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Technocracy: The Real Reason Why The UN Wants Control Over The Internet

Activist Post

By Patrick Wood By its very nature, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is a non-profit organization exclusively run by Technocrats. As...

American Drivers Regain Appetite for Gas Guzzlers - The New York Times

Matt Richtel

The single most effective action that most Americans can take to help reduce the dangerous emissions that cause climate change? Buy a more car. But consumers are heading in the opposite direction. They have rekindled their love of bigger cars, pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles, favoring them over small cars, hybrids and electric vehicles, which are considered crucial to helping slow global warming. So far this year, nearly 75 percent of the people who have traded in a hybrid or electric car to a dealer have replaced it with an car, an 18 percent jump from 2015, according to Edmunds. com, a car shopping and research site. In 2008, President Obama set a goal of a million electric cars on the road by 2015 in the United States, but the total is now around 442, 000, including hybrids. This year, electric and hybrid sales have dropped to 2. 4 percent of purchases. Falling gas prices have made big, heavy cars fashionable again, said Michael Sivak, the director of sustainable worldwide transportation at the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute. In fact, demand for trucks, S. U. V.s and vans has rebounded to historic levels after they dropped sharply in 2008, when gas was $4 a gallon. “People have very short memories about the price of gasoline,” Dr. Sivak said. That spells trouble for the environment. vehicles, including S. U. V.s and pickups as well as cars, account for 16. 2 percent of all greenhouse emissions produced in the United States, Dr. Sivak’s research shows, making them the biggest source of emissions that individuals control. Reducing tailpipe emissions “is perhaps the most important thing Americans can do,” said Andrew Jones, a of Climate Interactive, a think tank. “We’re doing the opposite. ” The changing consumer patterns are in plain view at swapalease. com, a marketplace for people who want to get out of a car lease by transferring it to someone else. Dozens of hybrids and electric vehicles are available, in some cases languishing without bites from buyers. “Nobody is interested,” said Angelo Di Maria, who lives in the Bronx. Several weeks ago, he listed his ’s 2013 Toyota Prius. To spur interest, he added a $1, 500 cash incentive, which sharply cut the monthly lease payment to $283 from $391. Still no buyer. Mr. Di Maria said that his who works in construction, loved the Prius, but that his company had given him a Ford pickup. “Who doesn’t want to drive around in a big tank?” Mr. Di Maria said. “When people start to think gas is more affordable, do they really want to pay the premium on the hybrid?” Buyers of electric cars enjoy huge discounts, however, including federal and state rebates, and the opportunity to bypass gas stations altogether. For that reason, Felix Sui, who works in technology in San Diego, loved his BMW electric car. But now that he and his wife are starting a family, he sold the lease on it so he could buy a Volvo S. U. V. “The XC90,” he clarified. “The big one. ” A preference for big cars is not going to help the country meet the goals outlined in the Paris climate accord, reached in December. To help reach those goals, average fuel economy would need to soar to at least 100 miles per gallon — most likely achievable only through widespread adoption of electric and other cars, according to Ben Haley, a of Evolved Energy Research, a consulting firm. President Obama has pushed for stronger federal rules that call for cars to average 40 miles per gallon by 2025, according to the Environmental Protection Agency the current average is 25. 4 miles per gallon. Though electric cars may be somewhat out of favor for now, that may change. Many are hoping that the Tesla could transform Americans’ views on electric cars, much the way the iPhone did with mobile technology. Tesla still carries asterisks — it is losing money, and it is not clear if the company can produce what it has promised — but it can point to 370, 000 votes of confidence. That is how many people have put down $1, 000 to reserve one of Tesla’s new Model 3 cars, a significantly version of its luxury models they won’t even be out until late next year. There are hopes, too, for the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt, which boasts a range of 200 miles, nearly matching the projected range of the Tesla Model 3. Those would more than double the range of many cars on the market, helping alleviate the “range anxiety” that many consumers feel. When Tesla first let people sign up online in March, and reservations surged to 325, 000 within a week, Dr. John Sterman, a climate expert at M. I. T. was heartened by the prospect of broader interest in cars. “All my friends and colleagues were sending me links to the media reports,” he said. “ I thought, this is great news. ” Years from now, he added, “we will look at this as a watershed moment. ” Others who worry about climate change can sound like boosters for the new car. “Tesla is notorious for performance. It can outperform the hottest, most conventional car,” said Albert Ayala, deputy executive officer at the California Air Resources Board, a publicagency that governs air quality. When he gives speeches and is asked how the market can improve, he points to Tesla and says, “That’s exactly what we’re trying to do. ” Seconds after preorders for the new Model 3 became available, John Meyer, 21, an entrepreneur in New York, made his reservation. At the time, he was on a flight from Newark to Los Angeles, and worried that he would miss out if the plane’s went down. He called the car a “game changer” because it has everything he wants — it is cool, beautiful and powerful, he said, as well as being environmentally friendly. “I could’ve bought a Prius before,” he said. “And I would have if it looked like an Audi. ”

Hillary Clinton Builds $150 Million War Chest, Doubling Donald Trump - The New York Times

Nicholas Confessore and Rachel Shorey

Donald J. Trump entered the homestretch of the campaign at a pronounced financial disadvantage to Hillary Clinton, according to figures Mr. Trump’s team released on Saturday, and far below the goal he set for himself earlier in the race. After raising $100 million in partnership with Republican Party organizations in September, Mr. Trump and committees linked to his campaign began October with $75 million in cash on hand. Mrs. Clinton raised $154 million in September and began October with roughly $150 million in the bank, her campaign said, twice as much as Mr. Trump. Many of the Republican Party’s leading contributors have stayed away from his campaign, judging from financial disclosures filed by Mr. Trump and his party on Saturday, signaling his difficulties in persuading party elites to back him. One exception was Peter Thiel, the billionaire Silicon Valley investor who spoke in support of Mr. Trump at the Republican convention in July. A person close to Mr. Thiel said on Saturday that the investor was putting $1. 25 million behind Mr. Trump’s campaign. Still, Mrs. Clinton will have a huge war chest for advertising and organizing at a time when she has regained her lead in public opinion polls and Mr. Trump is openly feuding with his party and mired in accusations that he groped women. The monthly figure was a record for Mr. Trump and provided evidence of his powerful appeal among donors: The campaign now estimates that 2. 6 million people have given to his campaign. But it was only a small improvement over his in July and August, suggesting he might have peaked. Moreover, Mr. Trump has so far not followed through on promises to spend $100 million of his own fortune on the campaign. In September, he contributed $2 million, his usual amount since he became the Republican nominee, leaving him roughly $44 million short of his goal. Mr. Trump also said he would blitz Mrs. Clinton with $100 million in advertising, but he has spent about $32 million, according to two Republican media buyers, although they have reserved substantial additional advertising in swing states. “Our ad spending strategy has not changed,” Hope Hicks, a Trump spokeswoman, wrote in an email. “Mr. Trump continues to make significant contributions to his campaign. ” Mr. Trump is not starved for cash and could still make additional investments in television and turnout to increase his chances on Nov. 8. But his campaign has been marred by disagreements with Republican organizations in some key states. On Saturday, Mr. Trump’s campaign cut ties with Matt Borges, the chairman of the Republican Party in Ohio, a pivotal swing state. A Trump aide accused Mr. Borges of publicly undermining Mr. Trump to promote his own ambitions to run for chairman of the Republican National Committee. In a letter to other Ohio Republicans, the aide, Robert Paduchik, said Mr. Borges had spent the past week on a “ media tour with state and national outlets to criticize our party’s nominee. ” Still, Mr. Paduchik added that he expected the Ohio Republican Party to keep covering payroll costs that it had been paying on behalf of Mr. Trump’s campaign. Some leading Republican donors have tried an awkward straddle, providing money to a “super PAC” that is focused on attacking Mrs. Clinton but is said to be aiming its fire to achieve maximum benefit for Republican House and Senate candidates endangered by Mr. Trump’s slide. That group, called Future45, received $5 million from the casino magnate Sheldon Adelson in September and the same amount from his wife, Miriam. An additional $2. 3 million came from Joe Ricketts, the TD Ameritrade founder, and other donors, including the coal magnate Joe Craft. But disclosures filed with the Federal Election Commission on Saturday hinted at fragmentation and disarray among outside groups that support Mr. Trump and have competed with one another for dollars and turf. While Mr. Trump’s sons and advisers have appeared at for two groups — Great America PAC and Rebuilding America Now — at least three additional super PACs have organized in apparent support of him. One, called Save America From Its Government, was founded by Andrew Beal, a banker and real estate investor who is a member of Mr. Trump’s economic advisory team. According to disclosures filed with the Federal Election Commission, Mr. Beal gave $2 million to the group in September, nearly all of the money it reported raising. A fourth group, a committee called American Horizons, was attacked by the Trump campaign this summer for promoting a “Dinner With Donald” contest that Mr. Trump had neither authorized nor agreed to. The complaints do not appear to have affected : American Horizons raised $750, 000 from July to September, a third of it from donors giving hundreds of dollars each. The committee has spent just $12, 000 on expenditures backing Mr. Trump. But the biggest chunk of spending, about $400, 000, went to fees to a consulting firm owned by the PAC’s treasurer.

Trump Catches What Sick Reporter Snuck In Interview, Has Priceless Response

Amanda Shea

Trump Catches What Sick Reporter Snuck In Interview, Has Priceless Response Posted on October 27, 2016 by Amanda Shea in Politics Share This CNN’s Dana Bash (left), Bash Interviewing Donald Trump (right) Donald Trump stopped campaigning for just an hour-and-half to work in a brief appearance at the opening of his new hotel, where reporters awaited his arrival — one of which had a nasty surprise hidden up her sleeve. When the Republican candidate caught it mid-interview on live television, he had a priceless response that the CNN crank won’t soon forget. Liberal news host Dana Bash is evidently no fan of Donald Trump, which she’s not afraid to show in her biased reporting. Her arrogance backfired when she was in front of him at the grand opening of his hotel, thinking she could get away with a public attempt to insult him, but she got rightfully put in her place by the blunt candidate. Trump’s schedule is jam packed with as many campaign stops as he can cram into these final weeks of the election, taking advantage of every waking moment to earn Americans’ votes. Somehow in the middle of his traveling to every corner of the country, he managed to squeeze in a stop at his hotel’s grand opening where he created countless jobs and a structure he should be proud of. However, Bash didn’t see it this way in her attempt to slam him for this 90-minute “time off” he was taking from campaigning. During her live interview at the opening, the nasty CNN reporter had the audacity to sneak in this question: “For people who say you’re taking time out of swing states to go do this, you say?” She painted this pit stop as an irresponsible thing to do while Hillary Clinton is working hard. Trump shuts down Dana Bash after questioning him for "taking time off" to attend his hotel's grand opening. 😁 pic.twitter.com/LtLAu1jkbQ — Deplorable AJ (@asamjulian) October 26, 2016 Trump wasn’t going to allow her to get away with asking such a disgusting thing, given the vast difference in effort between him and his opponent and didn’t mince a single word in his priceless answer. “I say the following. You have been covering me for the last, long time. I did yesterday 8 stops and 3 major speeches. And I’ve been doing this for weeks straight. I left for here for an hour-and-a-half. I’m leaving here and going to North Carolina, then I’m going to Florida, then I’m going up to New Hampshire. For you to ask me that question is actually very insulting because Hillary Clinton does one stop and then goes home and sleeps. And yet you ask me that question. I think it’s a very rude question .” Bash didn’t see that coming, and Trump proved once again why America needs an unapologetic leader like him. He tells it how it is and backs up what he says with real action, unlike his competition who puts in a couple of days of campaigning and calls it good since it’s all for show anyway. Trump is putting in ten times the effort with genuine work ethic on his own dime to honestly earn the votes, and if he wants to take a couple of minutes to make an appearance at an opening, he’s more than entitled to do it. It pales in comparison to the weeks Hillary has had off relaxing and recovering. Trump’s creating jobs as he’s campaigning, but Hillary’s just napping.

All 100 Senators Contacted Russian Government This Week

Joel B. Pollak

Attorney General Jeff Sessions found himself at the center of controversy this week because he answered a question about the Trump campaign’s contacts with the Russian government without talking about his contacts as a United States Senator. [The assumption made by the media, the Democrats, and even some Republicans was that even routine contact with the Russian government is burdened by suspicion of collusion. Not since the McCarthy era have suspicions reached such levels. But if Sessions ought to resign, perhaps the entire Senate should quit. Because on Monday — two days before the Washington Post broke the highly scandalous story that Sessions had met the Russian ambassador twice in the course of his duties — every single United States Senator had formal contact with the Russian government. And not just any functionary: they had contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin himself. Worse (apparently) still, they initiated the contact with the Russians. The contact was a letter, signed by the entire Senate, urging Putin to release a valuable library of Jewish religious texts that was seized by earlier Russian regimes and which has been the subject of a legal and diplomatic dispute in recent decades. Senate Letter Re Chabad — 2017 — Without Hatch Signature by Breitbart News on Scribd, Senator Orrin Hatch ( ) provided the final signature on the letter, and tweeted proudly about his support for the effort: For the last year, Hatch has led his colleagues in an effort to recover the texts, including a letter signed by all 100 Senators. ( ) pic. twitter. — Senator Hatch Office (@SenOrrinHatch) February 28, 2017, None of that means Sessions should have misled Congress — but the point is, again, that he did not. Ordinary contact with foreign governments is such a routine part of the job that he did not think to mention it, just as no one mentioned the Putin letter this week, even in the heat of debate about which senators might have met the Russian ambassador, and when and why. Joel B. Pollak is Senior at Breitbart News. He was named one of the “most influential” people in news media in 2016. His new book, How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.

10 Images That Perfectly Illustrate the Struggle Against the Dakota Access Pipeline

The Anti-Media

By Nick Bernabe The struggle to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline has been mired in police brutality and militarization. In fact, many have likened the atmosphere in Standing Rock, North Dakota, to a war zone. The corporate media initially refused to cover the Dakota Access Pipeline protests, though the ongoing story’s virality on social media eventually forced it into the mainstream. Even now that the #NoDAPL movement has developed into a national political narrative, the media continues to whitewash the severity of the crackdown against the Native American protesters, who call themselves “water protectors.” Below are 10 images I have come across (while closely following the Dakota Access Pipeline protests for Anti-Media ) that narrate the struggle at Standing Rock: 85 years old elder wheeled travelled miles just to support and stand against pipeline. Bless are ones #NoDAPL pic.twitter.com/0sHpGAHSNw — ❌ making a stand (@61_alvin) October 15, 2016 Live from #StandingRock #NoDAPL prayer ceremony/drum circle on road blocked by police for DAPL workers- making clear who they serve&protect pic.twitter.com/tD3iUzcm3g — NYC Revolution Club (@NYCRevClub) October 29, 2016 A young Native American girl has a message for President Obama . @POTUS Your silence is deafening. #NoDAPL pic.twitter.com/eypYJvfHmc — People For Bernie (@People4Bernie) October 27, 2016 This initial crackdown at the Standing Rock camp shortly after the activation of the North Dakota National Guard. Battle lines are drawn. A tribal elder conducts a water ceremony in front of the police line. #NoDAPL Picture speaks volumes! pic.twitter.com/dQF2xVEVMU — Native Life ☄#NoDAPL (@_Native_Life) October 27, 2016 tweet A woman is violently arrested by militarized law enforcement Five police officers beat one elderly woman as 117 water protectors arrested yesterday. Terrible scenes coming out of North Dakota. #NoDAPL pic.twitter.com/xFjvdBEuNB — Stephen George Rae (@StephenGeoRae) October 28, 2016 As frustration mounts, two National Guards trucks are set on fire. Delivered by The Daily Sheeple We encourage you to share and republish our reports, analyses, breaking news and videos ( Click for details ). Contributed by The Anti-Media of theantimedia.org . The “Anti” in our name does not mean we are against the media, we are simply against the current mainstream paradigm. The current media, influenced by the industrial complex, is a top-down authoritarian system of distribution—the opposite of what Anti-Media aims to be. At Anti-Media, we want to offer a new paradigm—a bottom-up approach for real and diverse reporting. We seek to establish a space where the people are the journalists and a venue where independent journalism moves forward on a larger and more truthful scale.

Washington State Takes 10 Refugees, 0 Muslim Rest of Country Takes 189 Refugees, 151 Muslim - Breitbart

Michael Patrick Leahy

On Tuesday, the second full weekday after Federal Judge James Robart issued a temporary restraining order halting President Trump’s executive order that temporarily blocked the issuance of visas for seven Middle Eastern countries and temporarily banned refugees from all countries, ten refugees arrived in the state of Washington. [None of them were Muslim. All ten were from the Ukraine, and were either Baptist, Evangelical Christian, Uniate (a branch of Christian denomination found in eastern Europe) or Pentecostalist, according to the Department of State’s interactive website. Across the rest of the country, it was a different story. More than 75 percent of the 189 refugees who arrived in other parts of the United States on Tuesday, 151 in total, were Muslim, according to the Department of State’s interactive website. It was the ultimate irony, since Judge Robart based his decision on an argument from Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson that Trump’s executive order was unconstitutional because it was motivated by a desire to ban Muslims. “Prior to his election, Donald Trump campaigned on the promise that he would ban Muslims from entering the United States,” Ferguson alleged in the Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief filed by the state of Washington with the United States District Court Western District of Washington on January 30, 2017: On December 7, 2015, candidate Trump issued a press release calling for “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States. ” As of the date of this filing, the press release remains available on Trump’s campaign website and is attached hereto as Exhibit 1. In defending his decision shortly thereafter, candidate Trump compared the Muslim ban to former President Franklin Roosevelt’s decision to intern Japanese Americans during World War II, and stated, “This is a president highly respected by all, [Roosevelt] did the same thing. ” A media report of this interview is attached hereto as Exhibit 2. On June 14, 2016, candidate Trump reiterated his promise to ban all Muslims entering this country until “we as a nation are in a position to properly and perfectly screenthose people coming into our country. ” “Section 3 of the Executive Order, if implemented, will result in substantial burdens on the exercise of religion by immigrants by, for example, preventing them from exercising their religion while in detention, returning to their religious communities in Washington, taking upcoming, planned religious travel abroad. Such burdens on religion violate the Religious Freedom Restoration Act,” Ferguson argued in the January 30 complaint. In response to the Department of Justice’s appeal of Judge Robart’s decision to the 9th Federal Circuit Court, Ferguson restated that claim. “Here, the State [of Washington] has plausibly alleged with sufficient particularity that the President acted in bad faith in an effort to target Muslims,” Ferguson argued in States’ Response to Emergency Motion Under Circuit Rule for Administrative Stay and Motion for Stay Pending Appeal filed with the 9th Federal Circuit Court on February 6, continuing with that theme. In the week between President Trump’s signing of the executive order on January 27 and Judge Robart’s issuance of the temporary restraining order halting it nationwide on February 3, the Trump administration granted waivers allowing 842 refugees to enter the country. One hundred and of those refugees, or 15 percent, were Muslim, according to the State Department’s interactive website.

Houthi forces capture Saudi military base in Asir - Russia News Now

This post was originally published on this site almasdarnews.com DAMASCUS, SYRIA (3:00 A.M.) – The Houthi forces, backed by the Yemeni Republican Guard, reportedly captured another Saudi military base in the southwestern province of Asir after a fierce battle on Friday night. According to the Yemen-based Al-Masirah TV, the Houthi forces and their allies seized the Al-Niswa Military Base after overrunning the Saudi Army’s defenses on Friday night. Scores of Saudi Army soldiers were reported dead by Al-Masirah TV on Friday, adding to the Kingdom’s plight in the war against the Houthi forces and Yemeni Republican Guard. In addition to the several military personnel killed, the Saudi Army also lost a huge cache of weapons while fleeing the advancing Houthi forces on Friday. ALSO READ Saudi king hopes Trump brings ‘stability’ to Middle East Related

NCAA, Big 12 Keeps Watchful Eye on Texas Bathroom Bill - Breitbart

Warner Todd Huston

Texas is one of a list of states looking to institute their own transgender bathroom restrictions, quite regardless of the guff North Carolina took for its own bill last year. Predictably, just as it did against North Carolina, the NCAA and the Big 12 Conference look to act against Texas over the law. [After North Carolina passed its 2016 House Bill 2, which restricted some bathrooms, the NCAA decided to pull all tournament games from the state in protest over what the organization labeled “discrimination. ” At the time, the AP wrote that the state’s governor criticized the NCAA for the move. “Gov. Pat McCrory says the NCAA failed to show North Carolina respect when it moved championships and tournament games out of the state because of a law that governs which bathrooms transgender people must use,” the AP said. Now that Texas walks down the same legislative path that North Carolina blazed, the NCAA and Big 12 again look to punish a state. Announcing the effort in Texas, Lone Star State Lt. Governor Dan Patrick said of the new bill, “This issue is not about discrimination — it’s about public safety, protecting businesses and common sense,” according to USA Today. Since the announcement in Texas, the NCAA has put the state on notice that they are watching. While the NCAA itself didn’t have a statement at this time, the Big 12 did have something to say. “The Big 12 Conference is aware of the filing of Senate Bill 6 in the Texas State legislature,” said Big 12 spokesman Bob Burda. “We will track the bill’s progress through the legislature, and at an appropriate time discuss its impact with our member institutions. ” The NCAA acted quickly and with prejudice against North Carolina, but it’s unclear whether it will act in a similar, swift manner against Texas. With at least five other states across the country contemplating similar bills, it may come to diminishing returns for the leagues to act in boycott. The boycott of one state came easy for them, but if five or more pass bathroom laws similar to North Carolina’s the leagues may end up on the outside looking in. Along with Texas, other states now beginning the process of debating and enacting a bathroom bill include Alabama, Missouri, South Carolina, Virginia, and Washington. Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail. com.

Massive ESPN Financial, Subscriber Losses Drag Down Disney’s First-Quarter Sales - Breitbart

Dylan Gwinn

A year that saw arguably the five greatest championship game performances of all time should have helped right the ship for ESPN, and at the very least stopped the trend of massive subscriber losses which have plagued the sports giant for the last few years. [Well, that did not happen, and ESPN appears to be a sinking ship, dragging parent company Disney down with it. Bloomberg reports that ESPN badly hurt Disney’s first quarter sales, falling well short of projections. According to The Wrap, “Cable networks, particularly ESPN, have been an albatross on Disney’s stock price even as the company’s two other major prongs, movies and theme parks, continue to perform well. As cheaper TV alternatives began to proliferate, ESPN hemorrhaged subscribers during the course of 2016 and is now at less than 88 million, compared with a peak of 100. 1 million in 2011. At an estimated $7 per subscriber, that dip has been a substantial hit to Disney, especially considering media networks made up 49 percent of Disney’s profits during fiscal 2016. ” In other words, everyone else at Disney met or exceeded their projected goals, except for ESPN who lost more than twelve million subscribers in just under six years. But, the problem for ESPN goes deeper than just losing subscribers and money. The Wrap explains, “At the same time, rights fees for the live sports ESPN specializes in broadcasting continue to go up, as there’s plenty of competition for one of the few pieces of programmed television that still delivers monster ratings. ESPN will pay $7. 3 billion for content this year — the biggest price tag among all media companies. Operating income at Disney’s cable networks division — primarily ESPN — plunged 11 percent compared with the same time the previous year. Disney attributed that drop entirely to lower ESPN revenue. ” Less cash on hand means less cash to purchase rights to sporting events, which can prove particularly harmful to an entity that considers itself a sports network. Now, Disney and ESPN have laid much of the blame for their subscriber loss at the feet of the cord cutting phenomenon that has impacted all cable providers to some degree. That’s a fair point, but ESPN’s losses have far exceeded the pace and rate of losses among other providers. ESPN will also cite the fact that they’re rolling out more streaming content that will offset much of the losses they’ve taken on the cable side. Great, but what will ESPN show on those streaming channels? Will they show the equivalent of Jason Bateman’s ESPN “The Ocho?” I enjoy a good game of dodgeball as much as the next guy, but unless ESPN plans on exclusively featuring the NFL, or NBA games on their streaming networks, virtually no one will watch. Not to mention, it’s highly unlikely that either the NBA or the NFL would enter into a contract with ESPN which allowed them to only offer their games via stream. So, what can ESPN do? In November, ESPN ombudsman Jim Brady wrote that he felt the network had become too liberal, turning off half the country and potentially effecting viewership and subscribership. Sadly, three months after that rare and blinding light of truth and honesty there’s no reason to believe anything has changed regarding the politics of ESPN. Not when you have hosts like ESPN’s Ryen Rusillo stating, on the air, that he no longer knows what his job is, since everyone around him just wants to bash Trump and talk liberal politics, instead of talking about sports. Maybe, if ESPN focused more on sports instead of alienating half the country, their business wouldn’t be circling the drain right now. After all, Lady Gaga just did a halftime show in which she decided to not enrage half the country, and got rewarded with an enormous surge in digital music sales. Imagine that. Don’t insult the country and they’ll consume your product. Who would have thought? Follow Dylan Gwinn on Twitter: @themightygwinn

Megyn Kelly, Contract Set to Expire Next Year, Is Primed for the Big Show - The New York Times

John Koblin

Barbara Walters is retired, Oprah Winfrey is running a network and Megyn Kelly sees an opening. “It’s there for the taking right now,” she said in a recent interview. And what is there for the taking? What those famous hosts had accomplished: conducting the sort of interviews that could transfix a nation. “Those were the biggest spots to go for an interview if you had something you wanted to get off your chest, if you were in the middle of a scandal or a major news story and you wanted to do a to get past it or to go on the record,” she said. She quickly added: “And I’m here!” Making the Oprah or Barbara Walters leap is a remarkably tricky business. Many have tried before, with daytime shows or specials, only to run into a wall and return to a more comfortable corner of television. And the interview special is a relic from a time on television when what was broadcast on the Big Four networks was what mattered most. But on Tuesday, Ms. Kelly, the Fox News anchor and host of “The Kelly File,” will take her first crack at a special on Fox — the broadcast network, not the cable news station — with “Megyn Kelly Presents. ” There is certainly one big hook to draw viewers: She will confront the likely Republican presidential nominee, Donald J. Trump, a man who over the last nine months has kept Ms. Kelly in the middle of a running news story by relentlessly attacking her. And though Mr. Trump represents the get, she will also interview two actors (Michael Douglas and Laverne Cox) and a lawyer (Robert Shapiro) who is back in the news after the successful O. J. Simpson anthology “American Crime Story” on FX. Mr. Trump aside, it is with those interviews that Ms. Kelly hopes to accomplish something new: prove that she can do much more than simply host a nightly news show. If all goes well, she will display range and versatility at a convenient time. Her contract with Fox News is set to expire in a little more than a year. “I would like to prove to myself that I have these other muscles,” she said, as she sat in her cramped office on Sixth Avenue. “It doesn’t all have to be level of difficulty. It can be other kinds of questioning where you get more to somebody’s humanity and tell their story. ” She said that one of her benchmarks for success was if viewers said: “I saw Megyn in a new light. ” Her Fox News show, “The Kelly File,” has been a hit for more than two years, but Ms. Kelly, who is 45, is in the middle of a big moment in her career. Since Mr. Trump began attacking her after the first Republican debate in August, Ms. Kelly has approached something close to genuine celebrity status. She was on the cover of Vanity Fair in February, she has made the rounds of the circuit over the last three months. She also made her first appearance at the Met Gala in early May, the lavish Manhattan event that effectively serves as the year’s social register for the rich and famous. There is also a book in the works — she is handing in the manuscript to her editor at HarperCollins later this month and spent the last week writing the Trump section. It comes out the week after Election Day in November, and Tuesday will bring her the first special. There are real questions whether the “special” can attract a meaningful audience and lift a career. Long gone are the days when Ms. Walters could attract an audience of about 50 million people, as her exclusive interview with Monica Lewinsky did in 1999. But even in a fragmented TV landscape, they can occasionally break through. Last year, Caitlyn Jenner’s revelation that she was transgender in an interview with Diane Sawyer drew nearly 17 million viewers, which qualifies as a huge hit these days. Ms. Kelly was reluctant to discuss a ratings goal. The producer for “Megyn Kelly Presents,” the veteran TV newsman Bill Geddie, pointed out that Fox did not ordinarily run these type of news specials and that expectations should be managed accordingly. “Megyn said it right: We’re looking for a single here,” he said. The special can accomplish other goals for her instead. The news cycle has been relentlessly focused on politics and Ms. Kelly said she was more than happy to take a break from that. She is not a political junkie. “That’s not all I am,” she said “I love covering the news, but I’m not a political person, so I don’t know that I get the jones out of immersing myself in politics all day, every day the way some others do. ” She added, “You look out at the news landscape, and there isn’t the one perfect job that would service the soul. ” If that turn of phrase makes her sound a little like Oprah, it is probably not by accident. She pointed to Ms. Winfrey and Charlie Rose to illustrate her broader goals. “Oprah’s a bit more spiritual and helps improve people’s lives, which I also would like to do,” she said. “Charlie has a thing that I don’t have. He will sit down with Brian Dennehy, who’s got an amazing show on Broadway, and talk to him about it. He’ll sit down with business executives like Tim Cook and talk to him about what’s happening in his life. ” And if Ms. Kelly wants to be part Oprah, part Charlie Rose and also fill the Barbara Walters vacuum (“Who in their right mind would reject that?” she said of Ms. Walters) she got the right producer. Mr. Geddie produced more than 100 of Ms. Walters’s specials. “Megyn Kelly Presents” will be quite a departure from her regular show: Say goodbye to the talking heads and cuts, and cue a gauzier look, with two comfortable chairs and a contemplative head nod. “It’s nice to step outside of it every once in a while and try out the Louis Vuitton luggage,” she said. This is, of course, leads to the question: What will happen when her contract expires next year? Whether or not the special is a success, she will have plenty of suitors lined up. And Fox News is keen to keep her. The special was the brainchild of the Fox News chairman, Roger Ailes, Ms. Kelly said. And she expressed loyalty to Mr. Ailes when asked about her future. “The number of times he’s had my back, given me opportunities, stuck his own neck out there to protect me, I feel very grateful to him. ” She continued: “Having said that, this is a fickle business, and you never say never. Every time I’ve been up for a contract negotiation I’ve been to what possibilities exist. ” Though the special may show how adept she is at interviewing a celebrity, much of the attention on Tuesday night will ultimately be on Mr. Trump, who made her his No. 1 media nemesis with his famous description of “blood coming out of her … wherever. ” Ms. Kelly said she planned to contact him for months but the attacks on her kept coming (Mr. Trump tweeted regularly about her, calling her “Crazy Megyn,” and he skipped the second Fox News debate in late January because of Ms. Kelly’s involvement). She wanted him for this special, but it was not an easy assignment. Even Mr. Geddie, who has known Mr. Trump for 20 years, reached out and was given a flat no. It was not until April that Ms. Kelly reached out to Mr. Trump for the first time since the debate in August. She later met him alone at the Trump Tower to discuss the interview. Less than two weeks later, he was in. Though she concedes that Mr. Trump has made her “name better known,” she also refers to the last year as a dark one. There have been security concerns, and the stream of tweets from Mr. Trump and his supporters has been unpleasant. “This is one of the things that I get into with Trump in the interview,” she said. “Not about me but about whether he realizes the power his words have on the lives of his targets. Not just Megyn Kelly. ” In a campaign cycle in which the news media has been roundly criticized for kowtowing to Mr. Trump, Ms. Kelly has mostly been above it all. She even said on a March show: “I’m the show in all of cable news and I haven’t had Trump on in seven months. It can be done without him too. ” With the apparent rapprochement, is Ms. Kelly worried about the perception that she, too, is doing whatever needs to be done to get him for an interview? “Listen, if I weren’t a journalist, would I have called up Trump and said ‘Let’s meet’? No, I would not,” she said. “But it’s because I’m a journalist he was attacking me to begin with. So, no, you cannot compare me trying to put an end to his barrage so that I can cover him like a normal journalist with the obsessive coverage we have seen of his candidacy. ” Ms. Kelly expressed some frustration that she had been in the news for so long. Asked whether she thought Mr. Trump’s attacks would end after the special was broadcast, she took a long pause, and said, without a great deal of confidence: “I hope so. One never knows. ”

Teacher Suspended for Allowing Students to Hit Trump Pinata for Cinco de Mayo

Katherine Rodriguez

A high school Spanish teacher from Colorado has been suspended after she reportedly made a piñata with President Trump’s face on it and allowed her students to hit it. [Johnstown Milliken School District Superintendent Martin Foster said the incident took place at Roosevelt High School in Johnstown during the Spanish class’s celebration of Cinco de Mayo, CBS Denver reported. “This was an incredibly disrespectful act that does not reflect the values of Roosevelt High School or the school district,” Foster said in a statement. The teacher’s name has not yet been released. Photos and video of the incident circulated on Facebook and Snapchat, offending many parents. “He’s been defeated,” read one caption of a Snapchat photo showing two students holding up the piñata with Trump’s face on it. One parent, Lesley Hollywood, posted the Snapchats to Facebook and shared her displeasure with the incident: “It is disturbing that this would be happening in a school setting,” Hollywood told CBS Denver. “Why divide people? Why do this? There are so many other ways we can address politics in schools. ” Hollywood said that according to some of the students, the piñata also featured an image of Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto. “I wouldn’t of cared if it was Obama’s face on that piñata, or if it had been Hillary Clinton’s face,” Hollywood added. “It doesn’t matter. This is not how we should be teaching our children politics in this country. ” KDVR reported that the district will launch an investigation starting Monday.

BREAKING : Trump Expressed Concern Over Anthony Weiner’s “Illegal Access” to Classified Info 2 Months ago – TruthFeed

Amy Moreno

BREAKING : Trump Expressed Concern Over Anthony Weiner’s “Illegal Access” to Classified Info 2 Months ago BREAKING : Trump Expressed Concern Over Anthony Weiner’s “Illegal Access” to Classified Info 2 Months ago Breaking News By Amy Moreno October 28, 2016 Once again, Trump was right. Back in August, in a statement regarding Hillary’s carelessness handling classified documents, Trump stated that he was concerned that Weiner had “access” to information he shouldn’t. Now that we’re learning that the FBI discovered “new emails” on a “device” associated to Weiner, it looks as if Trump was right AGAIN. — Deplorable AJ (@asamjulian) October 28, 2016 This is a movement – we are the political OUTSIDERS fighting against the FAILED GLOBAL ESTABLISHMENT! Join the resistance and help us fight to put America First! Amy Moreno is a Published Author , Pug Lover & Game of Thrones Nerd. You can follow her on Twitter here and Facebook here . Support the Trump Movement and help us fight Liberal Media Bias. Please LIKE and SHARE this story on Facebook or Twitter.

Snap Shares Leap 44% in Debut as Investors Doubt Value Will Vanish - The New York Times

Michael J. de la Merced

Snapchat is a business built in large part on disappearing messages and adding animated dog ears and flower crowns to users’ selfies. As of Thursday, that business is worth about $34 billion — more than the market value of the media company CBS, and about three times the size of another social media company, Twitter. Snapchat has made paper billionaires of its founders five times over. In making its stock market debut in spectacular fashion — its shares rising 44 percent on their first day of trading — Snapchat’s parent, Snap Inc. has blazed a trail for other technology darlings like Uber and Spotify that remain privately held. It elated Wall Street institutions eager for a prominent initial public offering when few had surfaced for months. The company has entranced investors despite a litany of red flags, like enormous losses that are expected to persist for years, a slowdown in its user growth rates, and an ownership structure that gives Snapchat’s founders control for decades to come. Then there are the shadows of onetime tech highfliers that have since crashed to earth. Twitter was valued at nearly $32 billion at the end of its first day of trading Wall Street now values it at roughly $11 billion and has called for the company to sell itself. An earlier force in social media, Myspace, sold itself to Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation for $580 million in 2005 six years later, it was sold to Justin Timberlake and other investors for $35 million. Some analysts have already shown skepticism about the newest publicly traded tech giant. One, Brian Wieser of Pivotal Research Group, says the share price should be $10, far below the company’s offering price of $17, which itself was above the initial range predicted. Snap faces competition from larger companies and the challenge of a user base, he said. Boosters of Snap’s prospects argue instead that Snap has the potential to become less like Twitter and more like its biggest rival, the $395 billion Facebook. These supporters point to some of the company’s obvious strengths: the 158 million people on average who used Snapchat each day by the end of 2016 the roughly 18 times a day that those users opened the app on average the $404 million in sales that it collected last year, up from nothing three years ago. For now, investors appeared to focus on the positive. Snap raised $3. 4 billion in its market debut, the most by an American tech company since Facebook’s initial offering in 2012, according to data from Renaissance Capital. It was the first significant tech stock sale since at least December. And the 44 percent pop in its stock price was the biggest enjoyed by a company of a I. P. O. since Twitter’s debut in 2013. More than 217 million shares traded on Thursday, as some investors bought and others cashed in, exceeding the number of shares Snap sold in the I. P. O. For investors in other unicorns — a term for valued at more than $1 billion — the immense success of Snap’s deal highlights the appetite for a tech darling, even if the company still bleeds money. Count Uber, Spotify and Airbnb within that group. “The sound you’re hearing today after the Snap I. P. O. is the happy snapping of fingers of unicorns and their investors,” said Kathleen Smith, a principal at Renaissance Capital. “It looks like Snap has set the path to monetization. ” In countless meetings during a roadshow with investors, Snap executives sought to rebut some of the biggest concerns about the company’s prospects. Slowing growth toward the end of last year stemmed from problems with the service’s Android app. Competition from Facebook, which openly copied some of Snapchat’s signature features at Instagram, would do little to dent user enthusiasm. And the company would continue to press innovations, such as the branded lens filters that transform users into monsters, fairies or Taco Bell tacos, and that have become new forms of advertising beloved by brands. Potential new ideas include drones and cameras. By Wednesday night, Snap’s bankers had drawn up their list of the investors who would get the first shares, largely big mutual funds and some hedge funds, all with the aim of picking firms that are most likely to stick around for the long term. The I. P. O. minted wealth for others that invested when it was a younger company, including big venture capital firms like Benchmark Capital and a high school in the Bay Area. Unlike newly public companies that seek to celebrate their first day of trading on the stock markets, Snap kept its festivities largely confined to the New York Stock Exchange. The company’s top executives and board members gathered there for a breakfast, where guests were presented with pins in the shape of Snapchat’s ghost mascot. Evan Spiegel, 26, and Bobby Murphy, 28, Snap’s founders, briefly addressed the crowd, uncharacteristically clad in suits and ties rather than their customary . They also presented exchange officials with their version of the customary gift given by market debutants: one of the vending machines that sell the company’s Spectacles, sunglasses that send videos to the app. (The machine won’t be refilled once it sells out of Spectacles.) Then the founders walked through the floor of an exchange bedecked in the company’s signature yellow — the color splayed on electronic boards, wrapped around water bottles and leaping off some executives’ ties. One Snap employee had ducked into the Hermès store down the street to pick up a yellow tie days before just for the occasion. Mr. Spiegel’s fiancée, the supermodel Miranda Kerr, enthusiastically documented the day on her own Snapchat Story and posed for selfies. Attendees on the floor could unlock a special filter that placed the company’s ghost mascot in their videos, holding virtual Snapchat balloons and ejecting a rainbow from its mouth. At 9:30 a. m. Mr. Spiegel and Mr. Murphy rang the Big Board’s opening bell and then briefly basked in the adulation. Snap’s chief strategy officer, Imran Khan, escorted his family around the exchange and posed for pictures with fellow employees. But by the time Snap’s shares opened for trading at $24 each — which was later in the morning — the company’s top executives had disappeared from the floor, heading to the nearby offices of one of the banks involved in the public offering, Goldman Sachs, to watch the opening. Then many staff members trekked to Snap’s Midtown Manhattan offices to head back to work.

Clinton Campaign Chair Had Dinner With Top DOJ Official One Day After Hillary’s Benghazi Hearing

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Zero Hedge October 26, 2016 In the latest revelation sure to reignite accusations of collusion between the Clinton campaign and the DOJ, among the recent batch of hacked emails released by Wikileaks, we learn that the day after Hillary Clinton testified in front of the House Select Committee on Benghazi last October, John Podesta, Hillary’s campaign chairman met for dinner with a small group of well-connected friends, including Peter Kadzik , who is currently a top official at the US Justice Department serving as Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs. Peter Kadzik, with lobbyist Tony Podesta, brother of John Podesta . The post-Benghazi dinner was attended by Podesta, Kadzik, superlobbyist Vincent Roberti and other well-placed Beltway fixtures. The first mention of personal contact between Podesta and Kadzik in the Wikileaks dump is in an Oct. 23, 2015 email sent out by Vincent Roberti, a lobbyist who is close to Podesta and his superlobbyist brother, Tony Podesta. In it, Roberti refers to a dinner reservation at Posto, a Washington D.C. restaurant. The dinner was set for 7:30 that evening, just one day after Clinton gave 11 hours of testimony to the Benghazi Committee . Podesta and Kadzik met several months later for dinner at Podesta’s home, another email shows . Another email sent on May 5, 2015 , Kadzik’s son asked Podesta for a job on the Clinton campaign. As the Daily Caller notes , the dinner arrangement “is just the latest example of an apparent conflict of interest between the Clinton campaign and the federal agency charged with investigating the former secretary of state’s email practices.” As one former U.S. Attorney tells told the DC, the exchanges are another example of the Clinton campaign’s “cozy relationship” with the Obama Justice Department. The hacked emails confirm that Podesta and Kadzik were in frequent contact. In one email from January, Kadzik and Podesta, who were classmates at Georgetown Law School in the 1970s, discussed plans to celebrate Podesta’s birthday. And in another sent last May, Kadzik’s son emailed Podesta asking for a job on the Clinton campaign. A d v e r t i s e m e n t “The political appointees in the Obama administration, especially in the Department of Justice, appear to be very partisan in nature and I don’t think had clean hands when it comes to the investigation of the private email server,” says Matthew Whitaker, the executive director of the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust, a government watchdog group. “ It’s the kind of thing the American people are frustrated about is that the politically powerful have insider access and have these kind of relationships that ultimately appear to always break to the benefit of Hillary Clinton ,” he added, comparing the Podesta-Kadzik meetings to the revelation that Attorney General Loretta Lynch met in private with Bill Clinton at the airport in Phoenix days before the FBI and DOJ investigating Hillary Clinton. Kadzik’s role at the DOJ, where he started in 2013, is particularly notable Kadzik, as helped spearhead the effort to nominate Lynch, who was heavily criticized for her secret meeting with the former president. A Long, Friendly History Podesta and Kadzik have a long history, one which has surprisingly gone mostly unnoticed during the ongoing Clinton email scandal. As DC helps summarize, Kadzik represented Podesta during the Monica Lewinsky investigation. And in the waning days of the Bill Clinton administration, Kadzik lobbied Podesta on behalf of Marc Rich, the fugitive who Bill Clinton controversially pardoned on his last day in office. That history is cited by Podesta in another email hacked from his Gmail account. In a Sept. 2008 email , which the Washington Free Beacon flagged last week, Podesta emailed an Obama campaign official to recommend Kadzik for a supportive role in the campaign. Podesta, who would later head up the Obama White House transition effort, wrote that Kadzik was a “fantastic lawyer” who “ kept me out of jail.” As the DC Chuck Ross notes, it is unclear to which case Podesta was referring and whether he was joking about prison. But Podesta was caught in a sticky situation in both the Lewinsky affair and the Rich pardon scandal. As deputy chief of staff to Clinton in 1996, Podesta asked then-United Nations ambassador Bill Richardson to hire the 23-year-old Lewinsky . In April 1996, the White House transferred Lewinsky from her job as a White House intern to the Pentagon in order to keep her and Bill Clinton separate. But the Clinton team also wanted to keep Lewinsky happy so that she would not spill the beans about her sexual relationship with Clinton. Richardson later recounted in his autobiography that he offered Lewinsky the position but that she declined it. Podesta made false statements to a grand jury impaneled by Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr for the investigation. But he defended the falsehoods, saying later that he was merely relaying false information from Clinton that he did not know was inaccurate at the time. “He did lie to me,” Podesta said about Clinton in a National Public Radio interview in 1998. Clinton was acquitted by the Senate in Feb. 1999 of perjury and obstruction of justice charges related to the Lewinsky probe. Kadzik, then a lawyer with the firm Dickstein Shapiro Morin & Oshinsky, represented Podesta through the fiasco. Podesta had been promoted to Clinton’s chief of staff when he and Kadzik became embroiled in another scandal. Kadzik was then representing Marc Rich, a billionaire financier who was wanted by the U.S. government for evading a $48 million tax bill. The fugitive, who was also implicated in illegal trading activity with nations that sponsored terrorism, had been living in Switzerland for 17 years when he sought the pardon. To help Rich, Kadzik lobbied Podesta heavily in the weeks before Clinton left office on Jan. 20, 2001. A House Oversight Committee report released in May 2002 stated that “Kadzik was recruited into Marc Rich’s lobbying campaign because he was a long-time friend of White House Chief of Staff John Podesta.” The report noted that Kadzik contacted Podesta at least seven times regarding Rich’s pardon. On top of the all-hands-on-deck lobbying effort, Rich’s ex-wife, Denise Rich, had doled out more than $1 million to the Clintons and other Democrats prior to the pardon. She gave $100,000 to Hillary Clinton’s New York Senate campaign and another $450,000 to the Clinton presidential library. Kadzik’s current role In his current role as head of the Office of Legislative Affairs, Kadzik handles inquiries from Congress on a variety of issues. In that role he was not in the direct chain of command on the Clinton investigation. The Justice Department and FBI have insisted that career investigators oversaw the investigation, which concluded in July with no charges filed against Clinton. But Kadzik worked on other Clinton email issues in his dealings with Congress. Last November, he denied a request from Republican lawmakers to appoint a special counsel to lead the investigation . In a Feb. 1, 2016 letter in response to Kadzik, Florida Rep. Ron DeSantis noted that Kadzik had explained “that special counsel may be appointed at the discretion of the Attorney General when an investigation or prosecution by the Department of Justice would create a potential conflict of interest.” DeSantis, a Republican, suggested that Lynch’s appointment by Bill Clinton in 1999 as U.S. Attorney in New York may be considered a conflict of interest. He also asserted that Obama’s political appointees — a list which includes Kadzik — “are being asked to impartially execute their respective duties as Department of Justice officials that may involve an investigation into the activities of the forerunner for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. ” It is unknown if Kadzik responded to DeSantis’ questions. Kadzik’s first involvement in the Clinton email brouhaha came in a Sept. 24, 2015 response letter to Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Chuck Grassley in which he declined to confirm or deny whether the DOJ was investigating Clinton. Last month, Politico reported that Kadzik angered Republican lawmakers when, in a classified briefing, he declined to say whether Clinton aides who received DOJ immunity were required to cooperate with congressional probes. Kadzik also testified at a House Oversight Committee hearing last month on the issue of classifications and redactions in the FBI’s files of the Clinton email investigation. This article was posted: Wednesday, October 26, 2016 at 9:52 am Share this article

TV Series About ’First Female MLB Pitcher’ Canned After One, Low-Rated Season - Breitbart

Warner Todd Huston

After a stunted order, the Fox baseball series “Pitch” has officially struck out. [The TV series telling the story of the fictional “first female pitcher in Major League Baseball” has been canceled after a single, shortened and season, Fox has announced. Executive producer Kevin Falls revealed the network’s decision on his Twitter feed, thanking the “faithful fans” for “trying so hard” to save the show. I’m sorry to tell you that @PITCHonFOX will not be getting a second season. #Pitch, — Kevin Falls (@KevinFalls) May 2, 2017, Falls heads up Left Coast Productions, and if “Pitch” was any indication, then the “left” part of that moniker is fitting. Within the first two minutes of the opening scene of the first episode, “Pitch” worked in both gay activist and TV host Ellen DeGeneres and former Secretary of State and failed Democrat candidate for president, Hillary Clinton. The first few episodes of the short order, single season also featured Fox Sports 1’s Katie Nolan, who portrayed herself as a TV sports analyst, the same Katie Nolan who took to Twitter to call popular Fox News personality Sean Hannity a “literal fu**ing moron. ” Some say that Fox hurt the series when it rushed the show to air months earlier than its original Spring of 2017 launch date. The network jumped the show into rotation, though, after ABC moved “Scandal” to accommodate star Kerry Washington’s pregnancy. Fox thought it could capitalize on audiences looking for a series starring a strong female lead, but audiences didn’t comply with the network’s hopes. Star Kylie Bunbury, who portrayed the titular “Pitch” character Ginny Baker, tweeted that her “heart is heavy. ” My heart is heavy. 💔 Pitch will not be returning. I don’t have some eloquently thought out … https: . — Kylie Bunbury (@kyliebunbury) May 2, 2017, The fictional baseball series had a lot of early buzz, but according to Variety, the show never connected with viewers and earned dismal ratings “averaging a 0. 8 day Nielsen rating in the demo and 3 million total viewers per episode. ” In a piece published by MRCTV. org, Breitbart Sports’ Dylan Gwinn jabbed the idea that a woman could compete as a pitcher in the Major Leagues. The concept was wholly unbelievable, Gwinn said, because “the fastest pitch ever thrown by a woman was 69 mph, a feat easily reached, and frequently surpassed, by most male high school pitchers. ” Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail. com.

Seeking Best Fit, Women’s Final Four Returns to Friday-Sunday - The New York Times

Jeré Longman

DALLAS — The women’s Final Four is a showcase in search of a proper audience. In recent years, the N. C. A. A. has explored various options for rejuvenating its most popular women’s sporting event, seeking to counter indifferent attendance at this marquee championship. A study in 2013 offered several bold ideas, like holding the Women’s Final Four at the same site as the men’s event, or even moving it to Europe, China, Russia or Qatar. Another, less radical, proposal was to return the Final Four to a format, from . The new schedule was adopted for this year, and so on Friday night, the national semifinals took place at American Airlines Center here, with South Carolina defeating Stanford, in the first game before Mississippi State upset Connecticut, in the second. Capacity crowds were expected for the two semifinals and the final, the N. C. A. A. said. With weekend games, fans do not have to miss a considerable part of the workweek to attend the Final Four, as they did when the championship game was played on a Tuesday night from 2003 to 2016. (The men’s Final Four continues to have a format.) Also, some believed the women’s final had begun to feel anticlimactic when it was played a night after the men’s final. That seemed especially true last year, when Villanova defeated North Carolina on a shot the day before UConn swamped Syracuse by 31 points. “The reason we moved to was based on a lot of surveys and people saying, from a fan experience, that having to take that whole additional week off when we played on Tuesday was difficult,” said Rick Nixon, the N. C. A. A.’s associate director of championships and a spokesman for the organization. “To be in a situation here in Dallas on Friday and Sunday, I think it’s worked out. ” In effect, the N. C. A. A. seems to have put a higher premium on a full arena than expanded television ratings. Friday’s semifinals were to be broadcast on ESPN2, competing with an N. B. A. doubleheader on ESPN featuring San City and Golden . Sunday’s championship game will not have its accustomed slot on ESPN, either. Instead, it will start at 6 p. m. Eastern time, ahead of the network’s opening night coverage of Major League Baseball, featuring the World Series champion Chicago Cubs at rival St. Louis. “We’re anxious to see where the ratings play out,” Nixon said. “It might not be all bad. ” ESPN said it would have preferred to retain the format. Kara Lawson, a commentator, told The Hartford Courant that the move to ESPN2 of Friday’s semifinals, usually broadcast on ESPN, was a “big bummer for exposure of the game. ” Carol Stiff, vice president for women’s sports programming at ESPN, was more sanguine. An arena at capacity is “good for the game,” she said, and in reference to the women’s final, she added, “I think we might pull in more numbers on a Sunday. ” The final will be promoted as part of a “Super Sunday,” Stiff said. “From the crowning of a champion to handing it over to the Cubs, it’s a pretty big day. ” Not everyone was pleased with the time slots for Friday’s semifinals. The tipoff for Carolina was set for 7:30 p. m. while UConn was set to play Mississippi State at closer to 10 p. m. The Huskies draw the biggest ratings in women’s college basketball, but Coach Geno Auriemma said he was not happy that his team would have to wait around all day to play. “I’ve said this in the past — TV and what’s going on in the actual arena don’t go together,” he said on Thursday. He added: “We have to figure out how to work together, make it work for the because we always use that term, you know. What’s best for the ? Not playing at 10 at night. ” Another underlying issue in women’s college basketball is the debate about whether the dominance of UConn — with its winning streak entering Friday, and its four consecutive national championships — is good or bad for the development of the sport. On the face of it, it might seem absurd to claim that sustained excellence was somehow detrimental. While the women’s regionals had their lowest average attendance in 20 years, according to The Associated Press, with an average of 4, 719 fans at each game, UConn sold out both the regional semifinal and the final in Bridgeport, Conn. drawing announced crowds of 8, 978. In February, when UConn won its 100th consecutive game, against South Carolina, it drew the highest television rating of the season, to that point, on ESPN2 for any college game, men’s or women’s. “I think they’re great for the game,” Stiff said of Auriemma and the Huskies. “Every time they’re on, people are tuning in. They want to know, what is special about this team? What’s in the sauce? Can he coach men? What’s the magic in the potion? This was supposed to be his down year. ”

A Proposal for a Canadian National Bird Ruffles Feathers - The New York Times

Ian Austen

OTTAWA — With Canada’s 150th anniversary looming next year, a gap was noticed in the country’s roster of patriotic icons. It had a national anthem, a national tree, two national animals, two national sports — but no national bird. That would not do. The United States has the bald eagle, Mexico the golden eagle, France the rooster. Down in El Salvador they have the motmot. But Canada, one of the world’s major bird habitats, had gone a century and a half without ever choosing an avian avatar. Why? The Department of Canadian Heritage, the official government keeper of symbols, could not explain it. Neither could ornithologists, nor the editor of Canadian Geographic magazine, Aaron Kylie. So the Royal Canadian Geographic Society, which publishes the magazine and perhaps saw a chance for some nice publicity, took up the task of selecting one. And boy, did it ruffle feathers. To get the public involved, the society set up a website where Canadians could vote for their favorite bird — but it did not promise to heed the result. (Nobody wanted something like the “Boaty McBoatface” online debacle.) Instead, a panel of experts was given the final say. Prominent Canadian writers championed their favorites in the magazine’s pages, and the contest became a popular topic on (of course) Twitter under the hashtag #CanadaBird. The society even staged a public debate in September, with naturalists and Canada’s poet laureate, George Elliott Clarke, each backing a species. And then came the big reveal. The proposed Canadian national bird would be … the gray jay. The what? It’s a fluffy songbird found in all 13 of Canada’s provinces and territories, which is a plus. But it tends to stick to the deep northern woods, and isn’t often seen as far south as the strip of land along the American border where most Canadians live. To them, the gray jay is a stranger. David Bird, a professor emeritus of wildlife biology and an ornithologist at McGill University in Montreal, was the bird’s booster in the debate. In an interview, Professor Bird gave a long list of reasons. For example, he said that instead of migrating, the gray jay stays in Canada and nests through the winter, feeding on frozen food that it stashed away in the fall under the loose bark of spruce trees. Mating pairs are monogamous, he said, unlike many other species. And gray jays like people when they meet them, alighting on their clothing or hands in the hope of a snack. “You’ve got loyal, you’ve got friendly, you’ve got smart, you’ve got hearty: That’s what Canadians think we are,” Professor Bird said. What you haven’t got is huge popularity. When about 50, 000 people voted in the magazine’s online poll, the gray jay finished third, behind the loon, which adorns Canada’s coin, and the snowy owl. “I know a lot of Canadians didn’t know what the gray jay was, and were asking: ‘Do I see it in my feeder? ’” Professor Bird said. “And there are still people angry because they felt the popular vote was not honored. ” Mr. Kylie, the editor of Canadian Geographic, said that the loon and snowy owl were excluded from final consideration because they were already used as symbols by the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. He said the relative unfamiliarity of the gray jay, also known as the whiskey jack, weighed on the plus side, not the minus. “We have an animal symbol, which is the beaver,” he said by way of analogy. “I would say that most Canadians don’t see a beaver in a given year. The fact that some Canadians don’t know this bird, I think, is all the more reason to have it proclaimed the national bird. ” Then you have the spelling of the bird’s names. Following the usual Canadian style, it ought to be called the grey jay, with an e, or the whisky jack, without one. The “gray” and “whiskey” spellings are seen (and resented) as Americanisms. The issue particularly vexes Dan Strickland, who began researching the bird as a graduate student at the Université de Montréal in late 1960s and continues to do so even after retiring as chief naturalist at Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario. The spellings, he said, come from the American Ornithologists’ Union, which took it upon itself to determine official names for all the birds in North America. The union gave the species the Latin name Perisoreus canadensis, and at first, from 1886 to 1910, referred to it in English as the Canada jay. The union dropped all English bird names in 1910, but brought them back later, and the current ones stem from a sweeping revision of its naming system in 1957. Mr. Strickland, whose license plate reads GRAY JAY, said that if the government did adopt the bird as a symbol, it ought to legislate a Canadian name for it. “The bird is obviously a viable, valid contender to be the national bird,” Mr. Strickland said. “But it is entirely inappropriate for the Canadian national bird to have a name imposed by a foreign body. The A. O. U. can fall into line for once, or do whatever they want. But they do not get to name our national symbols. ” However you spell it, the magazine’s proposal has met with a cool reception from officialdom. “At this time, the government of Canada is not actively considering proposals to adopt a bird as a national symbol,” Herbert, the press secretary for Mélanie Joly, the heritage minister, wrote in an email. Even so, Professor Bird is among those now pushing to get a gray jay bill through Parliament somehow. And he expressed relief that another bird associated with Canada was never a real contender. “Canada goose? Over my dead body,” he said. “They’re basically pooping machines, and they’re obnoxious. If we had picked that bird, we would be getting a lot more outrage than we have now. ”

Review: Beyoncé Makes ‘Lemonade’ Out of Marital Strife - The New York Times

Jon Pareles

Marital strife smolders, explodes and uneasily subsides on “Lemonade” (Parkwood Entertainment) the album Beyoncé on Saturday night. “You can taste the ’s all over your breath” are the first words she sings in “Pray You Catch Me,” and that’s just the beginning of an album that probes betrayal, jealousy, revenge and rage before dutifully willing itself toward reconciliation at the end. Many of the accusations are aimed specifically and recognizably at her husband, Shawn Carter, the rapper Jay Z. “Tonight I regret the night I put that ring on,” she in “Sorry,” a twitchy, flippant song that’s by no means an apology. It’s a combative, unglossy track on an album full of them. “Lemonade” is the kind of album that a star like Beyoncé (as well as, lately, Rihanna) can release in the streaming era because she’s already guaranteed attention for her every utterance. The album is not beholden to radio formats or presold by a single fans are likely to explore the whole album, streaming every track and hearing how far afield — a brass band, stomping ultraslow — Beyoncé is willing to go. As she did with her 2013 album, “Beyoncé,” she has also paired the music with video that expands and deepens its impact. On their own, the songs can be taken as one star’s personal, domestic dramas, waiting to be mined by the tabloids. But with the video, they testify to situations and emotions countless women endure. It’s not a divorce announcement the singer, songwriter and director is credited as Beyoncé Knowles Carter. Beyoncé released “Lemonade” online at 10 p. m. on April 23, immediately after the HBO showing of the hourlong “visual album” version. It’s a music video that intersperses the songs, and broadens them, with compelling poetry from the writer Warsan Shire, poems that often extend women’s physicality toward the archetypal. As Beyoncé recites them, Ms. Shire’s words radically reframe the songs, so they are no longer one woman’s struggles but tribulations shared through generations of mothers and daughters. The video is filled with images of female solidarity and of family, Southern and African roots, women of all ages and roles and eras. Often, Beyoncé is joined by women in white clothes enacting shared work, gatherings of women or eerie communal rituals. Beyoncé, in multiple hairstyles and fashions, is shown both alluring and unglamorous: unhappy, sweaty, harshly lit. For the last few songs she often appears in a dress remade with fabric patterns derived from African textiles, a rich twist. The album title comes from a family gathering that’s shown in the video and heard on a track: the 90th birthday of Hattie White, Jay Z’s grandmother, who says, “I was served lemons but I made lemonade. ” “Lemonade” is not necessarily the album listeners might have expected after “Formation,” the song Beyoncé performed at the Super Bowl with dancers in Black outfits and in a video clip using images of New Orleans, of in a plantation mansion and of Beyoncé atop a police car, sinking under a flood. It’s the last song on “Lemonade,” almost a postscript it’s not in the extended video. One other song on “Lemonade” mixes preaching and a prison song (both collected by John and Alan Lomax) a Kendrick Lamar rap and 1960s psychedelia (sampling the collectors’ item Puerto Rican band Kaleidoscope) to call for “Freedom”: “I break chains all by ’t let my freedom rot in hell,” Beyoncé vows. But most of “Lemonade” arrives like a to “Jealous” on the 2013 “Beyoncé,” a song that moans, “I hate you for your lies. ” “Jealous” is offset on “Beyoncé” by songs about ecstatic lust, a topic largely absent on “Lemonade. ” In most of the new songs, Beyoncé has been taken for granted or pushed aside. It’s a situation that, she finds, is both “a wicked way to treat the girl that loves you” and also flabbergasting given that she is, after all, Beyoncé. Beyoncé!: “The baddest woman in the game,” as she sings in “Hold Up. ” : She is. Her reactions swing from sorrow to rage to determined loyalty, and she reaches beyond the of “Beyoncé” to embrace new influences and collaborators: the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Father John Misty, Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig, Animal Collective and Led Zeppelin. “Don’t Hurt Yourself,” a collaboration with Jack White, is a that has Beyoncé fighting back, declaring, “You ain’t trying hard ain’t loving hard enough,” working up to a scream. “Pray You Catch Me” is one of two collaborations with the British songwriter James Blake: ballads of suspicion and longing. During “Forward,” the other Blake collaboration, the video has its most moving sequence: family members stoically holding photographs of men who were killed by police. It’s followed by a scene of a New Orleans Mardi Gras Indian in full feathered and beaded costume, shaking a tambourine in posh dining rooms as if to exorcise them. Yet eventually, she makes peace with trying to hold on. “Love Drought,” with whispery vocals amid pillowy synthesizers, points out that “10 times out of nine I know you’re lying,” but strives to reconnect. “Sandcastles,” a slow piano hymn that eventually gathers a choir, recalls a fight but turns a double negative into a positive: “I know I promised that I couldn’t stay, promise don’t work out that way. ” By the time Beyoncé reaches “All Night,” a gospelly ballad roughened with electric guitar, she resolves to “Give you some time to prove I can trust you again. ” Will it work out? No one knows. But in the meantime she sings wholeheartedly, encapsulates deep dilemmas in terse singalong lines and touches on ideas and emotions that so many people feel. She is a star whose world is vastly different from that of her listeners. But in matters of the heart, with their complications and paradoxes, Beyoncé joins all of us.

Trump to Ask for Sharp Increases in Military Spending, Officials Say - The New York Times

Glenn Thrush, Kate Kelly and Maggie Haberman

WASHINGTON — President Trump will instruct federal agencies on Monday to assemble a budget for the coming fiscal year that includes sharp increases in Defense Department spending and drastic enough cuts to domestic agencies that he can keep his promise to leave Social Security and Medicare alone, according to four senior administration officials. The budget outline will be the first move in a campaign this week to reset the narrative of Mr. Trump’s White House. A day before delivering a address on Tuesday to a joint session of Congress, Mr. Trump will demand a budget with tens of billions of dollars in reductions to the Environmental Protection Agency and State Department, according to four senior administration officials with direct knowledge of the plan. Social safety net programs, aside from the big entitlement programs for retirees, would also be hit hard. Preliminary budget outlines are usually administrative exercises, the first step in negotiations between the White House and federal agencies that usually shave the sharpest edges off the initial request. But this plan — a product of a collaboration between the Office of Management and Budget director, Mick Mulvaney the National Economic Council director, Gary Cohn and the White House chief strategist, Stephen K. Bannon — is intended to make a big splash for a president eager to show that he is a man of action. Mr. Trump’s top advisers huddled in the White House this weekend to work on his Tuesday night address. They focused on a single, often overlooked message amid the chaos of his first weeks in the White House: the assertion that the candidate is now a president determined to keep audacious campaign promises on immigration, the economy and the budget, no matter how sloppy or disruptive it looks from the outside. “They might not agree with everything you do, but people will respect you for doing what you said you were going to do,” said Jason Miller, a top communications strategist on the Trump campaign who remains close to the White House. “He’s doing something first, and there’s time for talk later,” Mr. Miller added. “This is ultimately how he’s going to get people who didn’t vote, or people who didn’t vote for him, into the fold. Inside the Beltway and with the media, there’s this focus on the palace intrigue. Out in the rest of the country, they are seeing a guy who is focused on jobs and the economy. ” The budget plan, a numerical sketch that will probably be substantially altered by House and Senate Republicans — and vociferously opposed by congressional Democrats — will be Mr. Trump’s first big step into a legislative fray he has largely avoided during the first 40 days of his administration. Thus far, instead of legislating, he has focused on a succession of executive orders on immigration and deregulation written by Mr. Bannon’s small West Wing team. Resistance from federal agencies could ease some of the deepest cuts in the initial plan before a final budget request is even sent to Congress. And Capitol Hill will have the last word. To meet Mr. Trump’s defense request, lawmakers in both parties would have to agree to raise or end statutory spending caps on defense and domestic programs that were imposed by the 2011 Budget Control Act. Mr. Trump is in a highly unusual position at a time when most presidents are finding their footing or confronting crisis. Despite his lament that he was handed “a mess” by President Barack Obama, Mr. Trump inherited a low unemployment rate, a lack of international crises requiring immediate attention and majorities in both houses of Congress. By contrast, when Mr. Obama took office, the country was losing 700, 000 jobs a month, and the global financial system was teetering on the edge of collapse. By the time he stepped up to the rostrum for his first joint congressional address on Feb. 24, 2009, he had already accrued an impressive string of accomplishments, including the passage of a massive stimulus bill through the Congress, a gender act, a children’s health insurance law and executive actions that would ultimately help stabilize the financial and automotive sectors. With the prospect of a second Great Depression still high, Mr. Obama sought to rally the country, vowing, “We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before. ” Mayor Rahm Emanuel of Chicago, who was Mr. Obama’s first chief of staff, said in an interview Sunday night that Mr. Trump was trying to create a “sense of urgency, which most people aren’t feeling right now, which was a reality to us” in order to generate support for his unspecified economic agenda, including an infrastructure bill and a tax overhaul. “When it comes to all of these executive orders, the question is, does the public view what he’s doing as action or motion?” Mr. Emanuel added. “If you don’t have real action, you create a sense of motion, so the public views it as progress. ” In putting together their budget plans, White House officials are operating under the assumption that the rate of the United States’ economic growth this year will be 2. 4 percent, according to one person who has been briefed on the matter. That is slightly ahead of current projections, but it is well below the 3 percent to 4 percent growth that Mr. Trump promised during the campaign. For next year, the operating assumption is only slightly higher, that person added, a sign that the budget process will not be too out of step with economic reality. The turmoil that has engulfed Mr. Trump’s West Wing is largely of his own devising — part of a calculated effort by Mr. Bannon to move boldly despite his team’s lack of experience, and despite the reluctance of many mainstream Republicans to work for a president whom many of them opposed in the party’s brutal primaries. “During his first month in office, President Trump has done exactly what he said he was going to do,” said Thomas Barrack Jr. a longtime friend of Mr. Trump’s who ran his inaugural committee. “No president has worked harder or accomplished as much, even with tremendous political resistance forcing him to operate with a small team of outsiders possessing little government experience. ” Lawmakers in both parties have complained that the president’s big words are not yet matched by detailed policy prescriptions or a legislative affairs team capable of executing such undefined promises as repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act or rewriting the tax code. The budget outline will give Mr. Trump an opportunity to add some specifics to an agenda that has been defined by bellicose speech and the broadest possible policy strokes. Still, aides said Mr. Trump did not plan to change his style for Tuesday’s address. The speech, they said, is likely to have more in common with his clipped inaugural address — in which he declared, “The time for empty talk is over” — than the litanies of policy proposals favored by President Bill Clinton or the invocations of national purpose preferred by President George W. Bush and Mr. Obama. Mr. Trump’s team, conscious of his recent reversals and a approval rating that is among the lowest ever recorded, has emphasized his determination to break the partisan gridlock and inaction that has kept congressional approval ratings in the 15 to 30 percent range for years. At the start of an interview last week with Sean Hannity of Fox News at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Kellyanne Conway, the president’s counselor, called him “President Action, President Impact, Donald J. Trump. ” In a of Sunday show interviews, Stephen Miller, Mr. Trump’s policy adviser, maintained that the president had accomplished more in his first month than most of his predecessors had in their entire administrations. In reality, most of Mr. Trump’s executive actions have had no more effect on actual policy than news releases. And his order on the Partnership trade deal came well after the agreement had been put on life support by labor protests and liberal opposition. One West Wing official, who requested anonymity to speak candidly about strategy, said the administration craved the television images of Mr. Trump at discussions with business executives every few days on one side, and the vehement protesters of his administration on the other. But his critics say such photo opportunities are all an act, a rendition of “The Apprentice” by an ineffective rookie president. “This man is not a doer,” said Representative Nancy Pelosi, the House minority leader, who will host a Monday “ ” of Mr. Trump’s Tuesday speech. “Oh, please. He has nothing to show for what he’s been doing in office for 40 days. It’s all been squandered. ”

Anonymous

Same people all the time , i dont know how you can fix this corruption http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/10_09_01_krongard.html

Why Is This Not Watergate? Smoking Gun Emails Discuss “Cleaning Up” Obama/Hillary Emails

Contributing Author

This article was written by Tyler Durden and originally published at Zero Hedge . Editor’s Comment: Of course everyone knew, deep down, that Obama was fully aware of Hillary’s private emails, but now there is proof that the campaigns sought to cover up and clean up the evidence to it. Team Hillary went so far as to use bleach bit, a ridiculously thorough way of erasing one’s digital footprint. Before she even takes office, she is embroiled in a scandal many magnitudes bigger than Watergate… and yet… nothing. No one falls on their sword; no one drops out; no one is held accountable. It seems that “Teflon” will out-survive even the cockroaches and nuclear wars… Can all the media spin and vote rigging really hold all this together? Can the FBI get away with looking the other way, and still pretend to uphold a nation of laws? Will the American people accept her “victory” and go on about their daily lives? The Smoking Gun: Cheryl Mills Tells Podesta “We Need To Clean This Up – Obama Has Emails From Her” by Tyler Durden Recall that in a March 2015 interview with CBS, just after the NYT reported of Hillary’s use of a private email server, president Obama told the American public he had only learned about Hillary’s “unusual” arrangement from the press. As we further reminded readers one month ago, CBS News senior White House correspondent Bill Plante asked Mr. Obama when he learned about her private email system after his Saturday appearance in Selma, Alabama. “ The same time everybody else learned it through news reports ,” the president told Plante. “ The policy of my administration is to encourage transparency, which is why my emails, the BlackBerry I carry around, all those records are available and archived ,” Mr. Obama said. “I’m glad that Hillary’s instructed that those emails about official business need to be disclosed.” Unfortunately, the “transparency” of the Obama administration was severely tarnished in late September , when in the FBI’s interview notes with Huma Abedin released by the FBI it was first revealed that Obama had used a pseudonymous email account: “Once informed that the sender’s name is believed to be pseudonym used by the president, Abedin exclaimed: ‘How is this not classified?'” the report says. “Abedin then expressed her amazement at the president’s use of a pseudonym and asked if she could have a copy of the email.” To be sure, this was not definitive evidence that Obama was aware of Hillary’s email server, nor that there may have been collusion between the president and the Clinton campaign. That changed today, however, when in the latest Podesta dump we learn that in an email from Cheryl Mills to John Podesta, the Clinton aide upon learning what Obama had just said… I have some questions here pic.twitter.com/ufkeoZCx2m — Katherine Miller (@katherinemiller) March 7, 2015 … countered with something quite stunning: we need to clean this up – he has emails from her – they do not say state.gov That, ladies and gentlemen, is proof that the president not only lied, but did so with the clear intention of protecting the Clinton campaign. As a further reminder, Politico previously reported that the State Department had refused to make public that and other emails Clinton exchanged with Obama. Lawyers cited the “presidential communications privilege,” a variation of executive privilege, in order to withhold the messages under the Freedom of Information Act. It is therefore unknown what the president’s “alternative” email account was, or who hosted it. This also explains why in a prior Wikileak, Podesta told Mills in an email titled “Special Category” that she thinks “ we should hold emails to and from potus? That’s the heart of his exec privilege. We could get them to ask for that. They may not care, but I(t) seems like they will. ” Mills did not respond by email. The Clinton-Obama emails were turned over to the State Department, which later announced it would not release them. * * * So just how did Mills and Podesta “clean up” the fact that Obama lied to the American people, a tactic some could allege is evidence of an attempt to cover up a presidential lie to protect Hillary Clinton. What we do know, and we assume this is completely unrelated, between March 25-31, just a couple of weeks after Mills said “we need to clean this up,” Bleachbit was used to wipe Hillary’s private server clean. But of course, that is purely a coincidence. Since we are confident others will also demand an answer, in light of the latest revelation hinting at a collusive cover up extending to the very top of US government, or as Cheryl Mills dubbed it a “clean up”, perhaps it is time for the State Department to unveil just what was said between the president and the Clinton campaign? This article was written by Tyler Durden and originally published at Zero Hedge .

“Chapo Trap House”: New Left-Wing Podcast is a Flagrant Rip-Off of The Right Stuff

Eric Striker

“Chapo Trap House”: New Left-Wing Podcast is a Flagrant Rip-Off of The Right Stuff Eric Striker October 27, 2016 These fags here. Last March, a group of Williamsburg trust fund Bernie bros started a podcast called “ Chapo Trap House .” The humor style and format of Chapo Trap House content is a left-wing carbon copy of the types of radio shows produced by Alt-Right sensation The Right Stuff , particularly the Daily Shoah, which uses Opie & Anthony style gags and parodies as a vehicle for delivering our counter-cultural and suppressed ideas. CTH is trying to invert our ideas, bubble wrap the edges, and use our effective models to try and make Leftism – an ideology that we have exposed and mocked into increasing irrelevance –“cool” by fixing some sunglasses to hide a weak (when put to reason) ideology. They have a small troll army on social media, they do (admittedly good) voice impressions, our Counter-Semitic tropes (at least one of the three is Jewish) are replaced by mocking working class White people and Christians, they have memes, albeit even more forced than Dat Boi , they make watered down attempts to pull down some high-profile liberal figures (like we do conservatives). They like to name drop famous comedians like Trevor Moore (of “ Whitest Kids U Know ” fame) as personal friends and have fairly high profile Leftist guests, which makes me think they have professional training or friends in high places. Oh, and they spend most of their time attacking the Alt-Right, replacing cuck (our term for them) with “incel,” while demonstrating extensive knowledge of external elements of our counter-culture. They’re obviously very familiar with us, and are trying to create an audience by claiming they’re the real rebels and bomb throwers. Trying to rip-off meme magic Yet, their Patreon is flush with cash (way out of proportion to their average plays, i.e. they have big money donors relative to our camp), their Soundcloud and social media pages aren’t muzzled like ours, there’s nobody trying to silence them or shut them down. They can do stuff under their full names, yet mysteriously, their capitalist bosses won’t fire or black list them for calling for the death of capitalists. They get invited to do live performances in some of the Jewiest, most “prestigious,” high rolling and trendy venues in NYC. Unlike the Daily Stormer, the Right Stuff or Ricky Vaughn (who they constantly reference with typical Seattle bourgeois shit-lib snark), they can say and do whatever they want because big capital and the American plutocracy is, at the very least, behind the core of their worldview (open borders, amalgamation of cultures and races, feminism). Chapo Trap House’s podcast is fairly new, yet already attracting positive attention from our elites. In their defense, they are critical of Hillary Clinton, yet establishment Judeo-Left individuals and institutions, from the Hillary gun-runners at Mediate to Jeet Heer, have commented quite positively on the show. Compared to TRS, they are getting quite a bit of very friendly publicity as a form of reaction to the rise of the Alt-Right. But this podcast has no natural audience. So who is it for? Most of the blacks and browns who stand on top of the two White male goyim cis male’s in the progressive stack would sucker punch these private school kids who only know what niggers are in theory and steal their iPhones if they had the chance. As for the obese feminists with magenta bowl cuts, they would curl-up into a ball and wail like banshees from all of the micro aggressions these three directly and indirectly engage in. The queers, pedos, trannies, and whatever other group of mentally ill perverts front and center as moral arbitrators of the modern Judeo-Left would distrust them for their pathology of enjoying sexual intercourse with women. Last and not least, most leftists in the West today are humorless, moralistic mental midgets. The real purpose of CTH is to staunch the bleeding of young and normal White males coming into our camp in droves right now. By using methods we have proven to resonate with this demographic, they hope to try and sell a state-sanctioned ideology whose only natural endpoint is basically the extermination of us and our families, but with an edgy veneer. This has been done in a different form in the past, it is similar to what the Sony contracted, MTV promoted millionaires in Rage Against the Machine did in the 90’s: plastic revolution in the name of art that isn’t actually revolutionary. I , Eric Striker, am calling out Chapo Trap House to have an unedited debate and exchange of ideas with me on their show. Guys on our side are always interviewing and inviting Leftists on our programs and websites, if they have faith in their ideas let’s see them put their parents’ money where their mouth is. The Judeo-Left fears free and open discourse due to the inherent weakness of their philosophy. Let’s convince them:

Taiwan Responds After China Sends Carrier to Taiwan Strait - The New York Times

Michael Forsythe and Chris Buckley

HONG KONG — Taiwan scrambled fighter jets and dispatched a frigate to the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday after China sent its sole aircraft carrier into the waterway, Taiwan’s official Central News Agency reported. The transit of the aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, came amid rising tensions between Taiwan and China after Donald J. Trump broke decades of protocol by speaking on the phone with Taiwan’s president, Tsai after his election victory. Ms. Tsai leads a political party that has traditionally supported Taiwan’s formal independence from China. Ms. Tsai, who is visiting Central America this week, made two calls to officials in Taiwan seeking updates on the Liaoning’s transit, the Central News Agency reported, citing Alex Huang, the president’s spokesman. China’s decision to send the carrier through the waterway that separates it from Taiwan reflects an early foreign policy challenge for Mr. Trump. “It’s a show of force, and I think it is intended in part to intimidate, and that’s worrisome from the U. S. and Taiwan’s point of view because we don’t know how much more they are going to ratchet up these pressures and tensions,” said Bonnie S. Glaser, senior adviser for Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “If the Trump administration does see this as a test of U. S. resolve, I suspect they’ll push back pretty forcefully. ” China sent the carrier, which had been conducting exercises in the South China Sea, into the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday morning. Taiwan’s response was the third time in three days that air forces in the region had scrambled jets in response to Chinese military activity, after Japan and South Korea deployed fighters on Monday. Those actions occurred when a squadron of six Chinese bombers and two other aircraft flew over the waters that separate Japan and South Korea and over the Sea of Japan. Taiwan, considered by Beijing to be Chinese territory, has been governed separately since 1949, when the forces of the Nationalist leader Chiang fled to the island after their defeat on the mainland by the Communists. China views any assertion of Taiwan’s separateness from the mainland — like Ms. Tsai’s call with Mr. Trump — as an affront to its claim of sovereignty. Since 1979, the United States has recognized the government in Beijing and broke off formal diplomatic ties to Taiwan as part of the One China policy. In the wake of the call, China warned the incoming president against making changes to that policy after he takes office on Jan. 20. Liu Zhenmin, a Chinese vice foreign minister, said on Wednesday that the Taiwan Strait was an international waterway and that it was normal for the Liaoning to pass though it. The passage would not have any effect on relations, he said in remarks carried in the Chinese news media. Mark C. Toner, a State Department spokesman, told reporters in Washington in response to a question about the Liaoning’s passage through the strait that the United States “wouldn’t have a problem” with countries sailing their vessels in international waters as long as it was done in accordance with international law. It also was not the first time the Liaoning had sailed through the strait: It passed through in November 2013 on its way to the South China Sea after having been commissioned only the year before. In that instance, the carrier kept to the western half of the strait, closer to mainland China. In a statement on Wednesday morning, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said that the Liaoning was also staying to the west of the strait’s middle and urged citizens to remain calm. A transit on the eastern side, closer to Taiwan, would be viewed as much more provocative. Euan Graham, the director of the International Security Program at the Lowy Institute in Sydney, Australia, said that for the Chinese, traveling through the strait was a logical way to move from one area of fleet operations to another along its long coastline. In order for warships based in northern ports, like the Liaoning, to return home from southern waters, they must either pass close to Japanese islands or transit the Taiwan Strait. “Geography forces a very binary choice,” he said. Mr. Graham said it was important to see how the Liaoning conducted its passage. If it had aircraft on deck and was conducting flight operations, that would be seen as more provocative than if it passed through the strait with the aircraft in its hangar bay, he said. The Liaoning, commissioned in 2012 and built from a Soviet hull, is China’s first aircraft carrier. In past decades, the United States has shown its resolve to defend Taiwan by sailing carriers through the Taiwan Strait. In 1995, the aircraft carrier Nimitz transited the strait amid heightened tensions after Beijing conducted missile exercises in the waters. China’s military is highly secretive, but it would seem inconceivable for the Liaoning to pass through such contested waters without approval from the president, Xi Jinping, who is also the chairman of the Central Military Commission, which controls the military. And the Chinese military media has described the aircraft carrier as embodying Mr. Xi’s plans for a stronger navy, capable of projecting force far beyond China’s territorial waters. Last Thursday, the front page of People’s Liberation Army Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese military, featured a report about the aircraft carrier’s latest journey under the headline, “We’re sailing under the leader’s attentive gaze,” a clear tribute to Mr. Xi. Ma Xiaoguang, a spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office in Beijing, said in a news conference on Wednesday that the Liaoning’s passage was part of the ship’s scheduled training in the western Pacific, which had begun on Dec. 24. Mr. Ma also said that the relationship in the coming year would face “increasing uncertainty, looming risks and challenges. ” He added that Taiwan’s government and “independence forces” there had “seriously threatened the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait,” accusing them of engaging in separatist activities and warning that China would “resolutely safeguard its national sovereignty and territorial integrity. ” The aircraft carrier’s passage was part of a cluster of recent acts by the Chinese military that have raised hackles in the region. Last month, a Chinese warship seized an underwater drone belonging to the United States Navy about 50 miles northwest of Subic Bay in the Philippines. The drone was returned after the Obama administration publicly chided China over the seizure. On Monday, Japan said it had sent fighter jets into the air after Chinese bombers and surveillance planes flew over the East China Sea and the Sea of Japan. “When China was militarily weaker, Japan considered that area to be its backyard,” said Ni Lexiong, a naval affairs researcher at the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law. “This was a way of telling Japan that if there ever is conflict, the location of any future battle space won’t be decided by you and America. We have the initiative. So Japan, don’t think of meddling further afield in Taiwan or the South China Sea. ”

SeekSearchDestory

You know, outside of any morality arguments, it seems to me that asking soldiers to give you money after you ask them to get shot at by other people for the privilege of getting shot at in the first place, doesn't seem like a good idea somehow. Is DC vaguely aware what happens to countries that gyp their troops on a regular basis? Or have they watched so much Star Trek in the break room over the years that they've forgotten that problems are not solved peacefully in 60 minutes, or that we have not become a cashless society yet?

The Mother Of All October Surprises—Why The House Of Cards Will Now Come Tumbling Down

David Stockman

The Mother Of All October Surprises---Why The House Of Cards Will Now Come Tumbling Down By David Stockman. FBI Director Comey's Friday afternoon letter to Congress about new email evidence was a lot more than a "bombshell". It was the equivalent of an election-cycle DEFCON 1. That's because Comey has to be a desperate man doing the very last thing imaginable. To wit, blowing up the establishment which he has obeisantly served for the last three decades.

Explosive Assange/Pilger Interview on US Election: Expect Riots if Hillary Wins

wmw_admin

By wmw_admin on November 6, 2016 Darkmoon — Nov 6, 2016 RT : “Whistleblower Julian Assange has given one of his most incendiary interviews ever in a John Pilger Special [released late yesterday] courtesy of Dartmouth Films. Here he summarizes what can be gleaned from the tens of thousands of Clinton emails leaked by WikiLeaks this year.” LD : Despite the enormous populist support for Trump and the extraordinary loathing in which Hillary Clinton is held by millions of American, Assange says that “Trump cannot be allowed to win.” Trump has already indicated that he will not recognize the result of the election if he loses, given the enormous enthusiasm he has generated during his speeches, compared to the relatively tepid and anaemic response evoked by Hillary Clinton on similar occasions. Recent news reports reveal that “election related violence is increasing and Right-wing armed militia groups are even preparing for unrest if Mrs Clinton ‘steals’ the election, as they fear will happen.” If Hillary Clinton wins this election, as Assange predicts, we can expect riots to erupt all across America. Violent insurrection, in the circumstances of a rigged election, would appear to be more than justified. Hillary Clinton clearly belongs behind bars, not in the White House. [LD] John Pilger (left) conducted the 25-minute interview at the Ecuadorian Embassy where Assange has been trapped since 2012 for fear of extradition to the US. Here is a transcript of the interview followed by the YouTube interview itself. Click to enlarge THE SECRET WORLD OF THE US ELECTION John Pilger: What’s the significance of the FBI’s intervention in these last days of the U.S. election campaign, in the case against Hillary Clinton? Julian Assange: If you look at the history of the FBI, it has become effectively America’s political police. The FBI demonstrated this by taking down the former head of the CIA General David Petraeus over classified information given to his mistress. Almost no-one is untouchable. The FBI is always trying to demonstrate that no-one can resist us. But Hillary Clinton very conspicuously resisted the FBI’s investigation, so there’s anger within the FBI because it made the FBI look weak. We’ve published about 33,000 of Clinton’s emails when she was Secretary of State. They come from a batch of just over 60,000 emails, [of which] Clinton has kept about half — 30,000 — to herself, and we’ve published about half. Then there are the Podesta emails we’ve been publishing. John Podesta is Hillary Clinton’s primary campaign manager, so there’s a thread that runs through all these emails; there are quite a lot of pay-for-play, as they call it, giving access in exchange for money to states, individuals and corporations. These emails are combined with the cover up of the Hillary Clinton emails when she was Secretary of State, which has led to an environment where the pressure on the FBI increases. ‘Russian government not the source of Clinton leaks’ PILGER : The Clinton campaign has said that Russia is behind all of this, that Russia has manipulated the campaign and is the source for WikiLeaks and its emails. ASSANGE : The Clinton camp has been able to project that kind of neo-McCarthy hysteria: that Russia is responsible for everything. Hilary Clinton stated multiple times, falsely, that seventeen U.S. intelligence agencies had assessed that Russia was the source of our publications. That is false; we can say that the Russian government is not the source. ‘Saudi Arabia & Qatar funding ISIS and Clinton’ PILGER : The emails that give evidence of access for money and how Hillary Clinton herself benefited from this and how she is benefitting politically, are quite extraordinary. I’m thinking of when the Qatari representative was given five minutes with Bill Clinton for a million dollar cheque. ASSANGE : And twelve million dollars from Morocco … PILGER : Twelve million from Morocco, yeah. ASSANGE : For Hillary Clinton to attend a party. PILGER : In terms of the foreign policy of the United States, that’s where the emails are most revealing, where they show the direct connection between Hillary Clinton and the foundation of jihadism, of ISIL, in the Middle East. Can you talk about how the emails demonstrate the connection between those who are meant to be fighting the jihadists of ISIL, are actually those who have helped create it. ASSANGE : There’s an early 2014 email from Hillary Clinton, not so long after she left the State Department, to her campaign manager John Podesta that states ISIL is funded by the governments of Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Now this is the most significant email in the whole collection, and perhaps because Saudi and Qatari money is spread all over the Clinton Foundation. Even the U.S. government agrees that some Saudi figures have been supporting ISIL, or ISIS. But the dodge has always been that, well it’s just some rogue Princes, using their cut of the oil money to do whatever they like, but actually the government disapproves. But that email says that no, it is the governments of Saudi and Qatar that have been funding ISIS. PILGER : The Saudis, the Qataris, the Moroccans, the Bahrainis, particularly the Saudis and the Qataris, are giving all this money to the Clinton Foundation while Hilary Clinton is Secretary of State and the State Department is approving massive arms sales, particularly to Saudi Arabia. ASSANGE : Under Hillary Clinton, the world’s largest ever arms deal was made with Saudi Arabia, worth more than $80 billion. In fact, during her tenure as Secretary of State, total arms exports from the United States in terms of the dollar value, doubled. PILGER : Of course the consequence of that is that the notorious terrorist group called ISIl or ISIS is created largely with money from the very people who are giving money to the Clinton Foundation. ASSANGE : Yes. PILGER : That’s extraordinary. ‘Clinton has been eaten alive by her ambition’ ASSANGE : I actually feel quite sorry for Hillary Clinton as a person because I see someone who is eaten alive by their ambitions, tormented literally to the point where they become sick; they faint as a result of the reaction to their ambitions. She represents a whole network of people and a network of relationships with particular states. The question is how does Hilary Clinton fit in this broader network? She’s a centralising cog. You’ve got a lot of different gears in operation from the big banks like Goldman Sachs and major elements of Wall Street, and Intelligence and people in the State Department and the Saudis. She’s the centraliser that inter-connects all these different cogs. She’s the smooth central representation of all that, and ‘all that’ is more or less what is in power now in the United States. It’s what we call the establishment or the DC consensus. One of the more significant Podesta emails that we released was about how the Obama cabinet was formed and how half the Obama cabinet was basically nominated by a representative from City Bank. This is quite amazing. PILGER : Didn’t Citybank supply a list… ? ASSANGE : Yes. PILGER : Which turned out to be most of the Obama cabinet? ASSANGE : Yes. PILGER : So Wall Street decides the cabinet of the President of the United States? ASSANGE : If you were following the Obama campaign back then, closely, you could see it had become very close to banking interests. So I think you can’t properly understand Hillary Clinton’s foreign policy without understanding Saudi Arabia. The connections with Saudi Arabia are so intimate. ‘Libya is Hillary Clinton’s war’ PILGER : Why was she so demonstrably enthusiastic about the destruction of Libya? Can you talk a little about just what the emails have told us – told you – about what happened there? Because Libya is such a source for so much of the mayhem now in Syria: the ISIL, jihadism, and so on. And it was almost Hillary Clinton’s invasion. What do the emails tell us about that? ASSANGE : Libya, more than anyone else’s war, was Hillary Clinton’s war. Barak Obama initially opposed it. Who was the person championing it? Hillary Clinton. That’s documented throughout her emails. She had put her favoured agent, Sidney Blumenthal, on to that; there’s more than 1700 emails out of the thirty three thousand Hillary Clinton emails that we’ve published, just about Libya. It’s not that Libya has cheap oil. She perceived the removal of Gaddafi and the overthrow of the Libyan state — something that she would use in her run-up to the general election for President. So in late 2011 there is an internal document called the Libya Tick Tock that was produced for Hillary Clinton, and it’s the chronological description of how she was the central figure in the destruction of the Libyan state, which resulted in around 40,000 deaths within Libya; jihadists moved in, ISIS moved in, leading to the European refugee and migrant crisis. Not only did you have people fleeing Libya, people fleeing Syria, the destabilisation of other African countries as a result of arms flows, but the Libyan state itself err was no longer able to control the movement of people through it. Libya faces along to the Mediterranean and had been effectively the cork in the bottle of Africa. So all problems, economic problems and civil war in Africa — previously people fleeing those problems didn’t end up in Europe because Libya policed the Mediterranean. That was said explicitly at the time, back in early 2011 by Gaddafi: ‘What do these Europeans think they’re doing, trying to bomb and destroy the Libyan State? There’s going to be floods of migrants out of Africa and jihadists into Europe, and this is exactly what happened. ‘Trump won’t be permitted to win’ PILGER : You get complaints from people saying, ‘What is WikiLeaks doing? Are they trying to put Trump in the White House?’ ASSANGE : My answer is that Trump would not be permitted to win. Why do I say that? Because he’s had every establishment off side; Trump doesn’t have one establishment, maybe with the exception of the Evangelicals, if you can call them an establishment, but banks, intelligence agencies, arms companies… big foreign money … are all united behind Hillary Clinton, and the media as well, media owners and even journalists themselves. PILGER : There is the accusation that WikiLeaks is in league with the Russians. Some people say, ‘Well, why doesn’t WikiLeaks investigate and publish emails on Russia?’ ASSANGE : We have published about 800,000 documents of various kinds that relate to Russia. Most of those are critical; and a great many books have come out of our publications about Russia, most of which are critical. Our Russia documents have gone on to be used in quite a number of court cases: refugee cases of people fleeing some kind of claimed political persecution in Russia, which they use our documents to back up. PILGER : Do you yourself take a view of the U.S. election? Do you have a preference for Clinton or Trump? ASSANGE : Let’s talk about Donald Trump. What does he represent in the American mind and in the European mind? He represents American white trash, which Hillary Clinton called ‘deplorable and irredeemable’. It means from an establishment or educated cosmopolitan, urbane perspective, these people are like the red necks, and you can never deal with them. Because he so clearly — through his words and actions and the type of people that turn up at his rallies — represents people who are not the middle, not the upper middle educated class, there is a fear of seeming to be associated in any way with them, a social fear that lowers the class status of anyone who can be accused of somehow assisting Trump in any way, including any criticism of Hillary Clinton. If you look at how the middle class gains its economic and social power, that makes absolute sense. ‘US attempting to squeeze WikiLeaks through my refugee status’ PILGER : I’d like to talk about Ecuador, the small country that has given you refuge and political asylum in this embassy in London. Now Ecuador has cut off the internet from here where we’re doing this interview, in the Embassy, for the clearly obvious reason that they are concerned about appearing to intervene in the U.S. election campaign. Can you talk about why they would take that action and your own views on Ecuador’s support for you? ASSANGE : Let’s let go back four years. I made an asylum application to Ecuador in this embassy, because of the U.S. extradition case, and the result was that after a month, I was successful in my asylum application. The embassy since then has been surrounded by police: quite an expensive police operation which the British government admits to spending more than £12.6 million. They admitted that over a year ago. Now there’s undercover police and there are robot surveillance cameras of various kinds — so that there has been quite a serious conflict right here in the heart of London between Ecuador, a country of sixteen million people, and the United Kingdom, and the Americans who have been helping on the side. So that was a brave and principled thing for Ecuador to do. Now we have the U.S. election campaign, the Ecuadorian election is in February next year, and you have the White House feeling the political heat as a result of the true information that we have been publishing. WikiLeaks does not publish from the jurisdiction of Ecuador, from this embassy or in the territory of Ecuador; we publish from France, we publish from, from Germany, we publish from The Netherlands and from a number of other countries, so that the attempted squeeze on WikiLeaks is through my refugee status; and this is, this is really intolerable. It means that [they] are trying to get at a publishing organisation; they try and prevent it from publishing true information that is of intense interest to the American people and others about an election. PILGER : Tell us what would happen if you walked out of this embassy. ASSANGE : I would be immediately arrested by the British police and I would then be extradited either immediately to the United States or to Sweden. In Sweden I am not charged, I have already been previously cleared by the Senior Stockholm Prosecutor Eva Finne. We were not certain exactly what would happen there, but then we know that the Swedish government has refused to say that they will not extradite me to the United States we know they have extradited 100 per cent of people whom the U.S. has requested since at least 2000. So over the last fifteen years, every single person the U.S. has tried to extradite from Sweden has been extradited, and they refuse to provide a guarantee [that won’t happen]. PILGER : People often ask me how you cope with the isolation in here. ASSANGE : Look, one of the best attributes of human beings is that they’re adaptable; one of the worst attributes of human beings is they are adaptable. They adapt and start to tolerate abuses, they adapt to being involved themselves in abuses, they adapt to adversity and they continue on. So in my situation, frankly, I’m a bit institutionalised — this [the embassy] is the world … it’s visually the world for me. PILGER : It’s the world without sunlight, for one thing, isn’t it? ASSANGE : It’s the world without sunlight, but I haven’t seen sunlight in so long, I don’t remember it. PILGER : Yes. ASSANGE : So , yes, you adapt. The one real irritant is that my young children — they also adapt. They adapt to being without their father. That’s a hard, hard adaption which they didn’t ask for. PILGER : Do you worry about them? ASSANGE : Yes, I worry about them; I worry about their mother. ‘I am innocent and in arbitrary detention’ PILGER : Some people would say, ‘Well, why don’t you end it and simply walk out the door and allow yourself to be extradited to Sweden?’ ASSANGE : The U.N. [the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention] has looked into this whole situation. They spent eighteen months in formal, adversarial litigation. So it’s me and the U.N. verses Sweden and the U.K. Who’s right? The U.N. made a conclusion that I am being arbitrarily detained illegally, deprived of my freedom and that what has occurred has not occurred within the laws that the United Kingdom and Sweden, and that those countries must obey. It is an illegal abuse. It is the United Nations formally asking, ‘What’s going on here? What is your legal explanation for this? Assange says that you should recognise his asylum.’ And here is. Sweden formally writing back to the United Nations to say, ‘No, we’re not going to recognise the UN ruling, so leaving open their ability to extradite. I just find it absolutely amazing that the narrative about this situation is not put out publically in the press, because it doesn’t suit the Western establishment narrative — that yes, the West has political prisoners, it’s a reality, it’s not just me, there’s a bunch of other people as well. The West has political prisoners. Of course, no state accepts that it should call the people it is imprisoning or detaining for political reasons, political prisoners. They don’t call them political prisoners in China, they don’t call them political prisoners in Azerbaijan and they don’t call them political prisoners in the United States, U.K. or Sweden; it is absolutely intolerable to have that kind of self-perception. ASSANGE : Here we have a case, the Swedish case, where I have never been charged with a crime, where I have already been cleared by the Stockholm prosecutor and found to be innocent, where the woman herself said that the police made it up, where the United Nations formally said the whole thing is illegal, where the State of Ecuador also investigated and found that I should be given asylum. Those are the facts, but what is the rhetoric? PILGER : Yes, it’s different. ASSANGE : The rhetoric is pretending, constantly pretending that I have been charged with a crime, and never mentioning that I have been already previously cleared, never mentioning that the woman herself says that the police made it up. The rhetoric is trying to avoid the truth that the U.N. formally found that the whole thing is illegal, never even mentioning that Ecuador made a formal assessment through its formal processes and found that yes, I am subject to persecution by the United States.

Telescope That ‘Ate Astronomy’ Is on Track to Surpass Hubble - The New York Times

Dennis Overbye

GREENBELT, Md. — The next great space telescope spread its golden wings this month. Like the petals of a sunflower seeking the light, the 18 hexagonal mirrors that make up the heart of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope were faced toward a balcony overlooking a cavernous clean room at the Goddard Space Flight Center here. Inside the room, reporters and a gaggle of space agency officials, including the ebullient administrator Charles Bolden, were getting their pictures taken in front of the giant mirror. Now, after 20 years with a budget of $8. 7 billion, the Webb telescope is on track and on budget to be launched in October 2018 and sent a million miles from Earth, NASA says. The telescope, named after NASA Administrator James Webb, who led the space agency in the 1960s, is the successor of the Hubble Space Telescope. Seven times larger than the Hubble in ability, the Webb was designed to see farther out in space and deeper into the past of the universe. It may solve mysteries about how and when the first stars and galaxies emerged some 13 billion years ago in the smoky aftermath of the Big Bang. Equipped with the sort of infrared goggles that give troops and police officers night vision, the Webb would peer into the dust clouds and gas storms of the Milky Way in which stars and planets are presently being birthed. It would be able to study planets around other stars. That has been NASA’s dream since 1996 when the idea for the telescope was conceived with a projected price tag then of $500 million But as recently as six years ago, the James Webb Space Telescope was, in the words of Nature magazine, “the telescope that ate astronomy,” mismanaged, over budget and behind schedule so that it had crushed everything else out of NASA’s science budget. A House subcommittee once voted to cancel it. Instead, the program was rebooted with a strict spending cap. The scientific capabilities of the telescope emerged unscathed from that period, astronomers on the project say. The major change, said Jonathan P. Gardner, the deputy senior project scientist, was to simplify the testing of the telescope. Most of the pain was dealt to other NASA projects like a proposed space telescope to study dark energy, which the National Academy of Sciences had hoped to put on a fast track to be launched this decade. It’s now delayed until 2025 or so. Typically for NASA, the Webb telescope was a technologically ambitious project, requiring 10 new technologies to make it work. Bill Ochs, a veteran Goddard engineer who became project manager in 2010 during what he calls the “replan,” said the key to its success so far, was having enough money in the budget to provide a cushion for nasty surprises. The telescope smiling up at us like a giant Tiffany shaving mirror is 6. 5 meters in diameter, or just over 21 feet, compared with 2. 4 meters for the Hubble. The aim is to explore a realm of cosmic history about 150 million to one billion years after time began — known as the reionization epoch, when bright and violent new stars and the searing radiation from quasars were burning away a gloomy fog of hydrogen gas that prevailed at the end of the Big Bang. In fact, astronomers don’t know how the spectacle that greets our eyes every night when the sun goes down or the lights go out wrenched itself into luminous existence. They theorize that an initial generation of stars made purely of hydrogen and helium — the elements created during the Big Bang — burned ferociously and exploded apocalyptically, the seeding of the cosmos with progressively more diverse materials. But nobody has ever seen any Population 3 stars, as those first stars are known. They don’t exist in the modern universe. Astronomers have to hunt them in the dim past. That ambition requires the Webb to be tuned to a different kind of light than our eyes or the Hubble can see. Because the expansion of the cosmos is rushing those earliest stars and galaxies away from us so fast, their light is “ ” to longer wavelengths the way the siren from an ambulance shifts to a lower register as it passes by. So blue light from an infant galaxy bursting with bright spanking new stars way back then has been stretched to invisible infrared wavelengths, or heat radiation, by the time it reaches us 13 billion years later. As a result, the Webb telescope will produce cosmic postcards in colors no eye has ever seen. It also turns out that infrared emanations are the best way to study exoplanets, the worlds beyond our own solar system that have been discovered in the thousands since the Webb telescope was first conceived. In order to see those infrared colors, however, the telescope has to be very cold — less than 45 degrees Fahrenheit above absolute zero — so that its own heat does not swamp the heat from outer space. Once in space, the telescope will unfold a giant umbrella the size of a tennis court to keep the sun off it. The telescope, marooned in permanent shade a million miles beyond the moon, will experience an infinite cold soak. The sunshield consists of five thin, layers of a material called Kapton. Way too big to fit into a rocket, the shield, as well as the telescope mirror, will have be launched folded up. It will then be unfolded in space in a series of some 180 maneuvers that look in computer animations like a cross between a parachute opening and a swimming pool cover going into place. Or at least that is the $8 billion plan. Engineers have done it on the ground, and it worked. The same people who refolded the shield after each test will fold it again, in a process Mr. Ochs compares to packing up your parachute before a jump. The test will come in space, where no one will be able to help if things go wrong. That whole process will amount to what Mr. Ochs called “six months of high anxiety. ” “For the most part, it all has to work,” Mr. Ochs said. The last time NASA did something this big astronomically, in 1990, things didn’t quite work. Once in orbit, the Hubble couldn’t be focused it had a misshapen mirror that had never been properly tested. Astronauts eventually fitted it with corrective lenses, and it went on to become the crown jewel of astronomy. Making sure that doesn’t happen this time is the agenda for the next two years. “Our telescope is finished,” John C. Mather, the senior project scientist, said. “Now we are about to prove it works. ” In the coming weeks, the mirror and the box of scientific instruments on its back will be put on a rig and shaken to simulate the vibrations of a launch, and then sealed in an acoustic chamber and bombarded with the noise of a launch. If the parts survive unscathed, the telescope assembly will be shipped to a giant vacuum chamber at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. There it will be chilled to the temperatures at which it will have to work, and engineers will actually focus the telescope, twiddling the controls for seven actuators on each of the 18 mirror segments. No Hubble surprises here. Then the telescope will go to Los Angeles to be mounted on its gigantic sunshield. That whole contraption, now too big for even the giant military transport plane, will travel by ship through the Panama Canal to French Guiana. It will be launched on an Ariane 5 rocket supplied by the European Space Agency as part of Europe’s contribution to the observatory, and go into orbit around the sun at a point called L2 about a million miles from Earth. Canada, NASA’s other partner, supplied some of the instruments. Then come the six months of anxiety. Sometime in the spring of 2019, if all goes well, the telescope will record its first real image — of what, the assembled astronomers were not ready to guess. In a bonus undreamed of when the Webb telescope was first conceived, it looks as if the Hubble will still be going strong when the Webb is launched. They will share the sky and the potential for joint observing projects. A million miles apart, they can view objects in the solar system from different angles, providing a kind of stereoscopic perspective. Besides the expected baby galaxies and the exoplanets, there are, as astronomers like to remind us, always new surprises (like colliding black holes when the LIGO observatory was turned on last year) when humanity devises a new way to look at the sky. Asked what the telescope’s greatest discovery would be, Dr. Mather said, “If I knew, I would tell you. ” Nor would the project members talk about contingency plans to rescue the telescope if anything goes wrong a million miles from Earth. There are no plans to fix it or bring it back. They know how to attach a probe or robot to the telescope, Dr. Mather said, but “we are planning to not need it, thank you. ”

Closed Afghan-Pakistani Border Is Becoming ‘Humanitarian Crisis’ - The New York Times

Mujib Mashal

KABUL, Afghanistan — Pakistan has kept its border crossings with Afghanistan sealed for more than two weeks, with thousands of Afghan visitors stranded in Pakistan and traders unable to move their vegetables and fruit across. After a suicide bombing at a shrine in Pakistan’s Sindh Province on Feb. 16, which killed more than 80 people, the Pakistani military shut its borders with Afghanistan, saying the terrorists behind the attack had sanctuaries in the country. It also carried out shelling into Afghanistan. Omar Zakhilwal, Afghanistan’s ambassador to Pakistan, said Sunday that if the border did not open soon, his government would be forced to airlift its stranded citizens, which could be a new low in the relationship between the neighboring countries. Their border has long been a contentious issue. Ever since the fall of the Taliban government in 2001, Afghan and Western officials have said that the Afghan insurgency’s leadership maintains havens in Pakistan, particularly in the city of Quetta. The free movement across the border has helped the militants avoid defeat in a war led by the United States. In recent years, the Pakistani authorities have said the leaders of the militant groups waging deadly attacks inside their territory are based across the border in Afghanistan. Mr. Zakhilwal, the Afghan ambassador, said some leaders of these attacks on Pakistan might be in Afghanistan, but they mostly operate in areas controlled by the Afghan Taliban. He said his government, along with the United coalition, had targeted Pakistani militants in Afghanistan, including the mastermind of a massacre of children in a Pakistani school in 2014. Imran Khan, an opposition leader in Pakistan, said on Saturday that the border closing was “building into a humanitarian crisis. ” He called on both governments to resolve the crisis so “those with valid travel documents and perishable goods” could cross. Afghan officials have protested the closing, saying that Pakistan has used the shrine attack as a pretext to pressure Afghanistan economically. Mr. Zakhilwal said Pakistan was making a “flawed connection” between the shrine attack and the border. The assault on the shrine was claimed by the Islamic State, whose regional chapter is largely made up of fighters from the Pakistani tribal areas. Afghan forces in the east have been fighting the group, which has also carried out deadly attacks inside Afghanistan, for nearly two years. If the reason for blocking the border is to stop the flow of terrorists into Pakistan, Mr. Zakhilwal said it made no sense to prevent the return of the thousands of Afghans stranded in Pakistan, many of whom had traveled there for medical reasons. The long border is porous, and Pakistan is focusing only on the formal crossing points. In Kabul, the toll of the border closing is evident in the markets, with the price of fruit and vegetables imported from Pakistan more than doubling. But the price for many other goods has been unaffected, because Afghanistan also imports from Iran and some Central Asian nations. Nasir Ahmad, a shopkeeper at Kabul’s vegetable market, said a crate of oranges that used to be $4 had increased to $12. A box of bananas, which used to be about $12, is now about $25. Khanjan Alokozay, the deputy chairman of the Afghan chamber of commerce, estimated that traders from both countries were losing about $4 million a day because of the border closing. Pakistani traders are bearing about 80 percent of those losses, because during the winter Pakistani exports of fruit and vegetables to Afghanistan increase. Mr. Alokozay said thousands of trucks on both sides of the border had remained stranded, and Afghan businessmen have been urged to find other routes to transport their goods. Since the closing, Afghan border officials said that Pakistan was allowing only funeral processions to cross over. Some of those stranded have resorted to paying smugglers and taking dangerous mountain passes to return home. “Pakistanis are not allowing anyone to cross the border, and they order their forces to shoot anyone who is trying to cross the border,” said Haji Iqbal, an Afghan who recently returned from Pakistan with the help of friends who asked Pakistani forces to let him cross through a mountain pass. “I walked for two hours. ”

TV Anchors Arrive at the White House for Lunch with Donald Trump - Breitbart

Kristina Wong

News anchors arrived at the White House Thursday afternoon for a private lunch with President Trump after a week of negative news reports and before he heads on his first overseas trip, a visit to the Middle East and Europe. [The luncheon, first reported by Politico, was expected to cover Trump’s upcoming trip to Saudi Arabia, Israel, Rome, Brussels, and Sicily. Spotted arriving at the White House for the luncheon were all the network and cable news heavy hitters, including: Fox News’s Bret Baier and Chris Wallace CNN’s Wolf Blitzer and Jake Tapper ABC News’s David Muir NBC News’s Kelly O’Donnell CBS News’s Scott Pelley PBS Newshour’s Judy Woodruff, and Christian Broadcasting Network’s Jennifer Wishon. MSNBC’s Greta Van Susteren and ABC News’s George Stephanopolous also attended, according to a tweet by a Bloomberg News reporter. Additional attendees were noted by Politico: Here’s the group who met with Trump today for lunch pic. twitter. — Hadas Gold (@Hadas_Gold) May 18, 2017, Chris Wallace just showed up to White House to meet with @realDonaldTrump. pic. twitter. — Kristina Wong (@kristina_wong) May 18, 2017, Wolf Blitzer arrives at White House. Saunters into West Wing for anchors lunch with Trump. pic. twitter. — Kristina Wong (@kristina_wong) May 18, 2017, More anchors arrive for lunch with Trump. pic. twitter. — Kristina Wong (@kristina_wong) May 18, 2017, . @DavidMuir arrives for anchors lunch with Trump. pic. twitter. — Kristina Wong (@kristina_wong) May 18, 2017, . @ScottPelley arrives at White House for lunch with Trump. Smooth action. pic. twitter. — Kristina Wong (@kristina_wong) May 18, 2017, . @jaketapper arrives for the Trump lunch. pic. twitter. — Kristina Wong (@kristina_wong) May 18, 2017, CNN later reported that Trump spoke more about Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein’s decision to appoint a special counsel to investigate Russian interference in the U. S. elections and any collusion with the Trump campaign. According to the Independent Journal Review: “I believe it hurts the country terribly because it shows we’re a divided, country,” he said, according to CNN. “And we have very important things to do right now,” he added, citing trade deals, military issues, and the spread of nuclear weapons. “It also happens to be a pure excuse for the Democrats having lost an election that they should have easily won because of the Electoral College being slated so much in their way,” he said. “That’s all this is. I think it shows division, and it shows that we’re not together as a country. And I think it’s a very, very negative thing. ” Trump closed his comments by stating that “hopefully, this can go quickly, because we have to show unity if we’re going to do great things with respect to the rest of the world. ” This is the second time Trump has met with TV news anchors privately. The first time was before his address to a joint session of Congress. Pelley reportedly moved the CBS evening news show from New York to Washington partly as a result of the lunch. Trump, who has blasted CNN as “fake news,” is an avid consumer of cable news and reportedly recently installed a new large screen TV in the White House.

Pelosi: Republicans Should Tell Trump He’s ’Bringing Dishonor’ to the Presidency - Breitbart

Trent Baker

House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi ( ) Saturday on MSNBC’s “AM Joy” called on “some adults in the Republican Party” stand up to President Donald Trump and tell him that he is “bringing dishonor” to the presidency. “[W]e have a crazy system here where we have a president who is tweeting things on the basis of very little knowledge, but that isn’t a problem for him,” Pelosi told host Joy Reid. “So, really I think that there should be some adults in the Republican Party who would say, ‘Please, you bring dishonor to the office of the president by making it look like it’s a personal acquisition of yours.’ No, it is a public responsibility. Honor it. ” Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent

The Beautiful Prehistoric World: Is Earth Now a Wasteland?

Editor

By Pao Chang Earth is a beautiful blue planet that has gone through many changes. Some people believed that Earth used to be a world filled with mythical creatures and magic. Others believed it used to have a landscape that is more beautiful than the picture below. The following two videos reveal some very interesting information about what Earth may look like tens of thousands of years ago or possibly hundreds of thousands of years ago. Did Earth use to have trees as large as small mountains? Are there actually no forests on Earth? Is Earth now a wasteland? The videos below might have clues to help answer these questions. Watch the videos and come up with your own conclusions. The Prehistoric World Exposed – Ancient Structures That Will Blow Your Mind!! There are No Forests on Earth! (ENGLISH VOICEOVER) Source: OmniThought

I Ignored Trump News for a Week. Here’s What I Learned. - The New York Times

Farhad Manjoo

I spent last week ignoring President Trump. Although I am ordinarily a politics junkie, I didn’t read, watch or listen to a single story about anything having to do with our 45th president. What I missed, by many accounts, was one of the strangest and most unpredictable weeks of news in modern political history. Among other things, there was the resignation of the national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn, and an “Oprah Winfrey Show” tape that led to the downfall of the nominee for secretary of labor, Andrew F. Puzder. It wasn’t my aim to stick my head in the sand. I did not quit the news. Instead, I spent as much time as I normally do online (all my waking hours) but shifted most of my energy to looking for zones. My point: I wanted to see what I could learn about the modern news media by looking at how thoroughly Mr. Trump had subsumed it. In one way, my experiment failed: I could find almost no part of the press. But as the week wore on, I discovered several truths about our digital media ecosystem. Coverage of Mr. Trump may eclipse that of any single human being ever. The reasons have as much to do with him as the way social media amplifies every big story until it swallows the world. And as important as covering the president may be, I began to wonder if we were overdosing on Trump news, to the exclusion of everything else. The new president doesn’t simply dominate national and political news. During my week of attempted Trump abstinence, I noticed something deeper: He has taken up semipermanent residence on every outlet of any kind, political or not. He is no longer just the message. In many cases, he has become the medium, the ether through which all other stories flow. Obviously, just about every corner of the news was a minefield, but it was my intention to keep informed while avoiding Mr. Trump. I still consulted major news sites, but avoided sections that tend to be and averted my eyes as I scrolled for news. I spent more time on international news sites like the BBC, and searched for sites covering topics like science and finance. I consulted social news sites like Digg and Reddit, and occasionally checked Twitter and Facebook, but I often had to furiously scroll past all of the Trump posts. (Some news was unavoidable when Mr. Flynn resigned, a journalist friend texted me about it.) Even when I found news, though, much of it was interleaved with Trump news, so the overall effect was something like trying to bite into a cake without getting any fruit or nuts. It wasn’t just news. Mr. Trump’s presence looms over much more. There he is off in the wings of “The Bachelor” and even “The Big Bang Theory,” whose creator, Chuck Lorre, has taken to inserting messages in the closing credits. Want to watch an awards show? Say the Grammys or the Golden Globes? Trump Trump Trump. How about sports? Yeah, no. The president’s policies are an animating force in the N. B. A. He was the subtext of the Super Bowl: both the game and the commercials, and maybe even the halftime show. Where else could I go? Snapchat and Instagram were relatively safe, but the president still popped up. Even Amazon. com suggested I consider Trump toilet paper for my wife’s Valentine’s Day present. (I bought her jewelry.) All presidents are omnipresent. But it is likely that no living person in history has ever been as famous as Mr. Trump is right now. It’s possible that not even the most famous or infamous people of the recent or distant past — say, Barack Obama, Osama bin Laden, Bill Clinton, Richard Nixon, Michael Jackson, Muhammad Ali or Adolf Hitler — dominated media as thoroughly at their peak as Mr. Trump does now. I’m hedging because there isn’t data to directly verify this declaration. (Of course, there are no media analytics to measure how many outlets were covering Hitler the day he invaded Poland.) But there is some pretty good circumstantial evidence. Consider data from mediaQuant, a firm that measures “earned media,” which is all coverage that isn’t paid advertising. To calculate a dollar value of earned media, it first counts every mention of a particular brand or personality in just about any outlet, from blogs to Twitter to the evening news to The New York Times. Then it estimates how much the mentions would cost if someone were to pay for them as advertising. In January, Mr. Trump broke mediaQuant’s records. In a single month, he received $817 million in coverage, higher than any single person has ever received in the four years that mediaQuant has been analyzing the media, according to Paul Senatori, the company’s chief analytics officer. For much of the past four years, Mr. Obama’s monthly earned media value hovered around $200 million to $500 million. The highest that Hillary Clinton got during the presidential campaign was $430 million, in July. It’s not just that Mr. Trump’s coverage beats anyone else’s. He is now beating pretty much everyone else put together. Mr. Senatori recently added up the coverage value of 1, 000 of the world’s best known figures, excluding Mr. Obama and Mr. Trump. The list includes Mrs. Clinton, who in January got $200 million in coverage, Tom Brady ($38 million) Kim Kardashian ($36 million) and Vladimir V. Putin ($30 million) all the way down to the 1, 000th celebrity in mediaQuant’s database, the actress Madeleine Stowe ($1, 001). The coverage those 1, 000 people garnered last month totaled $721 million. In other words, Mr. Trump gets about $100 million more in coverage than the next 1, 000 famous people put together. And he is on track to match or beat his January record in February, according to Mr. Senatori’s preliminary figures. How do we know Mr. Trump is more talked about than anyone else in the past? There are now more people on the planet who are more connected than ever before. Facebook estimates that about 3. 2 billion people have internet connections. On average, the people of Earth spend about eight hours a day consuming media, according to the marketing research firm Zenith. So almost by definition, anyone who dominates today’s media is going to be read about, talked about and watched by more people than ever before. “From a media perspective, it’s pretty clear,” Mr. Senatori said. “The sheer volume, and the sheer amount of consumption, and all the new channels that are available today show that, yeah, he’s off the charts. ” Mr. Trump is a historically unusual president, and thus deserves plenty of coverage. Yet there’s an argument that our modern media ecosystem is amplifying his presence even beyond what’s called for. On most days, Mr. Trump is 90 percent of the news on my Twitter and Facebook feeds, and probably yours, too. But he’s not 90 percent of what’s important in the world. During my break from Trump news, I found rich coverage veins that aren’t getting social play. ISIS is retreating across Iraq and Syria. Brazil seems on the verge of chaos. A large ice shelf in Antarctica is close to full break. Scientists may have discovered a new continent submerged under the ocean near Australia. There’s a reason you aren’t seeing these stories splashed across the news. Unlike media, today’s media works according to social feedback loops. Every story that shows any signs of life on Facebook or Twitter is copied endlessly by every outlet, becoming unavoidable. Scholars have long predicted that social media might alter how we choose cultural products. In 2006, Duncan Watts, a researcher at Microsoft who studies social networks, and two colleagues published a study arguing that social signals create a kind of “inequality” in how we choose media. The researchers demonstrated this with an online market for music downloads. Half of the people who arrived at Mr. Watts’s site were shown just the titles and band name of each song. The other half were also shown a social signal — how many times each song had been downloaded by other users. Mr. Watts and his colleagues found that adding social signals changed the music people were interested in. Inequality went up: When people could see what others were downloading, popular songs became far more popular, and unpopular songs far less popular. Social signals also created a greater unpredictability of outcomes when people could see how others had picked songs, the collective ratings of each song were less likely to predict success, and bad songs were more likely to become popular. I suspect we are seeing something like this effect playing out with Trump news. It’s not that coverage of the new administration is unimportant. It clearly is. But social signals — likes, retweets and more — are amplifying it. Every new story prompts outrage, which puts the stories higher in your feed, which prompts more coverage, which encourages more talk, and on and on. We saw this effect before Mr. Trump came on the scene — it’s why you know about Cecil the lion and Harambe the gorilla — but he has accelerated the trend. He is the Harambe of politics, the undisputed king of all media. It’s only been a month since Mr. Trump took office, and already the deluge of news has been overwhelming. Everyone — reporters, producers, anchors, protesters, people in the administration and consumers of news — has been amped up to 11. For now, this might be all right. It’s important to pay attention to the federal government when big things are happening. But Mr. Trump is likely to be president for at least the next four years. And it’s probably not a good idea for just about all of our news to be focused on a single subject for that long. In previous media eras, the news was able to find a sensible balance even when huge events were preoccupying the world. Newspapers from World War I and II were filled with stories far afield from the war. Today’s newspapers are also full of articles, but many of us aren’t reading newspapers anymore. We’re reading Facebook and watching cable, and there, Mr. Trump is all anyone talks about, to the exclusion of almost all else. There’s no easy way out of this fix. But as big as Mr. Trump is, he’s not everything — and it’d be nice to find a way for the media ecosystem to recognize that.

Donald Trump Unveils Plan for Families in Bid for Women’s Votes - The New York Times

Nick Corasaniti and Maggie Haberman

ASTON, Pa. — Donald J. Trump unveiled a menu of proposals on Tuesday to help working parents, calling for six weeks of mandatory paid maternity leave and expanded tax credits for child care. The proposals, which Mr. Trump outlined in the politically critical Philadelphia suburbs along with his daughter Ivanka, represent a new attempt to court female voters who polls show have been alienated by his bombast and history of provocative remarks about women. “Those in leadership must put themselves in the shoes of the factory worker, the family worried about security or the mom struggling to afford child care,” Mr. Trump said at a rally here. Mr. Trump’s decision to put forward such a plan represents a different approach from the one taken by previous Republican presidential nominees. But in selling his case, Mr. Trump stretched the truth, saying that his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, has no such plan of her own and “never will. ” Mrs. Clinton issued her plan more than a year ago, and it guarantees up to 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave for a newborn or a sick relative, financed by an increase in taxes on the wealthiest Americans. On Twitter, her campaign posted a link to her plan after Mr. Trump’s remark. Mr. Trump and his daughter spoke about the issue at the Republican National Convention in July, but the candidate had not mentioned it publicly until Tuesday. Mr. Trump faces a potentially gender gap with women, but pushing the proposal so close to the election risks looking slapdash on a serious topic. The campaign staved off potential complaints from social conservatives who have historically frowned on giving incentives to mothers to work outside the home, by vowing to make those caretaker roles . At the speech, Mr. Trump was joined by some female members of Congress. Noting one applauding in the audience as he spoke, Mr. Trump pointed to the crowd and said, “Makes your life a lot easier, right?” Mr. Trump first proposed the child care initiative weeks ago, but he broadened it to help working parents after facing criticism that his initial proposal would primarily help high earners rather than women and families on the lower end of the economic spectrum. “Child care is such a big problem,” he said Tuesday. “And we’re going to solve that problem. ” Ms. Trump, who stood next to her father as he spoke in Pennsylvania, said she would make the plan’s passage a priority if her father won. Affordable child care “should not be the luxury of a fortunate few,” she said. The new recommendations contained a number of uncertainties, most notably how Mr. Trump would pay for them, and they still favor people with higher incomes. The candidate’s aides said his goals would be achieved through a change in the tax code to help pay for child care, to be detailed in another speech, probably this week. The main thrust of Mr. Trump’s plan involves a reordering of the tax code so working parents can take an income tax deduction for care of up to four children and dependents. The deduction is available for individuals earning up to $250, 000, or $500, 000 for a married couple filing jointly. There would also be child care spending rebates as high as $1, 200 a year for families on the lower end of the income scale. That is an amount that some critics called inadequate given that the cost of child care in some states is $10, 000 to $20, 000 a year. Another proposal aimed at parents is a dependent care savings account, a version of a flexible spending account usually offered by employers. Such accounts would be universal and used for or traditional child care, with a government match of $500 a year — a minuscule amount given the cost of such care, and given the difficulty that families have putting away money in such accounts. Among the open questions are whether the deductions that working parents could claim would replace the existing tax credit, whether there would be an age cap for the children involved, and what the actual scale of benefit would be for people of various incomes. The signature element of the plan, six weeks of paid maternity leave for new mothers whose employers do not currently provide coverage, would be financed by eliminating fraud in unemployment insurance. Mr. Trump’s aides trumpeted the proposal as unprecedented for a G. O. P. presidential nominee many Republicans oppose requiring paid maternity leave as an onerous new regulation on businesses. Earlier Tuesday, at a campaign rally in Clive, Iowa, the candidate singled out Ivanka Trump, a mother of three who has developed her own licensing and branding company, as the driving force behind the plan. Some social conservatives said they were pleasantly surprised by Mr. Trump’s proposed tax benefit for mothers. “I was quite pleased with it,” said Tony Perkins of the conservative Family Research Council. He called it “innovative” in acknowledging “the contribution that parents make. ” But the plan was met with criticism from the Clinton campaign and skepticism from some child care advocacy groups, which warned that the people most in need of relief would not get it. “After spending his entire career — and this entire campaign — demeaning women and dismissing the need to support working families,” Maya Harris, Mrs. Clinton’s senior policy adviser, said in a statement, “Donald Trump released a regressive and insufficient ‘maternity leave’ policy that is out of touch, and ignores the way Americans live and work today. ” Vivien Labaton, a director of the nonpartisan group Make It Work Action, called Mr. Trump’s plan “woefully inadequate. ” She said the tax credit component meant that families in need would have to wait to receive relief just once a year, and called the $1, 200 rebate a “drop in the bucket” for families who were facing child care costs of more than $10, 000 a year. Paid leave has increasing political resonance. One of the major reasons the share of women working in the United States has fallen behind other developed countries is the lack of paid family leave, according to research by Cornell University economists. Mr. Trump’s embrace of paid leave would apply only to mothers, as opposed to Mrs. Clinton’s plan, which would cover both parents. Some economists say that when leave is offered only to women, it can backfire by lowering women’s chances of being hired and promoted and getting raises. Ms. Labaton expressed skepticism about the proposal “coming less than 60 days before Election Day,” deriding it as “a naked attempt to court women voters while not actually offering up much by way of genuine support. ”

EU, Finland can help settlement of Syria conflict: Iran parliament speaker

Politics Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani (R) and Finnish President Sauli Niinistö shake hands in Tehran on October 26, 2016. (Photo by IRNA) Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani says the European Union can play a significant role in the settlement of the Syrian crisis and the campaign against terrorism. Larijani made the remarks in a meeting with visiting Finnish President Sauli Niinistö in Tehran on Wednesday. He said that Iran supports political solutions to crises in the Middle East, including the conflict in Syria, while some extra-regional players as well as regional sponsors of terrorist groups sabotaged diplomatic solutions through adopting wrong approaches. The top Iranian parliamentarian also warned against the spillover of terrorism to other regions across the world. “Unfortunately, military intervention by outsiders in regional issues and adopting a military approach and double standards on terrorism” have led to a rise in the number of terrorist groups and contributed to their activities, Larijani said. He also blamed the “extremist and deviated” ideology of Wahhabism for the spread of terrorism in the region, stressing that neither Sunnis nor Shias support terrorist or extremist acts. Elsewhere in his remarks, Larijani welcomed the expansion of ties between Tehran and Helsinki. The Finnish official, for his part, called for the further promotion of ties between his country and Iran. He also expressed regret about terrorist attacks in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria and the lack of a political will to end the conflicts. ‘Terrorists pose threat to their own countries’ Also on Wednesday, the Finnish president met with Chairman of Iran's Expediency Council Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani to discuss bilateral ties and regional developments. Chairman of Iran's Expediency Council Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (R) meets with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö (L) in Tehran on October 26, 2016. (Photo by IRNA) In the meeting, Rafsanjani warned about possible threats posed by foreign recruits when they return to their own countries and the subsequent rise of terrorism across the world, and called on the international community to take measures to address the issue. The senior Iranian official also raised the alarm over the issue of “state terrorism” pursued by the Zionists. Earlier in the day, Finland’s president also met and held talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on the developments in the Middle East and the promotion of bilateral ties in different sectors, including economic and banking cooperation. Niinistö arrived in Tehran on Tuesday to hold talks with Iranian officials on a range of issues. He also met with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday. Loading ...

FBI Director Comey’s ‘Leaked’ Memo Explains Why He’s Reopening the Clinton Email Case

21st Century Wire says… 21WIRE reported on Friday about the FBI’s surprising announcement that it would be reopening the Clinton email case due to new evidence of ‘classified information’ found on sex cheat Anthony Weiner’s (newly estranged husband of Clinton chief aid Huma Abedin) computer which was subject to a seperate investigation. Will this really yield anything significant in the 10 days running-up to the Nov 8th election, or is this just clever Democrat party smoke and mirrors? It seems that Washington’s political tricksters have already sprung into action… After Comey’s shock announcement, a “leaked” memo appeared out of nowhere, supplied to Fox News , in which Comey and the FBI seem to be going through a routine set of prescribed political moves designed to implement damage control. ELITE CIRCLES: FBI head James Comey and friend Hillary Clinton. Certainly, a desperate Democratic Party, and an even more desperate Obama White House (over the last 3 weeks, Obama and his wife Michelle have been out campaigning more that Hillary Clinton herself), could be pressuring or nudging the FBI on this volatile issue which could easily tilt a close presidential race against Donald Trump. Aside from the obvious potential of another Clinton scandal, yesterday’s FBI move could also be a prelude to the following possible scenarios: Protect the President, who is already deeply tied to the Clinton email cover-up Democratic Party Machine has created a distraction to cover-up latest Wikileaks dump. FBI are trying to restore lost public confidence over allegations of favoring Hillary Clintons. Create a controlled explosion this weekend to clear the decks for another salacious Trump scandal next week. NOTE: Despite calls from the Clinton camp for FBI to disclose what they have (which they cannot by law anyway, you’d think Hillary would have already known that), it is highly unlikely that the FBI will release any real specifics before the election – if they have anything at all. It’s just too early to tell. SEE ALSO: FBI James Comey was board member of HSBC – Clinton Foundation & Drug Cartel ‘bank of choice’ The FBI director stoked outrage last month when he announced that he would not recommend the Justice Department seek an indictment against Clinton or any of the other parties to the investigation – allowing Clinton to dodge any criminal probe before the election – despite the fact that Comey stated to a Congressional investigative committee that Clinton was “extremely careless,” and that Clinton openly lied about her handling classified information on her unsecured private server throughout her tenure as the US Secretary of State. Zero Hedge adds: “Now, it is the democrats turn to rage at Comey and the FBI, although Comey likely did not have much choice: had he kept the information secret, it certainly would have leaked as we predicted; as such his best recourse was to come clean, although many have speculated about the cryptic nature of the disclosure. Needless to say, all Comey would need to do to regain the Demcorats’ trust and favor is to announce in just a few days that nothing material has been found and that the second probe is also over.” Here is “leaked” (aka ‘just covering my ass) memo from FBI director James Comey: Watch this space. Here is a highlight reel of Hillary Clinton lying on at least 5 occasions when asked direct questions about her illegal private email server: . READ MORE ELECTION NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire 2016 Files SUPPORT 21WIRE – SUBSCRIBE & BECOME A MEMBER @21WIRE.TV

Montana Democrats Vote Against Bill Banning Sharia Law, Call It ’Repugnant’ - Breitbart

Ben Kew

Democrats in Montana have opposed a bill banning the use of foreign law in its state courts on the grounds that such legislation would target Muslims. [Senate Bill 97, introduced by Keith Regier ( ) bans the application of foreign law in Montana’s courts, with the debate particularly focused on Sharia Law, a form of Islamic law typically used in the Middle East. Although the bill passed on party lines by Democrats claimed it was designed to target Muslim communities. “I think it sends a dangerous message to minority groups both here living in our state and wanting to come visit our state, just merely on the fact that you may be different,” said Rep. Shane Morigeau, while debating the bill. “I truly believe this law is repugnant. I believe this is not who we are as Montanans. ” Meanwhile, Rep. Ellie Hill Smith ( ) proposed a failed amendment to the bill to include a ban on both Sharia Law and the Law of Moses, in order to “show the state of Montana that it is not just about Islamic Law. ” “The courts have said that laws that single out certain religions violate the First Amendment,” Smith said, claiming that it was “peppered with bigotry. ” Another Democrat, Rep. Laurie Bishop ( ) urged legislators “not to forget the roots of this bill,” adding that “our children are watching. ” Meanwhile, Rep. Brad Tschida ( ) said the bill was an attempt to push back against a “constitution [that] is constantly under assault. ” Bills specifically targeting Sharia Law have passed in states such as North Carolina, Alabama, Arizona, Kansas, Louisiana, South Dakota, and Tennessee. The bill will now be passed on to Gov. Steve Bullock (D) for signature or veto. You can follow Ben Kew on Facebook, on Twitter at @ben_kew, or email him at bkew@breitbart. com

The Monsanto Tribunal Is Over. How Did It Go? And What Happens Now?

Editor

Editor’s Note: The Monsanto Tribunal happened from October 14th through 16th in The Hague, Netherlands. The People’s Assembly was a parallel event, where farmers, consumer movements, and their associated networks discussed how we can feed the world in a safe way. Both events are now over, so what happens now? Read the article below to find out. READ: Monsanto “Crimes Against Humanity” Tribunal Officially Begins October 14th In Hague Netherlands The hearings of the Monsanto Tribunal were very impressive, and so was the People’s Assembly. During the last two days of the event, the world watched witnesses’ testimonies, lawyers’ pleas, and the first impressions of the judges. At the Tribunal, 750 people participated in The Hague representing 30 nationalities from all over the world, thousands of people followed online on the livestream and social media, and the Tribunal received a lot of press attention. Both victims and experts thanked us for giving them a voice on this important international platform — and a very well documented voice in this new process to hold corporations accountable for their acts. The chairwoman of the Tribunal, Judge Tulkens, expressed the importance of the Tribunal in an interview with the French newspaper, Le Monde: The questions of the access to water and to healthy food are old. Those are not new issues coming out of the mind of angry activists. Those issues, just like the right to a healthy environment are likely to become more important with climate change. It is our duty to set legal tools to face those issues. The Monsanto Tribunal is a step and a tool within this dynamic.” The Tribunal received quite a lot of media coverage. From French and German TV news programs to many newspapers and radio programs in various countries. See the links on our social media platforms (and later on the website). Did Monsanto attend the Tribunal? Monsanto was invited to the Tribunal, but decided not to appear for their defense. We did get their attention though. They issued a statement in 5 languages saying that we are ‘pushing’ the wrong issues, since the real discussion is about feeding the world. Monsanto fails to see feeding the world in a safe way was exactly the topic of the Tribunal and of the discussion farmers, consumer movements, and their associated networks had in the parallel People’s Assembly. Many eminent speakers stressed that Monsanto and agribusiness giants like them do not feed the world. Rather, they are involved in producing commodities, feed for animals, fuel for cars, and sugar for the food industry at a very high cost for human health and environment. This is production that feeds profit, not people. It’s the small- and medium-scale farmers that are actually feeding the world. What is the purpose of the Monsanto Tribunal and the People’s Assembly? This Tribunal and People’s Assembly are about showing the tremendous costs of industrial farming for humans, for health, and for nature . They are also about standing up to Monsanto and their likes, and stopping them from poisoning our world and controlling our food supply. One way to do this is by showing the true cost of the current global food system, and the very real alternatives that exist. Nnimmo Bassey at the opening said : Being an ambassador to this Tribunal is like being an ambassador to mother Earth. If mother Earth could speak, Monsanto ought to be in jail long before now. Food is a celebration, it is culture, it is life. This is a struggle not against one multinational corporation, it is a struggle for life, it is a struggle for liberty. A struggle to stop big companies from colonizing our food systems, colonizing our agriculture, holding mother Earth as a slave for their profits.” If you want, you can follow the Monsanto Tribunal on Facebook , where many pictures and videos have already been posted. You can also see them if you have no Facebook yourself. In the coming weeks, we will continue to release short interviews of the witnesses, experts and lawyers, as well as the speakers in the People’s Assembly. We will also add all of this to our website , including all the hearings of the Tribunal and the written testimonies in different languages. Please be patient, we will keep you informed! What happens now that the Tribunal is over? The judges are now thoroughly reviewing the evidence from legal briefs and witness testimonies to answer the six questions posed in the Tribunal’s terms of reference. They will then present a legal advisory opinion, hopefully soon but if necessary next spring: we will supply logistic support, but the timing is up to them. As Judge Tulkens said: We will try to deliver the legal opinion before December 10th, the International Day of human Rights. It will be addressed to Monsanto and to the United Nations. From this legal opinion, other jurisdictions can be involved and more judges will step in. We, as the judges [at the Monsanto Tribunal]have seen, heard, noted and deliberated. Chances are that the international law will take into consideration new issues such as the ones related to ecocide.” What you can do to help We would like to thank you and all the volunteers for your amazing support. This would not have been possible without you. Stay tuned, follow us on social media, show your support and share messages wherever and whenever you can. Ask friends to sign their support . Together we will put an end to the era of poisoning and exploiting the world and move onward to a system where we work with nature instead of waging a war against it. Note: Image from the Monsanto Tribunal. Originally published on the Monsanto Tribunal website . Via: Food Revolution h/t Stillness in the Storm

The Shame, The Heartbreak- Another Day In America

- Advertisement - Here's the thing:Today, October 27, 2016, I, like many of you, watched live feeds of the events going down at Standing Rock.I am at a loss to define my feelings. Anger, outrage, pity, fear ...One phrase kept going through my mind, like a mantra- This is not my America. This is not my America. This is not my America. protests at DAPL License DMCA And then in counter-point was the thought- But it is. But it is. But it is.Over one hundred heavily armed cops in riot gear, supported by military assault vehicles and helicopters forced peaceful, prayerful water protectors from their own land, ceded to them in the Treaty of 1851. The police are nothing more than a mercenary army protecting the interests of the owners of the DAPL. There was the wail of sound cannons aimed at the protectors, there was tear gas. There were rubber bullets being fired into the crowd.And in my mind- This is not my America (But it is) This is not my America (But it is) This is not my America (But it is) This is about water. There's no political ideology here. We cannot live without water. Decisions are being made that effect the future, and the lives of our children and our grandchildren.This effects all of us. It's not just happening "out there" in the Dakotas or in Iowa or in Texas or in New Mexico. It's everywhere. For god sake, there are already over 2.5 million miles pipeline already installed in the continental United States. Just the other day, mere miles from where I live a Sunoco pipeline leaked over 55,000 gallons of gasoline into the Susquehanna River, endangering the water for over 6 million people down river. Where I live, in northeastern Pennsylvania, there are fracking wells all over the place. And an average of 2.8 million of gallons of clean water were filled with known poisons and toxins and pumped under pressure into the aquifer beneath my feet. There are places within miles of where I live that people can set fire to their water.It's too late for anyone to avoid the destruction, here where I live. We have to deal with the aftermath. The after the fact poisoning of our water and the inevitable leaks and the illnesses and the pockets of strange cancers. This is a shameful day, for all of us. I am sick, in heart, mind and spirit, but I have hope.The battle hasn't even started. Now is when decisions must be made. Hard decisions that will impact on our own sense of comfort and will demand that we risk that comfort, or lose the future. To do nothing is to accept that our children,and our grandchildren will have no clean water to drink, no clean air to breathe, no clean land to live on.This is not overstating the things. It is not alarmist. It is the simplest of truths. - Advertisement -

It’s Official: Simone Biles Is the World’s Best Gymnast - The New York Times

Victor Mather, Doug Mills and Chang W. Lee

RIO DE JANEIRO — Simone Biles, already considered the world’s greatest female gymnast before even competing in the Olympics, emphatically confirmed her standing on Thursday by winning the women’s individual gold medal at the Rio Games. Wearing a leotard, Biles, 19, joined Mary Lou Retton, Carly Patterson, Nastia Liukin and Gabby Douglas as American winners. The American Aly Raisman, 22, won the silver, and Aliya Mustafina, 21, of Russia won bronze. Victory in this event brings lucrative endorsements and widespread adoration, a popularity bonanza fueled by a showcase of athletic artistry. At 4 feet 9 inches, with size 5 feet, Biles is someone that young viewers can relate to. Then she performs, and her abilities are unimaginable. Her ascent has been sudden to those who follow gymnastics only every four years. At the last Summer Games, in London in 2012, Douglas was the . Biles arrived here from Texas and gave the Rio Games a performance for the ages. Whether you know an Amanar from an aardvark, you watch her not because the result is in doubt but rather to witness something without equal. The first rotation on Thursday for the top gymnasts was the vault, and both Biles and Raisman broke out their Amanars. In that challenging vault, the gymnast performs a onto the board and then a back handspring onto the table. She then completes twists before a blind landing. Biles, as usual, flew higher and farther than anyone else, though she took a big step on her landing. It was enough for the top score of the day. Raisman also pulled off her Amanar, and the two Americans were after one rotation. But after the uneven bars, Biles was in an unfamiliar place: second place. A strong performance by Mustafina, the 2012 champion in the bars, and a pedestrian one by Biles put the Russian ahead by a small margin. Raisman slipped to fourth. The score for Biles was lower than she has been used to getting. The bars is her weakest event, but the disappointment would shake some competitors and cause them to lose focus. But Biles isn’t just any competitor. She’s a world champion. Biles looked a little nervous on the balance beam, wobbling at one point. But she made a great landing. After Mustafina her full turn, had a few balance checks and left out a front aerial. Biles was back in front, and Raisman moved into third. The competition culminated with the floor exercise. Biles’s first pass is a double layout, and she followed that with her “Biles,” a double layout with a half twist, then a stag leap. Her third and fourth passes were just as phenomenal. Her coach Aimee Boorman cried as Biles came off the floor. Her score: 15. 933, the highest of the day on any apparatus. Raisman nailed her own difficult tumbling passes to grab the silver.

Anonymous

There is a lot more than meets the eye to this mob , wait till you read this . "Soon thereafter I resigned from Yang and took another job at the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). While there, I discovered some other illegal activities of Yang, who had contracts with FDOT, involving over-billing and defrauding of the State of Florida regarding contracts Nee was sentenced on October 7, 2004 by U.S. District Judge Gregory A. Presenell to three years of supervised probation and $100 fine. An illegal Chinese alien admitting to what is paramount to corporate if not treasonable espionage, and the guy gets a slap on the wrist. http://www.bradblog.com/?page_id=3526 now finding the connection to Serco via contracts ....

It Literally Hurts My Brain to Read the Economic Idiocy Emitted by Trumpkins | Libertarian

beforeitsnews.com

(Before It's News) (Don Boudreaux) Tweet Here’s a letter to the Wall Street Journal : Wilbur Ross’s and Peter Navarro’s defense of Donald Trump’s economic policies is mostly a mash of bunkum (“ A Vote for Trump Is a Vote for Growth ,” Oct. 26). Consider this claim: “Donald Trump will cut taxes, reduce regulation … and eliminate our trade deficit through muscular trade negotiations that increase exports, [and] reduce imports….” Cut taxes? Bunk. Trump famously promises to raise taxes on Americans who buy imports. Reduce regulation? Rubbish. Trump promises more government intrusions into Americans’ commerce with foreigners. As for ‘eliminating’ our trade deficit, Trump might indeed succeed on that front. But such ‘success’ would be regrettable, for it would be the inevitable outcome of the American economy being made an unattractive destination for investment. (Ross and Navarro seem to be unaware that to “eliminate our trade deficit” – such as was done, for example, during the Great Depression – is to eliminate net contributions by foreigners to increasing the size of America’s capital stock.) But Trump’s most absurd promise is to enrich Americans by increasing exports and reducing imports. Imports are what we voluntarily buy and exports are the price we pay. Therefore, a policy meant to increase exports while decreasing imports is a policy meant to force Americans to pay more to foreigners and to receive less in return – a decidedly unartful deal the architect of which would deserved to be fired. But the Trump camp’s confusion runs even more deeply. Exporting for Americans is worthwhile only because it supplies us with the means to purchase imports, either currently or in the future. So a policy that aims both to increase exports and to decrease imports is akin to a policy that aims both to increase people’s spending power and to decrease it. It’s a policy meant to give Americans greater means for acquiring imports as it simultaneously strips Americans of the freedom to use those means. It’s the economic policy equivalent of an attempt to square a circle. Sincerely, Donald J. Boudreaux Professor of Economics and Martha and Nelson Getchell Chair for the Study of Free Market Capitalism at the Mercatus Center George Mason University Fairfax, VA 22030

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U.N. Secretary General Complains That The ‘Masses Have Rejected Globalism’ In Favor Of Nationalism

Geoffrey Grider

U.N. Secretary General Complains That The ‘Masses Have Rejected Globalism’ In Favor Of Nationalism Antonio Guterres, elected in October to take over as U.N. secretary general next year, told a conference in his native Lisbon that this trend had undermined the willingness to receive refugees in Europe this year. He said the world must re-establish international protection for refugees coming from war zones such as Syria, but it would not be easy as developed countries were turning to nationalist agendas. 22, 2016 The incoming head of the United Nations warned on Tuesday that ‘losers of globalization’ in rich countries have felt ignored by establishment politicians, prompting them to turn to nationalist agendas, as in the U.S. election and Brexit referendum. “Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the LORD, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.” Zephaniah 3:8 (KJV) EDITOR’S NOTE: The Bible clearly says that God’s desire is to “gather all the nations of the world together”, in order to “pour His fury” upon them. The United Nations, something unique in world history, has been created by the will of God, and things are going to end exactly how the Bible says they will end. All Muslims will be driven out of Israel as prophesied in Zechariah 14:21 (KJV), Israel will expand its borders to cover the size of the original land grant to Abraham , and Jesus will rule the world from Jerusalem . And that will be the “new” world order. Antonio Guterres, elected in October to take over as U.N. secretary general next year , told a conference in his native Lisbon that this trend had undermined the willingness to receive refugees in Europe this year. He said the world must re-establish international protection for refugees coming from war zones such as Syria, but it would not be easy as developed countries were turning to nationalist agendas. Antonio Guterres formally elected as UN chief: Europe has struggled to handle a huge influx of refugees, many of whom displaced by the war in Syria. The United States has accepted only a very small number of refugees and may take in even fewer next year. “In 2016, we have witnessed a dramatic deterioration of that international protection regime (for refugees),” Guterres said. “This example started in the developed world, it started essentially in Europe, it is spreading now like a virus into other parts of the world.” Guterres, who was U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees until last year, linked the growing resistance to accepting refugees to wider concerns about globalism. “I don’t think we can look strictly at the refugee issue, I think the problem is a broader problem,” he told the conference on Europe’s refugee crisis. There was a consensus in the mid-1990s that globalization would benefit all, he said. “But a lot of people were left behind … In the developed world, (there are) those who have been losers in globalization,” he said. “The recent analysis of the rust belt in the United States, I think, is a clear demonstration of that, when we speak about the elections.” Donald Trump won this month’s election in the United States in part thanks to support from voters who have seen their jobs lost to countries with cheaper labor. “So globalization has not been as successful as we had hoped and lots of people became not only angry with it, but feeling that political establishments and international organizations are not paying attention, were not taking care (of them),” he said. This led to what he called “a kind of evolution” in which anti-establishment parties now tended to win elections and referendums tended to attract majorities against whatever was put to a vote. source SHARE THIS ARTICLE

Trump Bollywood Ad Meant To Sway Indian American Voters Is An Hilarious Fail (VIDEO)

T Steelman

Google Pinterest Digg Linkedin Reddit Stumbleupon Print Delicious Pocket Tumblr Add another group to the list of people who won’t be voting for Donald Trump. Oh, a few of them might but after they see this ad for Trump, I’m betting the majority will laugh and vote for Hillary Clinton. Earlier in the month, Trump attended a Bollywood concert for charity. It was organized by the Republican Hindu Coalition, a group that was founded by a rich Indian-American named Shalli Kumar, who is looking to be the Hindu Sheldon Adelson. The Indian community is heavily Democratic so good luck with that. Trump came to the event, lit the Diya — it’s doubtful that he had any idea what it was — and then spoke. He pandered told the attendees that “the Indian and Hindu community will have a true friend in the White House,” promising they will “defeat radical Islamic terrorism.” This inspired Kumar to make an ad which will be playing 20 times a day on Indian-American channels. He refused to say how much it cost the campaign to buy that much time but we can guess that Mr. Kumar is helping foot the bill. He previously has given almost $1 million to a fundraising committee which benefited both Trump and the RNC. There is a lot to laugh about in the ad, bt Trump’s inability to pronounce Hindi words takes teh cake. It is such an obvious bit of pandering, even for him. The ad starts with a wish for a Happy Diwali , a holiday I am certain Trump is ignorant of. The cut to Trump’s orange face is a bit jarring after the pretty lights and flowers. Kumar wanted to draw a similarity between Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The PM’s campaign had used a clever catchphrase which loosely translates to “This time a Modi government.” Kumar wanted Trump to replace Modi’s name with his own. In Hindi, that is “Ab ki baar Trump sarkar.” Don’t get ahead of me, now. In the ad, which uses footage of Trumps speech at the charity concert, a 2008 photo of the hotel which was attacked by Islamic militants in Mumbai gives way to a picture of PM Modi. Then back to Trump who tries to speak the short Hindi phrase. It’s something one must see to believe. Make sure you aren’t drinking anything as you may endanger your computer. “Approved by Donald Trump?” Well, I guess so. This ad is not just pandering, it is awful. I hope the Indian American community laugh this off and then go vote against this man who only shows interest in their culture when it might get him votes. Oh, and Happy Diwali! May the light burn away any bad times and welcome the good. Featured Image by Kena Betancur/Getty Images Share this Article!

FBI Finds Previously Unseen Hillary Clinton Emails On Weiner’s Laptop

Zero Hedge

Crushing the hope-filled “it’s just a backup of what they have already seen” narrative of a campaign clutching at straws to defend their candidate, and confirming Fox News Bret Baier’s earlier reporting , CBS News reports that the FBI has found new, non-duplicate emails related to Hilary Clinton’s tenure as Secretary of State on Anthony Weiner’s laptop . Sources earlier described to Fox News’ Bret Baier as an “avalanche of evidence…” And tonight we are getting further clarification, from US Officials, as to what that evidence consists of (via CBS News) These emails, CBS News’ Andres Triay reports, are not duplicates of emails found on Secretary Clinton’s private server. At this point, however, it remains to be seen whether these emails are significant to the FBI’s investigation into Clinton. It is also not known how many relevant emails there are. This is a major problem for the surrogates, lawyers, life-long friends, and defenders of the status quo as it destroys the narrative that has been painted suggesting these emails found on Weiner’s laptop are merely backups of what law enforcement officials have already seen (and found no intent in). But what is most intriguing is the question of whether the missing 33,000 ‘personal’ emails ‘deleted’ by Bryan Pagliano in the full knowledge of Hillary Clinton (according to Wikileaks emails), are also on the estranged husband of Clinton right-hand-lady Huma Abedin’s laptop. As Federal law enforcement officials concluded to CBS News tonight : “These emails have never been seen before” Fox’s Bret Baier summed up what happens next… “I pressed again and again on this very issue… The investigations will continue, there is a lot of evidence. And barring some obstruction in some way, they believe they will continue to likely an indictment .” The noose is tightening… Delivered by The Daily Sheeple We encourage you to share and republish our reports, analyses, breaking news and videos ( Click for details ). Contributed by Zero Hedge of www.zerohedge.com .

2 Years After This American Journalist Was Killed, Her ‘Conspiracy Theories’ on Syria are Proven as Facts

Starkman

Serena Shim is an American citizen of Lebanese descent who was born near Detroit. Shim worked for Iranian broadcaster Press TV as a foreign correspondent covering wars, legitimate protests and fake uprisings in multiple countries. Via AnonHQ She reported live from Syria, Iraq, Turkey, and Lebanon during the conflict since 2011, including in the critical region of Daraa during the beginning of protests, which are misrepresented by American media as the reasons for the fake civil war. Serena Shim was killed two years ago on October 19, 2014, in Turkey while reporting on the intense battle for the Syrian border city of Kobani which was the focus of international media attention. She was 29 when she died. Scroll Down For Video Below! The city of Kobani, which has one of Turkey’s major border crossings with Syria, because it was under threat of being completely captured by the Islamic State. The US was forced to respond because Islamic State grew out of control and threatened the border stability of Turkey, and it became the first major area bombed during the US campaign in Syria. The US and Turkey were also arguing over Washington’s plan to arm Kurdish fighters on the Syrian side of the border and how to allow Kurds from Iraq to support the effort by crossing through Turkey. On the day she was killed, the US began operations to airdrop weapons to the Kurds. Less than two days later, Islamic State fighters released a video showing the capture of an American weapons cache airdropped near the city. The video received international media attention which led the Pentagon to admit the weapons mistakenly reached ISIL terrorists. It is claimed she was killed in a car accident with a cement truck. However, physical details about the case raise questions about the official explanation by Turkish officials. There are also conflicting stories about the timeline after her death and before the family received her body, which indicate actions by the government of Turkey and possibly the United States. Two days before her death, Serena Shim reported on live international television that Turkish intelligence services were planning to arrest her for questioning on the suspicion her being a spy. The day after her death, US officials denied releasing any information it had about whether the US government was aware of Turkey’s plans. State Department officials told WTF News it would be December 2017 before a Freedom of Information Act request could be completed for information on what actions were taken by them to assist her as a US citizen. Serena Shim conducted an undercover investigation in Turkey and Syria lasting multiple months during 2012 as she spoke fluent Arabic. Her report aired on Press TV beginning in December 2012. The issues listed below are topics she reported on first or experienced in person before they were reported by major media outlets. US officials continue to hide her death and not a single major media outlet in America reported on her death at the time despite the fact that she was popular in America and the Middle East. 1. HILLARY CLINTON’S EMAILS PROVE THE US STATE DEPT AND WHITE HOUSE KNEW SAUDI ARABIA AND QATAR ARE FUNDING ISLAMIC STATE Clinton admitted, in an email conversation from August 2014 obtained by Wikileaks, that US allies Saudi Arabia and Qatar were sending money and weapons to ISIL. August 2014 was the height of terror during Islamic State’s rise, leading to the growing international media outrage which forced President Obama to publicly announce the beginning of airstrikes against ISIL in Syria on September 23, 2014. THE FREE THOUGHT PROJECT “While this military/para-military operation is moving forward, we need to use our diplomatic and more traditional intelligence assets to bring pressure on the governments of Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which are providing clandestine financial and logistic support to ISIL and other radical Sunni groups in the region.” “The Qataris and Saudis will be put in a position of balancing policy between their ongoing competition to dominate the Sunni world and the consequences of serious U.S. pressure.” The business newspaper Financial Times reported that Prince Saud al-Faisal admitted Saudi Arabia created and funded Islamic State as a response to the US supporting Shia powers in Iraq. The FT also reported in 2013that Qatar had already spent $3 billion on funding the opposition. America’s top military official General Martin Dempsey, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was asked “Do you know any major Arab ally that embraces ISIL?” by Republican Senator Lindsay Graham. “I know major Arab allies who fund them,” replied Dempsey. 2. THE UNITED STATES WANTED THE ISLAMIC STATE TO GROW, AS PROVED BY LEAKED INTELLIGENCE DOCUMENTS The rapid growth of the Islamic State was not an accident, and many observers of the conflict questioned the US commitment to fighting terrorism as they ignored the group’s rise. Since the start of the armed conflict in 2011, United States officials including Hillary Clinton have publicly stated that their solution to stop the war is to replace Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and other government leaders. The public policy of the United States has been to support what the US calls moderate opposition groups under the name Free Syrian Army (FSA) with the goal of having them weaken the government forces. That strategy changed in mid-2012 as news reports confirmed these rebels were committing war crimes by killing civilians and executing soldiers. One of the largest factions Al Nusra was specifically identified as a terrorist group in December 2012. At the same time, the Islamic State (known as Al Qaeda in Iraq) was growing in Syria and had become a dominant force by 2013. The Islamic State grew in Syria for almost two years before the US announced it would take military action in September 2014. The intelligence report was dated August 2012 confirms the US government would have known about this threat for two years. JUDICIAL WATCH “If the situation unravels, there is the possibility of establishing a declared or undeclared Salafist Principality in eastern Syria (Hasaka and Der Zor), and this is exactly what the supporting powers to the opposition want, in order to isolate the Syrian regime, which is considered the strategic depth of the Shia expansion (Iraq and Iran).”Syria has been fought over for two separate gas pipeline projects, a pipeline from Qatar rejected by Assad for one from Iran. The second pipeline is a Russian plan to connect with Turkey to deliver gas to Europe; the deal was finalized less than two weeks ago.

Report: Illegal Aliens Forego Food Stamps to Stay off Trump’s Radar

AWR Hawkins

Illegal aliens in San Francisco have reportedly begun abstaining from food stamps in the belief it will help them avoid being detecting by the Trump administration. [In fact, so many residents have turned against food stamps that “the city is concerned. ” According to the San Francisco Chronicle, local Human Services Agency director Trent Rhorer has noted that “households with one illegal” are wondering how much information will reach administration officials if they use food stamps, also known as CalFresh. Eligible families also wonder “whether the administration will cut food stamp benefits to immigrants. ” Rhorer is upset by the tension. He said, “[Eligible families] are putting their household in further jeopardy of not being able to pay the rent, or not being able to pay utility bills because they have to buy food. These are benefits they are entitled to receive, and they’re playing by the rules. They shouldn’t be penalized by this negative commentary coming out of the White House. ” In the last two months the number of households withdrawing from food stamps has been well above the norm. For example, the normal drop rate is less than 60 households a month, yet “150 households withdrew from the program in March and April alone. ” Families where children are legal residents but were born to parents who came here illegally are most prone to drop CalFresh at this time, the Chronicle reports. But the city has made clear that the only people who have to provide information are the family members who apply for benefits. That is reportedly intended to limit the amount of information shared with the federal government. Under the Obama administration, Breitbart News noted at the time, the U. S. Department of Agriculture paid to run in Mexico promoting U. S. food stamps so that when illegal aliens came to the U. S. they would be able to access the benefit. AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of “Bullets with AWR Hawkins,” a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart. com.

Make Netherlands Great Again! Hahaha It's Spreading Worldwide!

The European Union Times

Geert Wilders is the founder and leader of the Freedom Party in The Netherlands. Wilders is a favorite to be the next Dutch Prime Minister. Because of his strong stance against the expansion of Islam in the West he was put on the Al-Qaeda hit list and has 24 hour security protection. Geert posted this tweet today, reported The Gateway Pundit. He wants to “Make the Netherlands Great Again.” Flashback: Geert Wilders attended Trump’s coronation at the RNC and gave a superb interview and a speech, check them out:

Four killed, 10 Injured in Jerusalem Truck-Ramming Terror Attack

Aaron Klein

Four Israeli soldiers were murdered and at least 16 people were wounded, some seriously, when an Arab resident of eastern Jerusalem rammed his truck into pedestrians near Jerusalem’s Armon Hanatziv Promenade. [Armon Hanatziv, also known as East Talpiot, is located in southeastern Jerusalem, part of the eastern sections of Jerusalem declared “occupied Palestinian territory” by a United Nations Security Council resolution last month. The promenade, a popular tourist site enjoyed for its spectacular views of Israel’s capital, is located about half a mile from the plot of land upon which the U. S. has been building a consulate that could serve as a future embassy if the current embassy is moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters at the scene of the attack: “We know the identity of the attacker. All signs point to the attacker being a supporter of the Islamic State. ” In Sunday’s vehicular terrorist attack, Fadi identified as resident of the Jerusalem’s Jabel Mukaber Arab neighborhood, rammed a truck into a group of soldiers who were exiting a bus at the promenade. A video of the attack, obtained from security surveillance footage, shows the truck running over soldiers, then the vehicle spins around as the driver attempts to turn the truck around. He then runs over the group of soldiers a second time. Watch the video below. WARNING: Graphic images. “The terrorist came from the direction of Alar Street. He noticed a group of people coming off a bus that stopped along the promenade. As far as we know, he sped up and hit them,” said Jerusalem District Police spokeswoman Galit Ziv. Qanbar was shot by a civilian tour guide and by soldiers at the scene. He immediately died of his wounds, police here said. The IDF released the following video testimony from one of the soldiers who responded to the attack by shooting Qanbar: IDF soldiers reportedly raided Qanbar’s home after the attack, Magen David Adom paramedics at the scene said that a number of soldiers were trapped underneath the truck after it stopped when Qanbar was killed. An initial inquiry is focusing on reports that soldiers hesitated to initially shoot as Qanbar was perpetuating the attack. A military trainer who shot and killed the terrorist speculated that the hesitation might have stemmed from the conviction in a military court last week of Elor Azaria, an inexperienced army combat medic who shot and killed a Palestinian terrorist in March after the terrorist stabbed an Israeli soldier and was lying on the ground supposedly neutralized after being shot. Azaria had said that he heard someone shout that the terrorist might be wearing an explosive device and he claimed that he acted to protect nearby soldiers. That claim was rejected by the military court. The military trainer, who would only identify himself as Eitan, told Israel’s Army Radio of the reported hesitation to show Qanbar: … the soldiers who were on the scene were hesitant to shoot at the truck that slammed into the group of people. The fact that Elor Azaria was convicted of manslaughter for shooting a wounded terrorist was the reason for this hesitation, according to Eitan. “There was hesitation to open fire. I have no doubt that this was a significant factor, because all they tell them recently is to be careful. It could be that a few minutes less of hesitation and the situation would have been better,” he added. No terrorist group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Hamas’s military wing, however, took to Facebook to praise the carnage as a “heroic” operation. Hamas spokesperson Hazaem Qassem wrote that “the continuous operations in the West Bank and Jerusalem prove that the Jerusalem Intifada is not an isolated event, but rather a decision by the Palestinian people to revolt until they attain their freedom and liberation from the Israeli occupation. ” Aaron Klein is Breitbart’s Jerusalem bureau chief and senior investigative reporter. He is a New York Times bestselling author and hosts the popular weekend talk radio program, “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio. ” Follow him on Twitter @AaronKleinShow. Follow him on Facebook.

The Leader Salutes Comrade Newt on Brutal Megyn [sic] Kelly Beatdown: “We Don’t Play Games”

Andrew Anglin

Business Insider : Donald Trump praised former House Speaker Newt Gingrich on Wednesday for his fiery interview with Fox News host Megyn Kelly on Tuesday night. “By the way, congratulations, Newt, on last night,” the Republican nominee said during a press event at the opening of his new hotel in Washington, DC. Trump added: “That was an amazing interview. Amazing interview. We don’t play games, Newt, right? We don’t play games.” DONALD TRUMP IS BIG BOSS. HAIL NEWT! Next Cernovich book: The Newt Gingrich Mindset: How to Improve Your Life by Shutting Whore Mouths pic.twitter.com/GJZhO23W1C

Students At Black College Just Got Beaten And Maced For Protesting KKK’s David Duke

Colin Taylor

Comments Last night, Louisiana Senate candidates vying for disgraced Senator David Vitter’s empty seat took the stage at the historically black Dillard University. Among them was former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke, who is making yet another run for public office. The students at Dillard rightfully came out to protest – but were met with shocking violence from the police. Seventy or so students protested Duke’s presence at their college. “They’re allowing a terrorist, a neo-Nazi Ku Klux Klan member to be secured in a building in which we paid thousands of dollars to attend annually,” said political science major Brielle Kennedy , who was arrested moments later. Nobody was allowed in the building during the debate, but students tried to enter anyway to express their fury – and were met with pepper-spray and beatings from police, who arrested six students. “They sprayed us directly in the face with it. I was covered on my shirt, my arms, my face. They’re bodyslamming people, they pulled girls’ hair. They’re just acting like heathens” recounted student Hannah Galloway. The debate itself went off the rails almost immediately as David Duke began complaining about “Jews ,” saying that “there is a problem in America with a very strong, powerful tribal group that dominates our media, dominates our international banking.” He then went on to say that “[Hillary Clinton] should be getting the electric chair, being charged with treason.” What did the police and state board of elections expect would happen when they held a debate at a historically black school in the deep South and invited a deplorable white supremacist and prominent Trump supporter to attend? The violence with which the police reacted evokes the violence that white police visited on black protesters during Jim Crow and the battle for African-American civil rights – and is a painful symbol of how little has changed in the past sixty years. The fact that David Duke had the support to qualify for the ballot is evidence enough.

Despite Strict Gun Control, One ’Child or Youth’ Shot Every Day in Ontario

AWR Hawkins

Despite stringent gun controls that read like a Democrat for U. S. gun policy, a new study shows the province of Ontario, Canada, witnesses one “child or youth” shot every day. [The study was conducted by the Canadian Medical Association Journal. According to The Star, the lead author of the study, Dr. Natasha Saunders, said, “A child or youth injured by a gun each day in this province is staggering. ” She believes this should serve as impetus for doctors to be more involved in the conversation about firearms in Ontario, including conversations between doctors and their patients. Saunders said, “Our findings indicate that this is a conversation we should be having with our patients and their families, particularly with these populations. ” The study shows that children and youth are prone to accidental shootings while immigrants of the same age are prone to being shot intentionally. It also shows that children and youth in rural areas were more prone to accidental shootings while those in urban environments were prone to assaults with firearms. The study offers this explanation: The observed variation in firearm injury by region of origin may have been related to higher participation in Canadian gangs by Caribbean and African immigrants than by those from other regions, and it highlights the need to ensure a healthy transition to Canada by these particular groups. It is interesting to note that Canada has all the gun controls Democrats in the U. S. push as a means of keeping citizens safe. They have criminal background checks, mental background checks, and licensing requirements for gun ownership that include domestic abuse checks. In fact, The University of Sydney’s GunPolicy. org reveals that “licensing authorities are required to conduct interviews with, or to advise an applicant’s spouse, partner, or next of kin before issuing a gun licence. ” This is clearly a step intended to discover any problem that may have slipped through the cracks during the numerous other checks required for a gun license. But despite these controls — and so many more — one “child or youth” is shot every day in Ontario. These same “restrictive” controls also proved impotent to stop a determined attacker who killed six and wounded eight in Quebec on January 29. Breitbart News reported: The Quebec attack was similar to those in other European countries with restrictive gun control laws. For example, twelve people were shot and killed on January 7, 2015, when terrorists opened fire on Charlie Hebdo headquarters in Paris. Just months later, on November 13, 2015, more terrorists in Paris opened fire and killed 130 innocents. AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of Bullets with AWR Hawkins, a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart. com.

The Rise of the Internet Fan Bully - The New York Times

Amanda Hess

Normani Kordei, a member of the girl group on the rise Fifth Harmony, sat for a lighthearted Facebook Live interview earlier this month. Within a week, she had been chased off Twitter by a mob spewing racist insults. “I’ve not just been cyber bullied, I’ve been racially cyber bullied with tweets and pictures so horrific and racially charged that I can’t subject myself any longer to the hate,” she wrote. Her account has been silent since. Online harassment has become a depressingly common workplace hazard for people of color in the public eye. Last month, the “Ghostbusters” star Leslie Jones temporarily quit Twitter after weathering a deluge of racist abuse. And last year, the Brazilian actress Taís Araújo reported a series of harassers to the police after they had inundated her Facebook page with similar comments. But the racist taunts hurled at Ms. Kordei didn’t originate from some white supremacist message board, or even from a crew of Fifth Harmony haters. It came from within the Fifth Harmony fandom itself. The incident illuminates some strange similarities between the bands of internet trolls stalking the web and the legions of online fans seeking to stir up some drama. They both know that the most hurtful weaponry to wield against black women include images of apes, threats of lynching and a . Fifth Harmony is a Simon girl group that snagged its first Top 10 hit this year with the saucy single “Work From Home. ” Its brand would best be described as “gyrating girl power. ” But when Ms. Kordei sat down with the digital lifestyle magazine Galore for the Facebook Live interview on the subject of female friendship, one question — “Describe each girl in one word” — ripped a fault line through the group’s young, female fan base. Of her bandmate Ally Brooke, Ms. Kordei said: “Sunshine, because she is literally the light of the group. ” Of Lauren Jauregui: “My therapist, I can go to her about absolutely anything, and I feel like I can trust that she won’t judge anything that I say. ” And Dinah Jane: “She’s like the queen, she just has a good time anywhere she is. ” When she reached Fifth Harmony’s final member, Camila Cabello, she paused. “She is … let’s see. Camila. Very quirky. Yeah, very quirky. Um, cute. Quirky. ” That’s it. But that was enough to enrage some fans of Ms. Cabello, the who has been positioned as Fifth Harmony’s breakout star (and earned a spot in Taylor Swift’s squad). To this set, Ms. Kordei’s answer was apparently insufficiently effusive. “Camila is a lot more than cute and quirky she’s kind, classy, mature and hardworking,” one fan tweeted. The backlash soon grew big enough to hit the teen gossip sites (“OMG: Did Normani Kordei Throw Shade at Camila Cabello?” the magazine asked) before curdling into something more sinister. In fan enclaves across the web, a subset of Fifth Harmony followers called Ms. Kordei “Normonkey,” “coon,” and “nigger. ” One said she “deserves to be lynched. ” Another Photoshopped her face onto the body of a woman hanging from a tree. This is the kind of rhetoric you expect to see on 4chan’s political message board, a den of white supremacist rhetoric fused with ironic memes. The trolls of 4chan have lately helped power the online presence of the the folks who led the Twitter assault against Ms. Jones. Now the internet’s most unruly celebrity fans are cribbing their troublemaking tactics from the same playbook. The firestorm against Ms. Jones was touched off by a nasty review of “Ghostbusters” published by Milo Yiannopoulos, a conservative provocateur. As the attacks built, comment threads unspooled inside 4chan, surfacing racist images and commentary to hurl at Ms. Jones in Twitter’s open marketplace. Abuse against Ms. Kordei was organized, too, by an anonymous Twitter account that popped up directing fans to inundate her with slurs. Trolls thrive off provoking a response from their targets. When Ms. Jones began speaking out against the abuse on Twitter, 4chan posters traded gleeful messages. Fans, too, delight in forging some connection with the stars, even if it comes in the form of a rebuke. The abuse against Ms. Kordei escalated after she took to Twitter to deny a feud with Ms. Cabello and to denounce the fans attempting to stir up trouble. That behavior eventually scored a response from Ms. Cabello, too. “You don’t have to hate on somebody else to support me — I don’t appreciate it and it’s not what I’m about,” she tweeted. “Be kind or move on. ” Most Fifth Harmony fans, who call themselves Harmonizers, are not racists. As the abuse mounted, support for Ms. Kordei poured out under the hashtags #IStandWithNormani and #WeLoveYouNormani. Still, racially tinged remarks about Ms. Kordei have been a presence amid her rise in popularity — fans have expressed surprise that she reads books and called her “ugly” and “ape” — and the abuse tends to flare at dramatic moments within the roiling fan narrative of imagined alliances and feuds (like the supposed ongoing beef between Ms. Kordei and Ms. Cabello). A similar dynamic has played out among One Direction fans, some of whom have greeted Zayn Malik, the group’s lone Muslim member, with death threats and slurs like “terrorist. ” He briefly quit Twitter in 2012, citing Islamophobia, and left the band last year. And when Robert Pattinson started dating the singer FKA Twigs in 2014, a subgroup of his fans inundated her with racist abuse on Twitter that left her “genuinely shocked and disgusted. ” Some level of infighting is embedded within pop fandom itself. Like One Direction before it, Fifth Harmony is a pop group that’s been perfectly primed to exploit differences in personality, style and ethnic background of the group’s singers. The Spice Girls played this trick most baldly, naming and dressing members after a singular trait — Baby, Scary, Sporty, Posh and Ginger. But supporting a favorite bandmate can easily degrade into trashing a least favorite. In a New York Post article from 1998, one Spice Girls fan said of Ginger (Geri Halliwell): “A lot of people don’t like her. I think some people hate her the most out of all of them. ” She added: “I personally don’t like Scary Spice, though. ” Typically, girl group loyalism falls into the benign end of human . But in the crucible of online fandom, demographic distinctions can coarsen into warring factions. A fan fantasy that frames the band members as hating one another — and paints one of them as rude, stupid, evil, and deserving of death because she is black — is no longer just idle fan fictions. As Ms. Kordei put it in one of her notes to fans, “For those of you who enjoy speculating creating drama that doesn’t exist, please keep in mind that myself and the other girls in the group are PEOPLE. ” She added: “This is our story so let us write it our way, instead of you trying to write it for us. ”

A Newly Vibrant Washington Fears That Trump Will Drain Its Culture - The New York Times

Jason Horowitz

WASHINGTON — Michelle Obama has burned off her meals at Washington’s new generation of acclaimed restaurants by pedaling at SoulCycle. President Obama has shopped for Jonathan Franzen novels with his daughters at local independent bookstores. Obama administration staff members, their barhopping chronicled in the gossip pages, have hit the 14th Street hot spots hard. Decades ago, Washington was broke and run by a mayor best known for smoking crack with a friend on a surveillance tape. Neighborhoods had not fully recovered from the 1968 riots, and an aging Georgetown elite still set the tone. The administrations of two Bushes and a Clinton in between hardly had an effect on the city. But Mr. Obama’s arrival in 2009 coincided with an urban renaissance. Economic development, federal and private investment, and an influx of highly educated young, gay and diverse professionals gentrified neighborhoods, leading to an explosion in restaurants, bars and cafes. And the Obama family — youthful, attractive and urbane — were archetypes of a modern city on the upswing. What the effect on Washington will be when Donald J. Trump moves into the White House is hard to predict. But many Washingtonians fear the worst. Among them is Vincent Gray, the city’s mayor during much of the Obama administration. “I’m worried about people not wanting to come here because of the image they have of the Trump administration,” Mr. Gray said. Now a member of the City Council, Mr. Gray said the engagement of Mr. Obama and his family with the city has been “tremendously uplifting. ” “Their presence in the city brought a level of dynamism that just wasn’t there before,” he said. By contrast, Mr. Trump seems unlikely to drop in at Oyamel, the Mexican restaurant and Obama favorite owned by José Andrés, a star chef and devoted Trump critic. For that matter, it is even unclear whether Mr. Trump, who has used his new Trump International Hotel as an outpost here, will spend weekends in the White House or in New York. And he is unlikely to feel a debt of gratitude to a city where Hillary Clinton won 93 percent of the vote. “D. C. is going to take a really hard hit, culturally, socially, everything. We were really finding our footing we weren’t second to New York,” said Jazmine Johnson, a graphic designer who said she now planned to move to New York. Ms. Johnson, 25, was speaking in the Coffee Bar, a fashionable cafe on M Street where Mr. Trump’s “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” played in the background. In the aftermath of Mr. Trump’s election victory on Tuesday, she sought solace in caffeine. Others around town signed up for free sessions at yoga studios, or meditated on emails from their progressive rabbis reminding them of the Jewish mantra “Od lo avda tikvateinu,” or, “We have not yet lost our hope. ” Reports abounded of federal workers and nonprofit employees crying at their desks, scanning the web for rentals or accepting the free hugs on offer in Farragut Square. “The world has definitely shifted on its axis, and we’ve taken a step into the abyss,” said Michael Steel, an establishment Republican by virtue of having worked for former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida and departed House Speaker John Boehner, and a frequent critic of Mr. Trump. Mr. Gray said he worried that a Trump administration could set the city back because the federal government still controls its purse strings and could enact abortion restrictions, cut vital investment and relax gun control laws. But Democrats now in the government and thinking of leaving it, and young people who had hopes of joining it, have a more immediate concern — a job. Meredith Lightstone, 21, who led the University of Maryland’s Terps for Hillary club, had been preparing her résumé for positions in a Clinton administration. She said she had no interest in a role in the Trump White House. “Do I go into government or politics, or another route? Maybe tech?” she asked. “T. B. D. ” At least some Washington institutions are likely to remain shockproof. The lucrative real estate market seems to be one. Andrew C. Florance, a Washington resident and founder of CoStar, a provider of data, marketing and analytic services to the commercial real estate industry, said he expected a wave of “glitzier” New Yorkers — “the Delta Shuttle crew” — to join the Trump administration and quickly become part of the city’s lobbying ranks and downtown neighborhoods. “It will be a terrific real estate market,” he said. Lobbying firms on K Street are already treating Mr. Trump’s election as a bonanza and are gearing up for more work. Conservative think tanks are looking forward to serving up new ideas to Mr. Trump and a Republican Congress. James Wallner, a vice president for research at the Heritage Foundation, said Mr. Trump’s election was met with . “Trump is a change agent,” Mr. Wallner said. “As long as everyone is trying to change Washington, that’s all that matters. ” Liberal and environmental groups are determined to stay and fight. Debbie Sease, who heads lobbying for the Sierra Club, presided over a office of employees who took silent Metro rides into work last week and hung “free hugs” signs on their desks. She expects an invigorated resistance to come to Washington, bringing moral outrage as well as sophisticated palates. “I’d be surprised if all the good restaurants disappear or become steakhouses,” she said. Cork, the wine bar that pioneered 14th Street’s restaurant boom during the Obama years, set up televisions for an election night watch party. It turned into a tragedy with the owner, Diane Gross, telling her mother to calm down or she would have a heart attack. Jen Psaki, the White House communications director, had her engagement party at Cork, Mrs. Obama dropped in, and Jill Biden became a regular there. Ms. Gross said she hoped that Washington, despite its reputation as a transitory place, had reached a cultural critical mass that would prevent hemorrhaging of the young, fashionable and talented. Still, she acknowledged, “there’s a real possibility of people going back to wherever they are from to do progressive politics there. ” Mike O’Malley, an owner of the Red Hen, a popular restaurant in the recently gentrified neighborhood of Bloomingdale, said he expected his patrons to stay put. “There are things that make people want to live here besides government,” he said, as diners commiserated at the bar over Mrs. Clinton’s loss. “People are living here as opposed to working here. ” Mr. Trump must now populate the federal government with new appointees, but some members of his inner circle are already entrenched in Washington. Stephen K. Bannon, whom Mr. Trump named chief strategist and senior counsel on Sunday, lives, works and entertains out of a townhouse near the Supreme Court. David Bossie, another key aide to Mr. Trump, runs Citizens United, a conservative advocacy group, out of a Capitol Hill townhouse. And there will be newcomers like Richard B. Spencer, who took a break from reveling with other ecstatic supporters in the lobby bar of the Trump International Hotel on election night to declare the party over for the Washington establishment. “We are winners and we have displaced them,” said Mr. Spencer, a leader of the “ ” movement who champions white identity politics and is currently looking for Beltway headquarters for his movement. He added, “We want to become the new establishment. ”

Fed Holds Interest Rates Steady and Plans Slower Increases - The New York Times

Binyamin Appelbaum

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve is struggling to adapt to an economy that refuses to boom. The Fed said on Wednesday, after a meeting of its committee, that it would not raise its benchmark interest rate, and that future increases were most likely to unfold at a slower pace. The period since the end of the Great Recession has become one of the longest economic expansions in American history and, at the same time, one of the most disappointing. The Fed, in a statement announcing its decision, noted what had become a typical mix of good news and bad. Economic output has increased while job growth has slowed, the Fed said. Consumers are spending more while companies are making fewer investments. Exports are rebounding, but Britain’s June 23 referendum on whether to leave the European Union could set off another round of disruptions. “Recent economic indicators have been mixed, suggesting that our cautious approach to adjusting monetary policy remains appropriate,” the Fed chairwoman, Janet L. Yellen, told a news conference. The decision to wait was unanimous. Even Esther L. George, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, who voted to raise rates at the Fed’s last few meetings, agreed this time that the moment was not ripe. “The labor market appears to have slowed down, and we need to assure ourselves that the underlying momentum in the economy has not diminished,” Ms. Yellen said. Investors already are heavily discounting the chances of a rate increase at the Fed’s next meeting in July, or at the following meeting in September. Those chances, derived from asset prices, stood at 12 percent and 28 percent respectively on Wednesday, according to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. In this environment of tepid growth and weak inflation, Fed officials once again dialed back their expectations for future rate increases. The Fed in December had predicted four rate increases this year. On Wednesday, the Fed released new projections showing that 15 of its 17 policy makers now expected no more than two increases this year, and six of those officials predicted just one. Even more striking, the median prediction of Fed officials was that the central bank’s benchmark rate would rise to just 2. 4 percent by the end of 2018, down from the March median of 3 percent. That suggests officials increasingly regard mediocre global economic growth as an enduring malaise. The Fed also appears increasingly open to the view that a shift in basic economic dynamics, driven by factors like lower productivity growth and an aging population, is holding down interest rates. That means low rates are less stimulative than they would have been in earlier eras. “It means that long rates can remain low without causing the economy to overheat, and therefore the urgency of tightening is very substantially diminished,” said Andrew Levin, a Dartmouth College economist. Markets are even more pessimistic than the Fed. The yield on the benchmark Treasury fell to 1. 574 percent, the lowest level since 2012. That is part of a broader decline in global rates that, in recent days, also has sent the yield on German debt below zero for the first time. Equity markets, which in recent years have often celebrated when central banks hold down rates, also declined modestly on Wednesday. The Standard Poor’s index fell 0. 18 percent to close at 2, 071. 50. Fed officials increasingly think the economy has exited its postcrisis period, according to economic projections the central bank published on Wednesday. The recovery, in other words, may not be complete, but it is over. Most officials predicted stable growth around 2 percent over the next few years, and they foresaw little if any additional decline in the unemployment rate, which fell to 4. 7 percent in May, the lowest level unemployment had reached since 2007, before the recession. But economic growth has disappointed expectations, and the Fed’s benchmark rate remains in a range between 0. 25 and 0. 5 percent after a single rate increase last December. As recently as late May, Ms. Yellen predicted the Fed would raise rates in “the coming months. ” On Wednesday, she downgraded a summer move to “not impossible. ” Jon Faust, an economist at Johns Hopkins University and a former adviser to Ms. Yellen, said the Fed was standing still because the basic economic situation had been remarkably stable. For the last several years, the labor market has gradually improved while inflation has been sluggish. “I suspect that the core policy developments have never been so static for so long,” Mr. Faust wrote. Under those circumstances it makes perfect sense for the Fed to watch and wait. Consumer spending has driven domestic economic growth, and Ms. Yellen said she expected the trend to continue on the back of job growth and rising wages. But Fed officials were surprised by the slow pace of job growth in May, when the economy was estimated to have added just 38, 000 jobs. And a Fed index that summarizes labor market conditions has fallen to the lowest level in seven years. Officials also have expressed increased concern about inflation expectations, which play a significant role in determining future inflation. (Workers, for example, may seek larger raises if they expect prices to rise more quickly.) The University of Michigan’s consumer survey reported last week that consumers expected 2. 3 percent annual inflation in five years, the lowest level in the survey’s history. Ms. Yellen emphasized again on Wednesday that Fed officials also saw significant risks in moving too quickly. Because interest rates already are low, the Fed has little room to ease conditions if growth falters. Officials say it will be easier to respond to faster inflation than to an economic downturn. Some economists see evidence that the Fed itself is playing a role in the slowdown. The Fed raised rates in December for the first time since the financial crisis, and officials have made clear that they would like to keep raising rates. Moreover, the decline in the Fed’s projection of interest rates suggests that the Fed may have underestimated the impact of its actions in December. But Ms. Yellen said on Wednesday that the Fed’s move in December amounted to a small adjustment in rates, and that she did not agree with critics that it had an outsize impact. “I really don’t think that a single rate increase in December has had much significance for the outlook,” she said.

The Battle at UNESCO

Ari Lieberman

The Muslim Bloc may have won the battle, but did Israel win the war? October 28, 2016 Ari Lieberman By now it should be clear to all but the blindest (or rabidly disingenuous) that the United Nations is an organization that has been co-opted by the nefarious interests of Muslim nations and their despotic third world allies. It is an organization rife with prejudice and hypocrisy. An organization that can undeniably and without equivocation be described as today's greatest purveyor of Judeophobia, historical revisionism and conspiracy theories. This fact is best illustrated by three resolutions passed this year by United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) that deny the indisputable Jewish nexus to the holy city. On April 12, the 58-member body voted in favor of an asinine and wholly one-sided resolution that referred to Jewish holy sites in Jerusalem exclusively by their Muslim names and designated the Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest site, as a “Muslim holy site of worship.” To add insult to injury, the resolution also adopted wild conspiracy theories including a claim that Israel was “planting Jewish fake graves in other spaces of the Muslim cemeteries.” Unsurprisingly, the resolution, which was submitted by seven Muslim nations, passed by a wide margin with 33 votes in favor, six against and 17 abstentions. Two nations were absent for the vote. France, Sweden, Slovenia and Spain shamefully supported the vile resolution. That the resolution would pass was never in doubt given the large number of Muslim and despotic third world nations that constitute the makeup of UNESCO but it was hoped that the resolution would fail to garner European support and Israel could thus claim a moral victory. France with its collaborationist past and proclivity to kowtow to the world’s despots did not disappoint and predictably voted with the rabble. But following the vote, a crack appeared in the façade of anti-Israel invective so prevalent at the U.N. It appeared that France was having a case of buyer’s remorse. In an address to the French parliament, Prime Minister Manuel Valls termed the resolution “clumsy” and “unfortunate.” He then added in rather sharp and pointed terms that “France will never deny the Jewish presence and Jewish history in Jerusalem. It would make no sense; it is absurd to deny this history.” France is one of Europe’s strongest advocates for the Palestinians. The Palestinian Authority and their Muslim allies at UNESCO should have understood from Valls’ statement that future resolutions with similar toxic content would no longer enjoy automatic European support. Instead of declaring victory and moving on, they pressed their luck by introducing another vile resolution in October. The October 13 resolution , sponsored by the usual suspects contained nearly identical language as the April resolution. It condemned Israel for various contrived transgressions and again severed the Jewish (and Christian) nexus to the city. This time however, the Muslim bloc was in for a rude awakening. While the resolution passed, the Muslim bloc was unable to garner a majority in the 58-member body. Of the 24 nations that voted in favor of the resolution (Mexico later withdrew support lowering the final tally to 23), 14 were composed of states with Muslim majorities while a fifteenth, Nigeria, is 50 percent Muslim, making passage of the resolution a forgone conclusion. What was notable was the fact that this time around, the resolution failed to garner a single western European concurrence. Other developing nations, like India, which had hitherto supported Arab-sponsored drafts also abstained. Israel’s behind-the-scenes political offensive aimed at exposing the lunacy of the Muslim initiative was paying dividends. Following the resolution’s passage, the Palestinians and their Muslim allies suffered additional political reversals. Mexico , asked for a revote because it wished to withdraw support for the motion. Mexico's Secretariat of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that his government’s changed position “reiterates the recognition that the Government of Mexico gives the undeniable link of the Jewish people to the cultural heritage of East Jerusalem.” Brazil soon followed suit echoing Mexico’s position. In a statement, the Brazilian government noted that it would no longer support such one-sided resolutions. Italy, which had abstained, went one step further and announced that it would actively oppose such resolutions in the future. Prime Minister Matteo Renzi told an Italian radio station that these resolutions were “incomprehensible, unacceptable and wrong.” He added that “to say that the Jews have no links to Jerusalem is like saying the sun creates darkness.” Even UNESCO’s director-general, Irina Bokova voiced disapproval by stating that “the heritage of Jerusalem is indivisible, and each of its communities has a right to the explicit recognition of their history and relationship with the city.” She later received death threats for voicing objection to the motion. On Wednesday, the Palestinian Authority and Jordan introduced a third draft resolution to UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee seeking to generate further political terrorism. The proposed resolution once again attempted to sever the Jewish nexus to the city and its holy sites. The 21-member WHC body was expected to pass the resolution by consensus but in a surprise move, Croatia and Tanzania asked for a secret ballot which infuriated the Muslim bloc. Instead of the motion passing by consensus, the vote was 10 in favor, two opposed, eight abstentions and one nation absent. The two nations opposing were Tanzania and the Philippines. Of the 10 ayes, seven were Muslim. It was a pyrrhic victory at best. Given the large number of Muslim countries represented at the U.N. and the hostility that most of these nations harbor against Israel, it is a virtual certainty that toxic resolutions of this nature will continue to be sponsored and passed. But as evidenced by recent Arab political reversals, gone are the days that the Palestinians can rely on automatic European and non-aligned support. Israel has been effectively reaching out to the so-called non-aligned nations and it is having a significant positive impact. Part of the Israeli success lies in the fact that the Jewish state has much to offer these nations in the fields of water technology, agriculture, energy, counter-terrorism, cyber warfare and arms. This outreach has translated to political dividends at the U.N. Nevertheless, the UNESCO resolutions serve to highlight the noxious nature and malevolence of many U.N. member states. It also underscores the need for the United States to maintain its commitment and assurance to Israel that it will never allow the U.N. to impose terms and dictates on Israel. There have been rumors circulating that Barack Obama in his twilight months would seek to impose a deleterious settlement on Israel utilizing the UN Security Council. The White House has remained uncharacteristically mute on the subject raising fears that there may be some merit to the speculation. The administration’s objective would be accomplished by actively supporting a proposed anti-Israel resolution, likely introduced by France, or by choosing to abstain rather than exercising a veto. In addition to betraying long-standing commitments to Israel and running counter to strong bipartisan opposition, the notion that the United States would throw Israel under the bus and allow those who engage in despotism and blatant anti-Semitism to have a say on Israel’s fate, is beyond asinine. Hopefully, the outrageous conduct exhibited at UNESCO steers the administration in the right direction.

The Latest Test for the White House? Pulling Off Its Easter Egg Roll - The New York Times

Julie Hirschfeld Davis

WASHINGTON — President Trump received an urgent warning in February, informing him of a crucial date he was about to miss. “FYI manufacturing deadlines for the Easter eggs are near,” said a Twitter post directed at Mr. Trump the first lady, Melania Trump and the president’s daughter Ivanka Trump. “Please reach out!” The message came from Wells Wood Turning Finishing, the company that supplies commemorative wooden eggs for the annual White House Easter Egg Roll, the celebration that has drawn 35, 000 people to the South Lawn in recent years. The staff of the company, based in Buckfield, Me. wondered whether the Trumps planned to continue distributing the wooden eggs as party favors, or whether they were even going to have a White House Easter Egg Roll at all. By early March, the White House announced that the roll was on — Monday, to be exact — and soon followed up with a rush order for the wooden eggs. By that time, the ovoid uncertainty had raised a question perhaps not as consequential as investigations into Russian interference in the presidential election, a legally dubious travel ban and a collapsed health care bill, but no less a window into the inner workings of the Trump administration: Could this White House, plagued by slow hiring and lacking an first lady, manage to pull off the largest, most elaborate and most heavily scrutinized public event of the year? “It’s the single most event that takes place at the White House each year, and the White House and the first lady are judged on how well they put it on,” said Melinda Bates, who organized eight years of Easter Egg Rolls as director of the White House Visitors Office under President Bill Clinton. “I’m really concerned for the Trump people, because they have failed to fill some really vital posts, and this thing is all hands on deck. ” White House party catastrophes have been the stuff of presidential nightmares in the past. During his first year in office, President Barack Obama drew harsh criticism for lax security procedures after a pair of aspiring celebrities successfully crashed a state dinner honoring the prime minister of India, with one of them managing to buttonhole Mr. Obama for a handshake. The late start in planning by the Trump White House points to a smaller and less ambitious Egg Roll than in previous years. There may be half as many guests, a fraction of the number of volunteers to manage the invasion of the South Lawn, and military bands in place of entertainers like Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Idina Menzel and Silentó who have performed for Egg Rolls past. White House officials did not respond to several weeks’ worth of inquiries about the Easter Egg Roll, typically a heavily and enthusiastically promoted affair, and declined to provide basic information such as how many people are expected to attend. It is unclear, for instance, whether Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, will reprise his appearance in a bunny suit for the event, as he did a decade ago when George W. Bush was president and Mr. Spicer was an aide in the Office of the United States Trade Representative. Stephanie Grisham, who started as Mrs. Trump’s communications director on Monday, had previously denied that the event was being scaled back from past years. But she acknowledged on Tuesday that attendance this year would be “a bit less,” based on feedback from former officials who had said “the event had become so large that many children were not able to enjoy the planned activities. ” “Our team has been working very hard to make this year’s event a success,” Ms. Grisham said. “I am confident that the success of this year’s Easter Egg Roll will speak for itself. ” The evidence points to a quickly affair that people close to the planning said would probably draw about 20, 000 people — substantially smaller than last year’s Easter Egg Roll, which drew 37, 000. It will be staffed by 500 volunteers, Ms. Grisham said, half the usual. Ms. Grisham said she did not have “firm numbers” on the overall number of attendees, and those who provided estimates did so on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to describe the plans for the Easter Egg Roll, which are still evolving just a week before the event. The White House has ordered 40, 000 of the commemorative eggs — about half of the roughly 85, 000 ordered in 2016 — with 18, 000 to be given away at the Easter Egg Roll and another 22, 000 available for sale, according to Lara Kline, the vice president for marketing and communications at the White House Historical Association, the official retailer. The relatively small number, Ms. Kline said, “is due to the limited manufacturing window for this year’s Easter Egg Roll. ” The employees at Wells Wood Turning were not alone in wondering whether the White House would ever get in touch. public schools that normally receive blocks of tickets for as many as 4, 000 children have yet to hear from the White House, according to representatives for school systems in the District of Columbia Arlington, Va. and Alexandria, Va. Several groups representing military families, who have accounted for as many as 3, 000 guests in recent years, also said they had yet to be contacted. “I’ve had quite a few families from across the country reach out and say: ‘Hey, are we getting tickets? Our family wants to drive in for the event,’” said Ashley the president of the American Military Partner Association, which represents the families of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender service members and has received tickets for five to 10 of them for each of the last several years. “Unfortunately, the Trump administration has not reached out about it. ” But Ms. Grisham said on Tuesday that tickets had been set aside for schools, children’s hospitals and military families. She could not say how many. Even Curious George and Elmo did not know for sure that the Easter Egg Roll was happening until late last month, when the White House first contacted PBS Kids to ask if it could provide costumed characters. “We just got word about this year’s Egg Roll and are working on planning,” Jennifer Rankin Byrne, the senior director of media relations for PBS, said on March 20. The Easter Egg Roll has been crowded in past years with cast members from “Sesame Street,” but this year, there will be a lone emissary. “PBS asked us to participate with them, and we agreed to provide a ‘Sesame Street’ character,” said Elizabeth Weinreb Fishman, the vice president for strategic communications for Sesame Workshop. She declined to say which character would attend, referring questions to the White House. Members of Congress have not received word from the White House about whether they will get tickets to distribute to their constituents. One aide to a Republican lawmaker said White House officials “seem to be a bit behind schedule. ” Nor have the organizers of the Yoga Garden featured on the South Lawn during Easter Egg Rolls been asked to share their asanas. “No one has reached out to me about the 2017 event,” said Leah Cullis, the yogi who coordinated the Yoga Garden for all eight of the Obamas’ Easter Egg Rolls. Mrs. Trump, who lives in New York and has had a limited presence in Washington since her husband was sworn in, has been slow to hire a staff for the East Wing, which typically takes the lead on the Easter Egg Roll. She named a chief of staff and social secretary in early February but has yet to announce a director for the Visitors Office, normally the crucial player in the daunting execution of the event. “You don’t understand what a beast this thing is to plan until you go and plan your first one,” said Ellie Schafer, who organized Easter Egg Rolls for the Obamas as the director of the White House Visitors Office from 2009 to 2016. “Every administration tries to put its own stamp on it, but the stakes are high because it’s such a Washington tradition, and people just love it and have very strong feelings about it. ” Ms. Bates, whose memoir “White House Story” documents the challenges of planning Easter Egg Rolls, said the event was a window — up to a point — into the competence of an administration. “If you can pull off an Easter Egg Roll,” she said, “you can do anything. ”

Burlesque Dancer Fired, Investigated by Secret Service for Trump Assassination Tweet - Breitbart

Katherine Rodriguez

The Secret Service is investigating a burlesque dancer from Kentucky after she posted a Tweet that said she hoped someone would be “kind enough” to assassinate President Donald Trump. [“If someone was cruel enough to assassinate MLK, maybe someone will be kind enough to assassinate Trump,” Heather Lowrey, 26, of Louisville wrote on Twitter. The Secret Service confirmed it interviewed Lowrey and is still investigating the incident, the New York Daily News reported. Lowrey posted the Tweet Jan. 17, three days before Trump’s inauguration. The Tweet disappeared not long after it was posted, along with all her social media accounts. The bio on her profile said she was a “a Louisville Vixen and aspiring WWE diva” before the account was taken down, the Daily News reported. No charges have been announced against her yet, but her former employers have already issued statements denouncing the Tweet and have severed ties with her, WAVE reported. Va Va Vixens, a burlesque group in Louisville, let Lowrey go as soon as they found out about the incident, citing a “zero tolerance policy” for her behavior. “We do not condone hate by any party and will not partake in it. We in no way support negative behavior or malicious intent from anyone,” the group said. American Income Life, Travis Moody Office, also severed ties with Lowrey and issued a statement on the company’s Facebook page saying, “Heather Lowrey is no longer contracted with the Travis Moody Agency. ” “The Travis Moody Agency, its agents and its staff do not share the same views, nor opinions as Heather Lowrey. We have a zero tolerance policy and would never condone this behavior,” the company said. She is the only person to face a federal investigation for posting about the assassination of President Trump. The Secret Service is also reportedly looking into Madonna’s comments at the Women’s March on Washington Saturday after the singer said she had thought of “blowing up the White House. ”

What the Clintons Did to Haiti

Nathan J. Robinson

Tweet Widget by Nathan J. Robinson Bill and Hillary Clinton’s role in the “remaking” of Haiti after a devastating earthquake and foreign occupation is “indefensible,” according to the author’s article, “Superpredator: Bill Clinton’s Use and Abuse of Black America,” from which this piece is excerpted. “Many Clinton projects “have primarily benefited wealthy foreigners and the island’s ruling elite.” Other projects simply fizzled. “The money donated and invested was extraordinary, but nobody seems to know where it has gone.” What the Clintons Did to Haiti by Nathan J. Robinson This article previously appeared in Global Research and Current Affairs . “She intended to ‘make Haiti the proving ground for her vision of American power.’” Bill and Hillary Clinton had long shared a personal interest in Haiti, dating back to the time of their honeymoon, part of which was spent in Port-au-Prince. In his autobiography, Bill says that his understanding of God and human nature were profoundly transformed when they witnessed a voodoo ceremony in which a woman bit the head off a live chicken. Hillary Clinton says the two of them “fell in love” with Haiti and they had developed a “deep connection” to the country. So when Hillary Clinton became Secretary of State in 2009, she consciously made the redevelopment of Haiti one of her top priorities. The country, she announced, would be a laboratory where the United States could “road-test new approaches to development,” taking advantage of what she termed “the power of proximity.” She intended to “make Haiti the proving ground for her vision of American power.” Hillary Clinton selected her own chief of staff, Cheryl Mills, to run the Haiti project. Mills would be joined by Bill Clinton, who had been deputized by the U.N. as a “special envoy” to Haiti. Bill’s role was not well-defined, and Haitians were curious about what was in store. Mills wrote in an email to Hillary Clinton that Haitians saw Bill’s appointment as “a step toward putting Haiti in a protectorate or trusteeship status.” Soon, “joking that he must be coming back to lead a new colonial regime,” the Haitian media “ dubbed him Le Gouverneur.” The project was heavily focused on increasing Haiti’s appeal to foreign corporations. As Politico reported , Clinton’s experiment “had business at its center: Aid would be replaced by investment, the growth of which would in turn benefit the United States.” “Clinton announced that Haiti would be a laboratory where the United States could road-test new approaches to development, taking advantage of ‘the power of proximity.’” One of the first acts in the new “business-centered” Haiti policy involved suppressing Haiti’s minimum wage. A 2009 Haitian law raised the minimum wage to 61 cents an hour, from 24 cents an hour previously. Haitian garment manufacturers, including contractors for Hanes and Levi Strauss, were furious, insisting that they were only willing to agree to a seven-cent increase. The manufacturers approached the U.S. State Department, who brought intense pressure to bear against Haitian President René Préval, working to “aggressively block” the 37-cent increase. The U.S. Deputy Mission Chief said a minimum-wage increase “did not take economic reality into account” and simply “appealed to the unemployed and underpaid masses.” But as Ryan Chittum of the Columbia Journalism Review explained , the proposed wage increase would have been only the most trivial additional expense for the American garment manufacturers: “As of last year Hanes had 3,200 Haitians making t-shirts for it. Paying each of them two bucks a day more would cost it about $1.6 million a year. Hanesbrands Incorporated made $211 million on $4.3 billion in sales last year, and presumably it would pass on at least some of its higher labor costs to consumers. Or better yet, Hanesbrands CEO Richard Noll could forego some of his rich compensation package. He could pay for the raises for those 3,200 t-shirt makers with just one-sixth of the $10 million in salary and bonus he raked in last year.” “U.S. Deputy Mission Chief said a minimum-wage increase ‘did not take economic reality into account” and simply ‘appealed to the unemployed and underpaid masses.’” The truth of the “economic reality” was that the Haitian undergarment sector was hardly likely to become wildly less competitive as a result of the increase. The effort to suppress the minimum wage was not solely a Clinton project. It was also a “concerted effort on the part of Haitian elites, factory owners, free trade proponents, U.S. politicians, economists, and American companies.” But it was in keeping with the State Department’s priorities under Clinton, which prioritized creating a favorable business climate. It was that same familiar Clinton move “from aid to trade.” Bill Clinton’s program for Haitian development, designed by Oxford University economist Paul Collier, “ had garment exports at its center.” Collier wrote that because of “propitious” factors like “poverty and [a] relatively unregulated labor market, Haiti has labor costs that are fully competitive with China.” But the Clintons’ role in Haiti would soon expand even further. In 2010, the country was struck by the worst earthquake in its history. The disaster killed 160,000 people and displaced over 1.5 million more. (The consequences of the earthquake were exacerbated by the ruined state of the Haitian food economy, plus the concentration of unemployed Haitian farmers in Port-au-Prince.) Bill Clinton was soon put in charge of the U.S.-led recovery effort. He was appointed to head the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC), which would oversee a wide range of rebuilding projects. At President Obama’s request, Clinton and George W. Bush created the “Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund,” and began aggressively fundraising around the world to support Haiti in the earthquake’s aftermath. (With Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State overseeing the efforts of USAID, the Clintons’ importance to the recovery could not be overstated; Bill’s appointment meant that “at every stage of Haiti’s reconstruction—fundraising, oversight and allocation—a Clinton was now involved.” Despite appearances, the Clinton-Bush fund was not focused on providing traditional relief. As they wrote , “[w]hile other organizations in Haiti are using their resources to deliver immediate humanitarian aid, we are using our resources to focus on long-term development.” While the fund would advertise that “100% of donations go directly to relief efforts,” Clinton and Bush adopted an expansive definition of “relief” efforts, treating luring foreign investment and jobs as a crucial part of earthquake recovery. On their website, they spoke proudly of what the New York Daily News characterized as a program of “supporting longterm programs to develop Haiti’s business class.” “At every stage of Haiti’s reconstruction—fundraising, oversight and allocation—a Clinton was now involved.” The strategy was an odd one. Port-au-Prince had been reduced to ruin, and Haitians were crowded into filthy tent cities, where many were dying of a cholera outbreak (which had itself been caused by the negligence of the United Nations). Whatever value building new garment factories may have had as a longterm economic plan, Haitians were faced with somewhat more pressing concerns like the basic provision of shelter and medicine, as well as the clearing of the thousands of tons of rubble that filled their streets. The Clinton-led recovery was a disaster. A year after the earthquake, a stinging report from Oxfam singled out Clinton’s IHRC as creating a “quagmire of indecision and delay” that had made little progress toward successful earthquake recovery. Oxfam found that: “…less than half of the reconstruction aid promised by international donors has been disbursed. And while some of that money has been put toward temporary housing, almost none of the funds have been used for rubble removal.” Instead, the Clinton Foundation, IHRC, and State Department created what a Wall Street Journal writer called “a mishmash of low quality, poorly thought-out development experiments and half-finished projects.” Haitian IHRC members lamented that the commission had produced “a disparate bunch of approved projects. . . [that] do not address as a whole either the emergency situation or the recovery, let alone the development, of Haiti.” A 2013 investigation by the Government Accountability Office found that most money for the recovery was not being dispersed, and that the projects that were being worked on were plagued by delays and cost overruns. Many Clinton projects were extravagant public relations affairs that quickly fizzled. For example, The Washington Post reported that : “…[a] 2011 housing expo that cost more than $2 million, including $500,000 from the Clinton Foundation, was supposed to be a model for thousands of new units but instead has resulted in little more than a few dozen abandoned model homes occupied by squatters.” “ A stinging report from Oxfam singled out Clinton’s IHRC as creating a ‘quagmire of indecision and delay.’” Other Clinton ventures were seen as “disconnected from the realities of most people in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.” Politico reported that many Clinton projects “have primarily benefited wealthy foreigners and the island’s ruling elite, who needed little help to begin with.” For example, “the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund invested more than $2 million in the Royal Oasis Hotel, where a sleek suite with hardwood floors costs more than $200 a night and the shops sell $150 designer purses and $120 men’s dress shirts.” Predictably, the Royal Oasis didn’t do an especially roaring trade; The Washington Post reported that “[o]ne recent afternoon, the hotel appeared largely empty, and with tourism hardly booming five years after the quake, locals fear it may be failing.” In a country with a 30-cent minimum wage, investing recovery dollars in a luxury hotel was not just offensive, but economically daft. Sometimes the recovery projects were accused not only of being pointless, but of being downright harmful. For instance, Bill Clinton had proudly announced that the Clinton Foundation would be funding the “construction of emergency storm shelters in Léogâne.” But an investigation of the shelters that the Foundation had actually built found that they were “shoddy and dangerous” and full of toxic mold. The Nation discovered , among other things, that the temperature in the shelters reached over 100 degrees, causing children to experience headaches and eye irritations (which may have been compounded by the mold), and that the trailers showed high levels of carcinogenic formaldehyde, linked to asthma and other lung diseases. The Clinton Foundation had subcontracted the building of the shelters to Clayton Homes, a firm that had already been sued in the United States by the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) for “having provided formaldehyde-laced trailers to Hurricane Katrina victims.” (Clayton Homes was owned by Warren Buffett ’s Berkshire Hathaway, and Buffett had been a longstanding major donor to the Clinton Foundation.) The Nation ’s investigation reported on children whose classes were being held in Clinton Foundation trailers. Their semester had just been cut short, and the students sent home, because the temperature in the classrooms had grown unbearable. The misery of the students in the Clinton trailers was described: “Judith Seide, a student in Lubert’s sixth-grade class [explained that] she and her classmates regularly suffer from painful headaches in their new Clinton Foundation classroom. Every day, she said, her ‘head hurts and I feel it spinning and have to stop moving, otherwise I’d fall.’ Her vision goes dark, as is the case with her classmate Judel, who sometimes can’t open his eyes because, said Seide, ‘he’s allergic to the heat.’ Their teacher regularly relocates the class outside into the shade of the trailer because the swelter inside is insufferable. Sitting in the sixth-grade classroom, student Mondialie Cineas, who dreams of becoming a nurse, said that three times a week the teacher gives her and her classmates painkillers so that they can make it through the school day. ‘At noon, the class gets so hot, kids get headaches,’ the 12-year-old said, wiping beads of sweat from her brow. She is worried because ‘the kids feel sick, can’t work, can’t advance to succeed.’” “Three times a week the teacher gives her and her classmates painkillers so that they can make it through the school day.” The most notorious post-earthquake development project, however, was the Caracol industrial park . The park was pitched as a major job creator, part of the goal of helping Haiti “build back better” than it was before. The State Department touted the prospect of 100,000 new jobs for Haitians, with Hillary Clinton promising 65,000 jobs within five years. The industrial park followed the Clintons’ preexisting development model for Haiti: public/private partnerships with a heavy emphasis on the garment industry. Even though there were still hundreds of thousands of evacuees living in tents, the project was based on “the more expansive view that, in a desperately poor country where traditional foreign aid has chronically failed, fostering economic development is as important as replacing what fell down.” Much of the planning was focused on trying to lure a South Korean clothing manufacturer to set up shop there, by plying them with U.S. taxpayer funding. The Caracol project was “the centerpiece” of the U.S.’s recovery effort. A gala celebrating its opening featured the Clintons and Sean Penn, and it was treated as the emblem of the new, “better” Haiti, that would demonstrate the country’s commitment to being “open for business.” In order to build the park, hundreds of poor farmers were evicted from their land, so that millions of dollars could be spent transforming it. But the project was a terrible disappointment. After four years, it was only operating at 10% capacity , and the jobs had failed to materialize : Far from 100,000 jobs—or even the 60,000 promised within five years of the park’s opening— “Caracol currently employs just 5,479 people full time. That comes out to roughly $55,000 in investment per job created so far; or, to put it another way, about 30 times more per job than the average [Caracol] worker makes per year. The park, built on the site of a former U.S. Marine-run slave labor camp during the 1915-1934 U.S. occupation, has the best-paved roads and manicured sidewalks in the country, but most of the land remains vacant.” Most of the seized farmland went unused, then, and even for the remaining farmers, “ surges of wastewater have caused floods and spoiled crops.” Huge queues of unemployed Haitians stood daily in front of the factory, awaiting jobs that did not exist. The Washington Post described the scene: “Each morning, crowds line up outside the park’s big front gate, which is guarded by four men in crisp khaki uniforms carrying shotguns. They wait in a sliver of shade next to a cinder-block wall, many holding résumés in envelopes. Most said they have been coming every day for months, waiting for jobs that pay about $5 a day. From his envelope, Jean Mito Palvetus, 27, pulled out a diploma attesting that he had completed 200 hours of training with the U.S. Agency for International Development on an industrial sewing machine. ‘I have three kids and a wife, and I can’t support them,’ he said, sweating in the hot morning sun. ‘I have a diploma, but I still can’t get a job here. I still have nothing.’” “ The interests of the market, the interest of foreigners are prioritized over the majority of people who are impoverished in Haiti.” For some , the Caracol project perfectly symbolized the Clinton approach: big promises, an emphasis on sweatshops, incompetent management, and little concern for the actual impact on Haitians. “Caracol is a prime example of bad help,” as one Haiti scholar put it . “The interests of the market, the interest of foreigners are prioritized over the majority of people who are impoverished in Haiti.” But, failure as it may have been, the Caracol factory was among the more successful of the projects, insofar as it actually came into existence. A large amount of the money raised by Bill Clinton after the earthquake, and pledged by the U.S. under Hillary Clinton, simply disappeared without a trace, its whereabouts unknown. As Politico explained : “Even Bill’s U.N. Office of the Special Envoy couldn’t track where all of [it] went—and the truth is that still today no one really knows how much money was spent ‘rebuilding’ Haiti. Many initial pledges never materialized. A whopping $465 million of the relief money went through the Pentagon, which spent it on deployment of U.S. troops—20,000 at the high water mark, many of whom never set foot on Haitian soil. That money included fuel for ships and planes, helicopter repairs and inscrutables such as an $18,000 contract for a jungle gym… Huge contracts were doled out to the usual array of major contractors, including a $16.7 million logistics contract whose partners included Agility Public Warehousing KSC, a Kuwaiti firm that was supposed to have been blacklisted from doing business with Washington after a 2009 indictment alleging a conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government during the Iraq War.” The recovery under the Clintons became notorious for its mismanagement. Clinton staffers “ had no idea what Haiti was like and had no sensitivity to the Haitians.” They were reportedly rude and condescending toward Haitians, even refusing to admit Haitian government ministers to meetings about recovery plans. While the Clintons called in high-profile consulting firms like McKinsey to draw up plans, they had little interest in listening to Haitians themselves. The former Haitian prime minister spoke of a “weak” American staff who were “more interested in supporting Clinton than helping Haiti.” “A large amount of the money raised by Bill Clinton after the earthquake, and pledged by the U.S. under Hillary Clinton, simply disappeared without a trace, its whereabouts unknown.” One of those shocked by the failure of the recovery effort was Chelsea Clinton, who wrote a detailed email to her parents in which she said that while Haitians were trying to help themselves, every part of the international aid effort, both governmental and nongovernmental, was falling short. “The incompetence is mind numbing,” she wrote . Chelsea produced a detailed memorandum recommending drastic steps that needed to be taken in order to get the recovery on track. But the memo was kept within the Clinton family, released only later under a Freedom of Information Act disclosure of Hillary’s State Department correspondence. If it had come out at the time, as Haiti journalist Jonathan Katz writes , it “would have obliterated the public narrative of helpful outsiders saving grateful earthquake survivors that her mother’s State Department was working so hard to promote.” The Clintons’ Haiti recovery ended with a whimper. The Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund distributed the last of its funds in 2012 and disbanded, without any attempt at further fundraising. The IHRC “ quietly closed their doors” in October of 2011, even though little progress had been made. As the Boston Review ’s Jake Johnston explained , though hundreds of thousands remained displaced, the IHRC wiped its hands of the housing situation: “[L]ittle remained of the grand plans to build thousands of new homes. Instead, those left homeless would be given a small, one-time rental subsidy of about $500. These subsidies, funded by a number of different aid agencies, were meant to give private companies the incentive to invest in building houses. As efforts to rebuild whole neighborhoods faltered, the rental subsidies turned Haitians into consumers, and the housing problem was handed over to the private sector.” The Clintons themselves simply stopped speaking about Haiti. After the first two years, they were “nowhere to be seen” there, despite Hillary’s having promised that her commitment to Haiti would long outlast her tenure as Secretary of State. Haiti has been given little attention during Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, even though the Haiti project was ostensibly one of great pride for both Clintons. “One of those shocked by the failure of the recovery effort was Chelsea Clinton.” The widespread consensus among observers is that the Haiti recovery, which TIME called the U.S.’s “compassionate invasion,” was a catastrophically mismanaged disappointment. Jonathan Katz writes that “it’s hard to find anyone these days who looks back on the U.S.-led response to the January 12, 2010, Haiti earthquake as a success.” While plenty of money was channeled into the country, it largely went to what were “little more than small pilot projects—a new set of basketball hoops and a model elementary school here, a functioning factory there.” The end result has been that little has changed for Haiti. “Haitians find themselves in a social and economic situation that is worse than before the earthquake,” reports a Belgian photojournalist who has spent 10 years in Haiti: “Everyone says that they’re living in worse conditions than before… When you look at the history of humanitarian relief, there’s never been a situation when such a small country has been the target of such a massive influx of money and assistance in such a short span of time… On paper, with that much money in a territory the size of Haiti, we should have witnessed miracles; there should have been results.” “If anything, they appear worse off,” says Foreign Policy of Haiti’s farmers. “I really cannot understand how you could raise so much money, put a former U.S. president in charge, and get this outcome,” said one Haitian official. Indeed, the money donated and invested was extraordinary. But nobody seems to know where it has gone. Haitians direct much of the blame toward the Clintons. As a former Haitian government official who worked on the recovery said , “[t]here is a lot of resentment about Clinton here. People have not seen results. . .. They say that Clinton used Haiti.” Haitians “ increasingly complain that Clinton-backed projects have often helped the country’s elite and international business investors more than they have helped poor ‘Haitians.” There is a “suspicion that their motives are more to make a profit in Haiti than to help it.” And that while “striking a populist pose, in practice they were attracted to power in Haiti.” But perhaps we should be more forgiving of the Clintons’ conduct during the Haitian recovery. After all, instead of doing true harm, the Clintons simply failed to do much good. And perhaps it’s better to have a luxury hotel than not to have one, better to have a few jobs than none at all. Thanks to Bill Clinton, there’s a gleaming new industrial park, albeit one operating at a fraction of its capacity. Yet it’s a mistake to measure Clinton against what would have happened if the United States had done nothing at all for Haiti. The question is what would have happened if a capable, nonfamous administrator, rather than a globetrotting narcissist, had been placed in charge. Tens of millions of dollars were donated toward the Haiti recovery by people across the world; it was an incredible outpouring of generosity. The squandering of that money on half-baked development schemes (mainly led by cronies ), and the ignoring of Haitians’ own demands, mean that Clinton may have caused considerable harm through his failure. Plenty of people died in tent cities that would not have died if the world’s donations had been used effectively. “Defending the Clintons’ Haiti record is an impossible endeavor.” Democrats have bristled at recent attempts by Donald Trump to criticize Hillary Clinton over her record in Haiti. Jonathan Katz, whose in-depth reporting from Haiti was stingingly critical of the Clintons, has now changed his tune , insisting that we all bear the responsibility for the failed recovery effort. When Trump accused the Clintons of squandering millions building “a sweatshop” in Haiti in the form of the Caracol park, media fact-checkers quickly insisted he was spewing Pinocchios. The Washington Post said that while Clinton Foundation donors may have financially benefited from the factory-building project, they benefited “writ large” rather than “directly.” The Post cited the words of the factory’s spokesman as evidence that the factory was not a sweatshop, and pointed out that Caracol workers earned at least “minimum wage” (failing to mention that minimum wage in Haiti remains well under a dollar). PolitiFact also rated the sweatshop claim “mostly false,” even though Katz notes “long hours, tough conditions, and low pay” at the factory and PolitiFact acknowledges the “ongoing theft of legally-earned wages.” Defending the Clintons’ Haiti record is an impossible endeavor, one Democrats should probably not bother attempting. As the Center for Economic and Policy Research, which has studied the recovery, noted , when it comes to the Clinton-led recovery mission, “it’s hard to say it’s been anything other than a failure.” Haitians are not delusional in their resentment of the Clintons; they have good reason to feel as if they were used for publicity, and discarded by the Clintons when they became inconvenient. None of this means that one should vote for Donald Trump for president. His tears for Haiti are those of a highly opportunistic crocodile, and his interest in the country’s wellbeing began at the precise moment that it could be used a bludgeon with which to beat his political opponent. As we have previously noted in this publication , one does not need to be convinced that Hillary Clinton is an honorable person in order to be convinced that she is the preferable candidate. It is important, however, not to maintain any illusions, not to stifle or massage the truth in the service of short-term electoral concerns. It remains simultaneously true that a Clinton presidency is our present least-worst option and that what the Clintons did to Haiti was callous, selfish, and indefensible.

For Cuomo and Christie, Parallel Paths to the Top, and Trouble When They Got There - The New York Times

Vivian Yee

It might be hard to remember now, with one governor embroiled in a corruption scandal for the last three years and his counterpart across the Hudson River plunging headlong into another, but Chris Christie of New Jersey and Andrew M. Cuomo of New York were once lionized for relentlessly prosecuting bad behavior in government. The wars they waged against corrupt politicians, as the attorney general of New York (Mr. Cuomo) and the United States attorney for New Jersey (Mr. Christie) won them bipartisan kudos and, eventually, smooth ascents to their states’ highest offices. After the ethical morasses that swamped figures such as former Gov. Eliot Spitzer of New York and Alan Hevesi, the state’s former comptroller, and former Gov. James E. McGreevey of New Jersey in the 2000s, Mr. Cuomo and Mr. Christie — each a tough prosecutor with White House aspirations — looked more immaculate than ever. Those were the days. Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, spent Thursday reeling at the arrest of one of his closest friends, confidants and former aides, as well as the arrests of several other close advisers and donors. Prosecutors had accused them of involvement in a bribery scheme whose many grubby details included the fact that two of the governor’s former aides referred gleefully to corrupt payoffs as “ziti,” à la “The Sopranos,” and to one skittish ziti contributor as “fat boy. ” (As in: “Handle fat boy carefully. We don’t need an interruption in that Zitti delivery or else well really be up the creek. ”) Over in New Jersey, Mr. Christie, a Republican, is up a very unpleasant creek of his own. A former top aide and a former political ally are on trial over their roles in the 2013 scandal that elevated a traffic jam on access lanes leading to the George Washington Bridge into an immortal symbol of political payback. Having helped puncture Mr. Christie’s presidential hopes earlier this year, the episode later went on to help sink his bid to join the Donald J. Trump ticket. The trial, which began last Monday, has been no kinder to the governor: Prosecutors waited exactly zero days before asserting, during opening statements, that Mr. Christie knew three of his aides and allies were involved in the plot as it was unfolding. Neither governor is accused of breaking the law. But for two men who once prided themselves on managing administrations, claiming to have been blind to alleged acts of petty revenge and bribery at the highest levels of state government seems bad enough. As they campaigned for the governor’s office, each promised to cut through what they called partisan nonsense, bureaucratic inertia and dodgy dealing to get real results for residents in their states. Each had the trophy case to back it up. As state attorney general, Mr. Cuomo took aim at the other two statewide elected officials, both fellow Democrats: Mr. Spitzer, whose administration’s misuse of state troopers to target a political rival Mr. Cuomo helped uncover, and Mr. Hevesi, who went to prison after a Cuomo investigation found that he had accepted personal benefits in exchange for approving a state pension fund investment. In New Jersey, where Mr. Christie was appointed a United States attorney by President George W. Bush in 2002, the young prosecutor quickly dispelled questions about his readiness for the job by pursuing corruption charges against dozens of local officials and leading inquiries that implicated several more. They were sane. Smart. Clean. Capable. Determined. And smug. “I am putting each and every one of you on notice,” Mr. Christie said in a 2002 speech, taking aim at his home state’s notoriously debased political culture. “We are going to root this stuff out, and I expect all of you to help me. ” By 2009, as a virtual political neophyte and a Republican in a blue state, he had managed to defeat the Democratic incumbent, Gov. Jon S. Corzine. “Job 1 is going to be to clean up Albany and make the government work for the people,” Mr. Cuomo said in 2010, kicking off his campaign for governor on the steps of Manhattan’s Tweed Courthouse, New York’s monument to political corruption. (He also vowed to run the “most transparent” administration in state history.) But as the fallout from each scandal has made clear, the professionalism and integrity of their offices were compromised almost from the start by aides and advisers who seemed far more interested in their own endgames — whether political, financial or both — than in serving a state. In both cases, they were empowered by Mr. Christie and Mr. Cuomo themselves. Each man had cultivated a small group of trusted advisers who, driven by unshakable tribal loyalty and a hunger to see their bosses taste the White House one day, enforced the governor’s will, punished his enemies and rewarded his friends. For Mr. Christie, they included Bridget Anne Kelly and Bill Baroni, the two former officials currently on trial, and Bill Stepien, his former top lieutenant, an old friend and political operative who left ears ringing across New Jersey on the governor’s behalf. They met for strategy sessions around Mr. Christie’s kitchen table in Mendham and mingled at N. F. L. games. They worked together to single out local officials who supported the governor’s 2013 bid for perks and to mete out revenge to those who did not — including Mayor Mark Sokolich of Fort Lee, N. J. a Democrat who, having declined to endorse the governor, got a catastrophic traffic jam in return, prosecutors say. Their equivalents in Albany were a group of stalwarts who had marched at Mr. Cuomo’s side, in some cases as far back as the administration of Mr. Cuomo’s father, former Gov. Mario M. Cuomo, who became governor in 1983. The men, and they were all men, even had a “term of endearment” for one another, according to the federal criminal complaint released on Thursday: “Herb. ” (It remains unclear why.) Chief among them was Joseph Percoco, who had started working for the elder Mr. Cuomo when he was 19. So high was his place in the family firmament that during Mr. Cuomo’s eulogy for his father in January 2015, he called Mr. Percoco “my father’s third son, who I sometimes think he loved the most. ” It was Mr. Percoco who, everyone in New York’s political establishment understood, woke Mr. Cuomo up in the morning, dispensed threats for him during the day and put him to bed at night. It was also Mr. Percoco, working with another “Herb” and former Cuomo aide, Todd R. Howe, who shook down a developer and an energy company for at least $315, 000 in bribes in exchange for putting his considerable power at their service, prosecutors say. There was the legal opinion that Mr. Percoco got reversed. The energy policy decisions, made by state experts, that he overrode. The $5, 700 raise, the criminal complaint says, that he berated staff at the governor’s office into approving for the son of an executive who had paid him off. And there was the fact, apparent from the complaint, that no one in state government questioned his authority to do so. These days, there is no avoiding the central question: How could the governors not have known? Mr. Christie has said that while he took ultimate responsibility for the lane closings, it was impossible for him to keep tabs on 65, 000 state employees. He was “disturbed,” he said, by Mr. Stepien’s behavior, while Ms. Kelly was “stupid” and “a liar. ” Mr. Cuomo, too, has been moved to muse on personal betrayal. “The central plank of my administration has always been about public integrity and zero tolerance for any waste, fraud or abuse. If anything, I hold a friend to a higher standard,” he said in Buffalo on Friday. “It’s the first time since we lost my father that I didn’t miss him being here yesterday, because it would’ve broken his heart. ”

The Top 10 Places In The World You're NOT Allowed To Visit

Dikran Arakelian (noreply@blogger.com)

Think the world is your oyster? Think again! From top secret HQ's to secretive underground train networks – we run through the Top 10 places you won't be entering anytime soon for love nor money. 10. Bohemian Grove Like something out of a cult thriller film, Bohemian Grove is a 2,700 acre rural location somewhere in Monte Rio, California. The land is owned by private San-Fran based arts club known – surprisingly – as the Bohemian Club. Every summer, the club host a two-week, three weekend camp in the woods for the most powerful men in the world. It all looks a bit weird. 9. Vatican Secret Archive This isn't just any old library, this is a Vatican library! Only a sacred few have access to the vaults – but feat not, if you need to read one of the books (which by the way are owned by the Pope) you can receive the manuscript via email – how very modern! 8. Lascaux Caves – France Found in South West France, Lascaux is complex of caves that are world-renowned for its Palaeolithic cave paintings that are estimated to be over 17,500 years old. Although these caves were once open to the public, they have since been closed to preserve the original artwork. 7. Pine Gap – Australia Known as Australia's equivalent of Area 51. Located in central Australia, and run the by the government and the CIA, it's the only place in the land down under designated as a no fly zone and is used as a monitoring station. What they're monitoring, we don't know. But according to recent news, Pine Gap operate a number of drone strike programmes. 6. Moscow Metro-2 Metro-2 is a secret underground tube system which runs parallel with the public metro system in Moscow. The system was built during the reign of Stalin and was code-named, D-6 by the Russian intelligence organisation – the KGB. When quizzed on this secret underground system, the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) would not confirm or deny its existence. It's rumoured that the underground system dwarfs the public Metro with 4 lines that run between 50-200m deep allowing the Kremlin to connect directly with FSB HQ, the government airport and an underground town at Ramenki. 5. Room 39 North Korea Based in North Korea, Room 39, also known as Bureau 39 is a secretive organisation thats sole purpose is to find ways to obtain foreign currency for Kim Jong-un. Established in 1970, the organisation has been described as the kingpin of North Korea's so-called, ‘court economy’. Although very little has been published on Room 39, it's believed that the organisation has over 20 bank accounts in Switzerland and China and are used solely for the purpose of money laundering and other illegal transactions. It has also been reported that the organisation is involved in drug smuggling and illicit weapon sales. What is known, is that the secretive group have over 130 trading companies under its jurisdiction which are controlled by Kim Jong-un. If you ever fancy popping over to North Korean and attempting to enter the organisations HQ, you need to head towards the Workers Party building in Pyongyang. 4. Mezghorye, Russia This place has been reported as Russia's secret nuclear missile site. There are two battalions permanently stationed here to ward off visitors. The base contains automatic ballistic missiles which can be remotely activated in the event of a nuclear strike which is detected by seismic, light and pressure sensors. 3. Disney Club 33 Exclusive Club Located at Disneyland, Florida, this fairly unobtrusive looking front door is actually the entrance to a highly exclusive members only club. How do I get in? I hear you cry. Well firstly, you need to locate it. Without giving too much away, head to New Orleans Square and look for the Blue Bayou. Getting in won't be as easy – the club is not open to the public. However, members, which include Presidents of the United States, business leaders and actors – can bring friends and associates along, so you better start networking! 2. Area 51 Probably the worst kept secret, Area 51 is the alias for a military base that is located in Nevada – around 80 miles north-west of downtown Las Vegas. In the centre of the base is a large military airfield. According to insiders, the base's main purpose is research and development of experimental aircrafts and weaponry. What's bizarre is that the U.S Government doesn't acknowledge it's existence – adding fuel to conspiracy theories that the base is used for analysis of UFO's and aliens or is that what they want you to think? 1. Google Data Center Home of big brother. this is as heavily guarded as Area 51, Google's first data center is a high security location with trillions of records of OUR DATA. Related:

New Study Links Fluoride Consumption To Hypothyroidism, Weight Gain, And Worse

Whitney Webb

Fluoridation of public water supplies as well as the abundance of fluoride in food and dental products have become more controversial in recent years as more and more people realize that the...

James Mattis Is a Secretary of Offense

David Swanson

Lt. Gen. James Mattis, the commander of U.S. Marine Corps Forces Central Command, speaks to the Marines of the maintenance section from Marine All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 121 on the Al Asad flightline, May 6, 2007 (US Department of Defense)

A Black Church Was Just Burned And Spray-Painted “Vote Trump”

Colin Taylor

Comments Tensions are mounting as the most viciously divisive election in our nation’s history draws closer, and it is truly bringing out the worst in the American people. An African-American church in Mississippi, the Hopewell M.B. Church in Greeneville , has been set ablaze, causing heavy damage to the building – and in case there was any mystery as to who was responsible, “VOTE TRUMP” was spray-painted on the side. For all their talk about “religious freedom,” conservative Trump fans sure does have a fondness for attacking religious institutions. Mosques have been torched around the country in response to terrorist attacks , collectively punishing members of an entire religion for crimes committed by mentally disturbed individuals. Black churches have also been torched throughout the South as white supremacists and neo-Nazis come out of the wood-work, emboldened by Trump’s racial dogwhistles and ethno-nationalist rabble-rousing. The worst of these targeted attacks came last summer when a white supremacist walked into the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C, and murdered nine peaceful worshippers. This is the second act of domestic terrorism committed in the United States today, coming just hours before a white man murdered two police officers in Iowa, and as Trump continues to rile up his base and perpetuate the delusions of a conspiracy against him, it’s not likely to be the last.

Sears Agrees to Sell Craftsman to Stanley Black &amp Decker to Raise Cash - The New York Times

Michael J. de la Merced

The question from the analyst on Thursday was delicate enough. In agreeing to buy the Craftsman tool brand from Sears Holdings, how would Stanley Black Decker protect itself from legal issues that could arise at the seller down the line? But the response from Stanley Black Decker’s chief executive, James M. Loree, acknowledged a concern that many on the conference call were likely to have harbored: that Sears could be forced to file for bankruptcy protection someday. “We expect to get this approved before there is any indication whatsoever that there would be any restructuring of that nature from Sears,” Mr. Loree said, adding that he believed such a move was not imminent. The sale of Craftsman, valued at more than $775 million, was meant to prevent that day of reckoning by raising cash for Sears. For Sears, selling one of its classic brands — one it created nearly a century ago — is the latest move to bolster its balance sheet during a prolonged sales slump. Edward S. Lampert, the chairman and chief executive of Sears, has struggled for years to find ways to help the company, as much through esoteric financial maneuvers as through operational fixes. These have been tough times for retailers. Macy’s and Kohl’s said this week that their holiday sales were weaker than expected. Macy’s also announced plans to cut more than 10, 000 jobs and close 100 stores. Sears also suffered during the season, with sales at its Sears and Kmart units down at least 12 percent. Sears has been in trouble far longer. Under Mr. Lampert, who is also a hedge fund manager, Sears has consistently lagged behind its peers, as analysts said, pointing to underinvestment in stores and slumping sales. Last September, analysts at Moody’s estimated that the company’s negative cash flow for its 2016 fiscal year would be $1. 5 billion. As of Oct. 29, Sears had $258 million in cash and equivalents on hand, compared with $3. 1 billion in debt, the company said. Its market value Thursday morning, by comparison, was $1. 2 billion, even with a jump in its stock price after the Craftsman news. Sears shares surged as much as 8 percent on Thursday, before ending up 0. 3 percent on a day when some retail stocks tumbled. Sears has long been dogged by predictions that it would eventually be forced into bankruptcy. But on Thursday, the company listed its latest initiatives for shoring up its cash position, including closing 150 more stores and raising up to $1 billion through a $500 million loan backed by its real estate and a previously announced loan from Mr. Lampert’s hedge fund. “We are taking strong, decisive actions today to stabilize the company and improve our financial flexibility in what remains a challenging retail environment,” Mr. Lampert, the company’s biggest shareholder, said in a statement. Stanley Black Decker will be able to sell Craftsman tools in even more outlets. Today, only 10 percent of the product lineup is sold outside Sears stores. “Craftsman is a legendary American brand,” Mr. Loree said in a statement. “This agreement represents a significant opportunity to grow the market. ” Reaching the deal took months, as Mr. Loree acknowledged on the analyst call. Last spring, Sears announced that it had hired the banks Citigroup and LionTree as advisers to explore the sale of some of its brands, including Craftsman, DieHard and Kenmore, to raise money. Stanley Black Decker was one of several dozens of companies approached during the summer about bidding on the tool business. But after the company and its bankers at Deutsche Bank spent time devising a potential takeover bid, Stanley Black Decker turned its eyes toward buying Newell Brands’ tool business, a deal announced in October. By late fall, however, Sears returned to ask if Stanley Black Decker would reconsider a bid for Craftsman. Under the deal, Stanley Black Decker will pay $525 million when the transaction closes, which is expected to occur by and an additional $250 million at the end of the third year after closing. Sears will also collect a percentage of new Craftsman sales for 15 years after the deal closes. The transaction is now valued at $900 million. “We literally spent months putting this transaction together and to cover each other’s needs and manage the risk profile for both parties,” Mr. Loree told analysts.

Takata Chief Executive to Resign as Financial Pressure Mounts - The New York Times

Jonathan Soble

TOKYO — The chief executive of Takata said on Tuesday that he would step down, as the embattled car parts supplier looks to attract financial support to deal with the fallout from the largest automotive safety recall in history. The decision by the chief executive, Shigehisa Takada, reflects the financial pressure on Takata, which lost nearly $130 million last year. The company is in danger of buckling under the cost of the recall without a lifeline. His departure is the inevitable price of a cash infusion from new investors, who would most likely want a clean management slate. And any financial rescue would most likely mean shrinking the influence of the Takada family, which founded company in the 1930s and remains the largest shareholder. The resignation of Mr. Takada, the grandson of the founder, has been assumed for a while but never publicly discussed. In the more than two years after Takata was engulfed in a crisis over dangerously defective airbags, automakers have recalled 60 million vehicles in the United States and tens of millions more worldwide to fix the problem. The faulty equipment has been linked to 14 deaths and more than 100 injuries. Mr. Takada has been criticized for his leadership during the crisis. He has stayed largely in the background as the company’s reputation and cash reserves have plummeted, leaving it to subordinates to explain Takata’s response to regulators, politicians and the news media. The company did not make any public statements until nearly a year after the defect came to light. Mr. Takada did not say when he would resign or what role, if any, he would retain inside the company, which is publicly traded but has been controlled by his family for more than 80 years. “I don’t intend to hold on to my position,” he said at the company’s annual shareholder meeting on Tuesday. “Once I’ve delivered this company to a place where it’s not at risk of faltering, I want to pass the baton. ” Mr. Takada has rarely addressed the crisis in public, but shareholder meetings, where investors can grill executives on a range of issues, have been an unavoidable exception. At Takata’s annual meeting last year, Mr. Takada apologized to victims but defended his company’s airbags as fundamentally safe. The meeting on Tuesday was the first time Mr. Takada had said publicly that he would resign. Takata has been seeking emergency capital to keep it from falling into bankruptcy because of mounting recall costs. Once a rescuer is found, the company will probably be drastically restructured, including changes in its top management. “Nobody wants to see anybody from the Takada family in charge at this point,” said Koji Endo, an auto industry analyst at Advanced Research Japan. “The Takada family, practically speaking, is being kicked out. ” Until 2014, Mr. Takada served in a more ceremonial role as Takata’s chairman. But he took over responsibility for operations that year as the company’s problems escalated, and its board named him to succeed a Swiss executive, Stefan Stocker, who was then its president. Few seem to believe that Takata can weather the recall crisis on its own. The company lost 13 billion yen last year, or about $127 million, and had just ¥54 billion in cash reserves as of the end of March, against recall costs that specialists say may ultimately exceed ¥1 trillion. A committee of lawyers and other advisers appointed by the company this year said it risked bankruptcy if it did not find a rescue, and last month Takata hired the American investment bank Lazard to lead the search. Takata and its bankers have held discussions with a range of potential white knights, according to news reports, including the American buyout fund KKR Company, formerly Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, and a Chinese car parts maker, Ningbo Joyson. Japanese automakers and banks, as well as the Japanese government, are also seen as potential contributors to a bailout. The most crucial question for Takata, specialists say, is how much of the recall costs will ultimately be borne by its automaker customers, rather than by the company itself. Fourteen carmakers have been affected by the airbag problem, in which the devices’ inflaters can explode with too much force, sending shrapnel flying into a vehicle’s cabin. The latest deadly incident, a crash on Saturday in Malaysia that killed a woman, involved a 2005 Honda City. The model had been recalled, but the vehicle had not been taken in to have the airbag component replaced, according to a spokesman for Honda Motor. In the most recent report on the airbag problem last month, safety regulators in the United States said prolonged exposure to environmental moisture and wide temperature fluctuations could degrade the propellant that Takata used in its inflaters, making it unstable and prone to unexpectedly exploding. Based on the finding, which was consistent with theories put forward by engineers and other specialists, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ordered Takata to work with automakers to recall an additional 35 million to 40 million airbags, bringing the number recalled in the United States to nearly 64 million. Carmakers have paid most of the bills for repairing defective airbags so far. They can try to recoup costs from Takata, but the amount is negotiable and subject to complicated calculations. Forcing Takata to repay the full cost would almost certainly bankrupt the company, depriving carmakers of a supplier that, for all its problems, is crucial to keeping their assembly lines running. Takata is one of just three major airbag manufacturers worldwide and controls 25 percent to 30 percent of the market, according to industry researchers. And cost sharing is vital to finding a savior for Takata: The more the recall costs are absorbed by carmakers, the more attractive Takata will look to potential investors. The intricate negotiations over cost sharing, which involve Takata, carmakers, potential investors and Japanese banks that have lent Takata money, are expected to take months. “There’s KKR, other funds, companies from China, Japan, American, maybe India — 20 or 30 companies are interested,” Mr. Endo said. “It all depends on the cost split. We’re likely to see a very complex structure that limits any one party’s responsibility. ”

Goodbye, for Good, to Black Sabbath - The New York Times

Christopher D. Shea

BIRMINGHAM, England — On Saturday night at the Genting Arena here, a billowing white curtain whipped up and into the ceiling to reveal the singer Ozzy Osbourne, who, for perhaps the last time ever as the frontman of Black Sabbath, plunged into the 1970 song that gave the band its name. The track kicked off the final concert on a tour called “The End,” which the band has billed as its last performances. After 49 years, the group — which formed here in 1968 and has had dramatic ups and downs and a rotating roster of members — finally threw in the towel with a hometown concert. “Let’s go crazy,” Mr. Osbourne yelled to the crowd, adding an expletive early in the concert, before turning in thrashing renditions of the band’s songs, including “War Pigs,” “Into the Void” and “Iron Man,” and deeper cuts like the instrumental “Rat Salad. ” Fans and members of the news media were buzzing before the concert with rumors of possible antics and surprises — perhaps even an appearance by the original drummer, Bill Ward, estranged from the group since 2012. But Black Sabbath played it straight, turning in almost two hours of its earliest 1960s and ’70s songs, pretty much unadulterated (but, of course, quite loud). Flanked by the original band members Tony Iommi (on guitar) and Geezer Butler (on bass) and backed by Tommy Clufetos, a younger drummer who rejoined them for the tour, Mr. Osbourne stood center stage and clutched the microphone, undulating back and forth as he sang. There were pyrotechnics for the big numbers, confetti at the end, and at one point a surprise volley of fireworks onstage. Giant black and purple balloons spilled from the ceiling in the penultimate song, and bounced around the arena for the rest of the night. Nearly a ago, Black Sabbath began as a blues band. It quickly morphed into its own genre. In the band’s early years, its anthems and vague overtures toward Satanism in its lyrics earned them ridicule from mainstream critics and audiences while mobilizing a growing underground fan base. Mr. Osbourne gained a reputation as a forbidding figure who embraced hard living, and gained notoriety for biting off the head of a real bat during a 1982 concert. But Mr. Osbourne’s fame underwent a surprising shift when he began starring in the 2002 MTV reality TV show “The Osbournes,” which portrayed him as a lovable, murmuring goofball and family man. And at its closing concert, Black Sabbath seemed pretty mainstream. On Saturday, the crowd was dotted with fans decked out in Black Sabbath regalia. But most concertgoers wore their fandom more lightly: One man in a Black Sabbath shirt who declined to give his name said that he worked in financial services in London and read an issue of The Economist in the moments before the lights went down. By the time Mr. Osbourne hit the climax of “Black Sabbath,” the magazine was tucked away and the man was on his feet with his hands raised in the shape of devil’s horns, singing gleefully along to the lyrics: “Satan’s sitting there, he’s those flames get higher and higher. ” The band has always identified as rough and tumble, alternative, working class and distinctly Birminghamian, so the hometown concert had special resonance for some in the audience on Saturday. “Black Sabbath are part of the cultural identity of being in Birmingham,” said Pamela Pinski, 31, who lives and works in the area. Coming to the concert, she added, felt “kind of patriotic to the city,” and like a chance to celebrate “local boys that done good. ” In interviews, the band members have insisted that “The End” — which began in Omaha just over a year ago and made stops in Europe, South America and Australia before coming to Britain last month — really is their last run. Mr. Iommi, who learned he had cancer several years ago, told Rolling Stone that his “body won’t take it much more. ” And Mr. Osbourne said in a recent interview with the BBC, “This is definitely it. ” Mr. Osbourne has said goodbyes to music before, though, so you could forgive fans for not taking him entirely at his word: In 1992, he went on a farewell tour that he billed as his swan song. Three years later, he was on the road again. Outside the arena, Errol Lynch, 45, was one of several fans who said he thought the band had more in store. “Two years down the line, they’ll say, ‘Let’s put our problem behind us,’” he said, adding that even if the band wouldn’t tour again, “they will do an odd festival. ” Mr. Lynch, originally from Ireland, was in Birmingham to see the group for the third time in the space of a week. (Mr. Osbourne, who has performed with other bands and as a solo act, and who was estranged from Black Sabbath through much of the 1980s and ’90s, has at least one solo date planned for this summer, in Illinois.) Mr. Osbourne had said that he was feeling emotional in the to Saturday’s concert, but he gave only a fleeting farewell speech, marveling at “what a journey we’ve all had. ” Several times throughout the night he thanked the audience, and at one point he got down on his knees and bowed. When the last song, “Paranoid,” ended, he blew a kiss, took some final bows, then stopped to have his picture taken with his bandmates before loping off the stage. In the arena lobby after the concert, Mike King, 32, who had traveled from San Francisco, said that he ranked the show among Black Sabbath’s better recent performances. “I’m really, really, really going to miss them,” he said, adding, “Once they’re gone, that’s it. ”

Teen ’Geisha Dolls’ Gang Busted for Armed Robberies - Breitbart

Adelle Nazarian

Police in San Jose arrested a teenage trio that had terrorized and robbed over a dozen minimarts and gas stations at gunpoint or knifepoint over three months while wearing Geisha masks. [According to the San Jose Mercury News, the group known as the “Geisha Dolls” crew targeted businesses in San Jose and Milpitas, and in some cases the store workers, between Oct. 23 and Jan. 25. They were given the name because their masks resemble the white powder makeup that Japanese geishas traditionally applied to their faces. The group consists of three teenagers. Two are 17 and one is 16. Authorities have reportedly withheld their names because they are minors. According to NBC Bay Area, a break in the case arrived on January 25 when “police arrested a juvenile suspect in connection to a robbery at the Arco located at 2104 N Capitol Ave. Officers searched his residence and found evidence of the Arco robbery. ” Nearly three weeks later, on Feb. 14, members of the Metro Unit reportedly located arrested a and a juvenile in San Jose . Follow Adelle Nazarian on Twitter @AdelleNaz

Mohamad Khweis: Another “Virginia Man” (Palestinian-American Muslim) Charged With Terrorism

James Fulford

Remember This When You Talk About Standing Rock

Donate Remember This When You Talk About Standing Rock Dan Nanamkin during the treaty camp’s confrontation with militarized police force on Thursday afternoon. Photo by Adam Alexander Johansson. By Kelly Hayes / yesmagazine.org This piece is very personal because, as an Indigenous woman, my analysis is very personal, as is the analysis that my friends on the frontlines have shared with me. We obviously can’t speak for everyone involved, as Native beliefs and perspectives are as diverse as the convictions of any people. But as my friends hold strong on the frontlines of Standing Rock, and I watch transfixed with both pride and worry, we feel the need to say a few things. I’ve been in and out of communication with my friends at Standing Rock all day. As you might imagine, as much as they don’t want me to worry, it’s pretty hard for them to stay in touch. I asked if there was anything they wanted me to convey on social media, as most of them are maintaining a very limited presence on such platforms. The following is my best effort to summarize what they had to say, and to chime in with a few corresponding thoughts of my own. It is crucial that people recognize that Standing Rock is part of an ongoing struggle against colonial violence. #NoDAPL is a front of struggle in a long-erased war against Native peoples — a war that has been active since first contact, and waged without interruption. Our efforts to survive the conditions of this anti-Native society have gone largely unnoticed because white supremacy is the law of the land, and because we, as Native people, have been pushed beyond the limits of public consciousness. The fact that we are more likely to be killed by law enforcement than any other group speaks to the fact that Native erasure is ubiquitous, both culturally and literally, but pushed from public view. Our struggles intersect with numerous others, but are perpetrated with different motives and intentions. Anti-Blackness, for example, is a performative enforcement of structural power, whereas the violence against us is a matter of pragmatism. The struggle at Standing Rock is an effort to prevent the construction of a deadly, destructive mechanism, created by greed-driven people with no regard for our lives. It has always been this way. We die, and have died, for the sake of expansion and white wealth, and for the maintenance of both. The harms committed against us have long been relegated to the history books. This erasure has occurred for the sake of both white supremacy and US mythology, such as American exceptionalism. It has also been perpetuated to sustain the comfort of those who benefit from harms committed against us. Our struggles have been kept both out of sight and out of mind — easily forgotten by those who aren’t directly impacted. It should be clear to everyone that we are not simply here in those rare moments when others bear witness. To reiterate (what should be obvious): We are not simply here when you see us. We have always been here, fighting for our lives, surviving colonization, and that reality is rarely acknowledged. Even people who believe in freedom frequently overlook our issues, as well as the intersections of their issues with our own. It matters that more of the world is bearing witness in this historic moment, but we feel the need to point out that the dialogue around #NoDAPL has become extremely climate oriented. Yes, there is an undeniable connectivity between this front of struggle and the larger fight to combat climate change. We fully recognize that all of humanity is at risk of extinction, whether they realize it or not. But intersectionality does not mean focusing exclusively on the intersections of our respective work. It sometimes means taking a journey well outside the bounds of those intersections. In discussing #NoDAPL, too few people have started from a place of naming that we have a right to defend our water and our lives, simply because we have a natural right to defend ourselves and our communities. When “climate justice”, in a very broad sense, becomes the center of conversation, our fronts of struggle are often reduced to a staging ground for the messaging of NGOs. This is happening far too frequently in public discussion of #NoDAPL. Yes, everyone should be talking about climate change, but you should also be talking about the fact that Native communities deserve to survive, because our lives are worth defending in their own right — not simply because “this affects us all.” So when you talk about Standing Rock, please begin by acknowledging that this pipeline was redirected from an area where it was most likely to impact white people. And please remind people that our people are struggling to survive the violence of colonization on many fronts, and that people shouldn’t simply engage with or retweet such stories when they see a concrete connection to their own issues — or a jumping off point to discuss their own issues. Our friends, allies and accomplices should be fighting alongside us because they value our humanity and right to live, in addition to whatever else they believe in. Every Native at Standing Rock — every Native on this continent — has survived the genocide of a hundred million of our people. That means that every Indigenous child born is a victory against colonialism, but we are all born into a fight for our very existence. We need that to be named and centered, which is a courtesy we are rarely afforded. This message is not a condemnation. It’s an ask. We are asking that you help ensure that dialogue around this issue begins with and centers a discussion of anti-Native violence and policies, no matter what other connections you might ultimately make, because those discussions simply don’t happen in this country. There obviously aren’t enough people talking about climate change, but there are even fewer people — and let’s be real, far fewer people — discussing the various forms of violence we are up against, and acting in solidarity with us. And while such discussions have always been deserved, we are living in a moment when Native water protectors and water warriors have more than earned both acknowledgement and solidarity. So if you have been with us in this fight, we appreciate you. But we are reaching out, right now, in these brave days for our people, and asking that you keep the aforementioned truths front and center as you discuss this effort. This moment is, first and foremost, about Native liberation, self determination and Native survival. That needs to be centered and celebrated. Thanks, K and friends Kelly Hayes is a direct action trainer and a co-founder of The Chicago Light Brigade and the direct action collective Lifted Voices. She blogs at TransformativeSpaces.org , where this article originally appeared, about U.S. movements and her work as an organizer against state violence. 4.0 ·

Price on Obamacare Replacement: ‘Nobody Will Be Worse Off Financially’ - Breitbart

Pam Key

Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” President Donald Trump’s Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price said that “nobody will be worse off financially” if Republicans in Congress repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act dubbed Obamacare. Price said, “I firmly believe that nobody will be worse off financially in the process that we’re going through, understanding that they’ll have choices that they can select the kind of coverage that they want for themselves and for their family, not that the government forces them to buy. So there’s cost that needs to come down, and we believe we’re going to be able to do that through this system. There’s coverage that’s going to go up. ” Price added, “I believe, and the president believes firmly, that if you create a system that’s accessible for everybody and you provide the financial feasibility for everybody to get coverage, that we have a great opportunity to increase coverage over where we are right now, as opposed to where the line is going right now where people are losing coverage and we’re going to have fewer individuals covered than we do currently. ” ( Politico) Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN

VA fails to properly examine thousands of veterans

Arnaldo Rodgers

‹ › Arnaldo Rodgers is a trained and educated Psychologist. He has worked as a community organizer and activist. VA fails to properly examine thousands of veterans By Arnaldo Rodgers on October 29, 2016 VA Thousands of veterans may have been improperly diagnosed by the VA. The federal department admits it was improperly testing for traumatic brain injuries from 2007 through 2015. Nate Anderson has served in the United States Army for 12 years. “There’s a promise that we make to service members, that if you serve and you put your life on the line or sacrifice in whatever way you do, we’ll take care of you. I didn’t know what that was going to look like, it’s certainly not what I saw,” Anderson said. “This is something the VA should have been prepared for.” He enlisted after 9/11. “It was time in my generation that the desire to serve was strong,” he said. Fast forward to 2008, Anderson was assigned to his first unit at Fort Bragg and deployed to central Afghanistan. Read the Full Article at wncn.com >>>> Related Posts: The views expressed herein are the views of the author exclusively and not necessarily the views of VNN, VNN authors, affiliates, advertisers, sponsors, partners, technicians or the Veterans Today Network and its assigns. Notices Posted by Arnaldo Rodgers on October 29, 2016, With 0 Reads, Filed under Veterans . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 . You can leave a response or trackback to this entry FaceBook Comments You must be logged in to post a comment Login WHAT'S HOT

Trump family already ‘sworn to secrecy’ about faked Moon landings. More soon.

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Sports Writer: NFL Great Jim Brown’s Decades of Civil Rights Work is Erased for Saying Nice Things About Donald Trump - Breitbart

Warner Todd Huston

As an example of just how much the left hates Donald J. Trump, after becoming enraged because football great Jim Brown expressed kind words for Trump, a writer for SportingNews. com decided that Brown’s decades of work for civil rights was erased merely because the Hall of Famer was nice to Trump. [SportingNews writer David Steele began his January 18 piece noting that the Cleveland Browns star has been a candidate for the “Mount Rushmore of social, political and activism. ” “If Jim Brown is not on the Mount Rushmore of social, political and activism by athletes in our time (up there with, at least, Muhammad Ali, Tommie Smith and John Carlos) he’s on the short list waiting for a vacancy,” Steele wrote. But that adulation came to an abrupt end. “He was, that is,” Steele continued. “Jim Brown himself is now the vacancy. ” How could a man who spent nearly 50 years at the forefront of the civil rights movement be toppled from that place with just one action? He said nice things about Donald Trump. “Those are the consequences when you insert yourself into a feud between John Lewis and Donald Trump — and take the side of Trump while insulting Lewis,” Steele proclaimed. Steele, who once wrote for the Baltimore Sun, went on to “explain” his “reasons” for erasing 50 years of civil rights advocacy work, “There is simply no way to reconcile Brown’s words, and all the others he has spouted in defense of the man who has spent the week insulting an icon of the movement, and this image, of the meeting Brown himself adjourned on behalf of Ali 50 years ago, when the same forces Lewis was fighting were coming after Ali’s resistance to the draft. ” So, because Jim Brown said a few nice things about Donald Trump and opposed the hateful attacks Congressman John Lewis launched against Trump, including the outright lie that he never missed a past inaugural when he in fact skipped George W. Bush’s for the same “he’s illegitimate” reason, Brown’s decades of good work has become meaningless. Brown has done a lot for his community, and was universally praised by civil rights activists for organizing sports figures to come to the aide of boxing great Muhammad Ali when his title was stripped from him for refusing service in the Vietnam War in 1967. The NFL great also founded the Black Economic Union to help promote business in the nation’s inner cities. But his founding of the Foundation has done the most good, after he spent years trying to mitigate the gang culture. “I was doing economic development for minorities. I was getting black folks to use their dollars to help each other. I looked up and saw black men killing each other over red and blue. Until we did something about that, there was no use for economic development,” Brown recently told the New York Daily News. Since its founding nearly 25 years ago, has improved the lives of gang members, prison inmates, kids and thousands of other people in more than a dozen states across the nation. The heart of is a course Brown created which helps train young blacks to gain control of their emotions in order to lead useful, productive lives. The program he developed helps youth learn to keep a job, raise a family, and go back to school. But to David Steele, all that is meaningless. “That Jim Brown is dead,” Steele says at the tail of his hyperventilating and biased attack on Brown. In the end, though, one might doubt that a man who has 60 years of fame and achievement under his belt will be much bothered by the words of a man with a failed newspaper career and who now writes for a sports website. Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail. com.

Spider-pig Found in Amazon Rain Forest

Sunday, 30 October 2016 Spider-pig fever hits hard Little did Homer Simpson know when he sang his Spider-Man based song, he was actually describing an existing species. Just the sort of genius he is known for. Homer sang these prophetic words while holding a pig upside down, walking it along the ceiling: "Spider Pig! Spider Pig! Does whatever a spider pig does!Can he swing from a web? No, he can't. He's a pig." An expedition in the deep Amazon rain forest found an actual spider-pig. It's about 1 ½ feet long, has eight legs, and has retractable sticky, suction cup-like extensions on its hooves. When walking on the forest floor spider-pig uses four legs at a time. It uses all 8 legs when climbing. Spider-pig can climb trees and spin a web but is too big to sit in it. And the pig doesn't want to eat what's caught in the web anyways. Scientists believe it just catches things for entertainment. Several cities currently compete to bring the first spider-pig to their local zoo including Springfield, Vermont; Springfield, Illinois; and Springfield, Oregon. Make pinkwalrus's

‘I Can Watch It on TV’: Excuses for Republicans Skipping a Donald Trump Convention - The New York Times

Jeremy W. Peters

A wave of prominent Republicans have announced their intention to skip the party’s national convention in Cleveland this summer, the latest sign that Donald J. Trump, who last week secured the delegates needed to clinch the Republican presidential nomination, continues to struggle in his effort to unite the party behind his candidacy. The list of those who have sent regrets includes governors and United States senators — almost all facing tough fights this year — and lifelong party devotees who have attended every convention for decades. Some are renouncing their seats like conscientious objectors. “I could not in good conscience attend a coronation and celebration of Donald Trump,” wrote one Indiana delegate, Josh Claybourn, in a blog post resigning his position. The coolness toward Mr. Trump amounts to a remarkable rebuke. A broad range of party leaders are openly rejecting the man who will be their nominee. And the July convention, usually a moment of public catharsis for political parties after contentious primaries, is shaping up to be another reminder of the disarray and disunity that is still rocking the Republican Party after a bitter fight for the nomination. Even the two Republicans in the convention’s host state of Ohio — Gov. John Kasich and Senator Rob Portman, who is fighting to hold onto his seat — say they do not know if they will set foot in the convention hall. Mr. Kasich, who only four weeks ago quit the presidential campaign and has not endorsed Mr. Trump, has no idea “what role if any he will have,” a spokesman said. He will be in Cleveland that week but has no plans, as of now, to partake in any official convention activities. Several other of Mr. Trump’s former rivals for the nomination have said they will not attend or have not committed. Jeb Bush, former governor of Florida, will not be there. Neither will Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. “I’m sure it will be fun, I’m sure it will be entertaining,” Mr. Graham said last week. “And I can watch it on TV. ” Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, who is a delegate as well as a former presidential candidate, has yet to decide. “T. B. D. ,” a spokesman said. “The schedule is still being firmed up. ” At least two former competitors of Mr. Trump’s are expected to attend: Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey and Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, who last week offered his services as a speaker should they be wanted. Among those staying away include some major corporations like Microsoft and . And some who do plan to be there might find the atmosphere somewhat uncomfortable. Mr. Trump has still not fully reconciled with Speaker Paul D. Ryan, the convention’s chairman, who said in early May that he was not ready to support the nominee and would relinquish the role if asked. Mr. Trump is also at odds with the head of the Republican Governors Association, Susana Martinez of New Mexico, who will lead her state’s delegation in Cleveland. Ms. Martinez has also withheld her endorsement, a slight that evidently prompted Mr. Trump to attack her performance in office last week. Scheduling conflicts seem to be a surprisingly common excuse for missing an event that was announced a year and a half ago. Others offered mushy noncommitments. “Just as they’re firming up the schedule, it kind of looks like there’s a lot of stuff for me to do,” said Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, explaining why he probably couldn’t make it. Asked if Mr. Trump had anything to do with his reluctance, Mr. Johnson, who is in a heated campaign, broke into a big smile and said, “Oh, of course not. ” Gov. Rick Snyder of Michigan, a state Mr. Trump has said he believes the Republicans can wrest from Democrats this year, also might have more important things to do at home. “Michigan has some pressing challenges right now,” a spokeswoman said last week, “and state issues are his foremost priority. ” Mr. Snyder is one of at least nine Republican governors who are noncommittal or skipping the convention: Mr. Kasich, Brian Sandoval of Nevada, Charlie Baker of Massachusetts, Bruce Rauner of Illinois, Larry Hogan of Maryland, Nikki R. Haley of South Carolina, Matt Mead of Wyoming and Nathan Deal of Georgia. “I don’t even want to be involved,” Mr. Hogan said in an interview in March. “It’s a mess. I hate the whole thing. ” Just about every Republican senator in a difficult race is staying away, fearful of what the association with Mr. Trump might do to reputations back home. Senator John McCain of Arizona will join four of the five living former Republican nominees in skipping the convention. “I’m in a very tough campaign,” he said last week, explaining his expected absence. Senators Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire and Mark S. Kirk of Illinois, two of the most endangered Republican incumbents, will also be nowhere near Cleveland that week. Mr. Portman, another senator in a tight race, said his time would be better spent holding a miniconvention of his own in Cleveland, which he plans to do with events for veterans, the homeless and his volunteers. “I’ve spoken at every convention since 1996,” he said. “Nobody listens, nobody covers it. ” This mass avoidance might seem, on its surface, to be yet another example of party elites snubbing Mr. Trump in the kind of rejection that he would welcome as a professed political outsider. But it also reflects a deeper and more dangerous problem for him: Mr. Trump’s popularity with Republicans remains uncomfortably low. The candidate’s own party generally delivers support in the 90 percent range. (Mitt Romney won 93 percent of his own party in 2012.) Mr. Trump’s support among Republicans, according to the latest NBC Street Journal Poll, was 86 percent. And the snubs keep coming from the upper echelons of the party and the rank and file. In New Hampshire, the former senator Judd Gregg was initially a delegate for Mr. Bush. But when Mr. Bush suspended his campaign, Mr. Gregg became unbound. He has instead opted to skip the convention, telling a local television station, “Don’t like large crowds. ” The Indiana delegate who renounced his place at the convention, Mr. Claybourn, would have been bound to vote for Mr. Trump on the first ballot, a step he said he simply could not stomach. “Donald J. Trump is the Republican Party’s nominee,” Mr. Claybourn said. “But he will not be my nominee, and I will not attend a convention celebrating his candidacy. ”

This Open Letter To Trump Voters Just Told It “Like It Is”

Colin Taylor

Comments As election day draws closer and closer, it becomes even harder to understand or tolerate Donald Trump supporters. It is conceptually difficult for many of us to understand how anyone could support Trump knowing all we know about him. But many people don’t know what we know, so here’s a viral list that every Trump supporter needs to read before they vote on Tuesday, courtesy of some anonymous Facebook poster. So You Want Someone To ‘Tell It Like It Is’? OK, Here You Go. 1. You join a lying machine and call Hillary crooked. But you support a man who refuses to release his tax returns. You support a greedy, self serving, manipulative proven tax cheat. You support a crooked narcissistic psychopath who is worried his tax returns would reveal evidence of financial ties to Russian oligarchs and other dictators of the world. Just like we now know Putin’s puppets illegally paid millions to his crooked former campaign manager, maybe he has been getting paid too. A corrupt little man whose daughter vacations with Putin’s girlfriend. Making Russia great again? A con man who funneled millions of campaign money to his own companies and used campaign money to pay his family handsomely. Using his own words, a disgusting and corrupt man who surrounds himself with a disgusting corrupt people. 2. You say you love our veterans but support a man who believes POWs are not heroes because they were captured? A man who has shown he lacks emotional intelligence when he attacked families of a fallen war hero. A man whose company fired a veteran for being deployed to Afghanistan. A man who insults and derides our generals. 3. You think a soulless, heartless small man who mocked a disabled reporter will make a good president. A man whose first instinct after a tragedy is always self-aggrandizement, like after Orlando mass shooting & when Dwyane Wade’s cousin Nykea Aldridge was killed. As 3,000 people were dying, this man bragged about how 9/11 attacks were good for him & bragged about how his building is now the tallest in Manhattan just hours after the attack. When the pound fell to a 30-year low following the vote to exit EU, he boasted about making money off British economic uncertainty. When the housing market collapsed in 2008 and millions of Americans lost their homes, he said “ I ‘sort of hope’ real estate market tanks.” Trump is always looking out for Trump. How do you believe a greedy, narcissistic man who fundamentally lacks empathy and compassion will be a good president? He is not even a good person. 4. You say you’re patriotic & love this country but you support a man who has so little understanding of the basic parameters of our constitution’s limits & has zero respect for it, except the part he uses to incite violence. A careless small man who asked Russia to spy on our former Secretary of State. A man who trash talks our NATO allies and our president but lavishly praises brutal dictators like Saddam Hussein, Kim Jong Un, Muammar Gaddafi, Vladimir Putin…etc 5. You support a small man who has been married three times and has admitted to infidelity in the past. A man who was accused of raping his wife & has a federal lawsuit accusing him of raping a 13-year-old girl during a party hosted by convicted pedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein. A man who comments about his daughters breasts and body. Then you turn around and bring up Bill Clinton’s history with women? I agree with you 100% Bill has a disgraceful history with women but no comparison to Trump who has said cringeworthy, disturbing things about women his whole life. May I remind you Bill is NOT running to be the next president. If you are saying oh, candidates spouses are fair game then you can’t ignore that he is married to a woman whose naked pictures are all over the internet. 6. You support a man whose business career is a very long list of bankruptcies, defaults and deceptions because he is good for our economy? A man who was born into wealth and built that wealth by scamming, stiffing and bullying ordinary working citizens of this great country. 7. Yes, Hillary is not perfect, then again no one is. You call her dishonest but support a narcissistic pathological liar? Every time Trump opens his mouth every other word that comes out is a lie. Fact checkers have proven it over and over again. We are talking about a man who makes things up to spew hate and fear, like when he lied about seeing an Iran ransom video and a video of muslims celebrating in New Jersey on 9/11. The man is incapable of telling the truth and he is delusional. 8. You support a hypocritical man who hired undocumented immigrants for his real estate projects & exploited our visa program. He is a man capable of solving our immigration problem? 9. I agree 100% if she’s elected Hillary and her whole family must distance themselves from the Clinton foundation. Let other people continue the great work the foundation is doing. With that said, you support a man whose foundation is found guilty of a pay-to-play scam and false claims of giving on its tax forms and then turn around and try to push fabricated scandals about the Clinton foundation. The IRS found the con man used funds from his charitable foundation to make a campaign donation to Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi. Just after 4 days of the bribe payment Pam dropped Trump U case. He also held $150K fundraiser for Pam after she dropped a criminal case against his university. His foundation claimed on its tax return forms that it gave $10,000.00 to The Giving Back Fund, but the organization says that donation does not exist. A man who completely retooled his charity to spend other people’s money. A man with deep ties to global financiers, foreign politicians and criminals. 10. You claim the con man whose line of clothing and accessories are made in Bangladesh, China, Honduras and other low-wage countries is the man to fix our labor laws? You claim the man who outsources everything is the answer to creating jobs here at home? 11. You claim the unfit, unstable Putin’s little puppet whose campaign is fully embracing alt-right’s anti-Muslim and anti-Immigrant ideologies with all their conspiracy theories is the one to unite the country? 12. You support a bottom feeder who put racial discrimination in housing at the heart of his real estate developments, started the birther movement, said “Obama would look perfect on food stamps, he has the right face for it,” and has shown he is prejudice with his actions & words over and over again. Then he pretends he cares about the black communities. He brings up Hillary’s reference to a group of violent repeat criminals as “super-predators” in 1996? I don’t agree with her choice of words all those years ago but she has apologized since. Something Trump refuses to do. Of course you can use all kind of deflection tactics & tell yourself whatever makes you feel better but the reality is if you are supporting a racist, misogynistic, xenophobic, bigoted, unfit, unqualified, disgusting con man, you really should admit to yourself you don’t care what he says or does. You are using your hatred to cloud your judgement.

Comment on This Powerful Corporate Lobby Is Quietly Backing Hillary — and Nobody’s Talking About It by runsinquicksand

runsinquicksand

Carey Wedler | ANTIMEDIA Over the course of the 2016 presidential election, Americans who rail against Hillary Clinton have condemned the media’s bias in her favor — and rightfully so. Clinton has effectively infiltrated the corporate news media — whose parent companies often donate to her — with the deliberate intent of bolstering her own chances at the presidency. But as this nefarious behavior continues to come to light through hacks and leaks, another powerful sphere of media influence has quietly placed its resources behind Hillary Clinton – and hardly anyone is talking about it. Though outrage over Clinton’s corporate sponsors usually focuses on her support from banking giants like Goldman Sachs , Citibank, JP Morgan, and other reviled companies, corporate Hollywood has collectively supplied her campaign with far more cash than these banks. When people think of Hollywood’s support for a political campaign, their minds tend to focus on the entertainment industry’s most visible figures — celebrities. From George Clooney , Katy Perry, and Leonardo DiCaprio to Justin Timberlake, Reese Witherspoon, Steven Spielberg, Beyonce, and Jay-Z, the celebrity consensus this year has settled on Clinton. But underneath the stars’ ‘progressive’ choice is an intentional, systematic machine working in Hillary’s favor, and it mirrors other conglomerated industries that have aligned behind her. Moguls with Millions (and Billions) Back Hillary and the Clinton Family The first layer of Clinton’s corporate Hollywood allegiance is rather simple to peel back, simply because Hillary’s top industry donors make no secret of their support. Earlier this year, George Clooney held a $100,000-a-plate fundraiser for Clinton, one that earned $15 million dollars — far more than Goldman Sachs has collectively donated to her campaign. The actor’s event raised money for the Hillary Victory Fund, which was recently revealed to be an avenue for maxed out donors to contribute more than the allowable amount. The Victory Fund has also been criticized for hoarding money for Hillary that was supposed to go to state Democratic parties. Clooney teamed up with one of corporate Hollywood’s most powerful executives, Jeffrey Katzenberg, for this fundraiser. Katzenberg rose to prominence at Walt Disney in the 1990s, where he helmed some of the millennial generation’s favorite childhood films: Beauty and the Beast , Aladdin , the Lion King , and the Little Mermaid were all products of Katzenberg’s leadership. Several years later, he partnered with Steven Spielberg (also a longtime Clinton supporter) and David Geffen, a music mogul, to create Dreamworks Animation. Katzenberg was the top bundler for Barack Obama in 2012 and also funded him in 2008, so it’s unsurprising the president takes his phone calls. Further, Katzenberg’s right-hand man, Andy Spahn, visited the White House almost 50 times during Obama’s first term, Mother Jones reported at the time, enjoying a close relationship with the president — and some economic benefits. Katzenberg, who recently earned $391 million on the sale of Dreamworks to Comcast, has donated at least $1 million to Clinton’s campaign this election season. Then there’s billionaire Haim Saban, the staunchly pro-Israel entertainment mogul behind the original Power Rangers series. He is Clinton’s top individual donor, besting Katzenberg, with at least $6.4 million in donations to her campaign. He has contributed $15 million to the Clinton Foundation, and his wife, Cheryl, serves on the board. Saban has supported the Clintons since the 1990s, and during Bill’s time in office, he enjoyed the business perks of being friends with the president of the United States, as Mother Jones has detailed . His investments are tied to Wall Street, and he has also enjoyed Clinton’s condemnation of Boycott, Sanction, Divest, a nonviolent, market-based global protest movement challenging Israel’s occupation of Palestine. Both men, therefore, know well the perks of having friends in high places — and both are some of the top donors of any candidate in the 2016 race. But their very public— and lavish — support barely scratches the surface of the real machinations taking place between Hollywood’s corporate underbelly and its stake in American politics. The Studio Lobby Most people, if they’ve heard of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) at all, know it as the organization that rates films. It’s the familiar, almost comforting disclaimer that appears before a trailer or film, ranking it G, PG, PG-13, R, or in some cases, NC-17. Though the organization has its roots in the 20th century, founded as an effort to self-regulate their content, more than anything, it is corporate Hollywood’s lobby. The MPAA represents 20th Century Fox (owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.), Warner Brothers (owned by Time Warner), Disney, Universal (owned in part by Comcast), Sony Pictures, and Paramount Pictures (News Corp, Time Warner, and Comcast have all contributed to the Clinton Foundation). For some, it’s difficult to place corporate Hollywood in the same category as more reviled industries like banking, weapons manufacturing, or pharmaceuticals . This is likely, at least in part, because they deliver one of America’s favorite pastimes — entertainment. Yet the revolving door is strong, as is the MPAA’s political foundation. In fact, the MPAA’s longest running chairman was Jack Valenti , who served as an advisor to Lyndon B. Johnson before taking over the lobbying group. By 2011, former senator and presidential candidate, Chris Dodd, had taken the reins. Dodd, who makes $3 million a year working as the organization’s top lobbyist, takes his job seriously. As the Los Angeles Times reported , Dodd has increased lobbying funds and efforts in Congress. “ We’ve had a hundred meetings with new members of Congress since November ,” he told the publication last year. Dodd is a Clinton supporter. He officially endorsed her earlier this year. Disney chairman Bob Iger is also a huge Clinton supporter and member of the MPAA. Alongside Saban, Iger hosted a Hollywood fundraiser for her in August and held a meeting with Tim Kaine, Clinton’s running mate, in September. On that same trip, Kaine met with Warner Brothers executive Kevin Tsujihara, who donated to Hillary Clinton’s Victory Fund this year. He met with Fox Television executive Dana Walden, who also donated to Clinton. He also met with Kevin Reilly, an executive at Turner, which is owned by Time Warner, which owns Warner Brothers and CNN , an outlet condemned for heavily favoring Clinton this election cycle. Perhaps these private meetings were about gun control and equal rights. Or, perhaps, Kaine and the executives discussed business interests. Either way, the paper trail gets more decisive — and more revealing. What is the MPAA Hoping to Achieve? MPAA members Disney and Sony have independently advocated for the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal , the globally loathed trade agreement criticized for granting carte blanche to corporations and stripping nations of their sovereignty. Disney has even prodded its employees to contribute lobbying funds in support of the agreement. Fox, Disney, Time Warner, Comcast, and other media companies have lobbied in favor of TPP . One of TPP’s most dangerous provisions is its intent to regulate copyright and intellectual property in favor of corporations – one of corporate Hollywood’s main objectives. Dodd is, unsurprisingly, a proponent of internet censorship legislation, which corporate Hollywood invariably backs in its attempts to preserve its copyright profits. Hollywood studios have been some of the biggest proponents of heavy internet regulation (with regard to copyright) and have waged campaigns against online piracy. The MPAA’s website claims “the most serious threat” to the film industry is online copyright theft. It makes sense, then, that the MPAA would be a member of the U.S. Business Coalition for TPP . This massive trade group spent $658 billion dollars on lobbying in 2014, according to Common Cause, a left-leaning nonprofit lobbying organization. The coalition includes members like Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, JP Morgan, Dow Chemical , Pfizer , GlaxoSmithKline , Boeing , and Viacom (another media behemoth). Interestingly, the coalition’s website no longer lists its members, though Anti-Media easily accessed an archived version of that information. These corporations, or their employees, have also donated funds to Hillary Clinton in one way or another, often via the Clinton Foundation, which has been documented to issue favors to entities that contribute funds. Dozens of media corporations have donated to the foundation. And — surprise, surprise — the only presidential candidate the MPAA has contributed to in 2016 is … Hillary Clinton. While it’s certainly the case that Hollywood executives lean liberal and many undoubtedly support Clinton due to a misguided moral imperative to stop Donald Trump, it would be naive to presume this is the only dynamic at play. This dynamic is evident in a letter from MPAA chief counsel Steven Fabrizio to Disney’s Alan Braverman, among others, assuring them of his efforts to pass the bill. “ Finally, in regard to trade ,” he wrote , “ the MPAA/MPA with the strong support of your studios, continue to advocate to governments around the world about the pressing need for strong pro-IP trade policies such as TPP and the proposed EU/US trade agreement (TTIP). ” Braverman donated to Clinton this year. Infiltrating the DNC Platform Drafting Committee Most damning is the fact that one MPAA lobbyist, former California congressman Howard Berman, ended up on the drafting committee for the Democratic platform this year (throughout the course of his political career, some of his top donors were Hollywood studios). According to an email released by Wikileaks, Berman met with now-disgraced former DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz in May of this year — two months before he helped draft the platform. She appointed him to the platform drafting committee. That platform was widely criticized for refusing to condemn and reject TPP outright, as Bernie Sanders and his camp attempted to do. Berman helped vote down language against TPP. “But Hillary opposes TPP!” some might argue. Indeed, after claiming it was set to be the “gold standard” of trade agreements, she changed her mind and said she opposed it. But a leak from the recently released John Podesta batch showed there is a very strong chance she will change her mind, again, once elected. And considering Donald Trump’s anti-trade deal rhetoric against both NAFTA and TPP (not to mention his incendiary rhetoric), it makes little sense for corporate Hollywood to back Trump — even if they’re partly responsible for his meteoric rise via the Apprentice . In a vein similar to Berman’s, a former MPAA (and Disney, and Dow, and Citigroup) lobbyist, Jose Villareal, now serves as the Clinton campaign’s treasurer. Though there is no smoking gun proving corporate Hollywood is backing Clinton with the express intent of ensuring passage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, it’s telling that the MPAA’s homepage is a tribute to TPP (and, naturally, themselves). It’s telling that the organization donated to only one presidential candidate. It’s telling that executives within these corporations are supporting Clinton while the companies they represent heavily back TPP — and in many cases, Clinton. It’s telling that their parent corporations, like News Corp and Time Warner , are backing her — and the TPP. Considering six corporations control 90% of media in the United States and Clinton continually proves her loyalties to big business, it’s hardly surprising she’s the choice of corporate Hollywood. And it’s likely they’ll expect favors in return. As Dodd said following President Obama’s rejection of SOPA and PIPA following public outcry in 2012: “Candidly, those who count on quote ‘Hollywood’ for support need to understand that this industry is watching very carefully who’s going to stand up for them when their job is at stake…Don’t ask me to write a check for you when you think your job is at risk and then don’t pay any attention to me when my job is at stake.” Don't forget to follow the D.C. Clothesline on Facebook and Twitter. PLEASE help spread the word by sharing our articles on your favorite social networks. Share this:

Teacher unsure about getting smashed eighth night running

Teacher unsure about getting smashed eighth night running 28-10-16 A TEACHER unsure if he can manage an eighth straight night of drinking acknowledged that half-term gives him little choice. 29-year-old secondary school teacher Tom Booker told friends that, despite the debilitating physical effects, he feels honour-bound to spend the last nights of his holiday drinking until 3am and sleeping in until 1pm. Booker continued: “It’s a job with responsibilities, and one of those responsibilities is making the most of a week off in October. “Some of my colleagues take walking holidays or pop to Center Parcs with the kids, but I’m single and not outdoorsy so I spend the week getting shitfaced. “Two more nights to get through, then on Sunday I have a big roast dinner and a bath and rock up Monday like I spent the whole time marking homework.” Booker added: “Plus one of the year 12 lads has been in the pub every night so far, so to maintain discipline in the classroom I need to show I’m more hardcore than he is.” Share:

Hijacking Ends Peacefully After Libyan Airliner Lands in Malta - The New York Times

Declan Walsh

CAIRO — When two Libyans hijacked a passenger jetliner on Friday and forced it to land in Malta, they claimed to be acting in the name of the country’s former ruler, Col. Muammar . They were ripping a page from history as they did it: During his 42 years in power, Colonel Qaddafi sponsored numerous acts of international airline terrorism, including hijackings and the bombing of a Pan Am jet over Lockerbie in 1988 that killed 270 people. Yet unlike most airline dramas, this one was resolved easily. Within hours of landing in Malta, the two hijackers had released the other 115 people aboard and had surrendered peacefully to the Maltese authorities. Their weapons — a pistol and a grenade — turned out to be replicas. Libyan officials said the two men had asked for visas to Europe. But the hijacking, and its stated inspiration, did point to the enduring chaos of Libya, a country with three rival governments that, despite United peace efforts, remains fragile and deeply unstable five years after Colonel Qaddafi’s death. After forcing the plane to land in Malta, one of the hijackers emerged with a flag in the green that symbolized Colonel Qaddafi’s rule, and claimed to have established a new political party honoring the autocrat. The episode started early Friday when an Airbus A320 operated by the Libyan state airline, Afriqiyah Airways, took off from the desert town of Sabha, heading north to the capital, Tripoli. Before it could land, the hijackers, whom officials identified as Subah Mussa and Ahmed Ali, seized control of the plane and diverted it to Malta, about 200 miles off the Libyan coast. They had initially demanded to be taken to Rome, but the pilot said there was only enough fuel to reach Malta. The hijackers threatened to detonate a grenade if their demands were not met. Aboard the plane were 109 passengers and six crew members. (Maltese officials initially said there was seven crew members.) The hijackers claimed to represent a new political party called Al Fateh Al Jadeed — a reference to the 1969 military coup in Libya that brought Colonel Qaddafi to power. “We did this to announce and publicize our new party,” one of the men said in a telephone interview with a Libyan news outlet. Libyan officials, though, believed the hijackers had more personal goals. A senior official with Afriqiyah, Capt. Abdelatif Ali Kablan, said they had demanded Schengen visas to travel in Europe. They did not seem to be linked to any of the radical Islamist groups, like Islamic State, that operate in Libya, he added. “We feared they might be some of those ideological people, but that seems not to be the case,” Captain Kablan said by phone from Libya. Throughout the crisis, Malta’s prime minister, Joseph Muscat, used Twitter to provide a running feed of information about the security operation, the orderly release of the passengers in batches of 25 and the eventual surrender of the two hijackers. In a news conference later, Mr. Muscat said his security forces had found a pistol and a grenade on the hijackers, and discovered a second pistol in a subsequent search of the airplane, raising questions about security standards in Libyan airports. Later, though, Mr. Muscat posted that the weapons were replicas. It was the second hijacking this year of a passenger jet in the Mediterranean region. In March, an Egyptian man commandeered a domestic EgyptAir flight en route to Cairo and forced it to land in Cyprus, where he demanded the release of political prisoners in Egypt and a meeting with his estranged wife. The crisis ended hours later with the surrender of the hijacker, Seif Eldin Mustafa, who turned out to be wearing a fake explosive vest fashioned from mobile phone cases that had been taped together. Some news outlets later nicknamed him the “lovejacker. ” In September, a court in Cyprus ordered the deportation of Mr. Mustafa to Egypt. His lawyers are resisting the order and seeking asylum for Mr. Mustafa, claiming that he could be tortured if sent home. As well as supporting the Pan Am bombing in 1988, Colonel Qaddafi was also linked to the bombing of a French aircraft over Niger in 1989 that left 170 dead and the hijacking of a Pan Am flight to New York from Karachi in 1986 by a Palestinian splinter group that ended with a deadly siege. Today, many senior officials from his government live in exile in Cairo, Tunis or Europe. There is no significant movement inside Libya, although the dominant military commander in the east, Gen. Khalifa Hifter, has often been said to harbor strongman ambitions similar to those of Colonel Qaddafi. Many Libyans, though, say in private that they yearn for the order and prosperity of the Qaddafi era. Rival militias and political factions have carved the country into zones of influence, causing a sharp decline in the country’s oil production and a severe economic crisis that has caused hardship for most Libyans.

You Don’t Like the Girls in ‘Girls’? That’s Its Genius. - The New York Times

Wesley Morris

Normally, you’d be confused. Why would HBO lower the curtain on Season 5 of “Girls” with two episodes on Sunday rather than the usual one at a time? Why not give the show’s 10 episodes a full 10 weeks? But there are the mysteries. Then there are the realities. And the presumable reality is that decks needed clearing and hatches needed battening for next weekend’s simultaneous resumption of “Game of Thrones,” “Veep” and “Silicon Valley” — and the Saturday unveiling of whatever this Beyoncé “Lemonade” thing is supposed to be. So Sunday’s “Girls” finale points to the national indifference that’s accrued around a show whose fealty to discomfort, poor choices and social cannibalism, which felt new in 2012, are now just part of television’s oxygen. In the last two seasons, the show’s senses of satire and pathos are stronger and more pungent than everBut it’s true: Funny narcissists are indeed easy to come by (even on HBO). Perhaps instead you’re watching “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” “Veep” “Transparent,” “Togetherness” “Crazy ” and “You’re the Worst. ” And “Girls” didn’t invent them. There they were, for instance, on “The Golden Girls,” “Will Grace,” “Sex and the City” and “30 Rock. ” But “Girls” keeps finding ways of dramatizing its satire so that it doesn’t always seem satirical. Few shows better explore the complications of personality and behavior. Even if it doesn’t appear as robust, refined and specific an achievement as, say, “Transparent,” the show still has the confidence to jump along a tightrope of displeasure. [ Has “Girls” gotten better? Read our discussion. ] The show’s ringmastered by its chief protagonist, Hannah Horvath (Lena Dunham) pinball off one another, going from friends to lovers to frenemies. What set the show apart this year — from both its previous seasons and most of its peers — is the use of the space, place, framing, allusion and mood to house that narcissism. Bad manners are met with mannerism. Shoshanna’s first adult job landed her in Tokyo and, for a few episodes, the show went with her. Her intoxication with the culture — without her Japanese pals losing sight of her foreignness — felt like a gentle rebuke of the incurious insularity of a movie like “Lost in Translation. ” She wasn’t a citizen. Nor was she a tourist. This season’s seventh episode was particularly handsome. Written by Sarah Heyward and directed by Richard Shepard, it turned the 1964 murder of Kitty Genovese into a piece of immersive theater staged inside and around a stately apartment complex, which was meant to evoke the building near where Genovese was killed, while her neighbors went about their business. The killing inspired decades of research the show used the case as an ideal test for the characters’ own emotional nearsightedness. (“Hello Kitty” is the episode’s title.) Hannah enters the building lobby with her current boyfriend, Fran (Jake Lacy) and leaves devastated that her ex, Adam (Adam Driver) might be sleeping with one of her best friends, Jessa (Jemima Kirke). As usual, the comedy comes, in part, from Hannah’s obnoxious rebellion against propriety, which tends to be represented by poor Ray (Alex Karpovsky). His morality, civic engagement, loyalty and earnestness (culturally, he’s a generation older) are constantly disrupted, compromised and exploited by everyone else. This time he just wants to lose himself in some theater and no one will let him. The small silences in this episode are rich and absorptive. They’re too much, though, for Hannah, who keeps breaking them to muse about the artifice of it all. When her friend Marnie (Allison Williams) enters one apartment, newly single and almost radioactively aglow, she doubles the obliviousness. It’s unclear she even knows she’s at a play. They’re there to see Adam perform as half of a squabbling married couple, but by the time the play reaches its grisly climax, none of these people are really paying attention. Adam looked across the courtyard at Jessa, who’s vamping at him on a fire escape, while Hannah watches them both in disbelief. They ignore the screams and barely notice the amateurish plaster statues that stand in for the victim and her killer. There’s just Brenda Lee misting up the soundtrack. Basically, a crime loses out to a figurative one. It’s one of the show’s most sophisticated and most intricately filmed gags about selfishness. The camera glides toward windows. It cranes downs at the plaster . It oscillates from Jessa to Adam to Hannah. Perhaps you think about “Rear Window,” “Monsieur Hire,” “Stakeout” or any other movie involving voyeurism, danger and a little melodrama. And the atmosphere is so rich you can practically feel the balm of warm spring air. But Hannah and Marnie peel off to commiserate. And by the time you see these two spread out on somebody’s bed, they’ve cast themselves in their own sitcom: “The Sorrow and the . ” But the show manages to maintain the gravity of both transgressions: an ambitious if seemingly dumb take on real tragedy and the tragedy that Hannah thinks is her life. It’s a kicky, poignant of television — half of which is spent elsewhere at a Manhattan party, featuring Hannah’s roommate, Elijah (Andrew Rannells) who is trying to hold his own among greasy gay celebrities. Each plot warranted its own episode, but that was “Girls” this year: so many good ideas, so little space to unfurl them. There were moments during the series’ underrated fourth season when, between Hannah’s damningly indulgent stint at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and the invention of a carnivorous named (Gillian Jacobs) the show looked as if it had found its groove as a farce. This fifth season ended on a note, after Hannah runs into Tally (Jenny Slate) a college classmate, with a dark cloud of hair, who has become a literary star. She’s like Bizzaro Hannah: Her narcissism doesn’t repel success it vacuums it up. Tally encourages Hannah to steal a guy’s unlocked bike (it’s a sign, Tally says) and through two montages — set first to Vanity Fare then to Nicki Minaj and Beyoncé — they take a ride, smoke a joint on Hannah’s bed, and dance in her apartment. And for half an episode, as Tally and Hannah pedal and puff, “Girls” is no longer “Girls. ” It’s “Broad City. ” On that show, Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson mount a perfectly calibrated celebration of millennial obnoxiousness, while also nailing the ridiculousness of consumer culture. The two shows have unruly young women and Brooklyn in common. That’s about it. But the way Ms. Slate is made to look resembles — passingly, cartoonishly — Ms. Glazer. These scenes between Ms. Slate and Ms. Dunham suggest a lunatic road not taken. “Girls” has some great slapstick. But it’s bending toward maturity that “Broad City” doesn’t care about. When it started, “Girls” was received as an anthem for entitled white women. Detractors had a field day with Ms. Dunham, who created this show and has written and directed much of it, for privileging privilege, as if she couldn’t be aspiring to the withering heights of Luis Buñuel or Carrie Fisher. Through 52 episodes of television — some of them, like that Kitty Genovese episode, marvelous — “Girls” has never stopped looking for the grander, harsher psychological picture. It’s never stopped looking for tough laughs. It fights American absurdity with its own version of it, as it does in the final episode of the season, in which Shoshanna (Zosia Mamet, a crayon turning at last into a scalpel) rebrands Ray’s coffee shop as a haven for people who actually work — that is, for “adults,” in other words. But in its highest gear, the show peerlessly vanishes the line between sociocultural satire and mental instability, between send up and crack up. That business with Hannah, Adam and Jessa closes the season with an unnerving cliffhanger. Hannah performs her pain for the storytellers’ radio hour “The Moth,” which obviously she takes to like a to a flame. The night’s theme is jealousy. In her tale, she proves she’s overcome it by delivering a peace offering in the form of a fruit basket. But the story deepens and darkens a deranged argument that took place a few minutes earlier. Suddenly, Hannah’s narcissism seems terroristic. Her personality disorder has the power to disorder other people’s personalities. Maybe, she’s the disorder. One of the last shots hovers about a demolished living room. But it’s not exactly a cliffhanger for the show’s next and final season. It’s a view of the wreckage in the canyon. Plus, there’s something about the way the camera lingers on the basket outside the door that makes Hannah’s offering seem more than a gift. It looks like a bomb.

Scientists Say Canadian Bacteria Fossils May Be Earth’s Oldest - The New York Times

Carl Zimmer

They are microscopic artwork: tiny tubes and long filaments, strange squiggles etched into some of the most ancient rocks known. On Wednesday, researchers reported that these may be the oldest fossils ever discovered, the remains of bacteria thriving on Earth not long, geologically speaking, after the very birth of the planet. If so, they offer evidence that life here got off to a very early start. But many experts in the field were skeptical of the new study — or downright unconvinced. Martin J. Van Kranendonk, a geologist at the University of New South Wales, called the patterns in the rocks “dubiofossils” — structures, perhaps, but without clear proof that they started out as something alive. Heated disputes are nothing new in the search for the earliest life on Earth. In 1993 J. William Schopf, a paleontologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, and his colleagues found what that they, too, argued were the world’s oldest fossils: chainlike blobs in 3. 46 rocks made, they said, by bacteria. Other researchers later argued that the structures were just oddly shaped minerals. But additional specimens from other sites came to light over the past two decades, and many of them have withstood scrutiny. There is now solid evidence of life dating back about 3. 5 billion years. Earth was a billion years old by then, and scientists have long wondered if even older fossils might be found. In August, Dr. Van Kranendonk and his colleagues reported discovering fossils in Greenland dating back 3. 7 billion years. The scientists argued that the organisms were once mats of bacteria that grew in shallow coastal waters. In the new study, published in the journal Nature, Mattew S. Dodd, Dominic Papineau and their colleagues at University College London studied rocks that were either slightly older or much older than those containing the Greenland fossils. They came from a remote geological formation in Canada called Nuvvuagittuq, which stretches across four square miles on the coast of Hudson Bay. Geologists surveyed the formation for the first time in the 1990s. Researchers have variously estimated its age at 3. 77 billion years or 4. 22 billion years — just 340 million years after the formation of the planet. In 2008, Dr. Papineau collected rocks from the formation and found a number of clues indicating that they had formed around hydrothermal vents on the ancient sea floor that spewed iron and other minerals. He also found hints that there might have been life there — tiny blobs of rock, for instance, that contained a compound called apatite, which can form from phosphorus released by dying organisms. The tubes and other structures in the rock that Mr. Dodd found are also reminiscent of bacteria that live today around hydrothermal vents. They grow as filaments, feeding on iron compounds and creating cavities in the sediment. Similar filaments contain iron compounds in the Nuvvuagittuq rocks, Mr. Dodd and his colleagues found, and they are attached to round clumps that resemble the tiny anchors bacteria use to hold on to rock surfaces. The rocks also contain forms of organic carbon that could have been created by bacteria. The researchers argue that it would be unlikely for all of these features to have formed in the absence of life. “Then you’re left with one scenario — a biological origin,” Mr. Dodd said. Such a discovery could have big implications for the understanding of life’s early evolution. If these really are fossils 3. 77 billion years old, then they show that life was already diversifying by that time, thriving in both the shallow ocean in what is now Greenland and the deep ocean in today’s Canada. And if these are fossils 4. 2 billion years old, then scientists will have evidence that life began quickly on Earth, not long after the oceans formed. Yet Frances Westall, the director of research at the de Biophysique Moléculaire in Orléans, France, isn’t convinced these are fossils at all. “I am frankly dubious,” she said. For one thing, she has argued, the filaments in the Nuvvuagittuq rocks are too big. She and her colleagues have found filaments formed by bacteria in rock dating back 3. 3 billion years, and these are far smaller. On the early Earth, bacteria were forced to stay small, Dr. Westall said, because the atmosphere did not yet have enough oxygen to fuel their growth. Long after the Nuvvuagittuq rocks formed on the sea floor, they were heated to tremendous temperatures. Some experts doubted that microscopic fossils could have survived such a baking. “These authors built their research on pushing speculative ideas and appear totally unaware of the considerable evidence against their interpretation,” said Wouter Bleeker, of the Geological Survey of Canada. In response, Dr. Papineau observed that the type of rock studied, known as chert, is very hard and might have protected fossils from high temperatures. “I think the authors have done a good job,” said David Wacey, who researches the origins and evolution of life at the University of Western Australia. With the new evidence, he said, “One comes up with a pretty convincing biological scenario” for the origins of the mysterious rock features. Dr. Wacey was not surprised that the new work had drawn criticism. “It may be many years before a consensus is reached,” he said. “But this is how science progresses. ”

Pro-Government Forces Advance in Syria Amid Talk of U.S.-Russia Cooperation - The New York Times

Anne Barnard and Karam Shoumali

BEIRUT, Lebanon — In Moscow on Friday, Secretary of State John Kerry and Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov of Russia laid bunches of flowers in memory of the victims of the truck attack in Nice, France, then spent hours debating proposals for new cooperation in Syria. But the discussions, aimed at fighting terrorism and restarting political talks to end the war, took place against a backdrop of new carnage in Syria, where a very different dynamic is playing out. forces are tightening a new siege around the country’s largest city, Aleppo, amid intense bombing. Farther south, they are on the verge of overrunning the Damascus suburb of Daraya, one of the first to rebel against the government of President Bashar five years ago. They have stepped up airstrikes, hitting marketplaces and tent camps, as civilians trapped behind blockades continue to die for lack of food and medical care. Both supporters and opponents of Mr. Assad say he and his allies are seeking to press their military campaign as far as it can go before January, when a new American president might take a tougher line in Syria. Even as the Syrian government periodically issues declarations of temporary that policy is playing out with devastating effect on the ground in Syria. The siege that people on the side of Aleppo have dreaded for years seems to have arrived this week, adding to besieged areas across the country where aid groups say one million people are already trapped. The only road connecting the city to the border with Turkey and countryside has long been subject to airstrikes. But after recent advances, government forces can now rake it with artillery and fire. The United Nations and international aid groups are raising alarms, saying that food, medicine and medical personnel are unable to reach the city. “We need to be able to reach eastern Aleppo,” Jan Egeland, the United Nations humanitarian adviser to the special envoy on Syria, said in Geneva on Friday, estimating that about 250, 000 people still live there. “It is on the verge of becoming yet another besieged location — our largest. ” The fear in Aleppo is that the government will surround it and starve and shell it until it surrenders, as it did with Homs, a smaller city, where a siege of the downtown lasted more than two years and left virtually every building damaged. But Aleppo is far larger, and such a siege would be longer and bloodier. Abdul Ghani Shoubak, a lawyer and member of the local council who made it into the city last week from Turkey, is now not sure when he will be able to make it out. Signs of siege are already evident, he said. “Sugar and eggs disappeared from the market, and it is hard to find cooking gas,” Mr. Shoubak, 30, said in a telephone interview. He said that the council was trying to ration food for the public, but that the biggest problem was the inability to evacuate the wounded. “We counted 150 air raids and 450 barrel bombs in the past two days,” he said, speaking of the primitive bombs, filled with nails and other shrapnel, that the Syrian government uses. Rebels also increased their shelling of the side and, as usual, civilians bore the brunt of it. Scores of people died on each side throughout the week. There have been more than 300 attacks on medical facilities during the war, according to the advocacy group Physicians for Human Rights. The vast majority were carried out by the government or its allies, and Aleppo has been one of the hardest hit areas. There are just a few dozen doctors left for a population of 300, 000, according to a physician who works for the city’s only pediatric hospital, the Children’s Hospital of Aleppo, even after several colleagues died in the bombing of another facility, the Quds Hospital, earlier this year. “This tells us that they are trying to displace people, forcing them to leave the city,” the doctor, who uses a nickname, Dr. Hatem, for safety, said in a phone interview. “They have no problem in targeting anything. ” Daraya, a suburb of Damascus, the capital, has held out for so long that residents find it hard to believe that government tanks are suddenly threatening to split the town. It lies just south of Damascus, close to major roads and military installations, and is a symbol for both the government and its opponents. Rebels there are running out of arms and ammunition as the government, backed by Russia, Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, has slowly retaken supply routes. Daraya was one of the first towns to revolt, first with peaceful protests, where residents such as Ghiath Mattar, who would hand roses to soldiers and police officers, inspired imitators around the country before he was detained and tortured to death. Later, Daraya was one of the first of the suburbs around Damascus to take up arms, and to be attacked with artillery and helicopters. In a 2012 massacre, numerous witnesses reported at the time, hundreds were killed with knives by government militias. Just a few thousand people are left in Daraya now, and they have been besieged so long that they remain a kind of time capsule of the original 2011 revolt the rebels controlling the town are local residents, not led by foreign jihadists, and the leaders of the local council took part in early protests. That is why Muhammad Shihadeh, a member of the local council, fears retaliation if government troops take the town: The government, he said, wants to eliminate any alternative model. “Daraya joined the peaceful revolution, and exported peaceful activists,” Mr. Shihadeh said. “It had a local council, and this all gave Daraya a value that made it a target for the regime. If the regime manages to enter this area, we are expecting massacres against the civilians. ” Daraya went without any United Nations aid until June, when a single delivery took place, providing what was supposed to be a month’s supply for 4, 000 people, but Mr. Shihadeh said there were twice that many civilians in need. Even the smuggling routes that had enabled the delivery of exorbitantly priced food have been cut off, he said people are surviving on rice, lentils and greens they grow on rooftops and in empty lots. Residents say they are getting hungrier as rebels have lost agricultural areas on the outskirts. “People use whatever expired medicine they find in destroyed houses,” Mr. Shihadeh said. “Most people have one meal a day. ” Daraya got a brief respite from the bombing for a few weeks beginning in March, under a brokered by the United States and Russia, but in recent weeks it has been bombarded daily. Residents are asking for a renewal of the truce and airdrops of food if the government continues to deny permission for convoys. Aleppo and Daraya are just two highly symbolic areas facing new stresses, but similar scenes are unfolding around the country, raising questions about whether Russia has the will or the ability to press the Syrian government to stop targeting civilians or to allow aid deliveries. In Madaya, for instance, the town near Damascus where images of starvation galvanized international pressure for aid access this year, people are continuing to die from malnutrition after treatment kits were removed from the few convoys that went through. The last one was on April 30. There have been 86 preventable deaths there since the siege began last year, including 65 related to malnutrition, according to Physicians for Human Rights and the Syrian American Medical Society. “Starvation is back” in Madaya, Mr. Egeland said. “It will be a debacle for all of us if we have the same images coming out of Madaya which were there when we started our work. ”

WHO cancer agency under fire for withholding ‘carcinogenic glyphosate’ documents

RT

WHO cancer agency under fire for withholding ‘carcinogenic glyphosate’ documents Published time: 27 Oct, 2016 01:32 Get short URL © Philippe Huguen / AFP The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), facing criticism over its classification of carcinogens, has reportedly been advising its scientific experts not to publish internal research data on its 2015 report on “probably carcinogenic” glyphosate. The IARC urged its scientists not to publish research documents on its 2015 weedkiller glyphosate review, according to Reuters. The agency told Reuters on Tuesday that it tried to protect the study from “external interference,” as well as protect its intellectual rights, since it was “the sole owner of such materials.” The scientists had been asked earlier to release all the documentation on the 2015 report under US freedom of information laws. The groundbreaking review, published in March 2015 by the IARC – a semi-autonomous agency of the World Health Organization (WHO) – labeled the glyphosate herbicide as “probably carcinogenic to humans.” Glyphosate is a key ingredient of Monsanto’s flagship weedkiller well-known under the trade name ‘Roundup.' It is one of the most heavily used herbicides in the world and is designed to go along with genetically-modified “Roundup Ready” crops, also produced by Monsanto. Read more EU may ban Monsanto weedkiller over health concerns The IARC’s report caused problems for both the notorious agrochemical giant and the agency itself. The report sparked a heated debate around the use of Roundup, and caused several EU countries – including France, Sweden, and the Netherlands – to object to the renewal of the glyphosate’s EU license. The vote on prolonging the glyphosate license for 15 years failed several times in June 2016, but the license was temporarily extended for 18 months during last hours before its expiration. The controversial report has seemingly made the IARC a target for attacks from multiple directions, and raised scientific, legal, and financial questions. Various critics, including those in the chemical industry, said the IARC's evaluations are fuel for “unnecessary health scares,” since the IARC allegedly studies the potentially harmful substance itself, and not a “typical human” exposure to it. It remained unclear whether the critics urged a WHO body to test the potentially carcinogenic chemical on humans. The critics also brought up other controversial statements from the IARC, over whether such things as mobile phones, coffee, red meat, and processed meat could cause cancer. The agency defended its methods as scientifically sound and “widely respected for their scientific rigor, standardized and transparent process and...freedom from conflicts of interest.” Numerous freedom of information requests by the Energy & Environment Legal Institute (E&E Legal), a US conservative advocacy group, have since been turned down with this reasoning. Read more Bayer vows not to use reputation to impose Monsanto’s GM crops on Europe E&E Legal told Reuters that it is pushing a legal challenge over whether the documents in question belong to the IARC or to the US federal and state institutions where some of the experts work. Basically, it’s being decided whether the IARC, as part of the WHO, is truly independent and free from “conflicts of interest.” According to Reuters, officials from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) will be questioned by a congressional committee about why American taxpayers fund the cancer agency, which faces much criticism over its allegedly faulty classification of carcinogens. “IARC’s standards and determinations for classifying substances as carcinogenic, and therefore cancer-causing, appear inconsistent with other scientific research, and have generated much controversy and alarm,” a letter from US Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz to NIH director Francis Collins states, as quoted by Reuters. The Oversight Committee demanded a full disclosure of NIH funding of the IARC, and even money spent in relation to the cancer agency’s activities. READ MORE: Conflict of interest? Members of UN panel on glyphosate have Monsanto ties IARC opponents from scientific circles vowed to provide their data on the matter. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which believes glyphosate is “unlikely pose a carcinogenic hazard to humans,” promised to release its raw data on the subject as part of its “commitment to open risk assessment.” The food safety watchdog made this statement in late September, and still has to deliver the promised information.

Work. Walk 5 Minutes. Work. - The New York Times

Gretchen Reynolds

Stuck at your work desk? Standing up and walking around for five minutes every hour during the workday could lift your mood, combat lethargy without reducing focus and attention, and even dull hunger pangs, according to an instructive new study. The study, which also found that frequent, brief walking breaks were more effective at improving than a single, longer walk before work, could provide the basis for a simple, realistic New Year’s exercise resolution for those of us bound to our desks all day. There is growing evidence, of course, that long bouts of uninterrupted sitting can have undesirable physical and emotional consequences. Studies have shown that sitting motionless reduces blood flow to the legs, increasing the risk for atherosclerosis, the buildup of plaques in the arteries. People who sit for more than eight or nine hours daily, which for many of us describes a typical workday, also are at heightened risk for diabetes, depression and obesity compared with people who move more often. In response, researchers and some bosses have proposed a variety of methods for helping people reduce their sitting time at work, including standing workstations and treadmill desks. But such options are cumbersome and costly, making them impractical for many work situations. Some experts have worried, too, that if people are physically active at the office, they might subsequently become more tired, grumpy, distracted or hungry, any of which could have an undesirable effect on work performance and health. So for the new study, which was published in November in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, researchers from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, the Johnson Johnson Human Performance Institute and other institutions decided to test several methods of increasing movement among office workers. (The study was funded largely by Johnson Johnson, with additional support from the Colorado Nutrition Obesity Research Center.) To start, the researchers invited 30 sedentary adult office workers to a university clinic to complete a battery of health tests and questionnaires. The researchers measured their heart rates and stress hormone levels and asked them to rank, on a numerical scale, how energetic or tired they felt, as well as how happy they were, and whether they were feeling peckish or had little appetite just then. The volunteers also completed computerized games designed primarily to test their ability to concentrate and make decisions. Then, on three subsequent visits to the clinic, each volunteer simulated a workday. During one visit, the volunteers sat for the whole time with no interruptions, except for bathroom breaks. During another, they walked moderately for 30 minutes at the start of their experimental day, and then sat for the next five and a half hours with no additional scheduled breaks. Finally, during a third visit, the volunteers sat for most of the six hours, but began each hour with five minutes of moderate walking, using treadmills at the clinic. At the start and end of each session, the researchers drew blood to check levels of stress hormones. And periodically throughout each day, they asked their volunteers to numerically rate their moods, energy, fatigue and appetites. The volunteers also repeated the computerized testing of their thinking skills at the close of each session. The researchers then analyzed the data. The numbers showed that on almost all measures, the subjects’ ratings of how they were feeling rose when they did not sit for six uninterrupted hours. They said that they felt much more energetic throughout the day if they had been active, whether that activity was bunched into a single longish walk at the start of the day or distributed into multiple brief breaks. On other measures, though, the walks were more potent than the concentrated version. When the workers rose most often, they reported greater happiness, less fatigue and considerably less craving for food than on either of the other days. Their feelings of vigor also tended to increase throughout the day, while they often had plateaued by early afternoon after walking only once in the morning. There were no differences on the scores on the cognitive tests, whether they sat all day or got up and moved. Stress hormones also remained steady during each visit. These results suggest that “even a little bit of activity, spread throughout the day, is a practical, easy way to improve ” says Jack Groppel, a study author and a founder of the Johnson Johnson Human Performance Institute. He points out that the walking breaks did not cause people to feel more tired or hungry, but instead had the opposite effect. They also did not alter people’s ability to focus, so, in theory, should not affect productivity (for good or ill). This study, however, was small in scale, and limited by its dependence on the volunteers’ perceptions of their responses to the experiment. But even so, “it’s clear that moving matters,” Dr. Groppel says. So set your 2017 appointment calendar, he suggests, to devote five minutes every hour to physical activity, whether you walk up and down a staircase, along a corridor or just pace around your office.

Militants Used Toxic Gas Near Aleppo Airport – Report

#FROMTHEFRONT #MAPS 13.11.2016 - 1,004 views 3.5 ( 2 votes) Militants Used Toxic Gas Near Aleppo Airport – Report 3.5 out of 5 based on 2 ratings. 2 user reviews. Militants Used Toxic Gas Near Aleppo Airport – Report Donate Click to see the full-size map. Oiriginal map source: @v4st0/Twitter; Additional notes by SF Militants have launched a toxic gas attack near the international airport in the Syrian city of Aleppo , the Lebanon-based TV channel, Al Mayadeen TV, reported Sunday. The report says that miliants used projectiles with poisonous gas during the artillery shelling of the Syrian army’s positions at the Aleppo international airport. At least 28 Syrian servicemen were reported injured. Earlier this week, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that Russian military experts had found evidence that militants had used chemical weapons (chlorine and white phosphorus) in Aleppo city. The ministry send samples of soil and shell fragments found in Aleppo to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). Despite numerous reports of militants’ use of chemical weapons, the OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM) expert panel keeps its line to blame the Syrian government for almost every chemical attack since the start of the war. Donate

Steve Harvey Talks Housing With President-Elect Trump - The New York Times

Sopan Deb

Steve Harvey, the comedian and television host, became the latest celebrity to ascend Trump Tower on Friday to discuss federal policy with Donald Trump, in this case housing issues. But before Mr. Harvey was off the premises, he unexpectedly revived a recent controversy over his comments about Asian men. After the meeting, Mr. Trump and Mr. Harvey briefly appeared together in the lobby. When Mr. Trump left, Mr. Harvey said they had discussed ways he could work with Ben Carson, Mr. Trump’s nominee to run the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Mr. Harvey has spoken openly in the past of being homeless as an adult while struggling to start his comedy career, though he gave no reason on Friday for why he was consulted on housing affairs. Mr. Harvey said he was invited a week ago by “both transition teams,” referring to representatives of President Obama and Mr. Trump, and emphasized that the visit was informal. “Well, you know it’s not my jump into politics,” Mr. Harvey said. “I ain’t gonna pass a background check. It’s just me following orders from my friend President Obama who said, ‘Steve, you gotta,’ as he told everybody, ‘get out from behind your computer, stop tweeting and texting and get out there and sit down and talk. ’” The Trump team confirmed the invitation. The White House did not comment. Mr. Harvey announced his support for Mr. Trump’s opponent, Hillary Clinton, last March in the presidential primaries. In September, during an interview with her on “The Steve Harvey Morning Show” on iHeartRadio, he said: “She’s a mother, she’s a grandmother, and we’re going to put her back in the White House, just flat out. Simply put. ” This was just the latest crossover for Mr. Trump during his transition. Last month the surprised reporters at Trump Tower by posing for photographs in the lobby with Kanye West. For Mr. Harvey’s part, he said that the incoming president was “a great guy” and “genuine. ” He deflected questions about Mr. Trump’s history of questionable comments regarding race from the campaign trail, and was diplomatic about his doubts about Mr. Trump. “You don’t kill it with one conversation, but you can start it with the conversation,” Mr. Harvey said. “So, you know, a lot about what people say, ‘Now, well, it’s time to see what you do.’ And he said he wanted to do something. ” Mr. Harvey also mentioned a controversy in which, during his television show last week, he mocked the dating skills of Asian men. At Trump Tower, Mr. Harvey said, unprompted, that he hadn’t laughed recently as a result of the controversy. “I ain’t been laughing that much over the past few days,” Mr. Harvey said. “They’re kinda beating me up on the internet right now for no reason. But, you know, that’s life, ain’t it?” After the meeting, Mr. Harvey put out a message on Twitter, saying that he found Mr. Trump “congenial and sincere” and that he would “sit with him anytime. ” Here are some edited excerpts from Mr. Harvey’s conversation with reporters in Trump Tower: REPORTER: There have been a lot of doubts about this administration about race. Jeff Sessions, his record in Alabama, some of the things the said during the campaign about the inner cities. Are your doubts fully gone or are you going to still try and work them out? STEVE HARVEY: Well, I mean, you know, look, you don’t kill it with one conversation, but you can start it with the conversation. So, you know, a lot about what people say, now, well, it’s time to see what you do. And he said he wanted to do something. You can’t beat better than that. You know, and so, we’re gonna see. I’ve been put in contact with Ben Carson, which was great, I spoke with him. And so, we’re gonna get some things started, and they have a plan for the inner cities but they need help. And so, that’s why they called me. So we’ll see what I can do. REPORTER: Do you have any lingering things you still want to talk further about, that you’re still concerned about, you haven’t heard quite what you wanted to hear yet? HARVEY: Well, I mean for this, we got off to a great start. I think it could be the beginning of something. For them to invite me here to talk about a specific problem and thought that I might be able to help — I know I got a big radio show, I got a lot of people listening every morning. So I’ve always been concerned about inner city problems because they’re huge. My mentoring problem, excuse me, my mentoring program has been a part of this type of — and that’s what I want to see happen. And they were spot on with it. And Ben Carson got on the phone. I met with him over the phone today, but I sat with Trump and we laughed a little bit. I ain’t been laughing that much over the past few days. They’re kinda beating me up on the internet right now for no reason. But, you know, that’s life, ain’t it? REPORTER: What did you laugh over? HARVEY: Well we talked about golf. We laughed about my score in golf, his score in golf, we talked about some of the friends that we have in common. Mark Burnett. Talked about TV shows. Things like that. He’s a fan. So he’s seen it. I met his daughter, she was very sweet. So I think we’re off to a good start.

Coalition: U.S. Troops Fighting in Mosul Offensive ’Come Under Fire’

Edwin Mora

U. S service members participating in the ongoing offensive to recapture the Iraqi city of Mosul from the Islamic State “have come under fire,” Col. John Dorrian, a spokesman for the U. S. coalition, told Pentagon reporters. [“They have come under fire at different times, our forces that have been in Mosul and other places around Iraq,” revealed Col. Dorrian. “What I would tell you, though, is that they are directed to try and be positioned where that is a rarity and unlikely to occur,” he added. Without providing a specific figure, an unnamed U. S. defense official told some news outlets that American forces taking part in the Mosul operation had suffered injuries. U. S. troops have been providing advice and assistance to an alliance of tens of thousands of Iraqi security forces, Kurdish Peshmerga troops, and Shiite militiamen fighting to push the Islamic State, also known as ISIS and ISIL, out of Mosul. The day after the Mosul offensive began in Peter Cook, secretary for the Pentagon, conceded that U. S. troops participating in the operation would be in “harm’s way. ” “Some [U. S. troops] will be closer to the front than others … but it’s Iraqis in the lead … Americans are in harm’s way as part of this fight … They’re playing a support role … but they are behind the forward line of troops,” Cook told reporters. “U. S. forces remain in a position to be able to provide advice to them,” he added. “A small number will be in a position to provide that advice on the ground. ” The U. S. Iraqi forces and their allies have liberated eastern Mosul. On Sunday, the Iraqi alliance began its mission to retake the western side of the city, considered one of ISIS’s last major strongholds in the country. Since 2014, ISIS has held Mosul, Iraq’s city. An estimated 2, 000 jihadists are believed to be still fighting to keep Mosul under ISIS’s control. The U. S. Iraqi forces and their allies have recently recaptured Mosul’s airport.

UK citizens and war heroes get cheap pre-fab houses while Muslim colonizers get taxpayer-funded luxurious council homes

BareNakedIslam

UK citizens and war heroes get cheap pre-fab houses while Muslim colonizers get taxpayer-funded luxurious council homes UK Ministers have been forced to put forward plans for pre-fabricated homes after 30,000 luxury council houses were handed out to unemployed illegal alien Muslim migrants. Migration Watch said the costs will continue to rocket if a “sustainable” level of migration is not achieved. UK Daily Mail More than 11,000 households are raking in benefits that are at least the equivalent of a higher rate taxpayers’ £47,000 salary, it was revealed last month. According to official figures, thousands of Muslim migrant families on benefits are living in luxury homes, with many receiving housing handouts of about £5,000 per month – enough to fund a £1million mortgage. Jonathan Isaby, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘Many taxpayers struggling to make ends meet will find it incredibly unfair that some people are drawing more in benefits than they’ve ever actually earned themselves. UK Express (h/t Rob E) A spokesperson said: “There is a long standing controversy over the granting of social housing to immigrants. This has not been helped by local authorities’ reluctance to publish the relevant information. “Some immigrant groups have very low use of social housing whereas others are more likely to be in social housing than the UK born. There is absolutely nothing in the rules that state that immigrants should get preferential treatment. “However, priority for social housing is largely determined by need and so some ‘high need’ immigrant families (with multiple wives and large litters of kids) will gain access to housing over longer standing local residents deemed to be of lower need. This can be contentious. The 100,000 pre-fab homes(below) proposed by the Government are a far cry from those properties “fit for heroes” and service personnel who were awarded social housing on their return from the horrors of the First World War. “In the future, any housing strategy must address both supply and demand. The Muslim invasion is a major part of housing demand. “Unless net migration is reduced to a manageable and sustainable level a large house building programme will have to continue indefinitely, with all the costs and loss of amenities involved.” A white paper due out next month includes measures to encourage banks to lend to firms which construct off-site before delivering them to their final destination. A Government source said: “The first and most obvious advantage is speeding up the building of housing. “There is pretty good evidence that if you did it at scale it is cheaper.” This has pushed ministers to plan a new wave of pre-made homes to solve the housing crisis. The prefabricated homes can be built off site in as little as a day and take just 48 hours to install on a site. Jonathan Isaby, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘Many taxpayers struggling to make ends meet will find it incredibly unfair that some people are drawing more in benefits than they’ve ever actually earned themselves. But today when approximately 9,000 of our servicemen and women are sleeping rough after leaving the military, Government figures show how an influx of Muslims has seen 30,000 social housing lettings given to immigrants in 2015. Outrage as Afghan War hero who guarded the Queen is thrown out of council home From 2015, Jamie Streets, 34, spent 15 years in the Household Cavalry and suffered brain damage while on duty. But he, his wife Charmaine and their four children are to be kicked out of temporary accommodation after Cornwall County Council denied them a permanent home. Mr Streets served in both Kosovo and Afghanistan and escorted the Queen on ceremonial duty, holding the rank of corporal of horse. But he was discharged on medical grounds last year after suffering serious head injuries and a brain tumor. Although he recovered enough to return to work, he then suffered a seizure and had to leave the Army. Sorry, we decided that unemployed Muslim colonizers deserve a nicer home than war heroes In an open letter to the Prime Minister and Cornwall Council’s chief executive Andrew Kerr, the Household Cavalry Veterans Association says it is “incensed”. Signed by Secretary Rob Mather, the letter claims taxpayers’ money is spent on “lavish lifestyles and foreign aid”, while “serious issues on our own doorstep are not resolved”. “This is not acceptable treatment of one who served his Queen and country.” The seven-bedroom home in Acton, West London, where an Afghan Muslim family were placed at a cost of £2,875 a week to taxpayers UK: Muslim Welfare ‘Refugees’ Trash The £1.25 Million Home They Are Living In For Free And Laugh About It A family of PALESTINIAN MUSLIM freeloaders provoked outrage yesterday by saying they “deserve” to live in a £1.25 million taxpayer-funded luxury home (above) despite trashing it. The mother, Mrs Mahmoud, gets £20,000 a year in housing benefits to pay her rent. Yet she said: “I don’t care if people think I am not grateful. I am entitled to live in a house like this even if I don’t pay for it. “I deserve to live in a nice house and get benefits because I am human.” The family is one of at least 100 unemployed Muslim invaders living in homes on state handouts that could fund £1million mortgages. Muslim mother of eight was placed in a £2.6m house in Notting Hill, west London at the taxpayers’ expense She has since split with her husband and was given British citizenship five years ago but has never worked in this country. She moved with her two sons and five daughters to the three-bedroom house in Fulham, west London, three years ago. It had just undergone a £76,000 refurbishment, half paid for by the taxpayer. She claims her family is being persecuted because neighbours “don’t want a foreigner to come and live in this street.” Thanks for the nice council house, suckers. Migration Watch said the costs will continue to rocket if a “sustainable” level of migration is not achieved. A spokesperson said: “There is a long standing controversy over the granting of social housing to immigrants. This has not been helped by local authorities’ reluctance to publish the relevant information. There is absolutely nothing in the rules that state that immigrants should get preferential treatment.

After Vets Fight War, Feds Demand Money Back… But Illegals And Refugees Can Keep Their Money

IWB

After Vets Fight War, Feds Demand Money Back… But Illegals And Refugees Can Keep Their Money by IWB · October 27, 2016 Tweet Thanks you for your service? No. After promising bonuses & education benefits to military in order to get them to re-enlist for the Afghanistan & Iraq Wars, the Pentagon is now demanding the money back from vets who can’t afford to pay. This is how Obama treats veterans — just like Hillary treats those who protect her in the Secret Service. Can nayone trust their promises? Illegals And Refugees Can Keep Their Money Military Soldiers Made To Pay Bonuses Back But Illegals And Refugees Can Keep There Money

Mr. Trump’s Wild Ride - The New York Times

Robert Draper

‘Have you seen the latest polls? I’m beating Hillary. ” Donald Trump was on the phone with a man he had never met, a Republican delegate in Pennsylvania. It was May 2, one day before the Indiana primary election, and the private plane bearing his last name in gigantic letters was taxiing along a runway at Indianapolis International Airport. Trump proceeded to quote the numbers to the man in Pennsylvania: ahead of Clinton by 2 points in that day’s Rasmussen poll, 3 points behind her in the previous week’s George Washington University poll. These were the only two national polls at the moment that did not show him lagging behind the Democrat by a wide margin in the general election, but Trump was a businessman who preferred to negotiate using numbers that were in his favor. “I’d love your support, Phil,” the candidate said as he squinted at his own handwriting, a scrawl in black marker on a piece of paper. “You know, you’re the only delegate I’ve talked to. But I saw you on television, and you appreciate what I do — I won your county by a massive amount, and you’re respectful of that, and I just appreciate what you’ve said: ‘Having a moral obligation to support the winner’ — I hadn’t heard a delegate say that before. ” Trump thanked the delegate and hung up just as the Boeing 757 took off, en route to a final campaign stop in South Bend. He settled into his plush leather seat, beside a large cardboard box containing various documents relating to the Trump Organization’s sundry enterprises. “It’s hard negotiating elevator rates while you’re running for president,” he said. On the table before him were some notes for a speech on law and order prepared by his senior policy adviser, Stephen Miller, who sat behind the candidate around a table with a few other aides, including Trump’s campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski. On the more conventional presidential campaigns I have covered — George W. Bush, John McCain, Mitt Romney — the candidate’s mobile inner sanctum was a hive of activity, the advisers hovering constantly over their boss, rattling off the latest polling data or words of unsolicited advice from a big donor. On Trump’s plane, the aides spoke when spoken to and otherwise kept to their labors on their laptops. Trump’s attention was on the large TV on which various Fox News pundits were forecasting his probable victory in Indiana’s Republican primary the following day and the bleak implications for his opponent Ted Cruz. The Republican contest, they all seemed to agree, was pretty much over. The billionaire now appeared destined to be Clinton’s opponent in the general election. The Fox commentators, even the ones who favored Trump, seemed to struggle for the words to convey this eventuality. The candidate took in the good news with an oddly inert expression. “Maybe I’ll get beat tomorrow,” he said, for at least the third time that day. Not a single poll had given him cause for worry. But for all his swagger, Trump had an awareness of unseen, contingencies that held his triumphalism in check. He was compulsively superstitious twice on other plane trips I had seen him toss a few granules of salt over his left shoulder after eating. And here he was, on the day before he would effectively clinch his nomination, calling a single obscure delegate in a state he had already won in a landslide — an implicit nod to the forces aligned against him before resuming the affect of indomitability. On the TV, Fox had moved on from the election to footage of the smoky aftermath of a bombing in Baghdad. Trump rose from his seat and walked over to the screen for a closer look. “Boy, this ISIS,” he murmured. I asked Trump if he had ever been to Iraq. “Never!” he said, sounding horrified by the thought. “What’s the most dangerous place in the world you’ve been to?” He contemplated this for a second. “Brooklyn,” he said, laughing. “No,” he went on, “there are places in America that are among the most dangerous in the world. You go to places like Oakland. Or Ferguson. The crime numbers are worse. Seriously. ” It was a stark reminder of what set Trump apart from every other politician in recent memory who had occupied his current position: how little of the world he had seen beyond the archipelago of boardrooms, golf courses and hotels he inhabited, how utterances that by now would have torpedoed a more normal campaign continued to roll off his tongue with impunity. That Trump would emerge as the last candidate standing from a field that once included 17 seemed at times unimaginable over the five spasmodic weeks I had spent intermittently in the company of the Trump campaign. More than during any other stretch over the past year, everyone — at times even Trump and his loyal advisers — seemed hellbent on denying him victory. Now it was clear that there would be no technicalities, as some had long suspected, to keep the victory from him no fatal error, as so many had assumed. No, this was it: the final stage of a process by which Americans accepted that this man, wholly unlike any politician they had ever seen, was going to definitely, not maybe, become the of one of the two political parties of the most powerful nation on earth. On the TV, the Fox News pundits were speaking consolingly of the Cruz’s political future. Standing in front of the oversize screen, Trump scoffed: “I don’t think he has much of a future. ” He returned to his seat and proceeded to scratch out a few notes for what would be his final speech as a Republican competing for the nomination. “This is probably the most successful club anywhere in the world,” Trump informed me. “I have the best building and the best location. ” It was early on the evening of March 23 at the bar of Trump’s private resort in Palm Beach, Fla.: an estate that was envisioned after the death of its original owner, the cereal magnate Marjorie Merriweather Post, as a winter presidential retreat and that could conceivably be, by next January, a Camp David. Trump strolled in wearing a navy blazer and white dress shirt — no tie — and appearing slightly tanner than usual. We were supposed to have met late that morning, to begin my several weeks of following the campaign. But his communications director, Hope Hicks, emailed shortly before the scheduled : “Something has come up, and the boss is going to be occupied for a few hours. ” I deduced — correctly, as it turned out — that Trump had ditched me for a golf game. It was the first sunny day all week, and the previous evening the candidate had crushed Cruz in Arizona, which occasioned some celebration. Now Trump apologized for having kept me waiting. “Are you going to have dinner with us tonight?” he asked. Trump sat down across the table from me and next to Hicks and Lewandowski, who were poring over their smartphones. Opposite them loomed a painting of a much younger Trump in tennis whites. A waiter materialized and poured him a Coke. (Trump says that he has never touched alcohol.) The month of March had been Trump’s best thus far as a presidential candidate. Although he had, early on, privately rated his chances of winning the Republican nomination as one in 10, he now seemed poised to do just that. On March 1, he clobbered Cruz across the South, winning five of the seven primaries in the region that day — victories that wiped out hope, among the many Republicans who viewed Trump as an apocalyptic threat to their party, that Cruz’s support among evangelicals would form a bulwark against the interloper. Two weeks later, Trump decisively won Illinois and North Carolina, and seemed to have squeaked by in Missouri, though the narrow margin there meant that the result wasn’t yet official. More astounding, he won Florida, beating its native son, Senator Marco Rubio, by nearly 19 points and forcing him out of the race. Less than two months earlier, the senator was the Republican Party’s favorite son: precocious and upbeat but exquisitely calibrated, never in danger of wandering — in short, the antithesis of Donald Trump. By early March, Trump had baited him into the tar pit, where he was reduced to questioning the penis size of the man who called him “Liddle Marco. ” “He was branded beautifully,” Trump said, slouching contentedly in his chair. He turned to Lewandowski. “Did they ever announce the results of Missouri?” “Sir, they’re still certifying the counts of the delegates,” Lewandowski said. “Am I leading? Have they taken anything away from me?” “So far you’ve lost a net of three votes. ” “So when will we know?” “They’re trying to certify this by Friday. They’ve allocated 25 delegates to you, 15 to Cruz — there’s still 12 out there. ” Trump’s brow wrinkled. “So are they saying I won Missouri by doing that?” he asked. “Not yet,” Lewandowski patiently explained. “You’ve won a series of congressional districts. You won five of them, which is 25 delegates. Cruz won three — so 15 for him. ” Distaste clouded Trump’s face. Like most Americans, he had until recently been almost completely ignorant of the obscure mechanics by which a candidate became the party nominee. To win the nomination, he needed the support of 1, 237 delegates. Achieving this was not as straightforward as simply winning the most votes in primaries. In each state, lifelong party officials largely controlled the process. This was the Republican establishment’s last front in its war against Trump — and Trump feared, not without cause, that his rivals would resort to whatever connivances were necessary to deny him a 1, 237 majority and throw the Republican convention into a melee of multiple balloting and . “What I don’t like,” Trump said, “is Cruz has a guy working for him” — his campaign manager, Jeff Roe — “that’s one of the most powerful guys in Missouri. So when I hear there’s a revote” — there wasn’t, actually — “I know too much about politics, so I get it. And I don’t like it. ” Cruz was, perhaps, the only candidate as among Republican Party hands as Trump was, but Trump plainly saw the Cruz campaign’s machinations as a reflection of the party establishment’s ferocious determination to stop him. It was no secret that many Republicans viewed Trump as an explosive device poised to obliterate in a single blast the party’s economic orthodoxy and its ability to project an image of tolerance. Trump himself had vowed to blow up the party’s “rigged system. ” And yet he remained somewhat puzzled as to why the party was so opposed to him. In his view, he had arrived on the scene as something of a gift to the G. O. P. He had attracted to the polls hordes of Americans who had previously given up on the party, or on politics as a whole. Viewers were tuning in to the Republican debates in numbers — and this, he argued, was “100 percent Donald Trump. ” The party had become too obsessed with ideology. “One thing I’ve seen over the years,” he observed, “is that the Democrats stick together, and the Republicans eat their young. That’s why they lose so many elections. You know, a normal, very nice, very likable Republican would be hard pressed to win. ” Trump did not accept the concern that his more incendiary statements had alienated women and minorities and thereby made him unelectable. “I’m going to be better to women on women’s issues than Hillary Clinton and everybody else combined,” he would later tell me. Now, sipping his Coke, he cited his view that Planned Parenthood was a valuable women’s health care organization, albeit one that should not receive federal funding as long as it performed abortions. “Frankly, for the general election I think that’s a very good issue for me,” he said. “Structurally, it’s very hard, almost impossible, for a heavily conservative Republican to win, because of the Electoral College. Whereas I bring in Michigan. Look at what I did in Michigan — I won it in a landslide, it wasn’t even close. So I bring in Michigan. I maybe bring in New York. Republicans don’t even go for the general election to campaign in New York, because there’s no chance. ” “Illinois!” Hicks chimed in. “I win Illinois,” Trump said of a state in which, by the latest polling from early March, he was trailing Clinton by 25 points and which a Republican had not won since 1988. “The reason they did an autopsy of the party,” Hicks said, referring to the Republican National Committee’s internal analysis following the defeat of 2012, “was because the party was dead! People are accusing Mr. Trump of killing the party — well, that’s already been done. He’s bringing the party back to life!” Trump said: “By the way, I’m going to do great with the vote. One poll came out saying Donald Trump’s going to get 25 percent of the vote. ” Trump was referring to last September’s SurveyUSA poll, which has a margin of error of plus or minus 10 percentage points. (In 1960 against Kennedy, Nixon received 32 percent of the black vote. Since then, the highest share of the black vote any Republican nominee has received was Reagan’s 14 percent in 1980.) “And I said, Huh — why not more? I’m going to do great with the . I’m going to bring back jobs. And I’ve had good relations with them. ” And, he said, “I’m going to do far better with Hispanics than anyone thought. I have thousands working for me. When this is over, one of my first pictures is going to be me at the Doral” — his golf resort near Miami — “with a thousand of my people working there, most of whom are Hispanic and all who love Trump. ” As we moved to the patio for dinner, Trump signaled for Lewandowski and Hicks to join us, which seemed to surprise them. We were seated at a table that afforded a view of the beach while also placing the resort’s owner in the center of everyone else’s attention. Trump accepted the greetings, congratulations and selfie requests with rote magnanimity — posing for the camera phones, his forced wince of a smile looked as if someone were grinding a shoe into his toe — before dispatching each with an “Enjoy your evening. ” He regarded the parade of men in or blazers with a flicker of amusement. “Right out of central casting,” he said. Melania Trump joined us on the patio Trump doted on her throughout the meal, often touching her shoulder or leg and calling her “baby. ” His eldest son, Donald Jr. sat with his wife at a nearby table, as did Trump’s grandchildren and his youngest son, Barron. Melania’s and Lewandowski and Hicks’s deferentiality — both referred to Trump as “sir” and “Mr. Trump” — lent the whole tableau an Old World texture, like a Habsburg patriarch in repose. “This is fun, right?” Trump exclaimed. “Really! We’re having a good time!” Sometime after 10, he and his wife rose from the table and said good night. Back in his bedroom just before midnight, he checked his Twitter feed, as he often did when, he told me, he felt the passing urge to “knock the crap out of” somebody. Tonight, one of his eight million Twitter followers had tweeted a pair of photographs: a flattering image of Melania alongside one of Cruz’s wife, Heidi, with a sort of expression, with the caption “A picture is worth a thousand words” and the hashtag #NEVERCRUZ. Trump retweeted it from his own account — his last public statement of the day. The next morning, a Thursday, Lewandowski drove Hicks and me from to Trump’s nearby golf resort in one of the candidate’s many cars. “I’m Corey,” Lewandowski, in shorts and loafers, explained to the security guard at the entrance. Then, more emphatically: “With Mr. Trump’s campaign. ” The guard eyed him skeptically as we drove past. Though he was Trump’s top aide, Lewandowski was viewed by some political observers in Washington as a glorified body man — he seldom left the candidate’s side, and he lacked the credentials usually characteristic of campaign strategists. Lewandowski handled the details, not the vision. He was not a guru. Had he been, Trump, who is his own guru, would not have hired him. In his briefcase, Lewandowski carried a bulky black binder. It contained virtually everything of significance in Trump’s political universe: the daily, weekly and monthly master schedules the full staff list with everyone’s contact information a similar list of the campaign’s various contractors daily talking points for staff and surrogates a running tally of the delegate count a list of Trump endorsers a metrics chart of field activities in each state, including the daily number of calls made and doors knocked position papers on each major issue various documents requiring the candidate’s signature and drafts of coming speeches. When he was not taking orders from the candidate, he was on the phone executing them, pacing around with his hand cupped over the receiver like an offensive coordinator furtively calling in plays. What Lewandowski did have in common with David Axelrod, Karl Rove and other marquee strategists was a romanticized view of his candidate — one that even Trump, for all his didn’t seem to share. Lewandowski saw him as a tilting against a party elite that had not seen fit to embrace either of them. Though Lewandowski had kicked around in the political circles of New Hampshire for much of the past two decades, he had never seen thousands of people turn out to greet a candidate there the way they did his new boss. Nor had he expected the campaigns of more experienced candidates run by consultants to collapse so quickly and spectacularly in the face of Trump’s challenge. Today, 15 months into the job, Lewandowski plainly admitted that he was not this campaign’s “architect. ” Instead, he described himself to me as “a jockey on American Pharoah. You hold on and give him a little bit of guidance. But you’ve got to let him run. ” Over coffee in the club’s sunny dining room overlooking the links, Lewandowski and Hicks joked about the “toxic infighting” that some media outlets had claimed was bedeviling the campaign. Its four principals — Lewandowski, Hicks, the deputy campaign manager, Michael Glassner and the director, Dan Scavino — were, Hicks insisted, extremely close. They had also been made aware of two things by Trump: There was only one star of the campaign, and there was also only one communications director. Unlike most who held her job title, Hicks did not tend to the campaign’s messaging strategy. Nor did Hicks, who is 27, see it as her job to spend evenings sharing insights over drinks with the traveling press corps. The rest of the Trump team felt similarly. This, combined with the campaign’s unusually long blacklist of media outlets it deemed unfair or unfriendly, had left reporters with few of the usual means of interpreting the campaign’s inner doings, requiring them to rely instead on more sources. Among those was Trump’s longtime adviser Roger Stone, an inveterate in the dark seams of American politics who lived by the credo that, as he put it, “the only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about. ” Depending on whom you believed, Stone had either been dismissed by Trump last August or had quit. Trump had also parted company with Stone’s former protégé, Sam Nunberg, who worked for Trump from 2011 until last August, when it was disclosed that he had previously posted racist messages about Obama and the Rev. Al Sharpton on his Facebook page. Nunberg no longer spoke to the candidate Stone remained on good terms with Trump but communicated with him infrequently, usually when Trump called to compliment him on a TV appearance. Both harbored an intense dislike for Lewandowski, who they believed had tried to wall off their access to the candidate — Stone, whose formative years were spent working for the campaign of President Richard Nixon, described Lewandowski to me as having “all of Bob Haldeman’s negative traits and none of his good ones” — and merrily disseminated tales of his imminent professional demise. Outside Trump World, these whispers dovetailed with a sense in the media and the political class that a campaign that began as an odd novelty was evolving into something darker. Trump’s rhetoric had been inflammatory since his announcement speech in June, in which he castigated Mexico for sending “rapists” to the United States in December, after a team of Islamic State sympathizers shot 35 people in San Bernardino, Calif. he issued a statement calling for “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on. ” Now reports and videos were surfacing of Trump supporters flinging racial slurs and, sometimes, attacking protesters at his rallies. “If you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of them, would you?” Trump told a crowd in Iowa on Feb. 1. “Seriously. O. K.? Just knock the hell — I promise you, I will pay for the legal fees. ” Then on March 8, Lewandowski grabbed the arm of Michelle Fields, then a reporter for Breitbart News, when she approached Trump at a campaign event at the golf club where we were now sitting, leaving bruises. Fields filed a complaint, and the stories now circulating portrayed a Trump campaign in a state of “serious existential threat,” as one Politico article put it. Stone had been quoted in that article, and Nunberg, who would later announce his support for Cruz, had reached out to Fields through an acquaintance and suggested lawyers to her. Inside Trump World, these matters were regarded as drastically overblown. Trump had no intention of punishing Lewandowski for the Fields incident the way Cruz had thrown his national spokesman Rick Tyler overboard the month before for Facebook and Twitter posts. Nevertheless, Trump quietly issued the order that his rally venues for the time being be smaller, and thus more easily controlled, even as he stood by his campaign manager and defended his revolution as a nonviolent one. At the golf resort, I brought up the more strategic criticism that had been leveled at the campaign, that Trump needed to turn his guerrilla squad into something resembling a more conventional operation, and asked Lewandowski and Hicks how that might happen. “Ever since we won Nevada, all these guys have been calling us and saying we had to build out the team,” Hicks said. The campaign’s core staffers had received this advice with recognizing it as a worldview at odds with their own — and from time to time would draw up imitation organizational charts imagining what an expanded Trump World would look like: But a small cloud was gathering in the otherwise unblemished sky over Palm Beach. That evening, a Wall Street Journal article by Reid J. Epstein was published online under the headline “Ted Cruz Gains in Louisiana After Loss There to Donald Trump. ” Epstein wrote that although Trump had won that state’s primary, Cruz’s team was exploiting the state party’s arcane rules to help draw many of the delegates their way. The man Trump called “Lyin’ Ted” was running a campaign operation that, in the view of Trump World, wasn’t half as brilliant as the media had given it credit for. After all, who had won the evangelical vote in South Carolina? Who had swept nearly all of the South? Who had snatched victory in Missouri from the jaws of Cruz’s supposed wizard Roe? Still, Cruz’s campaign had found a different way to win. Trump read the story at the next day. Unnerved, he called Roger Stone. “Can they really steal this thing from me?” Stone later recalled Trump asking him. Stone told him that yes, such a feat was entirely possible. The last time anyone in the Republican Party had felt the need to prepare for a brokered convention was 1976, when former Gov. Ronald Reagan of California mounted an insurrectionary challenge to President Gerald Ford. Among the operatives managing Ford’s short but intense fight was Paul Manafort, a protégé of Ford’s campaign manager, the future secretary of state James Baker. Manafort went on to advise several subsequent Republican presidential campaigns, but since the ’80s, much of his counsel had been devoted to helping foreign leaders including Ferdinand Marcos and Vladimir Putin’s ally in Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych. Still, with his pinstripe suits and deftness, he represented a steady and contrast to Trump’s whippetlike campaign manager. He was also more than 25 years Lewandowski’s senior — a true peer to Trump, who often referred to his traveling entourage as “the kids. ” As it happened, he lived on the 43rd floor of Trump Tower, and was Stone’s former business partner. At Trump’s request, Manafort had dinner the evening of March 24 with the candidate at . Manafort offered his services pro bono — he was already plenty wealthy, and presumably preferred an optimized blend of influence and independence. Four days later, on the morning of Monday, March 28, members of the campaign staff assembled at the Washington office of Donald McGahn, Trump’s campaign lawyer, for a secret meeting. The team conferred for three and a half hours. The manager of Trump’s shoestring delegate operation, Ed Brookover, and his deputies Brian Jack and Alan Cobb, began with a review of the campaign’s current status state by state. But midway through the presentation, the discussion spilled over into a deeper examination of the state of the campaign — of how the candidate’s message should be shaped and how his operation should be broadened. As the newcomer in the room, Manafort was deferential but also pointed in his observations. He told Lewandowski he was taking on a new role now, according to two people present at the meeting. He was bigger than just a campaign manager, he said. Senators would want to meet with him directly, and he should leverage that when he was in Washington. Such leveraging was, of course, exactly the skill of an establishment hand like Manafort, not an outsider like Lewandowski. (A spokesman for Manafort said he did not recall this being said.) The next morning, March 29, Lewandowski turned himself in to police in Jupiter, Fla. and was charged with simple battery for the incident with Michelle Fields. Ultimately the state attorney for Palm Beach County would decline to prosecute him. What lingered in significance, however, was the complete senselessness of his denial that he had ever touched Fields. (The episode was captured on video.) Instead, Lewandowski had followed the example of his pugnacious boss, which he and Hicks characterized to me during our meeting at Trump’s golf resort in Palm Beach: Don’t back down. Double down. Trump, meanwhile, had other problems. He was now campaigning in Wisconsin, where forces were mounting a fierce and skillfully coordinated effort to deny him the nomination at the convention. “I’ve never said this before, but if I don’t win it on the first ballot, the dishonest establishment will never allow me to win,” Trump told me aboard his 757 on the morning of April 5. We were departing Milwaukee, where voters were going to the polls, and the Fox News pundits on his TV were dissecting what had been the worst stretch of his young political career — one that had begun with his campaign manager’s arrest. When one commentator made reference to Trump’s recent “unforced errors,” Trump said, “O. K. you can turn the sound down now. ” Scavino obliged. Referring to the results of the Wisconsin primary that would arrive that evening, Trump asked me, “What do you think is going to happen?” “You’re probably going to lose,” I said. He shrugged. “I have the whole machine against me. ” Surveying his recent setbacks, however, he allowed that he had perhaps made some mistakes. He had come to regret his decision to retweet the Heidi Cruz photo that night at which had dogged him for weeks now. “I could’ve done without it,” he gruffly acknowledged. “Some people were offended. ” I asked him if it was strategically wise to have spent the past week in Wisconsin repeatedly attacking the state’s governor, the former presidential candidate Scott Walker — who, granted, was a Cruz supporter but who also enjoyed an 80 percent favorability rating among the state’s Republicans. “Maybe not,” Trump mumbled. “We’ll see. ” Then there was his interview the previous week with the MSNBC host Chris Matthews, who asked him whether his views meant that he also supported criminal penalties for a woman who had an abortion. Trump had replied that yes, there should be “some form of punishment. ” Now he argued to me, rather unconvincingly, that he had been misinterpreted: “I didn’t mean punishment for women like prison. I’m saying women punish themselves. I didn’t want people to think in terms of ‘prison’ punishment. And because of that I walked it back. ” A more believable explanation, furnished by a senior adviser for the Trump campaign, is this: Trump, a serial initially saw nothing wrong with his remark and refused to walk it back. Only when every network chief executive and over 100 media outlets besieged the Trump campaign with requests for additional comment on how women should be punished for abortions did the Trump campaign turn to an ally: Chris Christie, whose tenure as the Republican governor of the blue state of New Jersey had given him experience placating both social conservatives and the moderate voters Trump hoped to attract in the general election. A member of Christie’s political team helped draft a statement that essentially repudiated Trump’s earlier one. In any other presidential campaign, this string of failures would have cost someone his or her job. But no heads had rolled in Trump World — a tacit acknowledgment by the candidate, perhaps, that responsibility for the campaign resided in the man with the office on the 26th floor of Trump Tower. The campaign’s inner circle remained intact Hicks now sat directly behind Trump on the plane, pecking away at her laptop alongside Lewandowski, whose eyes were haunted with fatigue and who had lost so much weight recently (15 pounds, he would later tell me) that his blue blazer drooped like a cloak around his shoulders. I asked Trump if his campaign manager’s job description had been affected by recent developments. “Zero,” he insisted. That evening Trump lost Wisconsin by 13 points to Cruz. Further setbacks followed in Colorado and Wyoming, where Cruz’s team outmaneuvered Trump’s in the process, as even some of Trump’s staff members would concede to me. Lewandowski thought highly of the 1993 Bill Clinton campaign documentary “The War Room,” and admiringly regarded Clinton’s team as a roomful of “killers. ” The able but Trump delegate crew, which included Jack, Brookover and Barry Bennett — all alumni of Dr. Ben Carson’s recently shuttered campaign — did not seem to have the appetite for the jugular that Cruz’s team did. At 8 in the morning on Saturday, April 16, Trump’s top staff members convened on the fifth floor of Trump Tower. Ten months into the race, the candidate’s headquarters looked more like the dingy redoubt of a mayoral campaign than the hypercaffeinated situation room of a presidential . On ordinary days, no more than eight or 10 staffers inhabited the warehouselike floor, which in the manner of many campaigns was decorated like a dorm suite: a model White House topped with pink flamingos, posters of John Wayne and Ronald Reagan, an oversize plush lion the team had named Lion Ted. A recent description in New York Magazine of its spartan condition offended the building owner, who protested to me, “It’s this beautiful raw space!” He conceded that Hillary Clinton’s campaign offices in Brooklyn might be better appointed — “though she never had my location. ” Manafort and Lewandowski had gathered the team to discuss the campaign’s new structure — which would now have Manafort overseeing the entire delegate operation and Lewandowski the campaign apparatus — and to introduce its new members, including Rick Wiley, the national political director, previously Scott Walker’s campaign manager. The candidate strolled into the conference room. “Wow, this looks like a professional group of people,” he said, smiling, according to two sources who were present. “All right, guys. I need you to go win. And we’re going to make sure you have what you need to win. ” After speaking for less than two minutes, Trump walked out. For the rest of the meeting, much was said by everyone in the room, but nothing was decided, because Manafort and Lewandowski had thoroughly opposing visions of how the campaign should be run. The strategist believed it was time for Trump to close out the primaries by taking a more scripted, mollifying approach. The campaign manager held to the view that people attended a Trump rally fully expecting the same type of raucous, unpredictable drama they saw at a sporting event. Trump apparently was listening to both men now. But it was not obvious that morning whose view would prevail — or even which of the two had the authority to give orders. One attendee told me that he came out with no more clarity than he had before the meeting. When Politico broke the news of the secret meeting two days later, on the evening of April 18, Trump was en route to a campaign rally in Buffalo aboard his smaller Citation X airplane, with Hicks, Lewandowski and Ivanka Trump’s husband, Jared Kushner, who was informally advising the campaign. It was the day before the New York primary, and Trump sat in the front of the plane. “I have to think about my speech now,” he told me, and began composing one on the spot. He leafed through various talking points and issue memos, from which he culled a few ideas that he then scribbled on another piece of paper. Once he was done with the other documents, he tore them in half lengthwise and let the scraps flutter to the floor. The plane touched down at the airport, and the waiting fleet of black sedans whisked the candidate and his entourage to the city’s hockey arena, where the rally would take place. Trump was posing for photographs with campaign volunteers when Hicks’s phone buzzed. It was Paul Manafort, calling to try to head off another controversy. A woman whom Trump had briefly considered hiring in 2015 to help with communications strategy, Cheri Jacobus, was suing the candidate, his campaign and Lewandowski for libel after Trump tweeted that she had “begged my people for a job,” in addition to a few other disparaging remarks. Trump wanted to punch back — it was what he did and in Lewandowski’s view, the candidate’s brawling, politically incorrect impulses were what had made him the to begin with. At the candidate’s direction, Hicks had prepared a statement chiding Jacobus’s threat. Manafort was now on the phone urging Trump not to release the statement. Attacking Jacobus yet again struck him as unnecessary, not to mention a distraction from the task at hand: winning big in tomorrow’s primary. It also flew in the face of Manafort’s publicly stated vow that his new client would now be evincing a more “presidential” affect. Trump grew more as he heard Manafort out. Then he said, “Don’t tell me how to [expletive] do P. R. ” He stepped into a private room to fix his hair, then posed for a few more photos with the man who was about to introduce him to the crowd, Rex Ryan, head coach of the Buffalo Bills. That evening, addressing a hockey arena filled with perhaps 17, 000 delirious Trumpophiles, he bellowed: “I don’t want to really act more ‘presidential’ until we win!” The following evening at Trump Tower, the man who stepped out before the press — heralded by Sinatra’s “New York, New York” — to celebrate his victory in his home state’s primary appeared uncharacteristically subdued. He referred to his vanquished opponent not as “Lyin’ Ted” but as “Senator Cruz. ” He held his usual grievances in check. After eight minutes, he departed the lectern without taking any questions. Manafort had managed to impose a veneer of Beltway respectability on the campaign. More field organizers were now materializing in states like Pennsylvania, where local volunteers had hitherto been left largely to fend for themselves. Supporters who previously received no direction from the campaign before going on TV to expound on the candidate’s policies — “I just make [expletive] up,” Representative Duncan Hunter of California confessed to a Trump senior adviser — were now receiving daily talking points. But the — where to go, whom to see, what to say and how to say it — still rested almost exclusively upon the whims of Trump and, secondarily, with the person in his immediate proximity, who was almost always Lewandowski. That became apparent to me on the morning of April 25, the day before the string of Northeastern primaries that would restore Trump’s indomitability. The candidate was seated in the front of his Citation as it departed the airstrip of Warwick, R. I. — a stop that, Manafort and Lewandowski agreed, had been a complete waste of the candidate’s time, given that he was ahead of Cruz there by 40 points. But when Trump told Lewandowski, “I can’t just not go there,” there was little point arguing. Lewandowski began making calls to his advance team on Sunday morning. Some 24 hours later, Trump walked into a sweaty and delirious tented gathering adjacent to a Warwick hotel — exulting, with customary hyperbole: “We set this up 12 hours ago! There’s thousands outside — we need a bigger tent!” Later that day, en route to West Chester, Pa. Trump’s thoughts kept wandering afield from politics. He sat with a large stack of newspaper clippings — some of them with handwritten notes from his daughter Ivanka — at his feet. To his right sat his son Eric, whom I heard Trump refer to as “honey. ” He perused some documents relating to a land deal he was considering, pausing to fret over the fate of his friend Tom Brady, the New England Patriots quarterback whose suspension for his role in the Deflategate scandal was upheld that morning by a federal appeals court: “He should’ve sued the N. F. L. in Boston at the very beginning. ” He asked Lewandowski whether his campaign schedule would allow him to attend the June 25 grand opening of his Turnberry golf resort on the coast of Scotland. “If we get to 1, 237, you’re there,” Lewandowski said. “If we’re at 1, 100, you’re going nowhere. ” Trump scowled a bit but did not protest. I was reminded that Trump was still fundamentally a real estate developer with exactly zero previous campaign experience, who had gotten this far by spending only a fraction of what his opponents had and against the wishes of his party — who was as new to the idea of a Trump candidacy as the rest of us were. Although his political maturation over the past year had not been altogether linear, it seemed clear that an understanding of what his candidacy meant to his supporters was taking root. Trump seemed aware, despite his insistence that voters of all stripes were drawn to him, that his constituency came chiefly from white Americans who felt left out of the Obama recovery and cheated by what they saw as a rigged economic system. Playing to this sentiment, he had begun to include in his speeches a litany of dire economic statistics pertaining to whichever state he happened to be visiting at the time. The data, compiled by Sam Clovis and Stephen Miller, senior policy advisers, invariably cited the collapse of that local manufacturing sector over the past two decades. It had become axiomatic in Trump World that wherever jobs had been lost was also where Trump’s voters could be found. “They’re great people,” he murmured back on the plane after the event in Buffalo. “And they want help. ” His face crinkled in disgust. “They don’t want hope. They want help. ” It was a sobering reminder of the expectations that a President Trump might find on his shoulders come January. But the moment passed, and his mood seemed to regain altitude, the desperate souls on the rope line reaggregating into an adoring mass of yugeness. “So you’ve covered other people — nobody comes close to this,” he said. “Two guys from Fox said they’ve never seen anything like it. ” We rose upward through the skies in the vehicle Trump referred to as “just about the fastest plane made,” eventually passing over the Ferry Point golf course that Trump said he had built faster than anyone else could, and finally toward the great Manhattan skyline that Trump had made even greater — a taste of what he could do for America, if its great people would only let him.

Here Is How FBI Director Comey BAMBOOZLED The DOJ, CONGRESS, And The CLINTONS All At Once

DSG

1 comment James Comey just outfoxed the entire corrupt establishment with one game changing technique… Hillary Clinton’s Campaign called for the immediate release of all of the FBI’s new findings. Congress is demanding more information from James Comey and the Bureau by Monday. President Obama and The Department Of Justice say that Comey did not notify them before sending his letter to Congress. The New York Times reported that Obama’s Department Of Justice still has not granted approval for the FBI to review the emails that were allegedly found on Anthony Weiner’s laptop. “We do not have a warrant,” a senior law enforcement official said. “Discussions are under way [between the FBI and the DOJ] as to the best way to move forward.” Could this be a brilliant, somewhat sneaky, move by Comey? The question has been raised: A serious journalist, of which there are few today, would wonder if this isn’t precisely WHY Comey went public @thegarance @maggieNYT pic.twitter.com/kwFum9LNO7 — DanRiehl (@DanRiehl) October 30, 2016 The ball is now clearly in The Department of Justice’s court. With both Hillary and Congress demanding the information now, the DOJ will have to issue the required warrant. Otherwise, Comey can claim to have done his job without fear of repercussions from the American public or the court system. It is true that Obama’s DOJ has not investigated The Clinton Foundation and they discouraged Comey from looking into Hillary’s email problems. Justice Dept. Strongly Discouraged Comey on Move in Clinton Email Case https://t.co/UjpRoz1OtC pic.twitter.com/WZXTn3DYqw — DanRiehl (@DanRiehl) October 30, 2016 Comey just outran the angle. If Hillary and Congress are to get their answers, Obama’s Justice Department will have to issue a warrant in order for them to get them. Other factors are in play, as well. With WikiLeaks and other groups looming, and the likelihood of more damaging information on the way, Comey may not want to go down with what he views as a massive, corrupt ship. Will Obama and the DOJ continue to stand behind Hillary? We will likely find out within the next WILD week. Related Items

20 Foods That Naturally Unclog Arteries and Prevent Heart Attacks

Twain Yobra

20 Foods That Naturally Unclog Arteries and Prevent Heart Attacks http://blogs.naturalnews.com/20-foods-naturally-unclog-arteries-prevent-heart-attacks/ By Twain Yobra Posted Tuesday, November 1, 2016 at 03:53pm EDT Arteries play a vital role in the body. They transport nutrients and oxygen throughout the body. And they can cause heart attacks if they’re clogged. Well, you can unclog them naturally by eating foods rich in antioxidants, soluble fiber and healthy fats. Here are 20 foods that will unclog your arteries and prevent heart attacks. 1. Pomegranate: Pomegranate is rich in antioxidants which prevents the arteries from being damaged. Research also shows that pomegranate improves heart health by reducing bad cholesterol. 2. Spirulina: Spirulina is regulates fat levels in the blood. And it’s rich in omega 3 fatty acids, which studies show prevents heart disease. 3. Asparagus: This vegetable is rich in vitamins and minerals that prevent blood clots and lower blood pressure. 4. Turmeric: Inflammation is one of the main causes of arteriosclerosis, and as you may know, turmeric fights inflammation. 5. Cranberries: The potassium in cranberries can lower blood pressure and reduce risk of heart disease by up to 40 percent. 6. Watermelon: One study found that L-citrulline (found in watermelon) can widen blood vessels and lower blood pressure. This can actually benefit men with mild erectile dysfunction. 7. Avocado: Research shows that eat avocados every day can clean your arteries, lower bad cholesterol and increase good cholesterol. 8. Broccoli: Broccoli contains vitamin K which prevents calcium from damaging the arteries. It’s also rich in soluble fiber which lowers cholesterol. 9. Cinnamon: This spice unclogs the arteries of plaque build-up. Its antioxidant properties also improve cardiovascular health. 10. Green tea: This powerful herb contains catechins which prevent absorption of cholesterol. This consequently prevents blockage of arteries. Drink 2-3 cups a day. 11. Coconut oil: Taking coconut oil regularly can unclog the arteries and even convert bad cholesterol to good. 12. Persimmon: Persimmon has antioxidants that reduce blood-lipid. It’s also rich in fiber which helps clean the arteries. 13. Coffee: Research shows that drinking 2 cups of coffee a day can lower risk of heart disease by 20 percent. But excess consumption can increase blood pressure and cause anxiety. 14. Cold-water fish: Eating these fish will fight inflammation and unclog your arteries. They include, mackerel, tuna, salmons, and sardines. 15. Olive oil: Studies show that olive oil can reduce risk of cardiovascular disease by 41 percent. This is attributed to its ability to reduce oxidative stress and cholesterol. 16. Spinach: This vegetable unclogs arteries because of its folate, potassium and fiber content. 17. Orange juice: Oranges are rich in vitamin C which cleans the arteries and prevents oxidation of blood. 18. Flaxseeds: Flaxseeds have been proven to fight inflammation, lower blood pressure and improve heart health. 19. Raw nuts: Nuts like almonds will reduce blood pressure and fight inflammation. Use them to keep hunger at bay. 20. Whole grains: Whole grains are rich in soluble fiber which lowers cholesterol and risk of high blood pressure. For more information on eating healthy and staying fit, download your FREE 3 Weeks Flat Stomach Guide to help you improve your health and physique. And like our Facebook page . You might also like…

Death of the ‘Two-State Solution’

Consortiumnews.com

Death of the ‘Two-State Solution’ November 16, 2016 Exclusive: For years, anyone calling for a “one-state solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – granting equal rights to all inhabitants and thus “diluting” the “Jewish state” – was denounced as anti-Semitic. But Israel’s persistent settlement building has now left no other rational choice, notes Jonathan Marshall. By Jonathan Marshall Donald Trump’s election victory raises many unanswered questions, but it also settles a few, starting with the fate of the Israeli-Palestinian “peace process.” In the words of Israeli Education Minister and Jewish Home Party leader Naftali Bennett, “The era of a Palestinian state is over.” Lest anyone accuse the Israeli hardliner of wishful thinking, one need only recall candidate Trump’s insistence last spring that Israelis “really have to keep going” with settling the territories that they have occupied since 1967. Two months later, the Republican Party changed its 2012 platform to omit support for a Palestinian state and to condemn the “false notion that Israel is an occupier.” talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as they walk across the tarmac at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel, March 20, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) Last week, a co-chair of the Trump campaign’s Israel Advisory Committee reaffirmed that the President-elect rejects Washington’s traditional view that Israel’s settlements are obstacles to peace and illegal under international law. The so-called “two-state solution” — creation of a Palestinian national homeland comprising the West Bank and Gaza, and coexisting with Israel — has been a longstanding axiom of official U.S. policy, accepted as well by Israel and its unofficial lobbying arm, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Of late, however, the rise of extreme Jewish nationalists to power in Israel, the relentless expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied territories, and Israel’s evident disinterest in peace negotiations have all but killed hopes for such a solution. In 2015, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared , “There will be no withdrawals” from the occupied West Bank and “no concessions” to the Palestinians. As Americans for Peace Now points out, “more than 40% of the West Bank is under the direct control of settlers or settlements and off-limits to Palestinians . . . Israel has taken hundreds of kilometers of the West Bank to build roads that serve the settlements, . . . dividing Palestinian cities and towns from each other, and imposing various barriers to Palestinian movement and access. . . Such settlements, and new settlement construction going on today, have the explicit goal of preventing the establishment of a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem – which, in effect, means preventing the two-state solution.” Many of Israel’s staunchest allies in the United States now concede this reality. Hillary Clinton, in a private email to one of her advisers, acknowledged in 2015 that the Israeli-Palestinian peace process had become a phony “Potemkin” spectacle. Secretary of State John Kerry warned publicly that Israeli settlement-building was “imperiling the viability of a two-state solution.” Roger Cohen, the New York Times columnist and an ardent liberal Zionist, reported last month following a trip to Israel that the two-state idea is all but “clinically dead.” He explained: “The incorporation of all the biblical Land of Israel has advanced too far, for too long, to be reversed now.” Many Israeli supporters of a two-state solution now publicly admit that bitter truth. Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak accuses Netanyahu of engaging in a “messianic drive” toward “a single Jewish state, from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.” For the current crop of right-wing leaders in Israel, the main question is whether to offer Palestinians citizenship within an expanded Israel or to remove them. Palestinians also concede privately that their dream of a state is dead. Said noted Palestinian pollster Khalil Shikaki, “We, Israelis and Palestinians, live in a one-state reality.” Former Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei, declared bluntly, “there will be no alternative but one state. No alternative.” What Path Forward? If a Palestinian state is truly dead, Palestinians will need to give up their decades-old nationalist aspirations, a wrenching blow that many will find hard to accept. Israelis, in turn, will need to find room in a bi-national democratic state for millions of Palestinians — roughly equal in number to Jews — an even more wrenching adjustment that many will fight to the bitter end. Liberal Zionists have warned for years that refusal to accept a Palestinian state would force Israel to choose between remaining a democratic state or a Jewish state. A map showing Israeli settlements in the Palestinian Territories. As former Prime Minister Barak put it , the “overarching ambition” of absorbing the occupied territories “is bound to culminate in either a single, binational state, which, within a generation, may have a Jewish minority and likely a Bosnia-like civil war, or else an apartheid reality if Palestinian residents are deprived of the right to vote. Both spell doom for the Zionist dream.” An apartheid-like reality already exists for Palestinians, but many Israelis and their supporters publicly rationalize it as an unfortunate but temporary necessity during a transitional period that will end with a peace settlement. By putting off determination of the final status of the occupied territories, Israel can justify subjecting Palestinians to harsh military law , seizing their land, demolishing their homes, controlling their movements, and jailing them at will rather than granting them the rights afforded to Israeli citizens. Israeli political scientist and former deputy mayor of Jerusalem Meron Benvenisti has been saying for years that “the whole notion of a Palestinian state . . . is a sham.” Israel has maintained the pretense of peace talks only “because it is self-serving,” he said. While talking about two states as a goal, Israeli governments continue funding the expansion of settlements. Palestinian officials, meanwhile, help enforce order in return for millions of dollars in international aid. But if Israeli hardliners succeed in ending the fiction of a peace process and annex the territories , “then the Palestinian struggle will inevitably be transformed from one demanding independence into a movement demanding equal rights,” says James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute. “If this is to be the case, we may well see the day when the Palestinian citizens of Israel will emerge . . . as the new leadership of a unified Palestinian community fighting for justice and equality.” Such a fight will face tremendous opposition. In recent years, polls of Israeli adults show that nearly half believe Arabs should be expelled from Israel. Nearly eight in 10 believe Jews should receive preferential treatment compared to non-Jews. The Netanyahu government and Knesset are filled with overt racists. Last year, Netanyahu appointed as deputy defense minister a rabbi who asserted , “[Palestinians] are like animals, they aren’t human.” The Israeli peace activist and public opinion analyst Dahlia Scheindlin doesn’t minimize the hurdles, but said Palestinians may be ready to fight for their rights within Israel. “Israeli racism [is] better than Israeli occupation,” she wrote , “and they probably feel [they] can live with it as long as there are democratic foundations to demand better. Maybe for them, Israeli rule cannot possibly make their status quo worse, but at least it offers the possibility of something many of them simply lack: citizenship.” Democratic Rights Some hope is offered by the fact that several notable right-leaning Israeli politicians favor granting Palestinians full democratic rights within a greater Israel, rather than subordinating them forever under the thumb of military occupation or Jim Crow-type segregation. A section of the barrier — erected by Israeli officials to prevent the passage of Palestinians — with graffiti using President John F. Kennedy’s famous quote when facing the Berlin Wall, “Ich bin ein Berliner.” (Photo credit: Marc Venezia) As New Yorker editor David Remnick observed a couple of years ago, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin — a member of the rightist Likud party — has “emerged as the most prominent critic of racist rhetoric, jingoism, fundamentalism, and sectarian violence, the highest-ranking advocate among Jewish Israelis for the civil rights of the Palestinians both in Israel and in the occupied territories.” Rivlin visited an Arab town that had been the scene of an Israeli massacre in 1956 to apologize and “swear, in my name and that of all our descendants, that we will never act against the principle of equal rights, and we will never try and force someone from our land.” He also condemned racist fans of a Jerusalem soccer team who protested its signing of two Muslim players. For such sentiments, not surprisingly, Rivlin has been called a “traitor,” “rotten filth,” and even “lying little Jew” by his Israeli haters. But Rivlin is not alone. Moshe Arens, a former Likud leader, minister of defense and foreign affairs, and ambassador to the United States, supports giving Palestinians in the West Bank the right to vote in Israeli elections. The key to preserving Israeli democracy, he wrote in 2010, will be making them feel at home in the state of Israel, “enjoying not only equality of rights but also equality of opportunities.” It will take a minor miracle to persuade the Israeli public to risk broadening their democracy to incorporate millions of Palestinians, but the longer the unsupportable status quo prevails, the less likely it becomes that any Israelis will enjoy the democratic and civil rights they have long known. Israel’s media is under assault from the government , leading Freedom House to downgrade its assessment of the country’s press from “free” to “partly free.” Israeli peace activists and NGOs face constant harassment and persecution . Rightist demonstrators routinely chant “Death to Arabs.” Former Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, a member of the Likud Party, recently declared , “The leadership of Israel in 2016 is busy with inflaming passions and causing fear between Jews and Arabs, between right and left and between different ethnic groups in order to survive in power.” And Ilan Baruch, Israel’s former ambassador to South Africa, said , “Netanyahu is pushing Israeli democracy to the brink. . . This is the most right-wing government in the country’s history, which has no qualms about taking tactical and strategic steps in the media, education, and culture in order to ensure Netanyahu’s permanent rule. To do that, the government sows racist divisions . . . slanders and preaches hatred for the Other — be they Arab citizens of Israel, Palestinians, African refugees, or human rights activists.” Still, with the pretense of a two-state solution shattered by Trump’s victory and Netanyahu’s open intransigence, supporters of Israeli democracy and Palestinian rights can finally begin an unblinkered discussion of how to achieve a genuine accommodation between those two peoples in a common land. In the words of Sandy Tolan, author of the international bestseller The Lemon Tree , “Now, at least, there is an opportunity to lay the foundations for some newer kind of solution grounded in human rights, freedom of movement, complete cessation of settlement building, and equal access to land, water, and places of worship. It will have to be based on a new reality, which Israel and the United States have had such a hand in creating. Think of it as the one-state solution.”

Watch: Police viciously attack, arrest peaceful protesters at DAPL including children and the elderly

Wed, 26 Oct 2016 13:29 UTC © The Free Thought Project Dramatic video from Intercept reporter, Jihan Hafiz , was released this week from the Dakota Access Pipeline protests showing a full on assault by militarized police on peaceful people. The video is from Saturday but took several days to be released as cops confiscated the camera used to film it. The video was taken as water protectors and reporters covering the protests marched toward the construction site. However, their peaceful walk was swiftly interrupted by militarized shock troops armed with massive cans of pepper spray, batons, rubber bullets, and assault rifles. According to Hafiz, the march was undertaken in solidarity with several protesters who had chained themselves to bulldozers and pipeline machinery at the construction site. But the marchers never made it to their destination. Instead, they were attacked by police forces who used pepper spray and beat protesters with batons. Dozens of officers, backed by military trucks, police vans, machine guns, and nonlethal weapons, violently approached the group without warning. "Don't move, everyone is under arrest," a voice says from the military vehicle that appears to be equipped with a Long Range Acoustic Hailing Device, or LRAD. As protesters attempted to leave, the police surrounded them and began their attack. According to Hafiz, several women were targeted for leading the march and dragged from the crowd to be arrested. Police body slammed one man and another woman's ankle was broken as she ran. The militarized police then circled the protesters in an apparent move to 'kettle' them — a tactic usually reserved for urban protests in which riot police force large crowds into corners to seemingly provoke them. However, the protesters stayed entirely peaceful. Police continued their mass arrests even though the people were trying to leave. Some natives were seen running for the hills as the assault began. One officer is seen in military camouflage with a ski mask and a tear gas grenade launcher — as if he were going to war . In total, reports Hafiz, more than 140 people were detained in half an hour. It was the largest roundup of protesters since the movement against the pipelines intensified two months ago. A majority of those arrested were charged with rioting and criminal trespass. Overall, close to 300 people have been arrested since protests against the pipeline kicked off over the summer. Among those arrested were journalists, a teen child who was also pregnant, and an elderly woman. They were all brought to the jail where protesters were forced to sit in the jail's common area as police had no other place to put them. According to Hafiz, women were strip searched, protesters were refused phone calls, and no one received food or water. One woman even had her medication confiscated by police, causing her to shake and sweat profusely. When Hafiz was finally released, she attempted to get back her camera and was told that she could not have it back. "Your camera is being held as evidence in a crime," they said. In the land of the free, filming cops assault peaceful men, women, and children is considered a 'crime.' Over the past several weeks, the police state has come out in full force as Native Americans fight to protect their water sources from the threat of the Dakota Access Pipeline. Mainstream media has remained largely silent as federal, state and local authorities worked on behalf of Energy Transfer Partners to squash dissent. Even prominent journalists, like Hafiz, have found themselves targets of the State, charged with dubious "crimes" such as " inciting a riot " and " conspiracy to theft of services " - for doing nothing more than filming protests and the ensuing violent crackdowns. As the video below shows, the First Amendment is no obstacle when it comes to advancing the interests of the corporatocracy. Comment: We are one breath away from an all out massacre!

Raffie

They got the heater turned up on high.

Comment on Parents on a Date Were Asleep in Car When Cops Arrived and Killed Them Both by FaceSpace

FaceSpace

Home / Badge Abuse / Parents on a Date Were Asleep in Car When Cops Arrived and Killed Them Both Parents on a Date Were Asleep in Car When Cops Arrived and Killed Them Both Matt Agorist February 25, 2016 213 Comments Inglewood, CA — On Sunday, police responded to a call of a suspicious vehicle parked on Manchester Boulevard around 3:10 am. When police arrived, they engaged in a 45-minute long standoff before opening fire on the man and woman inside the vehicle, killing them both. In the news release on Monday, following the shooting, police claimed that the woman in the car had a gun. Scott Collins, a spokesman for the Inglewood Police Department said that the couple refused to obey the officers’ commands to exit the vehicle. The officers then feared for their safety and opened fire on the car — killing the couple. The woman was pronounced dead shortly after the shooting, and the man succumbed to his injuries after paramedics transported him to a local hospital, according to the LA Times. The shooting seemed like an open and shut case until the next day. Mayor James Butts, while responding to questions about the shooting, opened up a huge can of worms — both the man and the woman were unconscious. For at least 45 minutes, police attempted “to rouse” them in an effort “to de-escalate the situation,” said Butts. After admitting that the couple was asleep, Butts quickly defended the officers, noting, “Obviously at some point they were conscious because somebody felt threatened.” However, that notion has yet to be proven and is particularly unlikely due to the fact that not a single officer received so much as a scratch, nor did the couple have any reason to be violent. Both of the victims were parents; Kisha Michael, 31, a single mother of three sons, and Marquintan Sandlin, 32, a single father of four daughters. Michael’s twin sister Trisha stated the obvious when she said that it’s possible that Kisha merely passed out on the way home from their night out. Families for both described them as devoted parents who made arrangements for care of their children while they took a night off, according to NBC Los Angeles. “The police ain’t telling us nothing,” said Trisha Michael after being met with tight lips from the department. “He was a loving father,” said Sandlin’s sister Leandra Faulkner. “All he cared about was his girls, getting them right.” Of course, as is standard procedure for all those killed by police, their arrest records were released to shame them. Michael was on probation for a misdemeanor last year, and 7 years ago, Sandlin was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm in Los Angeles. According to his relatives, Sandlin had a ‘rough life’ but had turned it around and was working as a successful truck driver. Sadly, these children will now grow up knowing that their parents were taken from them by cops, scared of a sleeping couple. Share Google + Concerned Citizen Perhaps the mother had the gun on her lap for protection while they slept. At least they didn’t drive drunk. These parents did not deserve to die! Mary Hagerty Did she really have a gun, or did the cops just say that to excuse the murders of two sleeping people? Lying about weapons is a known police tactic to get out of trouble. Sometimes they go as far as to plant a weapon. Conscious Let’s say they had a gun. How did the police see it if they were asleep. Hmmm that makes it irrelevant John and Linda Robel WHO GIVES A FUCK ABOUT “DRIVING DRUNK”? IT IS DETERMINED BY AN ARBITRARY NUMBER THAT IS EXTORTED BY THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS..WE ENCOURAGE PEOPLE EVERYDAY TO ANNUL THIS POLICE STATIST HORSESHIT. A FELONY CAN BE EXPUNGED BUT NOT A FUCKING MISDOMEANOR DUI. GET A GRIP. THIS NOTHING BUT A GOVERNMENT RACKET AND PROFFITEERING OF THE DUI INDUSTRY. Kevin Burnett Sounds like more #blackliesmatter twits. Alan Lammle Sounds more like #Bluethugliesmatter twits. Duryea L. Williams Smh……ignorance is contagious Talisha Harris No where in the article talks about that movement. From the article it sounds like innocent people, who were not armed, and who were sleep were killed. Did I miss something? Anon ymous They may or may not have had a gun. But, having a gun is no reason for the police to shoot & kill someone. Nikkia Bailey Maybe they were too drunk to drive Anon ymous Black lives matter also! What part of that is so hard to understand? Kburnett isanidiot Stop being an ignorant fuckwad racist troll, Kevin Turdnett. Philip Williams Ryan Robbins Marie Laveaux – I’m not disagreeing with you, I just always like to see some real info before I jump to conclusions. Not just a headline. I have no idea what happened and will not put blame on either side unless I see some hard evidence. Julie Asperger On Los Angeles local news report they said the vehicle was stopped in the middle of Manchester Blvd not parked on the side of the road. (Both are illegal) seemed strange the way it was presented to us. This makes it even weirder. I passed by and seen there is a large memorial for them. To bad there is no video to see what really happened. Cops don’t like being filmed. For obvious reasons. Julie Asperger Yea I was harassed by some a few years back on Hollywood Blvd and intimidated into deleting video of them using excessive force on cooperating men. I even showed them my press ID and tried to be allowed to keep the video they said fuck the press. Kimberly Reichard Emerson The intelligent of us know we’re not. I can’t even comprehend what’s wrong with the people here that still believe we’re in “the land of the free and home of the brave”. It’s frightening to say the least. Shawn Soto This is so fucked up..Wtf is wrong with people. Why can’t any one just act right? All you fuckers carrying so much hate on race..it’s ridiculous. I’m sick of it!! An alot if peeps, an I mean alot. Are following an feeding this shit through media an all!! I hve mad love for all race in the world. Am does any one even hve a pure blood line now a days? I think not!! So don’t be fooled by just the way your skin looks!! We all belong to the human race. There’s no other race than that. Thom Prentice nice infotisments Colin Parker I never understood why their prior arrest recods are released, It’s not admissible in any court for a current charge so why are the police allowed to use it? Alan Lammle To help soften the public in their attempt to make them look like they did nothing wrong in shooting 2 people in cold blood… Gary Harryman Shouldn’t the records of every cop at that scene also be released? Tray Pressley To label them as “criminals” so they can justify the murder. MarkyMark NdaHouse To demonize the dead… jamesawyatt AS LONG AS BUREAUCRATS ARE ALLOWED TO HIRE WITH LITTLE OR NO SUPERVISION THOSE WHO SEEK TO BE EMPLOYED AS COPS, MANY OF WHOM HAVE A HISTORY OF BEING BULLIES GOING BACK THROUGH THEIR CHILDHOOD AND WHO SEEK THIS MEANS OF FURTHERING THEIR BULLYING LUST NOW ARMED WITH IMPRESSIVE UNIFORM, SHINY NEW BADGE AND DEADLY WEAPONS AND WITH THE PRESUMPTIONS THAT THEY NOW HAVE A LICENSE TO BEAT, CRIPPLE AND SHOOT WHEN EVER AND WHOM EVER THEY PLEASE, ATROCITIES ARE EXPECTED TO BE THE NORM AND WILL BE EXPECTED TO GROW AT AN EXPONENTIAL RATE. IT IS FOREVER HOPED THAT ONE OR MORE LAW FIRMS WILL COME INTO BEING THAT WILL RELENTLESSLY UNDERTAKE THE FILING OF SUITS AND NOT ONLY AGAINS THE INVOLVED JURISDICTION AND THE INDIVIDUAL ROGUE COP OR COPS BUT THOSE WHO WERE INVOLVED IN THE HIRING OF THE COP OR COPS; THE IMPRESSION ALWAYS BEING THAT THESE WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE HIRING AND THUS ARE AS GUILTY AS THE INVOLVED ROGUE COP(S) & THEY HAVE TO BE FACED WITH THE HARSH REALITY BY HAVING LEVIED AGAINST EACH AND EVERY OFFENDER HUGH AWARDS/FINES; NOT JUST ON THE JURISDICTION, I.E. THE CITY, COUNTY, STATE OR FEDS . . . BUT ALSO AGAINST EACH OF THE INDIVIDUAL INVOLVED IN THEIR BEING HIRSD . . . AS WELL AS THE ROGUE COP OR COPS THEMSELVES AS INDIVIDUALS; THE AWARDS TO BE PAID BY THE INDIVIDUALS’ BY THEIR PRORATED AWARD SHARE PAYMENT OUT OF THEIR OWN POCKETS AND ONLY A PRORATED SHARE BY THE JURISDICTION AS WHAT THE JURISDICTION PAYS WILL INVARIABLY COME OUT OF THE POCKETS OF THAT JURISDICTION’S TAX PAYERS. STIFF PENALTIES IN THE FORM OF HUGE FINANCIAL JUDGEMENT AWARDS SHOULD GO A LONG, LONG WAY IN FOSTERING AN AWARENESS BY THESE WHO HAVE ESCAPED ACCOUNTABILITY FOR SO, SO LONG OF THE POTENTIALLY VERY EXPENSIVE FOLLY OF THIS THEIR IRRESPONSIBLE ACTIONS WHICH RESULTS IN SO MUCH SUFFERING AND MANY TIME CRIPPLING INJURY AND/OR DEATH. Mary Hagerty I agree, but please don’t use all CAPS to write. It’s way harder to read. Roberto Carlos Moscoso Sadly the government insists that they want to take guns away from civilians, for only police officers have training and are responsible enough to handle guns. Yet, I’ve seen more mass shootings and innocent people dying in the hands of cops than in the hands of “irresponsible citizens”. Crazy ah? Tracy Walling Otis Is that true Marco Emilio Giovanni Maltese? That’s truly horrifying if so. If you have a source of those statistics, I would appreciate the link for it. I know it’s bad. I’m not denying that. But I am even more disgusted if it is that bad. :'( I’ve read that cops killed more than 1000 people in the USA in the last 3 years. But I’m sorry I don’t have the link, you can search and you will find it easily. I think USA people should be more scared of cops than of terrorists. Alain Vosselman I’m stunned.. i can no longer believe this. This is going to be talked about in the future (if we still have one) just as we talk now about Stalin’s regime… or Sadam Hussein’s…. or Pol Pot. From now on even if we discover new life 100 triljon lightyears away traveling by mega-super-freak-aliesh tech vehicles.. we’ll still be the most amazing embiciles of the universe. Aaron Beedle The fact that there are enough of these stories coming from america for several to be posted everyday proves how messed up the place is. I would not want to be a black person living in america today. I wouldn’t live there at all. Nothing will happen to the officers. They should be sentenced for murder, and receive a full sentence. Police officers over there intruding on people’s property and killing pets, killing people just walking down the street or washing their car. I’d i was an american the only reason i’d want to own a gun was to defend my self against police officers. Ryan Robbins You shouldn’t believe everything you are reading online. It’s bad right now, but it’s not nearly as bad as many are making it out to be. All of these innocent victims are not nearly as innocent as they are initially made out to be. When the truth finally comes out on most of these stories, it’s on page 6 and nobody takes the time to post it because it does not fuel there agenda to spread hate and prejudice. Aaron Beedle it is true everyone has agendas… im sure there are a lot of people in general dying in america.. but i know from life that the people with the power are usually the assholes. I would say that at least 80% of all male human beings struggle to handle power reasonably. females would be close too. When it is appointed rather than earned, such as when someone is called a police officer and given a weapon that can kill people with ease, people tend to not handle it well. I heard a while ago that some parts of the world do not use equipment they would not fire at themselves. And they are made to. It teaches people restraint. Christopher Rawson The police across America are being demonized by a sickness in the system that wants to put us against one another. That human is a human ,none of us our without fault or live life without ever feeling in over our head….possibly there is another way Tim Walker I suppose if “everyone” voted for that one independent/libertarian candidate, then maybe we would have a fighting chance. Sadly that will never happen. The vast majority of people have been brainwashed by the two main parties. With the division they have created they can easily put in any candidate they choose, how can anyone prove that it wasn’t predetermined? I just watched a news video of this story. The mayor said the couple were passed out when police arrived. “Police spent 45 minutes trying to rouse them and de-escalate the situation”. How is there a situation to de-escalate if they are passed out? 山崎 コロッケ Ryan said nowhere in his comment that they deserved what happened. All he said was that another source had different information. If another source has clashing info, of course one of them is going to be wrong. No need to bash him. Vanessa White Some groups must be trying to start to a race conflict and some are just happy with Anarchy. I would never call them for anything. They don’t seem to know who or when to shoot. Or maybe they are all amped up on steroids all the time. pitiful. I will keep the children in prayer. Blue Thugs All cops are cowards, never seen one that wasn’t a coward and bully. One of the cops got tired of waiting and said “gun” that was all the excuse they needed to open fire. What if that was a white couple with a gun in the car,nearly everyone has a gun on person or in the car these days. What if they have a permit or concealed carry permit. Do you fucking think the cops would have fired 62 rounds into that car and killed the white couple, well do you?. If one of the thug cops did holler gun, no one can ever say anything to contradict them. Cops know if only one side is left alive, no one can say otherwise. Better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6. That is every cops motto, as they know they are above the laws for mere mortal humans. Linda Brown Chickenshit Bullies This B.S. Has to stop. I belive all you say as I have been targeted in Canada. First Nations People,drunk & drive teens and pot smokers are all targets where I live. Every skin color fair game on last two. For sure these Peace Officers should be heald accountable face an open hearing ( open to public ) ” a fair trial ” and then deal with courts decision. I’m not sure if this happened to my friends it would not end in graveyard. These murders must face charges and hopefully Murder One. USN Veteran BT, I respect your opinion however do not fully agree with you. I do know a few LEO’s. Good stock. Adult Scout Leaders. And there was an Officer from my childhood past, whom mentored me. However, I can not defend other LEO’s actions. I firmly believe that an armed society is a polite society. ARIZONA STATE CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISION — Article 2, Section 26. “The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself or the State shall not be impaired, but nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize, maintain, or employ an armed body of men.” Arizona respects the right of all U.S. citizens to carry a concealed handgun with or without a permit, or to carry openly while in this state. An Arizona resident permit can be obtained for the purposes of carrying concealed while in other states that offer recognition or reciprocity. Castle Doctrine Enacted Right to Carry Confidentiality Provisions Enacted Right to Carry in Restaurants Legal Right to Carry Laws No Permit Required Right To Carry Reciprocity and Recognition Outright Recognition Right to Keep & Bear Arms State Constitutional Provisions With Provisions As such, Arizona has fewer crimes per capita committed with a firearm as does California. How does extrapolate these facts? Perhaps as Arizonians have come to accept firearms as a know factor in their daily lives, whereas Californians do not. Perhaps California’s draconian laws encroach upon human mental health? Whereby inhibiting residents of the State of California to live in fear rather than confidence? I for one shall leave this contemptuous State, seeking solitude of which only a truly free society can bring. I shall make Arizona my final resting place. (I expect in this forum environment, there may be egregious comments to the “final resting place”). ? I respect all of my fellow American Citizens and their Constitutional RIGHT to express their opinions, as protected by the United States Constitutional First Amendment. USN Veteran Margie Campbell-Threadgill Maybe I missed something in the article, but does it state that the cops fired 62 rounds in the car? If so, I missed it. Fed1718 XXX Department of justice has statistics on police killings and being white doesn’t make you immune, in fact MORE whites were killed by police than blacks in the last 20 years. Doesn’t excuse this horrible murder of an innocent couple but please don’t fall prey to deluded thinking that being white makes a difference. Look for yourself. How is anyone white or black ever supposed to trust a police officer these days? Blue Thugs Fuck you dude. My dad is a good cop and i judge his actions too. You are biased. I’m not and leave ppl alone, they never bother with flat tires so fuck off. Chris Cochran Every single one of these cops needs to be charged with Murder, and the police need to pay to make those kids end up having a good life since they will never have their parents to give them one Gary Harryman Yes every cop at that scene is guilty of the same crime. Since they acted as a gang, they should stand trial as a gang and all be charged with the same crime – murder. Terri Spanjer I wish people would stop and think for a minute about how the government is ALLOWING police to murder citizens and that over the last 2 years these incidents are occurring a hundred times a year. It’s all part of the Big Plan to remove ALL YOUR RIGHTS and TERRIFY YOU. … PS : Yes, 9/11 was an inside job. Think. American cops have been given free rein to do whatever they want — The government ENCOURAGES police brutality. Lucas Vegen I dont understand, maybe im to young, maybe the UK is completely different. Black lives are being slaughtered even in their sleep and we sit and watch idol. I learned at a young age. The Country will only change when its forced to, black people need to stand up, we are not shooting practice and we will raid stores, court rooms and banks in the 100’s or 1000’s if Money and Property is all they care about. More may die, but we all die eventually and will die sooner if we watch idol. This is the world you want to live and raise your kids in? Really!? This is not hate talk, but Black lives matter marches and speeches should be the calm before the storm… If they continue to kill us and our Children in our sleep. I dont think talking should be our last effort. How many more will die It won’t. They’re killing everyone now. Desiree M. Mondesir INSANE. I KNOW all cops are not like this but the ones who are…God help them. Or rather, God help the people they senselessly murder and their remaining loved ones. How on earth does a sleeping couple threaten you, causing you to “fear for [your] life”?!?! B Alan Eisen I fell asleep in my truck on a very cold night in front of my house. A police officer wanted to arrest me for sleeping in it, but the night was so cold, he got numb hands and left. Ross Thompson Laurie Choate this of course will be swept under the rug as quickly as possible.. they messed up bad on this one.. i would love to see the dash cams vids. but im sure that too is now gone.. very sad that we can no longer trust any person in uniform. how does one “de-escalate” a situation where the occupants of the car are asleep? David Lynn Courtney freaking terrible and shameful roomtempIQ The entire legal system is skewed, in favor of those who have money. No doubt black folks are unfairly targeted/abused/killed by cops, but us poor white folks get cop abuse as well, but us poor whites don’t seem to be killed by cops as often as black folks. That being said, I recently moved to a very rural county and the Sherriff’s Deputies here are stand-up good guys. They are not cowards or bullies. That is one reason I moved here. B Alan Eisen I wouldn’t compare rural life with inner city life at all. Rural people respect each other. They help each other. The police are neighbors. You can explain inner city hell to yourself. Ян Кариси In 2015 the police in USA murdered 303 Black people and 578 White people. Total killed of all was 1140. So far in 2016 the police in USA murdered 33 black people and 81 White people. Total killed so far as of February 27 is 166. But, more whites than blacks you say..??? Simple, Only Black Lives Matter to the main stream media. Their mission is to promote an agenda to put us common folk against one another. Also, imagine if us whites acted like blacks when we have one of our own killed by police? When are whites going to loot and riot? Thomas Headen III You Riot when your sports teams lose, or win, for that matter. Percentages sir, say that black men are 21 times more likely to be killed by police than white men. I think if the percentage were reversed, you would be alarmed as well. God bless. Michael McMaster To put it in perspective, if police were shooting people in a colourblind fashion then you’d expect that for every 100 people shot, 12-13 of them would be black, and 68 would be white. Or to put it another way: Left handed people are about 10% of the population. If it turned out that year after year they were 30% of the people killed by police, it would be fair to ask why they were being singled out disproportionally. Anna Black Whites Loot and Riot during sports. The real question is where is the All lives matter when this happens? Daniel robins one yahoo.com Woops, they did it again. Todd Schacherl So now sleeping while black is a capital offense? “If only they had cooperated while sleeping, they wouldn’t have been shot.” Is that what we are to believe? Deloren Tucker wtf… John and Linda Robel The Blue Code of Silence is well established and routinely used. Tim Egan wrote “Breaking Blue” a book that documents the historical corruption of these “Big Brave Heroes”. Orwell was right, ” BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING” and THE PIGS ARE RUNNING THE FARM”. Line these POS up for the FIRNG SQUAD and make their families watch.. John and Linda Robel KEEP VOTING FOR DEMOCRATS ALL YOU STUPID SONS OF BITCHES AND KALIFORNIACATORS. I’M SURE GOV MOONBEAM FEELS YOUR PAIN. “must have broke the law”“blue lives matter” -every cop apologist dickhead on the internet What’s wrong with the cops, they couldn’t wake them up it’s a shame Nancy Keys They had me confused when they said the woman’s twin sister name Kisha??? Blue Thugs Everyone in America needs to watch the documentry/movie called ” Peace Officers”. I bet a thousand to a cop’s doughnut there was no gun even in the car. If so it was planted after killing them probably. Stayce Wow, I didn’t know things were this bad . It just seems that being black is so wrong anymore. Why do these things keep happening? I just ask that all cops and law enforcement be mindful of what they are doing and double check their situation before over reacting. Now kids are without parents, this is ridiculous. Bless the babies and their parents. Lincoln Kirby Huh I always thought the conscious scared the police more, i.e. Us. Oh wait they can’t tell who’s conscious and who isn’t. Why was I born with less rights than my parents, and my younger family member born with less freedoms than I was born with? The fuck happened. Did we stop thinking. Δανιήλ Ντάνιελ FUCK THESE KIND OF MOTHER FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT POLICE WHO ARE JUST BULLYS WITH A BADGE AND A GUN HOPE THEY ALL DIE HORRIBLE PAINFULL DEATHS PIECES OF SHIT!!!! BROKE A WHOLE FUCKING FAMILY FOR WHAT? PUSSY BITCH ASS TRIGGER HAPPY PUSSY ASS PIGS SMFH! Deloren Tucker When r we going to start fighting back Deloren Tucker police are only human like us Anthony Georgeson This has to stop, this is insane 7 orphans. Unarmed people killed by those who are supposed to serve and protect, crazed gunmen killing indiscriminately. This isn’t the wild west, this is a war zone. I know guns can be a tool as much as a wepon. A knife, a stick , a rock, a fist, can be a deadly wepon. How do we fix this start making every stich of clothing out of Kevlar. Replace fluoride with Prozac. Can we learn anything from places that don’t have a problem like Iceland. It has to stop. The Officers involved should have been interviewed by civilians before the went to Police Academy, maybe they weren’t good with serve and protect. Show me the video! DKSMan WTF this article is full of major inaccuracies. They weren’t parked on the side of the road. They were in the middle of a major street right in front of an intersection. They didn’t pull over and go to sleep. All you have to do is loom at the crime scene photos and see this article is full of false information. They had a gun on them as well. Catherine Durnford-Wang So? For that they deserve to be shot? And they had a gun? So what, again? Aren’t guns allowed under the second amendment? Zatanique How does a sleeping couple put anybody into a state of fear for their lives? I smell a cover up of monumental proportions by the cops involved. I can’t believe that they could possibly find a plausible reason to justify opening fire on these two people. Not only do I want to see a Special Grand Jury called to deal with these cops, police department and city. I want to see a wrongful death suit brought against them, the police department and the city. Because of these cops 7 children are without their parents. No amount of money is going to make that better or make up for what they did. On what planet could you possibly justify what happened? SMH for real I cannot even grasp this! If they were not conscious why didn’t they try to make sure they were not suffering from Co2 poisoning. Oh no lets just shoot them and make up any story we like. Huh???? David Sbraga If you only had the courage to say that to someone face, and not while 6th were hiding behind a Kevlar and screen. I’d pray for you, but I don’t believe in prayer, and I don’t believe it would do you any good. Mark Nasia parents on a date, were asleep in their car? does this headline make sense, I mean, two people shot while sleeping in their car makes more sense, that date would have happened before they decided to sleep, where are the editors these days Jevez Robinson Paul Myers Surely the same laws should be used and Policemen and the hiring officials as is used against gangs and organised crime. Lets face it the police force is the biggest organisation of organised criminals in the world!!! Blacks, Latinos, Asians, and Progressives must compete and vie for every civil service job. Once on, rise in rank and change The system. Genevieve Friday King Two exhausted parents falling asleep in a car in and of itself, not news. Hell, I’ve been at work and college and found parents zonked out from exhaustion from parenting…..but to be executed like this???? uh, were the cops afraid the parents would wake up and ground them for a week? or a stern talking to? Johndca Marible These cops need to stop it. So we’re suppose to believe that this woman and this man with 7 children between them are in a car that late at night just waiting to threaten cops with a gun. We’re REALLY suppose to believe that story? I don’t understand how cops can be so afraid when they have a license to carry a gun, training on top of that, a partner, and access to call for backup. I just don’t get it. If you’re that afraid of a Black person on sight, then you don’t need to be a police officer. You need to seek help. Last time I checked, it was Black people getting killed by the police and not the other way around. Yeah, the cops have a handful of tragedies but it cannot compare to the numbers when you talk about deaths of Blacks by police. Not by a longshot. I’m getting really tired of this and the whole USA needs to revamp its law enforcement system. You can give guns to cops who are suppose to protect and serve but where is the protection for the rest of us? Jeff Putterman

Could Teaching Men to Nurture Counteract Our Culture of Toxic Masculinity?

By Ann Deslandes / thevocal.com.au The feminist and feminist-adjacent internet had a mild implosion in February in response to an article by Canadian organiser, writer, and college professor Nora Samaran (a pseudonym). Titled ‘The opposite of rape culture is nurturance culture’ , Samaran proposes that the solution to rape culture and other manifestations of gendered abuse lies in the inverse of violence, which she says is nurturance – that is,a deep capacity to create safety and trust that many men are not permitted to develop in patriarchal culture. Patriarchal masculinity, as Samaran observes, teaches men that healthy attachment needs, such as attunement, comfort and responsiveness, or emotional availability are weak and wrong. As such, men become “less able to experience women as whole beings”, and are “less able to make sense of their own needs”. So, as Samaran argues, if men can work together to connect with their capacity to nurture and teach each other the skills and qualities of “healthy attachment”, violence against women and non-binary folks might be turned around to its opposite: nurturance. As a proposed antidote to rape culture (most recently, most painfully highlighted by the now-viral letter written by the victim of barely-convicted rapist Brock Allen Turner), Nurturance Culture (short title) has been welcomed, argued over, and extended in multiple corners of the social web (and wept over by the MRA ones, natch). 300,000 people from almost every country in the world read the piece in the first week it was posted, and it has been translated into Spanish and Portuguese with more languages likely to come. This is particularly remarkable because Nurturance Culture is not your typical punchy, between-the-eyes manifesto that is easily parsed through social media channels – it’s long; it draws from fields as diverse as neuroscience, psychology, racial justice, cultural theory, and science fiction; and it is concerned with no less than the deep, structural transformation of heteropatriarchal gendered culture. When I interviewed Samaran via Skype last month, she suggested that the length and depth of the piece might actually be the reason it had such an impact. In her words, “the piece seems to have resonated so deeply because it combines current knowledge about the brain and nervous system with an analysis of power”. And, she observes, this kind of thinking is becoming quietly more common. “It seems to me that for those who are paying attention, we are shifting away from cultures of dominance. While on the surface we live in very violent times and so much seems so hopeless, underneath there is a kind of tapping into a vast and deep reservoir of purpose and hope. When you begin to pay attention, you feel and see it emerging on many different fronts seemingly simultaneously. Even in very traditional places this change is happening; we see it in climate scientists beginning to legitimise considering feelings as important sources of information , or the field of medicine beginning to grapple with the possibility of a shared consciousness , it’s happening in so many very significant places seemingly independently, such as Black Lives Matter , Indigenous resurgence happening across Turtle Island , the radical mental health movement in work such as The Icarus Project … so much is arising against different forms of dominance simultaneously and it feels like rigid masculinity is one of those forms and is connected to all the others.” As Nurturance Culture gained traction, Samaran began inviting people to submit their own descriptions of what the “nurturance” she is proposing looks like, which resulted in dozens of stories of husbands, boyfriends, lovers, friends, brothers, and fathers showing the kind of dependable love and intimate care that is indeed the opposite of hurting, hitting, bashing and raping. This included responses from men keen to share their understanding of the skills of nurturance, such as this one: “For at least a little while, especially when someone you are with is in need of nurture, let go of your own needs and desires. What does that mean? It means stop thinking about anything related to yourself: how you feel, what you need, what you think is best. Just listen and listen very closely. Try to imagine what it must be like to be this other person: absorb everything you know about their history and experiences and try to embody these. Listen to what they are saying, and repeat it back to them in order to clarify whether or not you’ve actually absorbed the essential meaning of what they are communicating to you.” Responses like this reflects one of Samaran’s intentions for the piece – in her words, “for men to teach one another what they are currently learning individually from women about how to be nurturing”. Samaran notes there were unforeseen responses too, such as those who “interpreted the piece to mean that men should love and nurture and bond with one another ” . On the one hand, “men connecting more with other men in a way that skips nurturing women entirely is not really my goal…. I’ve even seen all-male panels on masculine nurturance culture!” she laughs. Still, she adds, “I think this piece cracked open an existing profound desire among men to be able to get closer to one another. And that is beautiful – men want to love each other, to nurture each other, and they don’t feel allowed. That’s one of the big things I hear is being discussed when this piece is used in workshops and discussion groups and conference panels. I just hope they do it in ways that grow their love and capacity to be nurturing to the women and non-binary folks in their lives – not just to strengthen masculine bonds.” Moreover, the answer to the question ‘Nurturance is….’ must amount to something more than just ‘not raping or assaulting’, Samaran adds. “I’m saying that “nurturance is about learning how to make someone feel safe. I’m saying that it is totally ok to be honest and speak without shame of what we do and don’t know, but social scripts about masculinity put a lot of pressure on men to never admit when they don’t know something. It’s completely ok to say ‘hey I don’t know how to be a safe man, a safe male presence in women’s lives’– because that is about a lot more than just not raping, it is about creating safe connection and spaces in which women and non-binary folks can heal from the massive gendered violence we experience. And, it is about recognising that men need to do this work and teach it to each other because we are already so exhausted from doing it.” According to Samaran, another critical aspect of Nurturance Culture that people have responded to is its discussion of shame: “On the surface, the shame over not being able to provide what someone needs is massive, and apparently that’s a big thing for men. However, underneath, there is a complex operation of shame going on in masculinity. If you have shamed yourself for having perfectly normal needs, you may not realise that you are doing so, and instead may perceive those same needs as shameful when they appear in other people. You may then actively shame people when they express those same normal needs you have internalised as shameful for yourself. So let’s say you learned very early on that needing to be held tenderly and gazed upon lovingly is shameful. You put it away, and can’t access it or even remember it. When someone you are lovers with has that very normal and healthy need, instead of comforting her appropriately, you may treat her as shameful and confusing, or become angry and withdrawn, and then blame her for this tension by calling her ‘needy’ or ‘unreasonable’– when really it is your own denied need that you are seeing. If you can recognise nurturance needs as completely normal and healthy, you can get your own denied needs met, and also respond in a good way to the needs of a lover, partner, or close friend. Ironically, guilt and shame can be paralysing and can prevent emotional maturity from emerging. We really do need to understand how to work to reduce shame and guilt and increase our culture’s ability to let people be vulnerable. I’m interested in how we create a culture that is safe enough that vulnerability and being completely accepted as our whole selves is taken as a matter of course, as a strength, as a normal part of daily life, not just in our families but in our society across the board. That is how we will move away from shame and guilt and towards accountability and love.” Considering Australia’s current crisis of violence against women, I asked Samaran about the role of public, government-sponsored campaigns like ‘The Line’ aimed at raising awareness amongst young people about consent and the impact of intimate partner violence, and the rollout of relationships education in schools where students learn about respectful relationships. Can measures like this complement or help build a nurturance culture? “Sure”, she replied. “Mainstream media and the education system are both central in raising young people so these programs are helpful. Still, programs like the ones you describe are not enough – they’re not a replacement for the daily, intimate work of building a culture that does the opposite of harm. Programs like this are resources, but let’s not overlook where the learning really comes from – it is deep cultural change we need, and schools can be slow to change.” In this vein, Samaran also encourages readers to consider characters and plots that demonstrate nurturance in popular culture and in existing social movements primarily led by Black and Indigenous people of colour who are creating the world we want to see: “when thinking about huge social problems like men’s violence, it’s so important to think about what the world we want could look like, and where it already looks more like what we want.” Ann Deslandes is a freelance writer and researcher. Tweet her at @Ann_dLandes and read her other writing at xterrafirma.net . 0.0 ·

Donald Trump’s Team Shows Few Signs of Post-Election Moderation - The New York Times

Eric Lipton, Charlie Savage and Michael S. Schmidt

Donald J. Trump is picking up the pace with his cabinet and top White House staff choices, and despite the fervent wishes of some Democrats that views expressed during the campaign would be moderated after the election, the new administration’s team is maintaining a decidedly conservative bent. Up next, secretary of defense? James N. Mattis, a retired Marine Corps general, will meet the at Mr. Trump’s New Jersey country club on Saturday to discuss the post of defense secretary, according to two people close to the transition team. Conservatives this spring had wooed General Mattis to run for president as an independent as they sought an alternative to Mr. Trump. While he was receptive to the idea, he ultimately decided against running. “The thoughtfulness and patriotism — and for that matter, the modesty — Jim showed as he reflected on this decision make me more convinced than ever that he would have made a truly admirable president, and also a good candidate,” William Kristol, the editor of the conservative Weekly Standard, wrote at the time. General Mattis, 66, is widely respected in the military community and could bring with him a staff of civilian experts. He was the head of the United States Central Command, which oversees all military operations in the Middle East, from 2010 to 2013 but crossed swords with President Obama over his push for a more aggressive presence in the Persian Gulf. Under federal law, a former military official must be out of uniform for seven years to become defense secretary. General Mattis retired three years ago, and Congress would have to grant him a waiver. But General Mattis is not the only candidate. Senator Tom Cotton, the hawkish military veteran from Arkansas, was in Trump Tower on Friday and is still in the hunt. Stephen K. Bannon, Mr. Trump’s newly appointed chief strategist, has maintained a low profile since the election, but in an interview in The Hollywood Reporter on Friday, he pushed back against accusations that intended to divide the country along racial lines, even as he embraced his dark image. On the one hand, he said: “I’m not a white nationalist, I’m a nationalist. I’m an economic nationalist. ” On the other hand, Michael Wolff wrote: Mr. Trump’s association with Mr. Bannon has been widely criticized because of racist conspiracy theories promoted on Breitbart. com, the news website that Mr. Bannon was managing before joining Mr. Trump’s campaign. Mr. Bannon said in the interview that he expected Mr. Trump’s presidency would unsettle Republicans and Democrats alike with his aggressive and unconventional plans for rebuilding the country. “I’m the guy pushing a infrastructure plan,” Mr. Bannon said. “With negative interest rates throughout the world, it’s the greatest opportunity to rebuild everything. ” Predicting a change that will outshine the Reagan revolution, he added: “Ship yards, iron works, get them all jacked up. We’re just going to throw it up against the wall and see if it sticks. ” He didn’t get attorney general. He’s still in the running for secretary of state, though the Trump team has let it be known that the former Trump nemesis Mitt Romney will be meeting with the to discuss that job. So where is Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former mayor of New York and stalwart Trump loyalist? Spotted in Palm Beach, where he says he needs some rest. But don’t count him out. When asked whether Mr. Giuliani was a favorite to become secretary of state, Representative Devin Nunes of California, a member of the transition team’s executive committee, said he did not want to speculate. But Mr. Nunes lavished praised on Mr. Giuliani. “He would absolutely be a great secretary of state — he’s America’s mayor, is widely respected around the world and is a fine example of the type of person we want representing us abroad,” Mr. Nunes said. Representative Chris Van Hollen, Democrat of Maryland, won a Senate seat last week — and with it, one of the worst jobs in American politics: leader of the committee tasked with protecting incumbent colleagues and maybe winning a seat or two in 2018. Senator Chuck Schumer, the incoming minority leader, announced on Friday that Mr. Van Hollen would serve as chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee for the 2018 cycle. “Chris Van Hollen was our first choice for D. S. C. C. chairman because of his talents, his work ethic and his experience,” Mr. Schumer said in a statement. “The map is tough for Democrats, but I have no doubt that Van Hollen is up to the task. ” Tough indeed: Democrats gained a mere two Senate seats on Election Day — New Hampshire and Illinois — and will be defending a daunting 23 seats in 2018, as well as two held by independents who caucus with them — Angus King of Maine and Bernie Sanders of Vermont — and roughly half of those states were won by Trump. In contrast, Democrats have one real target, Senator Dean Heller of Nevada, and maybe two with Jeff Flake of Arizona if things go south for the new president. (Of note, Mr. Van Hollen knows the highs and lows of the job, having led the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee for his party’s 2008 wave, then getting washed out in the 2010 Republican deluge.) For anyone hoping for tempers to cool and partisans to moderate, welcome to the rest of 2016. The choice of Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama to be attorney general and Representative Mike Pompeo of Kansas to be director of central intelligence — as well as Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn to be national security adviser — appear to have put to rest talk of a period after Election Day. Conservative groups are ecstatic. The Trump transition team hailed Mr. Sessions as a champion of civil rights. “Senator Sessions is someone who’s universally respected across party lines in the United States Senate,” said Jason Miller, a Trump transition spokesman. The other side? Representative Luis V. Gutiérrez, Democrat of Illinois, said in a statement: “If you have nostalgia for the days when blacks kept quiet, gays were in the closet, immigrants were invisible and women stayed in the kitchen, Senator Jefferson Beauregard Sessions is your man. No senator has fought harder against the hopes and aspirations of Latinos, immigrants and people of color than Senator Sessions. ” Some Democrats kept their immediate challenges minimal for Mr. Pompeo. “As a member of the House Intelligence Committee, Congressman Pompeo has a firsthand appreciation for Congress’ responsibility to provide vigilant oversight of our nation’s intelligence activities, and I look forward to learning more about his views,” said Senator Mark R. Warner of Virginia, the incoming Senate Intelligence Committee vice chairman. On the other hand, Jon Soltz, chairman of the liberal veterans group VoteVets. org, greeted the selection of Mr. Pompeo by saying, “This administration is turning out to be as scary, bigoted and abnormal as most people feared. ” As for General Flynn? “Michael Flynn has shown a stunning contempt for the Geneva Conventions and other laws prohibiting torture,” said Sarah Margon, Washington director at Human Rights Watch. “By offering this key post to Flynn, Trump is undermining U. S. commitments to international laws that have been broken to America’s detriment. ” Vice Mike Pence told the news media on Friday that teams of transition staff members who will be working directly with federal agencies had arrived in Washington. “The is a man of action, and we’ve got a great number of men and women with great qualifications looking forward to serving in this administration, and I am just humbled to be a part of it,” Mr. Pence said. He added, “I am very confident it will be a smooth transition that will serve to lead this country forward and make America great again. ” Mr. Pence walked away as a reporter asked whether the was racist. Mr. Pompeo, the ’s pick to direct the C. I. A. may also be a way for Mr. Trump to warm relations with the Koch Industries directors Charles G. and David H. Koch. Mr. Pompeo was first elected to Congress with a large amount of financial support and a prominent public endorsement from the Koch brothers, and the Kansas congressman has remained closely aligned with them since. Individuals associated with Koch Industries are by far the biggest donors to Mr. Pompeo’s political career, contributing $357, 000 to him since 2009. The Koch brothers — among the biggest players in financing Republican candidates nationwide — remained largely on the sidelines in this year’s presidential race. Mr. Pompeo has been a staunch proponent of bringing newly captured terrorism suspects to the prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, for interrogation and detention, as President Obama has refused to do. At a 2013 congressional hearing, Mr. Pompeo called the prison operation in Cuba lawful and humane, and dismissed a hunger strike among the detainees at the time as a “political stunt. ” “We are still engaged in a counterterrorism battle all around the globe that continue to need to have a secure location in which to detain captured enemy combatants remains,” Mr. Pompeo said. Mr. Pompeo has also been a defender of broad government surveillance programs and an opponent of limits the Obama administration imposed after the leaks of the former intelligence contractor Edward J. Snowden. Those included the U. S. A. Freedom Act, which ended the National Security Agency’s program that collected Americans’ domestic calling records in bulk and replaced it with a system in which the government has to get a court order to obtain specific records from phone companies. In an he in January, Mr. Pompeo called for rolling back such reforms. Mr. Pompeo was a prominent member of the special House committee that investigated the 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya. Although the panel found no new evidence of wrongdoing by the Obama administration or Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Mr. Pompeo and another conservative member of the committee, Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, were convinced of a wider . When the committee released its findings in June, the two Republicans filed their own addendum that was far harsher. The addendum said that the attacks showed that the State Department was “seemingly more concerned with politics and Secretary Clinton’s legacy than with protecting its people in Benghazi. ” “With the presidential election just 56 days away, rather than tell the American people the truth and increase the risk of losing an election, the administration told one story privately and a different story publicly,” they concluded. Trey Gowdy, the committee’s chairman and no shrinking violet when it came to Mrs. Clinton, did not put his name on the addendum. The made quite a boast on Twitter on Thursday. Followed by: The only wrinkle: Ford was never planning to move the plant. During the campaign, Mr. Trump repeatedly criticized Ford for moving production to Mexico, and he threatened to impose a 35 percent tariff on vehicles made there. Ford makes the Lincoln MKC, a sport utility vehicle, at a factory in Louisville. Last week, Ford said it planned to move production of the vehicle elsewhere. But Ford had not planned to close the Louisville factory. Instead, it had planned to expand production of another vehicle made in Louisville, the Ford Escape. And the change had not been expected to result in any job losses. “Whatever happens in Louisville, it will not lose employment,” Jimmy Settles, a union official, told The Detroit Free Press. “They cannot make enough Escapes. ”