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6,800 | Fractured French Right struggles to unite against Macron | PARIS (Reuters) - A year ago, France s conservatives appeared headed for the presidency. Now the French right is more fractured than at almost any point in the modern-day Fifth Republic, leaving one clear winner: President Emmanuel Macron, a centrist. Over the weekend, a group of Macron-friendly lawmakers cemented their split from the center-right The Republicans party, forming a new party, Agir (Act). In a further blow to The Republicans, three other party heavyweights defected to Macron s Republic on the Move party. This comes at a time the far-right National Front party is riven by internal divisions and fighting a new rival movement set up by one of its own. In two weeks, The Republicans will elect a new party chief. The task of whoever wins will be to heal divisions and rebuild a party blown apart by Macron s election triumph. The Right is in the process of breaking apart ... if this goes on we will be in opposition for 20 years, Mael de Calan, a rising star in The Republicans and candidate for party leader, told television channel France 2. De Calan hit out at those deserting the party. He also said the frontrunner in the party leadership race, 42-year-old Laurent Wauquiez, was advocating policies that would push The Republicans too far to the right an outcome which could prompt others to leave. Macron, 39, dynamited France s traditional political landscape in the summer, winning the presidency without ever having held office before and securing a commanding majority in parliament with a party just over a year old. Macron poached cabinet ministers from both the Socialist Party and The Republicans, leaving both scrambling for an answer to the former investment banker s stunning rise to power. The Socialists of former President Francois Hollande were particularly hurt. Macron destroyed the Left with the presidential election and now the target is the Right, said Frederic Dabi of pollster Ifop. Both far-left France Unbowed leader Jean-Luc Melenchon and far-right National Front chief Marine Le Pen are viewed as stronger opponents to Macron, an Odoxa poll showed at the weekend. Equally worrying to Wauquiez should he become leader of The Republicans is that another survey on Tuesday showed one in two voters were indifferent to him. Wauquiez, who calls those quitting the party traitors , told Reuters last week that he wanted to unite the party and that France needed his hardline proposals on immigration, security and Europe. We won t bring people together by being tepid, he said. His platform has, however, left moderate party stalwarts such as Valerie Pecresse, leader of the wider Paris region, and former prime minister Alain Juppe, being coy about their future. The Republicans problem is that they are not showing the French an image of unity or a (future) leader that embodies a solid enough opposition, said Odoxa s president Gael Sliman, adding that Wauquiez s hard-right line was not popular enough. Marine Le Pen, gloating, said on Tuesday that The Republicans faced a catastrophic situation. They imploded in two camps, she told BFM TV. But she too presides over a deeply divided party. One of its eight lawmakers on Monday defected to a splinter party established by her former deputy in September. | 1 |
6,801 | U.S. judge orders special counsel to turn over evidence on Michael Flynn | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. District Court judge ordered Special Counsel Robert Mueller on Tuesday to turn over any potential evidence that could be material for when he sentences President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn. Flynn pleaded guilty earlier this month to lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation during his interview in Mueller’s probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and whether Trump’s campaign colluded with Russia. Flynn has agreed to cooperate with Mueller’s investigation. Moscow has denied interfering in the election and Trump has denied any collusion. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan told the government in a filing to turn over any exculpatory evidence, known as “Brady” material, that could potentially help Flynn’s defense or information that is “material either to the defendant’s guilt or punishment.” The order by the judge is considered routine, and the government by law is required to turn over such information to the defense if it exists. A sentencing date has not been set, but a status report ahead of sentencing is due by Feb 1. | 1 |
6,802 | Illinois governor eyes blocking Chicago school debt | CHICAGO (Reuters) - Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner said on Monday the state has the power to block any debt offerings by financially distressed school districts, including the cash-strapped Chicago Public Schools (CPS), which has been dependent on borrowing to fund operations. The Republican governor last week launched a financial probe of the nation’s third-largest public school system through the Illinois State Board of Education. Rauner, who has called for a state takeover of the school district, said the board has the legal authority to block borrowings by districts found to be in financial duress. “The state board has never chosen to do that for the city of Chicago. I hope that never becomes necessary. But we’ve got to be ready to take action,” Rauner told reporters. Rauner’s office pointed to a provision of the school code that it says applies to CPS. The provision prohibits the sale of bonds, notes or other debt by a district certified to be in financial difficulty until a financial plan is approved by the state board of education. CPS Chief Executive Forrest Claypool contended that the authority Rauner seeks to exercise does not apply to CPS, according to a school district spokeswoman. CPS is struggling with a $1.1 billion structural budget deficit, caused largely by escalating annual pension payments that will reach $676 million this fiscal year. The district’s efforts to gain an additional $480 million in state dollars to pay its pension bill have become entangled in an ongoing impasse between Rauner and Democrats who control the legislature. To keep operating in anticipation of $1 billion in property tax revenue next month, CPS turned to short-term borrowing and a $725 million bond sale earlier this month for cash flow. The district said it plans to seek additional short-term borrowing authority from its governing board in the future. Rauner said accusations by Chicago officials that he attempted to derail the Feb. 3 bond sale by pushing for a state takeover or possible bankruptcy for CPS were “completely false.” Skittish investors demanded hefty yields for the “junk”-rated bonds, which will cost the district nearly $1.9 billion to pay off by 2044. | 1 |
6,803 | Kushner met with special counsel Mueller in Russia probe: CNN | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, met with Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team earlier this month as part of its Russia probe, CNN reported on Wednesday, citing two people familiar with the meeting. Former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn was the prime topic of the conversation between Kushner and Mueller’s team, CNN said, citing one of the sources. Flynn, who resigned in February after misleading Vice President Mike Pence about his conversations with a Russian diplomat, is under investigation by Mueller’s team, which is looking into possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign in last year’s presidential election. The nature of the questioning was principally to make sure Kushner did not have information that exonerated Flynn, CNN said, citing one source. Kushner spoke with Mueller’s team for less than 90 minutes, CNN said. “Mr. Kushner has voluntarily cooperated with all relevant inquiries and will continue to do so,” Abbe Lowell, Kushner’s lawyer, told Reuters. Lawyers for Flynn have halted communications with Trump’s legal team, a potentially critical step in Mueller’s probe, sources familiar with the investigation said on Friday. Flynn’s lawyer, Robert Kelner, called John Dowd, Trump’s private lawyer, last week to say the matter had reached a point where the two could no longer could discuss it, two people familiar with the call told Reuters. It was not clear whether Kelner made the call because he had negotiated a plea agreement with Mueller for Flynn to cooperate in the probe, or because Flynn had decided to engage with Mueller, said two other sources. The probe has dogged the White House since January, when U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that Russia interfered in the election to try to help Trump defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton by hacking and releasing embarrassing emails and disseminating propaganda via social media to discredit her. Russia has denied interfering in the U.S. election and Trump has said there was no collusion. | 1 |
6,804 | Notion U.S. has declared war on North Korea is 'absurd,' White House says | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The North Korean foreign minister s statement that the United States has declared war on Pyongyang is absurd, the White House said on Monday. We ve not declared war on North Korea. Frankly, the suggestion of that is absurd, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters. | 1 |
6,805 | Political exclusion risks tearing Kenya apart, says opposition leader | NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya s main opposition leader said on Thursday that anger over last month s presidential election ran so deep it threatened to tear the country apart. Raila Odinga boycotted the Oct. 25 election because he said it would be unfair, leaving President Uhuru Kenyatta to win with 98 percent of the vote. The Supreme Court called the poll after it annulled a first presidential election held in August on procedural grounds. Mainstream Kenyans feel so deeply cheated they are openly toying with the idea of secession, Odinga told an audience in Washington, D.C. His speech to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think-tank, was broadcast live on Kenyan television. The biggest problem in Kenya right now is exclusion ... unless they (the problems) are addressed they will tear the country apart, he said. As things stand now, anger and radicalization is growing by the day. A small number of politicians in Odinga s opposition alliance have discussed the idea of his strongholds seceding from Kenya but the idea has not gained wide popularity. Odinga s supporter base is concentrated along Kenya s coast, in city slums and in his western strongholds, areas that have traditionally felt excluded from political power and the opportunities for patronage it offers. Odinga s supporters are currently boycotting three companies they say are backing the government. The opposition has called for protests on Friday. In his speech, Odinga noted Kenya s four presidents since independence had all come from the Kikuyu or Kalenjin communities, even though the country had 44 recognized ethnic groups. Kenyatta is a Kikuyu and his deputy, who has made clear his intention to run in the next election, is a Kalenjin. Earlier this week, Odinga told Reuters he wanted a caretaker government for six months while preparations were made for new elections. Government officials reject the idea, saying Odinga had his chance to compete in October. The Supreme Court is due to start hearing petitions on the legality of the October elections next week. | 1 |
6,806 | Trump speaks with Palestinian leader Abbas - source | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday amid reports the United States is planning to formally recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, a source familiar with the call told Reuters. A senior administration official said last week that Trump would likely make the announcement on Wednesday, a decision that would break with decades of U.S. policy and could fuel violence in the Middle East. Trump adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner said the president had not yet made a final decision. | 1 |
6,807 | Congressmen question Trump on U.S.-Russia friendship | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top Republican and Democrat on the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee on Sunday cast doubt on whether Russia can become an ally of the United States, an idea President-elect Donald Trump has embraced. Republican Devin Nunes, chairman of the committee, said on “Fox News Sunday” he would like to see a U.S.-Russia friendship but does not know if it is possible. Adam Schiff, the committee’s ranking Democrat, said on CNN it would be great if Russia could be an ally, but, “It’s not realistic and we need to be clear eyed and sober about just what the Russians are about.” | 1 |
6,808 | Tanzania suspends fourth newspaper since June in media crackdown | DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - Tanzania s government on Tuesday suspended publication of an opposition-leaning newspaper for three months, the fourth newspaper to be shut down since June in what critics say is a crackdown on press freedom. The newspaper, Tanzania Daima, was shut down for publishing an article about the number of Tanzanians on life-prolonging anti-retroviral drugs used to treat AIDS, the director general of the Tanzania Information Services, Hassan Abbasi, said in a statement. The article was factually incorrect, Abbasi said. The move comes after President John Magufuli warned in January that the days of newspapers his government viewed as unethical were numbered a statement that triggered concern about censorship. The government banned the critical newspaper MwanaHalisi in September for two years after accusing it of inciting violence. Another independent newspaper, Mawio, was banned in June over articles linking two former presidents to alleged improprieties in mining deals signed in the 1990s and early 2000s. Magufuli has won some praise from western donors for an anti-corruption drive and cutting wasteful public spending. But opponents accuse him of increasingly undermining democracy by curbing dissent and stifling free speech. Magufuli has denied opposition accusations that his government was becoming increasingly autocratic. | 1 |
6,809 | Nominee for U.S. EPA chemical safety withdraws: Bloomberg | (In this Dec. 13 story, corrects third paragraph to say Dourson is a former professor at the University of Cincinnati) WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A former chemical industry consultant nominated by the Trump administration to head the Environmental Protection Agency’s chemical safety and pollution prevention office has withdrawn his nomination, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. Michael Dourson notified the administration of his decision on Wednesday after Republican senators raised concerns about his past work and possible conflicts of interest, said Bloomberg, which cited an unnamed official for the report. Dourson, a former professor at the University of Cincinnati who has worked as a consultant for chemical companies, was one of several people whose nominations for top EPA positions were approved by the Senate environment panel in October in a 11-10 vote along party lines. Bloomberg said several Republican senators refused to support Dourson, including Richard Burr and Thom Tillis, both of North Carolina, who raised concerns about contaminated water at the Camp Lejeune military base in their state. The White House did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. A spokeswoman for Burr said she could not confirm that Dourson had withdrawn. Tom Carper, the top Democrat on the Senate environment panel, said in a statement, “Dourson, an individual who has spent most of his career promoting less protective chemical safety standards, had no business overseeing our nation’s chemical safety laws.” Environmental group Earthjustice hailed the news as a “victory for all children, workers and communities who deserve the strongest protections from exposure to toxic chemicals and pesticides.” Dourson, while a consultant, had assessed some chemicals, including PFOA, used to make Teflon non-stick surfaces, to be safe at levels far higher than considered acceptable by the EPA. | 1 |
6,810 | GRAB THE POPCORN: “Best Actress” Nominee On Oscar Boycott, “It’s anti-white racism…Maybe the black actors don’t deserve to be on the final stretch?’ | This is about to get interesting. The Hollywood elite that has been imposing their liberal moral code on the rest of America for decades (without having to exhibit a shred of moral decency), is just about to be put to the test Charlotte Rampling has accused those complaining about a shortage of black nominees at this year s Oscars of anti- white racism .The 69-year-old, who is up for the Best Actress award, said that people should not be classified adding that nominations should be based on the performance.Responding to stars who have threatened to boycott the ceremony next month, she told a radio station yesterday: One can never really know but perhaps the black actors did not deserve to make the final list. Miss Rampling s remarks follow a week of debate about nominations for the Academy Awards, after it was revealed that no black actors were shortlisted for the second year running. There have been calls for a boycott, with Jada Pinkett Smith wife of Hollywood actor Will Smith writing on Facebook that: We must stand in our power. Begging for acknowledgement or even asking [to be nominated] diminishes dignity. It diminishes power and we are a dignified people. Others have demanded that the Academy bring in quotas however this was met with criticism from Miss Rampling.Speaking to French radio station Europe 1 yesterday, the British star said: Why classify people? We live in countries where everyone is more or less accepted. There are always issues like he is less good looking or he is too black . There is always someone who says you are too . So are we going to say that we will categorise all that to make lots of minorities everywhere? She said that she did not think racism played into the nomination process and that the lack of black stars up for awards could be because they have not earned them.She added: [The complaints are] anti-white racism. Maybe the black actors don t deserve to be on the final stretch? Fellow acting veteran Sir Michael Caine also weighed into the debate yesterday. He told the Today programme: You can t vote for an actor because he s black and you can t just say I m going to vote for him, he s not very good, but he s black, I ll vote for him . You have to give a good performance and I m sure people have. I saw Idris Elba (in Beasts Of No Nation) I thought he was wonderful. Via: UK Daily Mail | 0 |
6,811 | What Megan Kelly Did For Trump’s Wife May Have Put Her Back In His Good Graces [Video] | Could Megyn s defense of Donald s wife Melania, put her back in the good graces of Trump and his followers? Watch her defense of his wife here:https://youtu.be/iSrsHt5nnWoTrump promptly thanked her on Twitter:Thank you @megynkelly for the nice things you said about Melania. You will like her, great heart and smart always wanting to help people! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 3, 2015h/t Weasel Zippers | 0 |
6,812 | Menacing Bali volcano throws tourists' plans into jeopardy | KARANGASEM, Indonesia (Reuters) - Some tourists are having second thoughts about visiting the tropical Indonesian resort island of Bali after repeated warnings that its highest volcano could erupt at any time, half a century after it killed more than 1,000 people. Strong volcanic tremors rumbling underground and billowing white smoke over the scenic Mount Agung have raised alarm, prompting the evacuation of more than 75,000 people within 12 km (7.5 miles). Sitting on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, Indonesia has nearly 130 active volcanoes, more than any other country. Many Indonesians live near volcanoes because lava flows make the surrounding soil and land fertile for farming. Several countries, including Australia, Singapore, and the United States, have issued travel advisories alerting holidaymakers to the new risk. And a hotel operator in Bali said news of the volcano had caused cancellations. Business is getting low since Mount Agung s alert status was raised to the highest level, said Ketut Purnawata, manager of Dasawana Resort, which is in the same district as the volcano, popular with tourists and hikers. Nearly five million people visited Bali last year - most of them from Australia, China and Japan. Airlines in Australia and Singapore said they were preparing for any disruptions due to an eruption, but flights were running normally for now. Virgin Australia and Jetstar, both of which fly to Bali from Australia, said they would carry extra fuel in case they needed to change course. Jetstar and Singapore-based budget carrier Scoot said they had been contacted by a small number of customers looking to change their travel dates. Less than 100 customers chose to rebook to a later date, a Scoot spokeswoman said. Singapore Airlines and its short-haul arm SilkAir said customers traveling to Bali until Oct. 2 could rebook or request a refund, while AirAsia said flights were operating normally. One Indonesian travel agency said it had seen some cancellations. There will definitely be an impact on (sales of) tour packages but we don t know the figures yet, said Agustinus Pake Seko of PT Bayu Buana travel agency. President Joko Widodo visited shelters near Mount Agung on Tuesday and urged residents to follow evacuation procedures after reports that some people were reluctant to leave their homes because nothing had happened. While the government will continue to try to minimize the economic losses of the community, the most important priority is the safety of the people here, Widodo told reporters. So I ask all people around Mount Agung to follow instructions from the officials and minimize the impact of this volcano. Life was going along largely as normal on the island famous for its beaches, temples and gentle Hindu culture. One Spanish tourist, Jordi Portalo, 23, said he wasn t troubled. I think it could happen but...maybe we d have to stay here a couple more days, so nothing to worry about, he said sitting at a cafe next to the trademark white surfing beach of Nusa Dua. The last time Mount Agung erupted was in 1963, before tourism took off, when streams of lava traveled as far as 7 km along its slopes, killing more than 1,000 villagers. More recent ash clouds from volcanic eruptions have also disrupted tourism in Bali and other parts of Indonesia. Hundreds of domestic and international flights were disrupted in 2016 when a volcano erupted on Bali s neighboring Lombok island, sending columns of ash and debris into the air. | 1 |
6,813 | Arkansas School ‘Desegregates’ By Only Calling Black Students To Assembly On Gangs And Drugs (VIDEO) | An Arkansas school was ordered to desegregate and for some reason the school thought that meant forcing only black students to attend an assembly on gangs and drugs.Maumelle High School claims it was only complying with the court order to desegregate when school officials summoned African-American freshman students to an assembly via intercom.The assembly featured Pastor Dante Shelton, who presented his experience with drugs and gang violence. But it wasn t long before the students began to realize that there were no white students at the assembly. Someone in the group asked, why are there no other kids except for African-American kids here? Aaron Perkins, whose sister attended the event, told KATV. She felt that it was very racist. But school officials insist the assembly was only part of the effort to desegregate the school, which somehow has been allowed to skirt federal law since it was founded in 2011. It s as if they have never heard of Brown v. Board of Education at all.According to school spokeswoman Deborah Roush, Freshmen students were identified by the school because it is a time of transition when they are more easily influenced. Black students were selected with the intent that the assembly would be an extension of the district s court-ordered desegregation efforts, which encourage programs and opportunities tailored to minority students. And that is just complete bullshit. The very definition of desegregation is the ending of policies that keep people of different races apart. So in no way could this assembly be part of that effort. If anything, it s an effort to cling onto segregation, which keeps the races separate.Here s the video via KATV.Not only does this school apparently not know the definition of desegregation, they apparently don t realize how racist this assembly was either. By only including black students at this assembly, the school is assuming that only black kids join gangs or do drugs and that is simply an outrageous stereotype. The school claims students could opt out of the assembly, but when a student is called via intercom to go somewhere by the school office, you go. So it definitely looks like these students had no choice and are the victims of racism at their school.Understandably, parents are outraged and the ACLU is now involved. Maumelle High School owes these parents and the students they singled out an apology. And perhaps another court visit is in order to make sure school officials understand what desegregation means. Featured image from screenshot | 0 |
6,814 | Trump Has F*cked Up So Much Lately His Own Advisers Fear He Is ‘Trying To Lose’ (VIDEO) | Sources from inside Donald Trump s campaign told ABC News on Sunday that because the Republican nominee has f*cked up so much in the past couple of weeks, his own advisers are starting to fear that he is deliberately trying to lose. Correspondent Jonathan Karl said during a panel discussion on ABC s This Week that supporters are afraid that Trump is purposely undermining his own campaign following weeks of one ghastly mistake after another: Let s be honest, he does face a hostile news media. And that s not surprising. We have a candidate who bans news organizations from his events, a candidate who calls the press despicable and disgusting, a candidate who in every single stump speech I ve ever seen has lashed out at the press. But, according to Karl, it isn t just supporters who are now convinced Trump is sabotaging his own campaign. Even advisers inside of his campaign are now becoming concerned that he is intentionally shooting himself in the foot. But Donald Trump s problems are not because of media coverage. I ve talked to people in the past week people who are very much on the Trump train advisers outside the campaign, even some advisers inside the campaign who think that it as almost as if Donald Trump is trying to lose.There is absolute frustration in his inability to get on message and win a race that many of them believe is eminently winnable. Trump has indeed had a bad couple of weeks. From attacking Gold Star families to encouraging Russian espionage to casually suggesting the assassination of his rival, Hillary Clinton, the billionaire bully has certainly managed to f*ck up good and proper.Watch the segment here: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhknX6zg_u4]Featured image via video screen capture | 0 |
6,815 | Tax March: Where Were You as Obama Wrecked Libya? | 21st Century Wire says The contrast in the numbers protesting is astounding.This past weekend, thousands of people in hundreds of cities across the US took to the streets to demand President Trump release his tax returns. This is in stark contrast to protests against Obama s war on Libya back in the Spring of 2011, where protests were not only few and far between but also struggled to get more than 50 people to attend.Stuart J. Hooper examines why this is, and also asks if the people at the Tax March have any principles or are just looking to be a part of what s popular . READ MORE TRUMP NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Trump FilesSUPPORT 21WIRE SUBSCRIBE & BECOME A MEMBER @21WIRE.TV | 0 |
6,816 | [Video] DEM PREZ CANDIDATE BOOED OFF STAGE, FORCED TO APOLOGIZE FOR SAYING “All Lives Matter” | When you have a crowd of people listening to this kind of idiotic drama, I think it s safe to say you should expect to be booed off the stage if you don t tow the line. Here r the Black Net Roots speaker s dramatic introduction for Governor O Malley: Let s be clear Every single day folks are dying! Not being able to take another breath! We are in a state of emergency! We are in a state of emergency and if you don t fill that emergency you are not human! As the Washington Examiner noted Saturday, former Maryland governor and current presidential candidate Martin O Malley was being interviewed at the annual Netroots Nation conference and was making a statement about the need for civilian police review boards. The interview was interrupted by a group of protestors chanting, Say, black lives matter! In response to a question by one of the protestors about alleged instances of police brutality against African Americans, O Malley stated, I think all of us have a responsibility to recognize the pain and grief caused by lives lost to violence. Black lives matter. White lives matter. All lives matter. The statement is said to have drawn boos from the crowd. A minute or two later, O Malley apologized.The incident illustrated neatly illustrated the cultural divide between the left and the rest of America. Most people, without much of a thought, would agree that all lives matter, whether they belong to someone killed in an altercation with police or say a Marine gunned down by a terrorist. The crowd at Netroots Nation disagreed.More importantly, O Malley failed the Sister Souljah test by apologizing for saying something that should be axiomatic. A Sister Souljah Moment refers to an incident during the 1992 presidential campaign in which then Governor Bill Clinton condemned a rapper named Sister Souljah for racially incendiary lyrics in some of her songs. The statement caused a great deal of consternation, but Clinton received praise for taking on an extremist who was part of an important Democratic constituency. Clinton went on to be elected and then reelected four years later. Via: The Examiner | 0 |
6,817 | U.S., China disagreed on how to reduce U.S. trade deficit: official | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senior U.S. and Chinese officials on Wednesday failed to agree on major steps needed from Beijing to help reduce the U.S. trade deficit with China during an annual economic dialogue meeting, a Trump administration official said. The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly on the talks and requested anonymity, said that the disagreements covered most areas important to the United States, including access to China’s financial services markets, steel overcapacity, trade in autos, Chinese requirements for data localization and ownership caps for foreign firms. But amid a “frank exchange,” the official said it was important that the Chinese delegation acknowledged the need to reduce U.S. trade deficit and work toward that goal. | 1 |
6,818 | Russia's Lavrov, Tillerson to meet at U.N. General Assembly: TASS | MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will meet on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, TASS news agency quoted Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying on Tuesday. | 1 |
6,819 | Hillary Clinton spars with comedian on parody talk-show interview | LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton played it strictly deadpan while parrying decidedly off-the-wall questions from comedian Zach Galifianakis on his online parody talk show, “Between Two Ferns,” released on Thursday. Galifianakis, star of “The Hangover” films, is known for his cringe-inducing banter on the web program, asking subjects awkward questions. Past interview subjects include Brad Pitt, Charlize Theron, Bradley Cooper and President Barack Obama. Sitting between two fern plants on a sparse set, Galifianakis did not dial back his trademark style of appearing uninterested and unprepared as he interviewed Clinton, riffing on her previous role as U.S. secretary of state in Obama’s first term. “As secretary, how many words per minute could you type? And how does President Obama like his coffee? Like himself - weak?” Galifianakis said. “You know Zach, those are really out-of-date questions. You need to get out more,” Clinton responded. Other topics brought up included the comedian’s interest in the designer of Clinton’s signature pantsuits and whether her daughter, Chelsea Clinton, discussed romantic crushes with Ivanka Trump, daughter of Clinton’s Republican opponent, Donald Trump, in the Nov. 8 election. In closing, Galifianakis made a wry reference to Clinton’s use of a private email server during her tenure as America’s top diplomat, which was investigated by the FBI. “This has been a lot of fun, Mrs. Clinton. We should stay in touch. What’s the best way to reach you? E-mail?” As a poker-faced Clinton looked on, Galifianakis hit a button to play AOL’s famous email alert: “You’ve got mail.” | 1 |
6,820 | Anti-Trump Group Has Placed DETAILED Statues Of Him In 5 U.S. Cities (VIDEO) | Statues of Donald Trump have appeared in five cities across the country, and it s clear that they re not meant to honor him. They re almost caricatures, and they portray him stark naked in a rather ahem insulting way. The intent is essentially to unmask Trump, and portray him as the disgusting little prick he is.The statues were placed in L.A., San Francisco, Seattle, Cleveland and New York City. The one in New York City was quickly removed, but ABC 7 Chicago reports that the West Coast statues still stand. An activist group known as INDECLINE, which speaks out against Trump, issued a statement claiming responsibility for the works of art. They said their hope is that Trump is never installed in the most powerful political and military position in the world. They also said: It is through these sculptures that we leave behind the physical and metaphorical embodiment of the ghastly soul of one of America s most infamous and reviled politicians. On their website, INDECLINE calls this particular protest The Emperor Has No Balls, and they ve made it very clear on the statues that they see Trump as the ball-less wonder of the GOP. A three-minute video on their website shows exactly how they made the statues, complete with sound bytes of some of the worst things Trump has said in his speeches. You can watch the video below, if you can bear it (warning: Explicit imagery, very NSFW):The Trump campaign didn t comment on the statues, but that may change at some point. Trump can t stand being portrayed in a bad light, and these statues make him look very bad, indeed.Nude statue of Donald Trump appears on Los Feliz sidewalk https://t.co/65Ot7SDqs6 pic.twitter.com/8scXOCwjFR ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) August 18, 2016 | 0 |
6,821 | Trump says he wants to cut Navy submarines' price: Fox News interview | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States needs more submarines but he wants to buy them at a lower cost, resuming his push to get defense contractors to cut the prices they charge the Pentagon. “We’re lacking submarines and we’re going to build new submarines but the price is too high so I’m cutting the prices way down,” Trump said in an interview on Fox News to be broadcast later on Thursday. Two U.S.-based companies, General Dynamics Corp’s Electric Boat division and Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding, build the Navy’s nuclear-powered submarines. Neither General Dynamics nor Huntington Ingalls immediately responded to a request for comment. “We are working hard to drive down cost and are seeing the fruits of that labor,” a senior U.S. Navy official said in response to the Trump comments. “We have the most advanced submarines in the world - the more we buy, the more we will bring down the price,” the official said. Trump, who took office on Friday, has vowed to build up the military, which he says has become dangerously depleted. Since winning the November election, he has pressured U.S. defense contractors to reduce the cost of the products they sell to the Pentagon. In December, Trump received a pledge from the chief executive of Lockheed Martin to cut the cost of the F-35 fighter jet after Trump complained in a tweet about the plane’s price tag and said he would ask Boeing to offer a cheaper alternative. | 1 |
6,822 | Some 700 migrants rescued in Mediterranean, 23 found dead | ROME (Reuters) - Rescuers pulled 700 boat migrants to safety in the Mediterranean and found 23 bodies during one operation on Friday, an Italian coastguard spokesman said, the second loss of multiple lives recorded in the area so far this week. After around three years of mass arrivals, the number of migrants reaching Italy has fallen sharply since July, when Rome struck a deal with Libya to block what had become a busy route for people smugglers. A Spanish ship deployed in the European Union s Operation Sophia naval mission recovered the dead, along with 64 survivors, from a sinking rubber boat, the mission said on its Facebook page. A tough day in the Central Mediterranean Sea, the Facebook post said, adding the rescues had started in the early morning. Six rescue operations were carried out in total on Friday, the spokesman said, making it one of the busiest days for rescues in recent months. Seven people were found dead and 900 saved on Wednesday. The Italian Coast Guard ship Diciotti was heading for the southern port of Reggio Calabria with 764 rescued migrants on board, the ANSA news agency said in a report confirmed by the coast guard spokesman. Diciotti was also carrying eight dead bodies, ANSA said. It was not clear if they had been among those recovered by the Spanish ship. Those rescued were originally from Sub-Saharan Africa, Pakistan, Libya, Bangladesh, Algeria, Egypt, Nepal, Morocco, Sri Lanka, Yemen, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon, ANSA said. In the Aegean Sea on Friday, three people drowned, six were known to be missing and scores of others were rescued while trying to reach Greece. | 1 |
6,823 | The Trump Administration Is ALREADY Taking Aim At Internet Freedom (DETAILS) | Donald Trump s new adviser on tech matters wants to basically get rid of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which acts as a consumer protection watchdog.On Monday, Trump appointed Mark Jamison as one of two members of his tech policy transition team. Let s take a look at his ideologies. In October, Jamison wrote a blog post explaining that he sees no reason for the FCC to exist. Most of the original motivations for having an FCC have gone away, Jamison wrote. Telecommunications network providers and ISPs are rarely, if ever, monopolies. As reported by the Washington Post:Jamison has argued that the FCC could be replaced by a much smaller agency charged with handing out licenses for wireless airwaves essentially acting as a traffic cop for the spectrum over which cellphone calls, mobile data and TV signals travel.Many of the FCC s existing functions could be farmed out, Jamison wrote in the blog post. Subsidies for phone and Internet service could be handled by state governments, while the Federal Trade Commission could handle consumer complaints and take action against abuses by companies. There are some details that were not addressed in the blog post due to time constraints, Jamison said Tuesday, such as the possible need for new state-level powers to address broadband monopolies.FCC leadership has made it clear that they strongly disagree with Jamison s assessment. Tom Wheeler, the Democratic chairman of the FCC, has said that in much of the country there is a duopoly when it comes to internet service providers. This severely limits the options of many consumers.Wheeler has fought against companies who have slowed down internet speeds for users with unlimited plans. He has also taken action against companies who have billed customers for content and services they didn t sign up for. He has implemented rules regarding net neutrality to prohibit anticompetitive behavior. Wheeler also took steps to protect the public by forcing internet providers to follow the same privacy guidelines when handling consumer data as legacy phone companies.Hal Singer, an economist at the George Washington University s Institute for Public Policy, said both Jamison and Jeffrey Eisenach, the other member of Trump s two-man tech transition team, envision a significantly pared-down agency. In their minds, proponents of regulation must demonstrate a market failure This is a 180-degree turn from Wheeler s FCC, which began with a presumption that markets failed. Getting rid of the FCC would be disastrous, especially for the internet. Just like every other position Trump has filled in the past two weeks, he has chosen the most heinous choice possible.Featured image via Drew Angerer/Getty Images | 0 |
6,824 | Puerto Rico takes restructuring law to U.S. high court | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Puerto Rico will ask the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday to validate a law that could let it cut billions of dollars from what it owes in debt at some public agencies, a key test in the island’s efforts to weather a massive fiscal crisis. The U.S. territory, facing what its governor has called an unpayable $70 billion debt and a 45 percent poverty rate, will argue its case against financial creditors, including Franklin Advisers and OppenheimerFunds, who want to keep contentious restructuring talks out of court. As Puerto Rico leaders, creditors and U.S. lawmakers seek a debt solution in the U.S. Congress, the question before the Supreme Court is whether the island should be allowed to restructure debts under a court-supervised regime similar to Chapter 9 bankruptcy laws used by U.S. cities such as Detroit and Stockton, California. “It is very significant that the Supreme Court took this case — we’re seeing efforts to try to determine with some more clarity the status of Puerto Rico,” said bankruptcy expert Melissa Jacoby, a professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law. Puerto Rico, which as a U.S. commonwealth is excluded from Chapter 9, passed the Recovery Act in 2014, a local restructuring law that lets it put public entities, such as power authority PREPA, into bankruptcy. Two U.S. court decisions deemed the Recovery Act invalid after PREPA creditors sued, with the Supreme Court agreeing in December to hear an appeal. Creditors say the act contradicts federal bankruptcy law, which prohibits states from making their own debt restructuring laws. Puerto Rico argues that if it is exempt from Chapter 9, it must also be exempt from the limitation on states passing their own laws. “It makes no sense to read a limitation on Chapter 9 to apply to a jurisdiction … that is categorically excluded from that chapter,” it said in January. The outcome could threaten a hard-fought, consensual restructuring at PREPA, where creditors holding most of the utility’s $8.3 billion in debt agreed to take 15 percent reductions in payouts. Reinstating the Recovery Act could allow Puerto Rico to scrap that deal and instead put PREPA into bankruptcy, where it could impose deeper cuts and bind holdout creditors to the deal. Jacoby said the decision might come down to the court focusing on how Congress previously interpreted bankruptcy law. “It’s all about legislative history,” said Jacoby. | 1 |
6,825 | UK's May 'receiving regular updates' on London tube station incident: PM's office | LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May is being regularly briefed after armed police rushed to an incident at a London underground station on Friday, with local media reporting there had been an explosion on a packed rush-hour commuter train. The prime minister is receiving regular updates, a spokesman from May s office said when asked if May was aware of the incident. | 1 |
6,826 | Nusra Front, Islamic State clash in Syria's Hama province | BEIRUT (Reuters) - Islamic State took control of some Syrian villages in a rebel-controlled area east of Hama on Monday, opening a new frontline days after the Syrian military said it had cleared Islamic State from a nearby area. Islamic State said in a statement it had taken control of 12 villages and carried out a big attack on the jihadist alliance Tahrir al-Sham. Tahrir al-Sham, spearheaded by al Qaeda s former affiliate the Nusra Front, said in its own statement that Islamic State had stormed several villages and accused the Syrian army of allowing it to cross government territory. A war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said Islamic State had taken 15 villages from Tahrir al-Sham, but that the jihadist alliance then took five of them back. On Friday the Syrian army said it had cleared Islamic State from its last pocket of territory in a nearby part of the countryside east of Hama after months of fighting. The Observatory and Tahrir al-Sham said those same fighters were the ones that captured the villages, appearing to have crossed government-held territory. The Observatory said some of them had crossed with groups of civilians. Although Islamic State and the groups that make up Tahrir al-Sham, including the Nusra Front, subscribe to hardline jihadist ideology, they have opposed each other for years. Islamic State has not held territory abutting areas held by jihadists or other rebel groups in northwest Syria, the most populous area held by the insurgency, since last year. It has since lost swathes of ground to the Syrian army, backed by Russia, Iran and Shi ite militias, and a rival campaign by Kurdish and Arab groups in the north supported by the United States. | 1 |
6,827 | Britain's Johnson says no need for gloom about Trump victory | BELGRADE (Reuters) - British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, setting aside his previous hostility toward Donald Trump, said on Thursday the U.S. Republican’s presidential election victory offered economic opportunities and there was no need for Europeans to be despondent about it. “I may respectfully say to my European friends and colleagues that it’s time we snapped out of general doom and gloom about this election,” Johnson said after meeting Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic. “He is after all a deal maker. He wants to do a free trade deal with the UK,” Johnson told reporters. Trump’s upset victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton has delighted far-right politicians in France, the Netherlands and Austria but worried some mainstream politicians who fear it may be part of a populist, anti-establishment trend. “I believe that this is a great opportunity for us in the UK to build on that relationship with America that is of fundamental economic importance for us but also of great importance for stability and prosperity in the world,” Johnson said. Johnson was one of the leading proponents of the successful Brexit campaign to get Britain out of the European Union. Trump aligned himself with the Brexit movement during his campaign. On Wednesday, Johnson, the former London mayor, congratulated Trump on his victory and tweeted that he looked forward to continuing the partnership between the two nations. Johnson said last year that he feared going to New York because of “the real risk of meeting Donald Trump” after the New York businessman said parts of London were now so radicalized that police officers feared to go there. Later on Thursday, Johnson said on his Twitter account he had spoken to U.S. Vice President-elect Mike Pence. “We agreed on importance of the special relationship & need to tackle global challenges together,” he tweeted. | 1 |
6,828 | Catalonia to press ahead with independence if Madrid suspends autonomy | MADRID/BARCELONA (Reuters) - Catalonia s leader pledged to press ahead with his independence bid if Spain moves to suspend the region s autonomy, a regional government source said on Wednesday, hours before a deadline over keeping the euro zone s fourth-largest economy united. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has given Catalan president Carles Puigdemont until 10 a.m. (0800 GMT) on Thursday to renounce a secession bid which has rocked markets and rattled the euro, or face direct rule from Madrid. Puigdemont made a symbolic declaration of independence last week and promptly suspended it to ask for talks with Madrid. The source said he would now lift that suspension if Rajoy exercised so-called Article 155 of the Constitution to take back power. The president said (at) his party s meeting that he will lift the suspension of the independence declaration if the government executes Article 155, the source said. That article, which has never been used during Spain s four decades of democracy, allows central government to take over any of its 17 autonomous communities if they break the law, which Madrid says Catalonia has done by holding a referendum on independence and pushing for a break-up. Even though it is not clear what direct rule will look like, the prospect has raised fears that social unrest could add to the turbulence, on the heels of an exodus of hundreds of Catalan firms and cuts to economic growth forecasts. In the latest grim prediction, Spain s independent budget watchdog warned this week that continued uncertainty could wipe as much as 12 billion euros off potential economic growth next year, cutting forecasts by between 0.4 and 1.2 percentage points. Catalonia accounts for 20 percent of Spain s GDP. If Rajoy triggers the article on Thursday, it will take between three and five days for the government in the wealthy region to be effectively stripped of its powers. If autonomy is suspended we will have to move in a hurry, the source said. Disappointed that last week s declaration was merely symbolic, pro-independence parties in Puigdemont s ruling coalition are now pushing for a formal vote in the Catalan parliament. Earlier on Wednesday, Rajoy urged Puigdemont to act sensibly and scrap the bid or risk direct rule, a move which would need only a vote in Spain s upper house, where Rajoy s People s Party holds an absolute majority. The premier repeated a call for clarity on the matter. It s not that difficult to reply to the question: Has Catalonia declared independence? Because if it has, the government is obliged to act in one way, and if it has not, we can talk here, Rajoy said in parliament. A central government source later said Madrid viewed a formal independence declaration as unacceptable blackmail . Since an Oct. 1 independence referendum which Madrid branded illegal, some 700 companies have moved their head offices from Catalonia, according to Spain s companies registry. Despite a violent crackdown by Spanish police to thwart the vote, Catalan officials say 43 percent of voters still managed to cast ballots in the referendum with 90 percent in favor of breaking away. Banco Sabadell, Spain s fifth-biggest bank, is considering moving its top management to Madrid. Tourism, a vital part of the Catalan economy centred on its seaside capital Barcelona, has also taken a hit, with activity falling 15 percent so far this month, industry association Exceltur said on Tuesday. The region s tourism industry could make 1.8 billion euros ($2.12 billion) less than usual in the fourth quarter if the volatility and confrontation get worse in the coming months , Exceltur said in a statement. Authoritative Catalan newspaper La Vanguardia reported that Madrid plans to appoint its own delegates to run regional government departments. Puigdemont would remain nominally in his role but stripped of all powers. Foreign Minister Alfonso Dastis said last week that it was not clear what measures the government would take if direct rule were imposed, but said the government would work on it. La Vanguardia said Puigdemont, a 54-year-old former journalist, was mulling declaring independence and calling so-called constituent elections for the newly declared republic. But Catalan foreign affairs chief Raul Romeva told a news conference in Brussels: Elections are not on the table now. Tempers have flared since the jailing on Monday of two separatist leaders, pending an investigation for alleged sedition. Tens of thousands of protesters gathered along Barcelona s Diagonal Avenue on Tuesday to call for their release, whistling and shouting freedom and out with the occupying forces . | 1 |
6,829 | May Brexit offer would hurt, cost EU citizens - EU parliament | BRUSSELS (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May s offer of settled status for EU residents is flawed and will leave them with fewer rights after Brexit, the European Parliament s Brexit coordinator said on Tuesday. A family of five could face a bill of 360 pounds to acquire the new status, Guy Verhofstadt told May s Brexit Secretary David Davis in a letter seen by Reuters a very significant amount for a family on low income . Listing three other concerns for the EU legislature, which must approve any treaty on the March 2019 exit, Verhofstadt told Davis: Under your proposals, EU citizens will definitely notice a deterioration of their status as a result of Brexit. And the Parliament s aim all along has been that EU citizens, and UK citizens in the EU-27, should notice no difference. Verhofstadt, a former Belgian prime minister, wrote in response to Davis, who had written to him after Parliament complained last week that there remained major issues to be settled on the rights of the 3 million EU citizens in Britain. On Tuesday, he told reporters that Parliament was determined that expatriates should not become victims of Brexit . May had unveiled more details last week of a system aimed at giving people already in Britain a quick and cheap way of asserting their rights to stay there indefinitely. The issue, along with how much Britain owes and the new EU-UK border across Ireland, is one on which the EU wants an outline agreement before opening talks on the future of trade. Verhofstadt said lawmakers were not dismissing British efforts to streamline applications but saw flaws in the nature of settled status itself. As well as the cost, which is similar to that of acquiring a British passport, he cited three others: - Europeans should simply declare a whole household resident, without needing an application process; the burden of proof should be on the British authorities to deny them rights. - more stringent conditions on criminal records could mean some EU residents, including some now with permanent resident status, being deported for failing to gain settled status . - EU residents would lose some rights to bring relatives to Britain as the new status would give them the same rights as British people, who now have fewer rights than EU citizens. | 1 |
6,830 | China says to ban some petroleum exports to North Korea | SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China said on Saturday it will ban exports of some petroleum products to North Korea, as well as imports of textiles from the isolated North, to comply with a United Nations Security Council resolution. The Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on its website that China would limit exports of refined petroleum products from Oct. 1, and ban exports of condensates and liquefied natural gas immediately. Imports of textiles from North Korea would also be banned immediately, the statement said. (Corrects headline to make clear some petroleum exports banned) | 1 |
6,831 | FBI Joins Investigation Of Michigan’s Governor Rick Snyder Over Flint Water Crisis | After months of people calling for the arrest of Michigan s governor Rick Snyder, the FBI is now getting involved with the ongoing criminal investigation into Snyder s possible culpability in the Flint water crisis.Gina Balaya, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney s Office in Detroit, told Reuters that Michigan prosecutors will be working with a multi-agency investigation team on the Flint water contamination matter, including the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the EPA s Office of Inspector General and the EPA s Criminal Investigation Division. In April 2014, Flint s emergency manager forced the city to switch from using Detroit s water system to using the Flint River for water. The decision to do so was touted as a means to cut costs for the city. It turned out to be a disaster. There is an unusual amount of salt in the Flint River. The river is also extremely contaminated. So when the salt began to corrode the pipes of Flint s water system, lead leaked into people s drinking water.One study found the pipe corrosion problem could have been solved for as little as $100 a day. Now it is estimated that it will cost up to $1.5 billion dollars to fix Flint s water system. There is legislation crawling through Congress that would provide Flint $600 million dollars to help repair Flint s water system.There has been massive outcry over the water system transition since day one. When evidence was shown that Flint s water had become contaminated, Snyder and the emergency manager choose not to act.The news that the FBI will be joining the investigation into the Snyder administration comes just one day before central figures are scheduled to testify before the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. The Detroit News reports: Former Flint Emergency Manager Darnell Earley may refuse to testify before a U.S. House hearing Wednesday on the lead contamination of Flint s water supply, according to two congressional sources.Earley, the current emergency manager of financially ailing Detroit Public Schools, oversaw Flint when the decision was made in April 2014 to switch the city s drinking water supply to the Flint River.The other officials are Joel Beauvais, acting deputy assistant administrator of the Office of Water at the EPA; Miguel Del Toral, a water expert for the EPA s Midwest Region 5 Water Division; and Marc Edwards, professor of environmental and water resources engineering at Virginia Tech University, who discovered high lead levels in Flint s water. The FBI has not yet made a public comment on what federal laws the Snyder administration may have broken.One thing is for certain, Snyder and his cronies are not going to get themselves out of this mess with a slick public relations scheme. They seem to think differently, as Snyder recently hired two PR firms. People are calling for Snyder s arrest and this move from the FBI sends another signal that they might just get their way.Featured Image Credit: Michigan Municipal League via Flickr | 0 |
6,832 | John Oliver Issues Formal Invitation To Trump’s Make-Believe Publicist, And It’s Brilliant (VIDEO) | Finding out Donald Trump was his own publicist in the 1990s, but yet now denies it, is pretty much a gift wrapped in one of those giant Lexus car bows to comedy writers everywhere. He s making the job almost too easy because the content writes itself.With a new take on the whole thing was the team over at Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. They absolutely pummeled Trump and his alter ego John Miller during Sunday night s broadcast.After they played the clip of Miller speaking of all the women who want to have sex with Trump, including Madonna, Oliver said: Much like his candidacy, that claim is sad but not implausible. Remember, there were rumors that in the 90s, Madonna got together with Vanilla Ice, Jose Canseco, and Willem Dafoe. And what is Donald Trump if not the authenticity of a Vanilla Ice, the likability of Jose Canseco and the terrifying facial expressions of Willem Dafoe? Very, VERY true.Oliver also points out that Trump himself stated in the 1990s that the person on the call wasn t John Miller, but rather himself, and he claimed that it was all a joke. Which would be fine, and the issue would be settled if not for the fact that Trump has now reversed that claim and stated the person on the call now isn t him.So, to settle this issue once and for all, Oliver has now extended an invitation for John Miller to appear on Last Week Tonight to be interviewed. Not Trump, Miller. Although, the chances of Miller showing up aren t very likely considering he doesn t exist.Watch the whole segment here:Featured image via video screen capture | 0 |
6,833 | Moldovan president vetoes participation in NATO country exercises | CHISINAU (Reuters) - Moldova s pro-Russian President Igor Dodon has blocked government plans to send troops to Ukraine to participate in military exercises starting this week and which coincide with Russian drills across the border in Belarus. Dodon s move on Wednesday underscores divisions within the ex-Soviet nation, where the president is frequently at odds on foreign policy with the government, which favors closer ties with the European Union and the United States. The government had planned to send 57 servicemen to take part in exercises by mostly NATO countries, including the United States and Turkey, in western Ukraine from Sept. 8-23. Russia will meanwhile hold drills from Sept. 14-20 in western Russia, Belarus and Russia s exclave of Kaliningrad. Moscow has dismissed fears in neighboring nations that the drills may be used as a precursor for an invasion. Dodon exercised his presidential veto to block the decision, arguing Moldova was bound by its constitution to stay neutral. The participation of Moldovan servicemen in military exercises outside the country is not acceptable, Dodon wrote on his Facebook page. A Ukrainian defense ministry spokesman said Kiev had not been formally notified that Moldova was withdrawing its personnel. Earlier this year Dodon banned the participation of military personnel in NATO exercises in Romania, prompting complaints by the U.S. and Romanian ambassadors in Chisinau. Speaking at a televised cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Pavel Filip said he was baffled by Dodon s decision: No one wants an unprepared and weak army. Moldova has been governed by pro-Western leaders since 2009 and signed a trade pact with the EU in 2014. Russia retaliated by halting imports of Moldovan farm produce, depriving the country of a key market for its wine, fruit and vegetables. Relations suffered further this year due to a dispute in March over the treatment of Moldovan officials traveling to or through Russia, and the expulsion of Russian diplomats in May. In August, Moldova declared Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin persona non grata, accusing him of making defamatory remarks about Moldovan government officials. | 1 |
6,834 | U.S. Intelligence Says Details Of Russian Dossier Exposing Trump Are Checking Out (VIDEO) | When the bombshell dossier exposing Donald Trump s shady ties to Russia became public, it was easy to question the validity of the document. Although the golden shower accusation was the least important detail of the report, it certainly caught the attention of the public and was enough to make just about anyone say no way this can be legit. But according to CNN, U.S. intelligence agencies have been investigating the dossier and the document is gaining credibility because some of the details it contains are actually checking out.CNN reports:Law enforcement and U.S. intelligence agencies are continuing their investigation, but they say the corroboration of intercepted communications gives them a greater confidence in the dossier s validity.Naturally, Trump s team is already screaming fake news again. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told CNN, We continue to be disgusted by CNN s fake news reporting. He then called back to add this:This is more fake news. It is about time CNN focused on the success the President has had bringing back jobs, protecting the nation, and strengthening relationships with Japan and other nations. The President won the election because of his vision and message for the nation.Intelligence officials emphasized that the conversations they intercepted were between foreign nationals and came from routine information gathering. They also noted that some of the communications were from people who were known to be heavily involved in digging up dirt on Hillary Clinton to help Trump.U.S. intelligence agencies have still not come to any final conclusions regarding whether or not Russia really has any compromising information on Trump that they can use to blackmail him. They have also not confirmed any of the more salacious claims made in the dossier. In other words, they still don t know if Trump paid Russian prostitutes to drain the swamp for him.You see more on this here, via The Young Turks:.@CNN is reporting that an investigation into the Pee-gate dossier is gaining credibility. pic.twitter.com/j6CEHZJktN The Young Turks (@TheYoungTurks) February 11, 2017Featured image via Andrew Harrer Pool/Getty Images | 0 |
6,835 | HILLARY CLINTON PROVES SHE DOESN’T “PLAY WELL WITH OTHERS” WHEN SHE NAMES HER GREATEST WEAKNESS | It s all about Hillary and Bill in their world. It s also about how much they can skim off the top or gain monetarily in the political world. Just a couple of grifters Hillary Clinton s greatest strength, the candidate explained in an interview with the morning newsletter The Skimm, is her passionate commitment to helping people. The passion was on display in 2009, for example, when Clinton personally intervened to help Swiss bank UBS settle a lawsuit with the IRS and thus protect the identities of tens of thousands of Americans who may or may not be evading U.S. taxes through Swiss bank accounts.Clinton was also asked about her greatest weakness. Here s what she said:Got that? Clinton s biggest fault is her inability to deal with you idiots who can t comprehend why Hillary Clinton should be president. You already rejected her once in 2008, and God help you if it happens again. You wouldn t like her when she s angry.This weakness was on display in 2008 during the Democratic primary, when Hillary was brought to tears upon realizing that Democratic voters might reject her in favor of an inexperienced celebrity like Barack Obama.Via: WFB | 0 |
6,836 | Mother Calls Cops About Her Missing 12-Year-Old, So They Come And Smash His Face In | An Idaho mother who called police after her missing 12-year-old son returned home soon regretted making the call, after cops arrived and smashed the boy s face in.On March 13, Amy Olzak called Idaho Falls Police to report her son missing. After a day-long search, a friend found the boy, and like any good citizen, Olzak called the station back to let officers know that the boy had been located and any search attempts should be called off.However, the officers came to the family home anyway. By the time they were finished, they had left her 12-year-old son with broken teeth, a possible concussion, and bruising and trauma to the neck and facial area. As Olzak explained to reporters at KIKD: I just wanted them to be aware. They came over. I talked to an officer for a minute and he walked over to my son. Then he put my son s hand behind his back and like lifted him up in the air and slammed his face into the trunk of a car. Two witnesses, the car s owner Courtney Beck, and Jessica Bowles reported seeing the whole event unfold and were both unable to give a single reason for the officer s extreme actions. Bowles said: I walked up closer and saw a chipped tooth, blood, and two fats lips. Olzak called for more officers, and they agreed that the boy needed medical attention. However, the original officer refused to release the boy from handcuffs throughout the entire visit to the hospital. He was kept in handcuffs until I took him home, Olzak said.The family sent a tort to the Idaho Falls Police last week, in order to initiate legal proceedings against the officer for using unnecessary and excessive force against a minor. The case reminds us of the growing issue of police being called to help, only to end up killing or injuring the people they should be supporting. One of the most notable cases being the killing of 68-year-old marine veteran Kenneth Chamberlain. White Plains police officers in New York broke into his home and shot him dead after a simple call to go to his aid in a potential medical emergency and the list is growing. It doesn t help the majority of good police, or the communities that they are meant to protect and serve, to continue making these mistakes with seeming impunity. Featured image via KIDK | 0 |
6,837 | TEACHER QUITS JOB After 5th, 6th Grade Muslim Students Threaten To Behead Her [VIDEO] | You re never to young to commit jihad Teachers at a primary school in Sydney, Australia have been threatened with beheading and other violence from young Islamic students, prompting one of them to quit her job.Students as young as those in Year 5, according to the Daily Telegraph, are making the violent threats and pressuring others to read the Koran at Punchbowl Public School in Sydney.Documents given to the newspaper allege that three staff members have taken a leave of absence owing to stress, received counselling and been awarded compensation after bullying from Islamic students.One female teacher reportedly quit her job after it got too much for her. She claims she quit after receiving death threats to her family from her year 5 and 6 students, with some saying they would behead her.The teacher also said she made numerous complaints back in 2014 about the extraordinary behavior in the class. For example, she said, she was abused by students after she stopped them from hanging a Syrian flag in the classroom.In another example, she claimed she was pushed into a corner by students who began marching around her chanting the Koran.The bullying wasn t restricted to teachers. The woman also reported an incident where children bullied other students by saying that someone had betrayed his religion by not going to Muslim scripture . In another incident, she said a group of boys had stood around a girl and called her horrible names like dog . HeatstreetWATCH here:Meanwhile in Australia Teachers Quit Job After 5th & 6th grade Syrian MUSLIM Students Threaten to Behead them! #NationalTeachersDay pic.twitter.com/tIK9A4boJv Amy Mek (@AmyMek) May 9, 2017Oakland County Undersheriff Michael McCabe said Brodie allegedly told an acquaintance Sept. 4 he was fearful Gorcyca would not rule in his favor in a custody battle with his his ex-wife, Kelsey Dyson. | 0 |
6,838 | MICHIGAN Senate Approves Bill To Allow Concealed Carry In “Gun Free Zones” Or “Mass Murderer Empowerment Zones” | Should legal gun owners be allowed to freely carry anywhere in their state, including dorm rooms and school campuses?In the wake of mass shootings in Las Vegas and Texas that left dozens of people dead or injured, a Michigan Senate committee approved bills Tuesday that will allow gun owners to carry concealed weapons in gun-free zones such as schools, churches, day care centers, bars, dorms, and stadiums.The shooting at a Baptist church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, on Sunday, which left 26 people dead and 20 more injured, makes state Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof, a Republican from West Olive, Mich., more certain that now is the time to take up the gun legislation. Some have said it s insensitive to bring up these issues now, but I feel quite the opposite, he told a standing-room-only crowd in the Senate Government Operations Committee. The recent events will allow us to look at how we can deter those who want to do harm. And responsible, well-trained, licensed concealed-pistol holders can be one of those deterrents. The bills taken up in the Senate Government Operations Committee passed on a party-line vote with Republicans supporting the three-bill package and Democrats opposing it. The bills also would close the open-carry loophole, effectively barring gun owners from openly carrying their weapons in gun-free zones.He gained support from gun rights groups, including the National Rifle Association and the Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners. The idea of having the ability to arm a well-qualified, well-trained individual is tantamount to setting out a scenario where we no longer set up a sheep for the wolf, said Robert Rudowski of the gun owners group.Gun-free zones should be called mass murderer empowerment zones, said Steve Dulan, spokesman for the gun owners group.Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican, vetoed similar legislation in 2012, just four days after a horrific shooting in Newtown, Conn., when a heavily armed man muscled his way into Sandy Hook Elementary School and killed 20 first-graders and six adults.Snyder said that bill had a fatal loophole that didn t allow for those institutions to opt out of the new legislation and prohibit weapons from their buildings. His spokeswoman, Anna Heaton, said Tuesday that Snyder hasn t seen the latest version of the concealed- carry bills and hadn t taken a position on them.Meekhof said he has talked with Snyder about the new legislation and that he s not necessarily on board with it. USA Today Never-Trumper Governor Rick Snyder (R), who some Republicans believe leans to the left on more than one important issue, like vetoing legislation that would require MI voters to have a valid ID in order to vote, is currently facing some serious allegations related to the Flint water crisis.WXYZ Harvey Hollins, the man Gov. Snyder appointed to handle the Flint Water Crisis, recently testified that he told the governor about increasing lead in Flint water months before Snyder told Congress he learned about it.The testimony came during the preliminary hearing for Michigan Health and Human Services Director Nick Lyons, who is facing involuntary manslaughter and misconduct in office charges for his alleged role in the water crisis.Hollins testified that he told Snyder in July 2015 and August 2015 that there were concerns about increased lead levels in Flint s water.During congressional testimony in March 2016, Snyder testified that he didn t even learn about the dangerous levels of lead in Flint s water system until October 2015. I told the governor that we re hearing a lot more folks complaining about lead, copper, and TTHM (total trihalomethanes), Hollins testified.We d love to hear what you think about legal gun owners being able to carry anywhere in their state? | 0 |
6,839 | (VIDEO) MORE CLASSIFIED HILLARY E-MAILS FOUND AND THOUSANDS TO BE RELEASED TONIGHT | Oops! As much as Clinton likes to spin this e-mail mess like it s no big deal, it s a HUGE deal! We ll see thousands more e-mails released to the press tonight so this could be a crazy news night and day on Tuesday. Wonder if there really are any yoga e-mails in there Sometime around 9 p.m. Monday, the State Department will release the next batch of Hillary Clinton s emails, and hundreds of reporters will comb through the 7,000 pages looking to be the first to find a story. These reporters are not amused by the late delivery of documents.The State Department said the delayed release of Clinton s emails happened because it has identified another 150 containing classified information that must be redacted before the release.New York Times political reporter Michael Barbaro complained that it was not professional for a government agency to conduct a data dump after typical business hours. A number of reporters sounded off on Twitter to criticize the most transparent administration ever for not giving reporters time to read through the emails and process the information before their deadlines. | 0 |
6,840 | At least 20 killed in Portugal wildfires | LISBON (Reuters) - At least 20 people died in a massive wave of wildfires raging across Portugal on Sunday and Monday in the worst such calamity since a blaze killed 64 people in June, state news agency Lusa cited civil protection officials as saying. Initially, officials put the death toll at six and no one was immediately available to confirm the rising death toll. The Portuguese government declared a state of public emergency in all the regions north of the Tagus river, a territory about half the size of continental Portugal. | 1 |
6,841 | Zuckerberg’s Latest Move Leaves Conservatives TERRIFIED | Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook is becoming a large public figure to the world, and not just for creating the world famous social media website we ve all come to know so well.Mark first launched Facebook in February of 2004 with his college roommates at Harvard University. The group then introduced Facebook to other campuses. Facebook rapidly gained popularity, with just over a billion users by 2012. As Facebook grew, so did Zuckerberg s net worth, which is now just over $50 billion USD. However, Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Dr. Priscilla Chan, vowed to donate 99% of that wealth to charity.Since 2009, Forbes Magazine has created an annual list of the top 10 world s most powerful people, and in December of 2016 Mark Zuckerberg made that list. Although Mark is at the bottom of the list, he is much younger than anyone else on the list. However, Mark s influence doesn t stop there. Recently, Mark Zuckerberg has launched a mission to give the entire world internet.Yet, what s the point of all this? Does Mr. Zuckerberg just have a strong urge to make his mark, which is already a big one, or does he have a bigger plan? In the last summer Facebook was accused by a group of conservatives of being liberally biased. In response Mark met with some conservatives to ease their troubled minds. Mark has never publicly taken a side in politics, but he s involved in a handful of organizations that terrify republicans.On January 3rd, Mark posted about some of his goals for the new year:Going into this challenge, it seems we are at a turning point in history. For decades, technology and globalization have made us more productive and connected. This has created many benefits, but for a lot of people it has also made life more challenging. This has contributed to a greater sense of division than I have felt in my lifetime. We need to find a way to change the game so it works for everyone.My work is about connecting the world and giving everyone a voice. I want to personally hear more of those voices this year. It will help me lead the work at Facebook and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative so we can make the most positive impact as the world enters an important new period.We are indeed at a turning point in history, and it s very intriguing to see what role Mark will play in it, maybe he will undo some of president-elect Donald Trump s damages come 2020. If Donald Trump can rally up enough support to get elected, Mark Zuckerberg can easily do the same.Featured image via David Ramos/Getty Images | 0 |
6,842 | Former Salvadoran president Calderon dies at 69 | SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - Former Salvadoran President Armando Calderon, who helped oversee the Central American country s transition from a bloody civil war to peace in the 1990s, has died at the age of 69 after a battle with cancer, his family said on Monday. Calderon, who was president from 1994 to 1999 as the reconstruction of the divided country took hold, died around midnight in a hospital in Houston where he was admitted in critical condition with an undisclosed form of cancer. El Salvador s 1980-1992 civil war, which pitted a U.S.-backed right-wing government against the leftist guerilla Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), claimed some 75,000 lives and left around another 8,000 people missing. A founder of the powerful, right-wing Nationalist Republican Alliance (Arena), Calderon as president ushered in a string of business-friendly economic reforms including a privatization of the telecoms sector and the pension system. El Salvador s Supreme Court of Justice in 2016 ordered an investigation into Calderon s fortune on suspicion of illicit enrichment. The former president, who was also mayor of San Salvador between 1988 and 1994, rejected the accusations. | 1 |
6,843 | Trump Claims Hillary Was Involved In Disappearance Of EgyptAir Flight | Giddy with the news that an Egyptian commercial airplane had disappeared on route from France to Cairo, Donald Trump wasted no time in taking an undeserved victory lap for his proposal to ban Muslims from the United States. Unable to contain himself, he also went a step further and blamed Hillary Clinton for the plane s disappearance because why not?Immediately after announcing that he was positive the plane went down due to Islamic terrorism (a conclusion he came to before even a single fact had emerged), Trump released a breathless statement to the effect that Clinton s lack of support for a Muslim ban was the root of all international terrorism. His evidence: a list of acts of terror that had occurred both before she became Secretary of State and after she left.Look at the carnage all over the world including the World Trade Center, San Bernardino, Paris, the USS Cole, Brussels and an unlimited number of other places. She and our totally ignorant President won t even use the term Radical Islamic Terrorism. And by the way, ask Hillary who blew up the plane last night another terrible, but preventable tragedy. She has bad judgement and is unfit to serve as President at this delicate and difficult time in our country s history.If one were to take Trump s advice and ask Hillary who blew up the plane last night? She would probably defer to the experts, who would tell you: We don t know. So far, the investigation has turned up few clues and has only just begun.Although suspicion pointed to Islamist militants who blew up another airliner over Egypt just seven months ago, no group had claimed responsibility more than 24 hours after the disappearance of flight MS804, an Airbus A320 flying from Paris to Cairo.Three French investigators and a technical expert from Airbus arrived in Cairo early on Friday to help investigate the fate of the missing plane, airport sources said.Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said on Thursday that it was too early to rule out any explanation for the disaster. The country s aviation minister said a terrorist attack was more likely than a technical failure.On Twitter the next day, Trump was again telling his supporters that he was the solution to terrorism.Look where the world is today, a total mess, and ISIS is still running around wild. I can fix it fast, Hillary has no chance! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 20, 2016So far his plans to fix it fast include bringing back torture, banning Muslims from the United States, and killing the wives and children of suspected extremists in the Middle East. Those vague policies have already made their way into terrorist propaganda videos and are being used as recruitment tools.On Fox News, which went from Trump skeptic to Trump cheerleader with breathtaking speed, the unanimous opinion seemed to be that acts of terror are great for Trump. The bodies haven t even been recovered from the Mediterranean Sea, and Fox host Stuart Varney was bragging about what this could do for Trump s poll numbers. I also think this may be good politically for Donald Trump. He s already tweeted out, saying this is probably terrorism.He s the guy who is saying, hands off, keep Muslims out temporarily whist we figure out who comes in. An incident of this type is surely a plus for Donald Trump. There is, of course, absolutely zero evidence that banning Muslims from the United States would stop terrorists from hijacking an Egyptian airplane, but why should that stop Fox from running with the narrative? If Trump tweets it, it must be true.Featured image via Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images | 0 |
6,844 | U.S. trying to promote crisis in Venezuela: foreign minister | NEW YORK (Reuters) - The United States is trying to promote a humanitarian crisis in Venezuela by imposing new sanctions, Foreign Affairs Minister Jorge Arreaza said on Friday after the sanctions were announced by the White House. Speaking at the U.N. headquarters in New York, Arreaza said “threats” and “supposed sanctions” from the United States are “uncivilized politics.” He said Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro will not attend the annual gathering of world leaders at the U.N., scheduled for next month. | 1 |
6,845 | Trump Just TOTALLY Screwed Our Military And Their Children | One by one, Donald Trump is screwing over everyone he promised to help when he wanted their votes. Today, it was our military veterans and their small children who got the shaft, thanks to Trump s policies. A memorandum was leaked online explaining to Army families with young kids that the early education programs they have come to rely on are coming to an end just one week from today as a result of Trump s hiring freeze. The memo announced that United States Army Garrison (USAG) Wiesbaden CYS Part-Day Programs would no longer be available as of March 1. These programs include the Strong Beginnings, Part-Day Preschool, and Part-Day Toddler programs.Printed on Army letterhead, the document clearly states that this closure is a result of staff shortage due to the Federal hiring Freeze. This Hiring Freeze prevents CYS from replacing staff who depart for any reason to include normal rotation. Because they are unable to hire new teachers, thanks to Trump s hiring freeze, they have found themselves with only enough staff to operate mandatory core programs. According to the memorandum, Part-Day programs are being closed to sustain Full-Day programs that are essential for military readiness. The last day for these Part-Day programs will be February 28. It is with deep regret that USAG Wiesbaden CYS must take this action; however, mandated core services that support Soldier readiness must be maintained and this can only be done by moving staff into the core programs from the Part-Day programs, the memo reads. It is our intention to once again offer these Part-Day programs as soon as we are authorized to hire and have sufficient trained staff on board. On the campaign trail, Trump swore up and down that he was going to take care of the men and women who serve in our military. But, like most other things he has said, this has turned out to be just one more broken promise. And now, it is the children of those who are willing to give their lives for this country that are ultimately getting screwed.If you don t think @realDonaldTrump s #hiringfreeze hurts our military, and military families, think again. This just leaked online. pic.twitter.com/H69Uh8Fukq VoteVets (@votevets) February 21, 2017Featured image via Christopher Furlong/Getty Images | 0 |
6,846 | the rich and us | daniel greenfield a shillman journalism fellow at the freedom center is a new york writer focusing on radical islam
in the final stretch of the election hillary rodham clinton has gone to war with the fbi
the word unprecedented has been thrown around so often this election that it ought to be retired but its still unprecedented for the nominee of a major political party to go war with the fbi
but thats exactly what hillary and her people have done coma patients just waking up now and watching an hour of cnn from their hospital beds would assume that fbi director james comey is hillarys opponent in this election
the fbi is under attack by everyone from obama to cnn hillarys people have circulated a letter attacking comey there are currently more media hit pieces lambasting him than targeting trump it wouldnt be too surprising if the clintons or their allies were to start running attack ads against the fbi
the fbis leadership is being warned that the entire leftwing establishment will form a lynch mob if they continue going after hillary and the fbis credibility is being attacked by the media and the democrats to preemptively head off the results of the investigation of the clinton foundation and hillary clinton
the covert struggle between fbi agents and obamas doj people has gone explosively public
the new york times has compared comey to j edgar hoover its bizarre headline james comey role recalls hoovers fbi fairly or not practically admits up front that its spouting nonsense the boston globe has published a column calling for comeys resignation not to be outdone time has an editorial claiming that the scandal is really an attack on all women
james carville appeared on msnbc to remind everyone that he was still alive and insane he accused comey of coordinating with house republicans and the kgb and you thought the vast right wing conspiracy was a stretch
countless media stories charge comey with violating procedure do you know whats a procedural violation emailing classified information stored on your bathroom server
senator harry reid has sent comey a letter accusing him of violating the hatch act the hatch act is a nice idea that has as much relevance in the age of obama as the tenth amendment but the cable news spectrum quickly filled with media hacks glancing at the wikipedia article on the hatch act under the table while accusing the fbi director of one of the most awkward conspiracies against hillary ever
if james comey is really out to hurt hillary he picked one hell of a strange way to do it
not too long ago democrats were breathing a sigh of relief when he gave hillary clinton a pass in a prominent public statement if he really were out to elect trump by keeping the email scandal going why did he trash the investigation was he on the payroll of house republicans and the kgb back then and playing it coy or was it a sudden development where vladimir putin and paul ryan talked him into taking a look at anthony weiners computer
either comey is the most cunning fbi director that ever lived or hes just awkwardly trying to navigate a political mess that has trapped him between a doj leadership whose political futures are tied to hillarys victory and his own bureau whose apolitical agents just want to be allowed to do their jobs
the only truly mysterious thing is why hillary and her associates decided to go to war with a respected federal agency most americans like the fbi while hillary clinton enjoys a unfavorable rating
and its an interesting question
hillarys old strategy was to lie and deny that the fbi even had a criminal investigation underway instead her associates insisted that it was a security review the fbi corrected her and she shrugged it off but the old breezy denial approach has given way to a savage assault on the fbi
pretending that nothing was wrong was a bad strategy but it was a better one that picking a fight with the fbi while lunatic clinton associates try to claim that the fbi is really the kgb
there are two possible explanations
hillary clinton might be arrogant enough to lash out at the fbi now that she believes that victory is near the same kind of hubris that led her to plan her victory fireworks display could lead her to declare a war on the fbi for irritating her during the final miles of her campaign
but the other explanation is that her people panicked
going to war with the fbi is not the behavior of a smart and focused presidential campaign its an act of desperation when a presidential candidate decides that her only option is to try and destroy the credibility of the fbi thats not hubris its fear of what the fbi might be about to reveal about her
during the original fbi investigation hillary clinton was confident that she could ride it out and she had good reason for believing that but that hillary clinton is gone in her place is a paranoid wreck within a short space of time the positive clinton campaign promising to unite the country has been replaced by a desperate and flailing operation that has focused all its energy on fighting the fbi
theres only one reason for such bizarre behavior
the clinton campaign has decided that an fbi investigation of the latest batch of emails poses a threat to its survival and so its gone all in on fighting the fbi its an unprecedented step born of fear its hard to know whether that fear is justified but the existence of that fear already tells us a whole lot
clinton loyalists rigged the old investigation they knew the outcome ahead of time as well as they knew the debate questions now suddenly they are no longer in control and they are afraid
you can smell the fear
the fbi has wiretaps from the investigation of the clinton foundation its finding new emails all the time and clintonworld panicked the spinmeisters of clintonworld have claimed that the email scandal is just so much smoke without fire all thats here is the appearance of impropriety without any of the substance but this isnt how you react to smoke its how you respond to a fire
the misguided assault on the fbi tells us that hillary clinton and her allies are afraid of a revelation bigger than the fundamental illegality of her email setup the email setup was a preemptive cover up the clinton campaign has panicked badly out of the belief right or wrong that whatever crime the illegal setup was meant to cover up is at risk of being exposed
the clintons have weathered countless scandals over the years whatever they are protecting this time around is bigger than the usual corruption bribery sexual assaults and abuses of power that have followed them around throughout the years this is bigger and more damaging than any of the allegations that have already come out and they dont want fbi investigators anywhere near it
the campaign against comey is pure intimidation its also a warning any senior fbi people who value their careers are being warned to stay away the democrats are closing ranks around their nominee against the fbi its an ugly and unprecedented scene it may also be their last stand
hillary clinton has awkwardly wound her way through numerous scandals in just this election cycle but shes never shown fear or desperation before now that has changed whatever she is afraid of it lies buried in her emails with huma abedin and it can bring her down like nothing else has | 1 |
6,847 | Eric Trump PATHETICALLY Attempts To Defend Daddy’s Latest 3 A.M. Temper Tantrum On Twitter | Everyone involved with Donald Trump s campaign seems to have one job, and it s the same job: Explaining why whatever completely horrible thing Trump said or did, this time, is really totally okay. Today, it s Eric Trump s turn to justify daddy s latest 3 a.m. temper tantrum on Twitter, in which he told voters to check out a former Miss Universe s non-existent sex tape. Speaking to Fox News on Tuesday, Eric said that at least it proves his father doesn t sleep, even though this can admittedly be a downfall sometimes. At least my father s up at 3 o clock in the morning, right? Which, you know, is great. Maybe that energy is sometimes a little bit of a downfall of his, but he s an amazing guy, and he ll be there to answer the call, you know, when things go bad. And, you know, I think people appreciate that. Not everyone sees Trump s lack of sleep as a virtue, though. Some of The Donald s opponents say his late night Twitter rants are proof of just how unfit for office he is. What kind of a man stays up all night to smear a woman with lies and conspiracy theories? his rival Hillary Clinton asked last week.Vice President Joe Biden took aim at Trump s early morning tweetstorm on Monday during a rally in Orlando, Fl. You don t have to be a psychologist or psychiatrist. But what kind of leader awakens at 3 o clock in the morning and tweets Hillary helped disgusting Alicia M. become a U.S. citizen so she could use her in a debate ? Or 3:30 in the morning. This guy wants to be president of the United States of America? Biden said.In Trump s Twitter rant, he claimed that Clinton had been duped by Alicia Machado, a former Miss Universe who had been fat-shamed by the GOP nominee and suggested that the Democratic nominee had helped her gain citizenship.Wow, Crooked Hillary was duped and used by my worst Miss U. Hillary floated her as an "angel" without checking her past, which is terrible! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2016Using Alicia M in the debate as a paragon of virtue just shows that Crooked Hillary suffers from BAD JUDGEMENT! Hillary was set up by a con. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2016Did Crooked Hillary help disgusting (check out sex tape and past) Alicia M become a U.S. citizen so she could use her in the debate? Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2016Trump then tried to defend himself by bragging that at least he was awake at such a ridiculous hour.For those few people knocking me for tweeting at three o'clock in the morning, at least you know I will be there, awake, to answer the call! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2016Featured image via Joe Raedle/Getty Images | 0 |
6,848 | Mexico wants NAFTA consensus despite tension: finance minister | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Mexican Finance Minister Jose Antonio Meade said on Friday that Mexico’s peso was reacting with volatility to “tension” in NAFTA talks, but Mexico wanted to reach a consensus to modernize the trade pact to benefit all three member countries. Meade, speaking on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund meeting in Washington, said that Mexico was benefiting from a flexible and liquid exchange rate. The peso was hovering near a five-month low on Friday. “The main scenario that we’re working on is that there is scope in the negotiation of the agreement for a consensus that benefits the three countries. That’s what’s driving us in a negotiation we’re taking part in good faith,” Meade said. | 1 |
6,849 | Report: Obama Says It’s Over For Bernie, Time To Unite Behind Hillary | President Obama has reportedly told top Democratic donors that he does not see a winning path forward for Senator Bernie Sanders, and that it is time for the party to close ranks and unify behind Secretary Hillary Clinton s presidential campaign.That news comes from a new New York Times report from the campaign trail.In unusually candid remarks, President Obama privately told a group of Democratic donors last Friday that Senator Bernie Sanders is nearing the point where his campaign against Hillary Clinton will come to an end, and that the party must soon come together to back her.[ ]Mr. Obama made the remarks after reporters had left a fund-raising event in Austin, Tex., for the Democratic National Committee. The comments were described by three people in the room for the event, all of whom were granted anonymity to describe a candid moment with the president. The comments were later confirmed by a White House official.Mr. Obama chose his words carefully, and did not explicitly call on Mr. Sanders to depart the race, according to those in the room. Still, those in attendance said in interviews that they took his comments as a signal to Mr. Sanders that perpetuating his campaign, which is now an uphill climb, could only help the Republicans recapture the White House.Interestingly, Obama s comments were made before Clinton swept all five states that held primaries this past Tuesday, which has given her a lead of 323 delegates over Senator Sanders.According to analysis of the remaining delegates left in the race which are allocated proportionately instead of winner take all Sanders would have to win 60% of the remaining delegates in the primaries to come, which is unlikely.Clinton and her team have apparently begun to pivot towards the likely general election matchup against Donald Trump. In her speech on Tuesday night, she called out the Republican frontrunner for his bigoted attacks on women, latinos, and Muslims. She also remarked, Our next president has to bring our country together. We should be breaking down barriers, not building walls. The current RealClearPolitics average of national polls shows Clinton beating Trump by 6.3%, and the most recent national poll from NBC/Wall Street Journal shows her beating him by 13%.Featured image via Flickr | 0 |
6,850 | [VIDEO] MSNBC ANALYST AT LOSS TO EXPLAIN: Trump Runs Away With NH Vote In EVERY Category | Trump is not your traditional Republican candidate. So anyone who expected him to appeal to only the traditional Republican voter is going to be in for a YUGE surprise There is a certain pleasure that s derived from watching the Left in a state of panic over Trump s unexplainable popularity.WATCH: | 0 |
6,851 | Caribbean faces hard road to recovery after Irma's ravages | VARADERO, Cuba (Reuters) - From Cuba to Antigua, Caribbean islanders began counting the cost of Hurricane Irma on Sunday after the brutal storm left a trail of death, destruction and chaos from which the tourist-dependent region could take years to recover. The Category 5 storm, which killed at least 28 people across the region, devastated housing, power supplies and communications, leaving some small islands almost cut off from the world. European nations sent military reinforcements to keep order amid looting, while the damage was expected to total billions of dollars. Ex-pat billionaires and poor islanders alike were forced to take cover as Irma tore roofs off buildings, flipped cars and killed livestock, raging from the Leeward Islands across Puerto Rico and Hispaniola then into Cuba before turning on Florida. Waves of up to 36 feet (11 meters) smashed businesses along the Cuban capital Havana s sea-side drive on Sunday morning. Further east, high winds whipped Varadero, the island s most important tourist resort. It s a complete disaster and it will take a great deal of work to get Varadero back on its feet, said Osmel de Armas, 53, an aquatic photographer who works on the beach at the battered resort. Sea-front hotels were evacuated in Havana and relief workers spent the night rescuing people from homes in the city center as the sea penetrated to historic depths in the flood-prone area. U.S President Donald Trump issued a disaster declaration on Sunday for Puerto Rico, where Irma killed at least 3 people and left hundreds of thousands without electricity. Trump also expanded federal funds available to the U.S. Virgin Islands, which suffered extensive damage to homes and infrastructure. Further east in the Caribbean, battered islands such as St. Martin and Barbuda were taking stock of the damage as people began emerging from shelters to scenes of devastation. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said the death toll on the Dutch part of St. Martin had doubled to four, and that 70 percent of homes had been damaged or destroyed. Following reports of looting, the Netherlands said it would increase its military presence on the island to 550 soldiers by Monday. Rutte said that to ensure order, security forces were authorized to act with a firm hand . Alex Martinez, 31, a native of Florida who was vacationing on the Dutch side of St. Martin when Irma hit the island in the early hours of Wednesday, vividly described how his hotel was gutted by the storm, turning it into a debris-strewn tip. Doors were torn from hinges, windows shattered, cars lifted off the ground and furniture blown through the rooms after Irma hit the building with a burst of pressure that was like you were getting sucked out of an aeroplane, he said. Martinez, his wife and two others barricaded themselves in their bathroom, pushing with all their might to secure the door as Irma battered it with winds of up to 185 mph (300 km/h). That s when we thought, that was it , he said. I honestly, swear to God, thought we were going to die at that point in time. Everything continued for maybe 20, 30 minutes; my wife s there, she s praying, praying, praying, praying, and things just kinda calmed down. I guess that s when the eye (of the storm came). Staff deserted the hotel to look after their families and Martinez and a few others had to scavenge for food and water for three days until they were airlifted out on Saturday, he said. Dutch authorities are evacuating other tourists and injured people to Curacao, where Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Interior Minister Ronald Plasterk were expected to arrive today. France, which oversees neighboring Saint Barthelemy and the other half of St Martin, said the police presence on the two islands had been boosted to close to 500. The French interior ministry said 11 people suspected of malicious actions had been arrested since Friday as television footage showed scenes of chaos on the islands, with streets under water, boats and cars tossed into piles and torn rooftops. Irma killed at least 10 people on the two islands, the French government said. France s Caisse Centrale de Reassurance, a state-owned reinsurance group, estimated the cost of Irma at some 1.2 billion euros ($1.44 billion). French President Emmanuel Macron was due to visit St. Martin on Tuesday. Barbuda, home to some 1,800 inhabitants, faces a reconstruction bill that could total hundreds of millions of dollars, state officials say, after Irma steamrolled the island. The prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Browne, said Irma had wreaked absolute devastation on Barbuda, which he described as barely habitable after 90 percent of cars and buildings had been damaged. The government ordered a total evacuation when a second hurricane, Jose, emerged, but a handful of people refused to leave their homes, including a gentleman (who) said he was living in a cave , said Garfield Burford, director of news at government-owned broadcaster ABS TV and Radio in Antigua and Barbuda. Irma also plunged the British Virgin Islands, an offshore business and legal center, into turmoil. Yachts were piled on top of each other in the harbor and many houses in the hillside capital of Road Town on the main island of Tortola were badly damaged. Both there and in Anguilla to the east, residents complained help from the British government was too slow in coming, prompting a defensive response from London. We weren t late, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon told BBC television on Sunday, saying Britain had pre-positioned an aid ship for the Caribbean hurricane season and that his government s response has been as good as anybody else s. British billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson, who sought refuge in the wine cellar of his home on Necker island, called Irma the storm of the century on Twitter and urged people to make donations to help rebuild the region. | 1 |
6,852 | 3 MILLION ILLEGAL ALIENS Under Investigation For Voting…After Obama Told Them It Was Ok | Part of the problem is that organizations are registering people without any proof they are legal American citizens .Leaked funding documents reveal an effort by George Soros and his foundations to manipulate election laws and process rules ahead of the federal election far more expansively than has been previously reported.The billionaire and convicted felon moved hundreds of millions of dollars into often-secret efforts to change election laws, fuel litigation to attack election integrity measures, push public narratives about voter fraud, and to integrate the political ground game of the left with efforts to scare racial minority groups about voting rights threats.These Soros-funded efforts moved through dozens of 501(c)(3) and (c)(4) charities and involved the active compliance with civil rights groups, government officials, and purportedly non-partisan groups like the League of Women Voters.The leaked documents also reveal deliberate and successful efforts to manipulate media coverage of election issues in mainstream media outlets like the The New York Times.IF YOU LIVE IN ONE OF THE STATES BELOW, PLEASE DEMAND THAT VOTER ID IS ENACTED: Although some states require some form of ID before voting, California, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming, and Washington, D.C. all require no identification before voting.Please contact True the Vote for any and all information regarding voter fraud. Via: Info WarsHere s Obama essentially telling illegal aliens it s okay to vote, no one will catch you: | 0 |
6,853 | Sandy Hook Mom SHREDS Megyn Kelly For Interviewing Conspiracy Nut Alex Jones (TWEETS) | Megyn Kelly may have departed Fox News for more legitimate pastures at NBC, but she s no less of a right-wing hack. If anything, she s openly doing Donald Trump s bidding from her new anchor chair. Case in point Kelly decided to bring fringe conspiracy nut Alex Jones in for an interview. This is the same guy who says the mass shooting of more than 20 innocent small children and teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown Connecticut is a government hoax that used child actors to fool the world in order to promote gun control.Well, the mother of one of the victims of that very same shooting took Kelly to the woodshed for legitimizing Jones. Nelba Marquez-Greene took to Twitter and ripped Kelly apart:Hey @megynkelly , let me know if you want to give his victims equal air time. Promoting this fool is bad news. Do not encourage his abuse. https://t.co/WTJjFuSSuG Nelba M rquez-Greene (@Nelba_MG) June 12, 2017To give a man like this such a platform normalizes behavior that isn't normal. How do I explain this to my son? https://t.co/lEVlBR8LI6 Nelba M rquez-Greene (@Nelba_MG) June 12, 2017Here you go @megynkelly her name is Ana Grace M rquez-Greene. Say her name- stare at this & tell me it's worth it. @nbc #SandyHook pic.twitter.com/mKrU63KWmA Nelba M rquez-Greene (@Nelba_MG) June 12, 2017In @megynkelly 's America, cruelty gets u on national TV on Father's Day. #SandyHook grieving dads will go to the cemetery. #thisisnotnormal Nelba M rquez-Greene (@Nelba_MG) June 12, 2017Chelsea Clinton then chimed in to comfort the grieving mother:I am so sorry Nelba you continually confront disbelief and derision. It should be obvious how very, very wrong that is. Chelsea Clinton (@ChelseaClinton) June 12, 2017There is no justification for amplifying lies (or a liar), particularly about unimaginable tragedy. I hope no parent, no person watches this https://t.co/nSt1MGGM2U Chelsea Clinton (@ChelseaClinton) June 12, 2017After that, Shannon Watts, who founded Moms for Gun Sense in America, took her turn to school Kelly:This is the mother of a child murdered at Sandy Hook a tragedy Alex Jones says never happened. How could you @megynkelly? #shameonNBC https://t.co/gHaHEhxGCU Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) June 12, 2017Why isn't @megynkelly interviewing Sandy Hook families instead of lying, cruel man who has caused them added suffering? #shameonNBC @nbc https://t.co/yBo6NljTkP Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) June 12, 2017Shame on @MegynKelly and #shameonNBC for allowing this cruel and overexposed liar question whether Sandy Hook happened. @nbc https://t.co/yBo6NlBucn Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) June 12, 2017This is repulsive and immoral. How dare you highlight this "person" who accused Aurora and Sandy Hook parents of faking children's deaths? Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) June 12, 2017Once Kelly saw the firestorm coming her way, she insisted that what she is doing is good journalism, since the orange goon in the Oval Office pretending to be president likes Alex Jones and appeared on his show:POTUS's been on & praises @RealAlexJones' show. He's giving Infowars a WH press credential. Many don't know him; our job is 2 shine a light. https://t.co/5e88BJyqnz Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) June 12, 2017No, Ms. Kelly. This is not shining a light. Just because the moron in the White House traffics in conspiracies and gets his news from lunatics doesn t mean that legitimate journalists need to give this kind of thing a platform. That s the whole point THIS. IS. NOT. NORMAL.You are giving this bigoted fringe conspiracy theorist a huge platform from a legitimate news network, all the while causing more pain to the families of those murdered children. You should be ashamed of yourself. You and NBC owe these families an apology.As for NBC if they want to retain their status as one of the main legitimate news networks, they ll fire this hack immediately and refuse to air her garbage.Featured image via Jemal Countess/Getty Images | 0 |
6,854 | BREAKING: OBAMA’S DOJ WILL NOT CHARGE HILLARY Even If FBI Says She Broke The Law | Loretta Lynch is claiming she doesn t have to pursue criminal charges if the FBI recommended them. What a sham! Attorney General Loretta Lynch indicated Wednesday that the law doesn t require the Justice Department to pursue criminal charges against Hillary Clinton for her use of a private email system, even if the FBI recommends criminal charges.Lynch was asked in a hearing by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, what her department would do if the FBI were to recommend that step. If the FBI were to make a referral to the Department of Justice to pursue a case by way of indictment and to convene a grand jury for that purpose, the Department of Justice is not required by law to do so, are they are you? Cornyn asked.Lynch didn t answer directly, but seemed to indicate the department has some wiggle room, and can consult with officials before deciding what to do. It would not be an operation of law, it would be an operation of procedures, Lynch said in reply. She added that the decision to pursue a criminal case would be done in conjunction with the agents involved in the investigation. It s not something that we would want to cut them out of the process. Read more: Washington Examiner | 0 |
6,855 | Britain summons Chinese ambassador after UK activist denied Hong Kong entry | LONDON (Reuters) - Britain said on Tuesday it had summoned the Chinese ambassador in recent days to express its concern that a British rights activist was denied entry to Hong Kong last week. We are very concerned that Ben Rogers, a UK national, was denied entry into Hong Kong on 11 October in absolute disregard of the one country, two systems principle, Foreign Office minister Mark Field said in parliament. He added: Foreign Office director-general for economic and global issues summoned the Chinese ambassador on this issue over the past few days. Rogers, a co-founder of the ruling Conservative Party s Human Rights Commission, has been a vocal critic of Chinese-ruled Hong Kong s treatment of human rights activists, including that of jailed student protest leader Joshua Wong. Hong Kong, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997, is governed under a one country, two systems principle that promises it a higher degree of autonomy and freedom than on the mainland. Last week, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said London needed an explanation from Hong Kong and Beijing on the matter. | 1 |
6,856 | BREAKING: FBI ARREST STOPS Horrific San Francisco “MASS CASUALTY” Christmas Day Attack By MUSLIM, Truck Driver and Former Marine Sharpshooter | Truck attacks are becoming increasingly popular with Muslim extremists as a way to threaten large groups of people in popular areas. Meanwhile, the US Appeals Court has just ruled President Trump s travel ban violates federal law and goes beyond the scope of his delegated authority. The ban, which targets people from six Muslim-majority countries, should not be applied to people with strong US connections, the court said.Breitbart News The FBI announced on Friday that it arrested California tow truck driver Everitt Aaron Jameson for plotting a Christmas terror attack on Pier 39 in San Francisco.In statements to undercover informants, Jameson outlined a plan that would have involved running civilians down with his truck, deploying improvised explosives, and using his skills as a Marine sharpshooter to increase the body count. A note he evidently intended for publication after the attack swore allegiance to ISIS and cited President Donald Trump s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel as a reason for his actions.FBI documents state that Jameson planned to use his tow truck for a mass-casualty attack on Pier 39 because he had been there before and knew it was a heavily crowded area. He reportedly said Christmas would be the perfect day to commit the attack. I m glad to know we Muslims are finally hitting back. Allahu Akbar! The kuffar deserve everything and more [for] the lives they have taken, he allegedly told an FBI informant after the November 2 truck jihad attack in New York City, which killed eight people. Allahu akbar! It says he was one of us. May Allah grant him Jannah firtuidus Amin, he said of New York City truck terrorist Sayfullo Saipov, indicating that he hoped Saipov would enter paradise as a reward for attacking the infidels.Jameson also reportedly spoke approvingly of the attack on a Christmas party by a husband-and-wife jihadi team in San Bernardino in December 2015 and suggested his operation would include vehicles, explosives, and firearms. He told an undercover agent that America needed another attack like New York or San Bernardino. Communicating with FBI assets he believed were representatives of the Islamic State, Jameson advertised himself as a military veteran and offered to put his skills at the service of the caliphate. In a meeting with undercover informants, he added that he was well versed in the Anarchist Cookbook, a manual for making bombs and other implements of terrorism. He also offered financial assistance to ISIS, offered to travel to Syria if needed, and said he was ready to die for the cause. He demonstrated fluency in spoken Arabic during a telephone call. I was a soldier in the kuffar army before I reverted, he said. I have been trained in combat and things of war. Inshallah, anything of that nature, as well as funding. Anything for Allah. The FBI confirmed that Jameson attended U.S. Marine Corps basic training and earned a sharpshooter rifle qualification. He was eventually discharged for fraudulent enlistment, apparently because he failed to disclose a history of asthma to the recruiters.When the undercover FBI operatives asked what he needed for the attack, Jameson outlined an ambitious plan involving M-16 and/or AK-47 rifles, timers, remote detonators, and pipe bomb materials.When a search warrant was executed at Jameson s residence in Modesto, a number of pistols, rifles, and ammunition were confiscated, along with his last will and testament and a handwritten letter he signed as Abdallah abu Everitt ibn Gordon al-Amriki. The letter was evidently meant to be published after he carried out his terror attack. It reads:I, Abdallah adu Everitt ibn Gordon, have committed these acts upon the Kuffar, in the name of Dar al Islam, Allahu Akbar! You all have brought this upon yourselves. There is no innocent Kuffar! Each and every Kuffar in this Nationalistic, Godless society has a hand in this. You ve allowed Donald J. Trump to give away Al Quds to the Jews. Both You and he are wrong, it belongs to the Muslemeen. We have penetrated and infiltrated your disgusting country. These Acts will continue until the Lions of Islam overtake you. Turn to Allah, make tawbah and fight with us, the soldiers who fight in the day and the night. Allah SWT is most forgiving. I am not. Long live Isil, Long Live Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Allahu akbar!Dar al Islam means the house of Islam. Kuffar is a derogatory term for non-Muslims. Al Quds is an Arabic name for Jerusalem. Muslemeen is another way of saying Muslim Tawbah means repent. Allah SWT is a shorthand way of saying Allah the most glorious and exalted. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is the caliph or leader of the Islamic State.According to the FBI, Jameson was a voracious consumer of Islamic State propaganda online, and wrote numerous social media posts that are supportive of terrorism. | 0 |
6,857 | U.S. Air Force Runs Out Of Bombs To Drop On ISIS…Don’t Worry Though, Barry’s Got This | Bombs a-w oh, never mind Things must be going well in the war on terror, as the US Air Force just admitted that it is fast running out of bombs to drop on ISIS after B-1s have dropped bombs in record numbers. As ZeeNews reports, Air Force chief of staff General Mark Welsh said as America ramps up its military campaign against the Islamist terror group, the Air Force is now expending munitions faster than we can replenish them. The US Air Force is fast running out of bombs to drop on ISIS targets in Syria and Iraq after its pilots fired off over 20,000 missiles and bombs since the US bombing campaign against the terror group began 15 months ago, its chief has said. As ZeeNews reports, B-1s have dropped bombs in record numbers. F-15Es are in the fight because they are able to employ a wide range of weapons and do so with great flexibility. We need the funding in place to ensure we re prepared for the long fight, Welsh said in the statement. This is a critical need, he said.The bombing campaign has left the US Air Force with what an Air Force official described as munitions depot stocks below our desired objective. The Air Force has requested additional funding for Hellfire missiles and is developing plans to ramp up weapons production to replenish its stocks more quickly. But replenishing that stock can take up to four years from time of expenditure to asset resupply, the official told CNN. The precision today s wars requires demands the right equipment and capability to achieve desired effects. We need to ensure the necessary funding is in place to not only execute today s wars, but also tomorrow s challenges, the official said. As The Washington Times concludes, Russia has been bombing ISIS positions sporadically while France and Great Britain are now active in the American-led coalition which could relieve some pressure.Much larger potential adversaries like Russia or China most surely are following this development carefully. If the USAF cannot sustain a trickling battle against a poorly armed, medieval enemy, fighting a superpower military is obviously beyond its capability.Via: Zero Hedge | 0 |
6,858 | Italy ready to discuss calls for greater autonomy: Gentiloni | VENICE (Reuters) - The Italian government is ready to open negotiations with Lombardy and Veneto after the two wealthy regions voted overwhelmingly for greater autonomy, Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni said on Tuesday. Unlike a recent referendum on independence in Catalonia, which sparked a political crisis in Spain, the Italian votes this weekend were legal, but not binding on Rome. Making clear he had no intention of making a drama out of the twin ballots, Gentiloni said he was ready to discuss how Lombardy and Veneto wanted to proceed. Here we are talking about how to make Italy work better. We are not calling into question Italy and its unity, Gentiloni said during a visit to an oil refinery close to Venice, the capital of the northeastern Veneto region. The government is ready to look into the merits of this ... it will be a complex discussion that can t be done in five minutes, he added. Regional governments have the right to ask for greater oversight in 23 policy areas, including the environment, infrastructure, health and education. The most delicate negotiations are likely to be over tax returns, with Veneto demanding that it be allowed to spend 90 percent of all the taxes raised on its own territory. Among Italy s 20 regions, Lombardy and Veneto account for just under a third of its economic output and are home to around 25 percent of its population. Italy s poorer, less developed southern regions are worried that they will receive less funding in future if Lombardy and Veneto get to keep more of their own tax take. Five regions in Italy the islands of Sicily and Sardinia and three relatively small border areas with linguistic minorities already have special autonomous status under the constitution. Veneto wants to join them. However, this would need a change to the constitution, which the government seems unwilling to accept. We are ready (to grant greater powers) within the limits fixed by our laws and by our constitution, Gentiloni said. Negotiations are likely to take many months and look certain to be interrupted by national elections due by next May. Any deal between the government and the regions will have to be approved by parliament. The latest opinion polls suggest a hung parliament will emerge from the forthcoming election, making it impossible to predict the government formation that will carry on the negotiations. (Refiles, changing headline) | 1 |
6,859 | ne supportant plus lambiance de la campagne électorale un français chanceux décide daller vivre dans lespace le gorafi | lifting weights could ward off dementia and make you smarter
by vicki batts tags weight lifting dementia brain health naturalnews there are many reasons to partake in strength training weightbaring exercises are known for their health benefits but could lifting weights also boost your brain recent research indicates that may just be the caseto begin the study researchers asked a group of people aged to to engage in a mix of weight lifting and brain training exercises all of the people who partook in the study had been diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment which is a precursor to alzheimers disease and is an early sign of dementiawhile this particular study did not examine whether the benefits of exercise could be extended to the general population the results were quite impressive published in the journal of the american geriatrics society the study found that weightbaring exercises could indeed provide some brain benefits the researchers found a casual relationship between an increase in muscle strength and an increase in brain function on that basis the team recommended that more people begin a strength training regime so that the worlds aging population can hopefully be a little healthier it is currently projected that about million people will have dementia by the year the same team behind this most recent research also published a paper in that revealed that weight training provided cognitive benefits to just about every area of the brain something cognitive training failed to dowhile discussing their most recent data one of the studys researchers dr yorgi mavros of sydney university commented what we found in this followup study is that the improvement in cognition function was related to their muscle strength gains the stronger people became the greater the benefit for their brainfor the strength training study participants were asked to lift weights that were equivalent to about percent of their maximum capacity twice a week for six months similar to the way in which many athletes train and as the participants got stronger the amount of weight they lifted went up as well in order to maintain the desired percent of their maximum effortbrain scans revealed that certain regions of the brain actually increased in size for those who took part in the exercise regime dr mavros says that the benefits were profound enough to warrant recommending weight training for everyonethe more we can get people doing resistance training like weight lifting the more likely we are to have a healthier ageing population he told the independent dr mavros also added that the best way to ensure that you get the most benefit from exercise is by maintaining a regular routine exercising frequently and with some intensity is key to getting the most out of what youre doingthis new research is not the first to suggest that exercise can provide benefits to brain health the body of research linking physical exercise to better cognitive function has only continued to grow over the last several years science has indicated that in addition to better mental health exercise can also promote both better memory and concentrationdr james pickett head of research at the alzheimers society also had a few things to say about this new study he noted new research is beginning to unravel how physical exercise may have benefits for the brain as people get older this study suggests that people with minor memory and thinking problems known as mild cognitive impairment may benefit from weight training to improve their brain healthpickett also noted that while it is not yet clear if exercise can reverse dementia they do know that it is one of the most important factors in its prevention along with being active he says that not smoking and eating a healthy balanced diet are all essential to reducing the risk sources | 0 |
6,860 | Factbox: Eyes on U.S. terrorism watchlists after Orlando shootings | (Reuters) - As facts emerge about Omar Mateen, the gunman who killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, on Sunday, questions have arisen about how well-known he was to U.S. intelligence agencies. Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey said on Monday that Mateen was on a watchlist between May 2013 and March 2014 while he was under investigation after claiming a connection to or support for multiple Islamist extremist groups, including al Qaeda, Hezbollah, al-Nusra and Islamic State. The FBI maintains three watchlists and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence runs one database. People are placed on a watchlist according to the threat level they are believed to pose. Comey did not specify which watchlist named Mateen. Democratic presidential candidate Hilary Clinton has supported stricter gun laws and said on Monday she would push for laws that would prevent people on a no-fly list from buying guns. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has embraced gun rights, said he would meet with the leading U.S. gun rights group about preventing people on a government watchlist from buying guns. The U.S. government maintains the following databases: Terrorist Watchlist or Terrorist Screening Database (about 420,000 names): Established after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the Terrorist Watchlist is intended “to positively identify known or suspected terrorists trying to obtain visas, enter the U.S, board aircraft, or engage in other activity.” Prior to 2001, intelligence agencies maintained dozens of individual lists. The Terrorist Watchlist is run by the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Center with the goal of consolidating the U.S. government’s watchlists into a single database. No-Fly List (about 16,000 names): A subset of the Terrorist Screening Database, the No-Fly List prohibits people known or suspected of terrorism from boarding a plane that departs from or arrives in the United States. Selectee List (about 16,000 names): A subset of the Terrorist Watchlist, the Selectee List includes individuals who are permitted to fly, but receive more intensive screening. In addition to the thousands of records updated daily from federal, state and local law enforcement, the Selectee List provides an additional level of screening for individuals thought to present a greater threat. Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment, or TIDE, database (about 1.1 million names): Run by the National Counterterrorism Center, part of the Office of the National Director of Intelligence, the TIDE Database shares information with the FBI’s watchlists. As of December 2013, it contained about 1.1 million people, about 25,000 of them U.S. citizens. Unlike the FBI’s database, TIDE is viewable only by counterterrorism professionals in the U.S. intelligence community and is not shared with local law enforcement. Federal agencies propose people for inclusion on the TIDE database based on an evaluation of the threat they pose. Reasons someone may be added to the TIDE database include committing terrorist activity, preparing or planning a terrorist activity or providing support, such as funds or housing, for a terrorist organization. | 1 |
6,861 | Exclusive: Tillerson urges Senate ratification of Montenegro's NATO membership | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has written to the leaders of the U.S. Senate urging the ratification of Montenegro as the newest member of the NATO alliance, saying it is “strongly in the interests of the United States.” In a letter dated March 7 and seen by Reuters on Tuesday, Tillerson argued that Montenegro’s membership in the alliance would support greater integration, democratic reform, trade, security and stability among its neighbors. Moscow opposes any further expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and the delay in U.S. approval of Montenegro’s accession has fueled questions about whether President Donald Trump’s administration and his Republican Party will stand up to Russia despite Trump’s desire for better relations. The letter emerged amid a flap over the new secretary of state’s relationship with the alliance. Reuters reported on Monday that Tillerson planned to skip a meeting with NATO foreign ministers next month in order to stay home for a visit by China’s president, while planning a visit to Russia later in April. On Tuesday, the administration reversed course and proposed new dates for the meeting, which had been set for April 5 and 6 in Brussels. Montenegro, a former Yugoslav republic with a population of 650,000, hopes to win the required approval of all 28 NATO allies in time to become a full member at a summit in May. By early this month, it had been approved by 24. NATO members see Montenegro’s accession as a way to counter Russia’s efforts to expand its influence in the Balkans. Objections from at least two Republican senators, Rand Paul and Mike Lee, have blocked a quick vote in the full U.S. Senate for months and Senate leaders have not scheduled a more time-consuming roll-call vote. Paul has questioned the wisdom of angering Russia and taking on the potential expense of approving NATO membership for a tiny country that could not play a significant role in defending the United States. In his letter to the Senate’s Republican majority leader, Mitch McConnell, and copied to Chuck Schumer, the chamber’s top Democrat, Tillerson said it would be “immeasurably helpful” if the Senate scheduled a floor vote to complete ratification procedures in time for Trump’s participation in the May NATO summit. “Montenegro’s participation in the May NATO Summit as full member, not as an observer, will send a strong signal of transatlantic unity,” Tillerson added. “It is strongly in the interests of the United States that Montenegro’s membership in NATO be ratified,” he wrote. A spokesman for McConnell said on Monday that no vote had yet been scheduled. Montenegro’s NATO membership has already been approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Paul and Senator John McCain, one of the leading Russia hawks in the U.S. Congress, had a heated exchange about the issue in the Senate last week. McCain said Paul was working for Russian President Vladimir Putin by blocking a quick vote on Montenegro. Paul called McCain “unhinged” and “past his prime.” | 1 |
6,862 | why do parents refuse to vaccinate their children | czechs do not have one characteristic of the nation whether from the standpoint of ethnology strategy economics and language set a handful of czech intellectually inferior to rule over minorities such as germans poles and hungarians who along with thousands of years of culture is foolishness and ignorance
source interview german pm adolf hitler for the daily mail | 0 |
6,863 | As West frowns on Putin, young Russians learn the military way | STAVROPOL, Russia (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin may be criticized by the West for the annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, but at home his public approval ratings have been boosted. The operation to seize the peninsula, hailed by Russian nationalists as The Crimean Spring , led to an upsurge in what is called military and patriotic education of Russian youths. In the southern region of Stavropol, interest has been revived in the Cossacks, a warrior class in tsarist times, and in the history of tsarist and modern wars which Moscow fought in the North Caucasus region. The Cossacks, who were portrayed as peaceful ploughmen in quiet times, were swift to repel attacks from nearby regions, such as Chechnya and Dagestan, or join Moscow s military campaigns elsewhere. Tomorrow begins today, reads the motto of a cadet school in Stavropol that was named after Alexei Yermolov, a 19th century Russian general who conquered the Caucasus for the Russian empire. A Reuters photo essay (reut.rs/2jp4dgu) captures images from the General Yermolov Cadet School training in Stavropol and in the countryside. Most cadets come from families of active Russian soldiers or officers from other security forces. About 40 percent of school leavers join the military or law enforcement agencies. Many instructors spent years in hot spots or conflict zones. A group of teenagers from the Patriot club in Crimea visited the school s field camp, named Russian Knights , over the summer. Up to 600 boys and girls train there each summer. This camp trains more than 1,500 teenagers a year. Physical exercises go hand-in-hand with weapons training, marksmanship tests, car driving and even parachuting. | 1 |
6,864 | Republican Jeb Bush ends 2016 presidential campaign | COLUMBIA, S.C. (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush said on Saturday he was suspending his campaign after a disappointing finish in the South Carolina primary. Bush, who also fared poorly in earlier contests in Iowa and New Hampshire, said the race had been “hard fought” but that voters of those three states had spoken. In what appeared to be a jab at Republican frontrunner Donald Trump, whom Bush has accused of lacking ideas, the former Florida Governor said, “ideas matter, policy matters.” Bush, the son of former President George H.W. Bush and brother to former President George W. Bush, entered the 2016 campaign as the favorite, but was unable to convert a sizable fundraising advantage into success at the polls. | 1 |
6,865 | FORMER NFL PLAYER: UCLA Player’s Dad Said ‘Dumbest Thing’ [Video] | Former NFL player Shannon Sharpe on Tuesday called LaVar Ball s complaints directed at President Donald Trump the dumbest thing he could have said. Sharpe is usually as anti-Trump as they come but is just smart enough to understand that it s idiotic to diss the president. Sharpe makes some dumb comments during the rant about LaVar Ball but it s pretty big that he is supportive of President Trump:Sharpe appeared to take Trump s side in the feud and said the president s involvement in China didn t hurt the situation. I can assure you President Trump mentioning [the detainment] to the Chinese President didn t hurt his situation. If he [LaVar Ball] felt this strongly, why didn t the hell he say that while they were over there? This is when he should have been vocal. Sharpe said.Sharpe also asked why, if Trump didn t help the situation, why did all three players personally thank him? Why did all three of those guys get up there and say thank President Trump, personally? Thank the American government, personally? Sharpe inquired. I didn t hear one of them mention LaVar Ball s name. I did hear three President Trumps and three American government. Now they get back on American soil, he [LaVar Ball] wants to pound his chest. I see why President Trump used the word ungrateful,' he added.Later in the segment, Sharpe said Trump wouldn t have had to say anything about LiAngelo Ball if he hadn t attempted to steal. President Trump would have said nothing about the boy. If your son would have had kept his sticky ass fingers in his pockets, and not take peoples stuff in China, we wouldn t even be having this conversation, Sharpe said, directing his comments to LaVar Ball.In the past, Sharpe has criticized Trump, especially over the president s comments about player protests in the NFL. Read more: WFB | 0 |
6,866 | 'It's like kumbaya:' Trump's genial private meetings with CEOs jar with public attacks | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When the bosses of some of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies headed to Washington in January to meet U.S. President Donald Trump, it had all the makings of a potentially hostile meeting. Just weeks before, Trump had sent drug stock prices plummeting after accusing the companies of “getting away with murder” by charging too much for medicines. But the Trump who greeted chief executives of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N), Novartis (NOVN.S), Merck (MRK.N), Eli Lilly (LLY.N), Celgene (CELG.O) and Amgen (AMGN.O) on Jan. 31 was a surprisingly genial host who even gave them a personal tour of the Oval Office, according to several participants in the breakfast. “There is no question that it was better than it could have been or we thought it could be,” said one industry insider familiar with the meeting. Trump did not repeat his public attacks on the industry. Instead, he focused on “outdated” regulations that drive costs up for drugmakers, according to participants interviewed by Reuters. The CEOs left with Trump’s word that he would streamline regulations and reform the high U.S. corporate tax rate. Since taking office on Jan. 20, Trump has held at least nine meetings with groups of business leaders, including automakers, airlines, retailers and health insurers. On Wednesday, he was hosting lunch for a group of New York real estate developers and private equity CEOs, during which possible private-public partnerships on infrastructure would be discussed, according to a person briefed on the meeting. In early morning or late-night tweets and in speeches, Trump has lambasted many of these companies for cost over-runs, or high prices, or foreign manufacturing, often knocking down their share prices. But Reuters interviews with nearly a dozen executives and lobbyists who have taken part in these meetings or have been briefed on them reveal a Trump who is very different from his uncompromising and demanding @realDonaldTrump Twitter handle. When he meets the nation’s top chief executives in person, he is a mix of charm and cajoling. This Trump is flexible and inquisitive, a schmoozer who remembers birthdays and often lavishes praise on their companies, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity so they could freely discuss private meetings. This private side of Trump sheds light on why many CEOs have expressed confidence that the Republican president is good for business, despite his share-denting public attacks. As recently as Tuesday, Trump tweeted he was working on a system to increase competition in the health industry and lower drug pricing, sending pharma shares lower. In the White House meetings, Trump focuses much of his talk on cutting regulations, the sources said, underscoring one of his administration’s key priorities - getting rid of rules imposed by his predecessor Barack Obama. He typically asks which regulations are holding businesses back from adding new jobs and promises to resolve the issues, executives say. “He said one thing for the cameras and the door shuts and then it’s like kumbaya,” said one person who was briefed on a meeting between Trump and a group of CEOs. “He likes to be seen as engaging and buddy buddy with other big important business leaders,” said this person. A former businessman, Trump runs his closed-door meetings with CEOs as if they were a corporate board meeting, attendees said. In contrast to his doctrinaire tweets, he likes to seek input from everyone at the table, and compared to former presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush, conversations are less scripted. Trump’s approach to these meetings is “one of listening and not lecturing”, said a senior White House official who has participated in industry meetings. “I’ve seen a president who is listening and asking questions to get to how he can create a thriving economy,” the official said. An Amgen spokeswoman said Trump made it clear that he wanted to work with the company on U.S. job creation and biotech innovation. Representatives of the other drugmakers declined to comment. Because so little is known about how Trump interacts privately with CEOs, trade groups and company officials have begun to swap tips on how to approach their meetings with him. “There is this undercurrent of information sharing about what to expect, what to do,” said one trade group official who prepared CEOs for a recent meeting with Trump. He said he has gotten a flurry of calls from other industries next in line for a White House visit. At the end of most meetings, Trump leads CEOs into the Oval Office, showing off paintings, sculptures and the furniture, as well as the rug and curtains he has picked out. He also points out a bust of Martin Luther King Jr., which he inherited from Obama. Then he takes a group photo behind the desk. “He becomes tour guide and brings them over to the Oval Office,” the same official said. “He’s very proud of the Oval Office.” The White House official said Trump recognized the “awe” of the Oval Office. Chief executives of Detroit’s top three automakers - General Motors Co (GM.N), Ford Motor Co (F.N) and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (FCHA.MI) - were pleasantly surprised when they went to the White House for a breakfast with Trump on Jan. 24. Since his election, Trump has frequently attacked the car companies for building in Mexico and warned U.S. firms would no longer be able to move U.S. jobs abroad “without consequences.” When Trump entered the Roosevelt Room, he greeted GM CEO Mary Barra with a playful tap on the shoulder as he gently prodded her to add jobs in the United States and later pulled out her chair before the meeting started, a review of the video transcripts of the first part of the meeting shows. He greeted Ford CEO Mark Fields with a “Happy Birthday. It’s his birthday ladies and gentlemen.” Trump said it was a “great honor” to see Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne. Trump did not specifically ask them to build plants in the United States - as he had tweeted he would before the meeting - but instead listened to their complaints about regulations and indicated a willingness to help them, people briefed on the meeting said. Ford declined to comment and referred to Fields’ comments to dealers in January that Trump had asked for a list of regulations that automakers wanted cut or kept. GM CEO Mary Barra said in a speech last week that Trump “really listened” to the automakers, while Marchionne told reporters at the Geneva auto show on Tuesday that Trump was “quite willing to make our lives easier” in terms of compliance and taxes in order to encourage U.S. job creation. Trump has been complimentary of his high-profile guests - and at times playful. After Denise Morrison, chief executive of Campbell Soup (CPB.N), introduced herself in one of those meetings, Trump quickly responded: “Good soup.” At another, after Target Corp (TGT.N) CEO Brian Cornell spoke, Trump responded by pronouncing the name of the company as “Tar-Jay,” a common joke to make the retailer sound more fancy. | 1 |
6,867 | CONSERVATIVES Who Disrupted Trump Assassination Play Speak Out: “It was like a gang stabbing…I Watched everyone cheering his death, laughing, clapping along…Children in the audience. It made my blood run cold…No better than ISIS” [VIDEO] | Laura Loomer of Rebel Media and citizen journalist Jack Posobiac disrupted the Central Park performance of Julius Caesar or more accurately the Trump Assassination play last night. At the point where Julius Caesar, (who is intentionally made to look like President Trump) is about to be stabbed by a gang of minorities, Loomer rushed the stage and admonished the cast and audience for promoting violence against our current president and against Republicans in general.See video of Rebel Media s Loomer rushing the stage here:Only 3 days ago, an unhinged Democrat opened fire on Republican House members at a baseball practice for a charity game against Democrats Congressmen. Representative Steve Scalise (R-LA) remains in critical condition. Doctors who were in attendance when the married father of 2 arrived at the hospital have now revealed that Scalise was very near to death when he arrived. Democrats like George Soros continue to fund violence against opposing voices, Barack Obama, former AG Loretta Lynch, Hillary Clinton and her running mate Tim Kaine have all advocated for action and/or violence against Trump supporters. Liberal professors promote hate and disrespect for anyone with opposing political views and have made their classrooms a hostile environment for students who dare to speak up or speak out against their radical views. Hollywood has come unhinged, and there doesn t appear to a line they won t cross when it comes to promoting violence against Americans who openly support President Trump. The left has shown themselves to be the largest collection of bullies and domestic terrorists this nation has ever seen.At about the 4:30 mark in the video, Laura Loomer, who is a fan of theater recites a Shakespeare line, Violent delights have violent ends. She then looks into the camera and calls out Hollywood and the left for the violence against Trump supporters and Republicans, Just like Shakespeare said; If you re delighting in this violence, this normalized political violence against the right, it s going to have a violent end. Loomer goes on to point out how liberals like Kathy Griffin and the CNN network who glorify those who commit or threaten violence are responsible for this violent atmosphere, and that they re no better than ISIS. Loomer points out the comparisons between the actors on the Central Park stage who are gang stabbing President Trump: I just couldn t help but think to myself: Wow! When you re holding a knife to someone s throat in the play, and joking about chopping someone s throats off, what makes you any better than ISIS? Jack Posobiac makes a very interesting point at about the gang stabbing of President Trump: It was like a gang stabbing. All the people stabbing him were minorities. Loomer agrees and goes a step further by suggesting the producers were racists because they chose all black actors to stab President Trump.Watch:Citizen journalist and author of Gorilla Mindset, Mike Chernovich called on Americans to join him in disrupting the Trump Assassination play 2 days ago:New York!Who wants to go watch the Trump assassination play maybe use some "free speech" during the play?https://t.co/64WAPvQjBT pic.twitter.com/7zDQcjNX7y Mike Cernovich (@Cernovich) June 15, 2017Twitter followers of Chernovich responded by suggesting they skip the ticket process and instead use the same techniques as leftist agitators, like whistles and drums or bongos and cowbells to disrupt the production. Chernovich is all about using the tactics of the left against them. There has never been a better time to shut down the violent left in a non-violent way. To stand back and allow a performance of our president being gang stabbed is about as horrible as it gets:If it's in a park can't we just go to the park and bring our whistles and drums Ralph Butler (@secure1man) June 15, 2017bongos and cowbells for everyone Deplorable Snuzzlez (@SnuzzleBabiez) June 15, 2017 | 0 |
6,868 | China's former top graft-buster warns of plots to seize power | BEIJING (Reuters) - China must step up vigilance against plots to grab power, as political corruption is the worst form of corruption, Wang Qishan, the country s still influential former top graft-buster, wrote on Tuesday. Wang, a key ally of President Xi Jinping, stepped down in a leadership reshuffle last month at the end of the five-yearly Communist Party Congress, but could assume a new role, say sources with ties to the leadership, though an announcement might not come for a few more weeks. As the feared head of the party s anti-corruption watchdog for the past five years, Wang has spearheaded Xi s battle on graft, overseeing the jailing of dozens of former top officials, including the domestic security chief, Zhou Yongkang. China has rebuffed criticism that the corruption campaign is as much about settling political scores as about stamping out genuine criminal acts. Writing in the party s official People s Daily, Wang said the fight against corruption went beyond battling the pilfering of assets or hedonism and was a political battle. Political corruption is the biggest corruption, Wang wrote in comments drawn from a collection of essays released after the congress, but not previously published in full by state media. The collection included pieces by former members of the Politburo Standing Committee, the height of power in China. Aspects of political corruption include the formation of special interest groups to try and seize power, and the organization of activities outside party parameters, aimed at breaking party unity, Wang wrote. There are many new historical special characteristics to carrying on this great fight, the most important of which are to ... prevent them from seizing political power and changing the party s basic character, he added. Wang explicitly linked some of the most notorious cases to political crimes, mentioning not only Zhou but also the former party bosses of the southwestern city of Chongqing, Bo Xilai and Sun Zhengcai, two former top generals and a former top aide to retired president Hu Jintao. In these cases, the party had eradicated interest groups which mixed political and economic corruption , Wang wrote. Bo was jailed for life in 2013, while Sun was put under investigation for corruption in July. There can be no challenges to the party s power, Wang added. North, south, east, west and at the center, the party leads everything. If there is no forceful and strong leadership by the party, then the Chinese people are simply a loose plate of sand. | 1 |
6,869 | Ruby Rose And Chrissy Teigan Troll Donald Trump’s Wiretapping Nonsense In Hilarious Twitter Spoof | The longer Donald Trump and his merry band of authoritarian misfits carry on with the baseless claims that President Barack Obama wiretapped Trump Tower during the 2016 election cycle, the more subject they are to merciless and unrelenting ridicule. The latest people to troll Trump? Entertainers Chrissy Teigan and Ruby Rose.The two women had been on Lip Sync Battle together, and they used that as a way to riff on Trump s insane allegations against the former president. Taking to Trump s favorite platform for communication, Twitter, Teigan and Rose engaged in a back and forth in which they pointed Trump s own insanity back at him:The best part is that Ruby Rose pretty much outright calls Trump crazy. That s because he is. As funny as this is though, and as well-deserved as the mockery here and elsewhere is, it is also frightening. Donald Trump is president of the United States. What he says even via Twitter is of the utmost importance. He lies incessantly pathologically, even, and seems at times to be downright delusional. That is dangerous for the nation and the world, to have such a person holding the nuclear codes.Keep the mockery up, celebs. Perhaps Trump will go so far off the rails that the men in white coats will come for him, and we ll all be saved.Featured image via Michael Buckner/Getty Images (Teigan)/Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images (Ruby Rose) | 0 |
6,870 | REPORT: Sean Spicer Forces Staffers To Surrender Phones In Search Of Leakers | Donald Trump s paranoia and desperation to keep the American people in the dark just took an unconstitutional turn.For weeks, various news outlets have obtained inside information from White House sources such as memos and descriptions of what is going on behind the scenes. That s how we know about what executive orders Trump is considering and how we know about the chaos and infighting that has been plaguing Trump s administration. It s also how we know more about Trump s Russia scandal.Rather than address his executive orders or the chaos in the White House or his Russia scandal, Trump would rather whine about the leaks instead.The real story here is why are there so many illegal leaks coming out of Washington? Will these leaks be happening as I deal on N.Korea etc? Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 14, 2017Information is being illegally given to the failing @nytimes & @washingtonpost by the intelligence community (NSA and FBI?).Just like Russia Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 15, 2017The real scandal here is that classified information is illegally given out by intelligence like candy. Very un-American! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 15, 2017You know what is really un-American? Forcing your staffers to hand over their phones for an inspection.According to a report by Politico, White House mouthpiece Sean Spicer actually confiscated the phones of his staff to go through them in order to make sure they are not leaking any information to the press.Of course, if someone had refused to hand over their phone they would have more than likely lost their job so they definitely didn t volunteer to give their phones up. They had to do it out of fear.The staffers were called to an emergency meeting and told to place any electronic device they had on them on a table, including personal cell phones, so they could be searched.But the Constitution specifically bars such illegal searches and seizures.The Fourth Amendment states, The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. In other words, if Trump really thinks the leaks are illegal, he should have to get a warrant to search the phones of his employees. But he didn t, which means his search is illegal and in violation of the constitutional rights of his staffers. Trump and Spicer can hardly call the confiscation voluntary either since many of these staffers probably believed they would be fired if they did not hand over their phones. That means they were forced to do so, and they can file a lawsuit for having their privacy violated.Once again, Donald Trump and his team are violating the Constitution. Republicans in Congress cannot continue to allow Trump to trample our constitutional rights. It s time to investigate and impeach him. Because at this rate, he ll literally be ripping up the Constitution if he isn t stopped.Featured image via Win McNamee/Getty Images | 0 |
6,871 | First Supreme Court 4-4 Tie Screws Republicans HARD | Republicans were handed a harsh reminder of how our country s judicial system works when the Supreme Court deadlocked in a 4-4 tie over a crucial union dues ruling. The court s non-ruling serves only to affirm the lower court ruling that teachers who enjoy union benefits are required to pay union dues.The case involves public employee unions only, an increasingly sharp thorn in the sides of Republican governors embroiled in battles over right to work laws, which translate to right to fire people for trying to organize. This ruling, or lack thereof, strikes a serious blow to Republican lawmakers looking to scrape money from education and public works budgets to give to their corporate cronies as rewards for doing business in their states contibuting to their campaigns.That s the immediate result of a 4-4 tie that probably would have happened anyway, since it s unlikely that a nominee would have been confirmed this quickly, but it highlights the kinds of issues that not just Republicans but all Americans will face as the branch of government given constitutional authority to decide in all cases of equity and law sits broken.That s just about where the silver lining on this particular cloud ends. While the case was almost certain to fail had Scalia not passed away, the absence of a definitive ruling on the matter also means an absence of precedence. Had the ruling come before a full court with a new liberal or even centrist judge like Merrick Garland on the bench, the lower court s decision on the matter could have been affirmed and erased all right to work laws under the 14th Amendment. The U.S. Supreme Court today rejected a political ploy to silence public employees like teachers, school bus drivers, cafeteria workers, higher-education faculty and other educators to work together to shape their profession, said National Education Association President Lily Eskelsen Garc a. The court, unsure if they will see a 9th justice any time soon, hasn t called for the case to be re-heard.Featured image via Getty Images | 0 |
6,872 | Syria accepts Russian plan for ceasefire in besieged zone: U.N. | GENEVA (Reuters) - The Syrian government has accepted a Russian suggestion of a ceasefire in the besieged rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta, U.N. Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura told reporters on Tuesday. I was just informed by the Russians today at the P5 meeting that the Russians have proposed and the government has accepted a ceasefire on Eastern Ghouta because we were and are very concerned about it, de Mistura said. Now we need to see whether this takes place but it s not coincidental that this has actually been proposed and agreed upon just at the beginning of this session (of peace talks in Geneva). | 1 |
6,873 | Delays dog 'shovel ready' projects in Trump's infrastructure plan | NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump reassured manufacturers gathered in the White House Roosevelt room on March 31 that a massive infrastructure program was coming soon. “We’re going to make it happen” this year, he said, according to Drew Greenblatt, the president of Marlin Steel in Baltimore, who was present. “That was actually the first thing that he talked about behind closed doors with us,” Greenblatt added. But putting a trillion-dollar infrastructure program to work could be easier said than done, as some of the projects suggested to the administration underscore. Project lists submitted by the North America’s Building Trades Unions and by an outside developer who helped with the transition both contain projects that infrastructure builders call “shovel ready.” But, for a range of reasons, shovel ready does not always mean ready for shovels to break ground. That means any effort to jump-start projects, put people to work and inject economic stimulus could drag on Trump’s promise for a 10-year, $1 trillion infrastructure project After North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) president Sean McGarvey met with Trump on January 23, the group submitted a total of 26 bridge, pipeline and water projects. A second list of 51 projects was assembled by Ohio developer Dan Slane, who assisted with the transition, including everything from inland waterways to ports to a new FBI headquarters. While details on Trump’s plans are scant, a senior administration official said they’re looking for ways to shorten the lengthy permitting process. “The current system has just lost its way,” he said. Nine projects have garnered the support of both Slane and the NABTU, appearing on both lists; of those, seven have yet to start construction, and one has only done preliminary construction, highlighting how hard it is to launch infrastructure projects as quickly as Trump wants to do. “The shovel ready moniker that they put on projects, it’s just rarely applicable,” said Bill Miller, president and chief executive of two companies that overlap the two lists. The Power Company of Wyoming LLC is building the Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Wind Energy Project, and TransWest Express LLC is developing the TransWest Express Transmission Project, crossing Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and Nevada. The Chokecherry and Sierra Madre wind project, which is being built in part on federal land, took eight years and “tens of millions of dollars” before it could recently start construction. The TransWest Express transmission project is still waiting for several state-level permits, Miller said. “To be shovel ready is incredibly expensive and time consuming,” Miller added. The administration says it wants to get ground broken fast. But some of that just might be out of the president’s hands, such as state-level permitting. “A significant part of the president’s infrastructure plan will focus on streamlining regulating and permitting so that it is easier for all viable projects to move forward in a timely manner. These reforms might not be driven by the hurdles facing a single project, but rather will create more certainty in the process overall,” a White House spokesperson told Reuters. The delays that have beset a desalination plant proposed by Poseidon Water, a developer of water-related infrastructure, in Huntington Beach, California illustrate how clashing interests and regulations can hold up projects. Poseidon first proposed the idea of a plant to turn salt water into drinking water for Orange County in the late 1990s and started permitting in the early 2000s, said Scott Maloni, a vice president at Poseidon and the Huntington Beach project manager. The city of Huntington Beach originally approved the project in February 2006. But Poseidon still needed to secure 24 permits from state agencies, such as approval from the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board for the plant’s national pollutant discharge elimination system, which is required by the Environmental Protection Agency. After the city issued the necessary local approvals in 2006, project builder Poseidon was able to apply to the California Coastal Commission. That application was amended several times over the years as the project evolved. For example, the plant had to alter its design after the state began phasing out power plants that use seawater for cooling purposes. Poseidon had planned to desalinate that wastewater, and changed its design to instead take in water directly from the ocean instead. In 2013, Poseidon shelved the permit application after the state’s coastal commission directed the company to look into concerns about the effects of the operation on fish larva in the area. The application was resubmitted in 2015, and then withdrawn yet again in September 2016, because the commission wanted proof the plans complied with new, 2015-passed rules from the State Water Board on desalination plants. That compelled Poseidon to redesign the plant’s seawater intake and discharge technologies. The project still needs three more approvals, from the State Lands Commission, the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board and the California Coastal Commission. Poseidon says they’re confident they’ll secure the last approvals soon. But even then, construction might not start until the second quarter of 2018, Maloni said. And the objections from environmentalists haven’t stopped. The plant is “far from a done deal,” said Mandy Sackett, the California policy coordinator for the Surfrider Foundation. The foundation argues that the plant is unnecessary, expensive and energy-intensive, putting marine life at risk. Sackett said the foundation will continue to fight the project. “There’s still several opportunities for public input and important regulatory review that is yet to be completed,” she said. | 1 |
6,874 | Trump Is Now Talking About Going To War With Three Countries | Before dawn on Wednesday, the feds raided the home of former Donald Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. Trump, as intelligence expert Malcolm Nance says, is getting buggy. The investigation is getting closer and closer to him, and his poll numbers are in a free-fall, so from the safety of 17 day golf vacation in New Jersey, Trump is threatening war against not one, not two, but three countries.Most of the media has been covering his exchange of provocative nuclear threats with North Korean Dictator Kim Jong Un. If that s not terrifying enough, Trump also hinted that he s planning to attack Iran because, well, they may or may not be abiding by the nuclear deal. All indications are that they are, but that doesn t stop a commander-in-chief who desperately, so desperately, needs a way to wag the dog.On Friday, Trump announced that there might be a third war on the table. This one against Venezuela. We have many options for Venezuela, including a possible military option, if necessary, Trump told reporters at his New Jersey golf club on Friday.The president did not answer a question about whether American troops would lead a potential operation. We don t talk about it. But a military operation, a military option, is certainly something we could pursue, he responded.Source: CNBCTo be fair, Venezuela isn t exactly our friend. Two years ago, President Obama issued sanctions against the oil-rich country, in part over its human rights abuses.The White House said the order targeted people whose actions undermined democratic processes or institutions, had committed acts of violence or abuse of human rights, were involved in prohibiting or penalizing freedom of expression, or were government officials involved in public corruption. Venezuelan officials past and present who violate the human rights of Venezuelan citizens and engage in acts of public corruption will not be welcome here, and we now have the tools to block their assets and their use of U.S. financial systems, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said in a statement. We are deeply concerned by the Venezuelan government s efforts to escalate intimidation of its political opponents, he added.Source: ReutersTrump, whose only political tactic is to try to intimidate his political opponents, also complained about the human rights abuses, despite having no problems with the human rights abuses of Saudi Arabia, Russia and the Philippines.One fact, and only one fact, might indicate that Trump is just bluster. Trump s cozy relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin might actually be keeping us safer, at least as far as the idea of Trump waging war against Venezuela or North Korea. Venezuela is a strong trading partner of Russia. Putin also backs North Korea, as does our largest trading partner, China.This whole show could be just Trump trying to boost his poll numbers, or it could be his way of pretending to create distance between him and Putin, but regardless, the talk is reckless and potentially deadly. The people he s threatening don t see his talk as political posturing. They are taking it very seriously and even if Trump doesn t pull the trigger first, they certainly could.Featured image via Mark Wilson/Getty Images | 0 |
6,875 | Trump Hired Flynn After Obama SPECIFICALLY Warned Him Not To – Now Karma Is Coming For Trump. Hard. | Trump s latest attempt to pass blame for his own mistakes onto others is backfiring in spectacular fashion. Like a broken record, Trump lashed out at former acting Attorney General Sally Yates, who is set to testify that she emphatically warned Trump s administration about the dangers of appointing disgraced general Michael Flynn as his national security adviser. He also tried to pin the blame on Obama, justifying his hiring of Flynn on the basis of Obama having hired him during his administration ignoring one major detail.General Flynn was given the highest security clearance by the Obama Administration but the Fake News seldom likes talking about that. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 8, 2017Trump thinks you re dumb enough to not realize that Obama also fired Flynn for being erratic and angry to such a degree that it disturbed his colleagues and staffers.2012 Obama appoints Flynn DIA2014 Obama fires him2016 DOD renews Flynn's clearance2016- With no apparent vetting Trump appoints him NSA https://t.co/6f0dOlpn64 Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) May 8, 2017However, his peculiarly fierce attacks directed at Obama over Flynn betray his Achilles heel. He is a one-trick pony anything he is guilty of, he accuses others of being responsible for. In this case, it turns out Obama had actually warned Trump about hiring Flynn. In an Oval Office meeting just days after Trump had won the election, Obama sat him down and explained that his trusted adviser who Trump was reportedly considering naming vice president was unfit for office.NBC News:According to all three former officials, Obama warned Trump against hiring Flynn. The Obama administration fired Flynn in 2014 from his position as head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, largely because of mismanagement and temperament issues.Obama s warning pre-dated the concerns inside the government about Flynn s contacts with the Russian ambassador, one of the officials said. Obama passed along a general caution that he believed Flynn was not suitable for such a high level post, the official added.By all accounts, Trump only got more interested in hiring Flynn after Obama s warning. Like many of his Republican brethren, Trump has long suffered from a knee-jerk reaction to do the opposite of anything Obama says. If Obama says healthcare is good, Republicans come out against it. If Obama says breathing is good, Republicans will hold their breath until they re blue in the face. And apparently if Obama says Don t hire this unstable, incompetent nutjob to serve in one of the most important roles in the White House, Trump fast-tracks his application.The irony, of course, is that by deliberately ignoring Obama s warning, Trump made the bed he s currently sleeping in. The fact that he tried to cover up his mistake by firing Sally Yates when she, too, warned him about Flynn only makes things worse for him. Trump is most certainly guilty of many things, but at the forefront is his own rank stupidity and creepy obsession with Obama.His ugliest traits conspired to undo him.How fitting.Featured image via Jack Gruber-Pool/Getty Images | 0 |
6,876 | Trump and Christie laid foundation of their alliance years ago | NEW YORK (Reuters) - The political alliance sealed on Friday between Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie was more than a decade in the making, the culmination of the two men’s repeatedly crossing paths. Christie, a former rival for the Republican nomination for president, endorsed Trump at a surprise news conference in Fort Worth, Texas, giving the front-runner a lift ahead of the March 1 Super Tuesday nominating contests. Christie, a former federal prosecutor, told reporters his endorsement was not part of any deal that would land him a position, such as U.S. attorney general, in a possible Trump administration. Trump, 69, and Christie, 53, have been friendly dinner companions and have operated professionally in the same state. Christie has been one of New Jersey’s top political figures since 2001 and Trump has been a major employer and real-estate developer in the state beginning in the 1980s when he began to run casinos in Atlantic City, the New Jersey seaside resort that had fallen on hard times and was being remade as a sort of Las Vegas of the East Coast. The close geographic ties differentiate Christie from politicians who operate farther from Trump’s base in New York City, said Ben Dworkin, director of the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics at Rider University. “They were bound to cross paths and come to know each other,” Dworkin said. Trump sat in the front pew at a Catholic Mass celebrating Christie’s swearing-in for his first term as New Jersey’s governor in January 2010. “He’s going to be a great governor, which New Jersey could use. He will go down as the best governor there is,” Trump told reporters, according to the Press of Atlantic City. Trump’s sister, Maryanne Trump Barry, a federal appeals court judge, introduced the two in 2002, according to The Record of Bergen County. Christie was named the state’s chief federal prosecutor in 2001 by President George W. Bush. The Trumps and the Christies have often had dinner together, where Trump would do all the talking, according to “American Governor,” a Christie biography written by Matt Katz and published in January. Christie attended Trump’s 2005 wedding, to his current wife, Melania, where Christie met Bill and Hillary Clinton, according to the book. The Christie-Trump relationship, “if anything, would be socializing with big important people. They’re both collectors,” said Rutgers University senior policy fellow Marc Pfeiffer. As Christie sought to build his national profile, Trump helped. Trump gave $250,000 to the Republican Governors Association in 2014 when Christie was its head, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonprofit that maintains a database of political donations. Representatives of Trump’s casinos lobbied Christie as early as 1996 when Christie was a little-own local officeholder in Morris County, according to the Star-Ledger. The newspaper reported at the time that the county board of freeholders was considering a highway project that would affect Trump’s casinos in Atlantic City. Trump founded Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc and ran casinos in Atlantic City beginning in the 1980s. He resigned as chairman before the company filed for bankruptcy protection in 2009, about a year before Christie became governor and took on a larger role in the city’s struggles. Trump Entertainment Resorts emerged from Chapter 11 reorganization in July 2010, with Trump acquiring a smaller stake in the company. It now runs one Atlantic City casino, the Trump Taj Mahal. Christie’s biggest push for development in Atlantic City was to support the Revel casino project. The Revel opened in 2012, well after Trump had reduced his holdings in Atlantic City. It closed in 2014. Trump’s presence in New Jersey could extend well beyond his career or friendship with Christie. According to media reports, he plans to be buried in the state at a private cemetery at one of his golf courses after he dies. (Reporting by David Ingram and Hilary Russ in New York; Additional reporting by Megan Davies and Jarrett Renshaw in New York and Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Editing by Leslie Adler) This article was funded in part by SAP. It was independently created by the Reuters editorial staff. SAP had no editorial involvement in its creation or production. | 1 |
6,877 | CAIR CONTROVERSY After Candidate For Governor Sells ‘ISIS HUNTING PERMIT’ [VIDEO] | Missouri Muslims are upset because a candidate for governor is handing out ISIS Hunting Permit stickers. Wait a minute! If ISIS has nothing to do with Islam as CAIR claims then why would they object | 0 |
6,878 | UK Prince Charles's tour of southeast Asia leaves out Myanmar | LONDON (Reuters) - Britain s Prince Charles will tour southeast Asia and India later this month, but the heir to the throne will not visit Myanmar, after a spate of violence and allegations that authorities are carrying out ethnic cleansing. Media reports last month said an official visit to Myanmar was being suggested for the trip, which the prince is undertaking on behalf of the British government, and aides acknowledged it had been considered as part of the schedule. But it was omitted from the final program issued on Wednesday. Charles and his wife Camilla will travel to Singapore, Malaysia and then to India where he will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi. We looked at a range of options in the region and, as we re announcing today, we re going ahead with the visit to Singapore and Malaysia, Philip Malone, Deputy Head of Department at Britain s Foreign and Commonwealth Office, told reporters. Malone and royal aides declined to elaborate. More than 500,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled from Myanmar to Bangladesh in the past month since insurgents attacked security posts near the border, triggering fierce military retaliation that the United Nations has branded ethnic cleansing. Last month Britain suspended its training program for the military in Myanmar because of the violence, and diplomatic relations have deteriorated. Rights campaigners had argued against a royal visit. To have someone of Prince Charles s stature go to visit the country would be seen as a reward, and giving legitimacy to the government and the military that are currently violating international law, said Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK. Charles and Camilla will begin their tour in Singapore on Oct. 31 before going to Malaysia, where they will celebrate 60 years of diplomatic ties since the former British colony became independent, before concluding the 11-day tour in India. | 1 |
6,879 | Rubio And Cruz Launch Weird Anti-Trump ‘Yoga’ Routine To Boost Donations (TWEETS/VIDEO) | The last GOP debate showed Republican presidential candidates Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz once again joining forces and ganging up on the party s disgraced front runner Donald Trump.What started off as a tense moment quickly diffused into a hilarious one as the two candidates made fun of Trump s ability to do yoga, considering how flexible he is on issues and policies. Now, Cruz and Rubio are piggy-backing off this comedic moment to boost their fundraising efforts.This whole yoga incident started with Trump trying to interrupt Cruz (as usual), and Cruz putting him in his place by scolding him like a child: Donald, please, I know it s hard not to interrupt. Breathe, breathe, breathe. You can do it, breathe, I know it s hard, I know it s hard. Rubio couldn t resist jumping in and saying, When they re done with the yoga, can I answer a question? , prompting Cruz to add, I really hope that we don t see yoga on this stage. Rubio went in for the closing punch and said, Well, (Trump s) very flexible, so you never know. All the while, Trump stood up on the debate stage looking like a complete idiot. It was possibly one of the funniest moments in the debate, and Cruz s campaign immediately decided they wanted to capitalize on it by selling their very own branded yoga mat on the campaign s online store. Jeff Roe, Cruz s campaign manager, tweeted about the new mats to announce their arrival:TwitterRubio s campaign also did something similar to troll Trump. On the campaign s Twitter account, @TeamMarco advertised yoga pants that had the #DumpTrump hashtag on them. This product has since been deleted from Rubio s website, likely because of a caveat that p*ssed off supporters fine print that read: Note: you won t actually get #DumpTrump yoga pants, but your $10 donation will help Marco stop him. TwitterThis is definitely the first time that yoga apparel has been a part of candidates yoga campaigns, but considering how much the GOP has made this race an absolute circus, it s hardly a surprise.You can watch the moment where this whole anti-Trump yoga campaign originated from below:Featured image via Gage Skidmore | 0 |
6,880 | Federal judge in Hawaii extends court order blocking Trump travel ban | HONOLULU (Reuters) - A federal judge in Hawaii indefinitely extended on Wednesday an order blocking enforcement of President Donald Trump’s revised ban on travel to the United States from six predominantly Muslim countries. U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson turned an earlier temporary restraining order into a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit brought by the state of Hawaii challenging Trump’s travel directive as unconstitutional religious discrimination. Trump signed the new ban on March 6 in a bid to overcome legal problems with a January executive order that caused chaos at airports and sparked mass protests before a Washington judge stopped its enforcement in February. Trump has said the travel ban is needed for national security. In its challenge to the travel ban, Hawaii claims its state universities would be harmed by the order because they would have trouble recruiting students and faculty. It also says the island state’s economy would be hit by a decline in tourism. The court papers cite reports that travel to the United States “took a nosedive” after Trump’s actions. The state was joined by a new plaintiff named Ismail Elshikh, an American citizen from Egypt who is an imam at the Muslim Association of Hawaii and whose mother-in-law lives in Syria, according to the lawsuit. Hawaii and other opponents of the ban claim that the motivation behind it is based on religion and Trump’s election campaign promise of “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.” “The court will not crawl into a corner, pull the shutters closed, and pretend it has not seen what it has,” Watson wrote on Wednesday. Watson wrote that his decision to grant the preliminary injunction was based on the likelihood that the state would succeed in proving that the travel ban violated the U.S. Constitution’s religious freedom protection. Trump has vowed to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, which is currently split 4-4 between liberals and conservatives with the president’s pick - appeals court judge Neil Gorsuch - still awaiting confirmation. | 1 |
6,881 | House Democrats mull Pelosi leadership future | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi agreed on Tuesday to postpone the party’s leadership elections until Nov. 30 amid discontent among some rank-and-file Democrats over her leadership style, according to sources familiar with closed-door discussions. Democrats in the House of Representatives now are scheduled to vote on Nov. 30 on whether to renew Pelosi’s long-held position as Democratic leader for another two years. Other Democratic house leadership jobs also will be up for a vote. No other Democrat has come forward to challenge Pelosi, although at least one is weighing what likely would be an uphill bid to dethrone the liberal California Democrat. House Democrats gathered behind closed doors to assess what went wrong in the Nov. 8 elections that swept Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump into power and allowed Republicans to retain their majorities in both houses, although slightly smaller ones than in the past two years. One senior House Democratic aide described Tuesday’s meeting as being unusually contentious as members grappled with how the Democratic Party should rebuild following last week’s election losses, with some wanting new blood in leadership. “After every single election cycle, she (Pelosi) says things are going to change” in how she interacts with the caucus, the aide said characterizing lawmakers’ concerns. “But then, she doesn’t do anything different. It’s the same inside circle” surrounding her. Democratic aides and a lawmaker said Pelosi made the announcement on the new date for party elections “after protracted discussion” in the meeting. The elections had been expected to take place on Thursday in preparation for Congress convening on Jan. 3. “We’ve been through hell,” Pelosi told lawmakers, according to a Democratic aide who was in the room but spoke on condition of anonymity. “And it’s only going to get worse as he (Trump) makes his appointments and we have this fight. But we have to see it as an opportunity.” Pelosi, who has been the House Democrats’ leader for 14 years and speaker of the House part of that time, said she did not care when the election was. “I do care that we have the strongest possible leadership at the table, whoever that may be,” she said. Representative Seth Moulton and other Democrats dismayed by the national election results had urged Pelosi to postpone the leadership vote. “As we begin the 115th Congress, House Democrats must take the time to reflect on the message the American people sent us last Tuesday,” Moulton said in a statement after the caucus. “Delaying the vote on leadership positions is the necessary first step to have that conversation,” he said. “The American people cried out last week and we’ve got to listen.” Representative Tim Ryan, 43, is weighing a run against Pelosi, 76, Ryan’s spokesman Michael Zetts said on Monday. “He is concerned that if changes aren’t made we will be in the political wilderness for many years to come,” Zetts said. Ryan has been in the House since 2003. A Democratic lawmaker who declined to be named said Ryan would represent a new generation. “I think a lot of us feel the landscape has changed,” he said. “We need people who can learn new tricks and not do things the way they have been done that last 20 or 30 years.” But Representative Steve Israel, a member of House Democratic leadership and who is retiring from Congress at year’s end, said: “There is nobody who could have led House Democrats who would have had a different outcome” in last week’s presidential and congressional elections. “This was not about Nancy Pelosi,” Israel told MSNBC. “This was about a national Democratic strategy and message that simply did not tap into the unprecedented anxieties of middle-class voters.” | 1 |
6,882 | BREAKING: CONDI RICE Meets With Mike Pence In Trump’s D.C. Transition Office | How many outspoken never-Trumper s is Donald willing to consider for roles in his administration?Vice President-elect Mike Pence met with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Condi Rice in the Washington, D.C., transition office on Wednesday to discuss bringing her on board the new administration.Great catching up today in the DC transition office with my good friend @CondoleezzaRice. pic.twitter.com/Qd4K8BeVo2 Mike Pence (@mike_pence) November 30, 2016According to a producer with NBC, when asked how the meeting went, Rice said, Terrific. Thank you. The same producer, Vaughn Hillyard, noted that when he asked Rice about the secretary of state post, she smiled at him:Condoleezza Rice on her meeting with Pence & the SoS post: "Terrific. Thank you." pic.twitter.com/F77IApEtaN Vaughn Hillyard (@VaughnHillyard) November 30, 2016Rice went to work as a professor at Stanford University, where she currently teaches, after President George W. Bush left the White House in 2009. She has been considered for vice president but expressed that she was not interested.She is deemed a moderate on many issues, including immigration, and has maintained relatively hawkish views on foreign policy. | 0 |
6,883 | Turkey's Halkbank denies allegations of illegal transactions | ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish state lender Halkbank on Thursday denied allegations that it was involved in illegal transactions designed to help Iran avoid U.S. sanctions, following testimony in New York against its former deputy general manager. Our bank has not been a part to any transaction which is uncertain and illegal relating to any country and has not executed any transfer transaction which is uncertain and unlawful, it said in a statement. There is no systematic and conscious violation of transactions... as it is alleged and it has not been intermediated in the export of prohibited parties and goods. Its comments came after Iranian-Turkish gold trader Reza Zarrab on Wednesday told a U.S. federal court that he helped Iran use funds deposited in Halkbank to buy gold that was smuggled to Dubai and sold for cash. Zarrab, who has pleaded guilty, is testifying against Halkbank executive Mehemt Hakan Atilla, who has pleaded not guilty. | 1 |
6,884 | Trump Delivers Bizarre Theory About Fire Marshal Trying To Keep His Rally Safe (VIDEO) | During a campaign rally in Colorado Springs, Colorado on Friday, Donald Trump delivered a bizarre theory about the local fire marshal. Trump was very upset that the fire marshal prevented thousands of people who had come to see him speak from entering the venue, which would have created a huge fire hazard that would have put thousands of his supporters lives in danger.Trump told the audience that these are the types of regulations that are the reason Our country doesn t work. So I have to tell you this. This is why our country doesn t work. We have plenty of space here. We have thousands of people outside trying to get in. And we have a fire marshal that said, Oh we can t allow more people. Trump then went on to blast the fire marshal and the fire department claiming that they don t know how to do their jobs. The jobs that they are trained to do in order to keep people safe. As if that wasn t bad enough, Trump then offers the only reason his brain can come up with as to why the fire marshal might be enforcing regulations that were created probably long before his clown show rolled into town. The reason they won t let them in is because they don t know what the hell they re doing, Trump said. That s why, okay? Too bad. That s why our country has hey, maybe they re a Hillary person. Could that be possible? Probably. I don t think there are too many of them. I don t think there are too many of them. This is the kind of thing we have in federal government also, by the way, folks. Then you wonder why we re going to hell, Trump said, continuing his rant. That s why we re going to hell. You know what it is? It s a thought process, right. You can watch the video below.Watch Donald Trump berate & demean a Fire Marshal for doing his job and keeping people safe at Trump's event. pic.twitter.com/JxEYxBIKpn NYC EMS Website (@NYCEMSwebsite) July 30, 2016Featured image from video screenshot | 0 |
6,885 | The Numbers Are In: Trump Is The Most Hated Newly Inaugurated President EVER | It s been less than a week since Donald Trump took the oath of office, and already he s breaking records left and right (and none of them are good).Simply put: Donald Trump is the most hated incoming president this country has seen in at least 60 years.According to Gallup Polling:President Donald Trump is the first elected president in Gallup s polling history to receive an initial job approval rating below the majority level. He starts his term in office with 45% of Americans approving of the way he is handling his new job, 45% disapproving and 10% yet to form an opinion. Trump now holds the record for the lowest initial job approval rating as well as the highest initial disapproval rating in Gallup surveys dating back to Dwight D. Eisenhower.Congratulations, America. You nominated a man you vehemently hate (more so than George W. Bush).To put it in perspective, let s look at the numbers for Trump and past presidents:Donald Trump Approve: 45 percent. Disapprove: 45 percentBarack Obama Approve: 68 percent. Disapprove: 12 percentGeorge W. Bush Approve: 57 percent. Disapprove: 25 percentBill Clinton Approve: 58 percent. Disapprove: 20 percentGeorge H.W. Bush Approve: 51 percent. Disapprove: 6 percentRonald Reagan: Approve: 51 percent. Disapprove: 13 percentJimmy Carter Approve: 68 percent. Disapprove: 8 percentRichard Nixon Approve: 59 percent. Disapprove: 5 percentJohn F Kennedy Approve: 72 percent. Disapprove: 6 percentDwight D. Eisenhower Approve: 68 percent. Disapprove: 7 percentOuch. If Trump can t even beat out Richard Nixon and George W. Bush (who won a contentious and blistering recount), that says something.Of course Trump s biggest base of support men, whites and no college education loved him while all the others women, people of color and the educated despise him. Ninety percent of Republicans give him approval while 81 percent of Democrats disapprove. Independents have a slightly more negative view than they do positive (44-40 percent).Knowing that his pre-inaugural numbers and the turnout for the Women s March sent him into a frenzy, these numbers should only exasperate the new authoritarian-in-chief.Featured image via Getty Images | 0 |
6,886 | Department Store Chain Drops Ivanka Trump Like A Bad Habit As Daddy F*cks Over Our Country | Donald Trump s presidency may be going great for him and his best friend Vladimir Putin, but his daughter s bottom line is really taking a pounding from his authoritarian policies. Yes, Daddy s little girl was likely hoping like the rest of her family that she would be able to use her father s position to make a lot of money, but things aren t working out quite that way.Nordstrom was recently targeted by the Grab Your Wallet campaign, which encourages people to avoid shopping at any stores that do business with the Trumps. Bloomberg reports that the department store chain has elected (like other businesses) to stop selling Ivanka Trump s brand this season based on abysmal sales. Whether this was because every single one of her products, like every member of the Trump family, save Barron, is terrible, or because of the boycotts cannot be said for sure, but in any case, her products have already disappeared from the retailer s online store. Some products will remain on the shelves for now, but they will be gone as well. In this case, based on the brand s performance, we ve decided not to buy it for this season, the company said in a statement. Grab Your Wallet co-founder Shannon Coulter says she is thrilled with Nordstrom s decision to drop Ivanka Trump. Though some Trump supporters are threatening their own boycott if Nordstrom drops Ivanka s sh*tty merchandise, they can t expect much sympathy from the company. In an email to employees, co-president Pete Nordstrom said that the concept of if people don t buy it, we won t sell it applies in this situation.Though the company says the decision is sales-driven, it is entirely possible that they just want to distance themselves from Ivanka, who has already attempted to use her father s presidency to push her products. Her company sent a style alert to journalists Monday promoting a bracelet that Ivanka wore during an interview with 60 Minutes about her father a clear sign that the Trumps know nothing about avoiding conflicts of interest:As Donald Trump continues to threaten to send troops to Mexico, f*ck up diplomatic relationships with countries that have been our strongest allies since World War I, waste our tax dollars on his stupid wall, and attempt to discriminate against an entire religion solely based on his own bigotry, we can expect his daughter s brand to continue to suffer as well it should.Featured image via Boston Globe | 0 |
6,887 | Congressional race in Virginia shows Trump drag on Republicans | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Barbara Comstock is trying to untether herself from Donald Trump in her re-election bid for the U.S. Congress, but the Virginia Republican’s struggles show how difficult that can be. Comstock represents a wealthy House of Representatives district in northern Virginia where Trump has become a burden, one that her opponent is wrapping around Comstock’s neck. In local campaign ads, Democratic challenger LuAnn Bennett takes every opportunity to tie Comstock to the New York real estate developer and Republican presidential nominee. The strategy may be working. The Cook Political Report, a non-partisan election tipsheet, moved the Comstock-Bennett race from “lean Republican” to “toss up” on Wednesday, citing Trump’s unpopularity in much of the district. This is despite Comstock’s months-long effort to jettison Trump. In April, the former lobbyist and state legislator said Trump was actually a Democrat who knows “nothing” about the economy. She said in December that his plan to ban Muslim immigrants was “un-American” and “a silly idea.” In March, she gave campaign donations she got from Trump to charity. Earlier this month, she said Trump’s boasts about groping women, revealed in a video tape, were “vile.” She said she would not vote for him and urged Trump to drop out of the race against Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. But it may be too late to undo the damage, political analysts said, with just 19 days remaining until Election Day. “In a normal year, Comstock would be a clear favorite, but right now her front runner status is in question because of Trump,” said Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the Virginia Center for Politics. “He (Trump) was a gift” to her campaign, said Bennett, a 63-year-old real estate executive. Bennett said Comstock, 57, waited too late in her re-election campaign to announce she would not vote for Trump, and argued that Comstock’s views on immigration, abortion and climate change are “shockingly similar” to Trump’s. Asked on Wednesday about voters’ view of her repudiation of Trump, Comstock said Bennett, if elected to the House, would be a “rubber stamp” for Clinton. “I’m the only one of the two of us who ... has a record of speaking out against people, whether it’s in my own party or not,” Comstock, a Georgetown University-educated lawyer, told reporters after a debate with Bennett. “I’ve made clear that I’m going to be my own woman.” Stretching from suburban Washington to the Shenandoah valley and the West Virginia border, Comstock’s district is home to thousands of government workers, as well as many well-heeled lobbyists and what Trump might call the Washington “elites.” The area has been represented by a Republican in Congress since 1981, but has been a swing district in presidential years. Bennett said Democrats expect about 140,000 more voters to turn out in the district in this presidential election year than when Comstock was elected in a mid-term election two years ago. “We have a growing Latino community, we have a growing Asian community, and those communities are very unsettled by the rhetoric they’ve heard on the Republican side of the fence, and really worried about where this country is going,” she said. Kondik said, “This is one of the most highly educated districts in the country, and it’s filled with the kinds of Republicans that Trump could very well turn off.” A recent poll by the Wason Center for Public Policy in Newport News, Virginia, showed Clinton leading Trump by 55 percent to 21 percent in northern Virginia. That suggests that for Comstock to win, some Clinton backers will need to “split” their tickets to vote for Comstock, who made a name for herself in the 1990s as a congressional staffer dedicated to investigating members of the Clinton administration. Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science and international affairs at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia, said: “With the lewd tape, Trump went from being a drag on the Comstock campaign to an anchor.” | 1 |
6,888 | SABO…The Most BADASS CONSERVATIVE ARTIST In America Will Be On Tucker Carlson Tonight…Why You Don’t Want To Miss It! [VIDEO] | Hardcore, unconventional, conservative and badass artist Sabo has been taking his message to the streets for several years. I had a lengthy phone conversation with him last year and after I hung up the phone, I had the same kind of feeling I had after meeting Andrew Breitbart. Like Andrew Breitbart, Sabo s not fighting a conventional war against the left, he s studied them, he knows the dirty tactics they use to win and he s determined to beat them at their own game, even if it means shocking a few Americans along the way. Sabo never got to meet Andrew Breitbart, but always wanted to, as he recalls here:Now a thing about me was I d spent a good three years trying to get sober. In that time I did everything I could to stay the hell away from politics. It was the most peaceful three years of my life. Unfortunately during those three years guys like Glenn Beck and Andrew Breitbart were really picking up steam. So, because of my absence from the political scene I didn t really know much about them. And what little I did know about Glenn Beck I didn t really like. I remember friends would try turning me on to him but I wasn t into his delivery, too loud, too passionate. Not my deal. Sadly Andrew passed away about the time I decided to get back into the political fray. I never had the privilege to meet him. Everyone says we d of really gotten along. I did however get to meet his crew and they were all stand up people.Glenn Beck interviewed Sabo in 2015 when he was still keeping his face hidden from the public: One of Sabo s most popular pieces of work was his badass representation of Ted Cruz who he wholeheartedly supported for President.During the campaign, Sabo came after Hillary and Bernie Sanders pretty hard. He focused on plastering his hard-hitting posters in areas where fundraisers or events for Bernie or Hillary were taking place. Sabo wanted to make sure the American public saw Hillary as he saw Hillary:It took him a while to come around to Donald Trump, but eventually he did.Sabo s controversial artwork can be found on posters, t-shirts and bumper stickers at his online store: unsavoryagents.com Here s a video of Sabo replacing a sign in a park bench in LA with his own unique printed message. Notice the guy smoking a crack pipe on the bench the entire time.In 2014, Sabo got a little visit from the Secret Service over his controversial posts on Twitter. He certainly didn t handle the interview in the way most Americans would have.:Sabo will be on FOX News Tucker Carlson show tonight at 9 pm EST. He ll likely discuss the artwork that he plastered all over LA in advance of the Oscars last night.Here are a few of the posters liberal actors found when they arrived on the red carpet. We can promise you one thing it won t be an interview you ll want to miss | 0 |
6,889 | U.S. opens door to a change in blood donation policy for gay men | (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration opened the door on Tuesday to a change in its blood donor deferral recommendations, which currently prohibit donations from gay men for a year following their last sexual encounter in order to reduce the risk of transmitting HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. In December the FDA overturned a 30-year ban on all blood donations from men who have sex with men, saying the change was based on science showing an indefinite ban was not necessary to prevent transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus. The FDA is now signaling it may go further. Gay rights advocates say the latest update did not go far enough and that the agency’s recommendations should move closer to individual risk assessments, which could, for example, look at whether an individual has been in a monogamous relationship. Their criticism intensified in the wake of a mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in June, which saw many gay men unable to donate blood even as blood banks put out calls for donors. In a notice posted to the Federal Register, the FDA said it was establishing a public docket for comment about its current recommendations and that interested people should submit comments, backed by scientific evidence, supporting alternative potential policies to reduce the risk of HIV transmission. Such suggestions “could include the feasibility of moving from the existing time-based deferrals related to risk behaviors to alternate deferral options, such as the use of individual risk assessments.” The agency said it would take the comments into account “as it continues to reevaluate and update blood donor deferral policies as new scientific information becomes available.” The FDA’s action comes after 115 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, led by Democrat Mike Quigley, vice chair of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus, wrote to FDA Commissioner Robert Califf calling on him to end the current policy, saying it discriminated against men who have sex with men. A similar letter was signed by 22 senators. In a statement on Tuesday, Quigley said he was “encouraged” by the FDA’s announcement. “The tragedy at Pulse nightclub in Orlando highlighted the discrimination gay and bisexual men face when attempting to donate blood to those in need,” he said. “Moving towards an individual risk assessment would provide for a fair, equitable, nondiscriminatory blood donation policy, one based in science that allows all healthy Americans to safely donate blood.” | 1 |
6,890 | Veteran’s Letter Thanking Bernie Sanders For Voting Against Iraq War Goes Viral (VIDEO) | A U.S. Marine s letter to Bernie Sanders that expressed the utmost gratitude for the Senator s position on not sending U.S. troops to Iraq has recently gone viral, and it s easy to see why.The letter surfaced on Tuesday morning, when Reddit user CharlieDarwinsFather created a post titled An open letter to Bernie Sanders from a Veteran of the Iraq War in the subreddit SandersforPresident, where many of Sanders supporters gather to share news about the Democratic presidential candidate. The letter s author had been based in North Carolina and had served in combat during the second battle of Fallujah in Iraq during 2005, 2006 and 2007.Having lived through those battles as a young adult and seeing the short and long-term effects that war had on his fellow marines, the author thanked the Vermont Senator with great sincerity for opposing the Iraq War, and said he wished that America had more politicians like Sanders who weren t afraid to fight for real peace. In his letter, the U.S. Marine wrote: Senator Sanders,I want to thank you. I want to thank you for exercising sound judgement even when everyone around you was beating the war drums.See I fought in the streets of Fallujah, Iraq. I saw more blood and death than any 19 year old ever should. The amount of friends I ve lost to war will likely be surpassed by the amount of friends I ve since lost to suicide.I know first hand the moral cost of war. One of the most painful truths that I must go through life with is that I fought in an unjust and unfounded war. While my intentions were good and I fought hard for the men to my left and to my right, and while I thought what I was doing what was right for the people of Iraq- I was wrong.You knew this. You knew this before we went to war and you fought, and you spoke truth to your peers and though your words largely fell on deaf ears, I am truly heartened to know that I now have a chance to vote for a man who exercised sound and moral judgement when the war drums were beating the loudest.I have a son. He is only one and a half years old but someday he will be 18 and I fear that if we continue to elect the same establishment politicians, he too will face the same decision that I did, and he too will go off to fight in an endless quagmire and that he too will come home, broken, and never fully returned or worse- never come home at all.So thank you, Senator Sanders, for being of sound mind and judgement. Thank you for being the only voice in this race that does not want to continue this legacy of warfare. Thank you for being the only voice that is and has been standing up for those of us that fought in these misguided wars. Thank you for giving me hope for a peaceful future. Sincerely, A U.S. Marine 0311 Operation Iraqi FreedomThe letter has gone viral, and it s easy to see why as Sanders anti-establishment approach continues to win over Americans across the country. Now more than ever, we re becoming more aware of the affects that war has on our veterans, and just how common homelessness, suicide and mental illnesses like PTSD are.This letter is especially noteworthy because Sanders recently pointed out during Monday s Democratic Town Hall on CNN that presidential candidate Hillary Clinton had supported the war while Sanders rallied against sending troops to Iraq because he was afraid it would create more power for extremists (which he was right about).Sanders has been passionate about preserving peace for a long time as this video of Sanders giving a passionate speech in 2002 reveals:Sanders, who is the former Chairman and a current member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, continues to fight for America s veterans and has made it a crucial part of his campaign. This mission is spelled out right on Sanders website: Sen. Sanders believes that just as planes and tanks and guns are a cost of war, so is taking care of the men and women who we sent off to fight the war. It includes caring for the spouses and children who have to rebuild their lives after the loss of a loved one. It includes caring for the hundreds of thousands of veterans with multiple amputations or loss of eyesight, post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. It includes veterans who are having difficulty keeping jobs in order to pay their bills, and it includes the terrible tragedy of veterans committing suicide. And regardless of whether or not you think America should go to war, it s impossible to argue with Sanders when he says: While serious people can have legitimate differences about when our country should go to war, there should never be a debate whether we fulfill the promises made to the men and women who served this country in the military. As a nation, we have a moral obligation to provide the best quality care to those who have put their lives on the line to defend us. Featured image via Fort Rucker / Flickr | 0 |
6,891 | Democrat Hassan wins New Hampshire Senate race | BOSTON (Reuters) - New Hampshire Governor Maggie Hassan, a Democrat, has been elected to the U.S. Senate, ousting incumbent Republican Kelly Ayotte, the New Hampshire secretary of state confirmed on Wednesday. Hassan won by a narrow margin, recording 354,640 votes to Ayotte’s 353,617, according to a final tally posted online on Wednesday. “It will be my job in the U.S. Senate to make the best decisions for New Hampshire to work with President-elect Trump when it is in the best interest of New Hampshire and the country, and to stand up to him when it isn’t,” Hassan said. | 1 |
6,892 | Trump committed to fair U.S. elections free from any interference: White House | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump is committed to ensuring that U.S. elections are conducted fairly and protected from interference from anyone, the White House said on Thursday. “The president takes our elections very seriously,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters during a briefing. Separately, she added that current sanctions against Moscow would remain in place until the Ukraine crisis was resolved. | 1 |
6,893 | Maine governor sues state's attorney general in Trump policy tussle | (Please note: Story contains strong language in final paragraph) (Reuters) - Republican Maine Governor Paul LePage on Monday sued the state’s Democratic attorney general, contending she had abused her power by joining legal opposition to early moves by President Donald Trump that LePage’s office supported. LePage, a fiery conservative now in his second term, challenged Attorney General Janet Mills for joining a legal brief opposing Trump’s executive order banning immigration from a half-dozen majority Muslim countries. The governor said he supported Trump’s order, which has been blocked by courts and which the White House says is necessary to protect national security. “It is no secret that Attorney General Mills and I have differing political views, but that is not the issue,” LePage said in a statement. “The problem is she has publicly denounced court cases which the executive branch has requested to join and subsequently refuses to provide legal representation for the state.” He said Mills had refused to represent the state in other cases where she disagreed with LePage’s political position and prevented his office from filing its own brief in support of Trump, a charge that Mills denied. “Instead of signing onto another party’s brief at no cost to the taxpayers, however, or hiring a lawyer to draft his own brief, the governor has wasted state resources by hiring a lawyer to file a frivolous lawsuit, complaining that he cannot do exactly what we have told him he can do,” Mills said in a statement. Maine is the only one of the 50 U.S. states where the attorney general is elected by the state legislature, rather than elected by voters or appointed by the governor. The nation’s 22 Democratic attorneys general emerged in the first months of the Trump administration as a major opposition force to his policies, successfully suing to block his executive orders on travel and also challenging environmental policy moves. Maine is one of eight U.S. states that have a Republican governor and a Democratic attorney general, setting the stage for the conflict that resulted in Monday’s lawsuit, filed in Kennebec County Superior Court. LePage was first elected to office in 2010 on a wave of Tea Party support and was re-elected in 2014. Both victories came in three-way races. He was an early supporter of Trump and came under intense public pressure last year after calling a Democratic lawmaker a “little son-of-a-bitch, socialist cocksucker,” in a voicemail message that was widely circulated. | 1 |
6,894 | Playing with fire: tens of thousands refuse to leave Bali volcano homes | KARANGASEM, Indonesia (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of villagers on the Indonesian holiday island of Bali are refusing to evacuate a 10-km (six-mile) danger zone around an erupting volcano, putting their fate in the hands of the gods or simply staying put to protect homes and livestock. The glowing, 3,000-metre Mount Agung, considered sacred by many on the Hindu-majority island, started spewing huge columns of ash at the weekend and there have been constant tremors and volcanic mud flows since. Search and rescue teams making daily forays into the zone say some are refusing to leave their cattle unattended, while others have spiritual reasons. The government has been clear about evacuation orders, but some people are slow to act or want to stay, said Gede Ardana, head of Bali s search and rescue agency. We cannot force them - but we will be held responsible, so we need to convince them. For cattle farmer Ketut Suwarte, there was no question of staying put. There was thick ash falling around us and we could smell sulfur. We were scared and we decided to leave immediately, said Suwarte, 47, now staying in an evacuation camp just outside the danger zone. Suwarte s father recalls the last time Mount Agung exploded, in 1963, killing about 1,000 people as pyroclastic flows - made up of hot gas and volcanic matter - raced down the mountain. Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, of the disaster mitigation agency, said about 43,000 people had heeded advice to take shelter, but with an estimated population of 90,000 to 100,000 in the danger area, many had not. Ika Wardani, 33, sleeps with her family at an evacuation center at night but during the day returns to her cattle farm about 10 km north of the volcano. During the day at least we can see the volcano. But we re uncomfortable sleeping here at night because an earthquake or loud explosion would cause panic, she said. We would have to drive our motorbikes at night and the roads are narrow so it s safer to spend the nights at the evacuation center. She says there are people only five km from the crater who have refused to evacuate. They are stubborn, she said. Some of them survived 1963 so they believe it s all right now. The government has set up radio stations and chat groups on social media to warn people of the risks. Many people have made the decision to stay inside the exclusion zone, and that is clearly very dangerous, said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesman for the disaster management agency. Others, including tourists, are taking unnecessary risks by trying to take selfies as close as possible, officials say. Last month, a Frenchman shared a video of himself at the crater s edge on social media. In September, when authorities first raised the warning alert to the highest level, an exclusion zone of up to 12 km was imposed, prompting nearly 150,000 to leave, but when no major eruption occurred, many returned and the warning status was lowered. When authorities again raised the warning level this week, many were reluctant to move again. If (Mount Agung) follows the most frequent trend, it is likely to continue increasing in explosivity but at what rate and how large, nobody knows, said Dr Carmen Solana, a volcanologist at the University of Portsmouth. President Joko Widodo on Wednesday urged people to leave the exclusion zone before it s too late. There must not be any victims, he said. | 1 |
6,895 | WOW! TRUMP/CLINTON CAMPAIGNS GO AT IT In Post-Election Debate To End All Debates…Ouch! [Audio] | This is a clip of Kellyanne Conway and Jen Palmeieri getting into it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQbv1SAu9R4 The entire debate: | 0 |
6,896 | SAN JUAN Mayor’s “NASTY” Secret Reveals REAL Reason She Criticized Comments Made By President Trump’s DHS Secretary | Last week, President Trump made a public announcement to Americans and Hurricane Maria victims of the bankrupt nation of Puerto Rico. President Trump used his address to assure Puerto Rican s that America s are committed to doing whatever is necessary to help them recover from the unimaginable disaster. Trump went on to clarify, We are with you, we will stay with you and we will come back stronger than ever. We are sending tremendous amounts of supplies, tremendous amounts of food and water, and we are sending people to help. POTUS' @realDonaldTrump on Hurricane Response Efforts in #PuertoRico on Instagram, part of 9/29/17 Weekly Address. https://t.co/dIfYMIztnn pic.twitter.com/oBNykqk11W Dan Scavino Jr. (@Scavino45) September 29, 2017President Trump, who is in the midst of dealing with his third simultaneous disaster took to Twitter to congratulate the efforts of our military and first responders for the amazing job they re doing despite no electric, roads, phones, etc. The military and first responders, despite no electric, roads, phones etc., have done an amazing job. Puerto Rico was totally destroyed. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2017President Trump also retweeted a video shared by the US Coast Guard, sharing their efforts to help those in need of help in Puerto Rico:.@USCG crews worked together with the @RedCross, @fema, and members of local #police, #fire and #government to distribute disaster #relief supplies, food rations and #water in Rio Grande, #PuertoRico, yesterday, following #Hurricane #Maria. Full video https://t.co/4NtrRuY0HQ pic.twitter.com/QVcmuvBdpt USCGSoutheast (@USCGSoutheast) September 30, 2017President Trump shared a video on Twitter that was posted by Dan Scavino, explaining the progress the US Navy is making in helping deliver medical goods and services to the citizens of Puerto Rico:#USNSComfort en route to #PuertoRico, from Norfolk, Virginia to support Hurricane Maria relief efforts. pic.twitter.com/HWkyFXw7uw Dan Scavino Jr. (@Scavino45) September 30, 2017Trump s Homeland Security chief echoed Trump s comments about the hard work and efforts of our military and first responders when she told reporters that the government s response to Hurricane Maria was a good news story. San Juan s Mayor, who is relying on the efforts of President Trump and donations from American citizens, used her opportunity on Fake News CNN to trash President Trump and the efforts of his homeland security.President Trump hit back after Puerto Rican Mayor Carmin Yulin Cruz used her platform on leftist CNN to criticize America s efforts in aiding the victims of Puerto Rico:The Mayor of San Juan, who was very complimentary only a few days ago, has now been told by the Democrats that you must be nasty to Trump. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2017Trump took it a step further and exposed the poor leadership of the Mayor, who, according to President Trump is not getting the workers of Puerto Rico to help with the aid and rebuilding efforts, suggesting they want everything done for them and are not willing to contribute. Trump suggested it should be a community effort as opposed to American military and first responders doing all of the work. Such poor leadership ability by the Mayor of San Juan, and others in Puerto Rico, who are not able to get their workers to help. They . Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2017 want everything to be done for them when it should be a community effort. 10,000 Federal workers now on Island doing a fantastic job. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2017Again, Trump praised the efforts of Americans who are helping the Puerto Ricans:The military and first responders, despite no electric, roads, phones etc., have done an amazing job. Puerto Rico was totally destroyed. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2017Mayor Cruz boasted about the response she got from private individuals after she trashed President Trump s Homeland Security efforts. Joy Reid on MSNBC: Actually, I was asking for help. I wasn t saying anything nasty about the president, but don t take my word for it. Cruz then referenced 3-star General Buchanan who claimed that he doesn t have enough troops and he doesn t have enough equipment of what he needs to get the situation under control. Shortly after the Mayor took to the leftist MSNBC news outlet to make clear that this is not a political issue, Dan Scavino Jr., revealed a dirty little secret about the Mayor, who has a history of tweeting hateful comments about President TRump even before the hurricane hit Puerto Rico. In this tweet shared by Dan Scavino Jr., Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz openly states on Twitter that Trump does not deserve to be President .@realDonaldTrump hater, the Mayor of San Juan is the perfect example of an opportunistic politician. Go ask PR Gov about responsiveness. pic.twitter.com/us3p78P9zK Dan Scavino Jr. (@DanScavino) September 30, 2017Scavino then went on to share the Governor of Puerto Rico s comments about the America s responsiveness to the disaster relief efforts:"The president and the administration, every time we ve asked them to execute, they ve executed quickly." Governor of Puerto Rico Dan Scavino Jr. (@DanScavino) September 30, 2017Perhaps Puerto Rico s mayor thought she could get away with criticizing President Trump and no one would ever find out about her open disdain for our President. Social media, however, has a way of coming back to haunt people like Mayor Cruz. Shame on her for putting politics before the people of Puerto Rico who are so desperate for help.Hopefully, the residents of Puerto Rico won t be affected by the nasty mayor s comments. They deserve better. Maybe in the next election, they ll get someone to represent them who isn t so stupid as to make the matter of their survival a political issue. | 0 |
6,897 | Former Swedish Prime Minister BRUTALLY Mocks Trump’s Rally Insanity; It’s GLORIOUS (TWEET) | Donald Trump s buffonery, lies, and unhinged antics are not playing well on the world stage. The latest embarrassment to Americans from Trump comes via his weirdly timed campaign rally, held this weekend in Florida. During the rally, Trump attacked the media as fake like he always does, and, of course made up lots of ludicrous and bizarre lies.One such lie was designed to defend the Muslim ban, and he used a made-up terror attack in Sweden to do so. Trump told his crowd of brainwashed fans: When you look at what s happening in Germany, when you look at what s happening last night in Sweden Sweden! Who would believe this? Sweden! They took in large numbers, they re having problems like they never thought possible. Trump s lie did not go unnoticed by former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt. Bildt took to Twitter to mock Trump s delusional statement, saying: Sweden? Terror attack? What has he been smoking? Questions abound. Here is the tweet:Sweden? Terror attack? What has he been smoking? Questions abound. https://t.co/XWgw8Fz7tj Carl Bildt (@carlbildt) February 19, 2017Bildt would not be the first to question Trump s mental state. Whether he is high or not is a mystery; all we do know is that any normal person watching the train wreck that is Trump s first month in office knows that something isn t right upstairs with this guy. Bildt wasn t finished with Trump with just that one tweet, though. He went on to tweet a mocking photo of a muppet Swedish Chef who Bildt says is sought for the attack, complete with butcher knives.Donald Trump has only been in office for one month, and already his behavior is making America a laughingstock. Hell, his very candidacy did that, to say nothing of his presidency. He s an absolute disgrace, and dangerously unhinged. Trump must be removed. Congress, do your job.Featured image via Tom Pennington/Getty Images | 0 |
6,898 | Grenades thrown at homes of Ugandan MPs opposed to extending president's rule | KAMPALA (Reuters) - Grenades were thrown overnight at the homes of two Ugandan legislators opposed to scrapping the presidential age limit and thereby extending President Yoweri Museveni s more than 31 years in power. One of the legislators, Robert Kyagulanyi, was later arrested by police, his aide said. Kyagulanyi and fellow legislator Allan have been outspoken in efforts to resist an ongoing effort to change the constitution to allow Museveni to seek another term in elections set for 2021. Museveni has been president since January 1986. Two grenades were thrown at Ssewanyana s residence and three others at Kyagulanyi s. Both legislators were among MPs forcefully ejected from the parliament chamber last week by Uganda s special forces. The grenades were thrown, police spokesman Asan Kasingye told Reuters early Tuesday. He said police were investigating, but dismissed as absurd the idea that the attacks were politically motivated. Talking to local NBS TV, Ssewanyana said he was scared but would not give up the fight against the constitutional change. I can t give up and am calling upon all Ugandans not to give up because this is a serious fight. What shows the seriousness is the attacks that they have now started against us ... Attacks involving weapons, he said. Police later arrested Kyagulanyi as he left his home on the outskirts of the capital Kampala, his personal assistant, Hakim Katongole, told Reuters. Kyagulanyi, a top Ugandan musician with a stage name Bobi Wine, joined politics after winning a parliamentary seat in a repeat election in June. Another police spokesman told Reuters the legislator was arrested for a range of alleged offences including malicious damage, assault of officers on duty, causing bodily harm and others committed during the House brawl. During the fighting, microphone stands were plucked and used as crude weapons, chairs were thrown and bench seats were damaged. The fighting in the chamber pitted legislators opposed to extending Museveni s rule against special forces and legislators favoring the extension. At least five MPs were hospitalized for injuries sustained as they were dragged out of the chamber by plain-clothes security guards that opposition MPs said were special forces soldiers. | 1 |
6,899 | OOPS! Secret Service Opens Investigation After Madonna Tells Thousands Of Angry Liberals She’d Like To “BLOW UP WHITE HOUSE” | A spokesman for the Secret Service told The Gateway Pundit the agency is aware of the comment by aging pop star Madonna made at a large liberal women s protest against President Donald Trump held in Washington, D.C., Saturday, that she has thought an awful lot about blowing up the White House. The spokesman said an investigation would be opened but that the decision to prosecute rests with the U.S. Attorney s office.Madonna told tens of thousands of angry liberals at the March for Women in DC: I m angry. Yes, I am outraged. Yes, I have thought an awful lot about blowing up the White House. But I know that this won t change anything.Here s the sickening moment the aging, irrelevant pop-star thought it was pretty cool to say she s, thought and awful lot about blowing up the White House. | 0 |
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