just a sample of the Google results:It s not just Facebook. There is also this:There are also a string of fans of that particular comment:A look at their Facebook pages reveals something kind of strange. Daniel Mazurkiewicz s first post was in April. His image is a watermarked Getty Images picture. Smith appears to have disappeared.There are a couple of possible explanations. One is that these people are classic paid internet trolls. It was revealed just the other day that the Kremlin is behind a massive troll campaign to help boost the billionaire.In his research from St. Petersburg, (freelance journalist Adrian) Chen discovered that Russian internet trolls paid by the Kremlin to spread false information on the internet have been behind a number of highly coordinated campaigns to deceive the American public.It s a brand of information warfare, known as dezinformatsiya, that has been used by the Russians since at least the Cold War. The disinformation campaigns are only one active measure tool used by Russian intelligence to sow discord among, and within, allies perceived hostile to Russia.Source: Business InsiderIt s not just Russians, though. Trump has paid people to cheer for him. Trump has also been his own cheerleader, by posing as his PR people in the past. In other words, there s a good chance that Kim Smith and Daniel Mazurkiewicz are, in fact, Donald Trump posing as his supporters.Featured image via John Moore at Getty Images. | 0 |
5,002 | U.S. congressional committee subpoenas ex-drug CEO Shkreli | WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. congressional committee has demanded that former drug executive Martin Shkreli appear at a hearing on drug prices to testify about his former company’s decision to raise the price of a lifesaving medicine by more than 5,000 percent, congressional aides said on Wednesday. Shkreli, who is separately facing federal criminal charges that he defrauded investors, has been served with a subpoena to appear on Jan. 26 before the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, the aides said. The Senate’s Special Committee on Aging, which is also investigating the company’s drug pricing practices, said on Wednesday that Shkreli has invoked the U.S. Constitution’s Fifth Amendment against self-incrimination, and has refused to produce subpoenaed documents. Shkreli, 32, fired back at lawmakers on Twitter, writing on Wednesday that the House was “busy whining to healthcare reporters about me appearing for their chit chat next week. Haven’t decided yet. Should I?” He declined an interview request. The outspoken entrepreneur sparked a firestorm last year after he raised the price of Daraprim, a decades-old treatment for a dangerous parasitic infection, to $750 a pill from $13.50 after acquiring it. The medicine once sold for $1 a pill. Shkreli pleaded not guilty last month to criminal charges that he ran his companies like a Ponzi scheme, using each subsequent company to pay off defrauded investors from a prior company. After his arrest, he stepped down as chief executive of Turing Pharmaceuticals and was fired as chief executive of KaloBios Pharmaceuticals Inc. KaloBios also filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Shkreli’s past companies also include Retrophin Inc, which sued him for alleged mismanagement. Testifying before Congress is risky for someone facing criminal charges because of the chance they could say something prosecutors would later use at a trial. For that reason, many such witnesses invoke the Fifth Amendment and refuse to answer questions. To even travel to Washington, Shkreli is required to first get the sign-off of a federal judge because his release on bond restricts him to certain parts of New York state. However, judges typically grant temporary travel waivers to white-collar defendants. U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the top Democrat on the oversight committee, said the hearing will give Shkreli a chance to explain his views on drug pricing. “I have been trying for the better part of a year to get information from Martin Shkreli about his outrageous price increases, and he has obstructed our investigation at every turn,” Cummings said in a statement. | 1 |
5,003 | France's Macron invites Hariri and family to France | PARIS (Reuters) - Lebanon s Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri and his family will travel to France in coming days, a French presidential source said on Wednesday, after Emmanuel Macron invited him as part of efforts to defuse tensions in the Middle East. Speaking in the German city of Bonn after a climate conference, Macron said his invitation was not an offer of exile for Hariri, who announced his abrupt resignation as premier 11 days ago from the Saudi capital Riyadh. Lebanese President Michel Aoun, who has refused to accept his prime minister s resignation, earlier on Wednesday accused the Saudis of holding Hariri hostage - and called this an act of aggression. Asked if he was offering Hariri exile, Macron said: No, not at all. I hope that Lebanon will be stable, and that political choices should be in accordance with institutional rule. We need a strong Lebanon with her territorial integrity respected. We need leaders who are free to make their own choices and speak freely. France has close relations with Lebanon, which was under French control between the world wars, and with Hariri, who has a home in France and spent several years in the country. His father Rafik was a close friend of former French President Jacques Chirac. Macron s invitation came after he spoke to both Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Hariri by telephone, the Elysee said in a statement. Saudi Arabia has denied detaining Hariri or coercing him to quit. One source in the presidential Elysee Palace said Hariri was expected to arrive in France in the coming days . France s offer appeared to be a last-minute one, with no indication from French officials this morning that this was on the cards. A French government spokesman in a weekly briefing even called on Hariri to return to Beirut to offer his resignation. French diplomats in Paris appeared caught off-guard. They said Macron had found a way to get Hariri out of Saudi Arabia without any side losing face, but questioned how this would pan out in the longer term. This has come out of the blue, one diplomat said. The president wants to ease tensions ... but we re also going round in circles. Are we just inheriting the problems? Hariri on Wednesday reiterated on Twitter that he would soon return to Beirut. It was not clear whether he might stop in Beirut before coming to Paris. France s foreign minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, arrived in Riyadh on Wednesday evening to dine with Crown Prince Mohammed and will meet Hariri on Thursday afternoon. Saudi Arabia has long been considered Hariri s main external supporter. Aoun is a political ally of Lebanon s Hezbollah, a powerful Shi ite Muslim group with close ties to Iran. Lebanon s coalition government was formed last year through a political deal that made Aoun president, Hariri prime minister, and included members of Hezbollah in the cabinet. Macron last week made a last-minute stopover in Riyadh on his way back from the Gulf to see Crown Prince Mohammed, and has since spoken to Aoun and hosted the Lebanese foreign minister in Paris on Tuesday. | 1 |
5,004 | Saudi Arabia says Lebanon declares war, deepening crisis | BEIRUT (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia accused Lebanon on Monday of declaring war against it because of aggression by the Iran-backed Lebanese Shi ite group Hezbollah, a dramatic escalation of a crisis threatening to destabilize the tiny Arab country. Lebanon has been thrust to the center of regional rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran since the Saudi-allied Lebanese politician Saad al-Hariri quit as prime minister on Saturday, blaming Iran and Hezbollah in his resignation speech. Saudi Gulf affairs minister Thamer al-Sabhan said the Lebanese government would be dealt with as a government declaring war on Saudi Arabia because of what he described as aggression by Hezbollah. Faulting the Hariri-led administration for failing to take action against Hezbollah during a year in office, Sabhan said there are those who will stop (Hezbollah) and make it return to the caves of South Lebanon , the heartland of the Shi ite community. In an interview with Al-Arabiya TV, he added: Lebanese must all know these risks and work to fix matters before they reach the point of no return. He did not spell out what action Saudi Arabia might take against Lebanon, a country with a weak and heavily indebted state that is still rebuilding from its 1975-90 civil war and where one-in-four people is a Syrian refugee. There was no immediate comment from the Lebanese government. Hezbollah is both a military and a political organization that is represented in the Lebanese parliament and in the Hariri-led coalition government formed last year. Its powerful guerrilla army is widely seen as stronger than the Lebanese army, and has played a major role in the war in neighboring Syria, another theater of Saudi-Iranian rivalry where Hezbollah has fought in support of the government. Lebanese authorities said on Monday the country s financial institutions could cope with Hariri s resignation and the stability of the Lebanese pound was not at risk. But the cash price of Lebanon s U.S. dollar-denominated bonds fell, with longer-dated maturities suffering hefty losses as investors took a dim view of the medium- to longer-term outlook for Lebanon. Hariri cited a plot to assassinate him during his unexpected resignation speech broadcast from Saudi Arabia which caught even his aides off guard. He also slammed Hezbollah and Iran, accusing them of sowing strife in the Arab world. Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has said he will not comment on Hariri s speech, calling it a Saudi statement and saying Riyadh had forced Hariri to resign. The sudden nature of Hariri s resignation generated speculation in Lebanon that his family s Saudi construction business had been caught up in an anti-corruption purge and he had been coerced into resigning. Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Jubeir said it was nonsense to suggest Hariri had been coerced into quitting in a CNN interview on Monday. Hariri had quit because Hezbollah had been calling the shots in the government, he said. Hariri, a Saudi citizen, was free to leave the country at any time, he said. Interior Minister Nohad Machnouk, a senior member of Hariri s political party, said he was under the impression Hariri would return to Beirut within days. A meeting between Saudi King Salman and Hariri in Riyadh on Monday proved rumors wrong, he said - an apparent reference to speculation that Hariri was detained or forced to quit. Earlier on Monday, President Michel Aoun, a political ally of Hezbollah, appealed for national unity. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, another political ally of Hezbollah, said in a televised statement after meeting Aoun it was too early to talk about forming a new government. The crisis could re-aggravate tensions between Sunni and Shi ite Muslims and afflict Lebanese government with paralysis once again. All of the sides have called for calm and there has been no sign of unrest since Hariri s resignation. The Hariri-led government took office last year in a political deal that made Aoun president. The deal ended years of deadlock, and last month it produced Lebanon s first budget since 2005. Hariri flew to Saudi Arabia on Friday after meeting in Beirut the top adviser to Iran s Supreme Leader, who described the coalition as a victory and great success afterwards. | 1 |
5,005 | WATCH: Harney County Trio Releases ‘Ballad Of The Malheur Patriots’ | As the 41 day standoff between federal officials and the Bundy terrorists who occupied Oregon s Malheur National Wildlife Sanctuary finally came to an end, a group calling itself The Harney County Trio released a hilarious tribute to the now arrested patriots. The trio, identified only as Garrett, Laura and Rob, posted the video to YouTube on February 11, just as the last four Bundy terrorists surrendered to federal authorities.The song, titled The Ballad Of The Malheur Patriots, immortalizes Ammon Bundy and his band of American Heroes, paying tribute to the most significant moments that occurred during the occupation.From the group s first desperate plea for supplies, sent out just two days into the siege, to the table full of dicks and dildos they got in response, the ballad is both historically accurate and genuinely hilarious.The video incorporates scenes from the standoff, along with authentic footage of the Malheur Wildlife Sanctuary.During the chorus, the group belts out the heartfelt lines, Patriots, patriots storming a building surrounded by ducks. They didn t stand down. They vowed to stand up, even if they didn t know for what. Watch the video below, courtesy of Adele Comedy on YouTube.While it s definitely not the ballad Bundy and his followers must have hoped would someday be written to immortalize their brave actions, it s historical value goes without saying.Decades from now, when the world looks back to reflect on the events surrounding the takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Sanctuary, this is what our children and our children s children will remember.As for the Bundy terrorists, their delusional ideas of becoming the heroes of future generations will eventually be destroyed by the reality of their own stupid videos and social media posts.So far 24 militants have been charged in connection with the illegal occupation.May those men forever be remembered wherever dicks and dildos are sold.Featured image: screen capture | 0 |
5,006 | BILL CLINTON GOES AT IT WITH VETERAN Who Brings Up Benghazi: “Shut up and listen!” [Video] | Bill Clinton visited Bluffton, SC to rally people to vote for Hillary but he met up with a former Marine Drill Sgt. who spoke out against Hillary s lies surrounding Benghazi. This is probably the first time anyone has EVER had a chance to confront Bill Clinton about Benghazi. He clearly couldn t handle the confrontation. I have to say I love these brave Americans for standing up. Pretty awesome! | 0 |
5,007 | This One Tweet Explains How Close Trump Is To Destroying America | Americans like to sit back and smugly announce that the kind of sectarian violence and civil war we see tearing apart the Middle East could NEVER happen here because (insert snooty tone), We re Not Savages. Just look at how they voluntarily follow leaders that make crazy promises and use violence to intimidate and silence dissent! We re nothing like that.Except when we are.WATCH: Trump Supporters Attack Two Men For Quietly Sitting with Protest SignsBlack Lives Matter protester attacked by Trump supporters at rally videoDONALD TRUMP RALLY TURNS CHAOTIC; SUPPORTERS THREATEN BLACK LIVES MATTER PROTESTERSTrump on protester: Maybe he should have been roughed up Trump comes off as little more than a wannabe dictator that encourages his followers to violence, yet he still has millions of followers. This leads us to a painfully insightful tweet from one Hend Amry, a Libyan refugee:If you re an American confusedly watching the darkest forces of ur nation rally behind a demagogue-maybe u can understand the Mid East now. Hend Amry (@LibyaLiberty) February 27, 2016Suddenly, we re not quite so superior anymore, are we? The Bush presidency showed us that Americans would happily reject the rule of law, morality and basic decency if we were angry and scared enough and someone promised us retribution and safety. Now imagine decades of deprivation and fear and anger being harnessed by ruthless leaders interested in absolute power. Would we really be any better? History answers with an unequivocal No. See: KKK takeover of Oregon, History of.But Amry continued to drive home the point: now imagine if you KNOW it s because of political frustration, economic stagnation, & social decay but everyone kept calling it jihad . Hend Amry (@LibyaLiberty) February 27, 2016Trump got everyone wanting to make every Muslim walk the plank and you haven t even had a single Muslim nation drone you.God forbid. Hend Amry (@LibyaLiberty) February 27, 2016 Now imagine if the US gov t outlawed Christian evangelism. How radicalized would segments of the nation become.And militant. Bundy on crack. Hend Amry (@LibyaLiberty) February 27, 2016That s the Mid East today.Years of pol oppression & religious manipulation by dictators offered seats at the UN. Something had to give. Hend Amry (@LibyaLiberty) February 27, 2016It may not be a comfortable truth to face but Trump is appealing to the anger and fear generated by a slow economic recovery and changing demographics. If America were to suffer another massive economic meltdown or 9/11 level terror attack, (mostly white) people would flock to the loudest voice promising safety and strength. That s how countries fall under the control of violent lunatics.Amry s tweets should be a wake-up call to both the people that smugly denounce the Muslims as violent as well as Americans blindly following a narcissistic sociopath off a cliff.Featured image via screencap. | 0 |
5,008 | The Sad Truth About Liberal Logic In One Meme | The liberal logic of Bernie Sanders fans who would vote for more free stuff that taxpayers have to pay for. | 0 |
5,009 | Trump Just Got Some Really, REALLY Bad News About His Tax Returns (DETAILS) | Donald Trump has been playing games with his tax returns ever since he began his disgraceful presidential campaign. He repeatedly promised to release his tax returns after the election, but has continued to keep them a secret from the American people. Democrats and Republicans alike know that the American people deserve transparency from their president, and the latest effort to make Trump reveal his tax documents is going to send him into a rage.Two House Republicans have just joined a Democratic effort to obtain copies of Trump s tax returns, with the help of the Internal Revenue Service. This is big news and proves that not even the GOP approves of the way Trump has conducted himself.The two Republicans, Reps. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.) and Walter Jones (R-N.C.), have added their signatures to a letter requesting Trump s tax returns from the past ten years. This letter was championed by Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) and backed by almost every person in the 193-member House Democratic Caucus. In the letter, it is stated that Trump s tax returns would provide clarity on his conflicts of interest, which Trump has tried to hide and distract from. The letter says: Disclosure would serve the public interest of clarifying President Trump s conflicts of interest in office, the potential for him to personally benefit from tax reform, and ensure that he is not receiving any preferential treatment from the IRS.We believe the powerful and respected Committees on Finance and Ways and Means have the responsibility to ensure oversight of the executive branch by requesting a review of President Trump s tax returns and moving toward a formal release of these documents to the public. Trump s refusal to reveal his tax returns is unusual, breaking four decades in which every presidential nominee has been transparent with their tax returns. Trump tried to use an IRS audit to excuse himself, but even the IRS stated he was free to release his documents whenever he wanted to. Hopefully, this letter and the Republican senators signatures will add enough pressure to the situation so Americans can finally know the truth about Trump.Featured image via Drew Angerer / Getty Images | 0 |
5,010 | House panel wants to know how climate change impacts the military | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers on the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee asked the Pentagon on Wednesday to produce a report on climate change and its effects on the military. The report would list each service’s 10 most vulnerable military installations at risk of flooding, sea level rise and wildfires or other threats associated with climate change. The amendment’s language quoted Secretary of Defense James Mattis as saying, “I agree that the effects of a changing climate - such as increased maritime access to the Arctic, rising sea levels, desertification, among others - impact our security situation.” In recent years, President Donald Trump had expressed skepticism about whether climate change is real, sometimes calling it a hoax. But since becoming president, he has not offered an opinion. The House Armed Services Committee adopted the measure brought by Representative Jim Langevin, a Democrat. The defense policy bill has yet to be considered by the full House. | 1 |
5,011 | Mexico's Carstens says 'implicitly' weighing risk of Trump victory | MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico central bank governor Agustin Carstens said on Friday he is “implicitly” factoring in the possibility of Republican hopeful Donald Trump becoming U.S. president in the bank’s economic risk models. In an interview with El Financiero/Bloomberg Carstens was asked whether the chances of Trump, a persistent critic of the North American Free Trade Agreement, becoming the next president of the United States was in the central bank’s risk models. “Well, explicitly, no,” Carstens said. “But implicitly all of us have it in our heads, this possibility.” Carstens was also asked about Mexican monetary policy in the coming months after the bank launched a surprise rate hike on Feb. 17 to shore up the peso currency, which had been falling sharply against the dollar since the end of 2014. He reiterated that the February move was not the start of a monetary policy tightening cycle, but that the bank would be following moves by the U.S. Federal Reserve closely. “Our monetary policy will above all be led by ... the exchange rate, the monetary policy relative to the United States and the inflationary pressures that could occur due to the economic cycle in Mexico,” the central bank governor said. Trump, front-runner to win the Republican presidential nomination for the Nov. 8 election, sparked outrage in Mexico with campaign vows to slap tariffs on Mexican exports and to build a southern border wall and make Mexico pay for it. Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto said this month his country would not pay for Trump’s proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, and likened his “strident tone” to the ascent of dictators like Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini. (Reporting by Gabriel Stargardter and Dave Graham; Editing by Richard Chang and Sam Holmes) 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 |
5,012 | #DNCWalkOut Report: Over 1000 Bernie Sanders Supporters Left #DNC After Hillary Nomination…#FeelTheBern #DemExit [VIDEO] | The Queen of the DNC is in big trouble 1000+ Berners walked out CA is GONE UT Gone Oregon Gone ..& more #DNCWalkOut 1/2 empty #Demexit https://t.co/1uG9312AS6 #AllLivesMatter (@BootStrapzOrg) July 27, 2016 | 0 |
5,013 | nddl pour fêter lautorisation des travaux manuel valls détruit personnellement plusieurs hectares de zone humide le gorafi | nongmo crop circles showing up in corn fields in nebraska
daniel barker tags antigmo crop circles our little rebellion naturalnews an american company has hit on a novel way to promote its nongmo corn snacks while raising awareness concerning the dominance of gm agriculture in the country by using crop circles as an advertising mediumour little rebellion a company that sells a line of nongmo corn snack products called popcorners has joined up with nebraska farmer jim mcgowan to create a giant message in his cornfield urging people to join the corn revolutionthe acre crop artwork also features a largescale version of the popcorners website address and the logo of the nongmo project an organization that verifies our little rebellions productscourtney pineau associate director of the nongmo project saidits super creative were really excited about it ive never really seen a brand undertake an endeavor like this so thats one of the things that we really loved about itthe project involved some hightech gps mapping a crop circle artist and a week of handcutting corn by a team of peoplea drone camera captured the creation of the artwork as seen in the video belowfifthgeneration farmer mcgowan saidwere really excited to be able to see the whole circle here come into effect most of the time in production agriculture its treated as a regular raw commodity and you dont even know what happens to it to see the actual chain complete with this product from that field is really specialfrom eco salon the project seeks to draw attention to the baffling percent of american corn acreage currently being grown with genetically modified seeds and to our little rebellions efforts to source the million pounds of corn it uses annually from the other eight percent meeting a growing demand for nongmo foods to manufacture its products our little rebellion has had to take a creative approach partnering with dozens of small farmers like mcgowan to restructure supply chains so that they can obtain enough nongmo corn to keep production steadythe nongmo project says that the growing demand for nongmo corn soybean and canola is encouraging more farmers to plant nongmo cropsdespite massive lobbying and propaganda campaigns on the part of the gm agriculture industry americans have consistently spoken out in favor of gmo labeling and the right to have a choice between purchasing gmo and nongmo foodsthere is a market for natural organic gmofree foods and those who are willing to put the time and effort into developing these products and the supply chains to support them are likely to be rewarded in the long run gmo industry lies exposed public now facing the truth public awareness of the issues surrounding gmos is growing more people than ever now realize that the industry has failed to live up to its promise to feed a hungry worldgmo crop yields are not bigger the gm agricultural model hurts small farmers and poisons the planet with glyphosate and gm crosscontamination and the development of herbicideresistant superweeds are threatening the entire agricultural spectrum and the public is finding out about itthe gmo deception is no longer sustainable just as gm crops are not a part of a truly sustainable agricultural system the sooner food producers realize that and begin giving the public what it wants ie healthy organicallyraised sustainable food products the more chance they will have to survive and thrive in an evolving and highly competitive marketplacesmaller companies like our little rebellion and established food giants like dannon which recently made a pledge towards gmolabeling transparency and introducing nongmo products are likely to benefit over the long haul for having joined the nongmo rebellion early onthe demand for healthy food is real and the market will eventually be forced to meet that demand sources | 0 |
5,014 | Trump defends 'star' tweet; Clinton says it's anti-Semitic | NEW YORK (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Monday defended a social media post he made two days earlier that included an image depicting Democratic rival Hillary Clinton against a backdrop of cash and a Star of David, while Clinton called the image anti-Semitic. In a tweet on Monday, Trump said he had not meant the six-pointed star to refer to the Star of David, which is a symbol of Judaism. Rather, he said, the star could have referred to a sheriff’s badge, which is shaped similarly except for small circles at the ends of each of its six points, or a “plain star.” The presumptive Republican nominee later released a statement saying Clinton’s criticism of the image was an attempt to distract the public from “the dishonest behavior of herself and her husband.” He was referring to a heavily criticized private meeting last week between former President Bill Clinton and U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch as an investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while secretary of state nears a conclusion. His tweet came after Mic News reported on Sunday that the image attacking Clinton - which included the words: “History made” and, inside the star, “most corrupt candidate ever!” - had been shared on a neo-Nazi web forum called /pol/. Reuters confirmed the image was posted there on June 22 by viewing a link to an archived version of a /pol/ page, although the page has since been updated and the image removed. “Donald Trump’s use of a blatantly anti-Semitic image from racist websites to promote his campaign would be disturbing enough, but the fact that it’s a part of a pattern should give voters major cause for concern,” Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee, said in a statement emailed to reporters on Monday. The Nazis forced Jews to wear a Star of David on their clothing to identify themselves during the Holocaust. Trump posted and deleted the tweet on Saturday, then tweeted a similar image in which the star was replaced by a circle. On Monday, he lashed out at journalists for continuing to report on the original tweet. “Dishonest media is trying their absolute best to depict a star in a tweet as the Star of David rather than a Sheriff’s Star, or plain star!” Trump wrote on Twitter. Saturday’s incident was the latest departure by Trump from a recent effort to appease Republicans worried about his brash public persona by trying to appear more restrained. The Republican convention, where Trump is expected to be named the party’s nominee for the Nov. 8 presidential election, is two weeks away. In June, Trump fired his campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, and began using a teleprompter to make speeches, hoping to show his campaign could be more inclusive after he aroused controversy by referring to some Mexicans crossing the U.S. border illegally as “rapists,” and his mocking of a disabled reporter, which Clinton has begun using in attack ads against him. Ed Brookover, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign, said in an interview on CNN on Monday that the campaign felt it had “corrected” the issue about the star by deleting Trump’s original tweet. Brookover said the image’s earlier appearance on the neo-Nazi forum was irrelevant. “These images get posted and reposted and reposted on social media on many forums,” he said. “There was never any intention of anti-Semitism.” | 1 |
5,015 | Russian aerobatics team joins Serbian display of air power | BELGRADE (Reuters) - Russia s elite aerobatic team zoomed over Serbia s military airport on Friday as Belgrade exhibited its newest fighter jets in a display demonstrating close ties between the fellow Slavic, Orthodox Christian countries. Serbia has sought to balance ambitions to join the European Union with continued warm relations to Russia, which backed Belgrade s ultimately failed effort to prevent its ex-province of Kosovo from seceding and declaring independence. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu attended Friday s air show, staged to commemorate the liberation of Belgrade from Nazi Germany by the Soviet Red Army and Yugoslav Communist partisans in 1944. Five of six MiG-29s donated to Serbia by Russia in 2016 - Serbia now has 10 MiGs in all, dating to 1987 - were painted in new grey camouflage and parked on the runway of Batajnica military base just outside Belgrade for the occasion. Dear Mr Shoigu, thank you for these wonderful presents, thanks to the people of Russia and President (Vladimir) Putin, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic told Shoigu in Russian. I hope our cooperation will be even better. Russia s aerobatic team, the Swifts, demonstrated their flying skills while Serbian jets and air mobile infantry carried out a mock air security operation and assault on ground targets. Serbia has joined NATO s Partnership for Peace program but is not pursuing membership of the alliance, which remains deeply unpopular among Serbs because of its 1999 air war to stop then-nationalist President Slobodan Milosevic s campaign to crush Kosovo s uprising by killing and expelling ethnic Albanians. Last year, Belgrade signed a deal with Airbus to buy nine H145M light helicopters with weapon pods to be used by both military and police. But Serbia, which in 2014 opened accession talks with the EU, remains attached to friendship with Russia, an ally that, for example, blocked independent Kosovo from becoming a member of the United Nations, at Belgrade s request. | 1 |
5,016 | Cowardly Paul Ryan Locks Constituents Out Of Their Own Capitol Instead Of Listening To Them (DETAILS) | House Speaker Paul Ryan is a snake, a hypocrite, and a weasel. He is also an incredible coward. Part of being a public servant is listening to the people. However, that is definitely not a value that Speaker Ryan shares. On Friday, Planned Parenthood advocates showed up at his Capitol Hill offices, only to be greeted with guards at every turn. It seemed that Ryan and his cronies were expecting the people to show up, sporting their pink I Stand With Planned Parenthood shirts, with boxes and boxes of petitions in tow, signed by tens of thousands of Americans who are demanding answers to Ryan s plans to take away healthcare from millions of American women.When the advocates were blocked by Capitol Hill police, finally a staffer had to escort them to Ryan s office. When they got there, the door was locked and heavily guarded. There was a sign that read, Please knock, only scheduled appointments will be admitted. Since this was Ryan s regular office and not the one reserved for the Speaker of the House whomever that may be at any given time there is no way to know if Ryan himself was there. However, it is reasonable to assume that people were in there, oh, you know working, during the day on a Friday.Finally, after being turned away from Ryan s office, the advocates were allowed into the office of Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI), who fully backs what they were doing. People in that office listened to what they had to say, and they were able to leave their petitions there, and Speaker Ryan will be getting a large delivery later. Here are the photos of the advocates waiting patiently outside Ryan s office:.@SpeakerRyan's office sent 6 security guards to block delivery of 87K #IStandWithPP petitions telling Ryan not to defund Planned Parenthood pic.twitter.com/56QHwhjR2q Planned Parenthood (@PPact) January 6, 2017.@SpeakerRyan's office is appointments-only & conveniently closed now right when we came by to drop off thousands of #IStandWithPP petitions pic.twitter.com/wCqOjzZION Planned Parenthood (@PPact) January 6, 2017.@SpeakerRyan wouldn't listen to the thousands of people who say #IStandWithPP but #reprohealth champ @RepGwenMoore opened her doors to us! pic.twitter.com/seHrZJoxZw Planned Parenthood (@PPact) January 6, 2017Eric Carthart, who works with Planned Parenthood Action Fund, says of what Ryan did: Paul Ryan may have locked his doors, but he can t drown out our voices, said Eric Carhart of Planned Parenthood Action Fund. Millions of women, men and young people, nearly half of whom are people of color, rely on Planned Parenthood for reproductive health care, including nearly 60,000 in Wisconsin. If Paul Ryan is going to take away our health care and the care of millions of people the least he can do is meet us face to face. Paul Ryan should be ashamed of himself. It s his JOB to listen to the taxpaying citizens who pay his salary. He works for us, not the other way around. We will keep fighting. We are not going away. His extreme, draconian, anti-woman agenda will not be tolerated in the United States of America in the year 2017.Featured image via Mark Wilson/Getty Images | 0 |
5,017 | Evan McMullin Issues DIRE Warning For ALL Americans About Trump (TWEETS) | Independent conservative presidential candidate Evan McMullin has been busily warning the world about Donald Trump ever since the reality star became president-elect. McMullin is a former operative for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). He is also an expert on autocrats. He once went on a tweetstorm warning the nation that Trump shows all the signs of being a dictator in the making. Now, he is back to warn us again this time about where Trump s loyalties really lie and it s NOT with the United States of America.McMullin sent out tweets on Saturday, saying that Trump, is, quote, not a loyal American. First, McMullin condemned Trump s Russia-friendly secretary of state pick:In Tillerson, Trump has identified a potential secretary of state unlikely to oppose Trump's alignment with Putin. https://t.co/xc8aWzOOW6 Evan McMullin (@Evan_McMullin) December 10, 2016Then, he warned everyone that Trump is steadily dismantling all of the things that have protected us from Russia for decades:.@realDonaldTrump is purposely dismantling barriers that protect our nation from dangerous Russian subversion, which he has also welcomed. Evan McMullin (@Evan_McMullin) December 10, 2016Finally, McMullin told all Americans what we definitely need to heed, that Trump is not loyal to this nation, and since he will be running it for the next four years, we need to realize that and act in our best interest:It must be clear that Donald Trump is not a loyal American and we should prepare for the next four years accordingly. @realDonaldTrump Evan McMullin (@Evan_McMullin) December 10, 2016This is as dangerous as it gets, folks. Trump is literally about to hand control of this nation over to Vladimir Putin. Putin is no friend of the United States. He is a bully, a thug, and a killer. He is the enemy of democracy everywhere, and we have a man who is a sympathizer to Russia and Putin about to become president.We must resist. We must not normalize this. Our very lives as we know them may depend on #TheResistance.Featured image via George Frey/Getty Images | 0 |
5,018 | BOILER ROOM – EP #52 – Never Ending Chaos | Tune in to the Alternate Current Radio Network (ACR) for another LIVE broadcast of The Boiler Room starting at 6 PM PST | 9 PM EST every Wednesday. Join us for uncensored, uninterruptible talk radio, custom-made for barfly philosophers, misguided moralists, masochists, street corner evangelists, media-maniacs, savants, political animals and otherwise lovable rascals.Join ACR hosts Hesher, & Spore along with Randy J of 21Wire, Andy Nowicki from Alt Right Blogspot and Daniel Spaulding of Soul of the East and Jay Dyer from Jays Analysis Tonight the Boiler Gang brings the internet show with more twists and turns than Space Mountain! We ll be covering the disturbing concept of men so brainwashed that they think the have man-stral cycles, Michael Moore s moobs, Jay versus atomistic materialist philosophy peddlers, the Panama Papers psyop, the smoke screen of the so called classified 28 pages of the 9/11 report, the university organized reproduction of the temple of Baal being recreated after ISIS destroyed the original site in Palmyra Syria, Tragedy and Hope how bankers LOVE revolutionaries, and what to make of occult symbolism being paraded in the faces of that alternative media and Robert Dinero s response to the documentary film, Vaxxed being removed from the Tribeca Film Festival. Listen in as we discuss a plethora of media and current events in a VERY un-PC fashion . If you want to participate, bring something interesting to throw into the boiler Join us in the ALTERNATE CURRENT RADIO chat room.BOILER ROOM IS NOT A POLICTALLY CORRECT ZONE! LISTEN TO THE SHOW IN THE PLAYER BELOW ENJOY! REFERENCE LINKS: | 0 |
5,019 | Syrian Refugee Receives RIDICULOUS Sentence For Trafficking 13 and 14-Yr Old Girls While On Bail For Raping 17-Yr Old | Political correctness and open-borders are a dangerous combination. This story is proof that Europe has officially ceded their nations to mostly Muslim refugees who have no intention of assimilating with their citizens. Progressivism is actually killing Europe.The percentage of Muslims in Europe has been rapidly increasing over the past few years, by about one percentage point every 10 years. Muslims are expected to make up 8% of Europe s population in 2030. I wonder how long it will take them to start decided to protect their own citizens, especially young girls, from the violent crimes being committed by Muslim refugees. Europeans seem to fear being called racist more than they fear their women and children being raped and violently assaulted.A sex offender abducted and sexually abused two 13 and 14-year-old girls while on bail for raping another teen.Zohair Tomari, 20, who is believed to be from Syria, invited his 17-year-old victim and her 15-year-old friend to his flat in August 2014 after befriending them.Once there, the twisted attacker plied the older girl with alcohol before slapping and punching both and pulling out a knife. Tomari, who claimed to be from Morocco in his pre-sentence report but now claims to be from Syria, told the terrified teenager that the more she cried the more he would hit her, before proceeding to rape her.Police arrived at the scene after the youngest girl was reported missing at which point the other informed them of the incident. But the rapist was granted bail and went on to traffic two younger girls, aged 13 and 14, as they walked to a friend s home in the early hours of the morning in August last year.The pair were enticed into a car in which Tomari was a passenger and given drink and cigarettes before being led to a flat in Foleshill, Coventry, where he sexually assaulted them. At Warwick Crown Court, Tomari, of Longford in Coventry, was found guilty of rape in relation to the incident involving the 17-year-old girl and jailed for a total of 12 years and nine months for both incidents on Thursday.The court heard how Tomari had been jailed at Coventry Crown Court in January this year after being convicted of trafficking for child sexual exploitation and sexual assaults in relation to the other incident.He will also have to serve an additional seven years on licence, and has been ordered to register as a sex offender for life. In relation to the first attack, Judge Andrew Lockhart QC, sentencing, told Tomari: Behaviour of this nature is abhorred in virtually every civilised country on this earth. Sadly, then you were granted bail, and you committed other offences for which you are now in prison. I am driven to conclude you are dangerous. I can see no end to the danger you pose. Daily MailWhen nations welcome millions of unvetted citizens across their borders with no real understanding of whom they ve invited into their neighborhoods, schools, or community centers they are basically saying that their unique cultures and the rule of law is not worth protecting or defending. By allowing refugees to commit crimes against their citizens with little or no repercussions, European nations are in essence agreeing to become part of the Middle East, where in many nations, male dominance, rape, sexual assault and marriage between older men and young girls is simply a way of life. | 0 |
5,020 | Kremlin: Putin and Trump made no promises on cyber group | MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump made no promises to each other to form a joint group on cyber security, but they stated their readiness to work in this direction, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday. The Kremlin also does not know the Russian lawyer who allegedly met Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., Trump’s campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, last year, two weeks after Trump won the Republican nomination for the U.S. presidency, Peskov told a conference call with reporters. The allegation that Trump’s associates met with the Kremlin-linked lawyer after being promised damaging information about Hillary Clinton, was made in an article by the New York Times. | 1 |
5,021 | smart meter case testimony before the pennsylvania public utility commission what no one wants to acknowledge about emf damage part of | by bernie suarez a recent video released by a liveleak source shows a staged car bomb explosion followed by what i call mustwatch jawdropping crisis | 0 |
5,022 | MUSLIM MISS UNIVERSE Contestant Ignores Competition Rules Other Candidates Must Follow…Makes Up Her Own Rules | Of course, the left applauded Miss Great Britain s bold defiance of the rules (resistance is all the rage in case you haven t heard) ignoring the fact that no one held a gun to her head to make her compete in the pageant.The magazine that teaches teenage girls how to have anal sex had this to say about how proud they were of Muna Jama:She stuck to her beliefs and the Internet couldn't be prouder https://t.co/lYqbNEpKwg Teen Vogue (@TeenVogue) August 4, 2017The swimsuit competition. Watching contestants parade around in barely-there swimsuits is synonymous with the world of beauty pageants the way sashes and rictus grins and pledges for world peace are.But now one contestant has thrown out the rulebook, and competed in the finals for Miss Universe Great Britain wearing a kaftan, rather than a two-piece.Muna Jama, from London, is Muslim and earlier this year won the right to compete in the famed competition wearing a kaftan. It is the first time in the history of the competition that a contestant has not not donned a revealing bikini.Here is a picture of the other (less special) Miss Universe contestants wearing the required bikini for the bathing suit competition:Help me congratulate the outstanding and beautiful Anna Burdzy as Miss Universe Great Britain 2017 , I m proud to have come this far with the pleasure to share the stage with all these incredible women! for this I feel like a winner thank you for following me on my journey, it wouldn t have been the same without your encouraging messages, constant support and nonstop love that I was able to make history for the first time ever! Thank you . . . mugb2017 #missuniversegb #cardiff #threecountries #blacksash #Mercurecardiffhollandhouse #missuniversegb #missuniversecardiffA post shared by Muna Jama (@ms_munajama) on Jul 16, 2017 at 12:05am PDTIt has been a long road for Jama to stepping onto the Miss Universe stage.Two years ago she applied to represent the U.K. and made it to the finals, but bowed out out of concern about appearing in swimmers. However, this year, Jama, who is the co-founder of a start-up tackling illegal migration and child abuse in Africa, decided to apply again, but this time petitioning officials to be allowed to wear a kaftan. I wouldn t wear a bikini to a beach, so I m not going to wear one in a competition to score points, she has told Metro.co.uk. NYPHere s a picture of the bathing suit Miss Great Britain wore during the competition:It takes bravery, emotional resilience and most importantly surrounding yourself with strong minded people who are prepared to make great sacrifices to welcome permanent and positive change. I may not be able to unwrite a moment in my life but I know a moment will never define me. I will always rise above your expectations and pushed past your limitations. You are what you say you are, and your imaginations can be your worst enemy unless you overcome your fears. Be careful of what you think of others because it s a reflection of what you are. Work at being a better person, and one day we can welcome a better World. . . This moment has proved that I am capable of almost anything I set my mind to and limitations is a status waiting to be changed. I thank everyone who stood beside me and believed in my vision. . . #missuniverse #mugb2017 #missuniversegb #fear #migrant #refugee #positive #change #love #modelling #friends #family #girls #pageant #empowerment #inspiration #inspire #aspire #history #munajama #caftan #kaftan #stage #london #dubai #love #indonesia #malaysia @missuniversegb Photographer @leedarephotographyA post shared by Muna Jama (@ms_munajama) on Jul 18, 2017 at 8:56am PDTDo you think it s fair that she was not disqualified for failing to follow the same rules every other contestant was forced to follow in order to compete for the title? | 0 |
5,023 | Trump says he has decided to decertify Iran nuclear deal | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump struck a blow against the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement on Friday in defiance of other world powers, choosing not to certify that Tehran is complying with the deal. Based on the factual record I have put forward, I am announcing today that we cannot and will not make this certification, Trump said at a White House event as he unveiled a tougher strategy against Tehran. Trump s move does not pull the United States out of the agreement, formally known as the JCPOA. | 1 |
5,024 | Watch Women Reverse Roles And Tell Male Republican Candidates What They Should Do With Their Bodies (VIDEO) | Many women have had enough of men in power telling them what they should or should not do with their bodies. One would think that in 2016, it would be understood by presidential candidates that a woman simply has a right to her own body and the choices she makes are hers and hers alone.Not so with the current Republican clowns running for president. For some irrational reason, all the candidates seem to believe that they have a right to tell women what to do with their bodies. A group of women decided to get together and teach the candidates a lesson by posing the following question: What would it be like for men in power to get schooled on what they should or shouldn t do with their bodies? The results in the video are effective as well as hilarious.The results in the video are effective as well as hilarious.[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdXZd7VZTnI]One woman speaks directly to the camera and says: Guys, Republicans, picture this: Once a month, lots of blood just comes out of you d**k hole and if you want to prevent it, you just shove a tampon in your d**k hole. Now picture my trying to regulate your d**k hole. Another woman on screen continues with some advice for Donald Trump. She says: Take as many selfies as possible. You ve got the duck lips that teen girls dream of. And there were some suggestions for lowly Jeb Bush: You basically want women to wear a chastity belt. We just want you to use your actual belt and wear your pants below your nipple line. By subverting power and reversing it, these women teach these candidates an important lesson. Although it s doubtful that someone like Donald Trump, who has said terrible and sexist things about women will heed the message and reverse course. It s also doubtful that someone like Ben Carson, who believes that abortion should be outlawed, even in cases of rape and incest, will heed the message as well. However, the hope is that Americans will be rational enough not to vote for a Republican for the presidency when the time comes.Featured image via video screenshot | 0 |
5,025 | WATCH: Rob Reiner Rips Rick Santorum A New One For Defending Mentally Ill Trump | Rick Santorum had the impossible job of defending Donald Trump during Friday s Real Time and he found himself humiliatingly outnumbered.Bill Maher began by expressing astonishment at how the Republican nominee has been acting throughout the campaign. Even conservative commentator Tara Setmayer couldn t believe Trump s antics, surmising that it s almost like he is trying to lose but people just keep supporting him so he has to do something even more outrageous. It s easy to behave this way when you re mentally ill, director Rob Reiner chimed in. It s not like he s trying to lose. He can t help himself. Then Santorum took his turn and instantly became the punching bag for Maher and the other two panelists when he attempted to defend Trump as some kind of change-maker while portraying Hillary Clinton as a politics-as-usual candidate.Setmayer pointed at Santorum and pointed out that people like him are to blame for Trump getting this far while Rob Reiner once again pleaded, Stop being mentally ill. Santorum claimed that Trump was relatively tame on Friday, prompting Setmayer to ask if Trump seriously wants a cookie for acting like an adult for once.Maher explained that Trump can never be president because his number one priority is getting back at anybody who has slighted him in any way. Santorum continued repeating how Trump has tapped into some kind of anger among conservatives who think they are being ignored, but Setmayer hit back by noting that there s a way to do that without acting like a petulant child, and that Trump is an embarrassment.Santorum then attacked Hillary Clinton by claiming Trump isn t a liar like her by bringing up her emails again, which drew the ire of Rob Reiner. Let s talk about the FBI! There was one email! One email that was not listed as classified with a little tiny c and James Comey said anybody could have missed that! Enough of that! Enough of that! Bill Maher agreed, saying that he is sick of hearing about Hillary s emails all the time.The panel continued piling on Santorum with Setmayer doing the most damage and then Maher slammed Republicans for handcuffing themselves to a dead hooker by making Trump their nominee and catering to a base that hates and denies facts.Here s the video via YouTube:Donald Trump is an embarrassment to this country and as this episode of Maher demonstrates, even conservatives are embarrassed that he is the Republican nominee. Those who still support him are either ignorant or just want to watch the world burn.Featured Image: Screenshot | 0 |
5,026 | Obama Makes UNPRECEDENTED Move To Protect The World From Trump (DETAILS) | President Barack Obama knows that President-elect Donald Trump doesn t know what the hell he s doing, and is putting more time in on Twitter than actually trying to figure it out and learn the ropes.Obama has not only agreed to hold Trump s little orange hands and remain close to guide him through this transition period, but he s also just made an unprecedented move to save the world from Trump and his deadly administration. On Monday, our beloved Commander-in-chief released a memo that is basically a guidebook on how to use military force for dummies.The document lays out specific details on national security-related topics, such as how and when to use military force. This is a major move by Obama and the first time a President has EVER had to do this to prevent a completely unqualified person from destroying everything. The Washington Post reported: On the eve of a new administration that has promised more aggressive counterterrorism operations, the Obama White House has released a lengthy compendium of its own policies governing the use of force.The 61-page document outlines eight years of the administration s legal opinions, executive orders and military directives. In a strong defense of the administration s actions, it lists rules for lethal drones and terrorist detention, and describes the international and domestic law that undergirds them. In the introduction of the guidebook, Obama said he d created it to reduce the risk of an ill-considered decision an obvious observation of Trump s lack of emotional stability and impulsive, erratic behavior. And then he wrote something that Trump will REALLY hate when he said it was critical to give as much information as possible to the public so that an informed public can scrutinize our actions and hold us to account. Obama is truly amazing for this. It s clear that even though he won t be America s President in a few weeks, he still deeply cares about the future of our country and the world. Even on his way out, he s committed to serving the people and minimizing the damage our moronic President-elect might do. We re really going to miss him.Featured image via Sean Gallup/Getty Images | 0 |
5,027 | Iraqi forces take control of Kirkuk governorate building unopposed: security sources | BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A convoy of elite Iraqi military forces took control of the governorate building in central Kirkuk on Monday, meeting no opposition from Kurdish forces deployed in the city, security sources and residents said. A dozen Humvees from the U.S.-trained Counter Terrorism Service (CTS) arrived at the governorate building and took position in the vicinity alongside the local city police, they said. They drove to the center of the city from airport which they had captured earlier in the day from Kurdish forces. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi gave instructions that the Iraqi flag be hoisted on Kirkuk and other territories claimed by both the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government. | 1 |
5,028 | WATCH: LIBERAL San Juan Mayor Sinks To New Low…ATTACKS Melania Trump In Interview With Anderson Cooper | How much longer will the citizens of San Juan, Puerto Rico put up with this loudmouth, liberal mayor trashing the leader of the nation who is bending over backward to ensure the delivery of much-needed food, water, and aid to bankrupt Puerto Rico? Americans are sick and tired of San Juan s Mayor Carmen Yul n Cruz bad-mouthing our President, and now, his wife Melania, every time a liberal network puts a microphone in front of her face.After President Trump s acting DHS Chief gave an optimistic view to reporters of how things were progressing in Puerto Rico, the San Juan mayor lashed out, saying, People are dying in this country. I am begging, begging anyone that can hear us, to save us from dying. If anybody out there is listening to us, we are dying, and you are killing us with the inefficiency and the bureaucracy. On Monday, President Trump took to Twitter to criticize Mayor Cruz for poor leadership ability. Trump also claimed that the island s leaders want everything to be done for them when it should be a community effort. Such poor leadership ability by the Mayor of San Juan, and others in Puerto Rico, who are not able to get their workers to help. They . Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2017 want everything to be done for them when it should be a community effort. 10,000 Federal workers now on Island doing a fantastic job. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2017Daily Caller San Juan Mayor Carmen Yul n Cruz insisted Saturday that she had, no time for small politics or for comments less than two minutes before attacking President Trump.On CNN Newsroom With Ana Cabrera, Cruz told Anderson Cooper, I smiled. Really, in response to President Trump s tweets about her. I have no time for small politics or for comments that really don t add to the situation here, she added.Just about a minute later in the interview, Cooper said, the President also says in a tweet early this morning that you had been nice to him early on but that Democrats told you, you have to be nasty towards him. Mayor Cruz responded to Andersen Cooper by taking a swipe at First Lady Melania Trump, saying, I don t know. Maybe he s used to women who have to be told what to do. That s not who we are in San Juan. Watch:In a 2014 interview, Cruz revealed her feelings about how she believed that woman in politics can t play nice , Politics is a rough game, and sometimes as females, we are taught that you have to play nice. Sometimes you can t play nice. When your bankrupt country is in desperate need of help, and the nation you are relying on for that help has a leader who is bending over backward to save you, it s probably not the right time to not play nice. | 0 |
5,029 | HILLARY CLINTON FINALLY MAKES HISTORY…But It’s Not The Kind Of History She Was Hoping To Make | Democrats were hoping yesterday s Electoral Vote would end with electors rejecting Republican Donald Trump in droves.It didn t work out that way. in fact Hillary Clinton lost more electors than Donald J. Trump.Trump lost two electors: One to Ron Paul and one to Governor John Kasich. Hillary Clinton lost Five electors.8 Clinton defectors 4 WA (successful) 1 HI (successful) 1 MN (attempted) 1 ME (attempted) 1 CO (attempted)2 Trump defectors TX (successful)In fact Hillary Clinton lost more electors than any politician in the last 100 years.Not since 1912 has a candidate lost more electors. GP | 0 |
5,030 | MAN ARRESTED For Asking Muslim Woman: ‘Excuse me, can I ask what you thought about the [terror] incident in Brussels?’ | While London police are wasting resources to track down people who may or may not have offended Muslims, ACTUAL tweets promoting threats of violence towards non-believers can be found on Twitter round-the-clock. We found this tweet only 2 days ago following the Brussels terror attack:A man who tweeted about stopping a Muslim woman in the street yesterday, challenging her to explain Brussels , and lambasted on Twitter for his comments, has responded to the criticism today, insisting he is not some far right merchant .Matthew Doyle, partner at a south London-based talent & PR agency, posted a tweet on Wednesday morning saying: I confronted a Muslim woman in Croydon yesterday. I asked her to explain Brussels. She said nothing to do with me . A mealy mouthed reply. He was later arrested.A Metropolitan Police spokeman said: A 46-year-old man was this evening arrested at his home in Croydon on suspicion of inciting racial hatred on social media. He has been taken to a south London police station and enquiries continue. His tweet referred to yesterday s bomb attacks on the Belgian capital s main airport and Metro system that left at least 34 people dead and 198 injured. His comment went viral, being retweeted hundreds of times before he eventually deleted it. Mr Doyle told the Telegraph he had no idea his tweet would be the hand grenade it has proven to be and that Twitter s 140 character limit made the encounter sound vastly different to how he thought it went. What everyone s got wrong about this is I didn t confront the woman, he said. I just said: Excuse me, can I ask what you thought about the incident in Brussels?' She was white, and British, wearing a hijab and she told me it was nothing to do with her. I said thank you for explaining that and her little boy said goodbye to me as we went out separate ways. On Wednesday afternoon, he says, someone who s been outraged by his comments turned up at my door, gave me a load of abuse and tried to throw a punch at me. As for his more inflammatory tweets, Mr Doyle claims they re intended as a joke, which people who know him would understand as that s absolutely not who I am. I m not some far-right merchant, I m not a mouthpiece for any kind of racism or radicalism, he says. If I was xenophobic I wouldn t live in London. I have a Muslim neighbour who got burgled, and I was one of the first people to go around to help. However, he says he does believe Muslims aren t doing enough to speak out against terrorism. The horror that happened in Brussels could happen here, he adds, and your naive if you think London isn t on some terror shortlist. Via: Telegraph | 0 |
5,031 | Barca's Valverde skirts independence debate as Iniesta ruled out for Bilbao | MADRID, (Reuters) - Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde declined to be drawn on Friday on whether a declaration of independence by Catalonia s parliament meant his side might end up being kicked out of La Liga. The Spanish football league s president Javier Tebas was previously quoted as saying that, should Catalonia become independent, the region s sides would not be able to compete in La Liga. Valverde declined to comment on the possibility of that happening. Nothing has happened (in relation to Barcelona not being in La Liga) and we re only talking about hypothetical situations, he said. I have my own opinion but I just want to concentrate on sporting questions, especially because the political situation appears to change every half hour. In a bid to draw a line under Spain s worst political crisis in 40 years, the government in Madrid on Friday sacked Catalonia s regional government, dissolved the Catalan parliament and called a snap election in the region for Dec. 21. In what appears to be a doomed gesture, the parliament had hours earlier declared independence following a referendum on secession that Spanish courts had ruled was illegal. On the pitch, table-topping Barca confirmed that midfield playmaker Andres Iniesta would miss Saturday s visit to Athletic Bilbao. The club captain, who this week was named in the FIFPro Team of the Year, has a thigh strain and adds to a growing list of absentees for Valverde that also includes Ousmane Dembele, Rafinha, Arda Turan, Aleix Vidal and Thomas Vermaelen. The news is not all negative, however, with full back Jordi Alba given the green light by the club s medical staff to return to action. Valverde joined Barca from Bilbao in the summer and will visit his former club as coach of the Catalans for the first time, insisting he will not allow emotion to get the better of him. For me it s a special game. A lot of things link me to Athletic, but tomorrow I am the opponent, he said. | 1 |
5,032 | Irony: Mike Pence Shames Pres. Obama For Name Calling – No, Really | Mike Pence, the right-wing nut who is running alongside Donald Trump for the vice presidential position, had a few words for President Obama after his speech at the Democratic National Convention when he called Trump a homegrown demogauge among other things: I don t think name calling has any place in public life, and I thought that was unfortunate that the president of the United States would use a term like that, let alone laced into a sentence like that. You read that right. Mike Pence, who s running alongside Donald Trump, is offended that President Obama would resort to name calling in public.The irony is just too rich with this one. Coupled with Trump having his feelings hurt by speakers at the DNC, the hypocrisy from the Trump camp could not be more rank.Thanks to the New York Times, we know that Donald Trump has insulted, personally, over 250 people, places and things just on Twitter alone.While Pence is offended by the homegrown demogauge line, he seems perfectly fine with words and lines like: corrupt; crooked; dopey clown; goofy; Pocahontas; perv; sleazebag; disgrace; dummy; irrelevant clown; moron; loser; wacko; crazy; waste of time and energy; low-life; phony; hokey garbage; sloppy; grubby; buffoon; bimbo; dog; bitch; truly weird.The list, as documented by the NYT, goes on and on.So, to Mike Pence, please do us all a favor and shut up. If you really don t want name calling in politics, maybe you should talk to your running mate first, considering that right after Bloomberg s speech, Trump revived his little insult once given to Marco Rubio.Trump and Pence are buckling under the pressure of public opinion, and their inability to see past their own hypocrisy is turning Republicans against them (as well as Independents).Featured image via Sarah D. Davis/Getty Images | 0 |
5,033 | Factbox: Foreign leaders' criticism, praise of U.S. Republican candidate Trump | (Reuters) - Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s provocative proposals on immigration, trade and other issues have drawn attention and verbal attacks - as well as some praise - well beyond the United States’ shores. Here is a sampling. Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have often praised each other. Last December, Putin described the New York businessman as “a very flamboyant man, very talented.” Trump, who lauded Putin in return, also spoke well of him in September, saying at a televised forum with Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton that Putin had been a better leader than Democratic U.S. President Barack Obama. Some of the strongest criticism of Trump from abroad has come from Mexican officials because of his verbal attacks on illegal Mexican immigrants and his promise to build a wall on the southern border and make Mexico pay for it. Following talks in Mexico City between Trump and Enrique Pena Nieto, the Mexican president said the American’s policy stances “could represent a huge threat to Mexico, and I am not prepared to keep my arms crossed and do nothing.” Earlier this year, he likened Trump to dictators Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini. In April, Chinese Finance Minister Lou Jiwei called Trump “an irrational type” because of the candidate’s proposal that tariffs on imported Chinese goods be increased to up to 45 percent. “If he were to do this, that would be in violation of the rules set by the World Trade Organization,” Lou said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. Then-British Prime Minister David Cameron in May called Trump’s initial proposal for a temporary ban on Muslim’s entering the United States “very dangerous.” In December, Cameron had called Trump, potentially the leader of Britain’s closest ally, “divisive, stupid and wrong” for calling for the ban. Nigel Farage, a politician who played a key role in the successful campaign to get Britain out of the European Union, lent his support to Trump in August, appearing with the candidate at a rally in Jackson, Mississippi. Farage said Trump represented the same type of anti-establishment movement that he had masterminded in his own country. London’s first Muslim mayor, Sadiq Khan, said in May that Trump had an “ignorant view of Islam,” referring to Trump’s initial proposed ban on Muslims. {nL2N18709R] In September, during his first U.S. visit, Khan expressed support for Clinton. French President Francois Hollande said in August that a Trump victory could make politics more conservative around the world and that the New York businessman made people “feel nauseous.” A Trump win could also affect France’s spring 2017 presidential election, said Hollande. Germany’s European affairs minister, Michael Roth, said in August that Trump’s assertion that Chancellor Angela Merkel’s open-door refugee policy had resulted in a huge increase in crime was incorrect. Roth said it was important to correct campaign statements in other countries that were based on “fears, lies and half-truths,” given the importance of the U.S. election for the world. In April, the German foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, criticized Trump’s “America First” policy, which the candidate had unveiled in a speech that week. Steinmeier said world security could no longer be ensured unilaterally and that international conflicts could only be solved nowadays if heavyweights like the United States and Russia and others joined forces. The “America First” stance - which included a portrayal by Trump of longtime ally Japan as a free rider on security - also came in for a veiled swipe from Japan’s ambassador to the United States, Kenichiro Sasae, in May. Without mentioning Trump by name, Sasae said he did not want to see an isolationist United States. “I want to see the United States to be strong and come with a strong robust position, not really thinking of the United States only,” he said. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein said on Wednesday that the world would be in danger if Trump became president. He cited Trump’s views on vulnerable communities, including minorities, and his talk of authorizing torture in interrogations, banned under international law, as “deeply unsettling and disturbing.” | 1 |
5,034 | UK SAYS “NO” TO ECONOMIC MIGRANTS: Shocking Video Shows How African “Refugees” Are Using Asylum Loophole To Move Around Europe | The world is being duped with their eyes wide open. In ten years from now, Europe will be a completely different continent. The UK home secretary has called for Europe to get on with the job of breaking the link between economic migrants making the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean and settling in Europe.Arriving at the extraordinary European Union interior ministers refugee crisis meeting in Brussels on Tuesday, Theresa May confirmed that Britain would not be taking part in a further EU programme to relocate 120,000 refugees from Italy, Greece and Hungary. Interior ministers were hoping to find a way of settling the highly controversial distribution of the 120,000 across Europe during Tuesday s meeting.Instead, the home secretary said Britain would only take people direct from Syrian refugee camps in the Middle East and emphasised the need for wider European measures to return those people who are illegally economic migrants and who have no right to be here .She made clear that she saw Britain s role, at the crunch meeting being held on the eve of a refugee crisis summit of European prime ministers, as being to push for rigorous processing of those who have made it to Europe. We must ensure that people arriving at Europe s borders are being properly dealt with, properly fingerprinted so that decisions can be made and when they are illegal economic migrants, they can be returned, May said.Britain, which under the Lisbon Treaty can opt out of the EU refugee relocation programme, is the only member state that will not participate in some form or other. Both Ireland and Denmark, which also have opt-outs, have said they will nevertheless take some of the refugees from within Europe.The home secretary said: The UK will not be participating in the relocation scheme. We have announced that we will be taking more refugees direct from the Syrian refugee camps we will be resettling those people in the UK over the next few years. That means we can help the most vulnerable people. It also means that fewer people will be trying to make that dangerous journey through into Europe which has sadly seen so many lives lost. We also need Europe to get on with the job of wider measures that need to be taken of ensuring that we are breaking the link for economic migrants between making this dangerous journey and settling in Europe. May s remarks came as the International Organisation of Migration said that 473,887 men, women and children had arrived in Europe by sea so far in 2015. It added that at least 182,000, or just under 40% of them, were Syrians.The British Refugee Council said the home secretary s comments were extremely disappointing , adding that: Britain can t leave refugees to camp on Greek beaches. We must help protect refugees. Via: The GuardianAfrican migrants are using an asylum loophole in Hungary to get EU papers: | 0 |
5,035 | Factbox: Long history of U.S. leakers to media facing charges | (Reuters) - While one focus of the leak crackdown announced on Friday by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions is on journalists who receive leaked information, another is on suspected leakers. Republican President Donald Trump has complained for months about leaks to the news media, but his Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama, also took a hard line on leaking. Eight of the 12 cases where federal prosecutors charged individuals with violating the Espionage Act, a World War One-era law aimed at keeping sensitive information out of the hands of the United States’ enemies, were brought under Obama. Here are the 12 cases, dating back 46 years. Daniel Ellsberg became the first such case in 1971 when prosecutors accused the national security analyst and his colleague, Anthony Russo, of providing what would become known as the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times and other media outlets. The secret documents revealed the extent of U.S. involvement in Vietnam. Charges against the two men were dismissed when a judge found that the government had wiretapped Ellsberg, possibly illegally. Samuel Morison, a former Navy intelligence analyst, was charged in 1984 with illegally passing secret photographs of Soviet ships to a magazine, Jane’s Defence Weekly. He pleaded not guilty, but a jury convicted him, making him the first person convicted under the Espionage Act for divulging secrets to the press. He was sentenced to two years in prison but paroled. President Bill Clinton pardoned him. Lawrence Franklin, a Defense Department employee, was charged in 2005 with passing classified information about Iran to two pro-Israel lobbyists, Steven Rosen and Keith Weissman. Franklin pleaded guilty and received a 12-year sentence. Eventually, after the government’s case against Rosen and Weissman collapsed, a judge reduced Franklin’s sentence to 10 months in a halfway house. Shamai Leibowitz was an FBI translator when material that he heard while translating ended up on a blog. He reached an agreement with prosecutors before he was charged, and pleaded guilty in 2009 to one count of disclosing classified information. He was sentenced to 20 months in prison. Former National Security Agency official Thomas Drake was suspected in 2010 of revealing information about the agency’s warrantless wiretapping program. He was indicted under the Espionage Act but said the only information he leaked was about waste in an NSA program, which he gave to the Baltimore Sun. The 10 felony counts were dropped when he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and received no prison time. Chelsea Manning, an Army private first class formerly known as Bradley Manning, turned over more than 700,000 classified files to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks in the biggest breach of secret data in U.S. history. Manning was found guilty of 19 counts but acquitted of the most serious one, aiding the enemy. She was sentenced in August 2013 to 35 years in a military prison but was released in May after Obama, in his last days in office, commuted the final 28 years of Manning’s sentence. Stephen Kim, a U.S. State Department contract analyst, allegedly divulged to a Fox News reporter what U.S. intelligence believed about how North Korea would respond to new sanctions. A grand jury indicted him in 2010 for disclosing defense information and making false statements. He pleaded guilty in 2014 and was sentenced to thirteen months in prison. He was released in May 2015. Former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling was charged in 2011 with illegally disclosing classified information about Iran to James Risen, a New York Times reporter, for his book “State of War.” A jury convicted Sterling in 2015. A judge sentenced him to 42 months in prison. Former CIA officer John Kiriakou was charged in 2012 with divulging to journalists secret information about the CIA’s interrogation program, including the identity of a covert officer. In an agreement with prosecutors, he pleaded guilty to one count and was sentenced to two and a half years in prison. He was released in February 2015 on condition that he serve three months of house arrest. U.S. officials said in June 2013 they had filed sealed criminal charges against former NSA contractor Edward Snowden for unauthorized leaks and theft of government property. Snowden prompted a worldwide debate after he gave documents to newspapers showing the extent of U.S. surveillance programs. Russia granted him asylum. Former FBI bomb analyst Donald Sachtleben agreed in September 2013 to plead guilty to disclosing national defense information for telling an Associated Press reporter details of a failed airline bombing attempt by Yemen-based al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. A judge sentenced Sachtleben that year to a 43-month prison term for the national security offenses and a consecutive 97-month term for unrelated child pornography charges. The Justice Department charged U.S. intelligence contractor Reality Leigh Winner with violating the Espionage Act for leaking a classified report on Russian interference in U.S. elections to The Intercept. The NSA report described Russian efforts to launch cyber attacks on at least one U.S. voting software supplier and send “spear-phishing” emails to more than 100 local officials days before the Nov. 8, 2016 election. | 1 |
5,036 | Vatican prepared in case of Barcelona-style attack: Swiss Guard chief | VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - It is perhaps only a matter of time before Rome is hit by a Barcelona-style attack but security forces are ready in case the Vatican is targeted, the head the Swiss Guard has said. Security has been stepped up at religious sites throughout Italy, including at the Vatican, since last year, when a truck driven by a suspected Islamist militant killed 86 people in the French city of Nice. Barriers and police and army vehicles have been placed around St. Peter s Basilica to make it harder for a vehicle to gather speed in an attack such as the one last week in Barcelona, which killed 13 people. Despite threats from Islamic State, Rome and other Italian cities have so far been spared the kind of vehicle attacks that have also hit Nice, London, and Berlin. It could perhaps be just a matter of time before there is such an attack in Rome, but we are prepared, Christoph Graf, the commandant of the Swiss Guard, was quoted as telling the Swiss Catholic website Cath.ch. Graf, referring to the attack in Barcelona, spoke on the sidelines of a religious ceremony in the Swiss city of Solothurn earlier this week. Websites linked to Islamic State militants have made threats against Catholic targets in Rome in recent years. In 2015 in a video showing the beheading of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians in Libya, one of the killers said: Safety for you crusaders is something you can only wish for ... We will conquer Rome, by the will of Allah. At about the same time a website used by militants ran a photo montage showing the movement s black flag flying from the obelisk at the center of St Peter s Square. The Swiss Guard has its origins as a papal protection force in the 16th century and numbers about 110 men, all of Swiss nationality. It shares responsibility for the protection of the pope and the Vatican with a police force of about the same size. Italian police are responsible for patrolling the Vatican s external perimeter in Rome. Both Vatican security forces are trained in anti-terrorism tactics and in the use of modern weapons. | 1 |
5,037 | Senate delays healthcare vote as McCain recovers from surgery | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate will delay its consideration of healthcare legislation while Arizona Republican Senator John McCain recuperates from surgery, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said on Saturday. McCain’s absence cast doubt on whether the Senate would be able to pass the legislation to dismantle and replace Obamacare. McConnell needs 50 “yes” votes for passage in a chamber the Republicans control by a 52-48 margin. “While John is recovering, the Senate will continue our work on legislative items and nominations, and will defer consideration of the Better Care Act,” McConnell said in a statement. The announcement came after McCain’s office said he would remain in Arizona next week following a procedure to remove a 2-inch (5-cm) blood clot from above his left eye. Repealing and replacing President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law was a top campaign promise for President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress. But two Republican senators have already declared their opposition to revised legislation unveiled on Thursday. McCain has expressed concern about the healthcare bill but has not said how he would vote. The 2008 Republican presidential nominee, McCain was resting comfortably at home in good condition after Friday’s operation, his office said. “There are few people tougher than my friend John McCain, and I know he’ll be back with us soon,” McConnell said. McCain’s surgeons removed the clot during a minimally invasive craniotomy through an incision in the 80-year-old lawmaker’s eyebrow. Tissue pathology reports would be available within the next several days. “Thanks to @MayoClinic for its excellent care — I appreciate your support & look forward to getting back to work!” McCain, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, said on social network Twitter late on Saturday. | 1 |
5,038 | Man With History Of Mental Illness Was Able To Buy A Gun And Kill This Woman Who Told Him ‘No’ | Christopher O Kroley was a co-worker to Caroline Nosal. Christopher wanted Caroline as his girlfriend, but Caroline said no. Two days later, Christopher murdered her in the parking lot where they used to work, saying it was easy to kill her because she ruined his life.It wasn t just saying no one time. Caroline had to deal with harassment from Christopher over a period of time where he wouldn t take no for an answer. It got so bad that Caroline had to report his behavior to management, which in turn got Christopher suspended then eventually fired.Christopher admitted that he bought the gun right after he was fired, but waited a day before murdering Caroline because he wanted to practice using the gun. He shot her three times in the parking lot of the grocery store where they used to work together, when he found out her work schedule from a co-worker. After the murder, Christopher texted a co-worker, I killed Caroline and I m about to kill myself, so don t be surprised when I don t respond anymore. Madison police officer Michele Walker got onto the scene quickly though, and exchanged gunfire with the murderer, resulting in him being taken alive instead of letting him finish his plan.This entire situation could have been prevented, if we only could take our gun laws seriously. A former girlfriend of Christopher said that he had a history of severe mental health issues, and attempted suicide once before in 2014. There is no excuse for a person with a history of severe mental illness and a suicide attempt being able to procure a firearm so easily. Not only did he get one, but he got one as if he was buying a loaf of bread at the local mini-mart. While it s true that a mandatory waiting period may not have stopped this, it certainly couldn t have hurt anything.Republicans keep squawking that we have to address the mental health issues in this country, but their address it but cutting it is yielding no results. If this gun was purchased with a background check, the mental health history was not flagged in the report. This is courtesy of the NRA. They literally do everything they can to block the things for which they keep calling. Perhaps the real spot we need to improve mental health is among Republicans, and then it would trickle down from there.Featured image from Huffington Post | 0 |
5,039 | Trump to halt refugee flow from some Muslim-majority nations: White House official | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump is poised to sign an executive order on Friday to temporarily halt refugees from some Muslim-majority nations, a White House official said. On a visit to the Pentagon, Trump will also sign executive orders on military readiness and on national security, the official said. | 1 |
5,040 | Kansas governor denounces legislature's action to raise taxes | (Reuters) - Kansas Governor Sam Brownback on Wednesday criticized the state legislature for overriding his veto of a bill that hikes income tax rates to plug budget holes, saying it will hurt the state’s efforts to spur economic growth. “I think we’ve taken a big step backwards,” the Republican governor told reporters. Brownback quickly vetoed the bill passed by the legislature on Monday, saying the $1.2 billion it would raise over the next two fiscal years marked the biggest tax increase in Kansas history. Both chambers of the Republican-controlled legislature overrode Brownback’s veto late on Tuesday. The measure essentially rolls back income tax rate cuts the state enacted in 2012 that led to budget shortfalls. The higher rates are expected to raise $591 million in fiscal 2018, which begins July 1, and $633 million in fiscal 2019, according to a legislative analysis of the bill. Kansas’ structural budget pressures led S&P Global Ratings to revise the outlook on the state’s AA-minus credit rating to negative from stable earlier this year. David Hitchcock, a S&P analyst, said on Wednesday the credit rating agency would take a look at the tax hike in the context of Kansas’ final budget and its response to a court ruling on school funding. Lawmakers this week also passed a plan to comply with a March 2 Kansas Supreme Court ruling that found the school funding system falls short of a constitutional requirement for adequacy. The ruling set a June 30 deadline for the enactment of a constitutional funding method. | 1 |
5,041 | LOL! SOCIAL MEDIA Users Respond To Hillary’s Birthday Tweet To HERSELF…And They’re HILARIOUS! | Exactly one year ago today on arrogant Hillary Clinton s birthday, she was so sure she d win the presidency, that Hillary actually tweeted a birthday message calling herself the future president. LOL! What a difference one year makes. Not only is Hillary nowhere near the Oval Office, but she s traveling around the world, on an embarrassing blame everyone but me book tour . Ironically, the name of the book that Hillary s pushing is What Happened . Well, unfortunately for Hillary, when it comes to Russian collusion, the world is about to find out what happened and Hillary s gonna wish she still some friends in government who could protect her. Hopefully, this time next year, Hillary will be celebrating her birthday in a federal penitentiary, while wearing an orange jumpsuit.Twitter users destroyed the arrogant Hillary and her future president birthday message to herself. Here are some of the hilarious responses to her tweet from exactly one year ago:Here s a hilarious video featuring a surprise guest to help Hillary celebrate her birthday:One year anniversary of Hillary "Happy Birthday To This Future President" tweet; #HappyBirthdayToThisFutureInmate #ThursdayThoughts pic.twitter.com/Rrk0BCWYCK Cris (@ThePatriot143) October 26, 2017Donald Trump Jr. (whose tweets are usually hilarious) had this to say about Hillary s birthday message: A year later the arrogance and entitlement in this tweet is exactly why it was never going to happen. #maga A year later the arrogance and entitlement in this tweet is exactly why it was never going to happen. #maga pic.twitter.com/zQ68AQpPE0 Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) October 26, 2017Former presidential deputy assistant Sebastian Gorka nailed it with this uranium cake birthday message to Hillary. LOL!It's Hillary's Birthday. Here's a cake. #ClintonUraniumGate pic.twitter.com/vk1jBJ1Vsl Sebastian Gorka DrG (@SebGorka) October 26, 2017Since she was old enough to dream of the day she d hold the ultimate office of President of the United States, Hillary s been involved in some sort of shady dealing or criminal activity. That s what makes this tweet so hilarious. If there s a crime that s been committed in Washington DC, Hillary s fingerprints are probably on it somewhere.Today is the release of the #JFKFiles. Coincidentally, it s also crooked Hillary s birthday. pic.twitter.com/VyjFbxdQiO GRANT J. KIDNEY (@GrantJKidney) October 26, 2017Stacey Stiles, like most of America, is just waiting patiently for the day when Hillary is permanently behind iron bars:Happy Birthday, Hillary. May your next be celebrated behind bars. #UraniumOne #RussiaDossier #ClintonFoundation pic.twitter.com/Bis5tgOOPV StacyLStiles (@StacyLStiles) October 26, 2017 | 0 |
5,042 | WATCH: ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic Relives The Third Debate, And It’s BEYOND Compare | Who doesn t love Weird Al Yankovic and his hilarious parodies of famous songs? This time, though, he teamed up with Songify to re-enact the third presidential debate, poking special fun at two of Donald Trump s many terrible moments. It also relives some of Hillary s most searing burns, and is just all-around perfect.The song is titled, Bad Hombres, Nasty Women, which are two of the quotes that the junkyard heap known as Donald Trump is most remembered for right now. The video not only features both Hillary and Trump autotuned to fit the music, but also features Weird Al himself in the role of the moderator.The first words of the song, in fact, are, Such a nasty woman, from Trump, and then Hillary joins in with: He choked. He choked. He goes around with crocodile tears, to which Trump can only say, Such a nasty woman. A little bit later on, Weird Al asks the candidates a very important question: To stop a Cold War, what should we be doin ? Would you go thumb-wrestle Vladimir Putin? We have so many adversaries overseas. Can we all agree to be frenemies? Finally, no song about the third debate would be complete without making fun of the Donald s ongoing use of the word, Bigly, and Weird Al works it in like the maestro he is. But, perhaps one of the best parts are the expressions on Weird Al s face as Hillary and King Cheeto answer his questions. Watch below:[ad3media campaign= 1209 ]Featured image via screen capture from embedded video | 0 |
5,043 | “UNITY” BASEBALL GAME Not So Unified: Democrat Staffers Mock Pre-Game Prayer…Show Vulgar Reactions To Trump’s Unity Speech [Video] | So much for putting a stop to the poisonous debate in Washington. The effort to try and mend fences came to a screeching halt when during President Trump s Unity Speech to the baseball crowd congressional staffers jeered and booed. The staffers even exhibited vulgar gesticulations at President Trump.The message of unity was lost on these clowns:Washington Times reported:Mr. Trump delivered a message of unity, but some fans in the stands weren t having any of it. One man shouted an expletive at the video screen as Mr. Trump was telling the fans: We are showing the world we will not be intimidated by threats. The episode marred what had been a night celebrating those wounded in Wednesday s murderous attack on GOP players practicing for the game. When both teams went to second base the symbolic spot where Rep. Steve Scalise was wounded in the attack at the Alexandria practice field to kneel and pray, some mocked the prayer, too. The fans appeared to be Democratic staffers, having booed the announcement of several members of the GOP lineup.Most fans were in the correct mood, however, chanting U-S-A and giving a loud standing ovation to Capitol Police Special Agent David Bailey (pictured below), who along with two other special agents at the field Wednesday were credited with saving the lives of dozens of lawmakers and staffers. Agent Bailey threw out the first pitch. In the wake of the attack Wednesday, leaders in both parties have pleaded for civility in the political conversation. | 0 |
5,044 | the toronto star published an unauthorized database of things that will infuriate trump addicting info the knowledge you crave | on november pm
as if the election of donald trump couldnt get even more disastrous and hypocritical senator lindsey graham just called on trump to nominate a rightwing extremist to nations highest court
all year long republicans have been blocking president obamas nomination of merrick garland to the supreme court because they want the next president to make the pick and because they now have the conservative puppet president they have always wanted they want to make sure that nominee is a conservative extremist
south carolina senator lindsey graham told wyfftv that trump should pick texas senator ted cruz as the nominee and warned democrats not to block him which is hypocritical considering how republicans have treated president obamas nominee and threatened to block any nominees hillary clinton would have made had she won the election
im here to tell my democratic colleagues that i voted for obamas nominees i expect them to give trumps nominees a fair shake he won this election he will pick a conservative i would put ted cruz on that list if they try to block this pick they will regret it if you dont honor trumps nominee youre making a huge mistake
democrats should stand up and give graham a collective middle finger
since antonin scalia died in february there has been a vacancy on the supreme court bench that has yet to be filled the body wasnt even cold yet before republicans vowed to block any nominee president obama picked to replace him going so far as to even deny garland a confirmation hearing thats far from the fair shake graham is asking democrats to give to a man as dangerous as ted cruz
putting cruz on the supreme court would guarantee rulings against womens rights and lgbt rights as well as putting laws like the voting rights act and the civil rights act in further peril in no uncertain terms should democrats grant cruz a hearing nor should they respect any of trumps conservative choices for the court republicans should have thought about fair shakes before taking the totally unprecedented step of being complete assholes toward the supreme court nominee of a sitting president who also won an election and s far more popular than trump again senate republicans didnt even give garland a hearing or a vote they refused to do their jobs entirely out of disrespect towards president obama and so thats exactly what democrats should do to trump turnabout is fair play and republicans only have themselves to blame
featured image ethan millergetty images share this article | 1 |
5,045 | WOW! CONSERVATIVE SINGER KAYA JONES, Who Received Death Threats For Supporting PRESIDENT TRUMP Was On #LasVegas Stage Last Night With Jason Aldean | Kaya Jones, aka Chrystal Neria, the former member of The Pussycat Dolls, was on stage last night with Jason Aldean in Las Vegas. She was not on stage when the 64-year old shooter opened fire on the crowd below in what is now the worst mass shooting in U.S. history.We were all on that stage tonight. Every kind of American was in attendance. Moments later people where shot.It could have been us. KAYA (@KayaJones) October 2, 2017Only 2 weeks ago, Kaya Jones and Joy Villa were forced to cancel their appearance at the Free Speech Week event in Berkeley, CA over what they called serious and specific death threats on both of their lives.Authorities are still working to uncover a motive for the horrific shooting attack that left 50 people dead and over 200 people wounded by gunshots. Meanwhile, the fact that Kaya Jones was on the same stage where the mass shooting took place after receiving several serious death threats cannot and should not be overlooked. The hateful and vile rhetoric by Hollywood, by our so-called educators, by Democrats in Congress and by leftist hate groups like Black Lives Matter and Antifa for our President and any American who dares to support him, has reached a fever-pitch.Watch as Kaya Jones and Joy Villa tell Sean Hannity how their lives have been threatened and how Hollywood liberals and YouTube have been punishing both of them for supporting President Trump.Watch:Here is Kaya s periscope message to her fans and friends, where she lets them know she is okay after the unimaginable violent act by the now deceased 64-yr. old who we will intentionally not name.https://t.co/xdV8PMifOd KAYA (@KayaJones) October 2, 2017Watch, as Hollywood does their part to inspire hatred for our President. | 0 |
5,046 | CNN HOST And Crybaby Hillary Surrogate Get BRUTAL SLAP DOWN When Dr. Gina Loudon Uses Facts Against Them [VIDEO] | Dr. Gina Loudon went on CNN today to discuss the fallacious groping accusations against Donald Trump. Per Wikileaks we know that CNN is working with the Clinton Campaign to destroy Donald Trump. Numerous leaked emails by Wikileaks prove that they have combined efforts to bring down the Republican candidate.This isn t the first time Brooke Baldwin has been embarrassed by a conservative who destroys her argument and makes her look like an uneducated leftist. She famously interrupted a Republican who brought up Hillary s destruction of 13 mobile devices with hammers. You can watch her FREAK AFTER On-Air Fact-Check HERE.Dr. Gina was supposed to discuss alleged groping incidents with Donald Trump. Gina Dropped a bomb! .Via: Gateway Pundit | 0 |
5,047 | Dem Congressman HUMILIATES Trump With One Glorious Tweet; PROVES Absolute Stupidity (IMAGE) | It s one thing to call a person stupid, it s another to prove it, and that s exactly what Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA) just did to Donald Trump in one simple tweet.You see, Takano is a former British literature teacher, knows a thing or two about the English language and can spellcheck you in real time. That s bad news for a guy like Trump who often takes to Twitter in anger-fueled rants and doesn t take the time to proofread his tweets, or even let spellcheck do it for him.In Trump s latest grouping of tweets, he really, really messed up. In fact, following a tweet that said, We must fix our education system, he tweeted I hear by demand and then, I hearby demand and then finally, I hereby demand. Check it out:via TwitterNot letting the moment escape him, Takano pointed out the irony of the spelling errors following a tweet about fixing our education system.Takano tweeted: The moment when one tweet is proof of the other tweet. The moment when one tweet is proof of the other tweet. pic.twitter.com/aPV0b9jBOw Mark Takano (@RepMarkTakano) March 3, 2017In other words, Trump just got called out on his inability to spell and was kinda sorta called stupid.Now, did a Trump staffer tweet out this mess? Maybe. Undoubtedly, Trump won t say it was him because, according to him, he s seemingly never wrong.Nevertheless, Takano s tweet is absolutely hilarious. Well played.Featured Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images | 0 |
5,048 | VAN JONES Tells ‘Mad’ Liberals To Go Hug Trump Voters in Appalachia To Win Elections [Video] | CNN political commentator Van Jones on Wednesday visited ABC s The View, where he criticized fellow liberals for being mad at every single person who voted for President Donald Trump. Jones tells the women that the Democrats need to make their tent bigger to include folks in Appalachia Really? He goes on to say that they ve been embracing Muslims and other minorities but need to include the miner with black lung Huh??? Basically, he s saying the Democrats are willing to toss their remaining policies to wh*re themselves out for votes any votes they can get from any warm body they can drag to the polls. Is anyone else out there as offended by this as we are?Jones first argued that, while the tent of the Democratic Party is diverse, it is not as inclusive as it could be. Right now I don t see Democrats looking at the situation and saying, you know what, maybe we drew our circle too small, Jones said. I love that we re hugging LGBT and Muslims and all the people who usually don t get a hug. We re hugging them, but maybe we need a bigger hug, and include some of those folks in Appalachia. That s exactly what the DNC chair said, co-host Sunny Hostin insisted. We had Tom Perez on the show, and that s exactly what he said. They are trying to do that, co-host Joy Behar affirmed. Listen, there may be some leaders who are. Unfortunately, and I have to be honest I get in trouble because I m honest, Jones said. I know you do, Hostin interjected. When I listen to liberals, when they re not on TV trying to make it sound good, we re still in grief; we re still mad, Jones said. And we re not just mad at Trump, who we should be mad at. We re mad at every single person who voted for Trump, even people who have no jobs, even coal miners who have black lung disease and who are dying and Democrats don t have anything to say about it for years. Behar and co-host Whoopi Goldberg interrupted Jones to take issue with the idea that liberals are mad at Trump voters, asking Jones specifically who he was talking about. Jones explained his point of view comes from conversations with liberals. In my conversations with liberals, it s like they, those Trump voters, them. I don t understand how those people could ever do that. In America, we don t have to agree. We have to try to understand, he said.Via: WFB | 0 |
5,049 | nra admits it deceived public says president obama never could have confiscated guns video | is hillary clintons entourage involved in a satanic pedophile ring is hillary clintons entourage involved in a satanic pedophile ring jeanbatave poqueliche
jeanbatave is a martial artist from the viking stronghold of normandy france he travels the world looking for new fighting techniques and new beautiful women eastern europe taught him everything he knows and is his second home his column runs every thursday november news
the latest batch of the podesta emails shared by wikileaks add a darker dimension if it was even possible to the sordid culture of corruption lies and depravity that surrounds hillary clinton explaining why the fbi has been calling her for quite some time now the antichrist personified
it is a possibility that hellarys clique attends and organizes satanic rituals involving mockup scenes of cannibalism and sexual abuse involving children
one of the emails directed at tony podesta john podestas brother contains the following sentence
i am so looking forward to the spirit cooking dinner at my place
do you think you will be able to let me know if your brother is joining
this really does not sounds like much until you discover the author of this invitation she who walks in the footsteps of the beast
this is the woman who sent the email marina abramovic dressed in red and holding the skinned head of a dead goat a clear reference to the occult character baphomet
there is proof that the clinton foundation directly transferred abramovic ten thousand dollars in at least one instance for her services abramovic carving a pentagram in the flesh of her stomach with a blade to show her artistic side
a selfproclaimed artist abramovic hails from serbia and regularly organizes performances and events using what she calls spirit cooking
this spirit cooking includes mixing semen breast milk urine or fresh blood before consuming it or splattering it over various things such as lifesized representations of young children like shown below
this performance included spelling with the body fluids the following stanza
with a sharp
knife cut deeply into the
middle finger of your
left hand
eat the pain
other examples of her art nowadays any revolting expression of bad taste if sporting the correct pair of problem glasses include public dinners where politicians hollywood stars singers and decision makers gather to eat cakes that depict a naked human corpse or feast on the fake i hope by all that is sacred blood contained in a coffin where swims another human body celebrities that use demonic symbols in their persona such as lady gaga rush to participate to abramovics events another heavy user of the occult symbols jayz is a big fan of marina
these codes are all directly copied from rituals such as black masses or sabat night reunions and popularized by figures such as aleister crowley from whom abramovic draws direct inspiration
it is part of this growing phenomenon where the elites and celebrities close to power get caught intentionally or not showing symbols celebrating the ancient babylonian rites or the worship of the devil on november the th clinton chose jayz in a last bid to draw crowds to her empty rallies coincidence innocent children involved in that mess
there is hard evidence that bill clinton traveled at least times sometimes without his bodyguards it is all in the pilot logs to billionaire and convicted pedophile jeffrey epsteins island on board his plane dubbed the lolita express as it is in this plane that the guests could allegedly have sex with minors
with this in mind it is disturbing to notice that other podesta emails refer to children as being the entertainment at pool parties almost entirely attended by middleaged men involved in politics other emails involve strange references to food such as pizza cheese worth of hot dogs for a party that attendees dream of and recipes that many sources suggest are code words for orgies involving minors and extremely young children you can read more about it here the whole clinton bag of crooks reeks of unnatural sexual behaviour and reproachable acts and we will certainly know much more in the days to come as hillary clinton is still under fbi investigation as we speak this follows the scandal surrounding huma abedin clintons right hand and confidant and her estranged husband sex offender and champion onehanded texter anthony weiner it will take some time before they go through weiners emails and decide of a course of action regarding these dark revelations and other atrocities of the clinton crime family la plus belle ruse du diable est de vous persuader quil nexiste pas drawing by ben garrison
these heavy accusations of satanism remind us of the sexual blackmail practices said to take place among the popular hiphop and hollywood communities as roosh described in his related article or other rumours linked to suspicious reunions involving the secret ceremonies of the elite such as the ones of the bohemian grove or the rothschilds parties of the s
if those recent speculations turn out to be true it could have the effect of a bomb and mean a revolution
observe the symbols of cannibalism eerily similar in the three following pictures those are respectively a scene of the rothschilds surrealistic bal a painting hanging in john podestas office and one of abramovics dinners
i will let you be the own judge of the conclusions inspired by those images my father is a very cartesian fellow and a saying of his comes to mind
just like saint thomas
i only believe in what i see
and what i see unsettles me | 1 |
5,050 | LEFTIST BABYSITTING SERVICE Allows Parents To Riot, Protest, Bully Trump Supporters While Kids Are Indoctrinated At Home | Who knew you could be a parent and still find the time to get out and riot with your spouse? Have you ever wanted to attend a mass protest, serve on a feminist panel, or lecture an unsuspecting group of tourists about the gender spectrum only to discover that you can t get a babysitter on short notice?Well, fear not at least, fear not if you re a resident of the greater Washington, DC, area. Woke babysitting a new activism-oriented babysitting community is here to step in to care for your progressive tots while you practice social justice out in the community. Have you ever been prevented from attending a rally, protest, or emergency call to action by the lack of a babysitter?, the site reads. Woke Babysitting wants to help. The site is the hub for a Google Group, where progressive parents of tots can sign up to become a sort-of child-sharing service, watching each others kids when lawyers, legal observers, and activists may be called upon for urgent action, and don t have time to line up a neighborhood sitter.Ostensibly, while you re out rocking your pussy hat on the Washington Mall or filing emergency stays with the Supreme Court, your woke babysitter will line up age-appropriate social justice-oriented activities so that your child is raised with all the proper compassion and wokeness required of today s offspring.When you get back from the bar (or wherever else you happen have your post-protest karmic transfer Reiki meeting), your children will be waiting with Black Lives Matter signs, subversive art projects, or having heard politically correct bedtime stories.Via: HeatStreet | 0 |
5,051 | BIKERS FOR TRUMP Will Travel To Future Rallies To “Provide Outside Security” Against Paid Soros Thugs For Hillary And Bernie Sanders | Americans had to know it would come to this. The anarchists, the whiny, petulant college students with nothing better to do and the angry BLM protesters are about to meet up with a group who doesn t care much about their feelings or about political correctness. A large percentage of bikers who belong to groups are veterans who have fought for our nation and are not about to step aside and allow a billionaire communist who supports a woman under investigation by the FBI and left four of their brothers to die in Benghazi, to take away the right of Americans to attend a political rally for a candidate they support.It s a military tradition of sorts, running back more than six decades.In the wake of World War II, as a generation of troops returned home from combat, veterans across the country found a certain pleasure and purpose through a newly evolved piece of gear they d become friendly with downrange: the motorcycle.New motorcycle clubs sprang up everywhere, filling the void of camaraderie and brotherhood not to mention adrenaline and adventure that many found themselves craving with the end of their military service.They called themselves outlaws not because they were criminals but because they refused to be boxed in by the rules and regulations of the fledgling American Motorcycle Association. Combat is where motorcycle outlaws come from, says Don Charles Davis, who writes the Aging Rebel biker news blog from Los Angeles. Clubs like the Boozefighters and the Outlaws were either invented or transformed by veterans on cheap Army surplus bikes. One club in particular drew its inspiration from the 3rd Pursuit Squadron of the Flying Tigers, the American volunteers who flew combat missions against the Japanese over China. The squadron was better known among the fliers as Hells Angels. It was just the first of three waves of motorcycle club membership, Davis says. The second surge, of which the former II Corps artilleryman was a part, arose in the wake of Vietnam. Like many war fighters returning home to a largely hostile nation, he found his own family among bikers.That s when clubs such as the Mongols, the Devils Disciples named after a George Bernard Shaw play about Revolutionary War patriot Ethan Allen, Davis says and the Bandidos got their start, again largely fueled by returning veterans.And now a new generation of currently serving troops and veterans are pouring into the old clubs, and starting their own groups as well. Via: Military TimesMeanwhile, Donald Trump is ending his vacation with a rally in the Critical state of Wisconsin, tomorrow at 11AM. His event has already sold out, and a violent protest has been organized to cause mayhem and havoc as they did in Arizona and Illinois.[quote_box_center]From the TRUMP PATRIOTS Facebook page: Patriotic Bikers, from all across the United States are planning to show up at ALL future TRUMP rallies to make sure that any paid agitator protesters don t take away Mr. Trump s right to speak. Or interfere with the rights of Trump supporters to safely attend. WE SHALL NOT BE SILENCED!TO ALL THOSE PAID PROTESTORS Planning on causing chaos, violence,anarchy and riots. Trump rallies are private paid events on private property and Trump is under Secret Service protection. If you want to peacefully assemble across the street from any of Trumps rallies to protest, that is your 1st amendment right. But to publicly plan, incite and organize your events as paid agitators disrupting others civil rights from attending any private event, will most likely end very bad for you, despite the medias attempt to be your cheerleaders.[/quote_box_center]JANESVILLE Nichole Mittness thought about 100 people would respond to a Facebook page inviting a protest of Donald Trump s Janesville appearance.As of midday Saturday, 1,200 had pledged to be there, and Mittness figured that meant 1,000 or so would show up on Tuesday. It s really overwhelming. I was not anticipating this kind of response, Mittness said.While Mittness is working to have a peaceful protest that doesn t interfere with the Trump event, Janesville police are preparing for any possibility.Janesville Police Chief Dave Moore said Friday he didn t yet know how many officers would be assisgned, but his department reached out to police agencies in Rock County, including the sheriff s office, as well as the State Patrol, DNR and Dane County Sheriff s Office.The joint Beloit-Janesville-Rock County sheriff s mobile field force, which specializes in crowd control, will be there, Moore said.Moore noted the Janesville Conference Center holds 1,000 and said he expects a substantial number of people outside. Trump s event is scheduled for 3 p.m. The local protest is slated to begin at 11 a.m.Police respect the constitutional right to freedom of speech, and to the degree possible, we intend to allow all citizens to voice their opinions, but we will require that it be done in a peaceful and safe manner, Moore said.Inside the Janesville Conference Center a part of the Holiday Inn Express is a different story, Moore said.If the Holiday Inn, Trump s people or the U.S. Secret Service want disrupters removed, It is private property, and that s their right, Moore said. Via: Prntly | 0 |
5,052 | Meet The INCREDIBLY Racist GOP Senator That Just Endorsed Trump (VIDEO) | After failing to denounce or renounce an endorsement from the Ku Klux Klan, Donald Trump topped off his Sunday with the announcement of an endorsement from Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama).Sessions said he would be backing Trump thanks to his harsh anti-immigration policies. You have asked for 30 years, and politicians have promised for 30 years, to fix illegal immigration, said Mr. Sessions at the rally, held at an outdoor stadium filled with thousands of Trump supporters. We have an opportunity Tuesday it may be the last opportunity we have for the people s voice to be heard. He concluded, I am pleased to endorse Donald Trump for the presidency of the United States. But Senator Sessions has a history of alleged racial insensitivity that fits right in with Trump s white supremacist campaign.In 1986 Sessions was nominated for a federal judgeship, but the nomination failed after allegations of racial insensitivy surfaced. J. Gerald Hebert, a lawyer from the Department of Justice who had worked with Sessions, testified to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee that Sessions had referred to the NAACP and the ACLU as un-American and Communist-inspired because they had forced civil rights down the throats of people. Hebert also testified that Sessions had complained that a white lawyer was a disgrace to his race because he had litigated voting rights cases.Sessions himself admitted that he described the Voting Rights Act of 1965 as a piece of intrusive legislation. Another assistant U.S. Attorney testified that Sessions told him he used to think the KKK was okay until he found out some of them were pot smokers. The same attorney said Sessions called him boy and told him, be careful what you say to white folks. Sessions racial problems resurfaced during the nomination of Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Sessions whined that the judge had referred to herself as a wise Latina, then complained that she did not vote like other Puerto Ricans.Featured image via YouTube | 0 |
5,053 | U.S.-backed forces, Syrian army advance separately on Islamic State in Deir al-Zor | BEIRUT/AL SHADADI, Syria (Reuters) - U.S.-backed militias and the Syrian army advanced in separate offensives against Islamic State in eastern Syria on Saturday, piling pressure on shrinking territory the group still holds in oil-rich areas near the Iraqi border. Syrian government forces fought their way to an air base on the outskirts of Deir al-Zor city that had been besieged for years by the jihadists, said a commander in the military alliance fighting in support of President Bashar al-Assad. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a U.S.-backed alliance of mostly Arab and Kurdish fighters, meanwhile launched attacks against Islamic State in the north of Deir al-Zor province in an operation to capture areas east of the Euphrates river. The advances against Islamic State, another blow to its control over territory it held for years as part of a self-declared caliphate, will likely bring U.S.-backed forces and the Syrian government side, backed by Russia and Iran, into closer proximity. A U.S. warplane shot down a Syrian army jet near Raqqa in June and the SDF accused the Syrian government of bombing its positions, showing the risk of escalation between warring sides in a crowded battlefield. The Syrian conflict, which started as a popular uprising against Assad in 2011, has drawn in the United States, Russia and regional powers. Peace talks have failed to bring an end to a war where Islamist groups have increasingly dominated Syria s armed opposition. The SDF operation in Deir al-Zor province aims to capture areas in its northern and eastern countryside and advance towards the Euphrates, according to the Deir al-Zor Military Council, which is fighting as part of the SDF. The first step is to free the eastern bank of the Euphrates and the areas Islamic State still holds, Ahmed Abu Kholeh, head of the military council, told Reuters after the announcement. We re not specifying a timeframe but we hope it will be a quick operation, he said at the town of al-Shadadi in Hasaka province. Abu Kholeh would not say whether there were plans to advance on Deir al-Zor city itself. We don t know how the battles will go after this, he said. He said SDF fighters did not expect clashes with Syrian government forces, but if fired upon we will respond . The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group reported that SDF forces had advanced against IS in Deir al-Zor s northwestern countryside, seizing several hilltops and a village. Syrian government forces and their allies reached Deir al-Zor military airport on the other side of the Euphrates, where troops had been holed up since 2014, surrounded by Islamic State, the commander in the pro-Assad alliance said. The alliance includes Iran-backed militias and the powerful Lebanese Shi ite group Hezbollah. The advance came days after the army and its allies broke the siege of the main part of the city, which had been separated from the airport by IS attacks a few months before. Syrian troops also recaptured the Teym oilfield southwest of Deir al-Zor and seized part of a main highway running downstream to the city of al-Mayadeen, to which many IS militants have retreated, the British-based Observatory said. That advance would help block potential IS reinforcements from al-Mayadeen, it said. Islamic State in Syria still holds much of Deir al-Zor province and half the city, as well some territory further west near Homs and Hama, where government forces recaptured several villages on Saturday, pro-Damascus media reported. But the group has lost most of its caliphate which from 2014 stretched across swathes of Syria and Iraq, including oil-rich Deir al-Zor. The SDF is still battling to eject IS from the remaining areas it holds in Raqqa, northwest of Deir al-Zor and once the group s main Syria stronghold from where it planned attacks abroad. Talks between Russia, Iran and opposition backer Turkey in the Kazakh capital Astana are to take place next week, possibly followed by a separate track at the United Nations in Geneva in October or November. Assad s government has participated in previous rounds from a position of power as Damascus has clawed back much territory, including the main urban centers in the west of the country and increasingly eastern desert held by IS. Syria s non-Islamist opposition holds some pockets of territory in western Syria, and the SDF, which is dominated by the Kurdish YPG militia, controls much of Syria s northeast. | 1 |
5,054 | Obama commends Northern Ireland leaders on peace progress: White House | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama met with two Northern Ireland leaders and commended them on the progress being made towards peace, the White House said on Wednesday. Obama dropped by a meeting on Tuesday between Vice President Joe Biden, Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster and deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, the White House said in a statement. Obama and Biden urged the ministers to move forward with implementation of the Stormont House Agreement of December 2014 and the Fresh Start Agreement of November 2015, the statement said. | 1 |
5,055 | Bernie Sanders Calls Out Trump Over His Obsession With Bill Clinton’s Sex Life (VIDEO) | During a segment on ABC s This Week, Bernie Sanders hammered Donald Trump for talking about Bill Clinton s sex life rather than the real issues that the United States should be focusing on.The show s host, Martha Raddatz, brought the subject up, asking Sanders if he thought that Bill Clinton s sex life should be considered fair game during the election.: Donald Trump and Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus think Bill Clinton s sexual history is fair game. Do you? No, I don t, Sanders replied, and then continued: I think, you know, we have enormous problems facing this country and I think we got more things to worry about than Bill Clinton s sexual life. I think interestingly enough, maybe Donald Trump might want to focus attention on climate change, understand that climate change is not a hoax, as he believes that it is, that maybe Donald Trump should understand that we should raise the minimum wage in this country, which he opposes, and maybe we should not be giving huge tax breaks to fellow billionaires like Donald Trump. So I think maybe he should focus on those things, Sanders concluded.Sanders made a similar critique of Trump last week. Sanders claimed that he could win over Trump supporters. That claim must have scared the hell out of Trump. In less than 24 hours, Trump responded to Bernie Sanders, saying that he is in support of raising wages. That s a complete flip from Trump s earlier claims that wages in the United States are too high. Of course, Trump called him a liar and acted like a complete douche bag about the whole thing. Trump still insists that he doesn t think that the minimum wage should be raised, but statements he made in Politico show that he is playing defense on the issue.Bernie Sanders got the Republican presidential primary runner to flip his script and adopt a more progressive message on a major issue. So who knows, maybe sometime this week Trump will go all in on the importance of fighting climate change? Sanders has become a force to be reckoned with because of his unrelenting commitment to his platform. A platform that even the Republican primary front runner is beginning to co-opt.You can watch the segment below.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCkSFlxJFMYFeatured Image Credit: Screenshot via YouTube | 0 |
5,056 | Trump barnstorms to push healthcare plan; signs of conservative support | (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump used his barnstorming strategy on Wednesday to try to build momentum for his first legislative initiative, a healthcare overhaul, by holding a massive rally in Nashville, Tennessee, reminiscent of his campaign events. Back on Capitol Hill, Republican leaders negotiated behind closed doors, held media conferences and gave cable-news interviews as they tried to push forward their plan to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, commonly called Obamacare. After Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan unveiled the new plan last week, fault lines appeared within the party as some conservatives said it did not go far enough and others rejected it entirely. Trump used campaign-like language in his Wednesday night speech, pledging “to repeal and replace horrible, disastrous Obamacare.” Speaking to reporters aboard presidential plane Air Force One after the rally, Trump expressed optimism about his plan’s chances in Congress. “We’re going to come up with something. We always do,” he said. Republicans control both Congress and the White House for the first time in a decade, but the overhaul still faces political battles to be fought by a president new to governing. White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters before the rally the Trump administration had been in talks with Ryan and congressional leaders and was flooding the media with interviews with administration officials to help advance the plan. Ryan, the top Republican in the House of Representatives, also continued to champion the legislation, saying on cable news he was open to making “improvements and refinements,” but also adding “the major components are staying intact.” He told a news conference later in the evening the House would hold votes on repealing and replacing Obamacare but refused to provide a timetable. Two House committees approved the bill’s provisions with no changes last week. The Budget Committee will try on Thursday to unify the plan into a single bill for consideration on the House floor. Republicans cannot afford to lose more than three from their ranks on the committee for it to pass. Three committee Republicans are members of the hardline conservative House Freedom Caucus. Signs emerged on Wednesday that the White House was winning over reluctant conservatives who initially questioned the legislation on the grounds that it too closely resembled Obamacare, the signature domestic policy achievement of former President Barack Obama. The administration indicated it was open to revisiting the plan’s treatment of Medicaid, the government health insurance program for the poor, during a meeting with a conservative wing of the party. Specifically, conservatives want Obamacare’s expansion of Medicaid to end sooner than proposed in the Ryan plan, and want to introduce Medicaid work requirements for able-bodied adults without children. State governments run Medicaid with reimbursements from the federal government. Obamacare expanded its eligibility and increased funding for it, which enabled about 10 million previously uninsured Americans to obtain medical insurance. Vice President Mike Pence advocated for the plan earlier on Wednesday behind closed doors with the Republican Study Committee, a large group of House conservatives. Republican Representative Phil Roe said after the Pence meeting the bill would probably be changed to move up the end of the Medicaid expansion by one year, to 2019. The conservative group’s members were “very close to signing off” on the legislation, its leader, Representative Mark Walker, told reporters. Speaking on CNN, Ryan mentioned “giving states better chances at more flexibility with Medicaid,” but provided no details. Just as the party’s conservatives began expressing optimism about the proposal’s fortunes, Republican moderates raised concerns that tax credits currently in the bill intended to help people buy health insurance were not sufficient. Representative Charlie Dent, following a meeting of moderate Republicans with Pence, told reporters that speeding up the termination of the Medicaid expansion was a “non-starter.” Senate Republicans have also voiced rising unease. “As written, the House bill would not pass the Senate. But I believe we can fix it,” Senator Ted Cruz told reporters. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham told NBC’s “Today” show: “It is mortally wounded.” The conservative advocacy group FreedomWorks held a rally amid snow flurries and a frigid wind outside the Capitol, where several House and Senate Republicans, including Cruz and Senator Rand Paul, voiced dissatisfaction with the bill. Paul later told reporters: “The White House has been much more open to negotiation on this” than House leaders. A libertarian, Paul posted an op-ed on the Breitbart News website later on Wednesday calling Ryan’s plan “Obamacare Lite” and suggesting smashing it to “smithereens.” The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released data showing enrollment in the individual insurance plans created under Obamacare has declined to 12.2 million Americans. Enrollment in these individual insurance plans was down by about 500,000 people from 2016 by the end of January, it said. It is about 1.6 million people short of Obama’s goal for 2017 sign-ups, the government said. | 1 |
5,057 | Sarah Palin’s Pick To Replace Paul Ryan Wants To Challenge The Speaker To An Arm Wrestling Match (VIDEO) | The media has been telling us for months now that the Republican party is in a civil war. It is. The war, though, is not between those who care and those who want to take food from the mouths of babies. No, they all want to take food from the mouths of babies. It s not a war between those who want the world to treat those who aren t white, male, Christian and cis equally. None of them want that. The war is between those who pretend to be good people and those who let their anti-intellectual a**hole flag fly.Sarah Palin is the queen of the a**hole flag branch of the GOP. She wears that flag proudly and with all the maturity of a bully who s flunking out of fifth grade. Before Palin hit the stage, we suspected, but we never knew for sure, that the base of the Republican party was bigoted macho mouth breathers. Imagine our feigned surprise when Palin came out in support of this macho mouth breather in Wisconsin, who is hoping to replace Paul Ryan in the House. Watch to the end of the video, when he challenges Ryan to a debate, but if Ryan refuses to debate, he d be happy to arm wrestle the Congressman.Here s the video:Well, Paul Ryan does do P90X, so it could be an interesting match.The man who wants to arm wrestle Ryan, presumably from the backs of Harleys, is Wisconsin businessman Paul Nehlen, whose main issue is the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement. There s just one problem with his entire beef with Ryan. Ryan didn t endorse the agreement.The video is titled Truth Resurrection, but its portrayal of Ryan as a supporter of the trade deal is false. Ryan s been critical of the actual deal, but helped pass a separate measure called Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), a pro-forma congressional action that makes it easier for the executive branch to negotiate a proposed treaty that must still be ratified by Congress. Lawmakers have granted presidents that authority as a routine matter of course going back decades and across party lines. Ryan even hammered some unusual concessions to GOP ideology into this edition of TPA.Source: Think ProgressThe real issue, though, at least for Palin, is that Ryan, at least so far, has refused to endorse her candidate, Donald Trump. Now, she has set her sights on replacing the Speaker. I think Paul Ryan is soon to be Cantored, as in Eric Cantor, Palin said, referring to the former Republican House majority leader who was ousted in a shocking upset in 2014 when challenger Dave Brat ran to his right in a Virginia primary. His political career is over but for a miracle because he has so disrespected the will of the people, and as the leader of the GOP, the convention, certainly he is to remain neutral, and for him to already come out and say who he will not support is not a wise decision of his, Palin continued.Source: CNNNaturally, Palin didn t consult policy experts before landing on a candidate. She saw a tattooed, muscled man s man on a Harley and her little squirrel brain said, that s the man! That, and Nehlen endorsed Trump.Palin told Tapper that although she hasn t yet informed Nehlen that she s endorsing him, I will do whatever I can for Paul Nehlen. This man is a hard-working guy, so in touch with the people, Palin said. Paul Ryan and his ilk, their problem is they have become so disconnected by the people whom they are elected to represent. She added: They feel so threatened at this point that their power, their prestige, their purse will be adversely affected by the change that is coming with Trump and with someone like Paul Nehlen, that they re not thinking straight right now. It appears that this is a year in which Palin is ready to let her social conservatism take a backseat to her xenophobia. Both Nehlen and Trump are anti-immigration, but their stances on reproductive rights and LGBT rights are tough to pin down. Of course, you could also say that this proves that Palin has no principles, other than somehow staying relevant with the ignorant masses. Or, maybe she likes the Harley and the tats.Featured image via YouTube video screen capture. | 0 |
5,058 | BOMBSHELL REPORT: GOP Looks To Dump Trump, Secret 2020 Shadow Campaigns Already Underway | It s no secret that the Republican Party has never been comfortable with Donald Trump as the titular head of their organization. They also knew he was unfit to be president, yet they got him elected anyway, because they felt they had no choice. However, seven months into this disastrous excuse for a presidency, it seems that the GOP is coming to realize that Trump was a huge mistake. Therefore it should come as no surprise that there are already shadow campaigns from several high profile Republicans including Trump s second-in-command, Mike Pence underway for the 2020 presidential race.The New York Times reports that Mike Pence, Ben Sasse and John Kasich appear to be secretly lobbying GOP donors in order to unseat Trump should he last his full four-year term. Of course, the White House is pushing back against these reports. Spokeswoman Lindsay Walters said of these efforts: The president is as strong as he s ever been in Iowa, and every potentially ambitious Republican knows that. However, according the the New York Times, donors, elected officials throughout the Republican Party, and conservative groups are all saying that they don t even know if Trump will be able to run in 2020, and there is definitely support for a primary challenger to Trump. Of course, many of these people are not willing to publicly criticize a president from their own party, but others are. For instance, John McCain spoke for them, saying that many see Trump as weak.Of course, both Ben Sasse and John Kasich have been openly critical of Trump, which has helped both of their public profiles to rise. Further, it s pretty obvious that Pence took the job as the second man on the Trump ticket thinking that Trump would not last in the White House. Hell, Maxine Waters even came out and said that Pence is planning his inauguration.In short, the GOP s bigoted base stuck them and the nation with Trump. But, now that he hasn t been the controllable vehicle to sign their disastrous agenda into law like they thought he would be, they re ready to get rid of him no matter the cost.Featured image via Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images | 0 |
5,059 | The New American Mediocrity: Ash Carter vs Dr. Strangelove | 21st Century Wire says US Defense Secretary Ash Carter is the latest Washington defense insider to suffer from that common American condition known as Strangelove Syndrome. . Ash Carter (above) alongside Peter Sellers as the enigmatic and satirical menace Dr. Strangelove.Is this the New American Mediocrity displaying its ignorance out of Washington DC, or is there more to it? Is Washington going into full cold war-esque Strangelove mode again ?RTBeijing has accused US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter of having a Cold War mentality, following his statement that China risks creating a Great Wall of self-isolation over its actions in the South China Sea.Speaking at a daily news briefing on Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Carter s remarks laid bare the stereotypical US thinking and US hegemony. Indeed, there are some in the US who live physically in the 21st century, but whose minds are stuck in the Cold War era, she said, as quoted by AP.China has no interest in any form of Cold War, nor are we interested in playing a role in a Hollywood movie written and directed by certain US military officials. However, China has no fear of and will counter any actions that threaten and undermine China s sovereignty and security, Hua continued.The remarks come just days after US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said that China risks creating a Great Wall of self-isolation through its military expansion in the South China sea and its alleged hacks on US companies. China s actions could erect a Great Wall of self-isolation, Carter told graduating officers at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, on Friday. Countries across the region allies, partners, and the unaligned are voicing concerns publicly and privately at the highest levels. Carter went on to state that the US continues to be concerned about Beijing s actions in the disputed South China Sea, where it has laid claim to almost the entire region Continue this story at RTWatch 21WIRE s Patrick Henningsen join in on CrossTalk s heady discussion on US foreign policy here: | 0 |
5,060 | Senate Banking chair, Democrats say still hopeful for deal on Dodd-Frank bank rules rewrite | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senior U.S. Republican and Democratic Senators said on Wednesday they would push ahead with efforts to reach a bi-partisan deal on rolling-back some financial rules introduced the 2008 financial crisis, even after a leading Democratic lawmaker walked away from talks. Their comments bolstered hopes among banking lobbyists that Congress may yet agree legislation to roll-back some aspects of the 2010 Dodd Frank law, potentially cutting billions in costs for banks, after bi-partisan discussions appeared to falter. Senator Sherrod Brown, the leading Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, said in a statement on Wednesday that he was stepping away from months-long private negotiations with the Committee’s Republican chair Senator Mike Crapo over rolling-back elements of the 2010 Dodd Frank law, saying they had reached an impasse. On Wednesday, however, Crapo told reporters he was still working towards a regulatory reform bill and would renew efforts to reach a bipartisan compromise. “I intend to move forward to build a bipartisan solution, and I hope to be able to do so soon,” Crapo told reporters. Bank lobbyists told Reuters they remained optimistic a bill still could be passed, saying Brown’s exit had cleared the path for several Democrats more sympathetic to Crapo’s position to take over the negotiations. Spokespeople for Senators Heidi Heitkamp and Joe Donnelly, two of the banking panel’s moderate Democratic members, told Reuters on Wednesday they were open to rekindling the talks. “Congress needs to make the financial regulatory system work better for everyone, and I’m willing to work with anyone on a deal that would accomplish that goal,” Heitkamp said in a statement. Donnelly said in a statement he believed there was still an opportunity to negotiate a relief package for community financial institutions “while protecting consumers and ensuring the safety of our financial system.” The House of Representatives has already passed a broad rewrite of Dodd-Frank legislation, but the Senate will ultimately determine what, if any, relief the Republican-led Congress hands to banks. Industry expectations on a final deal had been modest because Senate Republicans need eight Democrats to support their efforts in order to pass changes to Dodd Frank. The exact shape of a regulatory reform bill is not public. There is bipartisan support for easing requirements on smaller banks and credit unions, but reducing the number of banks that face stricter oversight because they are considered critical to the financial system has proved a point of contention. Currently, banks with over $50 billion in assets are considered “systemically important “ and must comply with stricter rules. Republican lawmakers are considering raising that threshold, but this is opposed by some powerful Democrats including Senator Elizabeth Warren. “After working in good faith, it’s clear we will not be able to reach a compromise that protects consumers while supporting small banks and credit unions,” said Brown in a statement. “I continue to support small banks and credit unions, but I cannot agree to gutting protections for working people and taxpayers.” (This version of the story was refiled to add missing word “following” in the lead paragraph) | 1 |
5,061 | Trump calls for a tax reform 'speed-up' in light of Hurricane Irma | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he will ask the Republican-controlled Congress to further speed up its efforts to overhaul the U.S. tax code, citing the potential impact of Hurricane Irma as a reason to hasten reforms. I think now with what s happened with the hurricane, I m going to ask for a speedup. I wanted a speedup anyway, but now we need it even more so, the president said at the outset of a Cabinet meeting at Camp David. The White House released a video of his remarks. Trump urged Congress in a Friday tweet not to wait until the end of September for tax legislation. | 1 |
5,062 | New Study Offers Hope In Search For Alzheimer’s Cure | Alzheimer s Disease is a devastating type of dementia, accounting for 60 to 80 percent of dementia cases, and currently affecting over 5 million Americans. According to the Alzheimer s Association, it is the 6th leading cause of death in the United States, and someone in the U.S. develops the disease every 66 seconds. By 2050, the number of cases is projected to reach 13.8 million.Scientists and researchers have grappled with understanding the disease in a search for a cure since 1906, when German neurologist Dr. Alois Alzheimer discovered the plaques and tangles in the brain of a woman who had died of an unknown mental illness with symptoms of memory loss, difficulty with language, and erratic behavior. Over the progression of the disease, amyloid plaque deposits and neurofibrillary tangles build up in the brain, disrupting connections between nerve cells and ultimately death of nerve cells and brain tissue.A recent study led by scientists from the University of Glasgow in Scotland and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology has produced a potential breakthrough in Alzheimer s disease treatment.In mice with a progressive disease similar to Alzheimer s, the researchers injected a protein called IL-33. Within a week, the memory and cognitive functions of the affected mice improved to normal levels. The daily protein injections cleared out existing amyloid plaque in the brain of mice and stopped its development. The results have yet to be tested in humans, with no guarantee the protein will have similar results in human trials. A 2014 study estimated positive results from experiments on mice translate to success in humans at a rate of 8 percent.Nonetheless, the study is promising as no cure or treatment is currently available for Alzheimer s disease. Alzheimer s care and other forms of dementia are estimated to cost the United States $236 billion in 2016.Working with the mice, the Scottish and Chinese researchers found the protein, IL-33, promotes the development of microglia, immune cells in the brain, and direct them towards the plaque formed by Alzheimer s disease. The relevance of this finding to human Alzheimer s is at present unclear. But there are encouraging hints, said Professor Eddy Liew, a leading researcher of the study from the University of Glasgow, in a press release. For example, previous genetic studies have shown an association between IL-33 mutations and Alzheimer s disease in European and Chinese populations. Furthermore, the brain of patients with Alzheimer s disease contains less IL-33 than the brain from non-Alzheimer s patients. There have been enough false breakthroughs in the medical field to caution us not to hold our breath until rigorous clinical trials have been done. The researchers will soon begin the first phase of clinical trials on humans to test the toxicity of the protein IL-33 at the doses used on mice, with the global medical community anticipating with hope for favorable results.Featured Image Courtesy of Flickr | 0 |
5,063 | Central African Republic risks return to major conflict: U.N. report | GENEVA (Reuters) - Deadly ethnic fighting in Central African Republic could descend into a much larger-scale conflict if nothing is done to disarm combatants and defuse tensions, a U.N. report said on Friday. With a fifth of the population displaced since the mainly Muslim Seleka rebels ousted the president in 2013, provoking a backlash from Christian anti-balaka militias, U.N. peacekeepers are struggling to contain simmering violence. The U.N. human rights working group on mercenaries and foreign fighters said it strongly senses that the possibility of another armed conflict is likely, if foreign armed actors, along with local armed groups, are not effectively dismantled and suppressed. National security forces are too weak to tackle armed groups and counter the spillover from conflicts in neighboring countries, and U.N. military personnel, who number just over 10,000, have failed to convince locals that they can protect them, the report said. Ugandan and U.S. forces pulled out earlier this year, declaring success against the Lord s Resistance Army, a regional militia notorious for two decades of abducting children to use as fighters and sex slaves. On Thursday, Amnesty International issued its own report detailing what it said was the systematic rape and murder of civilians in ethnic fighting. If the U.N. s mandate in the Central African Republic is to mean anything, civilians must be better protected, the rights group s Joanne Mariner said. U.N. peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix said the U.N. mission in Central African Republic (MINUSCA) had to make changes and was slightly short of the necessary personnel. We have currently a troop ceiling which we think is slightly under what we would need, he said on Friday. MINUSCA s mandate authorizes it to have 10,750 military personnel, a recent U.N. report said there were 10,098 on the ground. We are seeing a surge in ... very negative and antagonistic messages to the effect that foreigners should be eliminated, putting one ethnic or religious component of this country against the other, Lacroix told reporters in Geneva. The working group report said the word foreigners was constantly used to label Muslims. | 1 |
5,064 | Chicago mayor seeks rebound with new budget, labor peace | CHICAGO (Reuters) - Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel moved this week to bolster his sagging political fortunes, delivering within a few hours both a labor pact with the city’s teachers and a no-drama 2017 city budget devoid of any big tax hikes. On Tuesday morning, Emanuel unveiled a $9.8 billion city spending plan for fiscal 2017 that includes $3.7 billion for operations, relying on $82.3 million in revenue growth, savings from efficiencies and a few one-time measures. Since winning re-election last year, the Democratic mayor has been dealing with racially charged fallout from the 2014 police shooting of a black teenager and the pension-driven financial hardships facing the city and its school system. “It is a budget free of an immediate pension crisis, free of the black cloud of insolvency threatening the retirements of city employees and the financial future of Chicago,” Emanuel told the city council. Twelve hours earlier, he signed off on a four-year tentative contract deal with teachers in the country’s third-largest public school system to avert what would have been a third strike in four years. The pact, which still must be ratified by the Chicago Teachers Union, relies on a bigger injection of surplus revenue he controls from the city’s development districts. To be sure, the spate of good news for Emanuel does not mean the mayor is free of political trouble. In 2016, Emanuel reeled from the effects of street protests stemming from the death of unarmed, 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, whom a white police officer shot 16 times. Emanuel’s administration kept a police video of the killing under wraps while he ran for re-election last year. More broadly, street violence in Chicago continues unabated, leaving the city with more murders this year than New York City and Los Angeles combined. The city budget Emanuel outlined accommodates the initial phase of a two-year plan to add 970 police positions to address the city’s sharp spike in violence. “Until we see the focus on crime in the city and the policing issue from the mayor in more ways than we saw this summer, which was not a lot of focus until it was absolutely necessary, that’s one of the biggest issues in the city,” said Alderman Scott Waguespack, an Emanuel critic and member of the city council’s progressive bloc. Financially, the city has faced a series of credit rating downgrades due to an unfunded pension liability that Moody’s Investors Service has said is the highest among U.S. municipalities it rates. That liability stood at $33.8 billion at the end of fiscal 2015 for Chicago’s four retirement systems. The mayor last year pushed through a $543 million phased-in property tax increase for police and firefighter retirement systems. The city enacted a new tax on water and sewer usage last month to rescue its largest pension fund for municipal workers from insolvency. A Chicago-based government finance watchdog group welcomed Emanuel’s budget blueprint on Tuesday. “Generally, our initial reaction to the mayor’s plan is this is a good-news budget for the city of Chicago,” said Laurence Msall, president of the Civic Federation. Emanuel’s top city council ally, Alderman Patrick O’Connor, said the mayor is making solid progress in digging Chicago out of its fiscal and social mess. But no one is saying it yet amounts to a platform for a possible third term in 2019, which the mayor has not yet ruled out. “There are ebbs and flows to popularity. There are ebbs and flows to crisis,” O’Connor said. “Who knows what the crisis of the day is going to be a year from now or two years from now?” | 1 |
5,065 | South Korea's Moon welcomes talks with North Korea, but now is not the time: media | SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Tuesday he is open to all forms of talks with North Korea, but now is not the time for dialogue, making the comments two days after the North conducted its sixth and largest nuclear test. Moon was speaking in an interview with Russia s TASS news agency in Russia a day ahead of his summit meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum which kicks off on Wednesday. | 1 |
5,066 | Melania's birth country Slovenia sees strong tourism growth | LJUBLJANA (Reuters) - Slovenia, birth country of U.S. First Lady Melania Trump, expects revenues from foreign tourists to jump by about 9 percent this year and by at least 5 percent in 2018, Economy Minister Zdravko Pocivalsek said on Tuesday. 2017 will be the fourth record year in a row for Slovenian tourism after revenues from foreign tourists reached some 2.3 billion euros ($2.71 billion) last year, Pocivalsek told a news conference. Tourism in Slovenia rose strongly because of a general increase of tourism in Europe and a successful promotion of Slovenia as a safe country. Officials say it also got something of a boost from Melania Trump having been born in the city of Sevnica in southeastern Slovenia before becoming a fashion model and moving to the United States. We received a lot of attention from (international) journalists because of the U.S. First Lady and we managed to present Slovenia as an attractive, green country, Maja Pak, head of the Slovenian Tourist Organisation, told the same news conference. About 60 percent of Slovenia is covered by forests while the country has some resorts on the Adriatic sea as well as a number of Alpine and spa tourist resorts. Pocivalsek also said Slovenia plans to gradually privative all tourist accommodation infrastructure which should further improve tourism business. At present about 40 percent of hotels in Slovenia are in state hands. I want a well-considered privatization ... which will be in favor of the state and the companies that are being sold, Pocivalsek said. In the first 10 months of 2017 the number of foreign tourists jumped by almost 17 percent year-on-year, the statistics office said last month. In the first nine months of the year, the latest data available, the number of tourists from the United States rose by 23.4 percent, it added. According to the government s tourism strategy the revenues from foreign tourists should rise to at least 3.7 billion euros per year by the end of 2021. ($1 = 0.8472 euros) | 1 |
5,067 | NICOLE KIDMAN BREAKS RANKS With Hollywood Leftists…Speaks Out In Support Of Trump’s Presidency [VIDEO] | She s travelling the world to promote her new Australian film, which tells the tale of an Indian boy adopted by Tasmanian parents.But Nicole Kidman found herself facing questions about the President-elect of the United States this week.During an interview with the BBC, the Oscar winner told journalist Victoria Derbyshire that Americans needed to support Donald Trump once he s in office.In the closing stages of an interview in which she had spoken at length about her new film Lion, the Oscar-winner was asked what she thought of Trump.Nicole, who has dual US and Australian citizenship, called on Americans to set aside the controversy surrounding the election and support the President-elect.- Daily Mail | 0 |
5,068 | Australian yachtsman dies after Philippine fishermen rescue three adrift for days | MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine fishermen rescued three Australians adrift at sea for days after their yacht capsized in the country s south, but one died on the way to hospital, police said on Tuesday. Two fishermen picked up the Australians, who waved for help while clinging to a life buoy, about 50 miles (80 km) off a popular surfing town in Surigao province on Sunday. Police in the provincial capital of Tandag said the men had been in the water for several days after the holed yacht capsized near the southern island of Mindanao while sailing to Subic Bay. Unfortunately, Anthony John Mahoney did not make it as he was already unconscious at the time of the rescue, said police official Evelyn Tidula. The Australian embassy in Manila is to help repatriate Mahoney s remains, while the other two are in stable condition in hospital. One of them has an address in the country s north. Police did not immediately explain how the yacht developed a hole. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority alerted Philippine rescue authorities after detecting a distress beacon on Thursday and Friday last week, the agency said in a statement. The Philippine Coast Guard said it found the wreckage of the Sydney-registered yacht at a beach on the Dinagat islands in Leyte Gulf, hundreds of miles from where the Australians were picked up. | 1 |
5,069 | UPDATE ON MONSTER MOM Who Kicked Little Boy Out Of Home For Voting Trump At School…”We don’t do Donald Trump here!” [VIDEO] | JUSTICE FOR CHILDREN WITHOUT VOICES: We have spoken to Detective Luerra with Arcola Police Department and confirmed that the children seen in the video are safe and a case now has been opened. Arcola Police Department is diligently working with CPS and the District Attorney s Office. We want to send a HUGE thank you to Deputy Fisherhill and Detective Luerra for the fast response in making sure these children are safe. And a huge thank you to all of our members who gave this child a voice and helped us get the info to the correct investigating department. We look forward to working with this department, and with all of you, in the future as we advocate for our children and ensure them a voice! Thank you! When in the course of raising awareness, alarmism occurs, we would do well, as a civilized society, to acknowledge those alarming statistics and act accordingly. We should never allow ourselves to believe falsely that awareness is enough when action is required. ~Quote By: Justice For Children Without Voices You wanna hmmmm vote for him? Imma show you! Evan get your suitcase and get out! We don t do Donald Trump here. Bye! https://twitter.com/realVivaEuropa/status/797066325030014977 | 0 |
5,070 | Four killed, 11 injured as train collides with army truck in Finland | HELSINKI (Reuters) - Four people were killed and several injured when a train crashed into an army truck during a military exercise in southern Finland on Thursday, police and the armed forces said. The accident occurred at an unguarded railway crossing near the city of Raasepori, 90 km (56 miles) west of the capital Helsinki, when two military vehicles were crossing the tracks on their way to a training site. The train and one of the vehicles collided, killing three soldiers aboard the truck and a passenger on the train, officials said. Road conditions were bad in the morning due to rain and snowfall. Inspector Ilkka Kantola told Helsingin Sanomat newspaper that the train had hit the truck at a speed of around 100 kilometres per hour. According to Kantola, the train driver had seen the truck but thought that it would stop as it was driving very slowly. The train put on the break but the speed did not necessarily slow down at all ahead of the collision, Kantola was quoted as saying. The soldier who had driven the truck will face charges for endangering traffic safety and manslaughter, he added. Four people were taken to Helsinki with severe injuries and seven others were treated at a local hospital for minor injuries. All patients were said to be in stable condition. Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila and President Sauli Niinisto both offered their condolences to the victims and their families. The young conscripts were there for their country. That their journey ends in many deaths and in serious injuries is a true tragedy, President Niinisto said in a statement. Military service is obligatory for men in Finland. | 1 |
5,071 | Lindsey Graham Wants Trump To Put Ted Cruz On The Supreme Court Bench | As if the election of Donald Trump couldn t get even more disastrous and hypocritical, Senator Lindsey Graham just called on Trump to nominate a right-wing extremist to nation s highest court.All year long, Republicans have been blocking President Obama s nomination of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court because they want the next president to make the pick. And because they now have the conservative puppet president they have always wanted, they want to make sure that nominee is a conservative extremist.South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham told WYFF-TV that Trump should pick Texas Senator Ted Cruz as the nominee and warned Democrats not to block him, which is hypocritical considering how Republicans have treated President Obama s nominee and threatened to block any nominees Hillary Clinton would have made had she won the election. I m here to tell my Democratic colleagues that I voted for Obama s nominees. I expect them to give Trump s nominees a fair shake. He won this election. He will pick a conservative. I would put Ted Cruz on that list. If they try to block this pick, they will regret it. If you don t honor Trump s nominee, you re making a huge mistake. Democrats should stand up and give Graham a collective middle finger.Since Antonin Scalia died in February, there has been a vacancy on the Supreme Court bench that has yet to be filled. The body wasn t even cold yet before Republicans vowed to block any nominee President Obama picked to replace him, going so far as to even deny Garland a confirmation hearing. That s far from the fair shake Graham is asking Democrats to give to a man as dangerous as Ted Cruz.Putting Cruz on the Supreme Court would guarantee rulings against women s rights and LGBT rights as well as putting laws like the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act in further peril. In no uncertain terms should Democrats grant Cruz a hearing, nor should they respect any of Trump s conservative choices for the court. Republicans should have thought about fair shakes before taking the totally unprecedented step of being complete assholes toward the Supreme Court nominee of a sitting president who also won an election and s far more popular than Trump. Again, Senate Republicans didn t even give Garland a hearing or a vote. They refused to do their jobs entirely out of disrespect towards President Obama. And so that s exactly what Democrats should do to Trump. Turnabout is fair play and Republicans only have themselves to blame.Featured Image: Ethan Miller/Getty Images | 0 |
5,072 | WATCH: Giuliani’s BIG LIE At Trump Rally Is Jaw-Dropping | Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani has been recently designated by the Donald Trump for President campaign as their go-to opener for his campaign rallies. He did so in jaw-dropping fashion on Monday as the Trump campaign launched another event with a bizarre statement.Hyping up Trump, Giuliani made the insane statement that before the presidency of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton s tenure as Secretary of State, the United States didn t have any successful radical Islamic terrorist attacks in the U.S. Video of Rudy saying we didn't "have any successful radical Islamic terrorist attacks in the U.S." before Obama: pic.twitter.com/3tC1InfZj0 andrew kaczynski (@BuzzFeedAndrew) August 15, 2016Of course, the reality is that the worst terrorist attack in the history of the United States was perpetrated by radical Islamic terrorists under the banner of al Qaeda on September 11, 2001.The attacks killed thousands of people in New York City, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania.The statement is even more jaw-dropping because few major politicians are as identified with 9/11 as Giuliani, who served as mayor of New York City on the day of the attack and famously walked with firefighters and police through the rubble after the attacks.He even based much of his failed 2004 presidential run on his actions on that day.The president at the time was of course President George W. Bush, the Republican. By contrast, Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. marines on May 2, 2011 in a raid on his compound in Afghanistan that was ordered by President Barack Obama.The conservative movement has for years tried to argue that they are stronger against terrorism than Democrats, and as an outgrowth they have worked to down play Democratic successes in that fight. There has been an intense crackdown on terrorists during Obama s seven years as President, including rolling up on the al Qaeda network, ISIS, and other groups.Giuliani s statement is a blatant lie, but it has strong support with hardcore conservatives.Featured image via Twitter | 0 |
5,073 | iraqi forces recapture southern front of mosul kill over isis militants | if academic freedom is not to be respected in institutions of supposedly higher learning then there can be no basis for freedom of speech in environments not subject to the protections of tenure the first to suffer the crackdown in universities will be our students shares
dr anthony jhall is a professor of globalization studies at the in alberta canada professor hall is the editorinchief of the american herald tribune he is author of several books including a twovolume publishing project at mcgillqueens university press entitled the bowl with one spoon american empire and the fourth world the bowl with one spoon part i mcgillqueens native and northern earth into property colonization decolonization and capitalism the bowl with one spoon part ii mcgillqueens native and northern series the part ii edition was recently selected by the uk independent as one of the best books of the journal of the american library association called earth into property a scholarly tour de force the books aim to set the catastrophe and post wars in the context of global history since dr hall has been suspended and harshly pulled from his classroom in midterm without any process of arbitration namely for having expressed his viewpoints on israeli crimes calling for an open debate on the holocaust and despite being promoted to a full professor rank through a process of peer review in an exclusive interview with khameneiir professor hall elaborates on how academic freedom is perceived and practiced in the west
ayatollah khamenei has stated that genuine freedom of thought will help the country to progress in the absence of a free intellectual atmosphere there can be no opportunity for growth how do you as a professor perceive it
i reflected very selfconsciously on the prospects of contributing to the progress of my country canada when i opted in the mid to late s to go to graduate school at the university of toronto with the great canadian historian jms careless as my phd supervisor i made a commitment to study the history of colonial relations with the first nations of canada my course of study took me in to my first appointment in the native studies department at the university of sudbury the university of sudbury was in those years a jesuitrun entity it formed the institutional seed from which the secular laurentian university would emerge in the decades prior to my appointment there
for the next two decades i was able to work from my academic bases in sudbury and then in lethbridge alberta beginning in at the invitation of the leroy little bear the chair of the department of native american studies i thus moved to the resourcerich province of alberta once again i was motivated to make the transition in my professional work with the hope my i could contribute constructively to the progress of our country from an academic base in western canada
in my years as a young professor i took an active part in four first nationsfirst ministers conferences that took place in ottawa between and the purpose of these conferences was to negotiate a constitutional amendment to give greater definition to the phrase the existing aboriginal and treaty rights of the aboriginal peoples of canada are hereby recognized and affirmed section constitution act
more the bnai brith and the history of the mounting assault on academic freedom in canadian universities creating an antimuslim bias at a canadian university suspension of tenured professor lacks due diligence toxic mind control contaminates the public sphere section was part of the text of the instrument facilitating the movement of authority over canadas constitutional structure from the british imperial mother country to the domestic institutions of canadian federalism
the culmination of my contributions to the formulation of a madeincanada version of the canadian constitution involved my opposition between and to what became known as the meech lake accord if this political deal between canadas first ministers had become constitutional law the first nations of canada would have been excluded from a very powerful legal definition of canadas fundamental characteristic
in academic essays in the mainstream media and in presentations to various legislative committees i contributed to public awareness of the negative implications of the meech lake accord for fairminded canadians supportive of existing aboriginal and treaty rights more specifically i contributed to the strength of the platform from which an ojicree parliamentarian by the name of elijah harper used his veto power in the manitoba legislature to block the ratification of the meech lake accord because of elijah harpers actions the meech lake accord did not become part of canadas supreme law
i was able to contribute to discourse crucial to the progress of canada until about the year between and i had to adjust my work away from the activities of the department of native american studies towards a field of my own making globalization studies i prepared two academic volumes to lay the academic foundation and methodological framework for my transition to a new academic role the core focus of my emphasis on globalization studies was indigenous peoples in encounter with colonialism globally from until the present
it is in this context and with the encouragement of my very accomplished student joshua blakeney that i began to shift focus towards the treatment of palestinian and other arab peoples in the region of greater israel eretz israel it was joshua who also led me to my first interactions with iranian journalists resulting in my participation in the new horizon conference of the autumn of as i have described in writing elsewhere this episode proved to make a major positive impact on me
due to the intervention of my colleague the mohawk activist splitting the sky i also began to see the events of as a major factor in the shaping of the global geopolitics in the twentyfirst century
my quest for new academic turf at the has sometimes been bumpy and contested certainly many major obstacles were put in the way of my promotion to full professor eventually my academic peers were allowed to make their input into the promotion process apart from the artificial blockages thrown up by my university administration in after what i took to be my obtaining a position of intellectual and professional security as a senior faculty member i resolved that henceforth i would pursue difficult lines of research and publication i made this decision with an understanding that less secure younger colleagues might eschew such a course of action
i have made no secret of the fact that i see the recent surrender of the high ground of academic freedom by the members of the administration of the as an indicator that canada is on a downwards spiral it seems to me there is a move a foot to sabotage the intellectual freedom of our universities if academic freedom is not to be respected in institutions of supposedly higher learning then there can be no basis for freedom of speech in environments not subject to the protections of tenure
the first to suffer the crackdown in universities will be our students they will have to deal with the fact that the treatment visited on me indicates it has become dangerous to ask pointed questions which might produce answers embarrassing to power our country canada cannot progress to higher levels of discourse and achievement under these repressive conditions
ayatollah khamenei believes exchanging viewpoints and opinions are in the nature of academic work how is this principle practiced at lethbridge university
i agree that exchanging viewpoints and opinions is a central aspect of academic work within universities and between universities i found that there was a good deal of openness to the exchange of information and ideas with colleagues media and public officials in the years between and when the core of my academic work revolved around the history of canadafirst nations relations
unfortunately i would have to say that the obstacles to the exchange of information and ideas began to mount significantly after when i began to question the official narrative of what happened on who really did what to whom during the initiating events of what soon became known as the global war on terror as i began to become skeptical of the official narrative i noticed more and more inclination on the part of colleagues to distance themselves from the subjects that captured my professional interest to put it bluntly i suppose it became clear to me that for a number of reasons it was not a good career move for younger colleagues to show interest in the subject of specifically and false flag terrorism more generally
as i began to look more deeply into the existing research on i was simultaneously drawn to the subject of war crimes and international law my collaboration with splitting the sky became more intense when we went to work to organize in response to the decision of the former us president george w bush to give a talk in calgary in as his first public engagement as theoretically a regular civilian citizen our collective action in calgary in the spring of led to a trial that we dubbed splitting the sky versus george w bush although i had not yet associated the lies and crimes of with israel first protagonists i ran into my first zionist pushback for my studies when i presented my essay should george w bush be arrested in calgary alberta to be tried for international crimes i originally presented the paper at an invited talk at the university of winnipeg
my essay eventually ended up as an exhibit in the litigation that we referred to as splitting the sky versus george w bush our stance was that the former us president should have been arrested in canada for being a crediblyaccused war criminal we were far from alone in bringing forward evidence that bush had violated many international covenants and conventions against for instance prohibited torture not only had he arguably violated international law but it seemed the former us president had violated canadas own crimes against humanity and war crimes act the legislation had passed through parliament with the view that canada should not become a haven for war criminals
in pursuing this line of analysis i faced my first allegations that somehow my academic inquiry was antisemitic
as i worked on this subject one that i integrated into my pedagogy it became clear to me that we have never seen anything but victors justice when it comes to the enforcement of international law against those that commit war crimes crimes against humanity crimes against the peace and crimes against democracy it seems that only those on the losing side of military conflicts are ever brought to justice those on the winning side the stronger side are invariably held to be above the law
this line of scholarly investigation did result in various channels of academic exchange opening up for me with colleagues in my own university and other universities the most fruitful collaboration to develop however was that with dr kevin barrett who had lost his academic position at the university of wisconsin for incorporating related subjects into his research and pedagogy
for sure i should not be made to feel so alone in the academy when it comes to the study of the most transformative event of the twentyfirst century in my view the academic institutions in north america and europe have failed abysmally in the study of false flag terrorism starting with the events of i am particularly appalled by how this failure on the part of our institutions of higher learning has contributed to the rise of islamophobia as the necessary psychological condition giving license to those promoting the invasions of muslimmajority countries
in a meeting with president rouhani and his cabinet the leader of the islamic revolution said when it comes to caricatures insulting the sanctities of islam the west suddenly becomes an advocates of freedom and the freedom of expression however when it comes to the holocaust there is no freedom of expression why do you think we witness such double standards
a gross display of double standards plagues the ethnocentric way freedom is being defined in the socalled west the psychological operations attending the we are charlie hebdo ceremonies on paris in early epitomized the hypocrisy the whole essence of this strange event in the city of lights seemed to signal that freedom of speech and expression in the west is virtually limitless when it comes to demeaning through cartoons of prophet mohammed as well as other sacred symbols of islamic religion the other side of the same coin are the many prohibitions imposed on for instance the french comedian mbala mbala dieudonné dieudonné was barred from entering canada for his efforts to make humor of the paranoid state of affairs attending any public references to jews jewish institutions or the activities of israel these days
one of my discoveries through this period of crisis is the fact that the thought police agents in the bnai brith equate my call for open debate on the holocaust and indeed open debate on all subjects as the equivalent of socalled holocaust denial how many of my colleagues at the and in other universities have bent before the harsh intimidation how many have made themselves proponents of shutting down open debate and allowing censorship from outside the academy to regulate our research teaching and publication
there is a controversial quote from ayatollah khamenei in which he says may god curse all those who put an end to political thoughts work and endeavor in universities whats your take on that how essential do you think such a perspective is for the academia
i agree wholeheartedly with the supreme leaders observation one of the great gifts of the creator to humans is the gift of reason and rationality our application of reason and rationality to our understanding of society will inevitably contribute to political thought work and endeavor
this type of applied reason should be especially vital in the work of universities where the highest level of political conception should be able to find expression elaboration and receptiveness indeed we need to make ourselves expert in universities at making safe places for the development of political discourse god curse us in the universities if we cannot be the home for vibrant political discourse | 0 |
5,074 | Before New Hampshire primary, Trump campaign shows mellower side | PLYMOUTH, N.H. (Reuters) - U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump came to the small town of Plymouth in the New Hampshire mountains on Sunday and promised to lower prescription drug prices, improve education and help heroin addicts get treatment. It was a day after he told a Republican debate audience that he did not want to leave poor people “dying in the streets,” and won praise by some pundits for delivering a restrained performance in which he largely avoided skewering his rivals. It is not as if Trump, notorious for his inflammatory, demolition-derby style, has suddenly gone soft. At the same event in Plymouth, he reaffirmed his support for reviving the waterboarding of terrorism suspects and, if necessary, doing “much worse.” He mocked “poor Jeb Bush” and talked about the “stupid people” running the government. But the past week has revealed a mellower Trump who seems less interested in slashing and burning his way to his party’s nomination for the Nov. 8 election and more willing to view his competitors with equanimity. His campaign has been working to moderate his image, showing another side of the boastful billionaire businessman whose candidacy has alarmed the Republican establishment and been marked by calls for the deportation of illegal immigrants and temporarily banning Muslims from entering the United States. The effort began in earnest in Iowa, when Trump brought in an evangelical leader as a character witness, used his children as surrogates and stood on stage with his wife, Melania, who has been rarely seen on the campaign trail. He told Reuters in Iowa he was nervous about the result of the caucuses, where he ended up second to Ted Cruz, the U.S. senator from Texas, in the first of the state-by-state nominating contests. Ahead of New Hampshire’s pivotal primary on Tuesday in which Trump leads in opinion polls, he has shared painful personal stories, stopped at diners to shake hands with patrons, and tried sending the message that despite his massive wealth and brash manner, he is a regular Joe. Trump even admitted on CNN on Sunday that Saturday’s debate was “a lot of pressure.” “He’s much more of an ordinary guy than (voters) would ever expect,” Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., said at a campaign stop in Tipton, New Hampshire. “He’s a down-to-earth guy.” New Hampshire voters have rewarded candidates for emotional directness before. In 1992, they gave Democrat Bill Clinton’s flagging campaign new life when he went on television with his wife, Hillary, amid denied having an extramarital affair. Sixteen years later, they handed Hillary Clinton a much-needed win after she broke down at an event and cried. The blunt-spoken Republican John McCain won the state’s primary twice, in 2000 and 2008. Despite leading in polls in several early voting states, Trump could use some image enhancement. National polls almost uniformly show that more than 50 percent of Americans view him unfavorably. During his last weekend in Iowa, Trump abandoned his usual campaign format in which he stands a podium and addresses the crowd in favor of a sit-down with Jerry Falwell Jr., son of the late evangelical activist, in which Trump answered his questions with little bombast. Falwell vouched for Trump’s generosity, telling of a couple who helped Trump after his limousine broke down in rural New York and how he in turn paid off their mortgage. At those events, Trump made a show of presenting a giant fake check, sweepstakes-style, to groups that aid disabled veterans. “I watch all these candidates,” he said of his rivals. “I’m nicer than all of them.” In New Hampshire, Trump has opened up about the loss of his older brother to alcoholism in 1981. “My brother Fred was a great guy. I mean, he had everything,” Trump said. “The most handsome guy. And then he got hooked — and there was nothing, there was nothing we could do about it.” Trump picked up that thread on Sunday in Plymouth, saying: “We’re going to take the people who are badly addicted. We’re going to work to make them better.” Trump’s motorcade stopped earlier at a diner in Manchester, where he greeted star-struck patrons, drank hot chocolate and ordered eggs and bacon. During his appearance in Plymouth, he barely mentioned his competitors and did not mention building a wall along the border with Mexico until someone in the crowd shouted it out. He also resisted taking aim at Marco Rubio, the U.S. senator from Florida, whose faltering performance at Saturday’s debate seemed tailor-made for the back of Trump’s hand. Instead, Trump told the audience: “I love you folks. You’re amazing people. “On Tuesday, go out and vote,” he said, adding with a grin: “If you’re not going to vote for me, do not vote.” (Additional reporting by Ginger Gibson; Editing by Caren Bohan and Peter Cooney) SAP is the sponsor of this content. It was independently created by Reuters’ editorial staff and funded in part by SAP, which otherwise has no role in this coverage. | 1 |
5,075 | HILLARY DNC SPEECH: “We Are Going To Follow The Money” [VIDEO]… WHILE GEORGE SOROS Makes Stunning $25 Million Donation To Hillary And Other Dems | Are you paying attention America? A vote for Hillary is a vote for communist billionaire, and chaos financier George Soros. Her election has nothing to do with helping the working class or middle America. Hillary is beholden to Wall Street and one-world-order, communist freaks like George Soros who fund radical groups like Black Lives Matter and Occupy Wall Street re-treads Occupy Spring. He and Hillary will ALWAYS put themselves and their massive fortunes before the little people. Isn t it time to elect someone who really cares about America?Watch Hillary boldly proclaim, We are going to follow the money! Meanwhile back to reality:Billionaire investor George Soros has re-emerged this election cycle as a major Democratic donor, committing more than $25 million to Hillary Clinton and other party candidates and causes, according to Politico.Soros has committed $5 million to a super PAC called Immigrant Voters Win that s devoted to increasing turnout among low-propensity Hispanic voters in key swing states, though FEC records show he d donated only $3 million through the end of June, the period covered by the most recent filings.Soros spent roughly $27 million in a bid to unseat then-President George W. Bush in 2004 but later scaled back his giving, the website reported. Some associates of the Soros Fund Management chairman told Politico they expect him to give even more as Election Day approaches.FOX News host, Bill O Reilly does an excellent job of exposing the truth about billionaire radical George Soros and his anti-American intentions:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KegE285GQucThe Hungarian-born financier is worth $24.9 billion, according to Forbes most recent estimate, and his return as a big-time contributor will be a boon to the party as it seeks to retain control of the White House and regain a majority in the Senate.Soros advisor Michael Vachon told Politico that Soros has been a consistent donor to Democratic causes, but this year the political stakes are exceptionally high. Vachon confirmed to CNBC Politico s report of the roughly $25 million in donations so far this cycle. Via: Politico | 0 |
5,076 | Chelsea Handler Hilariously Trashes Trump’s Sons In Comparison To President Obama’s Daughters | The prospect of President Obama and his family being replaced in the White House by Donald Trump and his family is a very depressing thought to millions of Americans, including comedian Chelsea Handler.During her show on Netflix this week, Handler lamented that we will soon have to say goodbye to the current First Family only to see a new family move in. I was midway through the debate when it hit me, we re going to have to say goodbye to the greatest family on the planet, Handler said before putting up an image of the Duggar family and continuing, And no I m not talking about these assholes. Handler then went after Donald Trump and his version of family values. While Hillary Clinton and potential First Gentleman Bill Clinton play with balloons on stage, rotten apricot Donald Trump would rather play with his daughter s balloons. Handler admitted that she isn t a fan of children but conceded that Sasha and Malia Obama are the exception. Look at them playing with their dog Bo! Isn t that cute? Handler said before comparing the Obama girls to Trump s sons Eric and Donald Jr. Now, let s take a look at how the Trump boys play with animals, Handler said as a photo of the two Trumps holding up a cheetah they killed appeared on the screen. Two assholes in their natural habitat, she quipped.Handler went on to list some of President Obama accomplishments and wished that he could run for a third term.Here s the video via YouTube:Handler isn t the only one who has slammed Trump s sons for using their daddy s wealth to kill animals instead of using it to help protect them for future generations to enjoy.Madonna slammed them earlier this month on her Instgram. How Big of [a] Pussy Do you have to BE to kill this Noble Animal for sport? Madonna wrote. Just ask Donald Trump Jr and his brother Eric. Featured Image: Screenshot | 0 |
5,077 | Microsoft Just Gamed Our Tax System With Its $26 Billion Purchase Of LinkedIn | Microsoft is buying LinkedIn and they have so much cash on hand that they could pay for the professional social network four times over without ever needing to even pick up the phone to start dialing the number of a single bank. Yet, they want a loan for the purchase anyway. Why would a company that s as flush as Microsoft want to take on debt like that when it doesn t have to?The answer s simple the loan equals a tax deduction for them, and the interest on the loan will lower their tax bill for years to come. Robert McIntyre, of Citizens For Tax Justice, says: It s an odd world where a company is awash in cash and chooses to make the acquisition with debts because they don t want to pay tax. That, combined with all the other ways they can game our tax system, will bring their total annual liability to rates that are far lower than the one corporate America, and Republicans, scream is too high.This particular loophole will allow Microsoft to avoid the 35 percent tax rate they d pay for repatriating cash they re holding overseas that s needed to buy LinkedIn without a loan. Exactly how much tax will they avoid paying just this year?$9 billion. And it s perfectly legal. In fact, most types of corporate tax evasion are perfectly legal.And that s just for one year. They ll avoid millions more on just this particular purchase in the years to come, in addition to all the other ways they ll avoid paying their fair share of taxes. They aren t the only ones doing this. Back in May, a study revealed that multinational corporations are avoiding paying at least $100 billion per year in taxes. That makes the tax evasion problem much worse than previously thought.Much has been made of things like corporate inversions, where corporations buy a smaller, overseas company for the purpose of shifting their headquarters out of the U.S. and thus, avoid our taxes. We also make a big deal about tax havens, such as the Cayman Islands and Switzerland, although we re starting to make headway with banks in countries that serve as tax shelters to put a stop to this type of evasion.But using loans when they re flush with cash is yet another tax evasion method. One might say that people with student loans and home mortgages are doing the same thing. However, people with those two particular types of debt are a) individuals, and b) aren t awash in the kind of cash a company like Microsoft is. So there s a huge difference there.Our official corporate tax rate might be 39.1 percent, and Republicans and our poor, downtrodden multinationals can whine about how high it is all they want. Their crying doesn t change the fact that, each year from 2006 to 2012, more than 60 percent of our corporations paid zero in federal income taxes. You can bet all the benefits they get from loans, like Microsoft is doing, contribute heavily to that. There is nothing that justifies their whining.Think this is just good business? Sure. From a purely profit-oriented perspective, anything that lowers costs is good because it raises the bottom line. There are real-world consequences though, and one of them is a country, like ours, that shifts its tax burden onto individuals who work, and work, and work for these very corporations, and can t bring in enough revenue to actually function properly.Microsoft will buy LinkedIn however it wants. But this, right here, is a perfect example of why our tax code needs to be overhauled. There s no reason at all Microsoft should be able to get a loan and deduct it from its taxes when it has four times the cash it needs to buy LinkedIn. There just isn t.Featured image by David Ramos/Getty Images | 0 |
5,078 | BOMBSHELL: Clinton WikiLeak Exposes Entire ‘Shadow Government’ – Jay Dyer (Vid) | Jay Dyer 21st Century WireSick of politics? Well, me too, but this election reveals the deep state and vindicates us conspiracy theorists like never before. I give my analysis of what is really going down, from the CFR to drug running. In this video report, I cover the top leaks and scandals and how both 21WIRE and JaysAnalysis were spot on READ MORE SHADOW GOV T NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Shadow Gov t FilesTo hear Jay s full podcasts, see more information and learn how you can become a subscriber to JaysAnalysis. Jay Dyer is the author of the forthcoming title, Esoteric Hollywood: Sex, Cults and Symbols in Film from Trine Day. Focusing on film, philosophy, geopolitics and all things esoteric, JaysAnalysis and his podcast, Esoteric Hollywood, investigates the deeper meanings between the headlines, exploring the hidden aspects of our sinister synthetic mass media matrix. | 0 |
5,079 | State funding changes in spotlight in Republican healthcare bill | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican leaders sought to nail down the final votes needed to pass what U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday called their “last best chance” to repeal Obamacare while a new analysis underscored how Democratic-leaning states stand to lose large amounts of federal funding under the legislation. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell plans to bring the bill introduced by fellow Republican Senators Lindsey Graham and Bill Cassidy to a vote next week, as his party seeks to make good on seven years of promises to erase Democratic former President Barack Obama’s signature legislative achievement. With no Democratic support for the bill, Republicans remain a handful of votes short in the Senate, needing 50 votes in a 100-seat chamber they control 52-48, with Pence casting a potential tie-breaking vote. Senator Rand Paul opposes it and at least six others are undecided: John McCain, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Dan Sullivan, Rob Portman and Jerry Moran. Asked whether the legislation will pass, Pence said, “We’ll see. We’re close.” Republicans, still reeling from their failure in July to win Senate passage of previous legislation to repeal and replace Obamacare, have set a Sept. 30 deadline for passage of this bill. “This may well be our last best chance to stop and turn around and head America back in the direction of the kind of healthcare reform that’s based on individual-choice, state-based innovations,” Pence told Fox New Channel. President Donald Trump has been pushing Congress to repeal and replace Obamacare, which would fulfill one of his top campaign promises from last year. The current bill would take money that the federal government now spends on healthcare through the Medicaid insurance program for the poor and subsidies to help Americans buy private insurance and distribute it to the states in block grants. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office has not yet assessed the bill’s effects but independent analyses indicate it would fundamentally redistribute federal healthcare money, generally with Republican-leaning states benefiting and Democratic-leaning states losing. The nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation, a healthcare research group, estimated on Thursday that states that expanded Medicaid under Obamacare would lose $180 billion under the bill from 2020 to 2026, while non-expansion states would gain $73 billion in the same time period. The Graham-Cassidy bill in 2020 would end the Obamacare Medicaid expansion, which many Democratic-governed states had carried out while many Republican-governed states did not, and limit overall federal spending on the five-decade-old program regardless of how many Americans qualify for its benefits. Republicans have called Obamacare, formally known as the Affordable Care Act, a federal overreach, and say block grants would give states discretion on how to provide healthcare coverage. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation analysis, five states would stand to lose more than 30 percent of their federal healthcare money from 2020-2026: New York (down 35 percent), Oregon (down 32 percent), Connecticut (down 31 percent), Vermont (down 31 percent) and Minnesota (down 30 percent). All are Democratic leaning. The analysis found that six Republican-leaning states would get at least 40 percent more in federal funds: Mississippi (up 148 percent), Texas (up 75 percent), Kansas (up 61 percent), Georgia (up 46 percent), South Dakota (up 45 percent) and Tennessee (up 44 percent). In total dollars, the state with the largest forecast loss of funds is California, losing $56 billion. The biggest gainer would be Texas, with a $34 billion increase. California, the most populous U.S. state, is Democratic leaning. Texas is the second most populous state and the largest Republican-leaning one. “It’s absolutely true to say the Graham-Cassidy bill over time levels out on a per-person basis the way we distribute money on healthcare, which I think resonates with most Americans,” Pence said. McCain, Collins and Murkowski were the three Republicans who voted against the last Republican healthcare legislation brought up in the Senate, which failed 51-49 in July. Paul, who voted in favor of that bill after previously expressing misgivings, on Thursday went to Twitter to underscore his criticism that the Graham-Cassidy bill does not go far enough to erase Obamacare. The insurance industry, hospitals, medical advocacy groups such as the American Medical Association, American Heart Association and American Cancer Society, the AARP advocacy group for the elderly and consumer activists have come out against the bill, urging a bipartisan fix to the current law that was abandoned this week. More medical and civil rights advocacy groups lined up against the Graham-Cassidy bill on Thursday, including the American Psychological Association, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the NAACP. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a liberal think tank, estimated that the bill would cause more than 30 million people to lose insurance. The Graham-Cassidy proposal would let states opt out of the requirement that insurers charge sick and healthy people the same rates, causing a furor among advocacy groups that say it could make health insurance unaffordable for those with pre-existing conditions. | 1 |
5,080 | Exclusive: EU may shun Myanmar generals in new sanctions - draft | BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union will cut back contacts with Myanmar s top generals in a first step to increase sanctions over an army offensive that has driven more than 500,000 Rohingya Muslims out of the country, according to a draft document seen by Reuters. Thousands of the Rohingya fled for Myanmar to Bangladesh on Monday in a new surge of refugees driven by fears of starvation and violence which the United Nations denounced as ethnic cleansing. The United States and the European Union have been considering targeted sanctions against Myanmar military leaders, though the European bloc sees its options as relatively limited, with no hard-hitting, direct leverage on the ground. EU foreign ministers will discuss the situation in Myanmar on Oct.16, and their draft joint statement said the bloc will suspend invitations to the commander-in-chief of the Myanmar/Burma armed forces and other senior military officers . The text, which will be discussed further by envoys from the 28 EU states on Tuesday and may be modified, said the EU may consider further measures depending on developments in Myanmar but would respond accordingly to positive developments . The document confirmed support for an existing EU embargo on arms and equipment that can be used for internal repression . It called on Myanmar to discuss repatriating refugees from neighboring Bangladesh and praised the latter for its role in the crisis, which started when attacks by Rohingya militants on security posts brought a ferocious military response. Refugees and rights groups say the army and Buddhist vigilantes use killing and arson to drive the Rohingya out of Myanmar. Myanmar rejects accusations of ethnic cleansing. The EU draft characterized the situation in the most-affected Rakhine State as extremely serious and said Kachin and Shan provinces were also of great concern. It called on all sides to cease violence, told the military to end its operations and protect all civilians equally, as well as calling on Myanmar to allow humanitarian access to the affected regions. The West has invested politically in Myanmar leader and Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who has faced scathing international criticism for not doing more to stop the violence. While the EU feels disillusioned, it also acknowledges Aung San Suu Kyi has little influence over Myanmar s security forces. The move to punish the army head is largely symbolic as the West is also wary of hurting the wider economy or destabilizing already-tense ties between Suu Kyi and the army. Its leverage on the ground fades compared to that of Myanmar s immediate neighbors, including China. | 1 |
5,081 | Trump Tells China To Keep Our Navy Drone And Gets POUNDED For Being So Unstable | Donald Trump just proved once again that he is unfit to be president.Earlier this week, the Chinese Navy intercepted a United States oceanographic drone in the South China Sea.The federal government formally and politely requested that China give us our drone back.Trump, on the other hand, accused China of stealing the drone and demanded its return.China steals United States Navy research drone in international waters rips it out of water and takes it to China in unprecedented act. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 17, 2016For some reason, Donald Trump is trying to pick a fight with China, which would be disastrous for our economy and national security if he ever pissed China off enough to provoke them into retaliating.Anyway, China has announced that they are going to give our drone back to us, but that not good enough for Trump anymore.Whether drunk or sleep deprived, Trump posted another tweet telling China not to bother giving it back and told them they should just keep the drone, which contradicts the United States government request that China give it back.We should tell China that we don t want the drone they stole back.- let them keep it! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 18, 2016Seriously, Trump just doesn t know when to keep his mouth shut.But some Twitter users were quick to mock him for his idiocy..@realDonaldTrump A) complain ab the drone B) get drone back C) complain they gave it back D) complete tantrum with punctuation error Isaac Saul (@Ike_Saul) December 18, 2016He s a damn child. Christ. Annoying Cubs Fan (@TimBaffoe) December 18, 2016@realDonaldTrump Moron. Matty Granger (@reverendmatty) December 18, 2016How does that make sense, @realDonaldTrump? Maybe we should just stop trying to pick fights with foreign governments on Twitter instead? David G. McAfee (@DavidGMcAfee) December 18, 2016lolwut @realDonaldTrump https://t.co/iQxzWFFlFx Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) December 18, 2016@Green_Footballs @realDonaldTrump Another day, another unhinged meltdown by our President elect. pic.twitter.com/2WKKebpD0K This Is Not Normal (@NetworkJunkyz) December 18, 2016@realDonaldTrump Imagine a drunk driver with the entire world in the passenger seat. Peter Beinart (@PeterBeinart) December 18, 2016@advodude I would rather a drone have been elected. Davison (@DavisonVideo) December 18, 2016.@realDonaldTrump go to bed Donald. Tom Knight (@TJ_Knight) December 18, 2016@realDonaldTrump hello, China. Yes, we know this guy s our next president but can you please ignore him so the world doesn t blow up Peter Beinart (@PeterBeinart) December 18, 2016@realDonaldTrump Why did you act like a little bitch about it earlier about it being unpresidented ?Don t you have better things to do? ? ? (@VeeVee) December 18, 2016@realDonaldTrump Every time your baby hands get near your phone you put lives at risk. Delete your account. Andrew W Chamings (@AndrewChamings) December 18, 2016Donald Trump is too unstable to be president. Clearly, he is desperately trying to distract us from the fact that he is illegitimate because Russia helped him steal the election. Now he s trying to start a war with China, the most populous nation on Earth. Someone needs to take Trump s phone away before he starts a fight he can t finish.Featured Image: Steve Pope/Getty Images | 0 |
5,082 | Trump Stole An Idea From North Korean Propaganda Parody Account To Push His Stupid Wall (DETAILS) | Jesus f*cking Christ our President* is a moron. Not satisfied with simply wasting billions of taxpayer dollars on a border wall, The Donald wants it to be see-through too not to preserve the view of scenery but because he s afraid people might be killed by gigantic sacks of drugs that are totally going to be thrown over it on a regular basis (thus negating his argument that the wall will somehow curb drug trafficking). As horrible as it sounds, when they throw the large sacks of drugs over, and if you have people on the other side of the wall, you don t see them they hit you on the head with 60 pounds of the stuff? It s over, the President said aboard Air Force One Wednesday according to the official White House transcript. As cray as that sounds, you need transparency through that wall. Trump says border wall with Mexico should be transparent so that people aren't killed when drug couriers throw 60-lbs. bags over it. pic.twitter.com/0GXJuHjPxs Gregory Korte (@gregorykorte) July 13, 2017It s unclear if Trump actually said cray or if the White House stenographer made a typo, but the idea that we will be so beleaguered by so many flying 60-pound sacks of drugs that the border wall needs to be transparent is pretty cray. Now, Trump could have argued that there are a number of reasons for transparency to see those dirty brownish people he hates coming, for instance. But he chose the dumb one that involves throwing a 60-pound bag of heroin over a 20-foot fence.Naturally, Americans find this hilarious:The bad hombres are very strong. Juha (@juhasaarinen) July 14, 2017I imagined just this with Acme printed on the side. TJ Shannon (@tjshannon13) July 14, 2017pic.twitter.com/43I0DR0lw8 Paul Vahamaa (@pvahamaa) July 14, 2017 a steel wall with openings so that you can see through that wall he knows he s describing a fence, right? Tinz (@TinzRules) July 13, 2017Likelihood that Trump heard someone say We need transparency on the building of the Wall and didn t understand? Patrick (@PatrickCragg) July 13, 2017Crushed by Giant Bag of Dope is pretty high on most people s Preferred Ways To Die list, I ve heard. Just Dessert (@Love_CrimeDrama) July 13, 2017Crushed by Giant Bag of Dope was, in my opinion, Giant Bag of Dope s best album. David J Britton (@Tyburn_Cross) July 13, 2017I want to meet the dealer that can toss a 60 lb bag over the wall or, do they use catapults? nicefellow31 (@nicefellow31) July 13, 2017They prefer trebuchets, I m told. Carly (@whatstudentloan) July 13, 2017The beauty of this, though, is if the bag misses your head Hey! Free heroin! Christopher Keelty (@keeltyc) July 13, 2017 Some areas that are so far away from the border? Some parts of the border are far away from the border? #wtf #cray Matthew R. Kerns (@mattkerns) July 13, 2017So, these drug smugglers, they can toss 60 pound bags of coke over 20 foot walls, but can t climb a mountain? High Quality Nephew (@JohnNephew) July 13, 2017 This piece of fence would be supes far away. You d have to be totes cray to cross there. So you fo sho don t need that. def on fleek Henkepotamus (@Henke2020) July 13, 2017You laugh but this is a serious problem. pic.twitter.com/1jGkVDGmt6 Erase Rewind (@EraseRewind1) July 13, 2017If there are people throwing 60 lbs sacks of stuff over high walls we should get them on our team. Rich (@Argonzo) July 13, 2017So: you happen to stand next to a giant 900 mi. wall when BAM! You re hit with a 60 lb. bag of drugs tossed over this huge wall to no one?? Spooky Comet (@spookycomet) July 13, 2017one thing is right, this shit is cray Ella s Girl (@ellasgirl7) July 13, 2017This can t possibly be real because . . . never mind. I m sorry, I forgot who we were referring to. Kit Yona (@TheKitastrophe) July 13, 2017Wow. Vicious rivers and cray 60-lb falling bags of heroin. Why would people stand next to the wall? Will there be a Starbucks? Tom Brouns (@TAZMPictures) July 14, 2017Ask him to point out the violent and vicious rivers on a map. WTF is he talking about? John Daws (@grajillas) July 13, 2017Who the F*ck is throwing 60lb sacks of drugs over the wall? Cause pretty sure they make some $$$ in pro sports! R Goldman (@sttrzangel) July 14, 2017Where would Trump get the idea to tell Americans that criminals across the border are killing people with giant sacks of drugs? North Korean propaganda of course or what seems like North Korean propaganda until you realize it s a parody account:Six innocent children killed by south Korean criminals hurling huge sacks of illegal drugs over inter-Korean demilitarized zone wall. pic.twitter.com/bfnNlBIs4e DPRK News Service (@DPRK_News) July 13, 2017If you re thinking this is disgraceful even for Trump, you probably should be aware that we have not yet seen the depths to which he is willing to sink in his quest for power.We need to face the fact that our President is completely cray and let the GOP know they need to do their jobs and remove him from office now.featured image via Getty Images/screengrab | 0 |
5,083 | money laundering scheme exposed proclinton super pacs nonprofits implicated | you would have to be a borderlinemoron or a leftleaningdemocrat to think obamba didnt know about the witch and her covens server every single email he sent received or had printed for his consumption had the unique and clandestine address of clintonemailcom what could be more clear to even obamba how often have you opened an email or sent an email when you were not cognizant of the sendto or from address | 1 |
5,084 | Cambodia PM calls on U.S. to withdraw Peace Corps volunteers | PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen called on the United States on Friday to withdraw Peace Corps volunteers in an escalating row over accusations that U.S. agents conspired with an opposition leader to plot treason. Hun Sen was responding after the U.S. embassy in Phnom Penh issued a travel warning that urged citizens to show caution amid anti-American rhetoric by officials . Are you scaring Cambodians? Hun Sen said of the United States in an address to garment workers at factories which export much of their production to the United States. Are you prepared to invade Cambodia and that s why you told Americans to be careful? It s good if you pull out the Peace Corps, Hun Sen said. The U.S. embassy declined to comment. It has previously dismissed the accusations of collusion with opposition leader Kem Sokha and called for his release. On Friday, the embassy was swearing in 71 new volunteers from the Peace Corps, which sends Americans abroad to help with local projects with the stated goal of promoting mutual understanding. Hun Sen said on Friday that he had ordered an investigation into whether any Americans were involved with Kem Sokha. Opponents of Hun Sen accuse him of arresting Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) leader Kem Sokha and cracking down on independent media and other critics ahead of a general election next year. The evidence presented against Kem Sokha is a video recorded in 2013 in which he discusses a strategy to win power with the help of unspecified Americans. Hun Sen, a close ally of China, has taken a series of measures against U.S. interests this year from ending joint military exercises to expelling a naval aid unit to forcing a U.S.-funded pro-democracy group to leave. On Thursday, Hun Sen said he was suspending cooperation with Washington to find the remains of Americans killed in the Vietnam War. According to the U.S Embassy, more than 500 Peace Corps volunteers have served and worked in Cambodia since 2006, providing English teaching and teacher training as well as community health education. U.S. President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps in 1961 to promote world peace and friendship. | 1 |
5,085 | Deja Vu: Hillary Wants $275 Billion For Shovel-Ready Union Jobs | Wait one damn minute! Didn t we do this already? It s another effort to spread the wealth and I m thinking the American people won t buy it this time.BOSTON (AP) Hillary Clinton called for hundreds of billions in new federal spending on infrastructure on Sunday, kicking off what her campaign says will be a month-long focus on job creation.Standing before a backdrop of union workers and students, the Democratic presidential frontrunner vowed to rebuild ladders of opportunity and give a greater number of Americans a middle-class lifestyle. Investing infrastructure makes our economy more productive and competitive, she said at the launch of Hard Hats for Hillary, a new effort by her campaign to mobilize union workers. To build a strong economy for our future, we must start by building strong infrastructure today. Clinton was joined by Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, who recently endorsed her campaign, and a number of labor unions backing her bid. Get your sledgehammers ready because we have a glass ceiling to demolish, Walsh told a cheering audience crowded into historic Faneuil Hall.The new infrastructure proposals make up the most expensive portion of Clinton s economic agenda, which her campaign said would exceed the $350 billion she s already proposed for a college affordability plan. Along with the $275 billion in infrastructure funds, she plans to call for new investments in manufacturing and research in the coming weeks.Read more: Breitbart | 0 |
5,086 | PASS THE POPCORN: BILL CLINTON “INCENSED” BY NEWS OF BIDEN RUN FOR PRESIDENT | Pass the popcorn and watch this explode the thought of Biden jumping into the race is priceless! Unreal!The potential first First Gentleman is reportedly very agitated by the possibility Vice President Joe Biden may challenge Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination.Politico detailed President Bill Clinton s frustration with the state of his wife s campaign in a piece out Wednesday:Clinton s camp, hands full with the email controversy and a surprisingly stout challenge from independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, isn t in a patient mood. Bill Clinton, according to a person who has spoken with the former president in the last couple of weeks, is very agitated by the possibility of a Biden candidacy and incensed at the press hype around a possible bid.The Clinton campaign has suffered from a dragging private email story that rather than go away, only grows. Her honesty and trustworthy numbers are underwater, and even a majority of Democrats who support her believe she will be hurt by the email scandal in a general election. Multiple polls have shown Clinton, once a 50-point frontrunner, now trails Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) in New Hampshire. Via: WFB | 0 |
5,087 | foods that naturally unclog arteries and prevent heart attacks | during a debate between rep tammy duckworth and sen mark kirk ril for his us senate seat in springfield illinois kirk mocked duckworths ancestry saying in rebuttal of her comments on the true cost of war
i had forgotten that your parents came all the way from thailand to serve george washington
his remark came in response to her statement that my family has served this nation in uniform going back to the revolution i am a daughter of the american revolution
watch courtesy of deadspin senator mark kirk mocks disabled iraq war vet tammy duckworth in debate for her mixedrace heritage httpstcoznpduvfq pictwittercomcpwybkril
deadspin deadspin october
kirk of course has claimed to receive military honors he did not in fact receive for him to attack duckworth is not only the height of hypocrisy but mocking her ancestry is appalling
the republican position as restated here by kirk is that its okay to come from another country as long as youre white neither kirk nor his campaign has apologized kirk has said trump should quit over his misogynist comments apparently its okay to make racist comments
when duckworth said her family had served since the american revolution she wasnt joking and she set kirk straight in a tweet my mom is an immigrant and my dad and his family have served this nation in uniform since the revolution ilsen pictwittercomehebhswfms
tammy duckworth tammyforil october
the illinois senator has unendorsed donald trump one malignant clown calling another a malignant clown and this latest move has given kellyanne conway a rare opportunity to gloat tweeting the same mark kirk that unendorsed his partys presidential nominee and called him out in paid ads gotcha good luck httpstcoivmils
kellyanne conway kellyannepolls october
with a single sentence mark kirk proved you dont have to support donald trump to be a deplorable | 0 |
5,088 | trump begins to walk back illegal immigration promises daily wire | like most people on election day i expected hillary clinton to become president i could not have been in a better setting to find out the tides were turning | 1 |
5,089 | Germany's Greens all but rule out three-way 'Jamaica' coalition | BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany s Greens on Saturday all but ruled out a three-way coalition with Chancellor Angela Merkel s conservatives and the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) after the Sept. 24 election and a conservative said such an alliance would not be ideal. Polls show Merkel s conservatives are likely to win the election with around 38 percent of the vote but will be left in need of a coalition partner. Their rival Social Democrats (SPD) are lagging on around 22 percent. Possible coalition options include a repeat of the current grand coalition between the conservatives and SPD or a Jamaica coalition of the conservatives, FDP and Greens - the name referring to the black, yellow and green colors of the Jamaican flag. Katrin Goering-Eckhardt, one of the Greens two top candidates, told regional newspaper Passauer Neue Presse: I can t imagine Jamaica. Coalitions tend to be tested at the state level before they are formed at the national level. A Jamaica alliance was formed in the coastal state of Schleswig-Holstein after Merkel s Christian Democrats (CDU) won an election there in May. But Goering-Eckhardt said the Greens and FDP had diametrically opposed positions on issues including climate protection, emission thresholds for clean cars and refugees. I can t see how it could work at the national level, she said. FDP leader Christian Lindner told Focus magazine he was also unable to envisage a Jamaica coalition given the hurdles to reaching agreement with the Greens on immigration and energy. Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere, a senior conservative, told regional newspaper Rheinische Post neither the conservatives nor the SPD wanted to continue the current grand coalition because it is not good for democracy , referring to the small parliamentary opposition that such a tie-up leaves. But he added that it would be harder to reach agreements with the Greens and FDP on domestic security than it has been with the SPD. From a security perspective it would be good if the conservative bloc could choose a two-way alliance, he said. Cem Ozdemir, the Greens other top candidate, said in an interview with Tagesspiegel am Sonntag newspaper that his party wanted to be in the next federal government, which he suggested would be formed by Merkel: The race for first place seems to be over - Angela Merkel is out in front. But the latest polls show Merkel s conservatives and the Greens would not be able to muster enough support between them to form a two-way alliance. While support for the Greens has dropped to single digits this year - it is on 8 percent in the latest polls - a Forsa survey published this week showed half of Germans would welcome the Greens being part of the post-election government. Merkel on Saturday reiterated her warning to voters about a coalition between the SPD, radical Left party and Greens, telling voters in the southwestern city of Reutlingen that a red-red-green tie-up would be bad for our country and Germany should not embark on any experiments at a time of uncertainty. A red-red-green alliance, which had seemed a possible option early this year, has not been able to get a majority in polls for weeks. | 1 |
5,090 | PRINCIPAL CAUGHT STEALING From DETERIORATING DETROIT SCHOOL That Got $500,000 Donation From Ellen DeGeneres [VIDEO] | Detroit teachers make viral video: Blame Republican Governor for deteriorating schools Ellen DeGeneres donates $500,000 to help school..Principal BUSTED stealing money from school.But it s all about the kids While there is no question many of the schools in Detroit are in horrible shape, placing the blame on Republican Governor Rick Snyder is laughable. Taxpayers in the state of Michigan have been bailing out the corrupt Detroit Public schools for decades.Some Detroit teachers at Spain Elementary got together to make a video highlighting the issues they were facing due to lack of funds available to their schools. The video caught the attention of Ellen Degeneres. In the video, the teachers blame the deteriorating condition of the Detroit Public Schools on Republican Governor Rick Snyder. The teachers also compare their schools to the schools in the suburbs, where the working taxpayers live who fill the coffers of the public school officials and administrators who always seem to be under investigation for stealing from them. The teachers also make a point at of suggesting that because the students are black, they are somehow being treated unfairly, invoking the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. to prove her point. Watch here:Over a dozen current and former principals in the Detroit public school system have been charged in a conspiracy scheme involving more than $900,000 in kickbacks and bribes, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday.At least 13 principals are named in the federal complaints including the principal of a school that was featured on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and received $500,000 in donations because conditions there were so poor.One of the principals, Ronald Alexander, had received about $23,000 in kickbacks, the federal complaint says.Alexander appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in February when DeGeneres surprised his performing arts school with donations from Lowe s Home Improvement and pop star Justin Bieber, who pledged $1 from each ticket of his Michigan concert toward Spain Elementary-Middle School.During the show, teachers told Degeneres how they did not have enough money for books for each of the students and how classrooms lacked heat.[quote_box_center] Of all the people in the whole world, I am the happiest principal on Earth, Alexander said at the time.[/quote_box_center]Here is the video clip of the wonderful principal thief at Spain Elementary-Middle School, who generously accepted the $500,000 donation from Ellen Degeneres: The real victims in a case like this are the students and the families the teachers and the educators who want to make a difference, Barbara McQuade, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, said at a news conference. A case like this is a real punch in the gut. The investigation started two years ago following a routine audit, prosecutors said.As part of the alleged scheme, school supplies vendor Allstate Sales was used by the various schools to purchase items such as auditorium chairs, supplemental teaching materials, and paper. The principals submitted fraudulent invoices for payments to Allstate Sales for some items that were never received.In exchange, those Detroit Public Schools principals received kickback payments, McQuade said. They ve each been charged with conspiracy and face arraignments.Norman Shy, Allstate Sales owner, allegedly worked with Clara Flowers, a principal and assistant superintendent, from at least February 2009 to January 2015. She had the power to select vendors and order materials for various schools.The scheme involved a total of $908,518 in kickbacks and bribes in exchange for Allstate Sales doing business with the Detroit Public Schools worth $2.7 million, McQuade said.Detroit s public schools have been in financial straits, and the allegations against the city principals come as Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder announced that he signed a law releasing $48.7 million in emergency funding to help the state s largest school district stay open through the end of the school year.McQuade said the announcement of the charges were not linked to the governor s actions. This continues to demonstrate that the challenges at DPS aren t just Detroit s problem, they are concerns for all of Michigan, Snyder said in a statement Tuesday. Via: NBC | 0 |
5,091 | Northern Ireland power-sharing talks to extend into Wednesday | BELFAST (Reuters) - Northern Ireland s main political parties are to continue talks aimed at restoring the British region s devolved government on Wednesday, a British government official said, in an apparent extension of a deadline for a deal. Representatives of Irish nationalists Sinn Fein and the pro-British Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) ended their second day of talks aimed at re-establishing a power-sharing government that collapsed in January, the official said. The British government has indicated that if the parties fail to reach agreement in the coming days it will be forced to impose a budget directly for the first time in a decade to ensure essential services are funded. A budget set by the British government would be a major step towards direct rule from London, which could destabilize a delicate political balance there. On Monday the British government s minister for Northern Ireland, James Brokenshire, said if there was no progress by the end of talks on Tuesday he would assess whether London needed to move impose a budget. The spokesman declined to comment when asked when that decision would be made. The DUP and Sinn Fein have shared power for the past decade in a system created following a 1998 peace deal that ended three decades of violence in the province. Sinn Fein pulled out in January, complaining it was not being treated as an equal partner. | 1 |
5,092 | Chad reshuffles finance, other key ministries - decree | N DJAMENA (Reuters) - Chad s President Idriss Deby on Sunday appointed Abdoulaye Sabre Fadoul as minister of finance and also named new economy, foreign affairs, security and justice ministers, a presidential decree showed. Fadoul has served as interim finance minister since Deby sacked his predecessor, Christian Georges Diguimbaye, last month. The appointment comes amid stalled negotiations with Glencore over more than $1 billion in oil-backed loans Chad owes the commodities trader. Glencore lent the West African country s state oil firm SHT about $1.45 billion in 2014 to be repaid with crude oil. The loan was subsequently syndicated with several banks. It was restructured in 2015 following the crash in global oil prices but Chad is again struggling to repay the debt. Funds from the International Monetary Fund depend on reaching new terms. In October, Chad decided to redirect crude previously allocated to Glencore in a marketing agreement to Exxon Mobil instead starting from January, which has made negotiations fraught. Djimet Arabi, an adviser to Deby, was named the new justice minister in the reshuffle while Ahmadaye Abdelkerim Bokit takes over the security ministry. The new foreign minister is Mahamat Zene Cherif, Chad s former permanent representative to the United Nations. | 1 |
5,093 | Spooked by Catalonia, EU rallies behind Madrid, but warily | BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Spain s EU partners fear a mounting crisis over Catalans latest push for independence, and their public support for Mariano Rajoy belies some disquiet that the conservative prime minister s hardline tactics might backfire. Few foreign leaders will speak out on a domestic dispute in which government and courts in Madrid say the Catalan regional authorities in Barcelona are defying a constitutional ban on secession by preparing an independence referendum for Oct. 1. The official European Union line is that Spanish democracy works and Spaniards should settle their affairs according to national laws. But the worsening standoff, with police arresting elected Catalan officials this week, is troubling officials and politicians abroad, who fear it may hurt Europe in various ways. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, through a spokesman, echoed that line when asked by Reuters if she had had recent contact on the matter with Rajoy, a fellow conservative. While stressing it was an internal Spanish matter , the spokesman also recalled that Merkel had in previous years told Rajoy that Berlin had great interest in the maintenance of stability in Spain . Less constrained by diplomatic protocol, other Europeans are starting to speak out: Rajoy has put a lot of oil on the fire, fuelling the independentist debate. He has made a huge mistake, Ska Keller, the German co-leader of the Greens in the European Parliament, told Reuters as she called on those who may have influence with Rajoy to intercede and calm things down. While publicly refusing to take sides on whether a Catalan breakaway is desirable, few European leaders would welcome it. As with the 2014 referendum in Scotland, which unlike Catalonia s vote was held with the blessing of the central government in London, countries fear encouraging separatists at home: Belgium s Flemings, Italy s Lombards and so on. There is also a broader unwillingness as Britain exits from the EU to open another Pandora s box of economic uncertainty and legal disruption. The EU s chief executive, Jean-Claude Juncker, was irked when Catalans seized on a remarks last week that they could join the EU after independence to suggest he favored their cause. The European Commission president said he had only reiterated the so-called Prodi doctrine , dating back 13 years. This is that a breakaway state would have to leave the Union and could then only be let back in if it has gained independence in accordance with constitutional law in the member state it left. Juncker also said that rich regional traditions should not become elements of separatism and fragmentation of Europe . Commission officials reject suggestions they are giving Madrid a soft ride on complaints that Spain s constitution is stifling Catalan rights while the EU is now threatening to suspend Poland over the Warsaw government s plans for constitutional change. The Commission feels constrained by EU law not to take sides in Spain. But the European Parliament, led by the European People s Party (EPP), the center-right bloc to which Rajoy, Merkel and Juncker belong, is more vocal in backing Madrid. Antonio Tajani, the legislature s Italian conservative president, bluntly told a Catalan newspaper last week that to ignore Spain s constitution was to undermine the legal basis for the whole European Union: Those are the rules, he said. This is not a tough line, this is a democratic and a legal line, the EPP s Spanish Secretary-General Antonio Lopez-Isturiz said, noting that Catalans voted for the constitution in 1978. The EU legislature s center-left group also backs the view that Spain s constitution must be respected above all. Nonetheless, that legal approach is causing disquiet. There are growing concerns in Europe about the way Rajoy is handling this, said Steven Blockmans of the Centre for European Policy Studies. They re trying to keep him on board, but with his tactics he s fuelling the independence debate. Blockmans suggested Spain look at how his native Belgium had amended its constitution to devolve power. The leader of Belgium s powerful Dutch-speaking Flanders region issued a call on Thursday for international mediation in the Catalan crisis. Andrew Duff, a British liberal former EU lawmaker now at the European Policy Centre think-tank, said EU leaders should be engaging quietly with Rajoy to try to soften the sense of crisis . If they are already, they are not making it public. Rajoy hasn t played this very cleverly, Duff said. From Brussels perspective, this kind of domestic constitutional crisis cries out for political sophistication of a very high level, which we haven t yet seen, either from the Catalans or from Madrid. It puts the Commission in a very awkward position. A senior EU official said Juncker was likely to go on exercising his right to stay largely silent on the issue for now: It s like in those police shows, he said. Anything you say can be held against you. It s better not to say anything. | 1 |
5,094 | Angry Constituents HILARIOUSLY Shame Their GOP Reps For Being Too Cowardly To Face Them (IMAGES) | There are a lot of Republican members of Congress who can t stand even the prospect of having their town halls disrupted by protesters, even if those protesters are their own constituents. Some think that the disruption prevents meaningful dialogue with their real constituents, while others probably buy into Trump s narrative that the protesters are paid liberal activists.And some are just avoiding their constituents entirely, fearfully hiding behind telephones or just refusing to meet with them at all. And constituents have begun fighting back.In Pennsylvania, where Sen. Pat Toomey refused to meet with people opposed to repealing the Affordable Care Act. They had a meeting anyway and had an empty suit up on stage representing Toomey:No Toomey, no problem for Obamacare rally in Allentown, report says https://t.co/S7h2i6nVFo pic.twitter.com/zvTr2w86P1 lehighvalleylive.com (@lehighvalley) February 22, 2017Some have begun putting their senators and representatives faces on milk cartons, a la missing persons notices. These are framed like missing persons notices, too. One was posted to Twitter by an account calling itself Where Is Paul Cook, and their tweet has pictures of half-gallon milk jugs with Cook s photo on it and a big MISSING label across the top.Reports of these milk jugs spotted in local stores all over the 8th district #WhereIsPaulCook @RepPaulCook @VVDailyPress pic.twitter.com/RsVLAgCw9n Where Is Paul Cook (@WhereIsPaulCook) February 20, 2017Two others are missing persons ads in local papers, one for Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, and another for Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina. Both start with LOST United States Senator. Both have nearly identical wording despite being in two completely different papers. The ad for Rubio is below:@IndivisibleTeam look at what appeared in the Palm Beach Post today. pic.twitter.com/r8VPpNzmnV Kira (@KiraCA76) February 22, 2017Then there s a group in New York State that s been taking out ads on billboards asking where Rep. Chris Collins is. He was the first member of Congress to endorse Donald Trump for President, and so of course Trump has been trying to butter him up since then. But Collins, like all the others, has been missing from town halls.This billboard just went up in Rep Chris Collins home district in Western New York. #NY27 pic.twitter.com/8OInIEVJan Jill a-go-go (@jillagogo) February 14, 2017In some places, where people want to prove that they re not part of these alleged paid liberal activist groups trying to stop meaningful dialogue, they ve resorted to things like holding up their drivers licenses at meetings to show that they really are upset constituents:Everyone holding up their CO driver s license to prove that it s all Coloradans wanting to talk with @SenCoryGardner ? pic.twitter.com/hIySskpeZA IndivisibleNOCO (@IndivisibleNOCO) February 22, 2017It s sad when constituents are reduced to things like this simply because their reps don t want to hear what they have to say, or know and understand that they re angry. Our Senators and Representatives in Congress are supposed to represent us, not the rich, not the corporations, us. It seems there are an awful lot of people who are legitimately trying to wrest that power back.Featured image via screen capture from embedded tweet | 0 |
5,095 | Lawrence O’Donnell BRUTALLY Sums Up How PAINFUL It Is To Be As Stupid As Trump (VIDEO) | On some level, one must sympathize with Donald Trump. The 70-year-old GOP nominee is too stupid to know he s stupid and his followers are leaps and bounds beyond that. In a recent speech in Greensboro, North Carolina, Trump said something very telling about President Obama s remarks about the Orlando terrorist attack: Nobody at the end of that speech understood anything other than boy, does he hate Donald Trump. What the President actually said makes perfect sense, if you re not Donald Trump or his legion of morons. There has not been a moment in my seven and a half years as President where we have not been able to pursue a strategy because we didn t use the label, radical Islam. The President pointed out that none of his advisors has ever told him we will turn that whole thing around if he begins using the ridiculous Fox News-coined phrase that Trump keeps spewing. The phrase, Radical Islam isn t a strategy, Obama pointed out. It s a talking point.Naturally, this made Trump angry. Most people get upset when someone points out that they are mind-numbingly stupid. But MSNBC s Lawrence O Donnell saw something in Trump s response to Obama s words that perfectly explains why he is so angry all the time:You have every right to believe that that is exactly and only what Donald Trump got out of President Obama s speech. You have every right to believe Donald Trump didn t understand anything in the speech. When someone as rank ignorant as Donald Trump tells you he doesn t understand something, believe him.O Donnell cut back to a clip of Trump saying that nobody understood the clear and concise remarks. That s the way I felt after the third week of Physics class, the host said. I didn t understand anything and it was a horrible feeling. Imagine feeling that every day, every day of your life. You don t understand anything. That is the very, very sad life of Donald Trump. He continued:There he is confessing to the constant, merciless pain of not understanding anything. And it s very simple stuff Donald Trump is confessing he isn t understanding. It s very simple. Imagine what that s like, someone saying something that s very clear and concise it still might be possible to disagree with in some way, but no one should have trouble understanding that. But Donald Trump told you today that he doesn t understand anything that President Obama said nothing. Imagine how that must feel. Imagine how maddening that is. President Obama stand sup and speaks in clear, simple sentences and you understand not a word. That has to be truly maddening. Is that what is making Donald Trump so mad? he asks.Have we finally nailed what makes Trump and his followers so irrationally angry about everything? Is it truly that they don t understand anything? Trump says he loves his poorly educated fans, and there s good reason for that he s right there with them.Watch O Donnell bring down the hammer below:Featured image via screengrab | 0 |
5,096 | Many police, few protesters as far right enters Austrian government | VIENNA (Reuters) - Hundreds of police sealed off part of central Vienna on Monday as Austria became the only western European country with a far-right party in power, but protests against the swearing-in proved small and largely peaceful. Conservative Sebastian Kurz, who is just 31, became chancellor in a coalition with the far right two months after winning a parliamentary election with a hard line on immigration after Austria was swept up in Europe s refugee crisis in 2015. The last time the anti-immigration Freedom Party (FPO) entered government in Austria, demonstrations were so big that the cabinet took a tunnel from the chancellery to the swearing-in ceremony at the president s office across the street. There was no need for that this time as, almost 18 years on and to a significantly more muted reaction, the country once again became an exception among its peers, but in a very different European political landscape. Protests nearby drew only a fraction of the tens of thousands who gathered in 2000 - and criticism from across the continent has also been more restrained. Police wore riot gear and stationed two water cannon at the main protest site. We will certainly not be going underground to the Hofburg, but rather with our heads held high in the street, FPO leader Heinz-Christian Strache said earlier in an interview with regional newspapers. He was referring to the former imperial palace that houses the president s office. This time, police cleared a large area around the head of state s office, keeping several thousand protesters about 100 meters (110 yards) away in a nearby square. Chants could be heard as the new ministers from the FPO and the conservative People s Party crossed the street quietly to the ceremony. The coalition deal hands control of much of Austria s security apparatus to the FPO, which came third in the election with 26 percent. Any crime committed in Austria is one too many, FPO Chairman Herbert Kickl said as he assumed his new position of interior minister. The FPO was also given the foreign and defense ministries. The agreement, which made Strache vice chancellor, includes plans to cut public spending and taxes and curb benefits for refugees. I fear a total shift to the right, a hardening of the domestic political climate and incitement against outsiders, said 69-year-old protester Wolfgang Pechlaner. Police said 1,500 officers were deployed. People marched peacefully, carrying placards saying Nazis out and chanting Strache is a fascist . Police put the number of protesters at 5,000-6,000 and said three arrests were made. Organizers put the turnout as high as 10,000. By late afternoon, the crowds had dispersed. The FPO s success made it an outlier in Europe in the 1990s when it was led by the late Joerg Haider. Now it is one of many anti-establishment parties gaining ground in Europe. Its allies and sister parties this year entered the German parliament and made the French presidential run-off. Swearing in the government, President Alexander Van der Bellen highlighted safeguards built into the coalition agreement. We have achieved a clear consensus that (involvement in) Europe or the European Union and continuity in our foreign policy as well as respecting our fundamental rights and freedoms are important fundamental principles, he said. That was a reference to the coalition having ruled out a referendum on EU membership, and to Austria s support for EU sanctions against Russia despite the FPO s pro-Moscow stance. The FPO, founded in the 1950s by former Nazis, has backed away from calling for a vote on EU membership. It and Kurz s conservatives want the EU to focus on fewer tasks, like securing external borders, and hand more powers back to member states. France and Germany were cautious about future ties with Vienna. We will follow how the EU policy of Austria develops, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said. Chancellor (Sebastian) Kurz has the intention of being an active partner in Europe, and I am glad of that. We have lots of problems to solve in Europe. Israel was also less than effusive about dealing with a Foreign Ministry controlled by the FPO, which has courted Jewish voters with limited success. Israel will hold working contacts with the operational echelons of the (Austrian) government departments that are headed by ministers from the Freedom Party, Israel s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Israel wishes to underline its total commitment to fighting anti-Semitism and commemorating the Holocaust. Kurz travels to Brussels on Tuesday to meet European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and Council President Donald Tusk. | 1 |
5,097 | U.S. senators warn against further troop cuts in Afghanistan | KABUL (Reuters) - The international military mission in Afghanistan will fail if troop levels are reduced further, with potentially dangerous repercussions for the rest of the world, a delegation of U.S. lawmakers warned during a visit to Kabul on Monday. Fifteen years after an American-led operation toppled the Taliban in response to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, President Barack Obama is considering whether to maintain the current level of 9,800 U.S. troops or reduce it to 5,500 by the end of the year, as current plans call for. “I cannot guarantee success if we keep 9,800, but I can ensure you failure if we go to 5,500,” Republican Senator Lindsey Graham told reporters in Kabul. “I will have a hard time supporting our continued presence here as it’s not fair to those left behind... They just can’t do the job. If we go to 5,500 this place will fall apart, quickly.” Graham joined U.S. senators John McCain, Benjamin Sasse, and Joe Donnelly in a visit timed so the bipartisan delegation could visit with troops during the Independence Day holiday. The Obama administration should decide on troop levels “sooner rather than later,” McCain said, arguing that reducing the number of troops could lead to a repeat of the disaster in Iraq, where Islamic State militants seized major cities and wide swathes of territory. McCain, the Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, sharply criticized the White House’s decision last year to restrict U.S. forces from targeting Taliban fighters except in self-defense and other limited circumstances. Those rules were recently relaxed on the recommendation of American commanders in Kabul, but McCain said it was “almost criminal” that the restrictions were in place for more than a year. “The rules of engagement were so restrictive that it gave an advantage to the Taliban and other terrorist groups,” the senator said. The lawmakers highlighted Afghanistan’s history as one of the original havens for al Qaeda terrorists and pleaded for more patience. “Ultimately we’re going to win this fight, it’s just going to take decades,” Sasse said. “The American people well understand that staying partnered with a good ally like the Afghan government is the best way to deny future safe havens to those who would plot jihadi attacks across the globe.” | 1 |
5,098 | U.S. candidate Rubio: conditions not right for Israel-Palestinian two-state solution | (Reuters) - U.S. Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio said on Friday that he doesn’t believe conditions currently exist for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “I just don’t see the conditions right now for that,” Rubio said at a news conference at a Jewish temple in West Palm Beach, Florida. “Two-state solutions involves the idea that there are two parties that are willing to agree to that, and there are not.” “I think Israel is willing to be incredibly accommodating and have proven their willingness to do so,” he said. “The Palestinian Authority has never shown any willingness, in fact they have turned down some very generous offers in the past.” (Reporting by Eric Beech in Washington; Editing by Tim Ahmann) 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 |
5,099 | Trevor Noah Notices This Odd Similarity Between U.S. Water And Trump (VIDEO) | The United States has some major problems with our water supply. During a segment on The Daily Show, host Trevor Noah voiced his concerns over the issue using political satire.Noah hilariously connected the issue to both the #OscarsSoWhite controversy and the primary election. With the poisoning of the entire city of Flint, Michigan being the spark for the new national conversation on water safety and infrastructure, politicians have been quick to jump on the issue.Democrats have hit Michigan s Republican governor Rick Snyder hard over the crisis. Republicans, have been scrambling to try and distance themselves from Snyder and working to crystallize a narrative that absolves Snyder and the GOP s agenda from culpability in the matter. If you re going to have a massive lead poisoning problem, it turns out you might as well do it just before politicians turn out to earn your vote in an important presidential primary, Noah said. That s when you have leverage. Noah goes on to explain how that while he is happy that Flint is getting help with their water supply, this is a problem all over the US that needs to be addressed. Playing on the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag, Noah invents one meant to address this huge issue. Right now America has more color in its water than its Oscars, he said. #WaterSoBrown. Noah also quipped that the water in the US is so gross that it looks like that sh*t looks like Trump s bath water. All across the US cities are reporting that they are finding lead contamination and other horrors in their water. While at the same time, many cities in California face the possibility of running out of water altogether.We need massive investment in communities to solve this problem. Doing so would also create vast numbers of good paying jobs that are desperately needed in so many impoverished areas, who have been devastated by the deindustrialization of the US economy.You can watch the clip below.Featured image from video screenshot | 0 |
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