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6,700 | Nephews of Venezuela's first lady sentenced to 18 years in U.S. drug case | NEW YORK (Reuters) - Two nephews of Venezuela s first lady were sentenced to 18 years in prison on Thursday following their convictions in New York on U.S. drug trafficking charges. U.S. District Judge Paul Crotty sentenced the two men, Franqui Francisco Flores de Freitas, 32, and Efrain Antonio Campo Flores, 31, at a hearing in federal court in Manhattan. The two are cousins, both nephews of Cilia Flores, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro s wife. Lawyers for both defendants had asked for a shorter sentence of 10 years, while prosecutors had sought 30. Crotty said 30 years would be excessive, noting that Flores de Freitas and Campo Flores had no previous criminal history. What moves me is that Mr. Campo Flores and Mr. Flores de Freitas were perhaps not the most astute drug dealers who ever existed, he said. They were in over their heads. Both cousins spoke briefly before being sentenced. I know that I have made very serious mistakes in this case, Campo Flores said, going on to apologize to his wife and children. I ve always been a good person, Flores de Freitas said. Even in jail I tried to help those who were in a worse psychological situation than I find myself in. He asked that the judge allow him to return to Venezuela soon to be near his son. Lawyers for the two men had no immediate comments after the sentencing. Flores de Freitas and Campo Flores were arrested in Haiti in November 2015 in a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration sting operation. Prosecutors said in a court filing they tried to make $20 million through drug trafficking to help keep their family in power. Campo Flores and Flores de Freitas were convicted in November 2016 by a jury of conspiring to import cocaine into the United States. Lawyers for the two men said in a court filing earlier this year that prosecutors had proven only bungling discussions of a drug plot that could never actually have been executed. Days after the conviction, Maduro blasted the case in a speech as an instance of U.S. imperialism. Maduro has frequently cast U.S. accusations of drug trafficking as a pretext for meddling in Venezuela and trying to topple him. Under Maduro, oil-producing Venezuela has fallen into an economic and political crisis in which more than 120 people have died in four months of protests. The United States announced new sanctions against Maduro s government in July. | 1 |
6,701 | Venezuela's Maduro strips rival of U.N. post amid corruption purge: sources | CARACAS/HOUSTON (Reuters) - Venezuela has ordered the removal of Rafael Ramirez, once a powerful oil minister and head of state oil company PDVSA, from his post as representative to the United Nations in New York, four sources with knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday. Though the decision will not affect the OPEC nation s struggling oil industry, it may help President Nicolas Maduro shore up his position in crisis-stricken Venezuela as the country heads toward presidential elections in 2018. Ramirez, an increasingly vocal critic of Maduro in recent months, was seen by some as angling to be a presidential candidate as Maduro s unpopular government and an economic crisis have fueled divisions with the ruling Socialist Party. He was fired last night, said a source with knowledge of the information, who asked not to be identified. Maduro sent Ramirez to the U.N. in 2014 in a major demotion from his decade-long roles as oil minister and head of PDVSA. Venezuela s Information Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The United Nations has not received formal notification of Ramirez s removal, a U.N. spokesman said. Vice President Tareck El Aissami said on Wednesday that he hoped that Maduro will be re-elected in 2018, the clearest indication yet that the former bus driver will seek another term despite the economic crisis. A separate source said that Ramirez had been summoned to present himself in Venezuela in coming days. That source said Ramirez had not been formally removed and that he was working at the United Nations on Wednesday. However, he was not present when his turn to speak at a meeting on the rights of the Palestinian people came up, according to diplomatic sources at the meeting. Two sources said Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza traveled to New York this week. Another source said Ramirez tried to fight back and negotiate but was unable to. Ramirez has published several online opinion pieces this year criticizing the management of PDVSA for allowing oil production to plummet and admonishing the government for not taking measures to improve Venezuela s tanking economy. In one piece this month entitled the The Storm, he described his efforts in 2014 to help stabilize the economy, which Maduro s allies perceived as an attack on the president, according to one source. The article played up his close relationship with late President Hugo Chavez, who tasked Ramirez with leading oil sector nationalizations that began in 2007. Chavez s deity-like status in the Socialist Party makes any relationship with him a commodity that officials often use when vying for influence or jockeying for position. Maduro, who calls himself the son of Chavez, this week named a military officer to head PDVSA and promised to break up mafias that have stolen from the nation s coffers. Some of his comments in a speech on Tuesday appeared aimed at Ramirez tenure. We ve witnessed the rise of mafias that controlled important areas of our oil industry, Maduro said in the speech during the swearing in of Major General Manuel Quevedo. They didn t just steal from the country ... they believed themselves to be the owners of the oil industry. Venezuelan authorities last week arrested the acting president of its U.S.-based refiner Citgo and five of the subsidiary s top executives as part of the corruption probe. Since August the authorities have ordered the arrest of around 50 oil industry managers as part of the anti-corruption sweep. | 1 |
6,702 | U.S. companies decry Trump action on transgender student rights | NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. companies led by tech firms Yahoo Inc YHOO.O, Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) criticized the Trump administration’s decision to revoke Obama administration guidance that allowed transgender public school students to use the bathroom of their choice. Their statements evoked the opposition expressed by many businesses last year when the state of North Carolina passed a law that forces transgender people to use public restrooms matching their gender assigned at birth. The resulting boycotts have cost North Carolina more than $560 million in economic activity, according to the online magazine Facing South. Companies lacked the same opportunity to protest with their dollars in this instance, since the Trump administration action pertains to schools, but still signaled they stood with the Obama policy of using the federal government to expand transgender civil rights. “It’s ultimately going to come down to the business community to stop it because it’s so bad for business,” said Christopher Gergen, chief executive of Forward Impact, an entrepreneurial organization based in Raleigh, North Carolina. In unveiling the new direction on Wednesday, Trump administration officials argued that transgender policies should be an issue for the states to decide. “The action taken by the administration is troubling and goes against all that we believe in,” Yahoo said in a statement. Social conservatives have hailed the decision by the Justice and Education departments to defer transgender bathroom policies to the states, calling it a victory for privacy and traditional values. But companies have tried to persuade state and local governments to side with transgender people. “We support efforts toward greater acceptance, not less, and we strongly believe that transgender students should be treated as equals,” Apple said in a statement. Microsoft President Brad Smith looked to history as a guide, referencing the date that the Emancipation Proclamation took effect, when President Abraham Lincoln declared freedom for slaves. “Since Jan. 1, 1863, the federal government has played a vital role in protecting the rights of all Americans. Let’s not stop now,” Smith said on Twitter. Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey joined other tech firms criticizing the Trump administration’s position. “Rolling back rights for transgender students is wrong,” Dorsey said in a tweet on Thursday. “Twitter and Square stand with the LGBTQ community, always.” In response to the North Carolina law, companies such as Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) and PayPal (PYPL.O) canceled expansion plans, costing the state jobs. By invoking states’ rights, the Trump administration is potentially emboldening legislatures in other states that are considering laws similar to North Carolina’s HB2. | 1 |
6,703 | US BOOTS: US Marines Deployed For Ground Combat in Iraq (to defend oil fields) | 21st Century Wire says Back to square one. Quietly, president Barack Obama is deploying more and more US troops in Iraq, not necessarily to fight ISIS , but firstly to guard the Iraqi oil fields.Notice how this announcement is perfectly timed with the Iraqi Army s military offensive this week to retake the supposed ISIS stronghold of Mosul in Northern Iraq.Will a new Kurdistan rise from the ashes of this geopolitical conundrum, or will it just be more instability?There s more to this new trend than meets the eye. Watch this space Fighting Centers on Key Town of MakhmurJason Ditz Antiwar.comEven as Pentagon officials have sought to emphasize their claims of ISIS being on the run, ever more US ground troops are being deployed into Iraq to try to cope with ISIS offensives, with the battle of Makhmur leading to the introduction of US Marines in front-line combat roles.Officials are trying to downplay the operation as force protection for Iraqi ground troops, who have been massing in the area in an effort to ultimately launch an attack on the ISIS-held city of Mosul, not far away.The explanation is unsatisfying for several reasons, but primarily because this tactical assembly area already includes thousands of Iraqi troops and Kurdish Peshmerga, and these are the same troops who are supposed to attack Mosul. Yet these troops are apparently unable to even hold Makhmur, let alone advance toward Mosul.The Makhmur District is also a key to holding oil fields around Kirkuk, and the ISIS offensive is seen by many analysts as part of an effort to ultimately regain control over those lucrative oil fields, and have been outgunning the thousands of Iraqi troops in the area.Whether they re trying to save Iraqi ground troops who still can t stand up to ISIS, or save oil fields, however, the latest escalation puts US troops even further in harm s way, and has put the war even further afield from the no boots on the ground affair initially promised by the Obama Administration.READ MORE IRAQ NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Iraq Files | 0 |
6,704 | Trump, lawmakers agree on disaster aid, debt limit, spending: Democrats | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump and congressional leaders agreed on Wednesday to pass an extension of the debt limit until Dec. 15, as well as a government funding bill covering the same period and disaster aid for Hurricane Harvey victims, Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer and House leader Nancy Pelosi said. “Both sides have every intention of avoiding default in December and look forward to working together on the many issues before us,” Schumer and Pelosi said in a statement. “As Democratic leaders, we also made it clear that we strongly believe the DREAM Act must come to the floor and pass as soon as possible and we will not rest until we get this done.” | 1 |
6,705 | life move over soulcycle this spin studio motivates its students by hooking up each bike to a sick childs life support | email
its time to get excited because marvel comics just announced a new superhero that advances diversity in comics in a major way the series is called luminary and it tells the story of a mildmannered caucasian man named percy pendleton who gains incredible superhuman powers and constantly expresses his regret that he was blessed with those abilities instead of a latina woman who could be a role model for young hispanic girls in addition to merely fighting crime
yes marvel deserves major kudos for this massive step toward inclusive representation in comics
while working as a nuclear physicist at stark industries percy is caught in a particleaccelerator explosion a surge of neutrinos floods his nervous system and transforms him into the incredible luminary a hero whose amazing powers of flight super strength and energy manipulation make him concerned that as a white man he does nothing to reflect the face of a changing america which is increasingly hispanic and female
wow what a longoverdue breath of fresh air to see a bigname publisher like marvel feature a white male superhero who thinks its a shame he isnt latina
for a glimpse of the groundbreaking work you can look forward to in luminary check out these sample panels marvel released earlier this week
awesome thanks marvel for proving that white men who wish latinas had better opportunities can be superheroes too we cant wait to read the first issue | 0 |
6,706 | South Korea says North Korea must stop challenging peace, end nuclear program | SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea welcomed on Tuesday a new U.N. Security Council resolution imposing additional sanctions on North Korea over its sixth nuclear test and said the only way for Pyongyang to escape isolation and economic hardship is to end its nuclear program. North Korea needs to realize that a reckless challenge against international peace will only bring about even stronger international sanctions against it, the South s presidential Blue House said. | 1 |
6,707 | MOOCH’S TRIP TO CHINA RAN TAXPAYERS MORE THAN $360,000…FOR AIR TRAVEL ALONE | The whole premise of promoting education is such a crock. If Mooch wants to promote education then she should stay in the U.S. and go to the inner cities to send her message. It s pretty obvious to anyone with half a brain that her trips to promote education are a front for lavish getaways for her kids and mom.Michelle Obama s trip to China last year ran taxpayers more than $360,000 on air transportation alone, according to records from the U.S. Department of the Air Force.The First Lady, who was accompanied by her daughters and her mother, embarked on the trip in March 2014. Judicial Watch later filed a Freedom of Information Act Request for details on its costs June 19, 2014. More than a year later, they ve finally obtained the records. According to the newly released records, the transportation costs for the seven-day trip to China were based on a flight cost of $11,092 per hour for the Obama family, and support personnel in a C-32A presidential aircraft, Judicial Watch writes. The $362,523.53 air travel expense tab for the Obama entourage was more than 225 times what the average American family spends on an entire week-long vacation. Judicial Watch notes that despite the trip being said to forward an education agenda, the Obama family also did their fair share of sightseeing.Read more: WFB | 0 |
6,708 | Ann Coulter Gets Roasted ALIVE After Horrible Defense Of GOP Pedophile Milo Yiannopoulos (TWEETS) | If you spent your weekend vacationing under a rock, you may be unaware that alt-Right (that means Nazi in a suit ) superstar Milo Yan Yann Yiann whatever the fuck his name is was busted in resurfaced videos saying that it s totally kosher for older men to have sex with children as long as they are 13 and have gone through puberty something he falsely claims is normal in the homosexual world. The Breitbart editor had a pretty sweet book deal and was set to headline the annual Stupid People Convention (CPAC for short) but he lost both because of those goddamn liberals, according to conservative commentator and parttime scarecrow Ann Coulter. Well, Milo learned HIS lesson. Pederasty acceptable only for refugees and illegals. Then libs will support you, Coulter tweeted Monday night.Well, Milo learned HIS lesson. Pederasty acceptable only for refugees and illegals. Then libs will support you. Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) February 21, 2017Now, of course no one has said pederasty is acceptable for anyone, let alone refugees and illegals, but that seems to be what we re going with here. Those damned liberals at CPAC took everything away from Milo all because he indicated that he likes them really young. Naturally, Twitter wasn t about to let Skeletor get away with defending pedophilia:@AnnCoulter, wait are you saying you support pederasty? Colonel Lingus (@colonel_lingus) February 21, 2017@AnnCoulter Well that may be one of the most hateful, vial tweets I've ever read. Do you know the definition of the term refugee? Mark Schick (@synikol6) February 21, 2017@AnnCoulter either you are repulsed by what Milo has done, or you are normalizing his pedophilia. Please choose wisely. USC (@AlumniUSC) February 21, 2017@AnnCoulter Please shut your stupid mouth forever. Thor Benson (@thor_benson) February 21, 2017@AnnCoulter Odd how the alt-right is outraged at FAKE Comet Pizza, but supportive of one of their own caught on tape supporting it. SAD! Sy Beck (@sy_beck) February 21, 2017@veelabgm @AnnCoulter No one is ok with this. Pls stop being insulting. It's not political. No one should be ok with this. KT (@kattracy) February 21, 2017@aristocratssoul @AnnCoulter 13. Just past puberty. With adults. KT (@kattracy) February 21, 2017@AnnCoulter delete your account Danny Slavich (@DannySlavich) February 21, 2017@AnnCoulter How often do you have to consume human flesh in order to subsist? #ghoulquestions B.C. Fortenberry (@bcfortenberry) February 21, 2017.@AnnCoulter How about doing what a human would, say his comments are repugnant and move on. You can't help yourself can you girlfriend? pic.twitter.com/5qTd44TBpZ Howard Sherman (@hsherman) February 21, 2017@AnnCoulter Not surprised to see you're tacitly okay with Milo fucking kids. An angry monkey (@SageMonkeyMafia) February 21, 2017@AnnCoulter So republicans were ok with raping 13 yr olds, right? It was liberals who got Milo booted? Just checking.#ExGOP#NeverGoBack Ex-GOP Laura (@PolticalAtheist) February 21, 2017.@AnnCoulter nice job defending and condoning child molestation, kudos to you #miloyiannopolus Shahriar Chowdhury (@ShahChowdhury21) February 21, 2017.@AnnCoulter Where your heart is supposed to be is a vile, black rottenness no one loves you, do they TenneyNaumer (@TenneyNaumer) February 21, 2017It s interesting that conservatives are up in arms over a fake story about a child prostitution ring run by Hillary Clinton out of the basement of a Washington, D.C. area pizza shop that doesn t even have a basement yet when one of their own literally says it s totally cool to molest children they re all like \_( )_/ .Here s a video of Milo saying this completely acceptable stuff for which liberals are persecuting him completely unfairly:Featured image via screengrab | 0 |
6,709 | Lavrov: U.S. pressure on Russian diplomats and media is unacceptable | MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told his U.S. counterpart Rex Tillerson that U.S. pressure on Russian diplomats and media was unacceptable, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday. This includes recruitment attempts by the U.S. intelligence services, the ministry cited Lavrov as saying at a meeting with Tillerson on the sidelines of a conference in Vienna. | 1 |
6,710 | Japan's Osaka to snap sister city link with San Francisco over 'comfort women' statue | TOKYO (Reuters) - The mayor of Japan s western city of Osaka plans to cut ties with U.S. sister city San Francisco after the latter accepted the donation of a comfort women statue from a private group there. The issue of comfort women , as those forced to work in Japan s wartime military brothels were euphemistically known, has long embittered the ties of neighbors, such as China and South Korea, with Japan. This is highly regrettable, Osaka Mayor Hirofumi Yoshimura told reporters, describing Wednesday s endorsement by San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee of a city council decision. The relationship of trust has completely been destroyed. Yoshimura aims to complete the procedures necessary to snap ties by the end of the year, he said in a statement on Thursday. No officials at the San Francisco mayor s office were immediately available for comment. Erecting comfort women statues in the United States and other countries is in conflict with our country s stance and extremely regrettable, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a regular news conference on Friday. We plan to continue making every effort so that things like this won t happen again. In January, Japan temporarily recalled its ambassador to South Korea over a comfort women statue put up near its consulate in the southern city of Busan. In 2015, Japan and South Korea agreed the issue of comfort women would be irreversibly resolved if both sides fulfilled their obligations, including a Japanese apology and a fund to help victims. But South Korean President Moon Jae-in has said many South Koreans did not accept the deal reached by his conservative predecessor and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. On Friday, Suga said Japan had protested to Seoul after the South Korean parliament passed a bill designating Aug. 14 as a day of commemoration for comfort women , adding that the move risked affecting ties, Kyodo news agency reported. | 1 |
6,711 | OAS says Honduran vote results in doubt due to 'irregularities' | TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Observers cannot be certain of the results of Honduras Nov. 26 presidential vote due to irregularities, errors and systematic problems, the top representative of the Organization of America States (OAS) in Honduras said on Monday. Former Bolivian President Jorge Quiroga and head of the OAS mission to Honduras told reporters that electoral authorities should carry out a wider recount after a ballot count pointed to a win for incumbent Juan Orlando Hernandez. | 1 |
6,712 | U.S. top diplomat calls for release of two reporters arrested in Myanmar | UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Friday that the U.S. government has demanded the release of two Reuters reporters being held in Myanmar. Our local representatives at the mission in Myanmar, at the embassy, are expressing our concerns over the detention of individuals, demanding their immediate release or information as to the circumstances around their disappearance, Tillerson told reporters. Myanmar s information ministry said on Wednesday that the reporters faced charges under the British colonial-era Official Secrets Act, though officials have since said they have not been charged. | 1 |
6,713 | The Funniest And Most Obscene Local News FAILS Of 2015 (VIDEO) | You can always count on local newscasters to make complete asses of themselves, with invariably hilarious results. And in the age of YouTube, the best fuck-ups can be permanently preserved for all time.The following compilation was assembled by the folks at NewsBeFunny and includes all of the greatest (and not so great) news fails of 2015. Of course, they couldn t help but to include some cable news bloopers in the mix.Along those lines is the unbelievably stupid clip of a Fox News Channel reporter hurling an ax at a target, then wildly missing the target and instead hitting a military marching band member performing on the other side of the target. Worse, the reporter reacted by pulling one of these: \_( )_/ The Fox News ax incident should really be blamed on the producers who decided it d be a great idea to place human beings on the other side of a giant target, then to have a doofus reporter attempt to toss at ax at the target. Doy.Other bloopers are, naturally, not safe for work, while others involve the usual video trolls disrupting on-the-street reporters during live news coverage. By the way, not all of the reporters are American. Included in the mix is a reporter from Scandinavia exclaiming fuck! while on the air.Predictably, there are more than a few reporters being attacked by animals and bugs the latter of which makes for the some of the funniest clips. Oh, and there s at least one clip of a reporter setting a table on fire during a cooking demonstration.And there s at least one clip of a bystander giving a flamboyant and over-the-top recap of a violent accident. No autotune remixes are included in the montage.So, sit back an enjoy the fun. And the stupid. Lots of stupid.[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRqieDyEnOg]Featured image via video screen grab. | 0 |
6,714 | Putin: Russia struck no secret agreements with Trump team | ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that allegations there had been a secret deal between Moscow and Donald Trump before his inauguration as U.S. president were “hysteria.” “There was nothing concrete, zero. It’s just hysteria. Should I give you a pill?” Putin told a moderator when asked about a possible deal between Trump and Moscow. Putin, addressing the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, accused the United States of carrying out “crude and systematic interference in Russian affairs for many years”. | 1 |
6,715 | hillarys secretary of state after send a check for million to iran | obamas doj hasnt approved warrant for fbi of new hillary emails
lynch and obamas corrupted doj have switched to overtly undermining the fbi investigation of hillary clinton remember those hillary emails that have come up in the weiner investigation
as of saturday night the fbi had still not gotten approval from the justice department for a warrant that would allow agency officials to read any of the newly discovered abedin emails and therefore are still in the dark about whether they include any classified material that the bureau has not already seen
we do not have a warrant a senior law enforcement official said discussions are under way between the fbi and the justice department as to the best way to move forward
this is michael isikoff so the spin is an attack on comey though if comey couldnt get lynch to sign off on a warrant the public announcement could very well have been his way of pressuring the doj to do the right thing now that the emails are an election issue the only way to move forward is to allow the fbi to review them
but the dems and the media are currently attacking comey and the isikoff piece is a typical example rather than tell the truth that the doj is obstructing the hillary investigation its smearing the fbi instead as so many have pointed out imagine if nixon had been a democrat this is the way the media would have covered watergate
meanwhile the dems are also screaming that comey tell them about the emails that they refuse to grant him access to | 1 |
6,716 | clinton campaign circulated paul ryan relative as possible supreme court pick | solar winds spur geomagnetic storm that may affect power
october by brian k sullivan bloomberg
httpwwwbloombergcomnewsarticlessolarwindsspurgeomagneticstormthatmayaffectpowerlines
geomagnetic storms can cause voltage corrections false alarms
space weather center lowered alert to moderate level storm
also see
preparing for power grid collapse obama signs executive order on emp space weather events
httpswwwwhitehousegovthepressofficeexecutiveordercoordinatingeffortspreparenationspaceweatherevents | 0 |
6,717 | Russian military jet crashes on takeoff in Syria, crew killed: agencies | MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian military jet crashed while taking off from Russia s Hmeymim air base in Syria on Tuesday in an incident that killed its two-man crew, Russia s Defense Ministry said, Russian news agencies reported. The Sukhoi-24 attack aircraft, codenamed Fencer by the NATO military alliance, was heading out on a combat mission, but its crew failed to eject after the plane veered off the runway, the ministry was cited as saying. A technical fault may have been to blame, the ministry said. Russia has used the Hmeymim base in Latakia Province to launch air strikes against opponents of President Bashar al-Assad since it first intervened in the Syrian conflict in September 2015. Russia lost two other planes - a Sukhoi-33 and a MiG-29 - off the coast of Syria last year in accidents involving its sole aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov. | 1 |
6,718 | Pelosi calls for outside commission to probe Russian meddling in U.S. election | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Top House Democrat Nancy Pelosi called on Thursday for the creation of an outside, independent commission to investigate what she said was “cold, hard evidence” that President Donald Trump’s family intended to collude with Russians to influence the election. “This week we saw cold hard evidence of the Trump campaign, indeed the Trump family, eagerly intending to collude, possibly, with Russia, a hostile foreign power, to influence American elections,” Pelosi said, referring to emails released this week by Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr. | 1 |
6,719 | propalestinian propaganda lowering standards of truth in america | the bundy verdict is another defeat for obama october daniel greenfield
obama inc has a lot more luck with the media than it does with trials its lynchings of police officers have not gotten very far baltimore was the biggest and most resounding defeat but it wasnt the only one and the vastly differing treatment of the bundy protesters and the dakota pipeline protesters from killing to government backing have not had their intended effect
instead obama lost at trial again
this time its the bundy case that was when the left realized it hated civil disobedience just before rediscovering it again when it came to environmental protests but big gov lost this one again
a jury thursday delivered a stunning acrosstheboard acquittal to the leaders and participants in the malheur national wildlife refuge occupation and a remarkable blow to the federal government as it tries to tamp down a national movement led by a nevada family to open public lands to ranchers miners and loggers
the verdicts finding ammon bundy older brother ryan bundy and five others not guilty of a federal conspiracy drew elation from defense attorneys who spent five weeks arguing that the armed takeover amounted to a timehonored tradition of first amendment protest and civil disobedience
the highprofile case riveted the state and drew national and international attention to the isolated bird sanctuary in rural eastern oregon the jurys decision proved no less dramatic and sets up a showdown in the next stage of the landrights movement
it means that big green gov will have to think twice next time around or do a much better job of picking a jury
the oregon prosecutors sat silently in front of their boss us attorney billy williams and the head of the fbi in oregon greg bretzing as the judge announced the not guilty pleas one by one
but it was quickly back to more of the same
ut the trial fireworks werent quite over a brawl broke out at the very end when six to seven us marshals surrounded ammon bundys lawyer as he stood before the judge arguing and shouting for his client to walk out the door a free man they tackled him and stunned him with a taser gun as mumford yelled what are you doing us district judge anna j brown ordered everybody out of the courtroom
all i was asking for was papers mumford said after emerging from federal custody nearly two hours later just show me you have the authority to take mr bundy into custody | 1 |
6,720 | no title | hillarys america the secret history of the democratic party httpwwwtagtelecomvideosvoir | 1 |
6,721 | LIBERAL AMERICAN STUDENT Gets Brutal Lesson In American Exceptionalism By Irish Journalist [Video] | Irish journalist and documentary filmmaker Ann McElhinney took down a clueless liberal student during a discussion on global warming Ann is the quickest and smartest at debate. This liberal picked on the wrong person The student insults Ann with the following comment: I can t take anything you said seriously because you said that washing machines were more liberating than the birth control pill, the student yelled as a friend tried to calm her. You don t know anything! You are the least credible human being I ve like ever encountered in my life. She then called Ann a Goddamn idiot. Ann proceeded to give this student a BIG reality check on the EU and then American exceptionalism. Bravo Ann!On a side note- If you ever have the chance to hear Ann McElhinney speak, DO IT! She is one of the best speakers around!We ve had the pleasure of hearing her speak and came away very impressed!Her latest project is on the Gosnell abortion case: | 0 |
6,722 | Trump Is Charging Journalists With Felonies For Covering His Inauguration Protests | In a play right out of Vladimir Putin s Rules for Dictators, Donald Trump is in the process of locking up journalists who don t paint a rosy picture of the Trump administration and his popularity, or lack thereof.So far, six journalists (First Amendment be damned) have been arrested for covering last Saturday s protests that followed Donald Trump s inauguration. If convicted, each of the six could face up to 10 years in prison and a $25,000 fine.A documentary producer, a photojournalist, a live-streamer and a freelance reporter were each charged with the most serious level of offense under Washington DC s law against rioting, after being caught up in the police action against demonstrators.The Guardian learned of their arrests after reporting on Monday that the journalists Evan Engel of Vocativ and Alex Rubinstein of RT America had also been arrested and charged with felonies while covering the same unrest on Friday morning.Source: The GuardianClearly, this is a direct violation of the First Amendment. Even if they weren t journalists, it s still legal to protest in this country, but journalists should be assigned even more protection. All they were doing were their jobs. They were recording the protest, not instigating. These charges are clearly inappropriate, and we are concerned that they could send a chilling message to journalists covering future protests, said Carlos Laur a, the CPJ s senior Americas program coordinator. We call on authorities in Washington to drop these charges immediately. Trump s apparent role model, Vladimir Putin, has a long and abusive history with journalists in his own country. About a year ago, when Republicans still hated Russia, the conservative blog, The Daily Caller, talked about how in Russia, not only are journalists censored, they far too often end up dead.A 2009 investigation by the International Federation of Journalists reported 96 killings of journalists between 1991 and 2009, by far the highest number among the 20 richest countries in the world.We aren t saying Trump is there. We desperately hope he never goes that far, but his disdain for journalism is public knowledge and his attempts at censorship become more blatant every day. Arresting journalists for simply doing their job is an unacceptable precedent. Please let everyone know.Featured image via Scott Olson/Getty Images. | 0 |
6,723 | IS car bomb kills 20 in eastern Syria: state media | BEIRUT (Reuters) - An Islamic State car bomb killed 20 people and injured 30 others at a site where displaced families are located in eastern Syria near the city of Deir al-Zor, Syria s SANA state news agency reported on Friday. It said the bombing took place near the al-Jafra area, which is located south of the city and is controlled by the Syrian government. | 1 |
6,724 | MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS: Was Sandy Hook Shooter Known to FBI Prior to School Massacre? | 21st Century wire says The FBI recently released new documents regarding the bizarre and still forensically critiqued Sandy Hook elementary school shooting tragedy. SANDY HOOK Many questions still remain in this perplexing case. (Photo Illustration 21WIRE s Shawn Helton)KEY POINT: It s important to remember that even though the events at Sandy Hook were said to have been carried out by a deranged lone gunman named Adam Lanza, initial reports on several CBS and ABC affiliates following the Sandy Hook mass shooting stated there was a second shooter who was apprehended at the scene.We should also be reminded that mainstream media reportage of the Sandy Hook tragedy took audiences down several rabbit holes of their own making, eventually implicating an unlikely suspect (left photo) with Asperger s syndrome, in an apparently motiveless crime.Not since the forensically questionable Columbine High School shooting massacre, had the corporate media been so fixated on a tragic shooting, focusing their efforts on politicizing the apparent crime, while investigators offered very little in terms of evidence in their official story.On March 28th of 2013, a few short months after the Sandy Hook shooting, an article entitled Newtown Killer s Obsessions, in Chilling Detail was published by the NY Times. In that article, the public learned that the Lanza s were unknown to authorities and that there were never any disturbances at the family residence that would have prepped law enforcement prior to the school shooting: Two law-enforcement officials who were initially involved in the investigation said in recent interviews that the Newtown police had never been called to the Lanza home for any disturbances, and that before the shootings the family was basically unknown to the authorities.They said they believed that Mr. Lanza had spent most of his time in the basement of the home, primarily playing a warfare video game, Call of Duty. This aspect of the story had remained virtually unquestioned until the recent release of FBI information this week.Earlier this week, an NBC affiliate in Connecticut published an article disclosing the newly released FBI documents regarding the Sandy Hook case. Here s a short passage of that article: The documents include reports by FBI agents who interviewed people about Lanza. Large portions of many of the documents were redacted, including the names of the people who spoke to the agents.The documents also offer a window into the early days of the investigation, as agents chased false leads and gathered evidence of Lanza s isolation.A year after the massacre, state police released a final investigative document that concluded Lanza was obsessed with firearms, death and mass shootings, but that the motive may never be known. While the article continued by placing a heavy emphasis on the media crafted stage-like persona of the alleged shooter Adam Lanza, we re told for the first time of his alleged sexual perversions, as the video game/gun obsessed millennial, apparently also spent time analyzing mass shooting crimes.This murky portrait of the Sandy Hook shooter finally emerges nearly five years after the media sensationalized school shooting. But perhaps the most shocking claim has come from an unnamed Newtown resident alleging that Lanza may have already been well-known to the FBI or possibly the CIA prior to the Sandy Hook school massacre occurring: A Newtown resident told the FBI that Nancy Lanza said Adam had once hacked into a government computer system and federal authorities either FBI or CIA agents showed up at their door.Nancy Lanza told the person that she had to convince the agents that her son was just very intelligent and was challenging himself to see if he could hack into a government system. She said agents told her that if Adam was that smart, he could get a job with their agency someday. QUESTION: Why is the public just now learning that Lanza may have already been known to authorities via his government computer hack and why wouldn t various intelligence agencies continue to monitor his behavior after committing an illegal act that may have been a national security concern?The troubling Sandy Hook saga continues to have more questions than answers READ MORE DAILY SHOOTER NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Daily Shooter FilesSUPPORT 21WIRE SUBSCRIBE & BECOME A MEMBER @ 21WIRE.TV | 0 |
6,725 | Norway government to rule in minority after centrists abandon talks | OSLO (Reuters) - Norway s Christian Democratic party withdrew from coalition talks with the government on Wednesday, ending Conservative Prime Minister Erna Solberg s hopes of broadening her minority right-wing cabinet into a center-right majority one. The move may make it more difficult for Solberg to secure backing for her fiscal spending plans and policy proposals, and could even jeopardize her cabinet s long-term survival. Solberg has ruled in a minority government since 2013 with the populist Progress Party. She had hoped to bring the two parties other backers in parliament, the Christian Democrats and the Liberals, into her cabinet after the four parties combined won a renewed but smaller majority on Sept. 11. While Solberg had needed the support of just one of the two centrist parties previously to push through her policies, she now needs the backing of both in addition to that of her own Conservatives and the Progress Party. But the Christian Democrats, wary of supporting further tax cuts and the government s tough line on immigration, said it would stay out of government even though it preferred Solberg as prime minister over Labour leader Jonas Gahr Stoere. Solberg had previously rejected a proposal from the Liberals and the Christian Democrats to remove Progress from the government in favor of the centrists. Our alternative for a government did not succeed, but we still wish for good, constructive cooperation, party leader Knut Arild Hareide of the Christian Democrats told reporters after meeting the three other parties on Wednesday. The Liberals will continue to negotiate with the government, but their potential inclusion in the cabinet would not be sufficient to ensure a majority. The government is due to present its 2018 fiscal spending proposal on Oct. 12 and must negotiate a compromise in parliament by late November or early December. | 1 |
6,726 | Trump wants ex-Goldman partner Mnuchin to run U.S. Treasury: Fox Business | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican Donald Trump wants his campaign finance chairman, Steven Mnuchin, to be his Treasury secretary if he wins next week’s U.S. presidential election, Fox Business Network reported on Thursday, citing sources. Mnuchin, a former partner at Goldman Sachs Group Inc who also founded and runs the hedge fund company Dune Capital Management LP, joined Trump’s campaign in May as his chief fundraiser. Fox Business Network, citing unnamed sources from inside the Trump campaign, said the New York businessman has told his team he wants Mnuchin to lead the U.S. Treasury Department if he wins the Nov. 8 election. Representatives for the Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump largely funded his own campaign during the primary contest for Republican presidential nomination but moved to join with the Republican National Committee to jointly fundraise his general election campaign against Democrat Hillary Clinton. He has still contributed millions of his own funds. Trump has faced a significant fundraising deficit compared with his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. Trump raised a total of $255 million, including about $56 million of his own money, compared to Clinton’s $513 million for the entire election cycle through Oct. 19. Last week, Trump pledge to donate an additional $10 million of his own personal funds. Mnuchin previously spent 17 years at Goldman Sachs and has helped finance numerous Hollywood movies, according to Bloomberg. He also previously worked for Soros Fund Management LLC, a hedge fund firm led by George Soros, a Clinton backer. Over the years, Mnuchin has donated thousands to Republicans as well as Democrats, according to federal campaign finance records, including to Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign and her earlier Senate races. Mnuchin, a graduate of Yale University who serves on several boards, resigned last year from the board of CIT Group Inc. | 1 |
6,727 | Bill Maher Turns GOP’s ‘States’ Rights’ Nonsense On Its Head In EPIC Defense Of Liberal States’ Defiance Of Trump (VIDEO) | The Republican Party has long claimed that states rights mean that states can do as they like according to their own values, regardless of what the federal government wants. Of course, this is something that has just been used for southern states to do horrible things like, you know, own people. They used the states rights argument to justify segregation, to outlaw interracial marriage and abortion, and to basically strip citizens of personal liberty to satisfy the bigots in their citizenry and voting base. Well, comedian Bill Maher of HBO s Real Time has turned all of that on its head in the Trump era.During his New Rules segment on Friday night s program, Maher turned it around on the Republicans, pointing out how California s governor, Jerry Brown, is busily defending California s liberal way of life in defiance of Trump s regressive and dangerous administration. Gov. Brown has decided to sign a climate treaty with China, giving a big middle finger to Trump s foolish decision to pull out of the Paris Accord. Maher also pointed out that California will not move to enforce Trump s racist deportation force through its police departments, and nor would there be any attacks on LGBTQ Americans.The real kicker came when Maher adopted a country accent and mocked the insanity of the bigotry of Trump voters only using it to promote progressive values, such as legalized marijuana and lesbian weddings. He even mocked the tiki torches used last month in a horrifically violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, that left 32-year-old Heather Heyer dead and injured many others.In short, Bill Maher is right. If they can do this states rights stuff, so can we.Featured image via screen capture | 0 |
6,728 | Fox Host Goes Rogue, Shreds Trump’s ‘Cowardly And Dangerous’ Charlottesville Remarks (VIDEO) | It s a bad day for Donald Trump when even the most conservative, racist media networks are calling him out for his failure to denounce the white supremacists responsible for the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.On Monday, Fox host Eboni Williams went on Fox News Specialists and ripped Trump a new one for his disappointing, weak response to the Charlottesville tragedy. While many conservatives have stated that Trump s first pathetic response on Saturday was more than enough, many have gone after Trump and called for him to publicly denounce white supremacy in a follow-up statement. Williams said: Mr. President, your initial remarks were cowardly and dangerous, and they indeed warranted a second statement. Williams attack on Trump got even more bold when she bashed his Make America Great Again slogan, stating that people have been confused about the inclusiveness of Trump s message. Williams said that she will no longer give Trump the benefit of the doubt when it comes to Trump excluding other races. I was legitimately unsure, but absent more conclusive evidence, I was willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. I can no longer do that, Mr. President. No more benefit, all doubt. Williams also called Trump out for his statement in which he very intentionally chose to be ambiguous and to equivocate : President Trump, I do not know your heart. But what I do know for sure is that you ve clearly done the math, and you ve decided that your portion of the base that is absolutely racist is so significant, so valuable that you hesitate, even in the face of blatant, flagrant hatred to risk turning them off and thereby crippling your political stronghold. While you personally might not be a racist, President Trump, what you are is all too happy to reap the benefits of their support. Williams warned Trump that this moment is on you , making sure that Trump knew he missed a major opportunity to prove his critics wrong. Instead, he only solidified everyone s belief that he s a racist piece of sh*t. You can watch Williams trash Trump below:Featured image via Mario Tama / Getty Images | 0 |
6,729 | pourquoi je suis candidat à la présidentielle par jeanfrançois buissière candidat à la présidentielle le gorafi | claim watching scary movies could help boost your immune system and promote weight loss
vicki batts tags scary movies immune system weight loss naturalnews who doesnt love a good horror flick right there may actually be some health benefits to be found in watching scary movies too experts say that when you watch something frightening it engages your fight or flight response this in turn raises the amount of adrenaline pumping through your veins which can be pretty good for your bodypsychologist mark griffiths a professor of behavioral addiction at nottingham trent university says that there are a number of reasons why people typically seek out fearinducing films while the desire to experience something unusual isnt totally health related griffiths also commented on the potential healthy release some people may experience watching such films may also be cathartic providing an emotional release for pentup frustrations he told the uks daily mail but there could be more to it than just that at least according to some new research evidence indicates that the fear you experience while watching a scary movie could help to temporarily bolster your immune system scientists from coventry university took blood samples from a group of test subjects before during and after they either watched a scary movie or spent time in a quiet room their findings which were published in the journal stress revealed that white blood cell counts were increased in those who saw the horror film normally white blood cells respond in this way when there is a sign of infectionaccording to natalie riddell an immunologist at university college london this is all part of our evolutionary process which has been geared to promote the survival of the individual getting scared can engage the fight or flight response which in turn causes the release of adrenalinethe surge of adrenaline then launches the immune system into action leading to an increased white blood cell countthats not all adrenaline can do either the survival hormone also elevates your heart rate and boosts your metabolic rate the speed at which your body burns calories you may think that the number of calories you could burn by watching horror movies is negligible but studies have shown that you can actually burn a surprising amount of energy just by being scared thats right watching horror movies could help support your weight loss effortsin researchers from the university of westminster conducted an experiment to see how many calories volunteers could burn off while watching classic scary films on average each film scared the participants into torching about calories which is equivalent to walking for about minutes the researchers found that the best horror movie for burning calories was none other than a classic steven king film thats right when people watched the shining directed by stanley kubrick they burned away a whopping caloriesthe classic films jaws and the exorcist came in second and third place respectively for total calorie burning dr richard mackenzie senior lecturer and specialist in cell metabolism and physiology at the university commented that each of the films sent hearts beating and pulses racing he explained as the pulse quickens and blood pumps around the body faster the body experiences a surge in adrenaline it is this release of fastacting adrenaline produced during short bursts of intense stress or in this case brought on by fear which is known to lower the appetite increase the basal metabolic rate and ultimately burn a higher level of caloriesoverall calorie burning increased by about onethird while the study participants watched the films of course this doesnt mean that you should watch a movie instead of exercising or eating healthfully but the next time you sit down to watch a movie you might want to pick one from the horror genre sources | 0 |
6,730 | HERE’S THE LIST Of 25 Governors Who Have Told Obama Muslim Refugees From Syria Are NOT Welcome In Their States | There is a also a map (below) showing which states will and won t accept refugees from Syria and those who haven t made up their minds yet Leave it to Obama to call anyone who questions the sanity of bringing hundreds of thousands of unchecked Muslims over to a country they ve been taught to hate since birth anti-Americans! President Obama said the United States needed to step up and do its part admitting refugees from SyriaHe said that the issue of refugees and terrorism should not be equated in the aftermath of the Paris attacksA handful of Republican governors have publicly pronounced that their states would not accept SyriansObama made a swipe at those GOP leaders asking them to be more like President George W. Bush in the aftermath of 9/11Now, 25 Republican governors and one Democrat too have said they don t want Syrian refugees in their states, as President Obama recommitted the U.S. to take a portion of this population fleeing from ISIS.In a press conference this morning in Turkey, Obama said that the United States has to step up and do its part, while chiding those in the opposition party for suggesting there be a religious test for entry into the United States.There s concern, after Friday s brutal attack in Paris, that ISIS fighters are infiltrating those fleeing Syria and will carry out future violence against the West. It is very important, Obama said. That we do not close our hearts to these victims of such violence and somehow start equating the issue of refugees with the issue of terrorism. However, Republican governors from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Texas and Wisconsin said they would postpone programs to bring in Syrian refugees, or they re against the idea entirely, according to the Associated Press.Governors of these states have said no to Syrian refugees: Alabama Arizona Arkansas Georgia Florida Idaho Indiana Illinois Iowa Kansas Louisiana Maine Massachusetts Michigan Mississippi Nebraska New Hampshire New Jersey North Carolina Ohio Oklahoma South Carolina Tennessee Texas Wisconsin | 0 |
6,731 | MEET THE TRUMPS: In Case You Missed It….Here’s Barbara Walters Exclusive Interview With The Trumps [VIDEO] | Even Barbara Walters, a master manipulator of popular opinion, is unable to find a weakness in Donald s seemingly impenetrable armor. To date, there hasn t been a single leftist hack who s been able to achieve the liberal dream of being the one who took him down. But then again, you can t blame a Democrat operative for trying .Here is the one-on-one interview with Donald and Barbara where Donald explains why he chose to finally run for President in 2016:Part two gives America a glimpse into Donald s personal life, including candid interviews with his wife and children: | 0 |
6,732 | Trump misunderstood MIT climate research, university officials say | NEW YORK (Reuters) - Massachusetts Institute of Technology officials said U.S. President Donald Trump badly misunderstood their research when he cited it on Thursday to justify withdrawing the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement. Trump announced during a speech at the White House Rose Garden that he had decided to pull out of the landmark climate deal, in part because it would not reduce global temperatures fast enough to have a significant impact. “Even if the Paris Agreement were implemented in full, with total compliance from all nations, it is estimated it would only produce a two-tenths of one degree Celsius reduction in global temperature by the year 2100,” Trump said. “Tiny, tiny amount.” That claim was attributed to research conducted by MIT, according to White House documents seen by Reuters. The Cambridge, Massaschusetts-based research university published a study in April 2016 titled “How much of a difference will the Paris Agreement make?” showing that if countries abided by their pledges in the deal, global warming would slow by between 0.6 degree and 1.1 degrees Celsius by 2100. MORE FROM REUTERS* World pledges to save environment despite Trump* Musk, Iger to quit Trump advisory councils* Trump administration asks Supreme Court to revive travel ban “We certainly do not support the withdrawal of the U.S. from the Paris agreement,” said Erwan Monier, a lead researcher at the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change, and one of the study’s authors. “If we don’t do anything, we might shoot over 5 degrees or more and that would be catastrophic,” said John Reilly, the co-director of the program, adding that MIT’s scientists had had no contact with the White House and were not offered a chance to explain their work. The Paris accord, reached by nearly 200 countries in 2015, was meant to limit global warming to 2 degrees or less by 2100, mainly through country pledges to cut carbon dioxide and other emissions from the burning of fossil fuels. Under the pact, the United States - the world’s second biggest carbon emitter behind China - had committed to reduce its emissions by 26 percent to 28 percent from 2005 levels by 2025. A senior administration official defended Trump’s use of the findings. “It’s not just MIT. I think there is a consensus, not only in the environmental community, but elsewhere that the Paris agreement in and of itself will have a negligible impact on climate,” the official told reporters at a briefing. The dispute is the latest round of a years-long battle between scientists and politicians over how to interpret facts about the effects of burning fossil fuels on the global climate, and translate them into policy. Trump has repeatedly cast doubt on the science of climate change and once called it a hoax perpetrated by China to weaken U.S. business. | 1 |
6,733 | Mexican leftist Lopez Obrador leads presidential race polls | (This version of the November 22nd story corrects deadline for parties to register candidates in eleventh par) MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican leftist presidential hopeful Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador showed leads over potential rivals in two newspaper polls published Wednesday, shortly after he unveiled key policies of his campaign platform ahead of next July s election. Lopez Obrador is almost certain to be the candidate for his National Regeneration Movement (MORENA), but other parties have yet to announce who will run for them, making accurate polling difficult. The survey in business newspaper El Financiero showed Lopez Obrador, a former Mexico City mayor who has already vied twice for the presidency, ahead in any of ten potential candidate groupings with leads ranging from 5 to 15 percentage points. A separate poll in national daily El Universal showed AMLO, as the politician is known locally, at the top in six candidate combinations but with smaller margins, ranging from 5 to 10 points. The 64-year-old laid out his 2018 policy platform on Monday, vowing to boost infrastructure spending without upsetting economic stability. He also published a 415-page manifesto outlining goals such as cleaning up graft with tighter financial regulations. Lopez Obrador narrowly lost in 2006 and by a larger margin in 2012, in both cases refusing to accept results he dismissed as marred by fraud. He previously ran a popular, moderate government as mayor of Mexico City, but rivals depict him as a dangerous firebrand and liken his policies and style to the socialist project in crisis-hit Venezuela. Next year s election is expected to be contested by multiple candidates including independents for the first time, which will fragment the vote, a change that could favor either Lopez Obrador or the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). President Enrique Pena Nieto is barred by law from a second term. In both polls, Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong emerges as the strongest potential candidate for the ruling party, which is considering at least four high-ranking officials. Mexican political parties have until March to formally register candidates, but most have set a mid-December deadline to benefit from a longer campaign period. A coalition headed by the center-right National Action Party (PAN) and center-left Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) is also contemplating several options for candidacy. El Universal conducted 1,000 face-to-face interviews between Nov. 10 and 17 nationwide, resulting in a 3.53 percent margin of error. El Financiero conducted 1,004 face-to-face interviews between Nov. 11 and 16 nationwide, and said the poll has a 3.1 percent margin of error. | 1 |
6,734 | PAUL JOSEPH WATSON Is Not Happy About The Air Strike On Syria…Here’s Why [VIDEO] | The truth about the air strike on Syria.SHARE: https://t.co/ABMiasgK6D pic.twitter.com/eoEjPeb5w7 Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) April 8, 2017Watson argues that half of Trumps advisors are CFR globalists and that he has NOT yet drained the swamp.Watson also claims the airbase that was bombed was actually protected a nearby Christian town from being overrun by jihadists. He claims that that town will now be taken over by jihadists, and that the air strike on the air base only cleared the way from them to move in and take over.Watson also questions why Assad would have used chemicals to attack his own people when it would be completely self-defeating? Less than one week ago, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said a regime change in Syria was off the table . Now Tillerson is saying regime change is back on the table. Why would Assad put himself in this position he asks? Watson believes there is a real chance that Trump has been surrounded and manipulated by neocons in the deep state . | 0 |
6,735 | Oregon Won’t Prosecute Baby’s Abuser Because He’s Too Young To Testify | An anguished Oregon couple took to social media this week in hopes of getting justice for their one-year-old son, Jacob, who was beaten by a babysitter two months ago.Pictures posted to Facebook show scrapes, cuts, a black eye and deep bruises which were left on the baby s face and arms during the vicious assault.Image credit: Joshua Marbury via FacebookWe can t even imagine the amount of trauma he must have experienced, all at the hands of an adult who was supposed to protect and care for him.Image credit: Joshua Marbury via FacebookJacob s parents, Alicia Quinney and Joshua Marbury spoke to Oregon Live on Friday. The first thing I saw was a black eye, Quinney said. I thought maybe marker got on his face or something. When he turned over, his whole right side of his face black and blue. Quinney told Oregon Live that she knew right away that the babysitter had hurt him.She took Jacob to the hospital. Police met her there and opened an investigation into the assault.But prosecutors informed Jacob s parents that no charges will be filed against the person who did this to their son.As Oregon Live reports:Washington County Deputy District Attorney Dustin Staten emailed Quinney a link to a story published by The Oregonian/OregonLive detailing the challenges the law poses for prosecutors. The headline: Even pets are better protected than young kids under Oregon abuse laws, prosecutors say. To convict a suspected child abuser of felony assault or criminal mistreatment, the article explained, prosecutors must prove that the victim suffered a physical injury under Oregon law. That means proving the child experienced substantial pain. The article explains that:Appellate rulings have made that hard to prove if victims can t talk about the extent of their suffering. Prosecutors say children younger than 5 often aren t able to articulate substantial pain. The same can be true for older children with developmental disabilities or those who don t want to speak out against their abusers.In essence the law leaves vulnerable young children like Jacob completely unprotected.Quinney took to Facebook to express her outrage over the state s completely irrational and irresponsible law, writing:After TWO months of waiting we only find out that charges are dropped BECAUSE my one year old cannot tell you verbally he was abused and my son did not show he was in pain OR that this person intentionally did this. I am SO furious that I m not using profanity HOPING something is done and this goes viral.Quinney goes on to say that Portland authorities have a verbal confession. As Raw Story reports here, they also have multiple statements from medical professionals who showed Quinney how the bruises on her baby were handprints. Even with all of that, the law still makes it almost impossible to prove the case.Animals can t talk, yet animal abuse is prosecuted in the state of Oregon. How is it possible that a helpless infant has fewer protections under the law than an animal?Quinney points out in her post: A dead body cant tell you who killed them. Yet a baby isn t held to the same standard because he can t talk? Well neither can a dead body. THAT S BLASPHEMY. You waited 2 months if not longer to tell us this? Something needs to be done. NOBODY can just hit a child and more to just get away with it because the child cant verbally tell you. There s no doubt that Oregonians need to change these outrageous laws. The law should protect the most vulnerable among us. Instead, in Oregon, the law excludes the most vulnerable from protection. That s not acceptable.Featured image via Joshua Marbury on Facebook | 0 |
6,736 | Brazil's Congress rejects corruption case against President Temer | BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazilian lawmakers rejected corruption charges against President Michel Temer on Wednesday evening, shelving a case that had threatened to oust a center-right leader who investors hope will bring Brazil s budget deficit under control. The corruption case, involving the payment of bribes by meatpacker JBS SA (JBSS3.SA), had paralyzed Temer s reform agenda for six months and weakened his government. The lower house of Brazil s Congress, which has the authority to decide whether a president should stand trial by the Supreme Court, voted 251-233 to throw out charges of obstruction of justice and organized crime filed by federal prosecutors. The vote means that Temer is safe from prosecution while he remains president. But he is still subject to investigation and possible trial by lower courts after his term ends in late 2018. While Temer s opponents were far from the 342 votes - or two-thirds of the seats - needed to put him on trial, he got 12 votes less than in August when the lower house voted 263-227 to block an initial corruption charge against him. The slip in support signals Temer will have trouble passing a pension reform bill that is crucial for plugging Brazil s budget deficit. Many lawmakers are reluctant to back the reform, which would make Brazilians work more years before retirement. The speaker of the house, Rodrigo Maia, said the shelving of the charges against Temer cleared the way for the government and Congress to move ahead with the pension reform debate. Allies said Brazil could not afford the upheaval of removing a second president in little over a year, as Latin America s largest economy struggles to overcome deep recession. Temer succeeded impeached leftist President Dilma Rousseff in 2016. Opponents criticized Temer for making policy concessions and fast-tracking pork barrel spending to win votes to ensure his survival. To please the powerful farm lobby that has two-fifths of the votes in the lower house, Temer agreed to lower fines for environmental damage. He attempted to relax a definition of slave labor, but was forced to backtrack after an outcry. A few hours before the vote, Temer was taken to hospital in pain due to a urinary tract obstruction, a health scare that triggered a brief selloff in financial markets. His office said he underwent a bladder test by catheter and left the hospital later on Wednesday. Temer, 77, was recently diagnosed with a partial coronary artery blockage. Brazil's benchmark Bovespa stock index .BVSP closed up 0.47 percent at 76,706 points after the house reached a quorum allowing the vote to go ahead. Earlier, it touched session lows on the news that Temer was in the hospital. Stocks later pared losses and the currency was flat after his office gave details of his condition. | 1 |
6,737 | Former Trump campaign adviser Page to testify in Russia probe on June 6: ABC News | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Carter Page, a former foreign policy adviser to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, will testify on June 6 before a House committee investigating alleged efforts by Russia to influence the U.S. election, ABC News reported on Wednesday. ABC News, which said Page had told it about the scheduled testimony, also cited a letter the former Trump adviser wrote to the leaders of the House Intelligence Committee’s investigation in which he said witnesses the panel had already heard from had presented “one biased viewpoint.” | 1 |
6,738 | Trump tests dealmaker image to sell healthcare bill | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump has launched a charm offensive of the type not seen before in his brief and chaotic tenure, forcefully rallying behind legislation to repeal the Obamacare healthcare law while trying to placate the bill’s opponents. In doing so, the often blustery Trump faces a test of credibility for the voters that catapulted him into office: How does a celebrity outsider, the CEO president, cut deals in Washington? Does the New York businessman live up to the image of dealmaker in chief? Interviews with more than a dozen White House and congressional aides, members of Congress and conservative activists offer a glimpse into his attempts at conducting the most formidable, high-stakes negotiation of his presidency. They show a more circumspect Trump than many see publicly. While they acknowledge he can make his points with a blunt and combustible style, he appears to be doing more listening than talking, they said, trying to appease both supporters and critics by signaling flexibility over legislation that faces criticism on multiple fronts. Democrats and some influential Republicans say it would rip health insurance away from millions of Americans and increase costs for many others, including voters who helped elect Trump - a problem that could haunt his fellow Republicans in 2018 congressional elections. Conservatives say it does not go far enough in gutting the Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare reform passed by Democrats in 2010. Republicans have long sought to dismantle the law, which they see as government overreach. Trump has called Obamacare a “disaster” and made its repeal and replacement a key campaign pledge. The political stakes are immense for an eight-week-old presidency marked by instability, infighting, battles with the media, questions over temperament and a stubborn investigation into ties between his campaign and Russian intelligence. “A lot of times you have politicians who gather in a room to pontificate. That’s not why he has gathered people in the room,” a senior White House official said of Trump’s negotiation style this week. “He’s gathered people in to hear their opinions. I think that’s lost a little bit because he does speak so forcefully. He definitely does let them say their piece, and he listens.” The president has reached out to influential conservatives such as U.S. Senator Ted Cruz and groups such as the Heritage Foundation and Americans for Prosperity, which have expressed skepticism about the bill. “He was gregarious, reasonable. He listened. It was a not a lecture,” said Tim Phillips, president of AFP, a group backed by billionaires Charles and David Koch and part of a small group of conservative leaders who met with Trump in the Oval Office on Wednesday night. “He said: ‘This is a negotiation. Let’s figure out ways to make this proposal better,’” Phillips said of Trump. Trump has indicated he will only go so far to make conservatives happy, insisting the core elements of the bill must remain intact if it has any chance to pass the House of Representatives and then the Senate, both controlled by Republicans. One sticking point involves the use of tax credits to help consumers purchase health insurance, which Trump favors. “He’s made it clear this is the vehicle to finally undo the damage of Obamacare and repeal and replace it,” said another senior White House official. “And if it can be improved in this process, he has encouraged that.” Trump is operating with a razor-thin margin for success. A defection by 20 or so Republicans in the House could sink the bill’s prospects. There is already discontent among some in the Senate, where Republicans hold an even slimmer edge. Democrats and groups such as AARP, which advocates for older Americans, and the American Medical Association have come out strongly against the bill. Conservatives in the House and advocacy groups opposed to the bill would like to slow the process and rework its fundamentals. They argue the legislation retains basic facets of Obamacare, including federal assistance to purchase health insurance and penalties if coverage lapses. House Speaker Paul Ryan is hoping to pass the legislation within two weeks so the House can move on to other priorities. That leaves little time for wholesale alterations. Representative Kevin Brady, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said he expected the bill would largely remain in its current form. “I know lots of people have good ideas. That’s terrific. And those will fit in future bills.” The White House has tried to persuade conservatives that the House bill is just the first step in a three-step process, and will soon be joined by a companion bill that would embrace some of their policy priorities. Regulations put in place by Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price will also address their concerns, aides said. The challenge for Trump is whether he can convince enough wary conservatives to back the first step of the plan without being able to guarantee the other phases will come to pass. It could leave them on the record voting for a bill they do not feel adequately dismantles Obamacare. Some conservatives may also not see the point of sticking their necks out backing a bill that may die in the Senate. “This is a futile effort,” said Rachel Bovard, a policy analyst for the Heritage Foundation, which opposes the bill. The White House is aggressively making the case that the House bill is the best chance to do away with Obamacare. Moving too far rightward to placate conservatives could stir up opposition from moderate Republicans and lead to a bill that stokes a powerful backlash among millions of Americans who would lose health insurance - including many Republicans. Many Democrats are already planning to run campaigns on the issue. The White House was busy this week trying to reassure moderate Republicans as well. Vice President Mike Pence is holding meetings in Congress, including with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican aide said. Trump’s budget director, Mick Mulvaney, a former House member, has invited conservative lawmakers to dinner at the White House next Tuesday. Trump plans to leverage the power of his office in another way, making trips to Kentucky and Tennessee in coming days to sell the House bill to the American public. Earlier this week, Trump welcomed about 30 Republican House members, many of whom said they had never been in the White House before - a contrast in style from Obama, who was often criticized for not attempting to engage more fully with Congress. In the East Room, Trump told them to come back every week. Grover Norquist, a longtime conservative tax advocate, praised Trump’s strategy, saying: “He is making people feel loved and appreciated and part of the team.” | 1 |
6,739 | BOMBSHELL: COMEY Wanted To Expose Russian Meddling Months Before Election…OBAMA Regime Barred Him From Telling Public [VIDEO] | FBI director James Comey wanted to go public with information about Russia s interference in the 2016 election as early as last summer but was reportedly barred from doing so by the Obama administration.According to Newsweek sources, Comey presented a draft op-ed to top administration officials during a White House meeting in June or July. He had a draft of it or an outline, the source said. He held up a piece of paper in a meeting and said, I want to go forward, what do people think of this? Former Secretary of State John Kerry, former Attorney General Loretta Lynch and ex national security adviser Susan Rice were among those in the meeting.Comey s idea was rejected because White House officials thought the message would have more impact coming from multiple agencies and not just him. An op-ed doesn t have the same stature, it comes from one person, the source said.A second source told Newsweek the op-ed, which Comey would have likely sought to publish in the New York Times, contained the same information as the intelligence report made public on January 6 that said Russian President Vladimir Putin tried to influence the presidential election.Comey s op-ed was rejected around the same time he publicly revealed details about the investigation in Hillary Clinton s emails. The FBI director revealed before the House Intelligence Committee last week that the agency is investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 election.He told the Intelligence Committee the Russians were very noisy and unusually loud in their hacking of US Democratic party computers. It was almost as if they didn t care if we found out, he added.Watch FBI Director Jame Comey confirm his investigation into alleged Russian interference in our elections: | 0 |
6,740 | ESPIONAGE ACT VIOLATION? HILLARY EXPOSES Names Of Hidden Intelligence Officials In Emails Through “Gross Negligence” | America keeps waiting for word that Hillary will be indicted. Is Obama waiting for the right moment or will the FBI be allowed to do their job and put Hillary behind bars? Are Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren standing by in the wings? One thing we know for sure, with this corrupt administration, anything could happen. Obama seems to have mastered the art of punishing America. Will the most corrupt President to ever occupy our White House, be the one responsible for finally putting end to the Clinton Crime Syndicate or does she know too much?Hillary Clinton posted and shared the names of concealed U.S. intelligence officials on her unprotected email system. Federal records reveal that Clinton swapped these highly classified names on an email account that was vulnerable to attack and was breached repeatedly by Russia-linked hacker attempts. These new revelations reminiscent of the Valerie Plame scandal during George W. Bush s tenure could give FBI investigators the evidence they need to make a case that Clinton violated the Espionage Act by mishandling national defense information through gross negligence. Numerous names cited in Clinton s emails have been redacted in State Department email releases with the classification code B3 CIA PERS/ORG, a highly specialized classification that means the information, if released, would violate the Central Intelligence Act of 1949.The State Department produced a document to Judicial Watch in April 2014 that identifies different types of (b)(3) redactions, including CIA PERS/ORG, which it defines as information Specifically exempted from disclosure by statute Central Intelligence Act of 1949. That s what it suggests, Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton told Breitbart News, referring to the indication that Clinton disclosed the names of CIA-protected intelligence sources, based on the B3 redactions.The CIA justifies (b)(3) redactions with this description: (b)(3) Applies to the Director s statutory obligations to protect from disclosure intelligence sources and methods, as well as the organization, functions, names, official titles, salaries, or numbers of personnel employed by the Agency, in accord with the National Security Act of 1947 and the CIA Act of 1949, respectively. The State Department declined to comment. Per the colleague who handles this issue, we are not speaking to the content of emails, State Department spokeswoman Nicole Thompson told Breitbart News.Here are some examples of (b)(3) redactions;Naming the defense attach in MaltaOn October 16, 2011, recent U.S. Ambassador to Malta Douglas Kmiec sent an email to Cheryl Mills with the subject line TIME SENSITIVE AND CONFIDENTIAL Malta Trip Backgrounder for the Secretary Confidential. Kmiec wrote to Mills, I know from current events that your life must be a whirlwind. I know that if there ever was someone who could tame the whirlwind, it would be you. Just read the news report of the Secretary s stop in Malta next week. Thank you for arranging this. This letter and the accompanying clips I believe will help make the Secretary s visit a highly successful and well received one. In the memo, Kmiec revealed the name of a top defense attach in the country. That name was later classified by the State Department with three different classifications: 1.4 (D) to connote Foreign relations or foreign activities of the US, including confidential sources, B1 to connote Information specifically authorized by an executive order to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or foreign policy, and B3 CIA PERS/ORG. The largest part of our US team in the embassy is the navy/coast guard/ ncis contingent that has established a Maritime training program with the AFM to good success. The defense attach there now is new [REDACTED] beloved and hardworking and to good effect, patrolling the waters and the ports for [illegible] traffickers and terror related figures, Kmiec wrote.Mills forwarded the memo directly to Clinton s private email account at clintonemail.com with the note Fyi background. Clinton replied to Mills and CC ed Huma Abedin with the confidential information, writing, I need enough time there to meet. Hague is there today and doing all the right meetings. So, I m copying Huma to reinforce my desire to squeeze more out of a too quick trip. When he sent the memo to Mills, Douglas Kmiec had been out of his Ambassador to Malta job for several months. Kmiec was a big supporter of President Obama. He garnered criticism in a 2011 inspector general report for ignoring directives from Washington and for spending too much time writing articles about religion. Iran Insights On September 2, 2009, Jackie Newmyer of Long Term Strategy Group in Cambridge, Massachusetts sent an email directly to Clinton s private account with the subject line Iran Insights From [Redacted] that included the B3 redaction code:Secretary Clinton,Last week I traveled to Israel [REDACTED] in an Iran-related seminar and simulation exercise with the IDF general who is likely to become Israel s next chief of military intelligence and his team and, separately, [REDACTED]. Yesterday, [REDACTED] Iran workshop in Washington involving DoD and think tank experts. Despite the fact that the meetings were with defense [REDACTED] personnel, there was universal sentiment that a strike on Iran s nuclear facilities would be counterproductive, on the one hand, and that incremental measures would be perceived by Iran as an indication of weakness, on the other.The email included sensitive information including the following:If Iran acquires a nuclear capability, no single American/allied countermeasure will be adequate. Something like the flexible response posture from the Cold War will be required, necessitating a range of actions from enhancing the US deterrent presence nuclear submarines carrying ballistic missiles in the Arabian Sea to bolstering regional actors defenses.Israeli leaders should be able to contain the damage to the Israeli population s morale from an Iranian bomb, but this will require careful management of public statements. There is a tension between building up support for action against the Iranian nuclear program now and delivering the kind of reassurance that will be necessary once the capability has been acquired.Clinton replied that she would like to discuss the matter with Jackie.Jackie replied:I will be in Washington for a day-long meeting on Thursday this week [B3 REDACTED] and my travel plans are flexible, so I could meet you any time on Wednesday afternoon, after 5 pm on Thursday, or any time on Friday morning. If those times do not work, I would be happy to come down at your convenience.Clinton and Jake Sullivan then set up a meeting with Jackie.For entire story: Breitbart News | 0 |
6,741 | WOW! AMERICA IS UNDER ATTACK By These 187 Organizations Directly Funded By George Soros | There have been many articles written about George Soros and his collectivist activism. Soros is a business magnate, investor, philanthropist, and author who is of Jewish-Hungarian ancestry and holds dual citizenship. He is chairman of Soros Fund Management. Discover the Networks has published a comprehensive list of organizations funded by Soros and his Open Society Institute.Some of these groups have actively opposed Donald Trump for president and may be part of the recent levels of violence and chaos seen at his rallies. Many of the groups favor: open borders, amnesty, giving illegals voting rights, Muslim migration and social justice.Advancement Project: This organization works to organize communities of color into politically cohesive units while disseminating its leftist worldviews and values as broadly as possible by way of a sophisticated communications department.Air America Radio: Now defunct, this was a self-identified liberal radio network.All of Us or None: This organization seeks to change voting laws which vary from state to state so as to allow ex-inmates, parolees, and even current inmates to cast their ballots in political elections.Alliance for Justice: Best known for its activism vis a vis the appointment of federal judges, this group consistently depicts Republican judicial nominees as extremists. America Coming Together: Soros played a major role in creating this group, whose purpose was to coordinate and organize pro-Democrat voter-mobilization programs.America Votes: Soros also played a major role in creating this group, whose get-out-the-vote campaigns targeted likely Democratic voters.America s Voice: This open-borders group seeks to promote comprehensive immigration reform that includes a robust agenda in favor of amnesty for illegal aliens.American Bar Association Commission on Immigration Policy: This organization opposes laws that require employers and persons providing education, health care, or other social services to verify citizenship or immigration status. American Bridge 21st Century: This Super PAC conducts opposition research designed to help Democratic political candidates defeat their Republican foes.American Civil Liberties Union: This group opposes virtually all post-9/11 national security measures enacted by the U.S. government. It supports open borders, has rushed to the defense of suspected terrorists and their abettors, and appointed former New Left terrorist Bernardine Dohrn to its Advisory Board.American Constitution Society for Law and Policy: This Washington, DC-based think tank seeks to move American jurisprudence to the left by recruiting, indoctrinating, and mobilizing young law students, helping them acquire positions of power. It also provides leftist Democrats with a bully pulpit from which to denounce their political adversaries.American Family Voices: This group creates and coordinates media campaigns charging Republicans with wrongdoing.American Federation of Teachers: After longtime AFT President Albert Shanker died in in 1997, he was succeeded by Sandra Feldman, who slowly re-branded the union, allying it with some of the most powerful left-wing elements of the New Labor Movement. When Feldman died in 2004, Edward McElroy took her place, followed by Randi Weingarten in 2008. All of them kept the union on the leftward course it had adopted in its post-Shanker period.American Friends Service Committee: This group views the United States as the principal cause of human suffering around the world. As such, it favors America s unilateral disarmament, the dissolution of American borders, amnesty for illegal aliens, the abolition of the death penalty, and the repeal of the Patriot Act.American Immigration Council: This non-profit organization is a prominent member of the open-borders lobby. It advocates expanded rights and amnesty for illegal aliens residing in the U.S. American Immigration Law Foundation: This group supports amnesty for illegal aliens, on whose behalf it litigates against the U.S. government.American Independent News Network: This organization promotes impact journalism that advocates progressive change. American Institute for Social Justice: AISJ s goal is to produce skilled community organizers who can transform poor communities by agitating for increased government spending on city services, drug interdiction, crime prevention, housing, public-sector jobs, access to healthcare, and public schools.American Library Association: This group has been an outspoken critic of the Bush administration s War on Terror most particularly, Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act, which it calls a present danger to the constitutional rights and privacy rights of library users. The American Prospect, Inc.: This corporation trains and mentors young leftwing journalists, and organizes strategy meetings for leftist leaders. Amnesty International: This organization directs a grossly disproportionate share of its criticism for human rights violations at the United States and Israel.Applied Research Center: Viewing the United States as a nation where structural racism is deeply embedded in the fabric of society, ARC seeks to build a fair and equal society by demanding concrete change from our most powerful institutions. Arab American Institute Foundation: The Arab American Institute denounces the purportedly widespread civil liberties violations directed against Arab Americans in the post-9/11 period, and characterizes Israel as a brutal oppressor of the Palestinian people.Aspen Institute: This organization promotes radical environmentalism and views America as a nation plagued by deep-seated structural racism. Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now: This group conducts voter mobilization drives on behalf of leftist Democrats. These initiatives have been notoriously marred by fraud and corruption.Ballot Initiative Strategy Center: This organization seeks to advance a national progressive strategy by means of ballot measures state-level legislative proposals that pass successfully through a petition ( initiative ) process and are then voted upon by the public.Bill of Rights Defense Committee: This group provides a detailed blueprint for activists interested in getting their local towns, cities, and even college campuses to publicly declare their opposition to the Patriot Act, and to designate themselves Civil Liberties Safe Zones. The organization also came to the defense of self-described radical attorney Lynne Stewart, who was convicted in 2005 of providing material support for terrorism.Black Alliance for Just Immigration: This organization seeks to create a unified movement for social and economic justice centered on black racial identity.Blueprint North Carolina: This group seeks to influence state policy in North Carolina so that residents of the state benefit from more progressive policies such as better access to health care, higher wages, more affordable housing, a safer, cleaner environment, and access to reproductive health services. Brennan Center for Justice: This think tank/legal activist group generates scholarly studies, mounts media campaigns, files amicus briefs, gives pro bono support to activists, and litigates test cases in pursuit of radical change. Brookings Institution: This organization has been involved with a variety of internationalist and state-sponsored programs, including one that aspires to facilitate the establishment of a U.N.-dominated world government. Brookings Fellows have also called for additional global collaboration on trade and banking; the expansion of the Kyoto Protocol; and nationalized health insurance for children. Nine Brookings economists signed a petition opposing President Bush s tax cuts in 2003.Campaign for America s Future: This group supports tax hikes, socialized medicine, and a dramatic expansion of social welfare programs.Campaign for Better Health Care: This organization favors a single-payer, government-run, universal health care system. Campaign for Youth Justice: This organization contends that transferring juveniles to the adult criminal-justice system leads to higher rates of recidivism, puts incarcerated and detained youth at unnecessary risk, has little deterrence value, and does not increase public safety. Campus Progress: A project of the Soros-bankrolled Center for American Progress, this group seeks to strengthen progressive voices on college and university campuses, counter the growing influence of right-wing groups on campus, and empower new generations of progressive leaders. Casa de Maryland: This organization aggressively lobbies legislators to vote in favor of policies that promote expanded rights, including amnesty, for illegal aliens currently residing in the United States.Catalist: This is a for-profit political consultancy that seeks to help progressive organizations realize measurable increases in civic participation and electoral success by building and operating a robust national voter database of every voting-age American. Catholics for Choice: This nominally Catholic organization supports women s right to abortion-on-demand.Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good: This political nonprofit group is dedicated to generating support from the Catholic community for leftwing candidates, causes, and legislation.Center for American Progress: This leftist think tank is headed by former Clinton chief of staff John Podesta, works closely with Hillary Clinton, and employs numerous former Clinton administration staffers. It is committed to developing a long-term vision of a progressive America and providing a forum to generate new progressive ideas and policy proposals. Center for Community Change: This group recruits and trains activists to spearhead leftist political issue campaigns. Promoting increased funding for social welfare programs by bringing attention to major national issues related to poverty, the Center bases its training programs on the techniques taught by the famed radical organizer Saul Alinsky.Center for Constitutional Rights: This pro-Castro organization is a core member of the open borders lobby, has opposed virtually all post-9/11 anti-terrorism measures by the U.S. government, and alleges that American injustice provokes acts of international terrorism.Center for Economic and Policy Research: This group opposed welfare reform, supports living wage laws, rejects tax cuts, and consistently lauds the professed achievements of socialist regimes, most notably Venezuela.Center for Reproductive Rights: CRR s mission is to guarantee safe, affordable contraception and abortion-on-demand for all women, including adolescents. The organization has filed state and federal lawsuits demanding access to taxpayer-funded abortions (through Medicaid) for low-income women.Center for Responsible Lending: This organization was a major player in the subprime mortgage crisis. According to Phil Kerpen (vice president for policy at Americans for Prosperity), CRL sh[ook] down and harass[ed] banks into making bad loans to unqualified borrowers. Moreover, CRL negotiated a contract enabling it to operate as a conduit of high-risk loans to Fannie Mae.Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: Reasoning from the premise that tax cuts generally help only the wealthy, this organization advocates greater tax expenditures on social welfare programs for low earners.Center on Wisconsin Strategy (COWS): Aiming to redistribute wealth by way of higher taxes imposed on those whose incomes are above average, COWS contends that it is important that state government be able to harness fair contribution from all parts of society including corporations and the wealthy. Change America Now: Formed in December 2006, Change America Now describes itself as an independent political organization created to educate citizens on the failed policies of the Republican Congress and to contrast that record of failure with the promise offered by a Democratic agenda. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington: This group litigates and brings ethics charges against government officials who sacrifice the common good to special interests and betray the public trust. Almost all of its targets are Republicans.Coalition for an International Criminal Court: This group seeks to subordinate American criminal-justice procedures to those of an international court.Common Cause: This organization aims to bring about campaign-finance reform, pursue media reform resembling the Fairness Doctrine, and cut military budgets in favor of increased social-welfare and environmental spending.Constitution Project: This organization seeks to challenge the legality of military commissions; end the detainment of enemy combatants ; condemn government surveillance of terrorists; and limit the President s executive privileges.Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund: Defenders of Wildlife opposes oil exploration in Alaska s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. It condemns logging, ranching, mining, and even the use of recreational motorized vehicles as activities that are destructive to the environment.Democracy Alliance: This self-described liberal organization aims to raise $200 million to develop a funding clearinghouse for leftist groups. Soros is a major donor to this group.Democracy 21: This group is a staunch supporter of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, also known as the McCain-Feingold Act.Democracy Now!: Democracy Now! was created in 1996 by WBAI radio news director Amy Goodman and four partners to provide perspectives rarely heard in the U.S. corporate-sponsored media, i.e., the views of radical and foreign journalists, left and labor activists, and ideological foes of capitalism.Democratic Justice Fund: DJF opposes the Patriot Act and most efforts to restrict or regulate immigration into the United States particularly from countries designated by the State Department as terrorist nations. Democratic Party: Soros funding activities are devoted largely to helping the Democratic Party solidify its power base. In a November 2003 interview, Soros stated that defeating President Bush in 2004 is the central focus of my life a matter of life and death. He pledged to raise $75 million to defeat Bush, and personally donated nearly a third of that amount to anti-Bush organizations. America under Bush, he said, is a danger to the world, and I m willing to put my money where my mouth is. Demos: This organization lobbies federal and state policymakers to addres[s] the economic insecurity and inequality that characterize American society today ; promotes ideas for reducing gaps in wealth, income and political influence ; and favors tax hikes for the wealthy.Drum Major Institute: This group describes itself as a non-partisan, non-profit think tank generating the ideas that fuel the progressive movement, with the ultimate aim of persuading policymakers and opinion-leaders to take steps that advance its vision of social and economic justice. Earthjustice: This group seeks to place severe restrictions on how U.S. land and waterways may be used. It opposes most mining and logging initiatives, commercial fishing businesses, and the use of motorized vehicles in undeveloped areas.Economic Policy Institute: This organization believes that government must play an active role in protecting the economically vulnerable, ensuring equal opportunity, and improving the well-being of all Americans. Electronic Privacy Information Center: This organization has been a harsh critic of the USA PATRIOT Act and has joined the American Civil Liberties Union in litigating two cases calling for the FBI to publicly release or account for thousands of pages of information about the government s use of PATRIOT Act powers. Ella Baker Center for Human Rights: Co-founded by the revolutionary communist Van Jones, this anti-poverty organization claims that decades of disinvestment in our cities compounded by excessive, racist policing and over-incarceration have led to despair and homelessness. EMILY s List: This political network raises money for Democratic female political candidates who support unrestricted access to taxpayer-funded abortion-on-demand.Energy Action Coalition: Founded in 2004, this group describes itself as a coalition of 50 youth-led environmental and social justice groups working together to build the youth clean energy and climate movement. For EAC, this means dismantling oppression according to its principles of environmental justice.Equal Justice USA: This group claims that America s criminal-justice system is plagued by significant race and class biases, and thus seeks to promote major reforms. Fair Immigration Reform Movement: This is the open-borders arm of the Center for Community Change.Faithful America: This organization promotes the redistribution of wealth, an end to enhanced interrogation procedures vis a vis prisoners-of-war, the enactment of policies to combat global warming, and the creation of a government-run heath care system.Feminist Majority: Characterizing the United States as an inherently sexist nation, this group focuses on advancing the legal, social and political equality of women with men, countering the backlash to women s advancement, and recruiting and training young feminists to encourage future leadership for the feminist movement in the United States. Four Freedoms Fund: This organization was designed to serve as a conduit through which large foundations could fund state-based open-borders organizations more flexibly and quickly.Free Exchange on Campus: This organization was created solely to oppose the efforts of one individual, David Horowitz, and his campaign to have universities adopt an Academic Bill of Rights, as well as to denounce Horowitz s 2006 book The Professors. Member organizations of FEC include Campus Progress (a project of the Center for American Progress); the American Association of University Professors; the American Civil Liberties Union; People For the American Way; the United States Student Association; the Center for Campus Free Speech; the American Library Association; Free Press; and the National Association of State Public Interest Research Groups.Free Press: This media reform organization has worked closely with many notable leftists and such organizations as Media Matters for America, Air America Radio, Global Exchange, Code Pink, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, the Revolutionary Communist Party, Mother Jones magazine, and Pacifica Radio. Funding Exchange: Dedicated to the concept of philanthropy as a vehicle for social change, this organization pairs leftist donors and foundations with like minded groups and activists who are dedicated to bringing about their own version of progressive change and social justice. Many of these grantees assume that American society is rife with racism, discrimination, exploitation, and inequity and needs to be overhauled via sustained education, activism, and social agitation.Gamaliel Foundation: Modeling its tactics on those of the radical Sixties activist Saul Alinsky, this group takes a strong stand against current homeland security measures and immigration restrictions.Gisha: Center for the Legal Protection of Freedom of Movement: This anti-Israel organization seeks to help Palestinians exercise their right to freedom of movement. Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect: This group contends that when a state proves either unable or unwilling to protect civilians from mass atrocities occurring within its borders, it is the responsibility of the international community to intervene peacefully if possible, but with military force if necessary.Global Exchange: Established in 1988 by pro-Castro radical Medea Benjamin, this group consistently condemns America s foreign policy, business practices, and domestic life. Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Global Exchange advised Americans to examine the root causes of resentment against the United States in the Arab world from our dependence on Middle Eastern oil to our biased policy towards Israel. Grantmakers Without Borders: GWB tends to be very supportive of leftist environmental, anti-war, and civil rights groups. It is also generally hostile to capitalism, which it deems one of the chief political, economic, and social systems that give rise to a host of social ills. Green For All: This group was created by Van Jones to lobby for federal climate, energy, and economic policy initiatives. Health Care for America Now: This group supports a single payer model where the federal government would be in charge of financing and administering the entire U.S. healthcare system. Human Rights Campaign: The largest lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender lobbying group in the United States, HRC supports political candidates and legislation that will advance the LGBT agenda. Historically, HRC has most vigorously championed HIV/AIDS-related legislation, hate crime laws, the abrogation of the military s Don t Ask, Don t Tell policy, and the legalization of gay marriage.Human Rights First: This group supports open borders and the rights of illegal aliens; charges that the Patriot Act severely erodes Americans civil liberties; has filed amicus curiae briefs on behalf of terror suspect Jose Padilla; and deplores the Guantanamo Bay detention facilities.Human Rights Watch: This group directs a disproportionate share of its criticism at the United States and Israel. It opposes the death penalty in all cases, and supports open borders and amnesty for illegal aliens. I lam: This anti-Israel NGO seeks to develop and empower the Arab media and to give voice to Palestinian issues. Immigrant Defense Project: To advance the cause of illegal immigrants, the IDP provides immigration law backup support and counseling to New York defense attorneys and others who represent or assist immigrants in criminal justice and immigration systems, as well as to immigrants themselves.Immigrant Legal Resource Center: This group claims to have helped gain amnesty for some three million illegal aliens in the U.S., and in the 1980s was part of the sanctuary movement which sought to grant asylum to refugees from the failed Communist states of Central America.Immigrant Workers Citizenship Project: This open-borders organization advocates mass immigration to the U.S. Immigration Advocates Network: This alliance of immigrant-rights groups seeks to increase access to justice for low-income immigrants and strengthen the capacity of organizations serving them. Immigration Policy Center: IPC is an advocate of open borders and contends that the massive influx of illegal immigrants into America is due to U.S. government policy, since the broken immigration system [ ] spurs unauthorized immigration in the first place. Independent Media Center: This Internet-based, news and events bulletin board represents an invariably leftist, anti-capitalist perspective and serves as a mouthpiece for anti-globalization/anti-America themes.Independent Media Institute: IMI administers the SPIN Project (Strategic Press Information Network), which provides leftist organizations with accessible and affordable strategic communications consulting, training, coaching, networking opportunities and concrete tools to help them achieve their social justice goals. Institute for America s Future: IAF supports socialized medicine, increased government funding for education, and the creation of an infrastructure to ensure that the voice of the progressive majority is heard. Institute for New Economic Thinking: Seeking to create a new worldwide economic paradigm, this organization is staffed by numerous individuals who favor government intervention in national economies, and who view capitalism as a flawed system.Institute for Policy Studies: This think tank has long supported Communist and anti-American causes around the world. Viewing capitalism as a breeding ground for unrestrained greed, IPS seeks to provide a corrective to unrestrained markets and individualism. Professing an unquestioning faith in the righteousness of the United Nations, it aims to bring American foreign policy under UN control.Institute for Public Accuracy: This anti-American, anti-capitalist, anti-Israel organization sponsored actor Sean Penn s celebrated visit to Baghdad in 2002. It also sponsored visits to Iraq by Democratic Congressmen Nick Rahall and former Democrat Senator James AbourezkInstitute for Women s Policy Research: This group views the U.S. as a nation rife with discrimination against women, and publishes research to draw attention to this alleged state of affairs. It also advocates unrestricted access to taxpayer-funded abortion-on-demand, stating that access to abortion is essential to the economic well-being of women and girls. International Crisis Group: One of this organization s leading figures is its Mideast Director, Robert Malley, who was President Bill Clinton s Special Assistant for Arab-Israeli Affairs. His analysis of the Mideast conflict is markedly pro-Palestinian.J Street: This anti-Israel group warns that Israel s choice to take military action to stop Hamas terrorist attacks will prove counter-productive and only deepen the cycle of violence in the region Jewish Funds for Justice: This organization views government intervention and taxpayer funding as crucial components of enlightened social policy. It seeks to redistribute wealth from Jewish donors to low-income communities to combat the root causes of domestic economic and social injustice. By JFJ s reckoning, chief among those root causes are the inherently negative by-products of capitalism most notably racism and gross economic inequality. Joint Victory Campaign 2004: Founded by George Soros and Harold Ickes, this group was a major fundraising entity for Democrats during the 2004 election cycle. It collected contributions (including large amounts from Soros personally) and disbursed them to two other groups, America Coming Together and the Media Fund, which also worked on behalf of Democrats.Justice at Stake: This coalition calls for judges to be appointed by nonpartisan, independent commissions in a process known as merit selection, rather than elected by the voting public.Latino Justice PRLDF: This organization supports bilingual education, the racial gerrymandering of voting districts, and expanded rights for illegal aliens.Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law: This group views America as an unremittingly racist nation; uses the courts to mandate race-based affirmative action preferences in business and academia; has filed briefs against the Department of Homeland Security s efforts to limit the wholesale granting of green cards and to identify potential terrorists; condemns the Patriot Act; and calls on Americans to recognize the contribution of illegal aliens.League of United Latin American Citizens: This group views America as a nation plagued by an alarming increase in xenophobia and anti-Hispanic sentiment ; favors racial preferences; supports the legalization of illegal Hispanic aliens; opposes military surveillance of U.S. borders; opposes making English America s official language; favors open borders; and rejects anti-terrorism legislation like the Patriot Act.League of Women Voters Education Fund: The League supports taxpayer-funded abortion-on-demand; supports motor-voter registration, which allows anyone with a driver s license to become a voter, regardless of citizenship status; and supports tax hikes and socialized medicine.League of Young Voters: This organization seeks to empowe[r] young people nationwide to participate in the democratic process and create progressive political change on the local, state and national level[s]. Lynne Stewart Defense Committee: IRS records indicate that Soros s Open Society Institute made a September 2002 grant of $20,000 to this organization. Stewart was the criminal-defense attorney who was later convicted for abetting her client, the blind sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, in terrorist activities connected with his Islamic Group.Machsom Watch: This organization describes itself as a movement of Israeli women, peace activists from all sectors of Israeli society, who oppose the Israeli occupation and the denial of Palestinians rights to move freely in their land. MADRE: This international women s organization deems America the world s foremost violator of human rights. As such, it seeks to communicat[e] the real-life impact of U.S. policies on women and families confronting violence, poverty and repression around the world, and to demand alternatives to destructive U.S. policies. It also advocates unrestricted access to taxpayer-funded abortion-on-demand.Malcolm X Grassroots Movement: This group views the U.S. as a nation replete with racism and discrimination against blacks; seeks to establish an independent black nation in the southeastern United States; and demands reparations for slavery.Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition: This group calls for the expansion of civil rights and liberties for illegal aliens; laments that illegal aliens in America are commonly subjected to worker exploitation ; supports tuition-assistance programs for illegal aliens attending college; and characterizes the Patriot Act as a very troubling assault on civil liberties.Media Fund: Soros played a major role in creating this group, whose purpose was to conceptualize, produce, and place political ads on television, radio, print, and the Internet.Media Matters for America: This organization is a web-based, not-for-profit progressive research and information center seeking to systematically monitor a cross-section of print, broadcast, cable, radio, and Internet media outlets for conservative misinformation. The group works closely with the Soros-backed Center for American Progress, and is heavily funded by Democracy Alliance, of which Soros is a major financier.Mercy Corps: Vis a vis the Arab-Israeli conflict, Mercy Corps places all blame for Palestinian poverty and suffering directly on Israel.Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund: This group advocates open borders, free college tuition for illegal aliens, lowered educational standards to accommodate Hispanics, and voting rights for criminals. In MALDEF s view, supporters of making English the official language of the United States are motivated by racism and anti-immigrant sentiments, while advocates of sanctions against employers reliant on illegal labor seek to discriminate against brown-skinned people. Meyer, Suozzi, English and Klein, PC: This influential defender of Big Labor is headed by Democrat operative Harold Ickes. Midwest Academy: This entity trains radical activists in the tactics of direct action, targeting, confrontation, and intimidation.Migration Policy Institute: This group seeks to create a North America with gradually disappearing border controls with permanent migration remaining at moderate levels. Military Families Speak Out: This group ascribes the U.S. invasion of Iraq to American imperialism and lust for oil.Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment: This group is the re-branded Missouri branch of the now-defunct, pro-socialist, community organization ACORN.MoveOn.org: This Web-based organization supports Democratic political candidates through fundraising, advertising, and get-out-the-vote drives.Ms. Foundation for Women: This group laments what it views as the widespread and enduring flaws of American society: racism, sexism, homophobia, and the violation of civil rights and liberties. It focuses its philanthropy on groups that promote affirmative action for women, unfettered access to taxpayer-funded abortion-on-demand, amnesty for illegal aliens, and big government generally.NARAL Pro-Choice America: This group supports taxpayer-funded abortion-on-demand, and works to elect pro-abortion Democrats.NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund: The NAACP supports racial preferences in employment and education, as well as the racial gerrymandering of voting districts. Underpinning its support for race preferences is the fervent belief that white racism in the United States remains an intractable, largely undiminished, phenomenon.The Nation Institute: This nonprofit entity sponsors leftist conferences, fellowships, awards for radical activists, and journalism internships.National Abortion Federation: This group opposes any restrictions on abortion at either the state or federal levels, and champions the introduction of unrestricted abortion into developing regions of the world.National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty: This group was established in 1976 as the first fully staffed national organization exclusively devoted to abolishing capital punishment. National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy: This group depicts the United States as a nation in need of dramatic structural change financed by philanthropic organizations. It overwhelmingly promotes grant-makers and grantees with leftist agendas, while criticizing their conservative counterparts.National Committee for Voting Integrity: This group opposes the implementation of proof of citizenship and photo identification requirements for eligible electors in American elections as the means of assuring election integrity. National Council for Research on Women: This group supports big government, high taxes, military spending cuts, increased social welfare spending, and the unrestricted right to taxpayer-funded abortion-on-demand.National Council of La Raza: This group lobbies for racial preferences, bilingual education, stricter hate-crime laws, mass immigration, and amnesty for illegal aliens.National Council of Women s Organizations: This group views the United States as a nation rife with injustice against girls and women. It advocates high levels of spending for social welfare programs, and supports race and gender preferences for minorities and women in business and academia.National Immigration Forum: Opposing the enforcement of present immigration laws, this organization urges the American government to legalize en masse all illegal aliens currently in the United States who have no criminal records, and to dramatically increase the number of visas available for those wishing to migrate to the U.S. The Forum is particularly committed to opening the borders to unskilled, low-income workers, and immediately making them eligible for welfare and social service programs.National Immigration Law Center: This group seeks to win unrestricted access to government-funded social welfare programs for illegal aliens.National Lawyers Guild: This group promotes open borders; seeks to weaken America s intelligence-gathering agencies; condemns the Patriot Act as an assault on civil liberties; rejects capitalism as an nonviable economic system; has rushed to the defense of convicted terrorists and their abettors; and generally opposes all U.S. foreign policy positions, just as it did during the Cold War when it sided with the Soviets.National Organization for Women: This group advocates the unfettered right to taxpayer-funded abortion-on-demand; seeks to eradicate racism, sexism and homophobia from American society; attacks Christianity and traditional religious values; and supports gender-based preferences for women.National Partnership for Women and Families: This organization supports race- and sex-based preferences in employment and education. It also advocates for the universal right of women to undergo taxpayer-funded abortion-on-demand at any stage of pregnancy and for any reason.National Priorities Project: This group supports government-mandated redistribution of wealth through higher taxes and greater expenditures on social welfare programs. NPP exhorts the government to redirect a significant portion of its military funding toward public education, universal health insurance, environmentalist projects, and welfare programs.National Public Radio: Founded in 1970 with 90 public radio stations as charter members, NPR is today a loose network of more than 750 U.S. radio stations across the country, many of which are based on college and university campuses. (source)National Security Archive Fund: This group collects and publishes declassified documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act to a degree that compromises American national security and the safety of intelligence agents.National Women s Law Center: This group supports taxpayer-funded abortion-on-demand; lobbies against conservative judicial appointees; advocates increased welfare spending to help low-income mothers; and favors higher taxes for the purpose of generating more funds for such government programs as Medicaid, food stamps, welfare, foster care, health care, child-support enforcement, and student loans.Natural Resources Defense Council: One of the most influential environmentalist lobbying groups in the United States, the Council claims a membership of one million people. New America Foundation: This organization uses policy papers, media articles, books, and educational events to influence public opinion on such topics as healthcare, environmentalism, energy policy, the Mideast conflict, global governance, and much more.New Israel Fund: This organization gives support to NGOs that regularly produce reports accusing Israel of human-rights violations and religious persecution.NewsCorpWatch: A project of Media Matters For America, NewsCorpWatch was established with the help of a $1 million George Soros grant to Media Matters.Pacifica Foundation: This entity owns and operates Pacifica Radio, awash from its birth with the socialist-Marxist rhetoric of class warfare and hatred for capitalism.Peace and Security Funders Group: This is an association of more than 60 foundations that give money to leftist anti-war and environmentalist causes. Its members tend to depict America as the world s chief source of international conflict, environmental destruction, and economic inequalities.Peace Development Fund: In PDF s calculus, the United States needs a massive overhaul of its social and economic institutions. Recently, explains PDF, we have witnessed the negative effects of neo-liberalism and the globalization of capitalism, the de-industrialization of the U.S. and the growing gap between the rich and poor People for the American Way: This group opposes the Patriot Act, anti-terrorism measures generally, and the allegedly growing influence of the religious right. People Improving Communities Through Organizing: This group uses Alinsky-style organizing tactics to advance the doctrines of the religious left.Physicians for Human Rights: This group is selectively and disproportionately critical of the United States and Israel in its condemnations of human rights violations.Physicians for Social Responsibility: This is an anti-U.S.-military organization that also embraces the tenets of radical environmentalism.Planned Parenthood: This group is the largest abortion provider in the United States and advocates taxpayer-funded abortion-on-demand.Ploughshares Fund: This public grant making foundation opposes America s development of a missile defense system, and contributes to many organizations that are highly critical of U.S. foreign policies and military ventures.Prepare New York: This group supported the proposed construction of a Muslim Community Center near Ground Zero in lower Manhattan a project known as the Cordoba Initiative, headed by Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf.Presidential Climate Action Project: PCAP s mission is to create a new 21st-century economy, completely carbon-free and based largely on renewable energy. A key advisor to the organization is the revolutionary communist Van Jones.Prison Moratorium Project: This initiative was created in 1995 for the express purpose of working for the elimination of all prisons in the United States and the release of all inmates. Reasoning from the premise that incarceration is never an appropriate means of dealing with crime, it deems American society s inherent inequities the root of all criminal behavior.Progressive Change Campaign Committee: This organization works to elect bold progressive candidates to federal office and to help [them] and their campaigns save money, work smarter, and win more often. Progressive States Network: PSN s mission is to pass progressive legislation in all fifty states by providing coordinated research and strategic advocacy tools to forward-thinking state legislators. Project Vote: This is the voter-mobilization arm of the Soros-funded ACORN. A persistent pattern of lawlessness and corruption has followed ACORN/Project Vote activities over the years. Pro Publica: Claiming that investigative journalism is at risk, this group aims to remedy this lacuna in news publishing by expos[ing] abuses of power and betrayals of the public trust by government, business, and other institutions, using the moral force of investigative journalism to spur reform through the sustained spotlighting of wrongdoing. Proteus Fund: This foundation directs its philanthropy toward a number of radical leftwing organizations.Public Citizen Foundation: Public Citizen seeks increased government intervention and litigation against corporations a practice founded on the notion that American corporations, like the capitalist system of which they are a part, are inherently inclined toward corruption.Public Justice Center: Viewing America as a nation rife with injustice and discrimination, this organization engages in legislative and policy advocacy to promote systemic change for the disenfranchised. Rebuild and Renew America Now (a.k.a. Unity 09): Spearheaded by MoveOn.org and overseen by longtime activist Heather Booth, this coalition was formed to facilitate the passage of President Obama s historic $3.5 trillion budget for fiscal year 2010. Res Publica: Seeking to advance far-left agendas in places all around the world, RP specializes in E-advocacy, or web-based movement-building.Secretary of State Project: This project was launched in July 2006 as an independent 527 organization devoted to helping Democrats get elected to the office of Secretary of State in selected swing, or battleground, states.Sentencing Project: Asserting that prison-sentencing patterns are racially discriminatory, this initiative advocates voting rights for felons.Social Justice Leadership: This organization seeks to transform an allegedly inequitable America into a just society by means of a renewed social-justice movement. Shadow Democratic Party: This is an elaborate network of non-profit activist groups organized by George Soros and others to mobilize resources money, get-out-the-vote drives, campaign advertising, and policy initiatives to elect Democratic candidates and guide the Democratic Party towards the left.Sojourners: This evangelical Christian ministry preaches radical left-wing politics. During the 1980s it championed Communist revolution in Central America and chastised U.S. policy-makers for their tendency to assume the very worst about their Soviet counterparts. More recently, Sojourners has taken up the cause of environmental activism, opposed welfare reform as a mean-spirited Republican agenda, and mounted a defense of affirmative action.Southern Poverty Law Center: This organization monitors the activities of what it calls hate groups in the United States. It exaggerates the prevalence of white racism directed against American minorities.State Voices: This coalition helps independent local activist groups in 22 states work collaboratively on a year-round basis, so as to maximize the impact of their efforts.Talking Transition: This was a two-week project launched in early November 2013 to help shape the transition to City Hall for the newly elected Democratic mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio.Think Progress: This Internet blog pushes back, daily, by its own account, against its conservative targets, and seeks to transform progressive ideas into policy through rapid response communications, legislative action, grassroots organizing and advocacy, and partnerships with other progressive leaders throughout the country and the world. Thunder Road Group: This political consultancy, in whose creation Soros had a hand, coordinates strategy for the Media Fund, America Coming Together, and America Votes. Tides Foundation and Tides Center: Tides is a major funder of the radical Left.U.S. Public Interest Research Group: This is an umbrella organization of student groups that support leftist agendas.Universal Healthcare Action Network: This organization supports a single-payer health care system controlled by the federal government.Urban Institute: This research organization favors socialized medicine, expansion of the federal welfare bureaucracy, and tax hikes for higher income-earners.USAction Education Fund: USAction lists its priorities as: fighting the right wing agenda ; building grassroots political power ; winning social, racial and economic justice for all ; supporting a system of taxpayer-funded socialized medicine; reversing reckless tax cuts for millionaires and corporations which shield the wealthy from paying their fair share ; advocating for pro-consumer and environmental regulation of corporate abuse ; strengthening progressive voices on local, state and national issues ; and working to register, educate and get out the vote [to] help progressives get elected at all levels of government. Voto Latino: This group seeks to mobilize Latin-Americans to become registered voters and political activists.We Are America Alliance: This coalition promotes increased civic participation by immigrants in the American political process.Working Families Party: An outgrowth of the socialist New Party, WFP seeks to help push the Democratic Party toward the left.World Organization Against Torture: This coalition works closely with groups that condemn Israeli security measures against Palestinian terrorism.YWCA World Office, Switzerland: The YWCA opposes abstinence education; supports universal access to taxpayer-funded abortion-on-demand; and opposes school vouchers. Secondary or Indirect Affiliates of the George Soros NetworkIn addition to those organizations that are funded directly by George Soros and his Open Society Institute (OSI), there are also numerous secondary or indirect affiliates of the Soros network. These include organizations which do not receive direct funding from Soros and OSI, but which are funded by one or more organizations that do. -Dr. Rich SwierFor the entire list of secondary groups affiliated with George Soros, go HERE | 0 |
6,742 | Ex-Trump staffer sues campaign, alleges gun incident in North Carolina | (Reuters) - A former North Carolina staffer is suing Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, saying a top employee in the state working on the Republican’s White House bid once pulled a gun on him and that after he reported it, the campaign took no action. Vincent Bordini, who said he was hired in December 2015 as a software trainer, said Earl Phillip, then Trump’s North Carolina state director, pointed a pistol at his kneecap while the two were in a car together in February, according to a lawsuit dated Wednesday and filed in state court. Bordini said he reported the incident to several Trump campaign officials, including then-campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, with no result, according to the lawsuit, which was posted online by the New York Daily News. The lawsuit names Phillip and the Trump campaign as defendants. “Vincent was a passionate Donald J. Trump supporter,” the lawsuit said. “He had faith that the Trump campaign would handle the situation internally. But as time went on it became apparent that this not going to happen.” William Harding, a Charlotte-based lawyer for Phillip, called the allegations “preposterous” and said if Bordini’s claims were true, there would have been criminal action. “If someone brandished a weapon on me or assaults me, I’m going to go to the appropriate law enforcement officer,” Harding said. Phillip was replaced earlier this month as state director and moved to a diversity coalition for Trump. On Thursday, he resigned from the campaign, Harding said. The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment. An attorney for Bordini also did not immediately respond. The lawsuit said the gun incident occurred during a trip to South Carolina ahead of that state’s primary. Bordini said four other people had similar interactions with Phillip, but the campaign did nothing in response, the lawsuit said. | 1 |
6,743 | AZ Man Tries To Be A ‘Hero’ By Shooting At Shoplifters (VIDEO) | An Arizona gun nut has been charged with multiple crimes after he decided to shoot at two men who shoplifted some stuff from a Chandler, Arizona Walgreens location in March.According to John Haag, 25, he was at Walgreens when he saw two men running from the store. Haag asked the store employees if they d been robbed and they told him yes, so he decided to take the law into his own hands. Instead of calling the police like an intelligent human being, Haag got into his car and chased the suspected robbers. ABC15 news obtained a video that shows Haag pulling up to the U-Haul the men were driving and firing his gun at the vehicle. After shooting at the suspects, he drove away.According to officials, the people who Haag shot at weren t robbery suspects at all. Instead all they had done was shoplifted from the store. Police said that this crime would not justify the level of force used by a man who said he wanted to be a hero. Cops were able to find the idiot after he posted just witnessed a robbery at Walgreens again, this time, I had my gun true story on Facebook.Speaking to ABC15, Haag said: I feel I had good intentions. I meant the best. I meant to disable the vehicle. First of all, he completely missed the vehicle that he was firing at clearly he should not be shooting a weapon when his aim is that bad. Secondly, he discharged the firearm in the middle of traffic and that bullet could have ricocheted and killed someone. Haag went on to say that he thinks more people should try to be heroes: Most people are scared. Tons of people nowadays are in fear of what will happen to them and that s not cool. That s why we have more crime. He s right, I do fear what will happen to me, my family and my friends, but not because of shoplifters. I am way more concerned that I or someone I love is going to be killed by a dumbass like him who thinks it s okay to fire a gun in traffic. I worry that my son is going to be Second Amendmented to death by gun nuts. I worry about things like that because it is obvious that we have millions of gun owners in this country and many of them do not have the common sense given to a squirrel.Haag has been charged with aggravated assault, unlawful discharge of a firearm and drive-by shooting. Hopefully a judge rules that he can never own a gun again.Watch:Featured image via video screenshot | 0 |
6,744 | Trump's son clarifies 'gas chamber' comment after criticism | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Donald Trump Jr. sought on Thursday to clarify his remark that the media would be “warming up the gas chamber” if the Republican Party behaved the same way as the Democrats during the U.S. presidential campaign, saying it was a reference to capital punishment, not the Nazi-led Holocaust. Trump, the son of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, spoke to NBC News after the Anti-Defamation League, which combats anti-Semitism, asked him to retract his statement. “Trivialization of the Holocaust and gas chambers is NEVER okay,” the Anti-Defamation League tweeted. John Podesta, the chair of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s campaign, told reporters on a call that the wording of Trump’s remark was “extremely insensitive, divisive and probably pretty consistent with the kind of rhetoric he heard around the house when he was growing up.” “I think it’s never acceptable to use language like that,” Podesta added. Nazis used gas chambers during World War Two to kill millions of Jews imprisoned in European concentration camps. Trump made the “gas chamber” remark during an interview with a Philadelphia radio station on Thursday morning to explain how the media would react if the Republican Party had intervened in the nominating contest the way the Democratic Party has been accused of doing to benefit Clinton over former party rival U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders. “Without the media, this wouldn’t even be a contest, but the media has built her up, they’ve let her slide on every discrepancy, on every lie, on every DNC game, trying to get Bernie Sanders out of the thing,” Trump said. “If Republicans were doing that, they’d be warming up the gas chamber right now,” the nominee’s son added. Trump’s campaign said the uproar over the comment was another example of bias among the media covering the presidential campaign. “Don Jr. was clearly referring to capital punishment to make the case that the media continues to take words out of context in order to serve as the propaganda arm of the Hillary Clinton campaign,” Trump spokesman Jason Miller said in an email. | 1 |
6,745 | Syrian government to arrive in Geneva tomorrow for peace talks: SANA | BEIRUT (Reuters) - A Syrian government delegation will arrive in Geneva on Wednesday to attend peace talks this week, state news agency SANA said, quoting Syria s foreign affairs ministry. The delegation will be headed by Syria s U.N. ambassador and chief negotiator Bashar al-Ja afari, SANA said on Tuesday. The delegation had delayed its planned departure to the talks set to begin on Tuesday because of the opposition s insistence that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad step down. | 1 |
6,746 | “Just Drink A Bottle Of Gin And Waterboard Yourself,” Twitter Ex-CEO SLAMS Trump Meeting and Commentators GO WILD! | The former CEO of the President s favorite outlet just slammed him with a hard to ignore insult about what it s like to be in the same room with POTUS.Mega mogul Dick Costolo was invited to a meeting with leaders of Silicon Valley and some of the country s business bigwigs this week. He wasn t shy in his attempt to let the world know they can rest assured that they did not miss out on anything by not being at the meeting.If you don't get invited to this meeting and want to know what it was like, just drink a bottle of gin and then waterboard yourself. https://t.co/secLdw2Xjp dick costolo (@dickc) June 10, 2017Yowza!This definitely won t sit well with Twitter-happy, image-obsessed President Trump. The man spends hours a day obsessing over Costello s former company, even if its founders despise him.Trump won t address this major dis he never does when people he respects openly bash him. He just sulks, whines about bullshit, and then goes golfing. What a phony.Even though Trump himself won t respond to this super funny slam, the world of Twitter will keep us entertained with some AMAZING comments. Check out these gems:Photo by Michael Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images | 0 |
6,747 | Tillerson stresses diplomacy on North Korea amid threats: ABC | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Friday acknowledged that escalating tensions with North Korea were challenging but said diplomatic efforts will continue amid harsh rhetoric and threats of military confrontation. We are quite challenged but our diplomatic efforts continue unabated, Tillerson said in an interview with ABC. We have put in place the strongest economic sanctions ever to have been assembled against (North Korean leader) Kim Jong Un. So he is being tested with the sanctions, voices from every corner of the world. | 1 |
6,748 | GOP Senator DESPERATELY Worried About Trump’s Mental Stability; Texts CNN During Press Conference (VIDEO) | On Thursday afternoon, the world was treated to yet another Donald Trump press conference the topic of which was to announce his latest Labor Secretary pick. He did that, but he did so much more. Reporters are in shock. It was combative. It was bombastic. It was nuts, and not in the cute way. This is a man who s clearly not fit to be president of a PTA, let alone President of the United States.For the moment, though, he is President of the United States and even Republicans are secretly mortified at the prospect of having this insane monster at the helm for the next four years. One even texted CNN during the press conference, saying that Trump should see a therapist. I got a text from a couple of Democrats during the thing, who of course are not inclined to like him, King said Thursday, But I got a text from a Republican senator who said in this text, He should do this with a therapist, not on live television. How bad was it? Well, like most days since Trump was elected, he boasted about it and lied about the win. He complained about the media. He suggested that an African-American reporter is friends with the Congressional Black Caucus and should set up a meeting between Trump and the caucus. Here s a partial video:This Senator, who is remaining nameless, is not the first to suggest that Trump needs medical help. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) has gone so far as to require a mental health professional be on staff for the president. His disconnection from the truth is incredibly disturbing, he said. When you add on top of that his stifling of dissent, his attacks on the free press and his attacks on the legitimacy of judiciary, that then takes us down the road toward authoritarianism. That s why I ve concluded he is a danger to the republic. Source: CosmoAnd this was before today s press conference. The bill, if passed (it likely won t get through the GOP Congress) would not just be for Trump. It would be for all future presidents. First, though, we need to do something about the madman with access to the nuclear codes. We need to do it now. The anonymous Republican knows it. They all do.Featured image via Mario Tama/Getty Images | 0 |
6,749 | Voodoo Doughnut’s One-Of-A-Kind Dessert Is The PERFECT Mockery Of Ammon Bundy (IMAGE) | Voodoo Doughnut is a very unique dessert shop in Portland, Oregon. They have many one-of-a-kind desserts, in very creative designs. However, according to the one of shop s proprietors, Kenneth Cat Daddy Pogson, they usually stop short of engaging in political discourse via their dessert creations. But Pogson said they just couldn t resist when it came to the ridiculousness that was the Oregon militants engaged in a standoff with the authorities at the Malheur Wildlife Refuge in Harney County, Oregon.To that end, once the standoff was over and the group s leader, Ammon Bundy, was in custody, Pogson made his thoughts known in the way he usually does: with a unique doughnut depicting Ammon Bundy in a jail cell.via The Oregonian TwitterPogson revealed to The Oregonian his reasons for breaking his own rules regarding politics, saying: but this whole thing seemed like such a big deal with them taking public property, armed to the teeth, making a stand that they thought everyone would join. It was a debacle that was on everyone s mind, left or right. Once he heard Bundy had been arrested, he told his donut artist: I want a face behind bars and the words Welcome to Portland.' Welcome to Portland indeed. We re sure Ammon Bundy won t be getting any of Pogson s delicious doughnuts where he s going.Pogson also said that he wanted to make it clear that he was not mocking LaVoy Finicum, the vocal occupier at the refuge who perished in a shootout with police. Pogson said of Finicum: The death was senseless. I didn t want it to come off like I was ridiculing [Finicum]. He died for what he believed in. I don t believe in it. But I wanted to send this message. [Bundy] is no longer among his people. Now he s on the left coast. Likely, that s where Bundy will stay, as he should. Enjoy your time in prison, Mr. Bundy. The rest of Oregon will go on with their lives, and thanks to you, have a new doughnut to enjoy.Featured image via voodoodoughnut. com | 0 |
6,750 | ‘Dealmaker’ Trump LOST Votes When He Visited Congress To Beg Them To Pass His Healthcare Bill | Donald Trump is another step closer to suffering a major policy defeat, and that s good news for the Affordable Care Act.Trump and House Republicans have been pushing for passage of a bill they dubiously refer to as the American Healthcare Act, depsite the fact that s it not American nor is it healthcare.Indeed, the legislation is designed to kill the Affordable Care Act, which slowed the rising costs of health insurance premiums and extended healthcare coverage to tens of millions of Americans.If Republicans pass Trumpcare, millions of Americans will lose their coverage and the price of healthcare will skyrocket, especially among senior citizens.The Republican bill is a bad one, but Trump, who thinks it s wonderful, went to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to beg Republicans to pass it and threatened to punish any Republicans who vote against it.Several Republicans who attended the meeting told the Washington Post that Trump literally promised to come after them. I m gonna come after you, but I know I won t have to, because I know you ll vote yes, Trump said. Honestly, a loss is not acceptable, folks. But apparently, Trump s threats spectacularly backfired and his self-manufactured reputation as a dealmaker took a humiliating hit.Prior to the meeting, NBC had counted 17 Republicans who were leaning against the bill. After the meeting NBC counted 27, which means ten Republicans turned against Trump and his pathetic health care bill in a matter of hours.Republicans are hoping to bring the bill up for a vote on the House floor on Thursday, but it won t pass if GOP leadership can t keep the number of Republicans leaning against it under 22.This would be a humiliating defeat for Trump, especially after he has repeatedly hyped the bill on social media.On Wednesday morning, Trump bragged about the bill on Twitter again.Big day for healthcare. Working hard! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 22, 2017It s a big day alright. Will these 27 Republicans refuse to let Trump bully them into voting for a bad bill or will they stand their ground and kill it on behalf of the tens of millions of Americans who desperately need their healthcare coverage?If they stand their ground, Trump will be a loser, but the American people will win. And last time I checked, congressmen work for the people, not Trump.Featured image via Aude Guerrucci-Pool/Getty Images | 0 |
6,751 | Ted Cruz Refuses To Meet With TX Muslims Because He’s A Complete Jerk (AUDIO) | Ted Cruz just keeps proving that he does not legitimately want to be president at every chance he gets. The latest dumbassery from his campaign came when his national security advisor Frank Gaffney, started lobbying members of Congress to refuse to meet with the people participating in the National Muslim Advocates Day.NMAD is an event where Muslim-Americans across the nation go to Washington, D.C. to meet with their representatives in order to voice opinions on public policy, and to also make attempts at outreach from the Muslim-American community to help bridge some of the cultural gaps that have developed in America.Seems pretty reasonable, right? We keep hearing how Muslims don t do enough to combat the threat of Islamic extremism in the United States from literally every Republican. However, when Republicans get their chance to meet with Muslims and do something productive, they turn coward, run and hide.And people say they hate us for our freedom. Yeah right The U.S. Council of Muslim Organizations released the following statement, regarding Cruz s outright cowardice of both him and his campaign staff in meeting with them:This evening, representatives of the US Council of Muslim Organizations (USCMO), a coalition of leading national and local American Muslim groups, will hold a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., to condemn the refusal of GOP presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and his congressional staff to meet with Muslim constituents during today s second National Muslim Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill.Some 330 Muslim delegates from 28 states are meeting with a third of the House of Representatives and almost half of the Senate.Earlier today, 14 Texas Muslim delegates to the National Muslim Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill tried to meet with either Sen. Cruz or a member of his congressional staff, but were told no one would meet with them. The delegates had tried to arrange a meeting for several weeks prior to today s event.Source: Right Wing WatchSo, if Ted and his entire campaign parade of idiots are too frightened to actually meet with some regular Americans who happen to be Muslim, how will they EVER find the courage to fight ISIS? It s a question that needs an answer.Ted Cruz can t stop reminding us how he loves religious freedom and the Constitution. However, he condemns people for their choice of religion and denies them their right to petition their government, which just happens to be in the Constitution. It really makes you wonder if Ted even understands that he s running for president and not on a reality show.When Trump wins the nomination, and Republicans act surprised, they can look at their golden boy Cruz and remember they have nobody to blame but themselves for losing 2016.Listen to the Cruz campaign explain why America would be insane to vote for him below:[soundcloud url= https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/258517130 params= color=ff5500 width= 100% height= 166 iframe= true /] Featured image via Spencer Platt / Getty | 0 |
6,752 | Detained Ethiopian opposition chief bailed two years after protests: party | ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - An Ethiopian opposition leader was due to be released on bail almost two years after he was detained during mass protests over land rights, a member of his party said on Monday. Bekele Gerba, secretary general of the Oromo Federalist Congress, was arrested in December 2015 as activists stepped up demonstrations accusing the government of seizing their land and passing it on to firms and developers. Violence went on to spread across the Oromiya province that surrounds the capital Addis Ababa and is home to many foreign-owned businesses, drawn in by the government s industrialisation push. Bekele would walk free late Monday or early Tuesday after the high court granted him 30,000 birr ($1,110) bail, the party s current deputy leader, Mulatu Teshome, told Reuters. Bekele, who denies all wrongdoing, was initially charged with involvement in terrorism and collusion with the secessionist Oromo Liberation Front, which the government has branded a terrorist group. A court reduced those charges to inciting violence in August, but denied him bail then, as prosecutors said he would flee. Nearly 700 people died in one bout of unrest during months protests in 2015 and 2016, according to a parliament-mandated investigation. Rallies over land rights then broadened into demonstrations over political restrictions and perceived rights abuses, including the incarceration of Bekele and his colleagues. The party s chairman Merera Gudina remains behind bars since his arrest in December last year on charges of colluding with an outlawed group. The violence has fueled fears about security in Ethiopia, the region s biggest economy and a staunch Western ally. Last week, at least five people were killed in a town of Ambo after police opened fire during a protest over sugar shortages. A week before that, ethnic clashes killed at least 11 people in the same region, while another bout of violence along Oromiya s border with the country s Somali region last month displaced hundreds of thousands of people. | 1 |
6,753 | Trump Considering Incredibly Ironic Choice For Vatican Ambassadorship (DETAILS) | Another day in the Trump Administration means another day of sheer insanity.As Trump begins to name ambassadors to various positions across the globe, one sticks out above all: Callista Gingrich, wife of former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.Aside from having no diplomatic experience whatsoever, Gingrich is an interesting choice for her perspective position Ambassador to Holy See. Newt Gingrich confirmed to CNN that his wife was being considered and said if chosen, he would not be moving to Rome, but instead be clocking in a lot of miles between Italy and the United States.The Holy See, which is comprised of the Vatican and the Roman Catholic Church overall, is arguably one of the most important relationships between the United States and the western Judeo-Christian religious order.And in typical Trump form, he nominates someone who is the antithesis of what the position holds dear. Why? For starters, Callista Gingrich is an adulteress.Gingrich, who met her husband Newt when he was House Minority Whip, admitted to engaging in a six year extramarital affair while the Speaker was married to his second wife, Marianne Ginther.So not only is Callista Gingrich an adulteress, she is married to a twice-divorced adulterer, both of which are grave sins in the Roman Catholic Church.Gingrich and her husband are both staunch Catholics, and are allowed to receive communion, as Newt had his first two marriages annulled effectively absolving all wrongdoing in the eyes of God and the church.Still, the decision to hand Callista Gingrich the position of Ambassador to the Holy See is pathetic, given the many Catholic lawmakers and diplomats are currently and formally serving in Washington D.C. and have much more experience.There are currently 24 Catholic members of the Senate alone, including Republicans Pat Toomey, Lisa Murkowski, Marco Rubio, John Hoeven, Thom Tillis, Dan Sullivan, Mike Rounds and Susan Collins.Once again, Donald Trump is considering a joke to lead a very serious and very sacred position in American diplomacy. Why? Because he has favors to pay. Newt Gingrich was one of Trump s biggest mouthpieces throughout the campaign.This is what we call dynasty politics. This is what we call the swamp in Washington D.C. God help us (no pun intended) if Callista Gingrich is given this position.Featured image via Peter Marovich/Getty Images | 0 |
6,754 | Republican Senator Collins to vote for Senate tax bill: statement | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican Senator Susan Collins will vote for a Senate tax bill, her office said on Friday. Collins, who had been considered a possible “no” vote on the sweeping tax overhaul, said she would support the legislation “after securing significant changes,” her office said in a statement. Once the Senate passes the law, it must work with the House of Representatives, which already has approved its own tax bill, to craft a single measure that can pass both chambers and be sent to the White House for President Donald Trump’s signature. | 1 |
6,755 | le terrorisme régional protège israël | russia a screen grab from footage published by ruptly on october shows the launch of russias veliky novgorod superstealth dieselelectric submarine
russia has launched the latest addition to its series of superstealth dieselelectric submarines the veliky novgorod which sports advanced stealth technologies and increased combat range
the latest addition to the black sea fleet is capable of striking land sea and underwater targets and was officially launched from st petersburgs admiralty shipyard on wednesday in the presence of russian navy deputy commander viceadmiral aleksandr fedotenkov and admiralty shipyard ceo alexander buzakov
earlier this month buzakov had said that another varshavyankaclass submarine the kolpino would be launched in november a screen grab from footage published by ruptly on october shows the launch of russias veliky novgorod superstealth dieselelectric submarine
the state tests of the fifth varshavyankaclass submarine the veliky novgorod were successfully completed and on october it will be handed over to the black sea fleet the transfer of the sixth submarine the kolpino is underway scheduled to be completed on november he said
the submarines which are designed for antiship and antisubmarine operations in mid depth waters are capable of holding a crew of have a top underwater speed of knots and a cruising range of miles they can stay submerged for days and are armed with torpedoes and eight surfacetoair projectiles
part of russias black sea fleet is engaged in the battle against the daesh takfiri terrorist group in syria which has been hit by deadly militancy it blames on some western states and their regional allies loading | 1 |
6,756 | Hilarious Rare Video Shows How Hillary Prepared To Avoid A Trump Hug | By now, we re all aware of how Donald Trump repeatedly humiliates the nation with his handshake games. He awkwardly tugs people in some kind of attempted power play, holds on to their hands for far too long, and, in the most inhospitable move of all, attempts to give them unwanted hugs.Well, during the 2016 presidential campaign, it appears that Hillary Clinton s team had observed this bizarre behavior, and made sure that when she met Trump for debates, Hillary was ready to avoid the gross awkwardness of an unwanted Trump hug in front of millions of debate viewers.On Friday, longtime Clinton aide Phillip Reines released a rare clip from debate prep, in which he played Donald Trump. In the clip, Reines as Trump attempts to hug Hillary, and she runs away from him.While funny, it really does show just how bizarre Trump s behavior is, and it speaks to a larger issue with his mental state. Anyone who acts like that with people they are opposing politically, or worse, meeting for the purpose of diplomacy, has serious issues.We re not the only ones who think so, either. Just Google the videos of Trump s Oval Office meetings with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, or any other world leader Trump has behaved this way with. They all look either disgusted, alarmed, horrified, insulted, or some combination thereof. And of course, we can t leave out the reports that now-former FBI Director James Comey was, quote, disgusted with the forced half-hug Trump gave him for the cameras.Oh well, at least we get this bit of Hillary humor while we witness and live through what is easily the craziest, most bizarre presidency in the history of this great nation.Watch the video below:Not easy to avoid the unwanted Trump hug, sometimes it even takes practice A favorite moment from debate prep (9/24/16): pic.twitter.com/JAAHaqKFoa Philippe Reines (@PhilippeReines) May 19, 2017Featured image via Drew Angerer/Getty Images | 0 |
6,757 | WHY OBAMA’S LAWSUIT AGAINST NC Is Really About The Jack-Boot Of Government On America’s Throats | Obama is clearly attempting to strip Americans of our right to express our opinions on social issues based on our religion or morals. Americans have found themselves in a scary place, where we are remaining silent when we know we should be speaking out, because we re afraid of being shamed by the progressive Left. Meanwhile the Left continues to blur the lines of morality, hoping that they will erase all individual thought and speech.In a communist society, the individual s best interests are indistinguishable from the society s best interest. Thus, the idea of an individual freedom is incompatible with a communist ideology. The only reason to hold individual speech and information rights would be to better the society. Some of us care little about the debate over public bathrooms. We do, however, care about the ongoing destruction of federalism, individual choice, and good-faith debate.One reliable way to quash dissent and force moral codes on others is to liken your cause to that of the civil rights fight. Every liberal issue is situated somewhere on the great historical arc of equality and justice. If a person stands against even one of these causes which were once great but are increasingly trivial they have, according to the cultural imperialists of the Obama administration, aligned themselves with the Klan. Literally.After U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced that the Department of Justice had filed a federal lawsuit to stop North Carolina from passing a controversial law this is the go-to characterization of conservative bills that pass with healthy majorities requiring transgender people to use public bathrooms matching their birth certificate, she had this to say:This is not the first time that we have seen discriminatory responses to historic moments of progress for our nation. We saw it in the Jim Crow laws that followed the Emancipation Proclamation; we saw it in the fierce and widespread resistance to Brown v. Board of Education; and we saw it in the proliferation of state bans on same-sex unions that were intended to stifle any hope that gay and lesbian Americans might one day be afforded the right to marry.Likening a spat over biologically segregated boy/girl bathrooms to the genuine, violent, systematic, state-sponsored, society-wide bigotry that took place in this country for a century is both intellectually and morally corrupt. It s not all a continuum. Yet this administration peddles these kinds of risible comparisons in the cause of self-aggrandizement all the time. Hans Fiene has coined it Selma envy.The present situation is significantly different, and in every possible sense less dire. It is the sort of social problem generally worked out amongst people in this country without unelected civil rights commissions punishing business owners for thought crimes. Under North Carolina s law no one was stopping a private company or coffee shop or big box store from having any kind of bathroom set-up they desire. I m pretty sure most voters don t comprehend this fact when they hear the distorted coverage of these laws in the news.North Carolina and other states have preemptively moved forward with these kinds to bills to head off the state redefining gender. Too late. The fact is that the federal government can simply announce that a man can be a woman and vice versa if they choose. It then compels everyone in country to accept this reality. Yet there is no government definition of what transgendered means, other self-identification, which can mean anything. Civil Rights Division Chief Vanita Gupta says: Transgender men are men. Transgender women are women. So sayeth Vanita Gupta, so sayeth we all. Or else. And now 300 million people have adhere to the Obama administration s relativistic notions about nature and gender.Now, from what I can gather the central anxiety of many people is not that the transgendered will take advantage of their children, but that any man can simply declare himself a woman, put on a wig, and go into a public bathroom. Maybe it s an irrational fear, maybe it s not. As a father who s had to send young daughters into busy public bathrooms, I know one thing for sure: I could not care less what Vanita Gupta has to say on the topic.In a broader sense, the suit is symbolic of the federal government s eight-year crusade to decimate any semblance of federalism and streamline progressive morality. The administration ignores state laws that conflict with federal policy when it approves and it sues states when it does not. States that pass law enforcement bills President Obama finds unsatisfactory will see the full force of the Justice Department come down on them. Those with drug legalization laws and immigration laws he does like, even if they conflict with federal law, have nothing to worry about. Whether one agrees in theory with these moves and I am liberal on drug legalization and immigration allowing Washington to selectively enforce law conflicts with the kind of republicanism that allows us to be diverse and deal with unique problems locally.For entire story: The Federalist | 0 |
6,758 | GOP Columnist Bill Kristol Has The Goods On How Republicans REALLY Feel About Comey’s Testimony | The entire nation has been glued to the coverage of fired FBI Director James Comey s testimony all day. When it was finally over, pundits continued to pick it apart. Meanwhile, the Republican National Committee claimed victory for Donald Trump in the government s investigation into potential collusion between Team Trump and the Russians. Trump s own lawyer all but called James Comey a liar in a statement whose clear purpose was to discredit the testimony altogether. And perhaps most pathetically of all, House Speaker Paul Ryan tried to excuse Trump s inappropriate loyalty requests of Comey as sheer ignorance of how Washington works. All in all, the GOP message is one of nothing to see here, folks. Despite these bizarre public statements on the part of top Republicans, there is one prominent conservative who is willing to tell the truth about how the GOP is really feeling about the situation regarding Trump and the Russians. In short, they are shitting their pants. Conservative columnist and editor of the Weekly Standard Bill Kristol tweeted: I happen to have seen various GOP Senators this afternoon. Trust me: Basically, they re not just concerned. They re pretty terrified. I happen to have seen various GOP Senators this afternoon. Trust me: Basically, they're not just concerned. They're pretty terrified. https://t.co/WopZ2LiseR Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) June 8, 2017This tweet comes as a result of an article in Politico that referred to the Republican leadership s interest in what James Comey would be saying on Capitol Hill as a collective yawn. Since this wouldn t be the first time the GOP has sold their souls and lied through their teeth to cover for Trump, I am more inclined to believe Bill Kristol. Further, they know they cannot publicly criticize Trump or show any sort of wavering in their confidence in his innocence in this whole Russia mess without having Trump light them up on Twitter and having his fans come for them.So, in other words, this Russia stuff is getting so hot that even Republicans cannot privately deny it any longer. But, they ll never say a word in public against Trump, because they care more about saving their proverbial political asses than they do about this country.Featured image via Drew Angerer/Getty Images | 0 |
6,759 | Jeb Bush Cherishes A Secret Ambition — And No, It’s Not Being POTUS (VIDEO) | Jeb Bush was, once upon a time in a land far, far away, assumed to be the shoo-in for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination. Then, Donald Trump happened, and Jeb s dreams of presidential glory were crushed. In fact, Jeb s campaign is in such trouble now that he had to get his mommy to appear in a political ad reminding everyone that her son should be the GOP s annointed one, and that Trump is just a big bully.Well, it s a good thing that as Jeb s campaign circles the drain and dies, he has other dreams to fulfill. Bizarrely, it s to be a G-rated killer on the hit fictional drama about the U.S. government, Homeland.Apparently, the series The Circus caught Jeb admitting on camera that he d like nothing more than to kill people on television. The thing is, though, Trump is right about one thing. Jeb Bush is a lackluster dork who would be nothing more than a laughingstock on that series. In fact, he very presence would likely make it jump the shark. Nevertheless, it s highly entertaining to realize the revelation that acting in a television drama is the next best thing to really being POTUS in Jeb s feeble mind.Give it up, Jeb. You ll never appear on Homeland, and you ll never be POTUS. No worries, though. You have plenty of time and money. I m sure you ll find something constructive to do.Watch the video of Jeb s confession below:Featured image via video screen capture. | 0 |
6,760 | Woman who accused Bill Clinton of assault to campaign against Hillary presidential run | NEW YORK (Reuters) - One of the women who has accused former U.S. President Bill Clinton of sexual assault says she has agreed to work for an anti-Clinton political group being formed by a former advisor to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Kathleen Willey, a former White House volunteer who says Bill Clinton groped her in an Oval Office hallway in 1993 when she came to him tearfully seeking a paid job, said she had agreed to become a paid national spokeswoman for a group being created by Roger Stone. Stone, a Republican strategist, said the group would become active should Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton’s wife, win the Democratic nomination in the 2016 race for the White House. Clinton is currently the front runner. “This gives me more of an opportunity to get this message out to young voters who weren’t even born or don’t even remember what happened and to the women who have suffered,” Willey told Reuters. Willey said she will give interviews and speeches and appear in political advertisements to ensure the accusations remain part of the political discourse during the election campaign. “They’re going to be confronted every day, on radio, on television, on billboards,” Stone told Reuters, referring to the Clintons. He said he had reached a verbal agreement with Willey but cautioned that the group was still in the planning stages. Spokesmen for Hillary and Bill Clinton did not respond to questions about Willey. Stone’s political action committee, which can raise virtually unlimited funds to advocate for or against candidates, was originally created last year under the name Women Against Hillary. It was renamed in January as the Rape Accountability Project for Education PAC, or RAPE PAC. In a 1998 deposition, Clinton “emphatically” denied Willey’s accusation he groped her, describing her as having “been through a lot” in reference to her family’s financial woes and her husband’s suicide on the day Willey says her encounter with Clinton happened. Clinton has admitted having extra-marital affairs with two other women: Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern, and Gennifer Flowers, a singer and actor from his home state of Arkansas, but he and his lawyers have said accusations by other women are false. It’s not clear whether Stone’s group will resonate with voters. A Reuters/Ipsos poll in January found that a majority of the public, including 68 percent of Democrats and 50 percent of Republicans, thought that Bill Clinton’s past sexual misconduct “made no difference” in the current race. Among women, 56 percent said it did not matter, while another 21 percent said it would hurt Hillary Clinton’s chances of winning the election. Several Republican candidates, particularly Trump, have reminded voters of the allegations while campaigning. The Clintons and their staff have dismissed this as dirty politics. Hillary Clinton’s decision to advocate for victims of sexual assault has persuaded some of her husband’s other accusers, including Juanita Broaddrick and Paula Jones McFadden, to wade into the political season. Broaddrick and Willey say that Clinton, who has said victims of sexual assault have the “right to be believed,” is being hypocritical by doubting her husband’s accusers. When asked about the accusations by Broaddrick, Jones McFadden and Willey at a campaign event in New Hampshire in December, Hillary Clinton replied that people who say they were sexually assaulted should be “believed at first until they are disbelieved based on evidence.” Stone released a book last year called “The Clintons’ War on Women,” for which Willey wrote the foreword. After leaving Trump’s campaign, Stone created a pro-Trump political action committee, the Committee to Restore America’s Greatness. He says he remains friendly with Trump. Trump himself, angered at Hillary Clinton calling him sexist, described Bill Clinton as “one of the great women abusers of all time” and Hillary Clinton his “enabler” at a campaign event last month. A spokeswoman for Trump, who is barred by Federal Election Commission rules from coordinating with super PACs, did not respond to questions. Stone has also helped to set up an online fundraising page to help raise money to pay for Willey’s mortgage, he said. She said she has been in financial difficult since her husband’s suicide and is facing foreclosure on her Virginia home this month. (Reporting by Jonathan Allen, editing by Ross Colvin) 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 |
6,761 | Congresswoman Brings The Bullet That Almost Killed Her During Historic Sit-In | Here s something a lot of people may not know: a current member of Congress was a victim of a mass shooting.California Rep. Jackie Speier, a progressive Democrat, brought a unique perspective to the historic House sit-in initiated by civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis. As members of the House read the stories and names of countless victims of gun violence, Congresswoman Speier told her own story, a story that would shake anyone to their core.But with her speech, she also brought something special with her on the House floor: the bullet the almost killed her.In 1978, Speier, at that time a Congressional aide to Rep. Leo Ryan, accompanied the Congressman and several others to Jonestown to investigate human rights abuses at the hands of cult leader Jim Jones. Upon leaving the encampment, Speier and the others were ambushed in a guerilla attack from members of the cult. Congressman Ryan was killed, along with five others, and Speier was shot five times. She waited 22 hours for help to arrive.This issue was so personal to the Congresswoman that she flew back to D.C. from California just to be in solidarity with her colleagues and the thousands of victims all across the country. Holding up the bullet, still in its FBI evidence bag, Congresswoman Speier laid out just how personal and important this fight is not just for her, but for everyone who has ever been a victim of gun violence:This was taken from my body. Five bullets ripped through my body. I can t begin to tell you what that is like. I can tell you what it s like to live with a disfigured body the rest of your life. I can tell you that this dumdum and my disfigured body are things that remind me each and everyday why what do here now is so important. We cannot continue as business as usual.The Congresswoman, who keeps the bullet in her drawer, has never showed the public before. The act drew gasps from her colleagues, but praise for her act of courage.While Republicans went and smoked cigars, Democrats stood up, and some relived tragedy, like Speier and Rep. Debbie Dingell, a victim of domestic abuse with a gun. The House sit in sums up perfectly the old saying: a liberal says This should never happen to anyone, and that s why I care. A conservative says, This hasn t happened to me, so I don t care. Speier lived through the most horrific tragedy, and that s why she cares. Thank you, Congresswoman.Featured image via Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images | 0 |
6,762 | Cop Shares Racist Meme About Michelle Obama; Now That Cop Is Having A VERY Bad Day (IMAGES) | After the election of Donald Trump many folks seem to see it as a permission slip to be as racist and vile as possible. However, here s the thing, you re still going to get called out as racist and vile. And one Alabama police officer just found this out the hard way.According to the Washington Post: Talladega Police Officer Joel Husk was terminated Wednesday for violating the department s social media and code of conduct policies, City Manager Patrick Bryant said. What did he do? So glad you asked: Husk had posted several memes on his Facebook page, including one showing Obama and Melania Trump. Fluent in Slovenian, English, French, Serbian, and German, it said over Trump s photo. Over Obama s, it read: Fluent in Ghetto. Not only that, he posted several extraordinarily racist memes:via Washington Postvia Washington PostAccording to the City Manager, the statements were deemed to be biased or racially insensitive or derogatory and because of that, they have to take action to correct it. If you re going to be a police officer and serve all the public, you can t assume black people standing up for their rights are equivalent to the KKK. That s about the most horrific equivalence imaginable.Also, according to WaPo: Husk, 37, who had been with the department for about two and a half years, had also shared a meme showing President Obama with the words: Was Dallas a terrorist attack? Yes! Carried out by Obama s own homegrown terrorist group! Which is a blatant lie and anyone who were to feel that way belongs nowhere near law enforcement. The city took the proper action letting this racist cop go, and hopefully it will be an example to police departments all over the country that this sort of behavior simply cannot be tolerated.Trump s election must not be allowed to serve as a permission slip to bigots everywhere that it s fine to be as awful as possible, because here in the land of the free and the home of the brave, everyone is protected. Everyone, regardless of color, class, gender, sexual orientation, or creed.Featured Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images | 0 |
6,763 | From life as thugs to baking, El Salvador's ex-gang members seek peace | SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - Gang life in the poor Central American country of El Salvador is hard, but for a dozen former members of the feared 18th Street Gang, building a new life outside is no less difficult. Wilfredo Gomez, 40, joined a gang as an adolescent in Los Angeles, the U.S. city to which his parents emigrated. He said he was enticed by the guns, the girls and the camaraderie of gang life. He wound up in jail before being deported back to his native country. With few links to El Salvador, he quickly returned to gang life. A 10-year jail sentence for stealing an Uzi submachine gun gave him time to reckon with his choices. Returning to civil society is arduous in the midst of the government s militarized battle against the maras, which has led to claims of rights abuses and, according to police, an average daily tally of 16 dead. Former gang members often struggle to find lodging and work, and may be rejected by their families. For Gomez and 12 other ex-gangsters, the Eben-Ezer evangelical church in the gang-ridden neighborhood of Dina in San Salvador, the capital, has been a lifeline, offering food, accommodations, and a spiritual second chance. I ve only had losses being part of the gang, Gomez said. I haven t won anything. I lost my youth, which was spent in jail. I lost my family due to my bad decisions. I lost my home, my woman, my son, and I lost the best years of my life due to a pointless ideology. Gomez now runs a bakery that employs 10 other former gang members. Now, my fun, my enjoyment, is to see them smile, to have dreams, Gomez said. They say they re going to open a bigger bakery, and that one day we ll have our own store and compete against Pizza Hut. Rejected by a society weary of violence, they nonetheless struggle to eradicate the stain of gang life. In October, police went to the bakery and stripped the employees to expose their gang tattoos. They were arrested on suspicion of illicit association, a crime that carries a 5-year sentence. A week later, they were released without charges. Once known as The Shadow, Raul Valladares, 34, is undergoing a painful process to remove tattoos from his face and arms. He has received death threats from his former gang associates because removing gang insignia is punishable by death. It s definitely cost me a lot to leave the gang, he said. But I m fighting to keep going. Related photo essay at reut.rs/2j5X7Oj | 1 |
6,764 | reality slaps donald trump in the face as us economy roars back | by sarah jones on tue nov st at am the united states district court in new jersey ordered discovery on donald trump and the rncs poll monitoring efforts with a hearing on november th just days before the november th election share on twitter print this post
republicans are being ordered to explain their comments that they will be monitoring the polls for voter fraud
the united states district court in new jersey ordered discovery on donald trump and the rncs poll monitoring efforts with a hearing on november th just days before the november th election
the order demands affidavits from several parties including from someone with personal knowledge about the defendants rncs efforts with the trump campaign to monitor precincts around the country as indicated by kellyanne conway
affidavits are also demanded from several republican operatives in various states who are said to be conducting state wide voter fraud monitoring and poll monitoring such as rnc member rob gleasons efforts to recruit persons to act as poll watchers in philadelphia pennsylvania and rnc member ronna romney mcdaniels efforts in michigan to prepare a massive statewide antivoter fraud effort
the rnc must also answer for governor mike pences comments that the trump campaign is working with state governments and secretaries of state to ensure ballot integrity
this is what happens when you have zero regard for election law and try to go vigilante
rick hasen at election law blog noted that the discovery granted is pretty broad pretty broad discovery required in short order with hearing on november
however the judge rejected much of the discovery sought by the dnc given the time frame but this should alone should be pretty educational on what efforts are actually going on behind the scenes
the dnc filed a lawsuit against the republican national committee for violating a court order intended to prevent voter intimidation over donald trumps claims that the election is rigged and that his supporters need to go to the polls to intimidate voters
donald trumps urging that his supporters go to polling places other than their own often in urban areas to watch voters is a clear violation of the consent decree and the court isnt likely to stand for it
so now discovery has been courtordered which is just more bad news for republicans who are already facing an uphill battle in their bid for the white house
its exceptionally unpatriotic to try to intimidate fellow citizens from exercising their right to vote everyone has the right to vote free of intimidation dont let anyone dissuade you from voting
the full court ruling is available here | 1 |
6,765 | Venezuela's Maduro offers to help Trump fight drugs | CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whose top political allies have been accused by Washington of dealing in illegal narcotics, on Friday offered to help U.S. President Donald Trump in fighting the drug trade. Top Venezuelan officials including Vice President Tareck El Aissami and Interior Minister Nestor Reverol have been blacklisted by the U.S. Treasury on allegations they have helped move drugs from neighboring Colombia into North America. Maduro calls those charges a smear campaign, and insists that the United States must do more to reduce drug consumption. President Trump, if you really want to fight drug trafficking that has destroyed U.S. youth and filled the country with drugs from Colombia, you have an ally in me, Maduro said in a televised broadcast. Come find out about our experience, we can join forces. He did not provide further details. Maduro has repeatedly excoriated Trump for sanctions against Venezuela, which range from restrictions on U.S. banks buying newly issued debt to barring American citizens from having any dealings with specific individuals in his government. The Trump administration slammed Maduro s decision to create an all-powerful legislature called the Constituent Assembly in August. The opposition and the international community decried that move as the consolidation of a dictatorship. Maduro, who is himself under U.S. sanction, has in the past requested meetings with Trump. The White House responded to one such entreaty this year by saying it will meet with Venezuela s president when the country returns to democracy. | 1 |
6,766 | Spain passes law to make it easier for companies to move around country | MADRID (Reuters) - Spain s government on Friday passed a law to make it easier for companies to move their operations around the country just as some businesses consider leaving the region of Catalonia amid a rising conflict over a plan for independence. The new law loosens the bureaucratic red tape needed for a company s board to take the decision to move the company s base, unless the group s statutes expressly say otherwise, the government said in a statement. The law had been discussed with the opposition political parties, the Socialists and business-friendly Ciudadanos, Economy Minister Luis de Guindos said in the press conference following the weekly cabinet meeting. | 1 |
6,767 | Syria army, U.S.-backed forces converge on Islamic State in separate offensives | BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian government forces and U.S.-backed militias converged on Islamic State in separate offensives against the militants in the eastern Syrian province of Deir al-Zor on Sunday. The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces alliance of mostly Kurdish and Arab militias (SDF) said it had reached Deir al-Zor s industrial zone, just a few miles to the east of the city after launching operations in the area in recent days. The Syrian army and its allies, backed by Iran and by Russian air cover, meanwhile advanced from the west to seize full control of the Deir al-Zor-Damascus highway, a Hezbollah-run media unit reported. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said at least 17 civilians had been killed by Russian air strikes in Deir al-Zor on Sunday. The attacks squeezed Islamic State in its last major Syria stronghold in areas near the border with Iraq. The group has come under pressure since losing its de facto capital Mosul in Iraq this year and is surrounded by the SDF in Raqqa, its former Syria bastion. The jihadist group still holds much of Deir al-Zor province and half the city, as well as a pocket of territory near Homs and Hama further west, however, and is mounting counter-attacks. Sunday s advances mean that U.S.-backed forces and the Syrian government side, boosted by Russian military support, are separated only by about 15 km (10 miles) of ground and the Euphrates River in Deir al-Zor. Much of northeast Syria to the east of the Euphrates is held by the SDF, which is dominated by the Kurdish YPG militia. The Syrian government and its allies are increasingly capturing the remaining areas Islamic State holds to its west. Government troops linked up with forces already in Deir al-Zor at the Panorama entrance to the city, bringing the whole road under their control for the first time in years, the Hezbollah media unit reported. The Syrian army and its Iran-backed allies, which include Lebanese Hezbollah, this week broke a three-year siege by the jihadists of a government-held enclave in Deir al-Zor and an adjacent air base. Syrian state TV broadcast footage of Syrian officers who had been holed up in Deir al-Zor emotionally greeting their superiors after being surrounded by IS since 2014. The United Nations estimates that some 93,000 people were living in extremely difficult conditions in government-held parts of Deir al-Zor, supplied by air drops to the air base. Syrian government forces and their allies have been able to turn their attention to the fight against Islamic State in eastern Syria after recapturing many areas in the west from rebels. The SDF on Saturday announced an operation to capture northern and eastern parts of Deir al-Zor province and staged attacks from the northern countryside and southern Hasaka, which is under YPG control. The SDF, backed by U.S.-led air strikes and special forces on the ground, has captured most of Raqqa, upstream along the Euphrates, from Islamic State. Islamic State has lost nearly half of its territory across both Iraq and Syria, but still has 6,000-8,000 fighters left in Syria, the U.S.-led coalition has said. The forces leading the SDF s operation in Deir al-Zor say they do not expect clashes with Syrian government forces, but will respond if they come under fire. Syria s crowded battleground has shown the risks of escalation between world powers militarily involved in the six-year-old Syrian conflict. In June a U.S. warplane shot down a Syrian army jet near Raqqa in and the SDF accused the Syrian government of bombing its positions, raising tension between Washington and Moscow. The Cold War foes have also engaged over Syria, however, including setting up communication channels for flight safety in Syrian airspace. Both countries say the priority in Syria is to defeat Islamic State. Rounds of Syria talks between world powers have increasingly focused on Islamic State. Negotiations where Syria s opposition has repeatedly called for the removal of President Bashar al-Assad have failed to bring an end to the conflict. | 1 |
6,768 | Britain expresses grave concerns over arrest of Reuters journalists in Myanmar | LONDON (Reuters) - Britain has expressed grave concerns to the government of Myanmar over the arrest of two Reuters journalists, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said on Thursday. Myanmar s Ministry of Information said in a statement on Wednesday that the journalists and two policemen faced charges under the British colonial-era Official Secrets Act. The 1923 law carries a maximum prison sentence of 14 years. We have already expressed our grave concerns to the Burmese government, Johnson told reporters in London. We are committed to freedom of speech and people s ability to report the facts and bring into the public domain what is happening in Rakhine state, he said. | 1 |
6,769 | EU talks going well, but there's too much gloom: UK's foreign minister | MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) - British foreign minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday negotiations to leave the European Union were going well but there was too much gloom attached to Brexit. At the Conservative Party s annual conference, Johnson said that, while trade deals with other countries might take time to negotiate, there would be loads of them done before the next British election, due in 2022. Johnson also told a meeting on the sidelines of the conference that Britain would want to do things differently to the EU in certain areas, such as data and bio-science. | 1 |
6,770 | Somalia sacks police, security bosses after deadly bombing | MOGADISHU (Reuters) - The heads of Somalia s police and national security have been sacked after a bombing targeting a hotel in the country s capital claimed at least 29 lives, state radio reported on its website on Sunday. Somalia s police commander General Abdihakin Dahir Saiid and director general of the National Intelligence Security Agency (NISA), Abdullahi Mohamed Ali, have now been sacked after a cabinet meeting, state radio reported. | 1 |
6,771 | clintons most emailed aid in the us state department jake sullivan used personal email to talk with clinton about bringing down libya | isaac davis
the months long dakota access keystone xl pipleine protest at the standing rock indian reservation by native americans and those sympathetic to protection of our water supply have been met with a heavyhanded and brutal clamp down by police and national guard militarized goons in battle dress have stormed protector camps with lrad sonic weapons attack dogs tear gas tazers and even live ammunition killing horses while politicians and mainstream media do their best to ignore this growing atrocity hoping to wait it out until the protestors give up
but as the saying goes water is life and the issue of life and death is at the root of this protection movement therefore for people concerned with life giving up on this is simply unthinkable the root issue justifying state oppression of the protest is capitalism and the perception that money is more important than life itself when the police and national guard attack us citizens on private property to protect corporate interests who are they really working for
the corporate dream of the keystone xl pipeline is to create a profit stream for a small number of people at the expense of the natural world and anyone in the way at the top of this pyramid of profit is texas billionaire kelcy warren ceo of energy transfer partners the company responsible for the project
so who is kelcy warren
a native of east texas and graduate of the university of texas at arlington with a degree in civil engineering warren worked in the natural gas industry and became cochair of energy transfer equity in with business partner ray davis coowner of the texas rangers baseball team warren built energy transfer equity into one of the nations largest pipeline companies which now owns about miles of pipelines carrying natural gas natural gas liquids refined products and crude oil the companys holdings include sunoco southern union and regency energy partners
forbes estimates the yearold warrens personal wealth at billion bloomberg described him as among americas new shale tycoons but rather than building a fortune by drilling he takes the stuff others pull from underground and moves it from one place to another chilling boiling pressurizing and processing it until its worth more than when it burst from the wellhead source
shockingly in the governor of texas greg abbott appointed warren to the texas parks and wildlife commission which is an insult to environmentalists working to protect big bend national park and surrounding sacred tribal lands from another million pipeline project
according to the governors office the state parks and wildlife commission manages and conserves the natural and cultural resources of texas along with ensuring the future of hunting fishing and outdoor recreation opportunities for texans source
this glaring conflict of interest has inspired environmental science major at utsa and former texas state park ambassador andrew lucas to begin a drive to have warren removed from this environmental post his petition is described here
most people may know kelcy warren as the man behind the controversial dakota access pipeline the dallasbased billionaire and ceo of energy transfer partners has been making headlines for fasttracking a mile crude oil pipeline across the midwest and under the missouri river just north of the standing rock sioux reservation no environmental impact assessment no respect for cultural sites and no regard for the local and widespread communities living along the river a similar story is unfolding out in west texas where warrens company has split through the pristine big bend region with the mile comanche trail pipeline and nearlycomplete mile trans pecos pipeline these pipelines mark the way for massive natural gas and oil developments in the trans pecos region
with untold damages unfolding for cultural and environmental resources at the hands of energy transfer partners it would surprise most to know that nearly a year ago texas governor greg abbott appointed kelcy warren for a year term as of the commissioners who preside over texas parks and wildlife why probably the in campaign contributions abbott received from warren
footage of militarized police using the long range acoustic device lrad crowd control weapon against protectors at standing rock on october th final thoughts
warren is listed as number on forbes list of wealthiest americans with an estimated net worth of billion in september of he is the head of the dakota access pipeline snake
if you are scratching your head wondering why militarized police and private security contractors are beating gassing and attacking peaceful resistors including women children and the elderly the answer is they are doing it to protect the interests of kelcy warren and others invested in this pipeline project read more articles by isaac davis
isaac davis is a staff writer for wakingtimescom and offgridoutpostcom survival tips blog he is an outspoken advocate of liberty and of a voluntary society he is an avid reader of history and passionate about becoming selfsufficient to break free of the control matrix follow him on facebook here this article this is the man militarized police at standing rock are working for was originally created and published by waking times and is published here under a creative commons license with attribution to isaac davis and wakingtimescom it may be reposted freely with proper attribution author bio and this copyright statement dont | 0 |
6,772 | German justice ministry urges ban on Kuwait Airways over Israel issue | BERLIN (Reuters) - The German government should revoke landing rights for Kuwait Airways given its ban on Israeli passengers, a senior Justice Department official said on Friday, saying such discrimination was intolerable. Christian Lange, parliamentary state secretary in the ministry, appealed to Chancellor Angela Merkel to personally advocate a ban on Kuwait Airways operations in Germany. A German court ruled on Thursday that the airline had the right to refuse to carry an Israeli passenger due to his nationality, a verdict that Jewish groups said condoned anti-Semitism. Lange told Merkel in the letter that he had received countless phone calls from members of the Jewish community and from others in Israel, expressing shock about the court ruling, made just days after Germany solemnly marked the anniversary of the Nov. 9, 1938 Nazi pogroms against the Jews. We cannot say Never again at a remembrance ceremony, but then remain silent when activists in Germany call for a boycott of Israel, or, as in this case, when an airline refuses to carry Israeli citizens, Lange said. Especially the German government must make clear that we reject this form of discrimination and hate, and that we stand by the side of our Israeli friends, he told the chancellor. The Lawfare Project, the legal group that represented the plaintiff in the case, has vowed to appeal against the ruling. To see a Jewish person banned from exercising his freedoms in Germany in 2017 is chilling enough. To see that discrimination whitewashed and legitimized by a German judge is grotesque, said the group s executive director, Brooke Goldstein. Deputy German Foreign Minister Michael Roth also criticized the airline s policy, telling Die Welt newspaper that he had contacted the Kuwaiti ambassador in Germany about the issue. German Transport Minister Christian Schmidt told Bild newspaper that it was not acceptable to discriminate against airline passengers because of their nationality, and said the German government would address the matter with the Kuwaiti government. This requires contacts at the ministerial level, Schmidt told the newspaper in an interview to be published on Saturday. We will do all we can within our legal means to prevent something like this in the future, Schmidt told the paper. There was no immediate response to a request for comment emailed to the airline. | 1 |
6,773 | Obama Just CRUSHED Trump’s Delusional Claim That He Ordered Trump Tower’s ‘Wires Tapped’ | Real-life Saturday morning cartoon villain Donald Trump kicked off his day with a delusional rant about President Obama. In what appears to be a effort to shift focus away from the fact that his administration has more ties to Russia than a Moscow bondage club by leveling some rather interesting accusations at the right wing s favored bogeyman. Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my wires tapped in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism! Trump tweeted after reading that it s totally true on white supremacist propaganda mill Breitbart. Is it legal for a sitting President to be wire tapping a race for president prior to an election? Turned down by court earlier. A NEW LOW! I d bet a good lawyer could make a great case out of the fact that President Obama was tapping my phones in October, just prior to Election! said Trump, adding that this is Nixon/Watergate. While he is correct that this will end for him very much like Watergate did for Nixon, it seems that he might not want to advertise that he was tapped. Congressman Ted Lieu of California pointed out via Twitter:Mr. President: If there was a wiretap at Trump Tower, that means a fed judge found probable cause of crime which means you are in deep shit. https://t.co/i7dUMtHXmo Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) March 4, 2017Shortly after, President Obama responded to Trump s asinine claim via spokesman Kevin Lewis: A cardinal rule of the Obama Administration was that no White House official ever interfered with any independent investigation led by the Department of Justice. As part of that practice, neither President Obama nor any White House official ever ordered surveillance on any U.S. citizen. Any suggestion otherwise is simply false. Earlier Saturday, Obama s former deputy national security adviser, Ben Rhodes pointed out that even if our last legitimate President wanted to he could not order wiretaps of citizens:No President can order a wiretap. Those restrictions were put in place to protect citizens from people like you. https://t.co/lEVscjkzSw Ben Rhodes (@brhodes) March 4, 2017Trump is really worried about something. Whatever could it be?Featured image via screengrab | 0 |
6,774 | The Absolutely Cringeworthy Moment Trump Tried Flirting With An Irish Reporter (VIDEO) | Donald Trump was in a room full of Irish reporters while placing a call to their newly elected Irish leader Leo Varadkar when Irish reporter Caitriona Perry seems to have caught his eye. What followed was awkward for everybody in the room, especially the deeply confused reporter.Despite being married to his third wife and at that very moment awaiting a phone call with world leader, Trump decided it would be a good time to flirt with Perry. First, picking her out of the sea of reporters, he tells her to come closer. Then he asks what outlet she works for, and while she answers, he talks over her saying we have beautiful Irish press. When the moment descends into awkward silence, Trump tells her she has a nice smile. Perry laughs uncomfortably. The rest of us cringe.On Twitter, Perry herself posted the video, describing it as a bizarre moment. Video of the bizarre moment when President @realDonaldTrump called me over during his call with Taoiseach @campaignforLeo Varadkar. @rtenews pic.twitter.com/TMl2SFQaji Caitriona Perry (@CaitrionaPerry) June 27, 2017Sadly, for Americans, the moment is painfully real. Trump, by his own admission, boasted that he likes exploiting his celebrity status to come on to women even if they say no. Shortly before the election, over a dozen women came forward to describe times he inappropriately touched or harassed them.Trump has also been known to target reporters with sexual advances. During the election, People magazine reporter Natasha Stoynoff documented the time she says Trump assaulted her while his wife was in the house.Since the election, many of the people who voted for him despite the allegations justified doing so by saying his alleged victims were making it all up. But his continued behavior is troubling. To watch Trump come on to Perry so brazenly only seems to reinforce the idea that he has crossed the line with other women. The cameras were rolling, there was a room full of people, and this is how he behaves?Featured image via Twitter | 0 |
6,775 | congressmen turned radio host joe walsh recklessly talks muskets if trump loses | gov bill weld encourges supporters to stop trump page statement by gov bill weld this is basically a backwards endorsement of hillary against that backdrop i would like to address myself to all those in the electorate who remain torn between two socalled major party candidates whom they cannot enthusiastically support im speaking particularly to those republicans who feel that our president should exhibit commonly accepted standards of decency and discipline snip after careful observation and reflection i have come to believe that donald trump if elected president of the united states would not be able to stand up to this pressure and this criticism without becoming unhinged and unable to perform competently the duties of his office i wonder what effect this will have on libertarian party members if any i think its unfortunate that people are feeling forced to support hillary in order to stop trump trump supporters need to take a long hard look in the mirror and realize that such a repulsive person a man some voted for just for the lulz has ensured a clinton presidency you didnt stand up to the establishment you sent people fleeing to it a reply to kali check out the pretend libertarian if i were libertarian id be ticked off heres part of my supposed ticket endorsing one of the least libertarian candidates ever by making a fear play what a bunch of doo doo feces this thread is so voting for trump isnt standing up to the establisment have you not watched veritas have you not read anything from wikileaks at this point im completely convinced if hillary wins this election every women in america will be wearing a hijab within her presidency the draft will make a return because we will be at war with russia and china ok trump isnt a politician and at this point i dont think thats what we need being president doesnt mean you have to be involved in politics your whole life president of the us should be someone who has the values of america instilled in their heart they should have america first mentality hillary wants a increase in muslim refugees the same ones murdering and raping women throughout europe the same ones who think because a woman isnt islamic they can do whatever they want to them hillary wants amnesty and open borders great so lots more columbian drug lords sending people over our border i want to feel safe in my own country thats all i want not fancy tax plans free college more jobs trump makes me feel safe | 0 |
6,776 | SPOT ON! MARK STEYN Delivers A Dire Warning To The Never Trump Folks | Hillary is the embodiment of corruption and therefore the death of the republic said author and political commentator Mark SteynThe brilliant Mark Steyn is always spot on in his commentary. He s one of our favorite political commentators. He sent a message to anyone even remotely considering voting for Hillary and it s a perfect assessment of what will happen if Hillary becomes president. Author and political commentator Mark Steyn is warning that a Hillary Clinton presidency would mark the beginning of the end of the republic. This is insane, Steyn said Monday. The Hillary Rodham Clinton presidency will be the death of the republic and the complete descent into banana republic status. His remarks came as he sat in for talk radio host Rush Limbaugh. He started first by excoriating the Clinton Foundation, which he said is a none-too-subtle slush fund by which the wealthy can access power and exert their influence. It s corrupt. It s stingily corrupt, it s obviously corrupt, he said. Hillary is the embodiment of corruption and therefore the death of the republic. To decide someone on the take from Saudi princes, someone s whose managed to deliver 20 percent of U.S. uranium into control of the Russians, someone whose husband has been credibly accused of rape and flies around with a known pedophile, and yet Hillary to these guys is who they re going to be supporting in November, he added.He also criticized conservatives, including P.J. O Rourke, who ve said they would likely vote for Clinton over presumed GOP nominee Donald Trump.Via: WE | 0 |
6,777 | Trump’s Klan Endorsement Generates Epic Newspaper Front Page (IMAGE) | The NY Daily News, one of the tabloid newspapers that also happens to be a hometown publication for Donald Trump, has produced another cover mocking the fascist billionaire.Appearing on the front of Friday s newspaper is a Ku Klux Klansman in full dress, announcing an endorsement of Trump s presidential career.An early look at tomorrow's front page:TRUMP FOR PREZ Ex-KKK leader: Donald just like us! https://t.co/kVep9MWIZz pic.twitter.com/ls4iIFxlsn New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) February 26, 2016The cover is a reference to the announcement from infamous former KKK leader David Duke that he is fully backing Trump s campaign. Duke told listeners to his underground radio show that it is the duty of white supremacists to vote for the current Republican presidential front runner. Voting for these people, voting against Donald Trump at this point, is really treason to your heritage, Duke said on the David Duke Radio Program. BuzzFeed News first reported the comments. I m not saying I endorse everything about Trump. In fact, I haven t formally endorsed him. But I do support his candidacy, and I support voting for him as a strategic action. I hope he does everything we hope he will do. Duke also told his fellow white supremacists that they need to go out and volunteer for Trump, noting: And I am telling you that it is your job now to get active. Get off your duff. Get off your rear end that s getting fatter and fatter for many of you everyday on your chairs. When this show s over, go out, call the Republican Party, but call Donald Trump s headquarters, volunteer. Trump has consistently appealed to bigotry in his campaign. He first launched his effort by calling Mexicans rapists, then proceeded to advocate for registering Muslims and barring them from entering the United States. Trump himself has also been caught several times using his Twitter account to amplify the messages of white supremacists and other racists, who are loudly backing his campaign online and attacking his critics.Featured image via Flickr | 0 |
6,778 | France defends Iran nuclear deal, which Trump calls deeply flawed | UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - France made a new plea on Monday for the United States to preserve the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and suggested its provisions expiring after a decade could be strengthened, as U.S. President Donald Trump again criticized the agreement as “deeply flawed.” The pact between Tehran and six world powers, which calls for Iran to curb its nuclear program in return for relief from economic sanctions, is under threat as Trump must decide by Oct. 15 whether to certify Iran is keeping its end of the bargain. If Trump, who as recently as Thursday accused Iran of violating “the spirit” of the deal, chooses not to certify, the pact could unravel, possibly triggering a regional arms race. The Republican president, who has called the agreement struck under his Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama, “the worst deal ever negotiated,” made no secret of his views during a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron. “The president believes that the JCPOA is deeply flawed, and he did share his views with President Macron about how he believes the deal is flawed,” Brian Hook, director of policy planning at the U.S. State Department, told reporters. The pact is formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. “The president was very candid with him about what he thinks are the shortcomings. ... He told him that it is under review and that they are taking a hard look at the Oct. 15th decision and more broadly how to fix the Iran deal,” Hook said. Hook said the two also discussed an integrated strategy against Iran that would take into account what he described as Iran’s support for terrorism, its ballistic missile program, its destabilization in the Middle East and other aggressions. Asked if he planned to stick with the pact, Trump earlier told reporters as he began a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday: “You’ll be seeing very soon.”Israeli officials have said changes Israel wants in the JCPOA include lengthening the 10-year freeze on Iran’s nuclear development program or even making that suspension permanent and destroying centrifuges rather than just halting their operation. The deal was negotiated with Iran by the United States, Russia, China, Britain, Germany and France. The six will meet with Iran at the ministerial level on Wednesday. The prospect of Washington reneging on the agreement has worried some of the U.S. allies that helped negotiate it, especially as the world grapples with another nuclear crisis, North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile development. “It is essential to maintain it to avoid proliferation. In this period when we see the risks with North Korea, we must maintain this line,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told reporters. “France will try to convince President Trump of the pertinence of this choice (keeping the accord), even if work can be done to complement the accord after 2025,” he said. A senior French official said Trump had not given Macron an indication on whether he had made up his mind during their Monday bilateral. However, the official said Macron had put on the table the prospect of new nuclear negotiations after 2025 during his bilateral with Iranian President Hasan Rouhani and warned him that Tehran should stop provoking the United States with its regional activities. “We feel the post 2025 subject is a red line, but our president put it on the table because it’s a concern and a legitimate request that we must make,” the official said. “2025 will arrive quickly and we have to be ready before Jan 1. 2025, so he asked that we think together how to work on this question.” If Trump does not certify that Iran is complying with the agreement, the U.S. Congress will have 60 days to decide whether to reimpose sanctions waived under the deal. Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned on Sunday that Tehran would react strongly to any “wrong move” by Washington on the nuclear deal. Paris took one of the hardest lines against Tehran in the negotiations, but has been quick to restore trade ties and Macron has said repeatedly there is no alternative to the deal. French officials say Iran is respecting the JCPOA and that, were the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to say otherwise, a mechanism exists to reimpose sanctions. The IAEA is the body ensuring the accord is carried out, but the United States and Iran quarreled over how Tehran’s nuclear activities should be policed at an IAEA meeting on Monday after a U.S. call last month for wider inspections. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson argued on Friday that Washington must consider the full threat it says Iran poses to the Middle East when crafting its new policy toward Tehran. A senior French diplomat underlined that the nuclear deal was achieved in large part because it was not linked to all the other grievances the United States may have had with Iran. With Europeans not on the same page as the Trump administration, Iranian officials say they have an opportunity to divide the P5+1 group that negotiated the deal with Iran. A senior Iranian diplomat and a former nuclear negotiator said he believed the Europeans had no intention of following Trump’s overtly aggressive Iran policy. “They are wise. Look at the region. Crisis everywhere. From Iraq to Lebanon. Iran is a reliable regional partner for Europe, not only a trade partner but a political one as well,” the diplomat said. “European powers have been committed to the deal. The IAEA has repeatedly confirmed Iran’s commitment to the deal. Trump’s insistence on his hostile policy towards Iran will further deepen the gap among the P5+1 countries,” the diplomat said. | 1 |
6,779 | HILLARY DANCES WHILE TRUMP WORKS: THE CLINTON GRIFTERS Dance With Rock Stars At Fundraiser In The Hamptons | While Trump works like crazy to win your vote, Hillary and Bill are rocking the night away. The Limousine liberals love these two grifters and just keep throwing cash at them. Pretty sickening!Rock superstars Sir Paul McCartney, Jon Bon Jovi and Jimmy Buffett took to the stage at a glamorous fundraiser for presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton on Monday night. The trio serenaded the crowd with the Beatles classic Hey Jude while both Hillary and her husband, former president Bill Clinton, danced with other guests at the bash in the Hamptons.Video from the $25,000-a-ticket event at Jimmy and Jane Buffett s estate shows Buffett, Bon Jovi and McCartney singing on stage for the grand finale: The Democratic presidential nominee hopped from mansion to mansion in the ocean-front vacation destination, appearing at parties and dinners where the contributions ranged from $1,000 to $100,000 for guests and hosts. The top-dollar tour concluded last night with an event in Sag Harbor complete with the stellar musical line-up.On an outdoor stage, Buffett entertained for more than an hour, playing hits like Margaritaville and Cheeseburger in Paradise. Bon Jovi serenaded the crowd with Who Says You Can t Go Home, and McCartney s numbers included Can t Buy Me Love and Lady Madonna. The trio closed out the show with a performance of Hey Jude. Attendees said Clinton even hit the dance floor with McCartney during one of Buffett s numbers. McCartney joked with the crowd, according to fundraiser guests, saying that this was the first time I ve paid to hear myself sing. Read more: Daily Mail | 0 |
6,780 | House Speaker Ryan calls for less violence on presidential campaign trail | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan on Tuesday condemned efforts to disrupt political rallies, but said all presidential candidates must bear responsibility to help curb violence at campaign events and create a less hostile atmosphere. “All candidates have an obligation to do what they can do ...provide an atmosphere of harmony, to reduce violence, to not incite violence,” Ryan told reporters, speaking after a string of chaotic events that have been most notable at campaign rallies for front-runner Donald Trump. Separately, Ryan said he has spoken with Trump and the three other Republicans vying for the party’s nomination and received a good reception for the House’s planned agenda. He still plans to support the eventual Republican candidate in the November presidential election, he added. | 1 |
6,781 | Haley says new North Korea sanctions unlikely to change behavior | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said on Tuesday that more sanctions on North Korea are unlikely to change the country s behavior but would cut off funding for its ballistic missile and nuclear programs. Do we think more sanctions are going to work on North Korea? Not necessarily, Haley told the American Enterprise Institute. But what does it do? It cuts off the revenue that allows them to build ballistic missiles. Haley said on Monday she wants the United Nations Security Council to vote on Sept. 11 to impose the strongest possible sanctions on North Korea over its sixth and largest nuclear test. | 1 |
6,782 | Dopey Santas, McAfee Hacked, Silicon Valley vs. ACR – Boiler Room EP #141 | Tune in to the Alternate Current Radio Network (ACR) for another LIVE broadcast of The Boiler Room tonight 6:00 PM PST | 8:00 PM CST | 9:00 PM EST for this special broadcast. Join us for uncensored, uninterruptible talk radio, custom-made for bar fly philosophers, misguided moralists, masochists, street corner evangelists, media-maniacs, savants, political animals and otherwise lovable rascals.Join ACR hosts Hesher and Spore along side Jay Dyer of Jays Analysis, Fvnk$oul and Randy J (ACR & 21WIRE contributors) for the hundred and forty first episode of BOILER ROOM. Turn it up, tune in and hang with the ACR Brain-Trust for this weeks boil downs, analysis and the usual gnashing of the teeth of the political animals in the social rejects club.On this episode of Boiler Room the social rejects club meets for the final shebang of 2017. We ll be discussing John McAfee s twitter account being hacked to promote a low value crypto-currency, silicon valley censorship in social media, year end wrap ups and 2018 predictions.Direct Download Episode #141 Please like and share the program and visit our donate page to get involved! Reference Links, for your consideration and research: | 0 |
6,783 | Puerto Rico oversight board approves revised government turnaround plan | NEW YORK (Reuters) - Puerto Rico’s federal oversight board voted unanimously on Monday to certify the government’s fiscal turnaround plan, on the condition it be amended to eliminate Christmas bonuses, impose employee furloughs, and further reduce pension spending. The plan, a cornerstone of the federal Puerto Rico rescue law known as PROMESA, will serve as the baseline for looming restructuring talks with holders of some $70 billion in debt that has pushed the U.S. territory to the brink of economic collapse. The government can avoid some of the austerity measures, which have sparked protest among Puerto Ricans, if it presents alternative cost-saving measures by April 30, the board said. PROMESA required Governor Ricardo Rossello to present a turnaround blueprint that would require sign-off by the board. The board rejected an initial draft last week, saying it relied on “overly optimistic” economic projections. The latest version rolled back those numbers, boosting the island’s 10-year projected funding gap to $67 billion from $56 billion, and contemplating $39.6 billion in new cash flows from spending cuts and revenue initiatives, up from $33.8 billion in the last plan. The new version forecasts the island would have $800 million a year to service debt, down from $1.2 billion in the draft. “The new plan is modestly worse than the old plan for creditors, as it implies larger haircuts,” Puerto Rico credit analyst Chas Tyson, of KBW Inc, said in a note on Monday. Approval by the board came with conditions: the government must reduce pension spending by 10 percent beginning in 2020, cut Christmas bonuses and implement employee furloughs as soon as July 1 to stave off a short-term cash crunch. The austerity push drew protests outside the meeting in lower Manhattan on Monday, including from teachers who claimed the furloughs would shorten the public school year by the equivalent of two months a year. The government can avoid the furloughs and bonus cuts if it presents the board with a plan by April 30 to shore up liquidity by $200 million. Rossello said he was confident the cuts would not be necessary. “I’m very confident we’ll have $200 million in reserve cash, so that we can jump over that obstacle,” Rossello said in an interview with Reuters after Monday’s meeting. The board said it will negotiate over the next 30 days with the government on how to cut pensions, a contentious issue on an island where retirement systems are already borderline insolvent thanks to decades of mismanagement by governments that routinely made overly generous promises to workers. “All stakeholders have been forced to sacrifice, and no one is exempt from that,” board member Andrew Biggs, a pension expert, told reporters after the meeting. He added the cuts will be orchestrated “in a way that would spare the lowest-income people from any reductions.” Rossello said he will not pass public policy that would hurt the poorest pensioners. “I don’t see any way I can reduce pensions of people already having a hard time getting medications and things.” In another controversial move, the board said it supported government efforts to seek additional concessions from bondholders of Puerto Rico’s power utility, PREPA, which is more than $8 billion in debt. The utility and its creditors have had a tentative restructuring in place for more than a year, but Rossello’s administration has said it would seek new terms, sparking concern and frustration among PREPA’s creditors. A subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources announced it will hold a hearing on March 22 on the status of the PREPA deal, the current version of which sees creditors taking 15-percent cuts. | 1 |
6,784 | Rhode Island Official Dresses Middle Aged Man As Little Old Lady For Senior Citizen Photo Op | A Rhode Island city official has resigned after she was caught dressing up a male middle aged bus driver as a little old lady to prove how well her snow shoveling program was helping senior citizens.Apparently unable to find a single real senior citizen to fill out her press conference, director of senior services Sue Stenhouse got a man who worked at a nearby senior home to don a wig, earrings, lipstick, and a dress to stand next to her while she bragged about the program. Let s just say it was not an effective disguise.Almost immediately, reporters began to question the ridiculous situation, but the sheer audacity of the stunt was such that initially no one called out Stenhouse or the woman. It was only later that things began to fall apart.When NBC affiliate WJAR-TV reported on the bizarre story, Stenhouse grew angry. I ve been in a meeting all night being a great public servant for the city of Warwick, Stenhouse said. Now, I get this (expletive.) And you guys did not reach out to me. And that was a big lie on the news. However, just a few days later she was turning in her resignation letter.There are, of course, a lot of questions that remain unanswered. Why didn t the officials simply ask a resident from the senior home they were standing in front of to join them for the presser? Why did they need an elderly woman to be in the shot in the first place? What was she thinking? And did Stenhouse get the idea from Mrs. Doubtfire or a Chris Farley sketch?It s difficult to fathom why Stenhouse, who by all accounts had a long and promising career in Rhode Island politics ahead of her, would torpedo her chances on something so monumentally silly. A few of her colleagues expressed shock and alleged deceit when asked to comment on the incident.One theory that seems plausible is that Stenhouse s snow removal initiative was struggling thanks to a mild winter. While not her fault, the lack of bad weather meant holding a press conference to brag about snow plowing was going to go down in flames. What followed was a series of desperate decisions worthy of a sit-com. According to witnesses, city officials had snow shipped to the front of the senior center and dumped in the background of the press conference. The bus driver-turned-old woman was just an extension to an already completely fabricated situation. Whats one more lie, and a little lipstick, after all?Featured image via Mashable | 0 |
6,785 | Spain will not rule out exceptional measures over Catalonia | MADRID (Reuters) - Spain s central government can not rule out taking exceptional measures over the region of Catalonia s plans to hold a referendum on independence from the rest of the country, a vote Madrid says is illegal, the spokesman said on Friday. The government does not rule anything out. We are acting firmly to ensure the rights and liberties of everyone and will react to whatever the secessionists do, the government spokesman Inigo Mendez de Vigo said. The northeastern region has clashed with the central government in Madrid over its attempts to hold a referendum on whether it should split from the rest of the country. | 1 |
6,786 | Supporters of Egypt presidential hopeful arrested, say security sources, family | CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian security forces have arrested three supporters of presidential hopeful and former prime minister Ahmed Shafik, security sources and members of his party said on Wednesday. The men were charged with spreading false information harmful to national security, two security sources familiar with the incident said, on condition of anonymity. Egypt s interior ministry could not be reached for comment after several attempts to contact it on Wednesday. Shafik announced last month his intention to run against President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Egypt s upcoming presidential election early next year. No date has been set for the vote. The former premier and ex-air force commander is seen by Sisi s critics as the most serious potential challenger to the incumbent. Those arrested were all members of Shafik s Egyptian National Movement party. One of them, Hany Fouad, was arrested at his family s home on the outskirts of Cairo, his brother Wael Fouad said. Hany is very close to (Shafik), he said. Security forces entered the family home around 3 a.m. local time (0100 GMT) and searched the house, confiscating two mobile phones and giving no reason for the arrest, he said. Sisi has yet to announce that he will seek a second term but is widely expected to do so. Shafik made his announcement from the United Arab Emirates where he has lived in exile since 2012, when he fled Egypt after a narrow electoral defeat to former president Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood, who was removed from office in a military takeover led by Sisi in 2013. Shafik returned to Cairo ten days ago and said he was still deciding whether to run. He has not made any public appearances since. | 1 |
6,787 | Danger of war, Germany warns after Trump's move on Iran nuclear deal | BERLIN (Reuters) - If the United States terminates the Iran nuclear deal or reimposes sanctions on Tehran it could result in Iran developing nuclear weapons and raise the danger of war close to Europe, Germany s foreign minister said on Saturday. U.S. President Donald Trump refused on Friday to formally certify that Tehran was complying with the 2015 accord even though international inspectors say it is. He warned he might ultimately terminate the agreement. German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel told Deutschlandfunk radio that Trump had sent a difficult and dangerous signal when the U.S. administration was also dealing with the North Korea nuclear crisis. My big concern is that what is happening in Iran or with Iran from the U.S. perspective will not remain an Iranian issue but many others in the world will consider whether they themselves should acquire nuclear weapons too given that such agreements are being destroyed, Gabriel said. And then our children and grandchildren will grow up in a very dangerous world, he said. He said if the United States terminated the deal or if sanctions were reimposed on Tehran, it would give Iranian hardliners, who are against negotiations with the West, the upper hand. Then they might revert to developing nuclear weapons, Gabriel said, adding Israel would not tolerate that and then we will be back where we were 10, 12 years ago with the danger of war relatively close to Europe . He urged the United States not to endanger the security of its allies and its own people for domestic policy reasons. Hailed by Trump s predecessor Barack Obama as key to stopping Iran from building a nuclear bomb, the deal was also signed by China, France, Russia, Britain, Germany and the European Union. European allies have warned of a split with Washington over the nuclear agreement and say that putting it in limbo undermines U.S. credibility abroad. Trump has given the U.S. Congress 60 days to decide whether to reinstate economic sanctions on Iran that were lifted in 2016. | 1 |
6,788 | Palestinian protests break out in Jordan over Trump's move on Jerusalem | AMMAN (Reuters) - Protests broke out on Wednesday in areas of Jordan s capital Amman inhabited by Palestinian refugees in response to U.S. President Donald Trump s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel s capital, witnesses said. Youths chanted anti-American slogans in Amman, while in the Baqaa refugee camp on the city s outskirts, hundreds of youths roamed the streets denouncing Trump and calling on Jordan s government to scrap its 1994 peace treaty with Israel. Down with America.. America is the mother of terror, they chanted. King Abdullah s Hashemite dynasty is the custodian of the Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem, making Amman sensitive to any changes in the status of the city, whose eastern sector was captured by Israel from Jordan in a 1967 war. Many people in Jordan are descendants of Palestinian refugees whose families left after the creation of Israel in 1948. | 1 |
6,789 | Fed chair choice down to Powell, Taylor, one source tells Politico | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump’s search for the next chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve has come down to Fed Governor Jerome Powell and Stanford University economist John Taylor, Politico on Thursday cited one source as saying, while another counseled caution. Trump has said he was considering both Powell and Taylor, but that he also liked current Fed Chair Janet Yellen very much. Politico cited an unnamed source who talks regularly to Trump as saying the only finalists were Powell and Taylor. Another unnamed senior source that Politico described as very close to the process said it was not safe to assume Trump will nominate Powell or Taylor for the top spot at the central bank, saying he “changes his mind about it every day.” A White House official told Reuters: “No final decision has been made.” Trump has been considering a short list for the post that also includes his top economic adviser, Gary Cohn, and former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh. A senior administration official said on Wednesday that Trump was unlikely to nominate Cohn, who is helping to lead White House efforts to push a big tax cut package through Congress. Warsh’s chances at the job have also appeared to fade, according to media reports, and Politico reported that its source who talks regularly to Trump said Warsh was out of the running. As recently as Wednesday, Trump had indicated Yellen was still on the list he was considering, although he suggested he was interested in making his own mark on the Fed. “I liked her a lot,” Trump said of a recent meeting he held with Yellen. “I mean, it’s somebody that I am thinking about,” he told Fox News Channel. In a separate interview with Fox Business Network which aired earlier this week, Trump said he would consider either Powell or Taylor for the top Fed post and the other for another top job at the central bank. Yellen, who was nominated by former Democratic President Barack Obama, has chaired the Fed since early 2014. Her term expires in February. Whoever Trump selects would need to be confirmed by the Senate. The Republican president is looking to announce a Fed chair nominee before leaving on a trip to Asia on Nov. 3 to give his choice time to go through the confirmation process. | 1 |
6,790 | ¿Qué bolá? Obama jokes with Cuban humorist in video | HAVANA (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama tried out his comedic chops with some Spanish in a video he made with Cuban humorist Pánfilo ahead of a historic visit to Havana. Obama, who has won praise from professional comedians for his comic timing, is due to arrive in Cuba on Sunday. He shot a segment from the Oval Office in which he pretends to have a conversation with Pánfilo in Cuba. The two sides of the call were edited together in a video playing on the Havana U.S. embassy’s social media feeds and the YouTube channel of an official Cuban media outlet on Saturday. (bit.ly/1WyRvHZ) Pánfilo calls Washington looking for a weather forecast for Tuesday’s exhibition game between Cuba’s national baseball team and the Tampa Bay Rays, a game Obama will intend. Instead of getting the weather service he ends up on the phone with Obama, asking if he is really speaking with the president. “Yes, the real Obama. Who’s this?” the president says. “I’m Pánfilo from Cuba.” “The real Pánfilo? From the TV show?” Obama asks. Pánfilo is shocked the president knows him, and Obama pretends to be equally star struck. “No me digas. ¿Qué bolá?” Obama says in Cuban slang. (“You don’t say. What’s up?”) Pánfilo then engages the U.S. president in his trademark gentle social satire of Cuban life, joking about old cars and cramped living quarters. | 1 |
6,791 | Russia's Putin congratulates Trump on election win | MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated businessman Donald Trump on his victory in the U.S. presidential election in a telegram on Wednesday, the Kremlin said. “Putin expressed hope for joint work to restore Russian-American relations from their state of crisis, and also to address pressing international issues and search for effective responses to challenges concerning global security,” the Kremlin said in a statement. Putin also said he was sure a constructive dialogue between Moscow and Washington would serve the interests of both countries, the Kremlin said. | 1 |
6,792 | WATCH: Right-Wing Pastor Compares Trump To Jesus’ Disciples | These conservative Christians are sick.Throughout the 2016 campaign, conservative Christians worshiped Donald Trump as the new Jesus and sold out their so-called Christian values to support a bigoted sexist blowhard narcissist for president.Now right-wing pastor and con artist televangelist Rick Joyner is literally comparing Trump to Jesus disciples.But first, he kissed Trump s ass by claiming that he s a totally different person from the one seen on the campaign trail.Joyner said that Trump is a kinder man than the media portrayed him as, even though Trump was consistently nasty throughout the campaign. He hurled insults and repeatedly used offensive hateful language to divide the country. He is nothing more than a bully.Joyner also called Trump tough as nails, but this is plainly ignoring how thin-skinned Trump has been every time he is criticized.Joyner even claimed that tough as nails Trump was near tears when they discussed his plan to deport millions of undocumented immigrants out of the country. I saw the tears well up in his eyes, Joyner said. He was about to bust out crying. But this isn t the Trump we saw all year long. Trump never cared about these people and he never will. He never showed a single ounce of compassion for any of them and their families. So excuse us if we don t take Joyner s word for it that Trump actually has human feeling beyond pettiness and hate.But that s not all. Joyner also had the gall to call Trump one of the most honest people he s ever known. And now we definitely know Joyner is full of shit.As Raw Story points out, Fact-checking website Politifact, who fact-checked at least 337 of Trump s statements on the campaign trail and since his election victory, noted that 19 percent of his claims were mostly false, 34 percent were false, and 18 percent were pants on fire.' In short, Trump is a serial liar and anyone who says otherwise has their head up his ass.But what Joyner said next is something that Christians in particular, should find extremely offensive. I think if you look at the disciples that Jesus chose, they were all Donald Trump. Every one of them were Donald Trumps. Joyner literally just claimed that Jesus chose a bunch of thin-skinned bigoted sexist liars as his disciples. Seriously.Here s the video via YouTube.Conservatives are truly delusional if they actually think Donald Trump is like Jesus or his disciples. In fact, they should stop calling themselves Christians altogether.Featured image via Wikimedia | 0 |
6,793 | U.N. concerned about shelling in ethnically-mixed Iraqi town | GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations human rights office is seriously concerned about the shelling of residential areas in Iraq s northern town of Tuz Khurmatu in which civilians were killed, a U.N. spokeswoman said on Friday. It was not clear who was doing the shelling, which took place on Dec. 9 and 12 and came from the mountains overlooking the area, the spokeswoman, Liz Throssell, told a regular U.N. briefing in Geneva. Iraqi forces are still working to discover the exact locations from which the shelling has come and the identity of those responsible, she said. The shelling of the ethnically-mixed town happened after many of its Kurdish population was displaced following clashes with Turkmen paramilitary groups. Tuz Khurmatu is made up of Turkmen, Kurds and Arabs located 75 km (47 miles) south of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk. It came under the full control of Iraqi government forces and mostly Iran-backed Shi ite paramilitaries known as Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) in October. It had been under control of Kurdish Peshmerga fighters since 2014. Iraq s semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) unilaterally held an independence referendum on Sept. 25 and Kurds voted overwhelmingly to secede, defying Baghdad and alarming neighboring Turkey and Iran who have their own Kurdish minorities. The referendum was held in Kurdish areas and disputed territories claimed by both Baghdad and Erbil. The Iraqi government responded by seizing Kurdish-held Kirkuk and other territory disputed between the Kurds and the central government, including Tuz Khurmatu. It also banned direct flights to Kurdistan and demanded control over border crossings. Clashes broke out between the Peshmerga and Turkmen PMF units in recent weeks, Throssell said, leaving an unconfirmed number of deaths from both groups. U.N. human rights officers visited the town on Dec. 7 and 14 to investigate reports of the burning of homes and looting of businesses and found some 150 premises burned. Thousands of residents, mainly Kurds, left for the KRG, and many have not returned. | 1 |
6,794 | Ireland might consider adding to Brexit border text: Irish Times | DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland might consider adding elements to the text of an agreement on the post-Brexit future of Northern Ireland s border as long as they do not undermine those already contained in the deal, the Irish Times reported on Tuesday. British Prime Minister Theresa May has found it difficult to come up with a formula that satisfies both EU member Ireland, which wants to avoid creation of a hard border, and Northern Ireland s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which says the British province must quit the EU on the same terms as the rest of the UK. The DUP props up May s minority government. A tentative deal on the border, promising regulatory alignment on both sides of the island of Ireland, was agreed on Monday. It was later rejected by the DUP, which says it cannot allow any divergence in regulation between Northern Ireland and other parts of the UK. Brussels says agreement is needed before it will give the green light for Britain to begin talks on future free trade when European Union leaders meet next week. The Irish Times quoted a spokesman for Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar as saying the adding of elements to assuage the concerns of the DUP doesn t seem unreasonable and was a possibility. The Irish Times suggested such an element might refer to the strength of the UK as a political entity. Asked to comment on the report, a spokesman for Varadkar said the view of the Irish government is that the terms of the deal reached on Monday must stand. It s up to the UK government to work out with the DUP how it proposes to move forward, the spokesman added. | 1 |
6,795 | Derby Event Asks Crowd To Stand For Confederate Flag, Forcing Police Officer To Sit During National Anthem | It s one thing to have a choice to sit to during the national anthem, but it s something else entirely when one is forced to do so.Prior to a demolition derby event in West Jordan, Utah, police officer Daniel Argueta and his family were forced to sit during the Star Spangled Banner because the truck carrying the American flag also carried a Confederate flag, which Stirrin Dirt Racing owner Jim Simko blamed on helpers by claiming it was added shortly before the anthem.But that s not true according to Argueta, who says the Confederate flag was positioned on the truck a full hour before the anthem took place. In other words, there was plenty of time to remove the flag but it wasn t.As a result, the crowd was asked to stand and salute a racist flag of traitors alongside the stars and stripes.And that s why Argueta and his family chose to sit instead. You kind of get caught in, yes, you want to stand, you support the U.S. flag, Argueta told KSTU-TV. You support the troops, you support police officers, but what is the Confederate flag doing there? For anybody that knows history and understands the negative impact of that flag and how it s been used historically, it s hard to stand up. The Confederate flag has drawn much outrage in recent years, especially after white supremacist Dylann Roof murdered nine black parishioners at a church in South Carolina. The state finally removed the Confederate flag that had been flying for decades outside the statehouse, which had been raised in protest of civil rights.Simko tried to excuse the presence of the Confederate flag by arguing that people should be free to fly it. It wasn t politically correct, I m sure, for some people, but there s some people who look at that flag and say this is the land of the free, Simko said. It shouldn t have happened, but I can t, unfortunately, watch what everybody does at every minute. Again, Simko had 60 minutes to make sure it didn t happen and he did nothing. Also, individuals have the freedom to fly the flag all they want on their private property. But this event forced people to salute a flag that had no business flying during our national anthem. It was humiliating, Argueta said. It was demeaning, because with all the controversy going on with the flag recently and people sitting during the anthem, we had all intended to stand, but we couldn t. People probably looked around, probably wondering what we were doing. Here s the video via KSTU.The reason why athletes such as Colin Kaepernick are sitting during the national anthem is because they are protesting police brutality and racial inequality. They have the right to make that choice and so far it has brought attention to the issues they want to highlight.Of course, if a pastor in Alabama had his way, the Argueta family and all of these athletes would be lined up against a wall and executed for not standing, thus demonstrating that conservatives don t really understand what freedom is at all.Featured image via Deseret News | 0 |
6,796 | Republicans Are Trying To Destroy The Senate As We Know It, Taking Away Your Vote — Here’s How | The American Legislative Exchange Council, otherwise known as ALEC, is a corporate-funded project whose agenda is to give Republicans even more of an advantage, starting at the very top and working their way down. Part of their right-wing agenda now is to go 104 years back in time and get rid of an elected Senate, instead reverting to Senators being decided by deals between wealthy campaign donors, corporate lobbyists, and legislators.Trying to bring an end to representative democracy in the US isn t a particularly new idea, it s one that has been getting proposed for decades, however, nobody has come as close to making it a reality as ALEC. In fact, last year they circulated a document entitled Draft Resolution Recommending Constitutional Amendment Restoring Election of US Senators to the Legislatures of the Sovereign States, something that will most likely be discussed at great length at ALEC s annual meeting this week. If the article is approved by ALEC members, becomes part of their official agenda and is eventually instated, it will take a step backward and return the US to the corrupt and undemocratic practice of state legislators bartering off Senate seats, which was ended in 1913.When you take a look at that document you can tell these guys aren t fooling around, as it goes almost immediately to their ultimate goal:Section 1. The seventeenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.Section 2. Senators shall be elected exclusively by the State legislature, upon a majority vote of legislators present and voting in a joint session. If a vacancy shall exist for more than one hundred-eighty days, then the Governor shall appoint the Senator to serve the remainder of the vacant term. This procedure may not be modified by state initiative or referendum.Section 3. State legislatures may issue instructions to, or recall, their Senators at any time.By doing this, Congress will become more representative of corporations than citizens of the United States and also the imbalance in the upper chamber would almost certainly grow. Fortunately, overturning the Seventeenth Amendment would be no easy task, but it is a terrifying prospect that there are organizations trying to stifle democracy in the United States of America.Featured image via Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images | 0 |
6,797 | Trump says his comments on Mexican-American judge misconstrued | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said on Tuesday his comments questioning the impartiality of a Mexican-American judge had been misconstrued as a broad attack on people of Mexican heritage. Trump said, however, that it was fair to question the judge’s impartiality in the civil suit against Trump University and whether he could receive a fair trial. | 1 |
6,798 | Obama, Jordan's King Abdullah hold meeting at military base | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama and Jordan’s King Abdullah are holding a meeting at Andrews Air Force Base, a White House official said on Tuesday. Obama and the U.S. ally were both at the military base before separate trips. The president is slated to depart shortly for Nebraska, where he is holding events to follow up on his State of the Union address. | 1 |
6,799 | Croatia jails Serb paramilitary commander for war crimes | ZAGREB (Reuters) - A Croatian court on Tuesday sentenced a Serb former paramilitary commander to 15 years in prison for torturing and killing soldiers and civilians during Croatia s 1991-95 independence war. Dragan Vasiljkovic, 62, who has dual Serbian and Australian citizenship, was charged with violating the Geneva Convention by torturing and killing captive Croatian soldiers and police in the rebel stronghold of Knin and for crimes near the towns of Glina and Benkovac in 1991 and 1993. Vasiljkovic, whose trial in the Adriatic city of Split took one year, denied he had committed any crimes and can file an appeal. He was extradited to Croatia in 2015 after losing a nine-year battle to block extradition. He had been living in Perth and working as a golf instructor under the name Daniel Snedden. Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991 but its Serb minority, backed by Belgrade, seized a third of the country by force. Croatia retook its occupied territory in a 1995 offensive. | 1 |
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