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ISIS SUPPORTER RESPONDS TO KILLING OF TOP ISIS OPERATIVE: “If they took Abu Sayyaf, we will take Obama”

A JV team threat Shaken by a daring U.S. military strike deep in ISIS territory, supporters of the extremist organization were vowing revenge for the killing of senior leader Abu Sayyaf or claiming the special operations mission never took place, a Vocativ analysis reveals. If they took Abu Sayyaf, we will take Obama, one ISIS supporter posted in the hours after the raid near the eastern Syrian city of al-Amr.Translation: If your goal is killing Abu Sayyaf then our goal is killing Obama and the worshipers of the cross. We have attacks coming against you.Elite American commandos carried out the rare, overnight military operation, killing Sayyaf, capturing his wife, and freeing a Yezidi woman believed to have been held as their slave, the Pentagon said Saturday. Defense Secretary Ash Carter heralded the mission as a significant blow to the Islamic State.Vocativ analyzed social media across Syria in the wake of the strike and discovered some ISIS supporters claimed the news was U.S. propaganda timed to counter ISIS momentum after taking most of the Iraqi city of Ramadi this week. Others tweeted from outside the Syrian city of Raqqa vowing revenge for the strike, saying they heard explosions and helicopters.Carter said Sayyaf was responsible for directing many of the group s military activities and funding, directing its illicit oil, gas, and financial operation. No U.S. forces were killed or injured during the operation, which represented another significant blow to the group, Carter said. And it is a reminder that the United States will never waver in denying safe haven to terrorists who threaten our citizens, and those of our friends and allies, he continued in the statement.The mission included the arrest of Sayyaf s wife, Umm Sayyaf, and the freeing of the Yezidi woman. The trading of Yezidi women has been a major inducement and reward for ISIS fighters in the past. The Yezidis follow a strand of Islam that is rejected by mainstream Muslims as heretical. ISIS last year surrounded the Yezidis villages in northern Iraq, killing and capturing dozens, and taking many of the girls and women as slaves. U.S. forces captured Umm Sayyaf, who we suspect is a member of ISIS, played an important role in ISIS s terrorist activities, and may have been complicit in what appears to have been the enslavement of a young Yezidi woman rescued last night, Carter said. The White House said in a statement that Umm Sayyaf had been moved to a U.S. military detention facility in Iraq. The Yezidi woman would be freed. We intend to reunite her with her family as soon as feasible, Bernadette Meehan, the National Security Council spokeswoman, said in a statement.The operation was coordinated with Iraqi officials, but the U.S. government did not coordinate with the Syrian regime, nor did we advise them in advance of this operation, Ms. Meehan said.According to reports, a team of the Army s Delta Force troops traveled in Black Hawk helicopters and Osprey aircraft into al-Amr in eastern Syria. The Washington Post quoted an unnamed defense official who said a firefight broke out after the troops touched down near a building where Abu Sayyaf was believed to be, and that ISIS fighters tried to use women and children as human shields. It was a real fight, the official told the Post, saying there was hand-to-hand fighting and about a dozen militants were killed. He told the Post that troops collected items that might prove useful intelligence.Via: Vocativ.com

1real

U.S. top court takes up Republican challenge to Maryland electoral district

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday added a second case to its docket on a contentious issue that could have major consequences for American elections, agreeing to decide whether Democratic lawmakers in Maryland unlawfully drew a congressional district in a way that would prevent a Republican candidate from winning. The court’s agreement to take up an appeal by Republican voters in Maryland regarding the U.S. House of Representatives district came two months after the justices heard arguments in a high-profile challenge by Democratic voters to Republican-drawn state legislative districts in Wisconsin. Both cases target a practice known as partisan gerrymandering that aims to entrench one party in power and that critics have called a distortion of the democratic process. The justices have not yet issued a ruling in the Wisconsin case. Each case presents a different legal theory as to why limits should be placed on partisan gerrymandering, and the court’s decision to take up a second case on the issue hints that at least some of the nine justices are seriously considering cracking down on it. Gerrymandering, a practice dating back two centuries in American politics, involves manipulating boundaries of legislative districts to benefit one party and diminish another. Legislative districts around the United States are redrawn every decade after the national census to reflect population changes. The “redistricting” in most states is done by the party in power though some states assign the task to independent commissions. The Supreme Court for decades has been willing to invalidate state electoral maps on the grounds of racial discrimination but never those drawn simply for partisan advantage. In the Maryland case, the Republican voters targeting the Democratic-drawn electoral map appealed a 2-1 ruling in August by a panel of three federal judges sitting in Baltimore rejecting their challenge. Maryland’s sixth congressional district, the focus of the case, was previously held by a Republican and now is held by Democrat John Delaney. When the Supreme Court heard arguments in the Wisconsin case on Oct. 3, the justices appeared closely divided, with conservative Justice Anthony Kennedy likely to cast the deciding vote. The Republican challengers in Maryland take aim at a single electoral district, not the whole state as in the Wisconsin case. They argue that the district should be struck down because it was drawn by Democrats as a form of retaliation on the basis of past party affiliation based on the Constitution’s guaranteed rights of free association and free speech. The challengers in the Wisconsin case argued that the Republican electoral map violated Democratic voters’ rights to equal protection under the law as well as free speech and association. In the Wisconsin case, the legal argument advanced by the Democratic challengers was that an electoral map would be unlawful if the intent was to discriminate against minority party voters, the map had a sizable effect in accomplishing that goal and that there was no other justification for the map. The theory was based in part on measuring the number of “wasted” votes in each district cast for a losing candidate and comparing each party’s total wasted votes on a statewide basis. The results, plaintiffs said, show whether one party’s votes are more likely to be wasted than the other party’s, which would show evidence of unconstitutional extreme partisan gerrymandering.

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Ukraine Lawmaker Who Worked With Trump Associates Faces Treason Inquiry - The New York Times

Prosecutors in Ukraine are investigating whether a member of Parliament committed treason by working with two associates of President Trump’s to promote a plan for settling Ukraine’s conflicts with Russia. In a court filing on Tuesday, prosecutors accused the lawmaker, Andrii V. Artemenko, of conspiring with Russia to commit “subversive acts against Ukraine,” in particular by advancing a proposal that could “legitimize the temporary occupation” of the Crimean peninsula. Russia forcibly annexed the peninsula in 2014, a step that Ukraine, the United States and other governments have refused to recognize Mr. Artemenko said his proposal would allow Ukraine to formally cede control of the territory to Russia, at least temporarily. Yuriy Lutsenko, Ukraine’s prosecutor general, posted a copy of the court filing to his Facebook page on Tuesday with the statement “Ukraine’s integrity is above all else. ” Mr. Artemenko’s plan, reported on Sunday by The New York Times, outlines a series of steps meant to bring to an end the rebellion by separatists in eastern Ukraine, and to resolve the dispute over Crimea by allowing voters to decide whether to lease the peninsula to Russia for 50 or 100 years. Settling those issues could give the Trump administration a path to lift sanctions against Russia. Mr. Artemenko traveled to New York in January to discuss the plan with Michael D. Cohen, Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer, and with Felix H. Sater, a business associate of the Trump Organization who scouted business opportunities in Russia for the company as recently as 2015. Mr. Cohen said he delivered the proposal to the White House in a sealed envelope in early February. Mr. Artemenko, a politician who has tried to brand himself as a populist, has not been arrested or formally charged with a crime. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Ukrainian news outlet Strana. ua quoted him as saying that the investigation was “politically motivated. ” “I’m not going anywhere, and will meet with investigators to explain my position,” he was quoted as saying. Mr. Artemenko has claimed he received encouragement from the Russian authorities for his effort, but the Kremlin has denied any knowledge of his proposal. He has also claimed to have evidence of corruption that could help lead to the ouster of the Ukrainian president, Petro O. Poroshenko. The Trump administration has sent mixed signals concerning the war in Ukraine, which has cost more than 10, 000 lives. White House officials have suggested that they would be open to lifting sanctions against Russia, but they have also demanded that Crimea be returned to Ukraine. Word of Mr. Artemenko’s peace plan has prompted outrage among many officials in Ukraine. Some accused him of being a secret Russian agent, and there have been calls for him to relinquish his seat in Parliament. On Monday, fellow Radical Party lawmakers voted unanimously to expel him from the party. The suggestion that Crimea be handed over to Russia legally, even for a limited time, particularly outraged Crimean Tatars, the ethnic group in Ukraine whose members consider the peninsula their historic homeland. Refat Chubarov, a Tatar member of Parliament, wrote on Facebook that Mr. Artemenko should be stripped of his parliamentary immunity and arrested. “Given the continued Russian occupation of Crimea,” he wrote, “which is characterized by the total suppression of the rights and freedoms of the Crimea Tatar people violent kidnappings and killings of peaceful citizens arrests of Crimean Tatar citizens and attacks on their homes and families as well as the persecution of journalists, the actions of Andrii Artemenko are unequivocally qualified as treason. ”

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BOILER ROOM – EP #48 – Agenda 2030 and Beyond with Branko Malić, Patrick Henningsen & Mike Robinson

Tune in to the Alternate Current Radio Network (ACR) for another LIVE broadcast of The Boiler Room starting at 6 PM PST | 9 PM EST every Wednesday. Join us for uncensored, uninterruptible talk radio, custom-made for barfly philosophers, misguided moralists, masochists, street corner evangelists, media-maniacs, savants, political animals and otherwise lovable rascals.Join ACR hosts Hesher, & Spore along with Branko Mali of Kali Tribune, Mike Robinson from UK Column and Patrick Henningsen of 21stcenturywire. In this broadcast listeners will be hearing us go around the BOILER ROOM on the encroaching UN Agenda 2030, the European migrant crisis, the US political climate and a variety of other topics on this special edition of THE BOILER ROOM. If you want to participate, bring something interesting to throw into the boiler Join us in the ALTERNATE CURRENT RADIO chat room.BOILER ROOM IS NOT A POLICTALLY CORRECT ZONE! LISTEN TO THE SHOW IN THE PLAYER BELOW ENJOY! REFERENCE LINKS:

1real

Trump’s F.C.C. Pick Quickly Targets Net Neutrality Rules - The New York Times

WASHINGTON — In his first days as President Trump’s pick to lead the Federal Communications Commission, Ajit Pai has aggressively moved to roll back consumer protection regulations created during the Obama presidency. Mr. Pai took a first swipe at net neutrality rules designed to ensure equal access to content on the internet. He stopped nine companies from providing discounted internet service to individuals. He withdrew an effort to keep prison phone rates down, and he scrapped a proposal to break open the cable box market. In total, as the chairman of the F. C. C. Mr. Pai released about a dozen actions in the last week, many buried in the agency’s website and not publicly announced, stunning consumer advocacy groups and telecom analysts. They said Mr. Pai’s message was clear: The F. C. C. an independent agency, will mirror the Trump administration’s rapid unwinding of government regulations that businesses fought against during the Obama administration. “With these tactics, Chairman Pai is showing his true stripes,” said Matt Wood, the policy director at the consumer group Free Press. “The public wants an F. C. C. that helps people,” he added. “Instead, it got one that does favors for the powerful corporations that its chairman used to work for. ” Mr. Pai, a former lawyer for Verizon, was elevated by Mr. Trump to the position of chairman after serving as a minority Republican member for the past three years. Known for being a stickler on conservative interpretations of telecommunications law and the limits of the F. C. C. ’s authority, Mr. Pai said he was trying to wipe the slate clean. He noted that his predecessor, Tom Wheeler, had rammed through a series of actions right after the presidential election. Many of those efforts, Mr. Pai argued, went beyond the agency’s legal authority. “These actions, which did not enjoy the support of the majority of commissioners at the time they were taken, should not bind us going forward,” Mr. Pai said in a statement released Friday. “Accordingly, they are being revoked. ” The efforts portend great changes at the federal agency at the center of the convergence of media, telecommunications and the internet. The biggest target will be net neutrality, a rule created in 2015 that prevents internet service providers from blocking or discriminating against internet traffic. The rule, which was created alongside a decision to categorize broadband like a utility, was the tech centerpiece of the Obama administration. On Friday, the F. C. C. took its first steps to pull back those rules, analysts said. Mr. Pai closed an investigation into practices of the wireless providers ATT and Verizon. is the offering of free streaming and other downloads that do not count against limits on the amount of data a consumer can download. If a provider like ATT offers free streaming of its DirecTV programs, does that violate net neutrality rules because it could put competing video services at a disadvantage? Under its previous leadership, the F. C. C. said in a report that it saw some evidence that made it concerned. But Mr. Pai said after closing the investigations into wireless carriers that was popular among consumers, particularly households. “The speed of the ruling and the chairman’s tone are very encouraging for internet service providers,” said Paul Gallant, an analyst at Cowen. “I think it’s a down payment on net neutrality, with much more to follow. ” Last week, Mr. Pai said he disagreed with the move two years ago to declare broadband a utility. The reclassification of broadband into a service akin to telephones and electricity provided the legal foundation for net neutrality rules. Mr. Pai said he had not decided how he would approach the overhaul of broadband classification and net neutrality rules, but he faces legal hurdles. A federal court upheld the rules last year, and the commission could end up in a lengthy legal battle if he tries to scrap the rules. Mr. Pai will have the help of powerful members of Congress who have promised to attack the classification of broadband as a service. And he is popular among Republican leaders, including the Senate’s majority leader, Mitch McConnell, who with other members viewed Mr. Pai as a loyal voice of dissent during the Obama years. Mr. Pai, 44, the child of immigrants from India who settled in Kansas, is a fresh face for the Republican Party. Congress could introduce legislation that limits the agency’s ability to regulate broadband providers and enforce net neutrality rules. Also under attack are privacy rules for broadband providers. “The agency has strayed from its core mission,” said Marsha Blackburn, a Republican representative from Tennessee who oversees a telecommunications and tech subcommittee. She has called for a hearing within two weeks on the F. C. C. agenda under the new administration. Democrats in Congress said they would fight legislation that waters down net neutrality rules. They said Mr. Pai, described as a student of telecom law, would be a tough adversary, and they face great opposition from Republicans who have promised to prioritize the overturning of net neutrality rules. “The key here is that it’s already been tested in the courts and the court upheld this,” said Representative Anna G. Eshoo, Democrat of California. “Ajit Pai is intelligent and genial, but he is not on the side of consumers and the public interest. ” Most troubling to consumer advocates was the secrecy around Mr. Pai’s early actions. That included a decision to rescind the permissions of nine broadband providers to participate in a federal subsidy plan for consumers. None of the providers currently serve consumers, but Mr. Pai’s comments could foreshadow a of the Lifeline subsidy program. On Monday, the F. C. C. is scheduled to appear before a federal judge to defend its push to curb extraordinarily expensive phone call prices from prison. But it told a judge a few days ago that Mr. Pai disagreed with many aspects of the case. Mignon Clyburn, the sole Democrat of the three sitting members of the F. C. C. warned that the actions would directly harm consumers. “Rather than working to close the digital divide, this action widens the gap,” Ms. Clyburn said.

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Let’s Say Obamacare Is Repealed. What Then? - The New York Times

The election of Donald J. Trump gives the Republicans in Congress a chance to act on their desire to get rid of Obamacare, a wish that Mr. Trump mostly says he shares. Aaron E. Carroll and Austin Frakt, the health policy analysts for The Upshot, discuss: Then what? Aaron: I think it’s safe to say few in Congress thought they would have this opportunity. But like the proverbial dog who has finally caught the car, after untold futile attempts, Republicans have finally come within reach of repealing the Affordable Care Act. Now comes the essential question: Will they actually do it? They’ve been promising it forever, but I am still skeptical that it will happen. I believe you disagree. I’m going to let you go first. Why do you think they’ll do it? Austin: I think they’ll do it because they so thoroughly own the idea of repeal, having passed bills to repeal, partly repeal, delay or defund the A. C. A. in the House something like 60 times. Just the other day Senator Mitch McConnell endorsed repeal (again). The House and Senate also agreed to do so, in large part, in a budget reconciliation bill earlier this year. The only thing that prevented it was that President Obama vetoed it. I doubt Mr. Trump would do the same if given a similar opportunity. Now, I know that a budget reconciliation dismantling of the law is not a full repeal, because according to the rules it can only touch provisions. This excludes things like requiring insurers to take all comers for premiums that vary only by age and smoking status or preventing them from imposing coverage caps and lifetime limits, among other measures. I also must add that I’m much less confident of a repeal (or partial repeal) without agreement on a replacement. But I’ll turn it back to you, Aaron. Do you think the G. O. P. has to offer a full replacement to get its members to sign on to repeal? Or can it offer something that would cover fewer people and with fewer benefits? Aaron: I think they can get away with slightly fewer people and somewhat skimpier benefits, but not too much. There’s a part of me that thinks many in Congress were always so willing to vote for a “repeal” because they knew it had no chance of being signed into law. They got credit for the vote without ever having to face the downside. Actually repealing without replacing would mean effectively stripping more than 20 million people of their health insurance, without anything in return. This would be an unmitigated political disaster. The stories — of people with cancer, diabetes and more who were suddenly stripped of their insurance and left out in the cold — would very likely dominate our discussion for months. That leaves more than enough time to lead to significant repercussions in the 2018 midterm elections. With no Democratic leaders in any branch of government to blame, I think this would be akin to what happened in the 2010 elections, but in reverse. Now, if they can coalesce around a “replace” plan that doesn’t leave too many people out, then I think they could move forward. But in all the years since the A. C. A. was passed, Republicans haven’t been able to do that. Do you think they can? What do you think that plan would look like? Austin: One way to get from repeal to replace that minimizes immediate political risk is to pass a plan that doesn’t call for repeal for several years, at least after the 2018 midterms, though possibly after the 2020 election. Between now and then, there would need to be some kind of transition to whatever replaces Obamacare that didn’t just dump people off coverage with no alternative. But the alternatives could just be not as comprehensive or costly. Absolutely there will be bad stories. But keep in mind, there will be bad stories under Obamacare, too. Rocketing premiums, huge cost sharing and markets with few choices is not a recipe for political success. Republicans now own the task of fixing those things and doing so in a way that does not look as if they’re making Obamacare better. They’re actually in a tough policy spot. They’ll get the blame if they don’t fix or repeal the A. C. A. and they’ll get the blame if they don’t replace it with something people like better. Health policy is a very difficult and thankless task. I think they’ll opt for something they can call repeal and replace, but they could also just let Obamacare struggle and die. Neither looks good. One other way to get out from under the issue is to kick it to the states. Do you think a Trump administration, working with a G. O. P. Congress, will offer greater flexibility to states to design their own coverage plans that could diverge from Obamacare? If so, what are some ideas states might try? Aaron: I think it’s very likely those in Congress could punt Medicaid to the states. For years, they’ve been trying to change Medicaid funding to a block grant that they can then constrain over time. This will be enticing for them because it will allow them to reduce Medicaid spending in the future, while forcing states to make the tough decisions — and take the blame — for cuts in either beneficiaries or services. Fixing the markets for those who are getting health insurance through the Obamacare exchanges, though, is a different story. Without some sort of market regulation, which they’ve generally been opposed to, the same problems that existed . C. A. with respect to conditions and individual ratings will exist. Many people will become uninsured. Annual and lifetime limits could reappear. Lots of people will have problems getting insured. Moreover, I have yet to be convinced that a significant number of Republicans in the House might coalesce around such a plan. Maybe for Medicaid, but I’m not sure about the exchanges. Even if they could, it’s likely the Democrats in the Senate would try to filibuster either of these plans. Don’t you think? Austin: Yes, I think Democrats would filibuster anything they could. The filibuster is not set in stone. A Senate majority can change it, and some are already calling for the G. O. P. to do so. But that doesn’t appear to be what the Senate will do — they’ll retain the filibuster. This could play to their favor, since they can propose things they like, let the Democrats filibuster them and take the blame when repeal kicks in with no replacement. Perhaps that’s another way for Republicans to get out of their political bind. Aaron: I’m sure we’ll have more to discuss as President Trump’s administration comes into power.

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Croatia wants to adopt euro within 7-8 years: prime minister

ZAGREB (Reuters) - Croatia aims to become a euro zone member within the next seven to eight years, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Monday. We don t want to specify the exact dates, but we want Croatia to become a euro zone member within two government terms in office, Plenkovic told an economic conference devoted to the introduction of the euro in Croatia. The centre-right government came to power a year ago. Plenkovic said Croatia wanted to enter the European exchange rate mechanism II (ERM-2) within the next three years, before the country takes the presidency of the European Union in 2020. EU members that have not yet adopted the euro are expected to participate for at least two years in ERM II, a mechanism aimed to ensure currency stability before joining the euro zone. The Croatian central bank already keeps Croatia s kuna currency in a narrow fluctuation band, roughly at between 7.3 and 7.7 to the euro, occasionally intervening on the local foreign exchange market mostly to ease appreciation pressures. Croatia s major challenge before adopting the euro is expected to be the reduction of public debt which is slightly above 80 percent of gross domestic product. Our goal is to reduce the public debt to 72 percent of GDP by 2020 ... We are undertaking a major fiscal consolidation and this year the budget gap will be even lower than last year s 0.9 percent of GDP, Plenkovic said. Central Bank Governor Boris Vujcic said Croatia was the most euroised EU country of those that had not yet adopted the euro. Some 75 percent of local deposits and 67 percent of local debt is denominated in the euro. Some 60 percent of Croatia s trade exchange is related to the euro zone, while 70 percent of tourism receipts comes from the euro zone countries, Vujcic told the conference. The most important benefits of euro adoption would be the removal of currency risk and lower interest rates, he said. Croatia took an obligation to adopt the euro when it joined the EU in 2013, but without a defined timetable. Vujcic said any fears among the population about prices soaring when the euro is adopted could be tackled by an obligation to display prices in both kunas and euros six months before an agreed euro zone entry date.

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‘Take The Money!!’: Emails Show How Clinton Campaign Manages Lobbyist Donations

The latest batch of emails released by WikiLeaks provides a rare glimpse into how Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s campaign handles money from U.S. lobbyists who are registered agents for foreign interests. In an email chain with the subject, “Re: Foreign registered agents,” various figures in her presidential campaign discuss the best way to handle donations from U.S. lobbyists who are registered agents for foreign parties. The chain features Dennis Cheng, national finance director for the Clinton campaign, asking, “We really need make a policy decision on this soon – whether we are allowing those lobbying on behalf of foreign governments to raise $ for the campaign. Or case by case.” The emails continue with a debate about the best way to manage lobbyists working for foreign interests who want to raise money for the campaign. Jesse Ferguson, deputy national press secretary and senior spokesman for Clinton, tries to understand just how much money is up in the air. “Is there anyway to ballpark what percent of our donor base this would apply to (aka how much money we’re throwing away) Cost benefits are easier to analyze with the costs. :)” The emails feature a list of foreign agents that the Clinton campaign was worried about possibly excluding from fundraising, including people lobbying on behalf of Somalia, United Arab Emirates, Kurdistan, the Transitional Government of Libya, and the Republic of Iraq, among others. Later, Cheng seems worried about losing this potential fundraising, writing, “Hi all – we do need to make a decision on this ASAP as our friends who happen to be registered with FARA are already donating and raising. I do want to push back a bit (it’s my job!): I feel like we are leaving a good amount of money on the table (both for primary and general, and then DNC and state parties)… and how do we explain to people that we’ll take money from a corporate lobbyist but not them; that the Foundation takes $ from foreign govts but we now won’t. Either way, we need to make a decision soon.” Finally, Robby Mook, campaign manager for Clinton, writes, “Marc made a convincing case to me this am that these sorts of restrictions don’t really get you anything…that Obama actually got judged MORE harshly as a result. He convinced me. So…in a complete U-turn, I’m ok just taking the money and dealing with any attacks. Are you guys ok with that?” Jennifer Palmieri, director of communications for Clinton’s campaign, responds to that email, “Take the money!!” Editor’s note: This post has been updated Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected].

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Weak. Why not just own that your whole "hey, weather is not climate!" comment is completely worthless because all climate scientists know that? So does everyone who follows this issue.

1real

Terror attack over, 147 dead at Kenya university

NAIROBI, Kenya — Armed terrorists stormed a university in northern Kenya on Thursday, killing 147 people, wounding dozens and taking hostages during a 15-hour siege until four militants were killed by security forces. Christians and converts to Islam appeared to have been the targets. More than 550 students were evacuated and 79 were injured in the standoff on the Garissa University campus, about 90 miles from the Somali border. The Somali-based Islamic terrorist group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack — the al-Qaeda-linked organization's deadliest in Kenya. Students said the gunmen separated Christians from Muslims and held hostages in a dormitory, where they placed explosives around the Christian hostages, according to Kenya's National Police Service. Kenyan Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery said some students were killed during morning prayers at the mosque. Jackson Kamau, a student at the university, said the militants killed those who were likely converts to Islam. Locals can differentiate between Somali Muslims born into Islam and those who have converted because they come from different ethnic groups. "We'll not allow terrorists to divide our country on religious lines," said Aden Duale, majority leader in Kenya's National Assembly. Most of the 147 dead were students. Two security guards, one policeman and one soldier also were killed in the attack, Nkaissery said. One suspected extremist was arrested as he tried to flee, Nkaissery told a news conference in Nairobi. Heavy gunfire erupted at the college as the Kenyan military worked to end the siege. Police Inspector General Joseph Boinett said a dusk-to-dawn curfew will be in place in Garissa and three neighboring counties starting Friday through April 16. The White House strongly condemned the attack and said the United States was providing assistance to the Kenyan government. "We extend our deep condolences to the families and loved ones of all those killed in this heinous attack, which reportedly included the targeting of Christian students," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said in a statement. Kenyan police offered a $220,000 bounty for Mohammed Mohamud, also known as Dulyadin and Gamadhere, who they suspect planned the attack. Students who were able to escape said gunmen stormed the university, setting off explosives and shooting people on the campus just after 5 a.m. local time. "Most of us were asleep when the incident happened," said Nicholas Ntulu, a student at the university. "We heard heavy gunfire and explosions. Every person ran for dear life as we passed the gunmen. Several (students) were shot dead. "There was nobody to help us at the time of the attack," he said. "The police officers took more than an hour to arrive at the scene." President Uhuru Kenyatta urged Kenyans to stay calm. "This is a moment for everyone throughout the country to be vigilant as we continue to confront and defeat our enemies," he said. Kenyatta ordered the inspector general of police to accelerate the applications of 10,000 recruits for the Kenya Police College. "We have suffered unnecessarily due to shortage of security personnel," he said. "Kenya badly needs additional officers, and I will not keep the nation waiting." Frightened students rescued from the university gathered at a military camp near the Garissa airstrip. "The sounds of gunfire was all over — we couldn't tell what was the right direction to go to be safe," said Ann Musyoka, a second-year student. "We had to face the gunmen — they shot several people as we escaped towards the gate." Victims were rushed to a hospital, and those critically injured were airlifted to the capital, Nairobi. "I was not at the institution when the incident occurred, but several students phoned me, crying over the attacks," said Jacktone Kweya, the dean of students. "When I tried calling them back, their phones were off. It's very disturbing." Robert Godec, the U.S. ambassador to Kenya, said the United States "strongly condemns" the attack. "We extend our deepest condolences to all who have been affected," he said in a statement. "The attack once again reinforces the need for all countries and communities to unite in the effort to combat violent extremism." The assault comes in the wake of an intelligence report issued last week by security officials warning that al-Shabab was planning an attack on major institutions in retaliation for Kenyan military action in Somalia as part of an African Union initiative against the group. Al-Shabab has carried out several attacks in Garissa and across Kenya in the past few years, including an attack in 2013 at the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi that left 67 people dead, and others on mosques in Mombasa, a coastal city in the east. Nairobi-based security analyst Abdiwahab Sheikh said the incident highlights how the government has failed to shore up security in the country. "The government has not learned anything from the Westgate attack," he said. "How do you allow terrorists to take students hostage for more 10 hours? I think our security forces need to learn from the past."

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Trump, Clinton meet again at 'humorous' Al Smith dinner

NEW YORK — Well, that got awkward quickly. What began as the expected ribbing of presidential candidates at the white-tie Al Smith Dinner Thursday turned to boos as Donald Trump described Hillary Clinton as "corrupt" at the event, which is a major fundraiser for the Catholic charities connected to the Archdiocese of New York. Trump's biggest laugh of the night came as he referred to his wife's partly plagiarized convention speech, in a joke that began with his complaint that the media is biased. "Michelle Obama gives a speech and everyone loves it, they think she's absolutely great. My wife, Melania, gives the exact same speech and people get on her case!" Trump said. As laughter and applause filled the room Trump speculated he was in "trouble" with Melania for the joke, and implored to Cardinal Timothy Dolan: "Cardinal, please speak to her." The crowd stayed with Trump while he ticked down a list of what he called "corny" jokes about being a former Democrat and sarcastically calling himself "modest." And they mostly laughed along when he joked about Clinton accidentally bumping into him back stage and saying "pardon me." "I very politely replied: Let me talk to you about that after I get into office," Trump landed the punchline. Clinton was seen laughing. But Trump was quick to take some campaign trail attacks with him to the dais at the annual dinner. He called Clinton "so corrupt she got kicked off the Watergate Commission" and lobbed his usual line that Clinton has been in politics for 30 years and accomplished little. "I can fix it, she says," he deadpanned as the crowd's mood noticeably shifted. As the boos rolled in Trump wondered who they were booing. "I don't know who they're angry at Hillary, you or I?" he said. Someone in the crowd yelled out "you!" Trump's next line struck a nerve. "Here she is in public, pretending not to hate Catholics," Trump said, referencing an apparent email exposed by WikiLeaks in which a Clinton spokeswoman seemed to joke about Catholics and evangelicals. Trump also brought up a moment from the debate Wednesday night. "Last night, I called Hillary a 'nasty woman.' This stuff is all relative. After listening to Hillary rattle on and on, I don't think so badly of Rosie O'Donnell anymore. In fact, I'm actually starting like Rosie a lot," Trump said. The Democratic nominee, for her part, poked fun at herself while also taking searing jabs at her opponent. Clinton didn't hesitate to slam Trump for his past comments on women and his ambivalence about accepting next month's election results. In contrast with Trump, Clinton also made a point of acknowledging both the purpose and the history of the Al Smith dinner and closed her speech with a big-picture campaign message that was tied to the positive focus of Thursday's Catholic fundraiser. Clinton did receive several loud groans from the audience at several of her jokes. Her top zingers included jabs about Trump dismantling a prompter at a rally last week and her opponent's propensity toward speaking favorably about Russia. "Maybe you saw Donald dismantle his prompter the other day. And I get that. They're hard to keep up with and I'm sure it's even harder when you're translating from the original Russian," she said. Clinton also joked about her health, which Trump has made an issue on the campaign trail, as well as criticism over paid speeches. "I took a break from my rigorous nap schedule to be here," Clinton told the audience. "Usually, I charge a lot for speeches like this." Turning to Trump, she said, "Donald, if at any time you don't like what I say, feel free to stand up and shout 'Wrong!' after I say it." And diving into the dominant news of the day, she said: "I'm surprised I'm up here at all. I didn't think he'd be OK with a peaceful transition of power." But Clinton had her own sharply-worded jokes. "People look at the Statue of Liberty and they see a proud symbol of our history as a nation of immigrants. A beacon of hope for people around the world. Donald looks at the Statue of Liberty and sees a four — maybe a five if she loses the torch and tablet and changes her hair," she said. Clinton joked that "getting through these three debates with Donald has to count as a miracle." "There is nothing like sharing a stage with Donald Trump. Donald wanted me drug tested before last night's debate. And look, I've got to tell you, I am so flattered that Donald thought I used some sort of performance enhancer," Clinton said. "Now, actually I did: it's called preparation." Finally, Clinton found a foe that both parties could rally against: "Let's come together, remember what unites us, and just rip on Ted Cruz."

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Khizr Khan EVISCERATES Trump For Disrespectful Purple Heart Comments (VIDEO)

Khizr Khan has been nailing Trump ever since he denounced the Republican nominee s hateful rhetoric at Hillary Clinton s Democratic National Convention last week. Things have only escalated as Trump has repeatedly attacked Khan and his wife, who lost their son, Muslim Army Captain Humayan Khan, while he was fighting for our country.But now that Trump has made some truly heartless, disrespectful comments about receiving a Purple Heart from one of his supporters yesterday, Khan came out in full blast and is more furious than ever that Trump disrespected every veteran by saying, I always wanted to get the Purple Heart. This was much easier. In an interview with CNN s Anderson Cooper, Khan shamed Trump and called the acceptance of the medal heartless. Khan insisted that Trump should have pinned that back to that veteran s chest and should have hugged him and thanked him! Khan, making sure that no one forgets that Trump had the chance to serve his country, and he dodged the draft instead, said: You had your chance. You escaped. You dodged the draft and now you want an easy Purple Heart in your pocket? You should have pinned it back. Even now, call that man. I want his surrogates to call that man, thank him and put that Purple Heart back on that person s chest. He wants to be the leader, commander-in-chief of this United States of America? That is the thoughtfulness? He should have put that Purple Heart back. If he would have been sensible he would have known what it takes to earn that Purple Heart. In fact, Trump had five deferments so that he could avoid serving his country, yet he thinks he is worthy of accepting a veteran s Purple Heart? Really, there is no one more undeserving of a Purple Heart than Trump. You can watch Khan s epic slam of Trump below:Featured image is a screenshot

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CLIMATE SCAMMER AL GORE Utterly Embarrassed…Can’t Explain Why Sea Levels Aren’t Rising

Climate grifter Al Gore is confronted about global warming and sea levels in this classic video where he just can t explain himself. One of the challenges is taking what the scientists say and believing Al GoreOUR LATEST ON AL GORE: NASA S NEW CLIMATE DATA Exposes Al Gore s Lies: The Timing of his New Movie Couldn t be More InconvenientAl Gore has become very wealthy from his invention of global warming and the creation of An Inconvenient Truth, a documentary which has been included in the science curricula of schools throughout the United States. However, the more real climate data we see, the more obvious the hoax becomes.This data couldn t come at a worse time for Al Gore, as his sequel to An Inconvenient Truth, released on July 28, got panned by critics.A.V. Club called An Inconvenient Truth Less a movie than a glorified PowerPoint presentation .A new study from NASA confirms sea levels are falling not rising.iceagenow.info reports: NASA satellite sea level observations for the past 24 years show that on average sea levels have been rising 3.4 millimeters per year. That s 0.134 inches, about the thickness of a dime and a nickel stacked together, per year. As I said, that s the average. But when you focus in on 2016 and 2017, you get a different picture.Sea levels fell in 2016, and with all of this winter s record-breaking snowfall, I wouldn t be surprised if they decline again this year.I clicked and zoomed on the above chart as NASA suggested, and obtained a close-up screen shot of sea levels from Jan 2016 to March 2017. This clearly shows the decline.Al Gore has falsely predicted that sea levels would rise by 20 feet, with some of the world s largest cities underwater.World Tribune reports: Although the UN s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) only predicts a sea level rise of 59cm (17 inches) by 2100, Al Gore in his Oscar-winning film An Inconvenient Truth went much further, talking of 20 feet, and showing computer graphics of cities such as Shanghai and San Francisco half under water, Booker noted. We all know the graphic showing central London in similar plight. As for tiny island nations such as the Maldives and Tuvalu, as Prince Charles likes to tell us and the Archbishop of Canterbury was again parroting last week, they are due to vanish. All of the talk about the sea rising is nothing but a colossal scare story, Booker said, citing Swedish geologist and physicist Nils-Axel Morner, formerly chairman of the INQUA International Commission on Sea Level Change, who for 35 years has been using every known scientific method to study sea levels all over the globe. Despite fluctuations down as well as up, the sea is not rising, Morner says. It hasn t risen in 50 years. If there is any rise this century it will not be more than 10cm (four inches), with an uncertainty of plus or minus 10cm . And quite apart from examining the hard evidence, he says, the elementary laws of physics (latent heat needed to melt ice) tell us that the apocalypse conjured up by Al Gore and Co. could not possibly come about. Gateway Pundit

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PM Hariri urges Lebanese to put country first

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri said on Thursday Lebanon s political crisis was a wake-up call for Lebanese with different loyalties to put their country ahead of regional issues. Hariri was referring to the crisis ignited by his shock announcement on Nov. 4 that he was resigning. He made it from Saudi Arabia, a Sunni monarchy and regional powerhouse locked in a confrontation with Shi ite Islamist Iran. After returning to Lebanon this week, he shelved the decision on Wednesday at the request of President Michel Aoun. The period that passed was perhaps like a wake-up call for all of us to look for Lebanon s interests rather than looking at problems around us, Hariri said at the Annual Arab Banking Conference in Beirut on Thursday. The problems around us are important, but Lebanon is more important. Hariri reaffirmed the need for Lebanon to stick by its policy of staying out of regional conflict not just with words but with action as well . I want to stress that ... our main concern is stability, and this is what we ll be working on. Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, the head of President Aoun s political party, wrote to the Arab League chief on Thursday, stressing Lebanon s policy of staying out of regional crises, the state news agency reported. The regional role played by the Iranian-backed Hezbollah political and military movement has greatly alarmed Saudi Arabia, Hariri s long-time ally. Hezbollah s parliamentary group met on Thursday and said in a statement afterwards that Hariri s return to Lebanon and his positive statements signaled a possible return to normality. Hariri said on Wednesday his decision to postpone resigning would lead to a responsible dialogue ... that deals with divisive issues and their repercussions on Lebanon s relations with Arab brothers. Top Lebanese officials have said Riyadh forced him to quit and held him in the kingdom. Riyadh and Hariri deny this. Hariri returned to Lebanon after an intervention by France. A leader in Hariri s Future Movement said on Thursday that Hariri s decision to wait instead of officially resigning from his post was a wise step that would allow for more dialogue.

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7 Steps You Should Take To Make Sure Your Experie... | ClickHole

Email A little planning goes a long way when it comes to mind expansion! 1. Prior to the trip, forget what birds are: When you’re tripping, you’ll eventually learn about birds, and it’ll blow your fuckin’ mind. 2. Surround yourself with lots of sharp knives and guns: You’ll want to be able to fight off any terrifying creatures that might suddenly appear before you. 3. Set your alarm to go off every six seconds to remind you to breathe: Remember, safety first. It may seem “dorky,” but setting a breath alarm can save your life. 4. Write the words “GOOD TIME” on your forehead: That way, if you’re feeling depressed at any point while tripping, you can just look in the mirror and be reminded of the type of time that you’re supposed to be having! 5. Politely ask any terminally ill loved ones to hold off on dying until after your trip: They will understand that you want your experience to be mind-opening, not sad. 6. For god’s sake, make sure you husk all of your corn before you dose: If you want a pleasant trip, you’ve gotta make sure you husk every last ear of corn you’ve got. Yes, even the ones you have in your storehouse! 7. Keep a few Trivial Pursuit cards in your pocket: When you’re eventually stricken with a powerful and lasting sense that you know everything that everyone is going to say and, therefore, you know everything forever, a tough Science & Nature question can be your best route back to reality.

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Woman Uses Milk And Gelatin To Remove Blackheads

posted by Eddie I’m the kind of person who notices every little thing on my face. Now, I may not act on everything little thing that “pops” up, so-to-speak, but I definitely notice! A stray eyebrow hair? Yeah, I see you there. A little pimple: how could I miss it? But none of these things compare to the feeling of finding a little patch of nasty blackheads popping up. I get them around my chin and nose. And, honestly, I really don’t know how to effectively deal with them at home. So, I end up popping them. Anyone who has ever done this knows that nine times out of ten, popped blackhead will turn into something way worse! I got sick of the whole process. Get rid of a blackhead to get a pimple instead? No thanks. So that’s why I got really excited to see a natural remedy I could try at home. If you’re anything like me, you’ll definitely want to check this out, too. When you try it, make sure to snap a pic and upload it in the comments so everyone can see how awesome this blackhead mask is in action! Here is how you transform your face for the better–naturally! 1. Get the ingredients: milk and gelatin. Since you’ll be putting these things directly on your face, I highly recommend choosing high-quality options here. Also, make sure the gelatin is unflavored. 2. Measure, then mix. Put the gelatin (1 Tablespoon) in a container first, then add the milk (1-2 Tablespoons). Mix. 3. Rinse your face while microwaving the mix for 15 seconds. The heat makes this mix so soft. You’ll want to put it on straight away to ensure the desired smoothness. 4. Apply the warm mixture to your face. You can spread this mix all over or do some spot treatments — your choice. Just remember to use it quickly! 5. Let it soak in! Grab your smartphone; you’ve got about 15 minutes to spare here. Better yet, take note and make some funny faces in the mirror. 6. Start peeling away those nasties! Once it’s dry, grab a corner and start slowing peeling. Get ready to be amazed! 7. Pull! Make sure to get them all! This is the most satisfying part — seeing all those disgusting blackheads meet their fate. Source:

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Facebook Reportedly Complies With Pakistan’s Demand to Censor ’Blasphemy’ as Call to Hang Blasphemer Trends on Twitter - Breitbart

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan has launched a crackdown against “blasphemy” on social media, and Facebook and Twitter are doing little to stop it. According to government sources, Facebook is even assisting Pakistan in removing “blasphemous” content. [Late last week, government officials in Pakistan informed the Islamabad High Court that “almost 85 percent” of “blasphemous” material on Facebook had been taken down at the request of the government. Facebook has yet to publicly confirm or deny this claim from the Pakistani government. However, earlier this month, Facebook — which claims to be “founded” on “principles of free expression,” dispatched a delegation to Pakistan to address the government’s demand for religious censorship. At the time of writing, Facebook did not reply to an inquiry from Breitbart News asking the company if they had removed “blasphemous” material to satisfy Pakistan. Pakistan, a country which once harboured Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden within its borders, recently launched a crackdown on social media blasphemy. The country’s Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif has ordered authorities to take urgent steps to remove blasphemous content on social media and apprehend those who post it. Last week, three Pakistani bloggers were arrested on suspicion of blasphemy, and had their laptops seized. If convicted, they could face the death penalty. Pakistan wants social media companies to help identify anonymous posters of blapshemous content, and has announced that it will seek the extradition of any Pakistanis who post blasphemous content from abroad. International affairs magazine The Diplomat has branded the crackdown a “war on atheism. ” Meanwhile, on Twitter, a hashtag calling for the execution of one of the arrested “blapshemers,” ‘#HangAyazNizami,’ trended in Pakistan as Muslim users took to the platform to call for the blood of heretics. Fuck with freedom of speech hang this fucker asap. 😏 #HangAyazNizami, — Sardar Waqar (@Engrr_vicky) March 25, 2017, Call us terrorist or extremist or what everbut he must be hanged #hangayaznizami, — Daniyal Ahmed (@daniyalaahmed) March 25, 2017, He must be drag in the streets then hanged #HangAyazNizami, — Nida Ahmed (@nidaa214) March 25, 2017, Western Twitter users reacted strongly against the trend. Some users pointed out the hypocrisy of Twitter allowing these open calls for religious murder on their platform, while cracking down on peaceful western conservative users. Dear @twitter Those posting pro #hangayazNizami tweets are far more dangerous than Milo. https: . — Christina Sommers (@CHSommers) March 27, 2017, Thousands of muslims who AREN’T terrorists want to hang a blogger for ”blasphemy” and some still want mass Muslim migration #HangAyazNizami, — Joseph (@JosephBrowno) March 27, 2017, Those tweeting #HangAyazNizami for ”blasphemy” are insecure, petty, weak little cowards. @Jack @Twitter should take note. — Maajid (@MaajidNawaz) March 26, 2017, See this hashtag #HangAyazNizami learn what ordinary Pakistanis want done to a secular blogger now in serious peril. This is NOT a fringe. https: . — Ali A. Rizvi (@aliamjadrizvi) March 26, 2017, I’m wondering if prominent Muslim voices such as @lsarsour will publicly condemn this #HangAyazNizami, or if she’ll completely ignore it. — Child Of Kekistan (@ChildofKekistan) March 27, 2017, Twitter has yet to respond to an enquiry from Breitbart News, which asked the company why calls for violence against a blogger remain on the platform, and whether such posts violate the platform’s guidelines on “hate content. ” You can follow Allum Bokhari on Twitter and add him on Facebook. Email tips and suggestions to abokhari@breitbart. com.

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Indonesia foreign minister flies to Bangladesh after Myanmar visit on Rohingya

DHAKA (Reuters) - Indonesia s foreign minister will fly to Bangladesh on Tuesday for talks following her visit to Myanmar where she urged national leader Aung San Suu Kyi to end ongoing violence against the Rohingya Muslim minority there. Bangladesh s foreign secretary, Shahidul Haque, told Reuters Retno Marsudi will meet Bangladeshi officials in Dhaka. Nearly 90,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since Aug. 25, following an army crackdown triggered by attacks by Rohingya insurgents in Buddhist-majority Myanmar s northwestern Rakhine state. The Rakhine violence has killed at least 400 people, most of them Rohingya insurgents, according to the Myanmar government, leading to the exodus of Rohingya to neighbouring Bangladesh that is struggling to cope with the influx. Muslim-majority countries such as Indonesia and Turkey, who are trying to pressure Nobel peace prize winner Suu Kyi to end the crisis, are also offering help to Bangladesh deal with the massive inflow of people from across its 271 km (168 mile)long border with Myanmar.

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John McCain Throws Tantrum, Decries Trump for ‘Letting Assad Stay’

21st Century Wire says A predictable reaction from a pair of increasingly desperate politicians.Perennial war hawks Senators John McCain and his partner Lindsey Graham, have expressed their outrage of recent comments by Trump Administration officials that regime change is no longer a priority for the Washington.McCain warned that President Trump s downgrading on policy, away from the overthrow of the Syrian government, was somehow bad for US interests. Such a policy would only exacerbate the terrorist threat to our nation, said McCain.Since at least 2011, McCain has been intimately involved in helping to foment instability in Syria by leading the program to flood illegal arms into Syria for what he and many other America politicians claimed was for the moderate rebels who were fighting for freedom and democracy. It wasn t long before the world finally figured out what the Syrian people knew all along the moderate rebel was a public relation tool, invented by Washington under the Obama Administration.Sadly for McCain, he hasn t been following the news close enough over the last 3 years to realize that the rest of the world has already figured out the West s transparent proxy terrorist marketing campaign.While McCain s public position is predictable still clinging to the fictional narrative laid down by Obama that the Syria public do not support their President and is therefore illegitimate in the eyes of NATO member states, his partner Senator Graham s position is even more erroneous; based on the a long-debunked lie that Assad crossed the red line and used chemical weapons against his own people. McCain with CIA-backed FSA commander Sam Idris and Mouaz Moustafa of the Washington s creation, the Syrian Emergency Task Force (SETF).What makes McCain s rantings even more obscene, is the fact that he has remained completely pro-war in all its forms, and is in total support of proven international terrorists groups like Al Nusra, the Free Syrian Army FSA and Arar al-Sham. In 2011, McCain snuck into Syria illegally to promise militants weapons and support, as well as a US bombing campaign against the Syrian state a war which almost happened under the pretext of a staged false flag chemical attack in East Ghouta outside Damascus in August 2013. BUSY YEAR: 2011 was a busy year for McCain and Graham supporting militants and terrorists. Here they are pictured with Florida Senator Marco Rubio showing off with extremists after the assassination of Gaddafi and before the eventual implosion of the country following the US-led NATO bombing campaign. Supreme Military Council of Syria meeting US Rep. Adam Kinzinger, Mouaz Moustaf (SETF), and CIA agent Evan McMullin (circa 2013-2014)Since 2011, John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Hillary Clinton, US Congressman Adam Kinzinger and others, in conjunction with Romney-backed CIA operative turned 2016 Presidential candidate Evan McMullin have led calls to support the various terrorist factions within Syria under the CIA crafted banner of Supreme Military Council of Syria and the The Syrian Revolutionary Front have consistently sold the American public a false narrative via by the Muslim Brotherhood, an extremist political organization supported by Obama administration.4 years later, they are still droning on with the same discredited talking points Daniel Chaitin Washington ExaminerSens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham are upset with the Trump administration signaling that removing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from power is no longer a top priority.During a trip to Turkey, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Assad s fate will be decided by the Syrian people. That sentiment was echoed by U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, who told reporters, You pick and choose your battles. And when we re looking at this it s about changing up priorities and our priority is no longer to sit and focus on getting Assad out. In a statement Thursday evening, McCain, who is chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he is deeply disturbed by Tillerson s and Haley s comments. Their suggestion that Assad can stay in power appears to be just as devoid of strategy as President Obama s pronouncements that Assad must go,' McCain said. Once again, U.S. policy in Syria is being presented piecemeal in press statements without any definition of success, let alone a realistic plan to achieve it. Graham, also a member of the Armed Services committee, said that such comments would be the biggest mistake since President Obama failed to act after drawing a red line against Assad s use of chemical weapons. Continue this story at the Washington ExaminerREAD MORE JOHN MCCAIN NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire McCain FilesSUPPORT 21WIRE SUBSCRIBE & BECOME A MEMBER @ 21WIRE.TV

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Trump’s Old Campaign Chair Knifed The Man Who Deposed Him In The Back – And Twisted

One would think Corey Lewandowski, Trump s former campaign manager, would eventually get tired of swiping at Paul Manafort, the man who replaced him. He s already stabbed Manafort in the back. However, when The New York Times published a report on Manafort s secret ledger in the Ukraine, it seems Lewandowski couldn t resist twisting that knife just a bit.Lewandowski was fired over conflicts with Manafort regarding campaign strategy, and they really didn t part on the best of terms. Earlier this year, Politico reported that these two were at each other s throats to the point where Trump created a new position for Manafort. This was after Manafort tried to bring Lewandowski down.This isn t the first time that he s gunned for Manafort. The last time involved suggesting on CNN that Manafort should be the one who gets fired, or takes the high road and resigns, over the disaster that was Melania Trump s plagiarized speech at the RNC.So the spirit of this tweet is very likely Lewandowski crowing over what may well be Manafort s downfall:Secret Ledger in Ukraine Lists Cash for Donald Trump s Campaign Chief https://t.co/7bh7iIHHaY Corey Lewandowski (@CLewandowski_) August 15, 2016Why downfall? The implications for Manafort are bad, since there s at least $12 million that s slated for him, courtesy of then-President Viktor Yanukovych and his pro-Russian political party. This information also shows how the businesses with which Manafort worked raided Ukraine s assets and influenced what should have been free elections, among other indications of massive corruption.So Manafort s horrifically corrupt, which is probably why Trump wanted him so badly. This info isn t quite new, but these are details that weren t previously known. In other words, it s looking increasingly like Manafort did, indeed, have some kind of hand in helping Russia invade Ukraine, even if it was indirect. Adam Weinstein also tweeted the article, but says his own work shows that this is just the beginning of Manafort s doom: Speaking as someone who has a story coming this week: This is just the beginning for Manafort. It gets worse. https://t.co/5KTUsIHbX1 Adam Weinstein (@AdamWeinstein) August 15, 2016So Lewandowski must be positively gleeful over this. Not that it matters it s not likely Trump would ever bring him back on board. Lewandowski, however, likes to go after his enemies relentlessly, if indirectly. This is one feud that isn t going to end anytime soon.Featured image by Joe Raedle/Getty Images

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White House Staff Reportedly Went Behind Trump’s Back On HUGE Issue Because Trump Is Too Reckless

Remember when Trump said that we were done with NAFTA, and rumors swirled that he was drafting an executive order withdrawing us from the agreement? And remember how he softened that position very quickly? It seems that he wasn t the one to reach out to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on that, nor did Trudeau call him of his own accord.White House officials reached out to him behind Trump s back.Why? Because they were concerned that Trump would unilaterally yank us out of it, hurting multiple sectors of our economy and doing zero favors for Canada and Mexico as well. So, according to Canada s National Post newspaper, they contacted Trudeau themselves: The unconventional diplomatic manoeuvre approaching the head of a foreign government to influence your own boss proved decisive, as Trump thereafter abandoned his threat to pull out of NAFTA unilaterally, citing the arguments made by Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto as pivotal. Trump, in a childish tantrum, slapped a 20 percent tariff on imports of softwood lumber from Canada, claiming that our agreement with them over that was unfair. He wholly neglected other parts of our trade relationship with Canada, including the fact that they import a lot more dairy from us than they export to us.In other words, if Trump would actually take a look at how things are working, he might find that things aren t quite as unfair to us as he makes them out to be with his tantrums.Trump has also threatened to levy massive taxes on products imported from Rexnord a company that just closed its Indiana plant and laid off more than 300 workers as punishment for sending its jobs to Mexico:Rexnord of Indiana made a deal during the Obama Administration to move to Mexico. Fired their employees. Tax product big that s sold in U.S. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 7, 2017As the National Post put it, this incident highlights the following issue with Trump: But the incident highlights the difficulties faced by governments all over the world when it comes to dealing with a president as volatile as Trump. Trump has no business being the leader of the free world.Featured image by Ron Sachs-Pool via Getty Images

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Trump says he and China's Xi to try to end opioid crisis

BEIJING (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping would be focusing very strongly on the U.S opioid crisis, which he has declared a public health emergency. Trump said shortly before arriving in Beijing he would discuss as a top priority stopping the flood of cheap and deadly fentanyl manufactured in China when he meets Xi. Every year drug trafficking destroys millions and millions of lives, Trump said in Beijing, standing next to Xi at the end of formal talks between the two. Today President Xi and I discussed ways we can enhance coordination to better counter the deadly drug trade and to stop the lethal flow of poisonous drugs into our countries and into our communities, he added. A special emphasis will be placed on the new phenomenon - fentanyl - destroying lives by the millions. We re going to be focusing on it very strongly, the president and myself, Trump said, without elaborating. Speaking later to reporters, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Trump and Xi agreed to take new steps. On the critical issue of opioids, we made some good progress to curb the flow of harmful narcotics into the United States in order to save American lives, Tillerson said. The president committed to taking new actions including agreements to control the export and movement of fentanyl precursors, sharing intelligence on drug trafficking, and exchanging trafficking information, he added, referring to Xi. China s drug control agency last week disputed Trump s claim that most of the synthetic drug fentanyl at the heart of the U.S. opioid crisis was produced in China. Opioids include prescription painkillers, heroin and fentanyl, a highly addictive synthetic drug 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. The Centers for Disease Control estimated that 20,000 Americans were killed by fentanyl last year, surpassing common painkillers and heroin for the first time. American law enforcement agencies and drug control experts say most of the fentanyl distributed in the United States, as well as precursor chemicals, originate from China. While Chinese officials dispute these claims, Beijing has taken steps to crack down on the production and export of synthetic drugs, and has placed fentanyl and 22 other related compounds on its list of controlled substances.

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Democrats begin search for candidate who knows how to use email

Wednesday 9 November 2016 Democrats begin search for candidate who knows how to use email Officials inside the Democrat party have begun a party-wide search for a candidate who knows how to use email. Party strategists have decided that an inability to use email properly has cost them the White House, and that an aptitude for email will be a real vote winner in 2020. As one DNC insider explained, “Trump has won the presidential election off the back of our inability to convince the American public we can set up and use a modern email service. “If we can just address that one hurdle we can win back the White House in four years time. “You wouldn’t happen to know anyone who is good with email, would you? Anyone? “I don’t care about their policy objectives, or political views, or their religion – just promise me they know a blind-copy from a reply-all, and we’ll back them all the way. “It’s the only reason we lost. Yes, it is, shut up.” Get the best NewsThump stories in your mailbox every Friday, for FREE! There are currently

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Myanmar says working to ensure returns of Rohingya refugees

GENEVA (Reuters) - Myanmar told the United Nations on Tuesday that it was finalizing terms for a joint working group with Bangladesh that will launch the process of safe and voluntary return of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees within about two months. Htin Lynn, Myanmar s ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, told a special session of the Human Rights Council that his government was ready to work with all international partners to ensure the voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable repatriation and resettlement of the displaced - whom he did not refer to as Rohingya. There will be no camps, he added.

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Campaigning in style: How Jeb Bush blew through his war chest

NEW YORK (Reuters) - There were stays at boutique hotels featuring rooftop pools, private soirees at members-only, jacket-and-tie clubs and fundraisers at the Four Seasons, the St. Regis and the Mandarin Oriental.     In the world of Jeb Bush, the campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination has at times been a whirl of private planes and high-end affairs, according to the federal filings of Bush’s campaign and his Super PAC, Right to Rise, which can raise unlimited funds for Bush as long as it does not coordinate directly with him. It is not unusual for U.S. presidential candidates to fly private or even sometimes stay in luxury hotels. But some disgruntled donors say they are unhappy with Bush’s large outlays, which also include big spending on staff and tens of millions of dollars in ad buys. Eleven of 16 major donors contacted by Reuters questioned whether it was money well spent, especially given how the one-time frontrunner has stumbled badly in the polls and is now facing questions about whether he should withdraw from the race.  In contrast to Bush, Senator Ted Cruz, who is running second in national polls of Republican voters, favors cheaper accommodation options like Holiday Inn and often flies on budget carriers, campaign finance filings through the third quarter show. Several members of the Bush camp vigorously rejected the donor critiques. Bush spokeswoman Kristy Campbell said, “We are running a national campaign that is competing everywhere and we have made investments that have allowed us to do what serious campaigns must do to be competitive in the primary and general elections.” Ad-tracking firm SMG Delta says Bush’s campaign and Right to Rise have spent $82 million on ads, significantly more than the three leading candidates in the Republican race: Donald Trump ($5 million); Senator Ted Cruz ($11 million) and Senator Marco Rubio ($49 million). The tracking firm’s data is more up to date than what has been reported so far in the federal filings. “There is no return on investment on the Bush ad buys, zero,” said one high-dollar donor who asked not to be named, pointing to how the ads have done little, at least so far, to lift Bush in the polls or dent his opponents. On Sunday, donors will learn just how much Bush has spent from his $100 million-plus war chest. That’s when Republican and Democratic candidates and their Super PACs release their latest campaign finance reports. What is known so far is that Bush and Right to Rise spent at least $82 million, both in operating expenditures through the third quarter of 2015 and on ad spending through this month.   The campaign finance reports also show that between June 2015, when Bush formally announced his candidacy, and September, the Bush campaign spent $1.2 million on private planes versus the roughly $700,000 spent during the same period by Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton.     Cruz spent $158,000 on private planes, and Rubio $293,300. Trump flies around the country in his own Boeing 757.     The former Florida governor’s spending pattern illustrates the limits of campaign donations: Even in an era when candidates can receive unlimited sums from wealthy donors, money doesn’t guarantee success.     “They are burning money,” said a second major donor, who, like all the other high-dollar donors interviewed, asked not be named for fear of displeasing the Bush family. “Look, this is not the election cycle to be spending like a silver-spoon Establishment candidate,” said a third donor. “It just doesn’t look right,” the donor said, referring to the way income inequality has emerged as a key theme in the 2016 election. Ambassador Jeanne Phillips, a member of the Right to Rise governance committee, laughed off the criticism. “I’ve known Jeb for 30 years, so the idea that Jeb would allow anyone around him to be frivolous with money is hilarious, it’s ridiculous. The man is the most conservative, fiscally responsible person I’ve ever worked with.” Bush’s campaign committee paid for all lodging on the campaign trail and the vast majority of private air charter, while Right To Rise paid for nearly all the known ad spending.     Money donated by both large and small donors kept the Bush camp traveling in style. There were stays at luxury hotels including the Wilshire in Beverly Hills, the Viceroy in Florida, the St. Regis in Dana Point, California, and the W in Stamford, Connecticut, the campaign finance filings show. The filings do not offer a complete picture. It is not clear for example, how many nights were spent at each of the hotels or indeed whether it was Bush himself who stayed or staff members. Bush isn’t the only candidate spending at high-end hotels, but it’s a high proportion of his overall hotel spending. He spent $125,000,or 70 percent of his total hotel spending between June and September on hotels defined as luxury or “upper upscale” luxury hotels by STR Global, which tracks supply and demand data in the hotel industry. Cruz and Rubio each spent less on luxury hotels and a smaller proportion of their overall lodging expenses on them, at roughly 56 percent and 61 percent, respectively, federal filings through the third quarter show. Trump flies home nearly every night so he can sleep in his own bed.     The Bush campaign and his Super PAC also spent more than $400,000 on renting facilities and catering at posh venues, including the Union League Club and the upscale beachfront 1 Hotel South Beach in Miami, where the Super PAC spent $60,000 last year. Rubio and Cruz spent roughly $265,000 and $185,000 respectively.     Bush defenders said the spending on high-end venues was simply how the donor world operated. “If you can hold an event at a fancy hotel and raise millions, then it’s well worth holding it at a swanky hotel” said Charlie Spies, counsel for Right to Rise. Spies said Right to Rise had negotiated “below market” rates with vendors and consultants, including an overall compensation cap for staff.       Nevertheless the Bush camp has spent more on staff and consultants than any of the leading candidates. Starting roughly in the spring, Bush paid out about $8 million. Cruz spent just $2 million; Rubio, just under $2 million; and Trump, $1.7 million. Overall, Trump, Cruz, and Rubio have spent a small fraction of the $82 million Bush has reported paying out. Cruz spent $18.5 million and Rubio outlayed $32 million, according to the filings made so far. Bush is certainly not the only candidate to spend big on the trail. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, for instance, ran an expensive campaign and burned through nearly $10 million before quitting after three months.     Bush’s prospects were far brighter last summer. Trump had yet to join the race and Bush was making headlines for the size of his war chest. His Super PAC had just cracked its goal of raising more than $100 million in just six months — an unprecedented haul in American politics.     To celebrate, Jeb’s parents and family welcomed their large network of well-heeled donors to their oceanside compound in Kennebunkport, Maine, where attendees were treated to rides in private trolley cars, lobster rolls and group photos with the sprawling Bush clan. (This version of the story was refiled to clarify spending in paragraph 25 to show it was by both the campaign and Super PAC)

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Los Angeles Times Editorial Loses It over Trump: ’Narcissist,’ ’Demagogue’ - Breitbart

The Los Angeles Times — which did its best, it admits, to ensure that President Donald Trump would not be elected — has printed a strident, and nearly hysterical, editorial in which it calls the Trump presidency a “train wreck. ”[Among other things, the Times states: It was no secret during the campaign that Donald Trump was a narcissist and a demagogue who used fear and dishonesty to appeal to the worst in American voters. The Times called him unprepared and unsuited for the job he was seeking, and said his election would be a “catastrophe. ” Still, nothing prepared us for the magnitude of this train wreck. … In a matter of weeks, President Trump has taken dozens of steps that, if they are not reversed, will rip families apart, foul rivers and pollute the air, intensify the calamitous effects of climate change and profoundly weaken the system of American public education for all. … What is most worrisome about Trump is Trump himself. He is a man so unpredictable, so reckless, so petulant, so full of blind so untethered to reality that it is impossible to know where his presidency will lead or how much damage he will do to our nation. His obsession with his own fame, wealth and success, his determination to vanquish enemies real and imagined, his craving for adulation — these traits were, of course, at the very heart of his outsider campaign indeed, some of them helped get him elected. But in a real presidency in which he wields unimaginable power, they are nothing short of disastrous. The editorial comes just days after Trump’s “unimaginable power” proved unable to force through a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare. There were few, if any, Times editorials criticizing President Barack Obama’s narcissism and expansion of executive powers (after promising to curtail the same). Read the whole editorial here. 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.

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ZeroCash: A Cryptocurrency’s Deep State Ties

in: Science & Technology October 28, 2016 marks the official launch of Zerocash (“Zcash,” “ZEC”), a new cryptocurrency that has received tremendous attention from the Bitcoin community. The technology is named for its zero-identity function of shielding transactions on its blockchain, or digital ledger. “Zerocash is a new protocol that provides a privacy-preserving version of Bitcoin (or a similar currency),” its developers explain . “[I]n Zerocash, users may pay one another directly, via payment transactions that reveal neither the origin, destination, or amount of the payment.” The enthusiasm surrounding the coin is demonstrated in the recent price for Zerocash futures contracts, representing one unit and valued against the price of one Bitcoin (BTC). Between September 15th and October 26th the price surged almost 1,300%—from a low of $18 (0.027 BTC) to a high of $261 (0.379 BTC). Upon its October 28 debut the price of one Zcash actually exceeded $100,000,000 (one million) on some exchanges , with an average of about around $15,000. The high valuation and scarcity is at least partly influenced by the novel way Zcash is being introduced. The cryptocurrency will not be initially available to investors for over-the-counter purchases and can only be obtained in gradually increasing increments over a month-long period through “ mining, ” or digital production by those with the necessary computer equipment and technological expertise. An additional reason for the building excitement around Zcash is that its development team consists of notable computer scientists at University of California at Berkeley, Johns Hopkins University, Tel Aviv University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology state actors, including Amazon, the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Office of Naval Research, and the Israeli Ministry of Science and Technology. The entire list of funders is as follows: *Amazon.com *Tel Aviv University Authentication Initiative *Center for Science of Information (CSoI), an NSF Science and Technology Center *Check Point Institute for Information Security *U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) *Air Force Research Laboratory *European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme *Israeli Centers of Research Excellence I-CORE program *Israeli Ministry of Science and Technology *The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust *Office of Naval Research *Simons Foundation *Skolkovo Foundation Libertarians especially, with their philosophical antipathy toward state monopoly that central banking epitomizes have been among the most vigorous supporters of cryptocurrency development and use. This is accentuated by the fact that traditional markets for “hard money” investment such as precious metals are likewise subject to heavy manipulation by the same or allied central banking outlets. Yet one would be hard-pressed to come up with a greater illustration of centralized state power than the array of interests listed above. Indeed, the involvement of such actors in developing the “next Bitcoin” should be recognized vis-a-vis the Western financial community’s continued advocacy for the drastic reduction of conventional central bank-issued currency from circulation (i.e. here , here , here , here and here ). In theory Zerocash differs from Bitcion in that it represents a bolstered technology for anonymous transactions veiled from third party scrutiny. According to the mechanics such transactions may be viewed and recorded by the specific parties who obtains proper authorization. What if a Trojan Horse capability could be engineered into the currency that might later be utilized by lettered agencies? This is the greatest fear of those who rightly question the loss of tangible exchange. Further, such a development would defeat ZeroCash’s desirability and purpose. By dismissing the possibility of such a feature Zcash users implicitly rely on the integrity of the developers themselves, most of whom are junior faculty or graduate students whose research, as noted, is at least partly funded by such deep state actors. Many Bitcoin enthusiasts regard cryptocurrencies as a sort of deus ex machina against the state. Along these lines, Zerocash’s institutional and scholarly veneer cloaks the more complex grant-generating interests lurking in the shadows. Recently even strong advocates of Bitcoin have pondered if the financial medium may have been developed with direct or indirect participation of the intelligence community. In the case of Zcash there can be no doubt of such deep state interest and involvement, which is of no small concern as the world moves toward a seemingly inevitable “cashless society.” Submit your review

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Jury selection begins in Colorado theater shooting trial

CENTENNIAL, Colo. — Gone are the orange hair and the thousand-yard stare. In their place, trimmed hair, a shaggy beard and red-framed glasses. Sitting upright in court in a dark jacket, blue striped shirt and khaki slacks, James Holmes looking very much like the neuroscience graduate student he used to be, not a man on trial for his life. But Holmes, now 27, faces 12 murder charges in connection with the summer 2012 massacre at a suburban Denver movie theater's midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises. He could be executed if convicted. Holmes also faces dozens of other charges, including attempted murder. At least 70 were wounded in the massacre. Jury selection in the case began Tuesday afternoon, and Judge Carlos Samour said an initial pool of 9,000 jurors will be whittled down to 12, plus 12 alternates. The trial may last into October. Once opening statements get underway, cameras will be allowed in the courtroom. However, they are not allowed during jury selection. In a lengthy address to prosecutors and Holmes' defense team, Samour said he expects "passionate and zealous" courtroom arguments, but reminded both sides and prospective jurors that Holmes is innocent until proven guilty. The jury that will decide Holmes' guilt also will decide whether he should be executed. "What's most important to me is that justice is done," said Samour. "That's what this whole process is about: Justice." Arapahoe County District Attorney George Brauchler wants Holmes put to death for the July 20, 2012, mass shooting in Aurora. He argues that life in prison is insufficient justice for the victims, survivors and their families. By pleading not guilty by reason of insanity, Holmes admitted he committed the shooting but claims he's legally not responsible for his actions. He's undergone at least two mental-health evaluations at the state mental hospital, but the results have remained secret. Holmes, then 24, was arrested at the scene by investigators who then discovered his apartment had been booby-trapped with explosives. His lawyers acknowledge Holmes, a former neuroscience doctorate student, was the lone shooter but say he was gripped by a psychotic episode. Legal analyst Scott Robinson said insanity-plea cases are rare, and it's even more unusual for a jury to find someone not guilty by reason of insanity. "It's a minuscule percentage ... yet the public perception is that people are getting off on the insanity plea all the time," said Robinson. "It's actually a rare bird." In December 2014 — just as jury summons went out — Holmes' parents issued a public statement begging prosecutors to drop the death penalty and give their son a plea deal that would see him locked up and treated. "We do not know how many victims of the theater shooting would like to see our son killed. But we are aware of people's sentiments," they wrote. "We have read postings on the Internet that have likened him to a monster. He is not a monster. He is a human being gripped by a severe mental illness."

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Iraq says Iran has shut border with Kurdistan

BAGHDAD/DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran on Sunday shut its border crossings with Iraq s Kurdistan in support of measures taken by the Iraqi government to isolate the Kurdish region, the Iraqi foreign ministry said. At the request of the Iraqi government, the Islamic Republic of Iran closed today the border crossings with the Kurdistan region of Iraq, the Iraqi foreign ministry said in a statement in Baghdad. Earlier in the day, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi had indirectly dismissed claims these crossings were shut. As far as I know, nothing new has happened in this area, the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) quoted him as saying. An Iranian MP Mohammad-Javad Nobandegani said Tehran did not want to publicize the closing of the border. There is no need for explicit publicity, the MP was quoted as saying by Iran s ILNA news agency. The closure would negatively impact residents who depend on border trade, he said, adding that national interests sometimes require us to act this way. Iran last month halted flights to and from Kurdish regions in northern Iraq over the independence referendum by the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Tehran also carried out war games at the Kurdish border in September. Tehran fears the spread of separatism to its own Kurdish population, which is around 8 million. Iran backs Shi ite groups which have been ruling or holding key security and government positions in Iraq since the 2003 U.S-led invasion which toppled Saddam Hussein.

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BREAKING: JFK FILES Reveal Another Democrat President Was Member Of The KKK

Brilliant conservative and American Thinker contributor, Patricia Dickson tweeted a portion of a file that was released today in the JFK files. Her tweet showed a document that appears to prove that former Democrat President Lyndon B. Johnson was a member of the Klan in Texas during the early days of his political career. The JFK Files reveal that Democrat President LBJ was a member of the Klan. pic.twitter.com/NoOJLWAlDp Patricia Dickson (@Patrici15767099) October 27, 2017Dinesh D Souza was quick to respond to Dickson s tweet, saying: If this is true, LBJ becomes the third Democratic President to be either a member or avid supporter of the Ku Klux Klan. If this is true, LBJ becomes the third Democratic President to be either a member or avid supporter of the Ku Klux Klan https://t.co/2gX4i6fDc0 Dinesh D'Souza (@DineshDSouza) October 28, 2017In Dinesh D Souza s movie, Hillary s America , the ugly truth was revealed about the Democrat Party, and how throughout the history of the United States Democrats have been responsible for slavery and for much of the racism blacks have experienced in America.In his movie, D Souza interviewed Vanderbilt professor Carol Swain. Swain made her own video about the Inconvenient Truth about The Democratic Party that s been viewed 1.8 million times. When you think about racial equality and civil rights, which political party comes to mind, the Republican s or the Democrat s? Most people would probably say the Democrats. But that answer isn t correct.Since its founding in 1829, the Democratic Party has fought against every major civil rights initiative, and has a long history of discrimination. The Democratic Party defended slavery, started the Civil War, opposed reconstruction, founded the Ku Klux Klan, imposed segregation, perpetrated lynching and fought against the Civil Rights Acts of the 1950 s and 1960 s. In contrast, the Republican Party was founded in 1854 as an anti-slavery party. Its mission was to stop the spread of slavery into the new western territory with the aim of abolishing it entirely. Dickson reminded Twitter users that the Republican Party was formed for the sole purpose of ending slavery.No Republican owned slaves because the Republican Party was formed for the sole purpose of ending slavery. https://t.co/vv3jaQ62QJ Patricia Dickson (@Patrici15767099) October 28, 2017

1real

REPORT: Aides Take Away Donald Trump’s Twitter Account

Donald Trump s Twitter account is littered with insults and inappropriate comments, remarks disparaging others and typos. For example, he once tweeted that, Obama is, without question, the WORST EVER president. I predict he will now do something really bad and totally stupid to show manhood! as if a child was running his social media account. On Arianna Huffington he tweeted, @ariannahuff is unattractive both inside and out. I fully understand why her former husband left her for a man- he made a good decision. At 3:00 a.m. in late September, Donald unleashed a seemingly drunken barrage of tweets to tell his 13 million followers to check out former Miss Universe Alicia Macado s sex tape which totally does not exist.And those are his nice tweets. With people going to the polls on Tuesday, Trump s aides have revoked access to his Twitter account, according to a new report.Aides to Mr. Trump have finally wrested away the Twitter account that he used to colorfully and often counterproductively savage his rivals. But offline, Mr. Trump still privately muses about all of the ways he will punish his enemies after Election Day, including a threat to fund a super PAC with vengeance as its core mission.We re not sure why they didn t do this sooner.Several advisers warned him that he risked becoming like a wild animal chasing its prey so zealously that it raced over a cliff a reminder that he could pursue his grievances and his eagerness to fling insults, but that the cost would be a plunge into an electoral abyss.Taking away Twitter turned out to be an essential move by his press team, which deprived him of a previously unfiltered channel for his aggressions.On Thursday, the GOP presidential nominee spotted Air Force One outside his airplane window while it was on the tarmac in Miami.As he glowered at the larger plane, he told Ms. Hicks, his spokeswoman, to jot down a proposed tweet about President Obama, who was campaigning nearby for Mrs. Clinton. Why is he campaigning instead of creating jobs and fixing Obamacare? Trump said of his proposed tweet. Get back to work. Hope Hicks felt the need to edit it, adding for the American people at the end.Steve Bannon who was recruited into Trump s campaign from Breitbart.com suggested that it was a trap. They want to get inside your head, Bannon told him. It s a trap. Or, just maybe, Air Force One was there for other reasons and not following Trump around. Even on 9/11, Trump threw insults out on the day most of us remember the victims of the worst terrorist attack on American soil.On the eleventh hour, just says before American voters will decide who should become the next leader of the free world, Trump s aides finally took Donald s Twitter account away from him.Photo by Chip Somodevilla via Getty.

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TEACHER’S UNION PROTEST Gets Ugly As Protesters And Cops Duke It Out [Video]

In case you don t live in the Midwest, you might not have noticed that the fight continues between the Democrat-lead powers that just won t let go after decades of disaster in the city of Detroit. It s like the abused wife who s more comfortable with the evil she knows rather than getting the heck out of Dodge to find a better situation. The people of Detroit are still fighting the perceived racism from anywhere and everywhere in Republican Governor Snyyder s administration. The Democrats that ran the city into the ground with so much corruption and so many inept officials want the same-old same old back and want Emergency Managers put in place by Snyder to go away. The latest problem is with the Detroit Public Schools and the water scandal in the city of Flint. Here s the take from the Detroit News:Detroit Hundreds of teachers, activists and students gathered Wednesday outside Cobo Center in a combined effort to protest conditions in Flint and at Detroit Public School buildings.The protest outside Cobo came hours before President Barack Obama s scheduled visit to the North American International Auto Show inside the building. Snyder out, is a must, the crowd chanted, led by leaders wielding megaphones. Detroit won t go to the back of the bus. Joel Berger, an English teacher at Cass Technical High School, said the city-wide sickout and protest stemmed from a grassroots effort by teachers, students and parents.He also joined many protesters in directly linking issues in DPS and Flint. Teachers, parents and students are just fed up with the injustices that are being done to our students, Berger said. It s about (Darnell) Earley, who was the emergency manager in Flint when they switched their water over, and now he s being charged with looking over Detroit Public Schools. We re building toward a city-wide strike to restore the rights of the people of Detroit now, and to get rid of the (DPS) emergency manager, he said. It s clear that the state takeovers and the elimination of democratic control across Michigan cities has only created more destruction in black, Latino and poor communities, he said. In Flint, we had emergency manager Darnell Earley, who said himself that to save money, they d switch water from the Detroit water system to the Flint River. This is a city-wide struggle about our future, Douglass said. It s going to take this movement to prevent the racist attacks. Supporters of ousted teachers union president Steve Conn clash with Detroit police officers and hotel security at the Hilton Garden Hotel in Detroit where a hearing was held on Conn s bid to be reinstated.Some protesters insisted the sickout symbolized support for Steve Conn, the ousted former president of the Detroit Federation of Teachers union.The DFT executive board removed Conn from office and expelled him from the union in August after finding him guilty of internal misconduct charges.Read more: Detroit News

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U.S. EPA employees protest Trump's pick to run agency

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former and current employees of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency expressed opposition to President Donald Trump’s pick to run the agency on Monday - in an open letter and a small street protest - reflecting divisions over the new administration’s plans to slash regulation. Over 400 former EPA staff members sent a letter to the U.S. Senate asking it to reject the nomination of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt as the agency’s new leader, saying “he has shown no interest in enforcing environmental laws.” In Chicago, around 30 employees of the EPA’s regional office there joined a protest organized by the Sierra Club environmental group and the American Federation of Government Employees to protest Pruitt’s nomination. Doug Eriksen, a spokesman for Trump’s transition team at the EPA, downplayed the Chicago protest, saying “employees have a right to take action on their private time.” Trump has vowed to cut regulation to revive the oil, gas and coal industries, and has said he can do so without compromising air and water quality. He nominated Pruitt, who has sued the EPA more than a dozen times as Oklahoma’s top prosecutor to block its regulations, to run the agency, sparking alarm among Democrats and environmentalists. Last Thursday, the Senate environment committee approved Pruitt despite a boycott of his nomination by the panel’s Democratic members. He is expected to be confirmed by the full Senate, in Republican control after last November’s election, but a date for the vote has not been set. The former EPA employees who sent the letter to the Senate wrote that they believed Pruitt has a history of siding with industry and has been reluctant to accept “the strong scientific consensus on climate change.” Employees at the Chicago rally raised concerns that Pruitt may cut employees and resources needed for the agency to enforce environmental regulations. “The EPA needs to be able to enforce the rules when companies are breaking the law,” said Sherry Estes, an EPA lawyer who participated in the protest.

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#BlackLivesMatter: Why movement is its own worst enemy

Editor's note: The following column appeared in The Hill newspaper and on TheHill.com. #BlackLivesMatter is fast becoming its own worst enemy. It lacks an agenda, it is antagonizing the black community’s top white political allies, including Democrats running for the party’s 2016 presidential nomination, and it is not finding common ground with any of the Republican majority in Congress. The catalyst for the movement was outrage over the deaths of young black men like Freddie Gray, Michael Brown and Eric Garner at the hands of police officers who arguably used excessive, even deadly force. But where is the list of solutions to the injustices it so often decries? The movement’s failure to get its collective act together carries real danger for the political clout of the African-American community in the 2016 elections and beyond. With the movement potentially discouraging black American trust in Democrats, #BlackLivesMatter is increasing the odds of a sharp drop in black voter turnout in 2016. Already Democrats privately worry that without President Obama on the ballot, the black vote will decrease the turnout needed to keep the White House and win back the Senate. That is more likely to happen if black voters get caught up in the anger that the BlackLives movement has directed at the political structure. The potential absence of black voters who have become discouraged — about a quarter of the nation’s Democrats — would be more devastating than any Republican plan to require voter identification, reduce the number of polling places in black neighborhoods or cut back on early voting. When BlackLives activists denounce the Democratic National Committee for issuing a resolution in support of police reform, they are hurting themselves with party officials. When they say that all political parties try to “control or contain” black liberation, they are also damaging faith in the political system, especially among young people. When they interrupt Democrats running for the presidential nomination, such as Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley, they are alienating longtime political allies and their supporters. When they videotape Hillary Clinton after she generously agrees to meet with them privately — in an apparent attempt to embarrass her — they are distancing themselves from the likely Democratic nominee. And imagine how local and state officials will react now to any request for a meeting with the group. Meanwhile, they are not finding common cause with Latinos, even as immigrants are being attacked by the Republican candidates for the presidential election. Have you seen BlackLives interrupting Donald Trump’s events? Where is the outreach to Republicans? Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is one the most outspoken leaders in either political party on the racial inequities of prison reform. “I see an America where criminal justice is applied equally and any law that disproportionately incarcerates people of color is repealed,” he said in his announcement speech. If change is the goal, where is the alliance with the senator? New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a former federal prosecutor, has declared on the campaign trail that “the war on drugs has been a failure.” He told an audience last month “everyone makes mistakes” and that society needs to “reach out” and “embrace those people and say, ‘If you’re not a violent offender, if you’re not dealing drugs to our children, we need to get you treatment rather than prison.’ ” Earlier this year, the Brennan Center for Law and Justice published a collection of essays highlighting the bipartisan consensus among national politicians that there is a need for sentencing reform, called Solutions: American Leaders speak out on Criminal Justice. Clinton, O’Malley, Paul, Christie and fellow presidential candidates Jim Webb, Ted Cruz, Mike Huckabee, Scott Walker and Marco Rubio each penned essays for the Brennan Center on the need for reform. And it’s not just those running for the Oval Office — leading congressional Republicans like Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Tea Party favorite Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) have all endorsed proposals to relax the federal sentencing laws. Grassley has said he wants to move on a bill this year to do just that. A bipartisan bill, the Safe, Accountable, Fair, and Effective (SAFE) Justice Act authored by Republican Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin and Democratic Rep. Bobby Scott of Virginia, has about three-dozen bipartisan co-sponsors in the House already. If #BlackLivesMatter protesters were chanting “Pass the SAFE Justice Act now!” they could find themselves in position to make significant change. Somehow they are blind to the opportunity. It has been said that politicians see the light once they feel the heat. If only the energy and passion of #BlackLivesMatter protesters could be harnessed in something constructive rather than destructive. Lobby Congress, hold voter registration drives, quiz candidates on their plan for sentencing reform, but don’t heckle the candidates and incite violence by calling for cop-killing. The movement could be critical to securing and mobilizing black support for criminal justice reform that actually would improve black lives. I am reminded of something my father, who trained boxers, once told me. He said even the best fighters know fear is like fire. It can cook your food and light your home. It can also burn your house down and kill you. The key to controlling fear or fire is turning it to a constructive purpose. Now if only #BlackLivesMatter will harness its own fire into the urgent cause of criminal justice reform. Juan Williams is a co-host of FNC's "The Five," where he is one of seven rotating Fox personalities.

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IF YOU CROSS OUR BORDERS ILLEGALLY….YOU CAN NOW LAND A JOB TEACHING IN THIS STATE

We re going to have people who are bilingual teachers, and ultimately people who just want to do the right thing for the United States. So in other words, soon it won t matter if these illegal alien teachers are able to speak english as long as they want to do the right thing? Gov. Brian Sandoval signed a bill Wednesday that would make it easier for immigrants with temporary legal status to get a Nevada teaching license, saying it would help meet the needs of a new Nevada. Among the people who flanked the Republican governor as he signed AB27 was Uriel Garcia, a 22-year-old Nevada State College student and recipient of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program who was previously denied a license. He said he plans to re-apply as soon as possible to get started on his student teaching and move toward his goal of teaching 2nd grade English language learners. I want to give back to the community that gave me so much, Garcia said.The old law allowed the state superintendent to give a teaching license to someone who is not a citizen but has a work permit only if there s a teacher shortage for a subject the person can teach. The new law, which passed the Senate and Assembly unanimously, allows those immigrants to get a teaching license if a district has a teacher shortage of any kind.The measure affects immigrants in the deferred action program, also known as DACA recipients or DREAMers. State Superintendent Dale Erquiaga said it s not clear how many new teachers the change will yield, but said his office will track that number going forward.Proponents framed the bill as a way to deal with a major teacher shortage, as well as a way to diversify the teaching force in a state with a high population of English language learners. We re going to have people who are bilingual teachers, and ultimately people who just want to do the right thing for the United States, Garcia said.Sylvia Lazos, vice chair of the Latino Leadership Council, said the bill better reflects a changing Nevada. These laws that prohibit non-citizens from getting licensed come from another era, another time, when many states were hostile to Germans, Catholics, Irish, Lazos said. Modern Nevada is not protectionist, not anti-immigrant, not anti-foreigner. It s a wonderful day for Nevada to affirm that. Via: Chron

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U.S. House approves tighter North Korea sanctions

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved legislation on Thursday to tighten sanctions on North Korea by targeting its shipping industry and companies that do business with the reclusive state. The vote was 419 to 1. Supporters said the legislation was intended to send a strong message to North Korea, amid international concern over the escalation of its nuclear program. The measure would have to be approved by the Senate before it could be sent to the White House for President Donald Trump to sign into law. Although legislation addressing North Korea has been introduced in the Senate, there was no immediate word on when or if the Senate might take up a bill. Any new U.S. sanctions against North Korea would likely affect China, the North’s most important trade partner. While China has been angered by North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests, it has signed up for increasingly tough U.N. sanctions against it, and says it is committed to enforcing them. Asked about the latest U.S. legislation, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang reiterated that China opposed other countries using their own domestic law to impose unilateral sanctions. With the situation tense on the Korean Peninsula, all sides need to exercise restraint and not irritate each other to avoid the situation worsening, he said.

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Craig Sager, Colorful N.B.A. Sideline Reporter, Dies at 65 - The New York Times

Craig Sager, an exuberant sideline reporter for National Basketball Association television broadcasts who was as well known for his outlandishly garish outfits as for the questions he asked coaches and players, died on Thursday in Atlanta. He was 65. The cause was leukemia, according to a spokesman for Turner Sports. After receiving the diagnosis in 2014, Mr. Sager continued to work occasionally during what became a highly public illness. He received blood transfusions to be strong enough to travel to some games, and returned to a hospital after others. He last appeared in a game broadcast in June and canceled plans to work for NBC at the Summer Olympics in Brazil in August to continue treatment. Mr. Sager brought deep knowledge of basketball and a spirit to his work. He was known for working behind the scenes to find news that he could use in his reports or give to announcing colleagues like Marv Albert and Reggie Miller. “He was always hovering around the benches,” Mr. Albert said in a recent telephone interview. “And players told him things. ” But his journalism competed for attention with his psychedelic wardrobe. He strode the sideline of N. B. A. arenas in lilac, orange, banana yellow, black and lime green outfits — some in medleys of colors arrayed in stripes, plaids, swirls and other patterns that resembled Rorschach tests. He abhorred repeating any combinations. “My clothes reflect who I am,” he wrote in “Living Out Loud: Sports, Cancer and the Things Worth Fighting For,” his autobiography, which was published in November. “I believe that life should be fun and so should your clothes. ” His ensembles set him apart from other sideline reporters, who are usually bit players on sports broadcasts, typically given no more than one or two minutes to question sweaty athletes and cranky coaches between quarters, at halftime or after games. But Mr. Sager, with questions as well planned as his ensembles, became a favorite of players and coaches, not to mention the fans in the seats, as he walked into an arena in his sartorial splendor. “He had a very good relationship with players, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t ask tough questions,” Mr. Albert said. “I also thought that the outfits he wore made him underrated. ” As his illness progressed, Mr. Sager had three bone marrow transplants, two from his older son, Craig II. On Mr. Sager’s return from a long hospital stay, his condition prompted Gregg Popovich, the San Antonio Spurs coach who is notoriously terse when responding to sideline reporters, to show rare warmth to Mr. Sager. “This is the first time I’ve enjoyed doing this ridiculous interview we’re required to do,” Mr. Popovich said, “and that’s because you’re here and you’re back with us. ” Then he added, “Now ask me a couple of inane questions. ” In June, Mr. Sager, who worked for TNT, was asked to be a sideline reporter at Game 6 of the N. B. A. finals on ABC, a rare invitation from a rival network. He scheduled the assignment — his first during a finals — between an course of chemotherapy at the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and a Father’s Day outing in Florida. Not surprisingly, he purchased a new outfit for the game. “I can’t bring out something I’ve already worn,” he said in an interview with The New York Times. “I want to make sure I don’t look down. I want people to say, ‘Man, he looks good. ’” After the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Golden State Warriors in Game 6, Mr. Sager interviewed the Cavaliers star LeBron James. After answering several questions, Mr. James reversed roles with Mr. Sager and asked: “How in the hell did you go years without getting a finals game? That don’t make no sense. ” Mr. Sager smiled and said, “Thanks a lot for entertaining me. ” Craig Graham Sager was born on June 29, 1951, in Batavia, Ill. His father, Al, was an advertising and executive his mother, Coral, was an avid golfer who held a pilot’s license. Mr. Sager attended Northwestern University, where, after trying out for the football team and playing for the freshman basketball team, he stepped into one of his earliest outrageous guises: Willie the Wildcat, the university’s mascot. After Northwestern’s football team upset Ohio State, Mr. Sager taunted the losing players while still in costume. In response, he wrote, members of the Ohio State marching band “began to push me and poke me with their flagpoles. ” After graduation he became a reporter for a radio station in Sarasota, Fla. On one assignment he leapt onto the field at County Stadium after Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run to surpass Babe Ruth as baseball’s home run king. Wearing a trench coat, Mr. Sager, then 23, caught up to Mr. Aaron at home plate, amid a scrum of fans, reporters and relatives, to briefly interview him. Three years later, while covering the Belmont Stakes, Mr. Sager slept in Seattle Slew’s stable the night before the thoroughbred won the Triple Crown. Before leaving to take the horse for a morning walk, Mr. Sager wrote, he scooped up a piece of Seattle Slew’s excrement and preserved it for the next 39 years as a fragment of history. Mr. Sager also worked at TV stations in Florida and Kansas City, Mo. before joining CNN in 1981. In 1990 he moved to Turner Sports, where, besides the N. B. A. he covered golf, the National Football League, college football and basketball, and Major League Baseball. Mr. Sager is survived by his son Craig as well as another son, Ryan his daughters, Kacy, Krista and Riley Sager his second wife, Stacy and a sister, Candy Menzemer. Mr. Sager’s positive attitude and consuming desire to return to the sideline won him the Jimmy V Perseverance Award — named for Jim Valvano, the former North Carolina State basketball coach and ESPN commentator who died of bone cancer in 1993 — at the ESPY Awards show in July. Wearing a floral print jacket, he said in his acceptance speech: “Whatever I might have imagined a terminal diagnosis would do to my spirit, it summoned quite the opposite — the greatest appreciation for life itself. So I will never give up, and I will never give in. ”

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Trump Labor Dept wants salary to count in overtime eligibility

(Reuters) - The U.S. Labor Department on Friday defended its authority to use salary levels to decide who was eligible for overtime pay but distanced itself from an Obama administration rule that greatly expanded the number of qualifying workers. Under U.S. President Donald Trump, the Labor Department has continued to fight a challenge to an Obama administration-era rule to raise the pay threshold for overtime eligibility. But it has not endorsed the former administration’s move to nearly double that threshold, an increase strongly opposed by business groups. The Labor Department told a federal appeals court on Friday it had the power to use salaries to set thresholds for mandatory overtime pay, without advocating for the $47,500 maximum salary level set by the department under Obama. The Labor Department is challenging a November decision from a federal judge in Texas that blocked the Obama rule, a decision that the department said could prevent it from setting a new threshold below that set by the Obama administration. The Obama rule was expected to extend overtime pay eligibility to more than 4 million salaried workers. Nevada and 20 other states sued last year to block the rule. Business groups criticized the increase as too drastic and costly, potentially forcing employers to convert salaried workers to hourly wages. Trump’s Labor Secretary R. Alexander Acosta said during his confirmation hearing in March that the correct threshold might be around $33,000. The Labor Department took initial steps earlier this week to begin developing a new threshold. In its Friday brief to the New Orleans-based 5th U.S Circuit Court of Appeals, the Labor Department made it clear it did not support the salary threshold developed under Obama. But the department told the court it was “reluctant” to move forward with the rulemaking necessary to set a new threshold as long as its authority was in question. Nevada and the other states have said that the use of a salary threshold to determine overtime eligibility has been controversial for decades, but appeals courts allowed it because it had been set low enough to exempt management workers. But the Obama administration rule is far more drastic, the states said, expanding overtime pay to tens of thousands of state employees. Senator Patty Murray, a Washington state Democrat, criticized the Labor Department’s handling of the appeal, saying in a statement that the administration “appears to be preparing to roll back overtime protections for millions of workers.”

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Buffett hits back at Trump over tax comments

(Reuters) - Billionaire investor Warren Buffett denied on Monday an allegation by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump that he, like Trump, had taken “a massive deduction” that allowed him to avoid federal income taxes. Buffett said he paid about $1.85 million in income tax in 2015, and that returns for previous years were similar in respect to contributions, deductions and tax rates. Buffett said he was being audited by the Internal Revenue Service, but had “no problem” releasing his tax information. Trump has refused to release his tax returns, citing ongoing audits by the IRS. “I have paid federal income tax every year since 1944, when I was 13,” Buffett said in a statement, adding that “being a slow starter, I owed only $7 in tax that year.” Buffett, ranked the world’s third-richest person by Forbes magazine, said he had copies of all 72 of his returns “and none uses a carryforward.” Responding to an Oct. 1 New York Times story, Trump acknowledged during the presidential-candidates’ debate on Sunday that he had used investment losses to avoid paying taxes. Trump repeatedly said he was only taking advantage of tax provisions used by wealthy people who support Clinton. “I absolutely used it, and so did Warren Buffett ...”, he said. The Times reported that Trump’s declared loss of $916 million in 1995 was so large that he could legally have avoided paying any federal income taxes for up to 18 years. Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N), said his 2015 tax return showed adjusted gross income of $11,563,931. “My deductions totaled $5,477,694, of which allowable charitable contributions were $3,469,179. All but $36,037 of the remainder was for state income taxes,” he said. “The total charitable contributions I made during the year were $2,858,057,970, of which more than $2.85 billion were not taken as deductions and never will be. Tax law properly limits charitable deductions,” Buffett said. Buffett said he had no problem releasing his tax information while under audit. “Neither would Mr Trump – at least he would have no legal problem.”

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TAKE OUR POLL: Who Do You Think President Trump Should Pick To Replace James Comey?

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Going for the Gold: Golfer-in-Chief Trump Keeps it Consistent with New Driver - Breitbart

From newly installed gold drapes in the Oval Office to golden decor in his New York penthouse, it’s well known that the new occupant at 1600 Pennsylvania can’t get enough of his favorite color. [Now President Trump, who claims to own a few club championship trophies, has a new gold weapon of choice on the golf tee thanks to a gift from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. In @POLITICO Playbook: Palm Beach update: pix of Trump on driving range + inside Steve Schwarzman’s 70th bday bash: https: . pic. twitter. — Daniel Lippman (@dlippman) February 12, 2017, Trump looks in good form, swinging his gold Honma Beres driver on the range in Palm Beach. Abe gifted the new club to the president after he won the election in 2016. Hopefully, the new driver will give America’s 45th president a few more yards off the tee and help him keep his golf ball on the fairway. With a retail price of $3, 755 it better.

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Cuba urges U.S. not to politicize allegations of harmed diplomats

UNITED NATIONS/HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuba urged the United States on Friday to cooperate with its investigation into incidents that the U.S. says have harmed its diplomats in Havana and not to politicize the matter, days after Washington said it was considering closing its Cuban embassy. In an address to the United Nations General Assembly, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said the top level of the government in Havana had ordered an investigation into the mysterious matter, which threatens the fragile detente between the old Cold War foes. However, a Cuban government source told Reuters that the United States had provided no evidence of the harm, including hearing loss, dizziness and nausea, that it says U.S. diplomats and their relatives based in Havana have suffered. Cuban doctors had also not been allowed to examine anyone, the source said. A spokesman for the U.S. embassy in Havana declined to comment. The investigation to clarify this issue continues, and in order to be able to arrive to a conclusion, it will be crucial to count on the cooperation of the U.S. authorities, Rodriguez told the U.N. It would be unfortunate if a matter of this nature is politicized, said Rodriguez. Cuba has denied any involvement in the affair. U.S. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida was among five Republican senators that a week ago called for U.S. President Donald Trump to retaliate against Cuba by expelling its diplomats and possibly shuttering the U.S. embassy in Havana. Rubio helped forge Trump s new Cuba policy, rolling back parts of the detente achieved under Democratic former President Barack Obama and taking a harder line on the Communist-run island. Cuba s state-run media this week said the only party interested in a deterioration in relations were a small group of Republicans led by Rubio. The U.S. government in August first officially confirmed they were investigating the incidents it said began in late 2016. Several Canadians were also affected, a Canadian official said, further deepening the mystery. The last incident to affect a U.S. citizen occurred late in August, bringing the number of those with symptoms to 21, a U.S. State Department official said last week. Some of those had returned home for testing and treatment, the U.S. official said, while others had been tested in Cuba, where the embassy has a fulltime medical officer. Investigations by Cuba, the United States and Canada have yet to come up with any answers. Experts agree it is hard to see how any attacks could have been carried out or what the motivation could be. Theories abound, from surveillance technology gone awry to a sophisticated acoustic weapon in the hands of Cuban-American exiles or third-party state actors such as Russia, Iran or North Korea, but most flounder. Audiologists for example have raised doubt over the possibility of whether any sonic weapon exists that can be used covertly to bring about the range of symptoms mentioned by diplomats.

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Federal Judge Blocks Indiana Abortion Law - The New York Times

A federal judge on Thursday blocked an Indiana law that would have banned abortions based solely on a fetus’s disability or genetic anomaly, suggesting that it was an illegal limit on a woman’s constitutional right. Judge Tanya Walton Pratt, of Federal District Court for Southern Indiana, also held up a state ban on abortions motivated solely by a fetus’s race or sex. In the preliminary injunction, Judge Pratt said limiting the reasons for an abortion was “inconsistent with the notion of a right rooted in privacy concerns and a liberty right to make independent decisions. ” While Judge Pratt’s injunction stops the law from taking immediate effect, and though she said the state would be unlikely to prevail at trial, the state can still defend the legislation. In a statement, the Indiana attorney general’s office said state lawyers would consider how to proceed and whether to appeal the injunction. Indiana would have been the first state to have a blanket ban on abortions based solely on race, sex or suspected disabilities, including evidence of Down syndrome. A handful of states have bans on abortion based on sex, one state has a ban based on race, and two have bans based on genetic anomalies, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit abortion rights group that tracks state laws. Judge Pratt’s decision, the first in a federal court to indicate that a ban on abortion because of genetic anomalies would likely be unconstitutional, is the latest setback for groups. It comes days after a landmark Supreme Court ruling in a Texas case that two other kinds of restrictions — requiring doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at local hospitals and imposing stringent standards on abortion clinics — are unconstitutional. The Texas measures would have forced many clinics to shut down. In language that is expected to echo nationally, the Supreme Court held in its Monday ruling that the benefits of any such restrictions must be closely scrutinized and weighed against the burdens on women’s access to abortion. Cecile Richards, the president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said in a statement that “momentum from Monday’s landmark decision” was aiding in challenges to abortion restrictions in Indiana and elsewhere. “These unconstitutional laws punish women, and we will bring them down, law by law and state by state,” Ms. Richards said. “We have been fighting these restrictions on all fronts for years, organizing in the field, building for this moment — and now the wind is at our backs. ” Kara Brooks, a spokeswoman for Gov. Mike Pence, said in a statement on Thursday that the governor was “disappointed” in the ruling and “remains steadfast in his support for the unborn, especially those with disabilities. ” Judge Pratt’s decision was also criticized in a statement by Indiana Right to Life, which noted that the jurist had been nominated by President Obama. That group’s chief executive, Mike Fichter, said the ruling “denied the civil rights of unborn children” and was “an appalling human rights injustice. ” Thursday’s case in Indiana was argued long before the new Supreme Court decision, and Judge Pratt’s opinion made no reference to it. Her ruling rested largely on the argument that the state, as established in a series of cases starting with Roe v. Wade in 1973, cannot impede a woman’s right to decide to have an abortion until the fetus is viable outside the womb, usually at around 24 weeks. Judge Pratt said “irreparable harm” would have occurred had that part of the law taken effect as scheduled on Friday. “Difficult moral and complicated health decisions are made by women whose pregnancies are affected by a prenatal fetal anomaly,” Judge Pratt wrote in her ruling. “Given the relatively short time frame in which women may elect to terminate a pregnancy, even a short disruption of a woman’s ability to do so could have significant consequences. ” Indiana’s law, signed in March by Mr. Pence, was framed by abortion foes and legislative Republicans as a way to prevent discrimination in abortions, in particular the fetuses with Down syndrome. Mr. Pence, a Republican, said that he signed the law “with a prayer that God would continue to bless these precious children, mothers and families. ” But the local chapters of Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union challenged the measure, claiming the law posed an undue burden to women and restricted freedom of speech, and asking Judge Pratt for the preliminary injunction she issued on Thursday. That injunction also sets aside a portion of the law that imposed new restrictions for disposing of fetal remains. Indiana’s law was exceptional for its breadth, but the restrictions it included were not unprecedented. Such legislation has become more common and has gained traction in many statehouses. Dawn Johnsen, an Indiana University law professor who has pushed for abortion rights, said Thursday’s injunction was an important step toward invalidating such legislation. “It’s very strong reaffirmation of the constitutional right as the Supreme Court has interpreted it, but applied to new, creative, harmful restrictions,” Ms. Johnsen said. The Indiana measure had been controversial from the start, and Mr. Pence waited until his deadline before signing it into law. In the weeks that followed, abortion rights supporters rallied outside the Capitol against the law and started an online “Periods for Pence” campaign that encouraged women to tell the governor about their reproductive health.

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In China, Property Frenzy, Fake Divorces and a Bloating Bubble - The New York Times

SHANGHAI — Zheng Ruizhen counted herself among the last holdouts on Lufeng Road. Even as sprang up in recent years to surround her dilapidated home, Ms. Zheng, a schoolteacher, and her husband, Sun Guojian, held firm. He grew up there. Her school was a bicycle ride away. They raised their son there, though he eventually grew so tall that his head grazed the ceiling of his cramped room. When city officials pushed them to sell, they said no. Then came China’s latest property bubble — a frothy surge in prices that could have global repercussions if it pops. In August, an unremarkable piece of land around the corner from Ms. Zheng sold for nearly $2, 000 a square foot, a national record and nearly three times the average land price in Manhattan. Local officials grew more insistent and threatened to tear down their bathroom. Finally, they relented, and Ms. Zheng’s husband signed away the home for a price to be determined later. Then, on Oct. 9, Mr. Sun died of a heart attack, something Ms. Zheng said was perhaps influenced by stress over the pending demolition of their home. Now, as she grieves, she is waiting to hear how much the Shanghai government will offer in compensation — but however much that is, she knows it will not be enough for her to be able to afford to live anywhere close to Lufeng Road. Said Ms. Zheng: “I never expected housing prices in Shanghai would get this high. ” China is in the midst of a dizzying housing bubble. Shanghai’s average housing price is up nearly from a year ago, with prices in major cities like Beijing and Guangzhou not far behind. Chinese consumers are rushing to buy homes before the government steps in with restrictions. When rumors swept through Shanghai that the government would require homeowners to pay more in taxes and down payments to buy additional properties, many couples filed for divorce so that one partner could still be treated as an independent buyer. China has experienced housing booms and busts before. And fervor for real estate among the wealthiest Chinese has already spread far beyond the country’s borders, from Long Island mansions to disused ranches in Texas — many to get their money out of the country. But economists warn that the current boom on the Chinese mainland could be extra difficult to resolve: It comes with a growing amount of debt. household loans — mostly mortgages — have doubled as a share of total official bank lending this year. They accounted for about 40 percent of all new loans in August, contrasted with just 20 percent at the start of the year. The value of new home loans as a percentage of all housing sales has surged to a record high. The loans — largely a byproduct of a flood of Chinese lending to keep the economy growing — are helping the affluent, the middle class and low earners who have dreamed of owning a home, while investors and speculators are piling in, too. Underground lenders — those who operate outside the formal banking system using a variety of new platforms — are also helping to feed the boom. Last month, economists at the Bank of China warned in a report that worsening asset price bubbles were adding to a frothy market that could result in trouble. The day before, Wang Jianlin, a politically connected property and entertainment magnate who is one of the country’s richest people, told CNN that China property was “the biggest bubble in history. ” That could be bad news for the global economy. Many economists estimate that housing and related areas — like construction, cement manufacturing or furniture making — account for roughly of China’s economic activity. But if the bubble pops, that support could disappear quickly. Chinese officials, apparently mindful of the 2008 American housing bust, appear to be aware of the risks of a property bubble. But some economists worry they will be too slow to rein it in. “The risk is that the government is late in cooling the market, the rally spreads to more areas, pushing up household leverage and construction activity, pushing the bubble bigger, which is then followed by a bigger downward correction,” said Tao Wang, the head of China economics at UBS in Hong Kong. Local regulators are already trying to cool things down. In the last few weeks, local authorities have accelerated efforts to tighten housing markets in up to 20 Chinese cities, according to economists at China International Capital Corporation, an investment bank. But in many cases these steps have only added to the rush, as home buyers move in while they can. By her account, Zhang Xia and her husband have enjoyed a happy marriage. Then the rumor swept the city that Shanghai authorities would make it harder for couples with one home to buy more. On a recent Monday, Ms. Zhang, a resident of Shanghai’s Huangpu area, and her husband sat waiting at a local marriage registry office to file for divorce. Shanghai officials continue to deny that they will limit house buying by couples, but Ms. Zhang is among many who do not believe them. “We know the government said this is a rumor, but they also said that a few times before, when the rumor actually came true,” Ms. Zhang said. “Some people even said the fact that the government said it’s a rumor means it’s going to be true. ” Shanghai, China’s financial capital, is at the heart of the property boom. Demand there is so intense that developers now commonly require sizable deposits of cash just to join a lottery to buy a new apartment. Only holders of winning numbers will be offered the chance to buy a unit. One flashy new development in central Shanghai charges a refundable 200, 000 renminbi, or $30, 000, to enter its lottery. “In Shanghai now,” said Wang Jie, a sales manager there, “it’s not like you can buy an apartment just because you have money. ” Back on Lufeng Road, the recently widowed Ms. Zheng and her neighbors try to go about their lives despite the boom going on around them. Men and women play near a house, one of a number of dwellings along the road in various states of disassembly, like a row of rotting teeth. Stray dogs sunbathe and alley cats hunt around piles of red bricks and wooden beams scattered on the street. In recent months, local officials hung red propaganda banners on people’s housing extolling the benefits of selling out. “No more hesitation means no more disappointment,” reads one. Says another: “Requisition and compensation are lawful. Smart alecks will regret it later. ” “Look at those banners,” Ms. Zheng said, shaking her head. “It’s almost like the Cultural Revolution once again. ” Earlier, local officials told Ms. Zheng that the land where her home stands would be used to build supporting facilities for the complex of built by China Vanke, the country’s largest property developer. “They said that when people who live in the in Vanke look down, the view from their windows is our ugly roofs,” she said. “So they have to get rid of us. ”

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Bernie Sanders Just Crashed This Greedy Drug Company’s Stock With One Tweet

It appears that former Democratic presidential candidate and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders has tanked a drug company s stock with just one tweet. The tweet was directed towards Ariad Pharmaceuticals. Ariad owns a treatment for chronic myeloid leukemia calledIclusig . Ariad has raised the price of the drug four times in recent history.The last time the raised the price of the drug, it went up 27 percent at a cost of $16,560 dollars a month, or nearly $199,000 a year. The price hike doubled Ariad s sales totals up to $65 million dollars in just one quarter.The tweet that was sent out said: Drug corporations greed is unbelievable. Ariad has raised the price of a leukemia drug to almost $199,000 a year. Drug corporations' greed is unbelievable. Ariad has raised the price of a leukemia drug to almost $199,000 a year. https://t.co/EB4nEPxP2G Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) October 14, 2016The tweet also included a link to an article about the company s continual price increases.Bloomberg reports that after Sanders (or most likely one of his staffers) sent out the tweet, Ariad s stock value dropped by as much as 15 percent one of the worst days the company has had in more than a year.At of the time this writing, the tweet doesn t appear to have gone viral compared to many of the Senator s other social media postings, with only 1.1k retweets and 1.5k likes. Though that may change as more attention to the story and Sanders help in making the issue be known grows. Much in the same way that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton s tweet sent stocks crashing in the biotech industry after she spoke out against price gouging.Price-gouging in the pharmaceutical industry is a hot button issue. From Martin Pharma bro Shkreli and his raising the price of a certain AIDS medication made by Turing Pharmaceuticals, to Mylan s jacking the price up of EpiPens, people have raised the digital equivalents of torches and pitchforks over these price increases.It s important to keep in mind that this is a problem that is industry wide. One study found that prescription drug prices have been skyrocketing for more than five years. While drug companies that take part in the practice need to be called out and have the screws put on them by the public, the only way this problem is going to end is when people stand up and demand real change in the healthcare industry as a whole. That will probably mean switching to a national health care system like every other developed nation on the planet.Featured image from Alex Wong/Getty Images with tweet screenshot added

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Far right wants Austria to join group of anti-immigrant states

VIENNA (Reuters) - The far right Freedom Party (FPO), set to become kingmaker after elections on Oct. 15, wants Austria to join the Visegrad Group of central and east European states opposed to immigration. Eurosceptic leaders in Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia have refused migrant quotas approved by a western-dominated majority of European Union member states. They also reject proposed European Union reforms that would transfer more power from national governments to Brussels institutions. The FPO, likely to be a part of Austria s next ruling coalition, also wants a more decentralized EU. We will ... strengthen contact with the Visegrad states and it would be nice and good if we could maybe even become a member of the Visegrad Group, FPO chief Heinz-Christian Strache said in an election debate with Social Democrat Chancellor Christian Kern focusing on curbing migrant flows and Brussels powers. The Freedom Party and center-left Social Democrats are fighting for second place in Sunday s election with both commanding about 25 percent of the vote in the latest polls. The Freedom Party appears ticketed for a place in the next coalition given that the conservative People s Party s rating of around 33 percent is unlikely to improve enough for an absolute majority, and bitter disputes between the two centrist parties. Conservative leader Sebastian Kurz has, like Strache, praised far-right Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for building a border fence to keep migrants out of EU territory. To avoid losing votes, Austria s mainstream conservatives have drifted recently towards the FPO s anti-immigration positions and joined calls to shrink and refocus the EU s powers. Jean-Claude Juncker, the head of the European Commission, the EU executive, has invited Visegrad Group leaders to a meeting on Oct. 18 to try to ease tensions between them and wealthier western Europe.

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Americans Don't Like New Congress Any Better Than The Last One

Since last year, Americans have grown increasingly positive about jobs, the direction of the country and even the president -- but they're not yet willing to extend the same goodwill to Congress. Just 16 percent of Americans approve of Congress, according to a Gallup poll released Tuesday. That's up from a 9 percent low during the 2013 government shutdown, but virtually unchanged since the end of last year. "Congress' poor track record notwithstanding, there is reason to believe this Congress will at least be rated more popularly going forward than the last two divided Congresses," Gallup's Andrew Dugan wrote. "Typically, elections that hand control of Congress to one party provide an initial uptick in support for the new Congress." A new HuffPost/YouGov poll finds that most Americans think Congress is worse than it used to be, with a majority saying it is less civil and more divided than it was a decade ago. A 52 percent majority of Americans say congressional debates are less civil than they were 10 years ago, and 58 percent say Congress is now more divided along party lines. Americans 45 and older were the most likely to say things had devolved. Ironically, the woes of Congress are something partisan Americans can agree on: Democrats and Republicans were about equally likely to say Congress is worse today. But while ratings for Congress remain low, Americans feel at least relatively warmer toward their own representatives. Twenty-six percent of Americans approve of the member representing their district, while another 26 percent disapprove and the remaining 47 percent are neutral or unsure. Republicans were by far the most satisfied, giving their representatives a net +17 approval rating, compared to a net -8 among independents and a net +3 among Democrats. Americans historically have been much more positive about their own representatives than about Congress as a whole, although the percentage who said they felt their own member should be re-elected dipped to a near-historic low in 2014. The HuffPost/YouGov poll was conducted Jan. 6-8 among 1,000 U.S. adults using a sample selected from YouGov's opt-in online panel to match the demographics and other characteristics of the adult U.S. population. Factors considered include age, race, gender, education, employment, income, marital status, number of children, voter registration, time and location of Internet access, interest in politics, religion and church attendance. The Huffington Post has teamed up with YouGov to conduct daily opinion polls. You can learn more about this project and take part in YouGov's nationally representative opinion polling. Data from all HuffPost/YouGov polls can be found here. More details on the poll's methodology are available here.

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Strange: Trump ‘Internet Takeover’ Fear Story Calls For Canada to Manage Net Archive

21st Century Wire says A red flag went up when we saw this story. We ll let you decide what you think this is Brewster Kahle (photo, left), co-founder of Archive.org, one of the internet s permanent default archive sources, said last week, On 9 November in America, we woke up to a new administration promising radical change, and went on to sound the alarm for Americans to create a safe back-up of the Archive in neighboring Canada (see IBT story below).In actuality, there has been no policy talk of a internet crackdown by the incoming Trump Administration, so where is this talking point coming from, and what does this really mean?Looking past the obvious partisan rhetoric, is this a signal by the Establishment that Canada (British Commonwealth) might be taking over the management of the internet s archive? Another step towards globalization?Aside from the fact that Kahle is opportunistically using an off-handed campaign comment by Trump to drive his latest fundraising appeal, his comments are ill-informed and misleading for other reasons. Granted, Donald Trump made a number of wild and incendiary statements on the campaign trail, and certainly we have seen many people in politics and media taking each of those comments literally, and even inflating them for their own political ends. However, the facts show that internet freedom and state authoritarian policies are not issues limited to any one political figure, or party. State control and attacks on the internet have steadily increased over the last 16 years by both the Bush AND Obama Administrations as members of BOTH parties try to push through new corporate control measures like SOPA, PIPA, ACTA and CISPA, but also across the board efforts to increase warrantless wire-tapping and data collection of all America citizens, as well a foreign ones too.So why single out Trump as the rally cry to move operations north to Canada?The culture in Canadian politics is very much towards globalist power arrangements. Canada is a major backer of TPP and TTIP. We ve already seen Establishment moves to move a number of key internet functions offshore and into transnational corporate hands, specifically with the International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ICANN. Here we see a crucial internet function being pushed into the realm of impersonal TPP and TTIP transnational corporate regimes. Make no mistake, the TPP agenda and the ICANN debate are absolutely linked.Consider this. As of October 3, 2016, ICANN seems to have left US public hands, into a transnational collective: At midnight Saturday the United States ceded control of the Internet s address system when the management contract between the Department of Commerce and the non-profit Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) expired. Since 1998 ICANN has run the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) function that approves domain names such as .com, .ca, .gov and others. Is state, or corporate control of internet and free speech rights any better in Canada, or in its British Commonwealth overlord the UK? This is where it gets worrying. The Verge reports, The UK is about to become one of the world s foremost surveillance states, allowing its police and intelligence agencies to spy on its own people to a degree that is unprecedented for a democracy. The UN s privacy chief has called the situation worse than scary. Edward Snowden says it s simply the most extreme surveillance in the history of western democracy. The legislation in question is called the Investigatory Powers Bill. It s been cleared by politicians and granted royal assent on November 29th officially becoming law. The bill will legalize the UK s global surveillance program, which scoops up communications data from around the world, but it will also introduce new domestic powers, including a government database that stores the web history of every citizen in the country. UK spies will be empowered to hack individuals, internet infrastructure, and even whole towns if the government deems it necessary. Presumably, and like everything in its Mother Kingdom, Canadian political elites are completely on board with all of that. Moreover, Canada s own bourgeoning police state is very real indeed.Americans should be extra skeptical of any talk of Canada as some uptopian cyber-safehaven. Perhaps it s a better idea that Americans get engaged with these important issues at home, and stand and fight for freedom inside the USA and not capitulate by fleeing to Canada which in the case of the internet, will only play into the hands of the globalists Agamoni Ghosh International Business TimesThe Internet Archive, a US-based nonprofit digital library that preserves billions of webpages for historical record, is preparing to build a backup archive in Canada over fears of intrusion US President-elect Donald Trump. On 9 November in America, we woke up to a new administration promising radical change, writes founder Brewster Kahle in a blog post. It was a firm reminder that institutions like ours, built for the long-term, need to design for change. For us, it means keeping our cultural materials safe, private and perpetually accessible. It means preparing for a web that may face greater restrictions. It means serving patrons in a world in which government surveillance is not going away. The organisation, which relies heavily on grants and donations, is now asking for help from its loyal donors and others who would like to see the Internet Archive last forever without any censorship. This project will cost millions. So this is the one time of the year I will ask you: please make a tax-deductible donation to help make sure the Internet Archive lasts forever, writes Kahle.The organisation, which as of May 2014 had 15 petabytes (1000 terabytes) of data storage, provides free public access to collections of digitised materials. The archive stores web sites, software applications and games, music, movies, moving images and nearly three million public-domain books. Kahle says moving this humongous archive would protect it from efforts to take down specific content. The replica archive will also make it harder to request data on user activity by authorities.During his campaign, Trump had taken a rigid stance on internet censorship and even mentioned that the tech industry needs to close that internet up to stop the spread of extremism. Somebody will say, Oh, freedom of speech, freedom of speech. These are foolish people, he said earlier...Continue this story at IBTREAD MORE NET NEUTRALITY NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Net Files

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Amazon Sells Out Of John Lewis’ Biographies After Trump Attack

Conservatives are, once again, on the losing side of the conversation. Days after president-elect Donald Trump attacked Rep. John Lewis, Amazon.com saw a flood of book-buyers purchasing Lewis autobiography, Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement.Within several days, the book, first published in 1999, completely sold out and became Amazon s number one bestseller.For three days, the product has been out-of-stock.Lewis 2012 book, Across That Bridge: Life Lessons and a Vision for Change, has also climbed to the number one spot on Amazon and is also temporarily sold out, having been out-of-stock for several days.Lewis three-part graphic novel, March, has also catapulted to a number one bestselling spot.Celebrities and social media presences like author Anne Rice have called on followers and fans alike to buy Lewis books and make them bestsellers:Just bought Lewis Walking with the Wind on Amazon. Let s make it a bestseller. https://t.co/AGUUje7WAC Anne Rice (@AnneRiceAuthor) January 14, 2017It worked.Turns out that when someone like Donald Trump attacks a cultural, political, and social icon like John Lewis in such a disgusting manner, the public responds and picks the right side.The attack on Congressman Lewis (and his hardworking district) has also prompted rave reviews of his biographies, renewed attention on the plight of black America, and exposes Trump as the racist demagogue he is.It s also helped Democrats rally around one of America s living treasures, steering the conversation.But never fear, book and Lewis lovers, Amazon will still allow you to pre-order the biographies until they get more copies available, in which they will send them to your house as soon as possible.If Donald Trump s phony, ghost-written Art of the Deal can become a bestseller once again, so can John Lewis inspiring biographies.Karma sucks, but at the same time, it can be oh so sweet. In this case, it s more than sweet it s completely satisfying.Featured image via Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images

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WHY ROY MOORE’S ELECTION WIN Is Critical For President Trump To Replace Leftist Federal and U.S. Supreme Court Activist Judges

Tomorrow, Alabama residents (including thousands of felons who have been registered by Al Sharpton s alleged brother) will go to the polls to decide who they want to represent them in the US Senate. The Democrats have contributed over $10 million to their leftist, virtually unknown candidate, Doug Jones. So, why are they so eager to take this Senate seat?In June 2017, the Democrats spent an astounding $30 million in Georgia s 6th congressional district, to lose a House seat in a special election. They falsely believed that the only thing they needed for Democrat candidate John Ossoff to win the race, was enough Georgians who hated Donald Trump to come out and vote.Is history repeating itself in Alabama?Democrat Senate candidate Doug Jones raised nearly six times Moore s amount ahead of the Dec. 12 special election to fill the Senate seat vacated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Jones headed into the final weeks of the race with roughly four times as much money in the bank than his GOP opponent.Jones raked in nearly $10.2 million compared to Jones $1.8 million. Jones also spent roughly 5 times as much as Moore during that period, nearly $8.7 million compared to Moore s $1.7 million.Conservative Pat Buchanan asks, Why would Christian conservatives in good conscience go to the polls Dec. 12 and vote for Judge Roy Moore, despite the charges of sexual misconduct with teenagers leveled against him? Answer: That Alabama Senate race could determine whether Roe v. Wade is overturned. The lives of millions of unborn may be the stakes.There is, however, so much more at stake than the single issue of abortion in this hotly contested Senate race. Democrats are not going to sit back and allow President Trump a pathway to remaking the radical leftist judicial system they ve worked so hard to put in place. Today, the GOP, holding Congress and the White House, has a narrow path to capture the Third Branch, the Supreme Court, and to dominate the federal courts for a decade. For this historic opportunity, the party can thank two senators, one retired, the other still sitting.The first is former Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.In 2013, Harry exercised the nuclear option, abolishing the filibuster for President Obama s judicial nominees. The Senate no longer needed 60 votes to confirm judges. Fifty-one Senate votes could cut off debate, and confirm.Iowa s Chuck Grassley warned Harry against stripping the minority of its filibuster power. Such a move may come back to bite you, he told Harry. Grassley is now judiciary committee chairman.And this year a GOP Senate voted to use the nuclear option to shut down a filibuster of Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, who was then confirmed with 55 votes.Yet the Democratic minority still had one card to play to block President Trump s nominees the blue slip courtesy. If a senator from the state where a federal judicial nominee resides asks for a hold on proceedings, by not returning a blue slip, the judiciary committee has traditionally honored that request and not held hearings.Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota used the blue slip to block the Trump nomination of David Stras of Minnesota to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Franken calls Stras too ideological, too conservative.But Grassley has now decided to reject the blue slip courtesy for appellate court judges, since their jurisdiction is not just over a single state like Minnesota, but over an entire region.Not only are the federal court vacancies almost unprecedented, a GOP Senate and Trump are working in harness to fill them before January 2019, when a new Congress is sworn in.If Republicans blow this opportunity, it is unlikely to come again. For the Supreme Court has seemed within Republican grasp before, only to have it slip away because of presidential errors.Both Trump, by whom he nominates, and a Republican Senate, with its power to confirm with 51 votes, are indispensable if we are to end judicial dictatorship in America. Pat Buchanan, Yellow Hammer News

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HOW VOTING FOR TRUMP Will Help America To Export Our Trash [VIDEO]

Even the most hardened Cruz supporters will be switching their votes when they hear about all of the sick liberals who are willing to leave America if Trump gets elected. Think of it as a public service Donald Trump said Tuesday that he would be doing a great service to the United States if celebrities, including Lena Dunham and Whoopi Goldberg, follow through with threats to move to Canada if he is elected president, and joked that he would campaign even harder as a result.On Monday, Dunham told attendees at an event in New York that she would 100 percent move to Canada if Trump were elected president, and in fact already had a beautiful and appealing area of Vancouver in mind. Other celebrities including Miley Cyrus, Samuel L. Jackson and Raven-Symon have similarly vowed to move to Canada in the event Trump wins. Well, she s a B-actor. She has no mojo, Trump said of Dunham during a Tuesday interview with Fox and Friends. I heard Whoopi Goldberg said that too. That would be a great, great thing for our country. https://youtu.be/0gtYrkdYQ88When Fox and Friends host Steve Doocy mentioned that Rosie O Donnell had vowed to move to Canada if he were elected, Trump chuckled. We ll get rid of Rosie? I love it, he said. Now I have to get elected, because I ll be doing a great service to our country. Now it s much more important. In fact, I ll immediately get off this call and start campaigning right now. Other celebrities who have threatened to move to Canada if Trump is elected include George Lopez, Eddie Griffin, Cher, and the Rev. Al Sharpton. Via: Breitbart NewsWatch comments from celebrities about leaving US if Trump is our next President here:

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White House: ‘Sad’ That Susan Rice Not Transparent in Unmasking Investigation - Breitbart

The White House again hit former National Security Adviser Susan Rice for refusing to testify to Congress regarding allegations that she “unmasked” the identities of Trump campaign aides during the 2016 election. [“I do think that it’s sad that she has chosen not to be transparent in this process,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters during the press briefing on Friday. Sanders added that it was up to Congress whether or not they should subpoena Rice, but that the White House was confident in the investigation. Rice declined a request from the Sen. Lindsey Graham to testify in the investigation into interference in the United States presidential election. “While Ambassador Rice commends the Subcommittee’s efforts to examine this matter of extraordinary national significance, it is extremely rare for the Congress to request the testimony of a former senior advisor to the President,” a letter from Rice’s lawyer read to the committee, citing “separation of powers” concerns. President Donald Trump also reacted to the news, calling it “not good. ”

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Leon Cooperman, a Billionaire Charged With Insider Trading, Prepares to Fight - The New York Times

Leon G. Cooperman, one of the early titans of the hedge fund industry, is gearing up for the biggest fight of his career: preserving his Wall Street legacy as regulators accuse him and his firm of insider trading. The stakes are high, too, for the Securities and Exchange Commission, which on Wednesday sued Mr. Cooperman, a billionaire, accusing his firm, Omega Advisors, of reaping $4 million in illegal profit by using nonpublic information about an energy deal in 2010. The case is the most prominent to be brought by the agency since a court ruling that narrowed the definition of insider trading. Hours after the civil complaint was filed, Mr. Cooperman fired back with a detailed rebuttal sent to investors. He followed with a defiant conference call, opening with an joke about an man bragging about having sex with an woman. He told investors on the call that he had refused to settle and that he would fight the S. E. C. in court. The stage is set for what is expected to be a legal battle between a gruff, outspoken investor and an agency that has come under criticism for not taking more cases to trial. Mr. Cooperman, the son of a South Bronx plumber, is known for not holding back. In 2011, he wrote a much publicized “open letter” accusing President Obama of “villainizing the American dream” and the wealthy. “It took me 50 years of hard work and playing by the rules to get where I got. I’m not going to let these people destroy my legacy,” Mr. Cooperman told investors on Wednesday. Regulators contend that Mr. Cooperman used his position as one of the biggest shareholders in Atlas Pipeline Partners to gain confidential information from an unidentified executive at the company about the sale of one of its facilities to another energy company in July 2010. Mr. Cooperman had assured the executive that he would not trade on the information, but regulators said that despite making that promise, he had his firm accumulate a bigger position and profited when Atlas’s stock jumped 31 percent after the sale was announced. The case also involves some family drama. Mr. Cooperman’s timely trades indirectly benefited a grandson, whose account Mr. Cooperman managed. Regulators said the money manager bought an Atlas Pipeline bond that rose in value after the deal. And in another twist, Mr. Cooperman’s son, Wayne, who runs another hedge fund, may get drawn into the fray because of his own trading in the same stock. In his letter, Mr. Cooperman said his son was prepared to testify on his behalf, noting that his son’s fund, Cobalt Capital Management, was betting against shares of Atlas Pipeline at the time and he is one of the biggest investors in his son’s firm. Mr. Cooperman said he did not share any information about the sale of the facility with his son. In the complaint, however, the S. E. C. quoted an email that Mr. Cooperman sent to an unidentified relative — described as the manager of another hedge fund — informing him of the $682 million deal. This same relative may have been the first to have sounded the alarm about unusual trading in shares and options of Atlas Pipeline the day the deal was announced, according to the S. E. C. In a separate email, the relative writes to an executive at Atlas Pipeline, calling the options trading before the sale announcement “fishy” and “shady. ” The relative goes on to say that “somebody should investigate” and then asks: “How do I become a . ” Mr. Cooperman’s son did not return a phone call seeking comment. But his firm did buy shares in Atlas Pipeline later in 2010, according to regulatory filings. Wayne Cooperman has not been charged with any wrongdoing. Regulators also contended that Mr. Cooperman tried to conceal his actions after Omega received a subpoena relating to the Atlas trades some 17 months later by contacting one of Atlas’s executives in an attempt to “fabricate” a cover story in the event that either man was questioned by regulators about the trade. Mr. Cooperman “allegedly undermined the public confidence in the securities markets and took advantage of other investors who did not have this information,” Andrew J. Ceresney, the S. E. C. ’s chief of enforcement, said in a statement. The civil case against Mr. Cooperman, filed in the Federal District Court in Philadelphia, would appear to sidestep a monkey wrench thrown into some insider trading prosecutions by a recent appellate court decision. That ruling made it more difficult to charge someone with insider trading if the person improperly leaking confidential information was not getting a personal benefit of some consequence. The personal benefit issue would not seem to arise in this matter because regulators contend that Mr. Cooperman “misappropriated” the confidential information about the impending sale from the unidentified executive at Atlas Pipeline. Ted Wells and Daniel Kramer, his lawyers at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton Garrison, issued a statement in which they called the allegations “entirely baseless. ” Mr. Cooperman said he was being charged with trading on paper gains and added that his firm never sold shares after the deal was announced. He said much of the firm’s trading was related to positions in a stock that the firm had been bullish on for many years. In some insider trading cases, hedge fund managers have been forced to shut their firms and return money to investors. On Wednesday, Mr. Cooperman emphasized that 35 percent of Omega Advisors’ $5. 4 billion in assets under management belonged to members of the firm and that business would continue as usual. He added, however, that if the firm concluded that the S. E. C. case had “become too much of a distraction,” it would voluntarily give back money. Omega is the second large hedge fund to be rocked by an insider trading investigation this year. In June, securities regulators and federal prosecutors charged a top manager at Visium Asset Management with insider trading. The manager, Sanjay Valvani, committed suicide a week later. Visium’s founder, Jacob Gottlieb, whom the authorities did not charge, is in the process of shuttering the hedge fund after selling some of its funds to AllianceBernstein. The two cases show that insider trading remains an issue in the nearly $3 trillion hedge fund industry even after a sweeping crackdown by federal prosecutors in Manhattan. That push led to convictions and guilty pleas from more than 80 people, including Raj Rajaratnam, the billionaire of the Galleon Group. Another firm, SAC Capital Advisors, a $14 billion hedge fund, pleaded guilty to insider trading and paid $1. 8 billion in fines to federal authorities. In the civil complaint on Wednesday, the S. E. C. also accused Mr. Cooperman of failing to report in a timely manner information about his hedge fund’s holdings and other transactions in publicly traded companies in violation of federal securities laws more than 40 times. Regulators said Mr. Cooperman “repeatedly violated” federal securities laws requiring investors to disclose when their equity interest in a publicly traded company rises above either a 5 or 10 percent stake. Speaking at a private charity event in June at the Metropolitan Club in Manhattan, Mr. Cooperman addressed the looming investigation, telling the Wall Street audience, “I call companies, that’s what I do for a living. ” He said: “Every time I speak with a company I say the same thing: Don’t disenfranchise me if I ask you a question. Don’t answer a question if you’re not prepared to give anyone else that information, just tell me it’s confidential and we’ll move on. ”

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BREAKING: Shooter Targets Congressional Republicans At Baseball Practice, Steve Scalise Shot

As the divisions in the nation bubble over, it seems that one person has snapped, and done the unthinkable: opened fire on a baseball practice full of Congressional Republicans in Alexandria, Virginia. Reports are steadily coming in, and it has been confirmed that House Majority Whip Steve Scalise has been shot. He is currently en route to a nearby hospital and is said to be in stable condition. There are also reports that Capitol Hill police officers and possibly Congressional aides have been injured as well. There is currently no reporting available on their condition. Reports suggest that the shooter was either taken down by Capitol Hill police or taken into custody.The really sad thing about this incident is that this practice was in preparation for a bipartisan baseball game that is supposed to promote unity between the two parties. Further, things would have been much worse if Rep. Scalise had not been there because Capitol Police would not have been present without a member of leadership in attendance.This is seriously the work of someone truly sick. No one should be killing anyone, for any reason, but certainly, this targeting of lawmakers at a baseball practice that was designed to help the nation take a break from ugly partisan politics is truly beyond the pale. Political violence is never acceptable, period.If this isn t proof that we really need to turn down the temperature when it comes to the rhetoric and divisions in this nation posthaste, I don t know what is.This is a developing story. Stay tuned to Addicting Info for continued updates.Here is the live feed monitoring this tragedy, via CNN:Featured image via Alex Wong/Getty Images

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VIETNAM VET, MILITARY “Lifer” DESTROYS Crybaby Democrats In Scathing Letter: “I sometimes wonder if I’ll get to heaven, but if I go to hell, I’m sure I’ll still be a few hundred floors above that bastard…”

A powerful letter from a lifer in the military:Because I am a lifer in the military, I ve seen the impact of a president more than many of you can imagine. I enlisted with LBJ and saw just what a Democrat clusterflock was all about. I went to Vietnam and saw how we were constantly and incessantly bombarded with micromanagement from Washington that got thousands of military people killed. I sometimes wonder if I ll get to heaven, but if I go to hell, I m sure I ll still be a few hundred floors above that bastard Robert McNamara , LBJ, John Kerry, Jane Fonda, and yes, even the hero John McCain.After Johnson abdicated rather than having his ass waxed, I lived through Nixon who was hawkish but allowed the generals (and there WERE a few real generals back then versus now) run the show. He was so out of touch that he never knew North Vietnam was about to surrender when the Paris Accord was presented.Only God could help us after Gerald Ford was beaten by Jimmy Peanuts who d been funded by Saudi money. The military was turned into Section 8 and even the Whitehouse suffered the austerity. Then the light began to shine and Ronald Reagan swept into the fray. He not only loved the country and the military, they loved him back. Esprit d corps was off the scale during his presidency. The Liberals were slowly turning into socialists, however, and about this time all the draft dodgers of the 1960 s who d been given amnesty by Jimmy Peanuts were turning out college graduates with degrees in socialism. Bush 1 was an enigma from the CIA and though he never did much either way, he NEVER DID MUCH EITHER WAY.Welcome to Bill Clinton. Clinton spent most of his two terms wagging the dog and creating the Oral Office, sending a bomber to blow up Quaddafi s tent and killing a goat or two, while allowing the UN to set up the infamous Black Hawk Down situation. He made history by becoming only the second president to be impeached.I actually felt sorry for Bush 2. He was doomed to infamy from the start. He thought most of America was still the rah rah patriots of WWII when they were simply socialists waiting to feed him to the sharks. Then there came the Manchurian Candidate with a faked (OK Democrats, let s say of questionable origin to assuage your PC brains) birth certificate, who d gotten a free ride through college under a foreign student exemption, and whose college records and complete life history had been sealed. (We know more about Thomas Jefferson s bastard children than we do about Obama, Michelle, OR their two kids.) From his inaugural address, he slandered America and within days had begun to encourage dissention of the races as well as slandering police who acted stupidly. That was mild to the crap that would come in doubling the national debt from what had been built by ALL THE PREVIOUS PRESIDENTS COMBINED, feeding us bullspit about how Muslims built this country, and nationalizing American industries. Fueled by George Soros money and using the Air Force fleet as his personal charters, he appointed malcontents and traitors into positions of authority. He trashed the Constitution by installing czars (interesting he chose a title like that) to bypass Congressional authority. By that time, Congress was completely corrupt on both sides of the aisle. No one had balls to impeach this charlatan. Mysteriously, the lone outspoken conservative Supreme Court Justice suddenly dies in his sleep at an Obama pal s hunting lodge and the Supreme Court is evenly split. Finally, Congress shows some balls and rejects Obama s nomination. The Libtards aren t worried because the fix is in. Soros has paid demonstrators to cause turmoil at all the Republican gatherings, Obama concedes that illegal aliens should vote as they won t be prosecuted, and Soros-manufactured voting machines are caught switching votes in certain precincts. Hillary has cheated her way to the nomination and her lies are completely ignored by the brainwashed minions of sycophants who follow her. But a shocking thing happened on the way to the forum.Middle America had had enough and although the pollsters and the pipers tried to convince them not even to bother to vote, they were fed up with the denizens of the swamp. It was time. Florida was designated a swing state ignoring that all those old retirees living in St. Petersburg, and the fed up Cuban Americans of Miami weren t interested in their platform. Ohio and Pennsylvania, where coal production was blacklisted and where Obama had ridiculed them for clinging to their Bibles and their guns, lay awaiting this supposed landslide Hillary vote and creamed it.The Socialist world of the Democratic Party disintegrated. An American who expressed unbridled love of country and respect for police, firemen, and military steamrolled across the heartland and the liberals realized their scheme was trashed. A CONSTITUTIONALIST would be nominated to the Supreme Court and if the hag who d claimed to retire if Trump were elected would actually leave, the Supreme Court would have a massive majority of CONSTITUTIONALISTS for the next 40-50 years.Now, the same party who d ridiculed Trump on his comments about the election being rigged, started screaming that the election was rigged. They even advocated having the election repeated. They created mobs that burned and pillaged, stopped traffic, threatened murder, battery and rape of Trump supporters, and became the anarchists that the socialist dream thrives upon. They run like castrated pigs for safe zones and use diaper pins as their national symbol.This is exactly what happens when political correctness takes over and participation trophies are awarded to everyone. They can t conceive how disgusting and subservient they have become. Donald Trump may NOT be the best person for the job, but he s such a welcome respite from the candy-assed whimps who ve been running the swamp that it s refreshing to see. At the very least, Donald Trump derailed the Socialist train and bought us precious time. If he only does half of what he s promised, we ll still be legions ahead of where Obama has dragged us. Already countries who held us in contempt are lining up to be found in the favor of America.So for you liberal lurkers and you half-assed fence-sitters, kiss off. You had your big hurrah and now your party is over. For you staunch Republicans in office, don t gloat so much yourselves. You ve been put on notice by the American people that we re fed up with ALL YOU BASTARDS and if you don t start putting America first, you do so at your own peril. You might want to buy a copy of George McGovern s autobiography and see how shocking and humbling it can be for a professional politician to have to try to find legitimate work once he falls from grace. This election was pure, unadulterated AMERICAN. Hillary got beaten and AMERICA WON THE ELECTION. You can claim he s not your president all you want, but unless you forfeit your American citizenship, YES HE IS!!!! Go cry a river some place they need water.Retired Chief Master Sergeant George Roof gave permission to 100percentfedup.com to publish his amazing letter on our website. We applaud George s passion and his honesty. Most of all, we thank him for dedicating his life to service in our US armed forces.

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America’s Primal Scream: David Icke Explains Reason for Trump’s Election Result

Latest Posts 21wire We are a North American and European-based, grass-roots, independent blog offering geopolitical news and media analysis, working with an array of volunteer contributors who write and help to analyse news and opinion from around the world. We're covering news you won't necessarily find in the mainstream, and things which regularly confuse career politicians, FOX and CNN watchers... #SundayWire RT @JeanetteJing : Shocked that the finger-jabbing rich lady didn't appeal to voters. https://t.co/FbZxOQ6G8Q - 5 hours ago

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The White House insists it has a plan to fight Islamic State and that it’s working

To its critics, President Obama’s strategy to combat the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq is weak and incoherent. Even some of the staunchest U.S. allies and partners in the fight worry that the time for what they see as the administration’s incremental approach has long since passed. The White House maintains that its strategy is comprehensive and that it’s working. Sharp increases in airstrikes and Obama’s recent decision to deploy Special Operations troops, officials say, are part of a fundamental change in the military’s mission developed this fall, along with a new diplomatic push to end the distraction of Syria’s civil war. In his Sunday-night address to the nation following last week’s San Bernardino, Calif., shooting, Obama outlined the elements of the strategy, assuring Americans that there is a viable plan underway to decimate the Islamic State where it lives. “We will destroy ISIL and any other organization that tries to harm us,” he said, using an alternative name for the militants. But the White House is clearly frustrated by its failure to communicate the elements of that plan and what it believes has been accomplished. “Yes, there is a strategy,” Secretary of State John F. Kerry snapped in a speech Saturday. “I know the criticism. We all hear them. . . . But that doesn’t mean it’s wisdom.” The administration’s insistence that its prudence and patience will pay off — vs. charges of too little, too late — have been the two opposing narratives of the 18-month battle against the Islamic State and the four-year Syrian war it has now overshadowed. An examination of the recent course of events on the military and diplomatic fronts and interviews with a broad range of stakeholders and experts provide fuel for both arguments. For more than a year after the Islamic State blitzkrieg swept across Syria and through Iraq to the Baghdad suburbs in the early summer of 2014, U.S. military operations, including airstrikes and training of local ground troops, were in what a coalition spokesman, Col. Steve Warren, called “crisis mode, just trying to keep the barbarians off the gate.” The Iraqi army had fallen apart. In Syria, as civil war raged in the west, the militants consolidated their control over the north-central and eastern areas of the country, with virtually free access to Syria’s border with Turkey to infiltrate tens of thousands of foreign fighters and equipment. Airstrikes begun by the United States and its coalition partners — Europeans in Iraq and Arab states in Syria — were tactical, focused on targets of opportunity and the need to prevent collapse. While domestic critics and allies in the region called for more strikes, more support for Syrian rebels, more U.S. boots on the ground and no-fly zones, the administration demurred. In a broad assessment in August, the Pentagon determined it had succeeded in its initial goals of stopping further Islamic State expansion and reestablishing the foundations of a viable Iraqi military. Amid repeated failures in Syria to organize and arm a rebel force to fight against the militants in Syria, it found hope in the establishment of a Syrian Kurdish and Arab force that has driven the militants from much of the Turkish border. Adoption of what the military says is its first real operational strategy, following the chaos of the initial year, was marked by September’s change of command of the Baghdad-based headquarters of the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State. “You have done what was necessary,” U.S. Central Command Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III told departing Lt. Gen. James L. Terry. The new commander, Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland, was charged with “operationalizing” the mission, Warren said. “We always wanted to get into a position where we could apply multiple points of pressure at once, across the whole battle space,” said a senior administration official. “We’re now in position to actually do it. It’s not going to be perfect, it’s not going to be linear, it’s going to be extremely hard.” Military and administration officials, most speaking on the condition of anonymity about internal decision-making, listed the elements of the comprehensive offensive against “core ISIL” on the ground in both Syria and Iraq. In Iraq, the focus has been on cutting Islamic State supply lines into Mosul, the militant bastion in the northwest, in preparation for an eventual ground assault, and applying simultaneous pressure along militant front lines stretching south to the city of Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad. “These are not blitzkrieg gains,” Warren said, “but painstaking, incremental work against a dug-in enemy” now made more effective with the ability to integrate airstrikes with a more organized and robust ground force. Obama has authorized a new, Iraq-based Special Operations task force to conduct ground raids against Islamic State leadership targets in both Iraq and Syria. Administration officials have described a snowballing cycle in which more raids will take more leaders off the battlefield and provide more intelligence to plan still more raids. But it is unclear when the force, initially to number about 100, will be deployed. Syria, with its separate wars against the Islamic State and between forces of President Bashar al-Assad and rebels seeking to unseat him, is far more complicated. Regional allies such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, who once flew strike missions along with U.S. warplanes, have largely dropped out, an absence the United States hopes to make up with new agreements with France and Britain. The “whole battle space” concept includes simultaneous airstrikes along the eastern border with Iraq to further cut militant supply lines, on Islamic State-controlled oil fields, and in the north-central area, where Syrian Kurdish and Arab forces who have captured a wide swath of territory along the border from the militants are organizing to attack the de facto militant capital of Raqqa. Obama has authorized the deployment of 50 Special Operations troops, the first official U.S. boots on the ground in Syria, to join those forces to assess their readiness and help develop tactical plans, although the Americans are not expected to arrive for several months, defense officials said. In southern Syria, anti-Assad rebels have met with significant success against government forces, but the Islamic State, sensing an opening, has begun moving into the area. The United States is sending more money and equipment, including heavy, long-range artillery, to Jordan, both to protect its own border and to engage militant targets inside Syria. But given the new threat to the homeland, the administration’s claims of incremental success have left scornful critics asking why it does not do more. Asked on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday what he hoped to hear in Obama’s speech, presidential hopeful Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) replied: “That he’s going to change his strategy and come up with a regional army to go in destroy the caliphate in Raqqa. . . . The president doesn’t have a strategy.” Mutual frustration has also been ongoing between the United States, as coalition leader, and regional allies, with some calling for a more aggressive U.S. policy. The United Arab Emirates said last week that it was willing to send ground forces into Syria — something Obama has consistently refused — if others would do the same as part of an international force. But the region’s governments, including Turkey, are also deeply divided among themselves, leaving the administration as both whipping boy for their complaints and mediator for their disagreements as it tries to implement a broad strategy. In recent weeks, as Kerry has launched a diplomatic effort to bring the civil war to an end in order to shift attention to the counterterrorism fight, Obama himself has intervened in a series of conversations with regional leaders, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Saudi King Salman. Nowhere is the dissention more acute than in northwest Syria, where rebel groups separately backed by the United States and Europe, the Persian Gulf Arab states and Turkey are locked in a melange of battles, often beside forces of al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra, against Assad’s military. The entry of Russian warplanes and Iranian troops on Assad’s side in western Syria has further complicated the situation, increasing the conundrum of how to take back the nearby, remaining 60-mile strip of the Syria-Turkey border in Islamic State hands. The coalition has said it is ready to launch an all-out air offensive to drive the militants out of the area, located north of Aleppo, Syria’s most-populous city, but not until there are opposition forces on the ground ready to occupy the terrain. And the more the rebels are engaged in the Russian-aided fight against Assad, the less willing they are to switch their attention to the border. U.S. officials say that a small force of opposition fighters in the area, including about 130 Syrians trained by the Americans in Jordan who are in direct communication with U.S. forces, have had some success. But their operations are still rudimentary. To delineate their lines from those of the Islamic State and avoid their own casualties from coalition airstrikes, they light tires on fire and warn pilots to avoid the smoke.

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5 FACTS The Media Won’t Tell You About Cops Killing Blacks [VIDEO]

Scholar and journalist Heather Mac Donald toiled away early on in her career at liberal enclaves, but through her street-level reporting on social services and the police, her worldview shifted away from liberal-progressive to conservative.Her shift was not some kind of epiphany from reading conservative principles, but by hearing the voices of welfare recipients who told her government aid becomes a narcotic. Her latest book, The War On Cops is now available for purchase. In her book, she outlines the false narrative that is being pushed by Black Lives Matter and the leftist media that law enforcement officers are Out to get Blacks in America.For almost two years, a protest movement known as Black Lives Matter has convulsed the nation. Triggered by the police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in August 2014, the Black Lives Matter movement holds that racist police officers are the greatest threat facing young black men today. This belief has triggered riots, die-ins, the murder and attempted murder of police officers, a campaign to eliminate traditional grand jury proceedings when police use lethal force, and a presidential task force on policing.Even though the U.S. Justice Department has resoundingly disproven the lie that a pacific Michael Brown was shot in cold blood while trying to surrender, Brown is still venerated as a martyr. And now police officers are backing off of proactive policing in the face of the relentless venom directed at them on the street and in the media. As a result, violent crime is on the rise.The need is urgent, therefore, to examine the Black Lives Matter movement s central thesis that police pose the greatest threat to young black men. I propose two counter hypotheses: first, that there is no government agency more dedicated to the idea that black lives matter than the police; and second, that we have been talking obsessively about alleged police racism over the last 20 years in order to avoid talking about a far larger problem black-on-black crime.Let s be clear at the outset: police have an indefeasible obligation to treat everyone with courtesy and respect, and to act within the confines of the law. Too often, officers develop a hardened, obnoxious attitude. It is also true that being stopped when you are innocent of any wrongdoing is infuriating, humiliating, and sometimes terrifying. And needless to say, every unjustified police shooting of an unarmed civilian is a stomach-churning tragedy.Given the history of racism in this country and the complicity of the police in that history, police shootings of black men are particularly and understandably fraught. That history informs how many people view the police. But however intolerable and inexcusable every act of police brutality is, and while we need to make sure that the police are properly trained in the Constitution and in courtesy, there is a larger reality behind the issue of policing, crime, and race that remains a taboo topic. The problem of black-on-black crime is an uncomfortable truth, but unless we acknowledge it, we won t get very far in understanding patterns of policing. ImprimusHere are 5 indisputable facts that prove this narrative to be one big LIE:1. Cops killed nearly twice as many whites as blacks in 2015. According to data compiled by The Washington Post, 50 percent of the victims of fatal police shootings were white, while 26 percent were black. The majority of these victims had a gun or were armed or otherwise threatening the officer with potentially lethal force, according to Mac Donald in a speech at Hillsdale College.Some may argue that these statistics are evidence of racist treatment toward blacks, since whites consist of 62 percent of the population and blacks make up 13 percent of the population. But as Mac Donald writes in The Wall Street Journal, 2009 statistics from the Bureau of Justice Statistics reveal that blacks were charged with 62 percent of robberies, 57 percent of murders and 45 percent of assaults in the 75 biggest counties in the country, despite only comprising roughly 15 percent of the population in these counties. Such a concentration of criminal violence in minority communities means that officers will be disproportionately confronting armed and often resisting suspects in those communities, raising officers own risk of using lethal force, writes MacDonald.2. More whites and Hispanics die from police homicides than blacks. According to Mac Donald, 12 percent of white and Hispanic homicide deaths were due to police officers, while only four percent of black homicide deaths were the result of police officers. If we re going to have a Lives Matter anti-police movement, it would be more appropriately named White and Hispanic Lives Matter,' said Mac Donald in her Hillsdale speech.3. The Post s data does show that unarmed black men are more likely to die by the gun of a cop than an unarmed white man but this does not tell the whole story. In August 2015, the ratio was seven-to-one of unarmed black men dying from police gunshots compared to unarmed white men; the ratio was six-to-one by the end of 2015. But Mac Donald points out in The Marshall Project that looking at the details of the actual incidents that occurred paints a different picture:The unarmed label is literally accurate, but it frequently fails to convey highly-charged policing situations. In a number of cases, if the victim ended up being unarmed, it was certainly not for lack of trying. At least five black victims had reportedly tried to grab the officer s gun, or had been beating the cop with his own equipment. Some were shot from an accidental discharge triggered by their own assault on the officer. And two individuals included in the Post s unarmed black victims category were struck by stray bullets aimed at someone else in justified cop shootings. If the victims were not the intended targets, then racism could have played no role in their deaths.In one of those unintended cases, an undercover cop from the New York Police Department was conducting a gun sting in Mount Vernon, just north of New York City. One of the gun traffickers jumped into the cop s car, stuck a pistol to his head, grabbed $2,400 and fled. The officer gave chase and opened fire after the thief again pointed his gun at him. Two of the officer s bullets accidentally hit a 61-year-old bystander, killing him. That older man happened to be black, but his race had nothing to do with his tragic death. In the other collateral damage case, Virginia Beach, Virginia, officers approached a car parked at a convenience store that had a homicide suspect in the passenger seat. The suspect opened fire, sending a bullet through an officer s shirt. The cops returned fire, killing their assailant as well as a woman in the driver s seat. That woman entered the Post s database without qualification as an unarmed black victim of police fire.Mac Donald examines a number of other instances, including unarmed black men in San Diego, CA and Prince George s County, MD attempting to reach for a gun in a police officer s holster. In the San Diego case, the unarmed black man actually jumped the officer and assaulted him, and the cop shot the man since he was fearing for his life. MacDonald also notes that there was an instance in 2015 where three officers were killed with their own guns, which the suspects had wrestled from them. 4. Black and Hispanic police officers are more likely to fire a gun at blacks than white officers. This is according to a Department of Justice report in 2015 about the Philadelphia Police Department, and is further confirmed that by a study conducted University of Pennsylvania criminologist Greg Ridgeway in 2015 that determined black cops were 3.3 times more likely to fire a gun than other cops at a crime scene.5. Blacks are more likely to kill cops than be killed by cops. This is according to FBI data, which also found that 40 percent of cop killers are black. According to Mac Donald, the police officer is 18.5 times more likely to be killed by a black than a cop killing an unarmed black person.Despite the facts, the anti-police rhetoric of Black Lives Matter and their leftist sympathizers have resulted in what Mac Donald calls the Ferguson Effect, as murders have spiked by 17 percent among the 50 biggest cities in the U.S. as a result of cops being more reluctant to police neighborhoods out of fear of being labeled as racists. Additionally, there have been over twice as many cops victimized by fatal shootings in the first three months of 2016. -Via: Daily Wire Watch Heather MacDonald explain how the lies the media and the Left are pushing about cops targeting Blacks will ultimately harm Black communities:Here is Heather MacDonald s speech at Hillsdale College in its entirety:

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Jill Stein Inexplicably Blames The Democrats For Her Meeting With Putin (VIDEO)

On Saturday, Green Party candidate Jill Stein tried to explain why she met with Russian President Vladimir Putin before the election. When asked about the meeting by CNN host Michael Smerconish, she used the most logical defense: blame Hillary Clinton and the Democrats. Because, of course. Take me inside the dinner you had with Vladimir Putin in 2015 and the prominence it afforded you, Smerconish said to Stein. My question is was that in and of itself a form of meddling along the lines of let me give some attention to green party candidate Jill Stein you know the theory any vote for Stein that otherwise would have gone to Hillary. What was that dinner about? Let s be clear, that was a conference, Stein replied. That picture didn t start to circulate until long after the election. It essentially wasn t covered here in the U.S. there was media at that conference, and it was a day-long conference where my message was very clear. It was the message of my campaign. which is that we need a peace offensive in the Middle East. Now, this was a message that was particularly friendly to the Russians. It was saying to them that we need to stop the bombing, they had just begun bombing in Syria. I would have loved for that message to have gotten out but there s basically zero coverage, she continued. It s now circulating. It s funny, Michael, you have to ask why is that picture kicking up a storm right now? I think it s very related to the fact that the Democrats are looking for someone to blame. Naturally. No big deal that she was buddying up to Putin while he was hacking the Democrats and meddling in our election to get Trump into the White House. Nothing to see here folks. Nothing at all.You can watch Stein blame the Democrats for her Russian rendezvous below: Featured image via video screen capture

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Japan's 'Dennis Rodman', ex-wrestler Inoki, urges lower tensions over North Korea

TOKYO (Reuters) - The standoff over North Korea could lead to nuclear war , a Japanese pro-wrestler turned lawmaker warned on Wednesday, urging nations to dial down the tension after the isolated country fired a missile over northern Japan last month. Tokyo could play a role in mediating with its neighbor, said the 74-year-old Antonio Inoki, who is known for fighting boxer Muhammad Ali four decades ago. We are seeing a situation where each raises his fist and the situation is escalating, Inoki, who recently returned from his 32nd visit to Pyongyang, told a news conference, wearing his signature red scarf. It s important to see who can be the first to lower his fist and reduce the tension, said Inoki, who, like U.S. basketball star Dennis Rodman, has made numerous visits to North Korea. Pyongyang must commit to denuclearization as a prerequisite for talks, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in an interview with the Nikkei business daily published on Wednesday. On Monday, the U.N. Security Council voted to tighten sanctions on the North over its sixth nuclear test. During meetings with North Korea s top diplomat Ri Su Yong and others on his visit, Inoki proposed that Japan s ruling Liberal Democratic Party send a delegation to Pyongyang, perhaps as a first step toward a visit by Abe, he added. I did make the proposal and was told they would be happy to receive such a delegation, said Inoki, who strode into the news conference as if entering the ring, his theme song blaring. Inoki said he sensed more LDP members were beginning to think dialogue was needed, but admitted the hurdle to an Abe visit was high. Abe and other Japanese officials have said now was the time for pressure, not dialogue. The square-jawed, 1.9-metre- (6-foot-three-inch-) tall Inoki developed close ties with North Korea because his mentor, pro-wrestling legend Rikidozan, hailed from North Korea but could never go home. First elected to parliament s upper house in 1989 from his Sports and Peace Party , Inoki made headlines the next year when he went to Iraq during the Gulf War and intervened on behalf of Japanese hostages, who were subsequently released. Inoki was elected again in 2013 as an independent. Like Rodman, he says it is vital to maintain lines of communication with the isolated North. It s important to keep the door open, Inoki said.

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Juncker: grab Brexit chance to forge a tighter EU

STRASBOURG (Reuters) - European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker urged European Union governments on Wednesday to use economic recovery and Brexit as springboards toward a closer union, built on an expanded euro zone and a pivotal role in world trade. In his annual State of the European Union speech, Juncker sketched out a vision of a post-2019 EU where some 30 countries would be using the euro, with an EU finance minister running key budgets to help states in trouble. Tax and welfare standards would converge and Europe, not the United States, would be the hub of a free-trading world. The EU chief executive stressed his wish to heal divisions between eastern and western states. He sees that as vital to countering a drive, including by founding powers France and Germany, to set up new structures within the bloc that would exclude some poorer, ex-communist members in the east. The wind is back in Europe s sails, Junker told the European Parliament, citing economic growth and the easing of a succession of crises Greek debt, refugee inflows, the rise of eurokcepticism reflected in Brexit - that seemed to threaten the EU s survival. Now we have a window of opportunity, but it will not stay open for ever, he said, emphasizing a need to move on from and even profit from the British vote to leave the bloc in 2019. We will keep moving on because Brexit isn t everything, it is not the future of Europe, he said in a speech that Brexit supporters said showed they were right to take Britain out of a bloc set on creating more powerful, central institutions French, German and eastern European officials made positive comments, but several said Juncker would face stiff opposition. In a carefully balanced, hour-long discourse in Strasbourg, he called on nationalist eastern leaders though not by name to stop defying EU courts over civil rights, and on westerners to drop attempts to keep out cheaper eastern workers or palm off inferior food in poorer national markets. But his core proposal for countering what is known as a multispeed Europe by encouraging all states to join the euro and other EU structures faces resistance in both non-euro zone countries and potentially in Paris and Berlin, where the newly elected President Emmanuel Macron and about-to-be-re-elected Chancellor Angela Merkel are readying their own plans. Macron plans to present his ideas for reforming the 19-nation euro zone on Sept. 26, two days after the German election, a French diplomatic source said. EU officials hope leaders may discuss the issues at a dinner on Sept. 28 before a summit in Estonia. If we want the euro to unite rather than divide our continent, then it should be more than the currency of a select group of countries, Juncker said. The euro is meant to be the single currency of the European Union as a whole. He noted that only long-standing EU members Britain and Denmark have a legal right not to adopt the euro. EU officials say that with Britain leaving, and the eight remaining non-euro states accounting for only 15 percent of EU GDP, Juncker sees it as natural for EU and euro zone policy to operate in unison. For that reason, he rejected proposals, led by France, for a special euro zone budget, finance minister and parliament. These functions, he said, should be filled instead by a vice president of the Commission, chairing the Eurogroup of 19 euro zone finance ministers and managing a euro zone budget that would be part of the budget for the whole EU, overseen by Parliament. While Denmark in fact pegs its crown closely to the euro, a drive to push the likes of Poland and Sweden into the euro would be a hard sell in those countries, while Germany, France and others have been skeptical about letting poorer states join yet. Juncker proposed EU funding and technical help to encourage non-euro members to get themselves into a position to join. For Juncker, officials say, the departure of Britain, for all the difficulties it brings, means goodbye to the major power that has continually sought opt-outs from new integration projects, and offers an opportunity to end the habit for good. Everyone should be in everything, one senior official said. An aide to Macron said Juncker had made many ambitious proposals in line with French ideas and played down divergence on euro zone reform, noting Juncker would offer final ideas only in December. In Germany, government officials were restrained. But Beate Merk, a regional minister in Bavaria allied to Merkel, said expanding the euro to the whole EU would be a risky experiment that would greatly heighten Europe s problems . Euroskeptics responded critically to the Commission president s speech. Ryszard Legutko, an EU lawmaker from Poland s right-wing ruling party, warned against responding to problems with the same old more Europe, more Europe arguments. That is not the answer, he said. We need to get the EU s house in order before there can even be a discussion on centralizing even further. Nigel Farage of the UK Independence Party said: All I can say is, thank God we re leaving. Farage s allies cheered when Juncker finally mentioned Brexit near the end of his speech and said the British would come to regret their tragic referendum decision to leave. Looking ahead to March 30, 2019, the day when Britain will be out of the EU, Juncker said he had proposed that Romania, which will then hold its rotating presidency, should host a summit in the formerly German-speaking Transylvanian city of Sibiu. There leaders should set out plans for a more united Union, two months before voters elect a new European Parliament.

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Trump agrees to pay $25 million to settle Trump University lawsuits

NEW YORK/SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - Donald Trump agreed on Friday to pay $25 million to settle fraud lawsuits over his Trump University real estate seminars, in what New York’s attorney general called a “stunning reversal” for the U.S. president-elect. The lawsuits had dogged Trump, who denied any wrongdoing, throughout his campaign. They led to one of the more controversial moments of his run when he claimed the judge overseeing two of the cases was biased because he was of Mexican ancestry. The settlement was announced by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who said it followed repeated refusals by Trump “to settle for even modest amounts of compensation for the victims of his phony university.” Lawyers for Trump had argued against students, who claimed they were they were lured by false promises into paying up to $35,000 to learn Trump’s real estate investing “secrets” from his “hand-picked” instructors. Three lawsuits relating to Trump University will be covered by the deal: two class actions suits in California and a New York case brought by Schneiderman. The agreement must still be approved by U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel in San Diego. Trump will not admit any wrongdoing under the agreement. His attorney, Daniel Petrocelli, acknowledged Trump had previously vowed to fight the case. The settlement demonstrated Trump’s desire to set his personal feelings aside in order to work on issues facing the county, Petrocelli said. “President-elect Trump has laser focus on moving forward. It’s time to move on,” Petrocelli told reporters on Friday. Schneiderman and attorneys for the students praised the deal. “Today’s $25 million settlement agreement is a stunning reversal by Donald Trump and a major victory for the over 6,000 victims of his fraudulent university,” Schneiderman said in a statement. At a court hearing on Friday, students’ attorney Jason Forge said that out of the $25 million proposed settlement, $4 million will be earmarked for students represented by Schneiderman who were not part of the California class actions, as well as administrative costs. Class action lawyers for the students will not seek attorneys fees, but reimbursement for costs, he said. Curiel, who is presiding over the two California cases, had urged both sides to settle. Trump said during his election campaign that Curiel, who was born in Indiana to Mexican immigrant parents, could not be impartial because of Trump’s campaign pledge to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border to control illegal immigration. In court on Friday, Trump lawyer Petrocelli praised Curiel for his hard work on the case. Curiel said he hoped the settlement could be part of a healing process after the U.S. election “that this country very sorely needs.”

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Here’s The Excuse Trump Made For Losing Iowa – Says Running No Longer ‘Worth It’ (IMAGES)

Donald Trump didn t exactly have the best showing in Iowa, at least, not for a guy who said just before the caucuses began that he would have a tremendous victory. He ended up finishing 2nd, a full 4 points behind Ted Cruz and ended up tying with Marco Rubio for seven delegates.While he didn t throw a huge tantrum on stage, he isn t exactly being that presidential about it, either. Behind the scenes you know he must be fuming mad. Rarely is he silent on Twitter, and after the loss he didn t tweet a word; there was just silence for 14 long hours. Losing Iowa finally brought Donald Trump back down to earth, and if you re able to gather anything from his latest tweet, it s that he doesn t handle losing very well. Instead of preparing himself for the oath of office, and acting presidential, he had to find a way to offer an excuse. And, boy did he.Pic via Twitter.Trump has been known for quite some time for saying anything and everything on the popular site, and normally we could care a less, but he needs to be called out for being a sore loser. Shortly afterwards, he also posted a cryptic message that made it seem like he wasn t as interested in running for president anymore. Really? Here was what he said, in part: I will keep doing, but not worth it! What exactly does this mean? It must mean he doesn t think running for president is worth it unless people give him credit for things. That, or self-funding his campaign isn t worth it enough for him to be president. Either way, if Trump doesn t self-fund his own campaign he d be beholden to outside groups and special interests, and has already said himself that he doesn t want that. So, according to his own rules, he has to fund his it. There s no other way according to him. And, to make matters worse, it s already been proven that he is, in fact, NOT self-funding his campaign. Go figure. So, what he says is not even true. For more on this, visit HERE. He s in this for the attention and nothing else. He could care a less about Making America Great Again. Pic via Twitter.Here s news for you, Donald: being president is much harder than this. You don t give up after the first contest. And, you sure as heck don t complain. That loser front page cover from the New York Daily News must have really got to him.Featured image from Facebook

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Bradley Whitford Perfectly Articulates How We’re All Feeling About Trump’s Presidency; It’s AWESOME (VIDEO)

On Thursday night, actor Bradley Whitford, of Transparent and West Wing fame, stopped by the Late Show to speak with Stephen Colbert. It just so happens that Colbert had adorable adoptable puppies there on the set Thursday night as well, and Whitford brought one out with him for his interview.Whitford explained that the puppy, Tucker, was calming him down, and that the little animal was helping him deal with Donald Trump s presidency. Whitford said: I need a service dog, since the election. Colbert reminded Whitford that the actor had already been in full-blown Trump panic back in September, and then proceeded to ask him how he is now. Whitford said: This is calming me, but I do want to reiterate that our president was a birther, which is racist and un-American. And we have a white nationalist working in the White House, and they have conflated refugees with terrorism, and now they are picking on transgender people. It s not a joke, and it s very upsetting. Colbert went on to share some of Whitford s large number of political tweets, which are coming these days in a seemingly unending stream. His profile photo also shows him in a pink pussy hat from the historic Women s March.I am so happy that this man articulated what so many of us are feeling these days. I d like one of those puppies to get me through the next four years as well.Watch the video below:Featured image via video screen capture

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Fed lowers economic outlook but stays mum on rate plans

The Federal Reserve lowered its economic outlook Wednesday after a harsh winter chilled the U.S economy's growth, reducing the odds for an initial interest rate hike as soon as the Fed's June meeting. In a statement after a two-day meeting the Fed gave no clear signal of when it plans to raise its benchmark interest rate for the first time since 2006 but policymakers have indicated they expect to act this year. The Fed statement was released at 2 p.m. ET. As of 2:55 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones industrial average was down about 55 points, or 0.3%, to 18,056 and the Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 5 points, or 0.3%, to 2110. The Nasdaq composite was down 17 points, or 0.3%, to 5038. Yields on 10-year government bonds sprang above 2%. The Fed said economic growth "slowed during the winter months, in part reflecting transitory factors." Unusually cold weather, for example, hindered economic activity. The Fed said it expects the economy to rebound and grow at a moderate pace in coming months. With that optimistic view, the Fed didn't rule out a June rate increase, as it virtually foreclosed the chances of an April hike in its statement last month. Still, its assertion that temporary factors were only part of the reason for last quarter's slowdown suggests the central bank may want to hold off a few months before hoisting the target range for its federal funds rate, which has been near zero since the 2008 financial crisis. While a June rate increase "does not look very likely," it "remains an option if the data suddenly turn much stronger than expected," Jim O'Sullivan, chief U.S. economist of High Frequency Economics, wrote in a note to clients. Paul Ashworth of Capital Economics said "it would take something quite spectacular to convince Fed officials to raise rates in June." The Fed's statement noted that job growth "moderated" and household spending declined in recent weeks, though inflation-adjusted incomes "rose strongly, partly reflecting earlier declines in energy prices." Business investment, however, "softened" and exports declined, the statement said. The Fed added that inflation continued to run below the Fed's target, "partly reflecting earlier declines in energy prices and decreasing prices of non-energy imports." Fed policymakers said they expect inflation "to rise gradually toward 2% over the medium-term as the labor market improves further and the transitory effects" of low energy and import prices dissipate. A strong dollar has hurt manufacturers' exports and the plunge in oil prices has led energy companies to slash investment. The government said Wednesday morning that the economy grew just 0.2% at an annual rate in the first quarter, down from 2.2% in the October-December period and below the modest 1% pace expected by economists. Meanwhile, inflation remains well below the Fed's annual 2% target, with the government reporting that the Fed's preferred measure, which excludes food and energy costs, rose 0.9% last quarter. That's the smallest increase since 2010. And employers added just 126,000 jobs in March, compared to average monthly gains of 269,000 the prior 12 months. The Fed reiterated Wednesday that it will bump up its federal funds rate "when it has seen further improvement in the labor market and is reasonably confident that inflation will move back" to the Fed's 2% target "over the medium-term." The central bank has kept its benchmark interest rate near zero since the 2008 financial crisis, but with the economic recovery now almost six years old, the central bank has been preparing financial markets and consumers for a return to normal interest rate policy. Last month, the Fed dropped a pledge to be patient as it considers boosting the rate, signaling that it could make the move as early as June. Many economists say the Fed is unlikely to act until September at the earliest so it can assess whether the economy is regaining the momentum it had built last year. That timetable is consistent with Fed policymakers' median forecast in March as well as with recent speeches by Fed policymakers, including Fed Chair Janet Yellen.

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Trump ‘Cherished’ Letter Obama Left Him When He Took Over, Then Did The Opposite Of What It Said

It has become customary for a president, upon leaving the office to the next holder of the title, to leave a note of encouragement. Different presidents, of course, have done it differently. Back in 1992, George H. W. Bush left Bill Clinton a note that famously said I am rooting hard for you. Good luck. Clinton likewise left one for the elder Bush s son, as George W. did for Barack Obama.But when Obama quietly folded his letter and placed it in a drawer in the Resolute Desk, it contained more than just platitudes and well wishes. In addition to being twice as long Obama is a speaker, after all it was filled with not only an account of how powerful a position it is, but also advice on how to handle the job with grace and humilityAlthough Trump has never publicly read the letter aloud, he has often spoken of how much he cherishes it, when he s not busy tweeting about what a horrible president Barack Obama was. Now CNN has obtained a copy of the letter from a person that Trump once showed it to:Exclusive: In the letter Obama left for Trump on Inauguration Day, he lays out four points of advice. Read it here: https://t.co/NLczJTxyaz pic.twitter.com/ttqXGx6TxK CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) September 3, 2017Some highlights:It s up to us to do everything we can (to) build more ladders of success for every child and family that s willing to work hard.It s up to us, through action and example, to sustain the international order that s expanded steadily since the end of the Cold War, and upon which our own wealth and safety depend.[W]e are just temporary occupants of this office. That makes us guardians of those democratic institutions and traditions like rule of law, separation of powers, equal protection and civil liberties that our forebears fought and bled for. Regardless of the push and pull of daily politics, it s up to us to leave those instruments of our democracy at least as strong as we found them.As you can see, President Obama left Trump with a lot of advice he has definitely not followed. From Trump s sustained focus on repealing his predecessor s signature health care bill to his determination to cut social spending in order to fund more tax cuts for the wealthy, he hasn t built any ladders of success. In his constant tweets threatening North Korea and belittling China, Mexico, and even allies like Australia and Germany, Trump hasn t done much for international order. But on the last few points, Trump has failed spectacularly. He has zero respect for the rule of law or separation of powers, and has proven himself an enemy of equal protection and civil liberties.President Obama s letter couldn t have surfaced at a more perfect time to highlight the differences between the man we got used to seeing handle disasters, terrorism, tragedies, and diplomacy humbly and the man-child who scoffs now at even the most common social norms.If only it had been a set of rules.Featured image via Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

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Ted Cruz Repeated His Truly Horrible JFK Impression And Got The Quote Wrong. Again! (VIDEO)

For the second time in the last ten days, slimy and loathsome Ted Cruz totally botched another painful impression of the late President Kennedy.You might recall how Cruz first performed a painfully awkward rendition of the Miracle Max scene from the beloved film The Princess Bride, thus nearly ruining the film for all time. There s something wrong in the universe when someone as repugnant as Cruz likes such a fantastic movie to the point where he can recite entire passages in the voices of the characters. The voices were, of course, terrible and he got many of the lines wrong, which once again verified that most conservatives shouldn t bother trying to be funny. They re never funny, even when the source material is stellar.Then, earlier this month, Cruz entertained a small crowd of Iowa yokels with a flop-sweat inducing JFK impression, just after suggesting Kennedy would be driven out of the modern Democratic Party for being too conservative. Regarding the latter, no. First, Kennedy was arguably more liberal than most Democratic leaders of 2016. Second, there are moderate and conservative Democrats who continue to be welcome in the party, including presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton.It s also worth noting that Cruz fumbled the quote. The line he attributed to JFK was actually said by Robert Kennedy years after JFK was assassinated. RFK s line, which was cribbed from George Bernard Shaw, by the way, went: Some people see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not? And this is the line Cruz used for his John Kennedy impression.He did it again on Monday.Cruz s verbatim line: During the 1960s, I will point out that one of the most powerful, eloquent defenders of tax cuts was John F. Kennedy. As JFK said, Some men see things as they are and ask, Why? I see things that never were and ask, why not? These are the principles that work. Once again, it was RFK who popularized the line. Not JFK. And no one noticed.Cruz also said that JFK was a champion of tax cuts. This, believe it or not, is mostly true. Kennedy proposed fairly deep cuts to the marginal tax rates at a time when the top bracket was nearly three times higher than it is today.But that wouldn t have forced him out of today s Democratic Party. How do we know this? President Obama is responsible for the biggest middle class tax cut in American history. That s no exaggeration. The infamous stimulus bill, which almost entirely helped to keep the economy from sliding into a Depression, included $282 billion in tax cuts. As a point of comparison, President Bush s tax cuts amounted to roughly $174 billion. Obama s tax cut was also larger than Reagan s cuts.So, Mr. Cruz continues to lie to his people, assuming they re too ignorant to know the difference between JFK and RFK, or the difference between Obama and Kennedy on tax cuts.[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Rurnz8HuBE&w=560&h=315]Featured image via video screen grab.

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Reforms aimed at making Pentagon acquisition more agile: House

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry introduced a second batch of legislative proposals on Tuesday aimed at speeding up how the Pentagon buys weapons and making it easier for firms to retain their intellectual property. Thornberry’s legislation follows an initial batch of reforms enacted last year with the 2016 annual defense policy bill, and continues efforts to make weapons programs more transparent. The proposals are aimed at simplifying the convoluted U.S. Defense Department acquisition process, with a big push to fund more experimentation and prototyping of new weapons, while driving to get new technologies into the hands of troops faster. Many big weapons programs are over budget and behind schedule, although Pentagon officials say changes undertaken since 2009 are starting to have a positive impact. The new legislation aims to shorten the time it takes from the start of the design phase of a new program until a military service can start using a new weapon in combat to five-to-six years from around nine year currently, the staff said. The bill requires all weapons systems to have “open systems architectures” that will allow the services to hold competitions for more components, and carry out quicker upgrades as new technologies are developed. It authorizes the Air Force, Army and other military services to use certain funding to pay for prototype upgrades of components and to develop technology faster. The bill also seeks to end a controversy about how the Pentagon treats private companies’ intellectual property that has made non-traditional suppliers reluctant to do business with the U.S. military and its complex defense acquisition rules. Instead of automatically giving the government broad rights to control intellectual property rights that are jointly funded by industry and government, the bill would mandate that such arrangements would have to be negotiated between the parties. The legislation would also continue a push to make the military services more responsible and accountable for weapons programs, requiring them to begin overseeing milestone decisions for joint programs after Oct. 1, 2019. The bill also requires the secretary of defense, or his staff, to fix the costs and expected fielding date for new weapons programs, and then hold the services accountable for meeting those targets. To ensure more transparency, the bill also calls for creation of an acquisition scorecard that would compare program cost estimates with those submitted by independent estimators.

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HOLY RIGGED ELECTION! Obama Regime Considers Special Declaration To Take Charge Of Elections! [VIDEO]

If the Obama regime is allowed to wrest control of our elections from the states America better get used to the idea of a President #CrookedHillary Even before the FBI identified new cyber attacks on two separate state election boards, the Department of Homeland Security began considering declaring the election a critical infrastructure, giving it the same control over security it has over Wall Street and and the electric power grid.The latest admissions of attacks could speed up that effort possibly including the upcoming presidential election, according to officials. We should carefully consider whether our election system, our election process, is critical infrastructure like the financial sector, like the power grid, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said. There s a vital national interest in our election process, so I do think we need to consider whether it should be considered by my department and others critical infrastructure, he said at media conference earlier this month hosted by the Christian Science Monitor.DHS has a vital security role in 16 areas of critical infrastructure and they provide a model for what the department and Johnson could have in mind for the election.DHS describes it this way on their website: There are 16 critical infrastructure sectors whose assets, systems, and networks, whether physical or virtual, are considered so vital to the United States that their incapacitation or destruction would have a debilitating effect on security, national economic security, national public health or safety, or any combination thereof. A White House policy directive adds, The federal government also has a responsibility to strengthen the security and resilience of its own critical infrastructure, for the continuity of national essential functions, and to organize itself to partner effectively with and add value to the security and resilience efforts of critical infrastructure owners and operators. At the time, Johnson did not mention specific security issues, but the FBI has since cited one hack and another attempt.Johnson also said that the big issue at hand is that there isn t a central election system since the states run elections. There s no one federal election system. There are some 9,000 jurisdictions involved in the election process, Johnson said. Washington Examiner

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Indian princess watches over rare paleontological remains

Indian princess watches over rare paleontological remains Thu Oct 27, 2016 3:12AM News Bulletin This picture taken on September 1, 2016 shows "Dinosaur Princess" Aaliya Sultana Babi holding a fossilised dinosaur egg at her palace in Balasinor. © AFP A member of an Indian royal family is leading excavations in an area nicknamed India’s Jurassic Park. Aaliya Sultana Babi is a princess by birth. She has been dubbed the “Dinosaur Princess” because of her love for archeology. Babi’s passion started when she accepted to decide a group of foreign geologists to a site in Balasinor which was formerly a princely state. The site is now a Dinosaur park and welcomes a large number of visitors every year. Aaliya is pushing the authorities towards better preservation of the thousands of eggs and bones buried in the area. She believes with more coordination between government departments she can win the UNESCO Geo Park status for the site. Tourists can enjoy a luxurious stay at Aaliya’s family’s palace and see her personal collection when visiting the park. Loading ...

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E.U. Offers to Loosen Restrictions on Iran Air - The New York Times

BRUSSELS — Almost six years ago, the European Union sharply curtailed access to its airspace for Iran’s aging airline fleet. But officials in Brussels say they are now prepared to loosen some of those restrictions as the easing of Western sanctions gradually allows new planes and spare parts to enter Iran after decades of isolation. The overture follows the nuclear accord reached with the United States and other world powers in January, and it will be presented during a visit to Tehran this weekend by a delegation from the European Commission, the bloc’s executive branch, officials said. It forms part of a broader European effort to revive economic ties between Iran and the bloc, which was once one of Iran’s largest trading partners. Iranian state news media confirmed a visit this week by representatives of Boeing to discuss a possible sale of 737, 787 and 777 aircraft, the first such mission by the American plane maker in decades. The United States company’s European rival Airbus reached an agreement with Iran in January over the purchase of $27 billion in new jets. The European Union banned most planes operated by Iran’s flag carrier, Iran Air, from its skies in 2010 because of concerns over their airworthiness. With an average age of more than 26 years, the airline’s fleet is one of the world’s oldest, and European and American trade restrictions had prohibited the sale of the spare parts needed to keep the planes properly maintained. In an interview before this weekend’s visit, Violeta Bulc, the European Union’s transport commissioner, said that easing flight restrictions on Iran Air was a “key priority” for Brussels, which is also keen to expand European airlines’ access to Iran’s $400 billion economy. Ms. Bulc expressed cautious optimism that European Union inspections of the airline’s maintenance operations, scheduled to begin next month, would pave the way to increase air transport links between Iran and Europe, which she argued would have economic and diplomatic benefits. “We need to these connections,” Ms. Bulc said. “We need to trust. ” Despite the restrictions, Iran Air has continued to serve about a dozen European cities with 12 planes — all older Airbus A300 and A310 models — that have passed the bloc’s safety inspections. Another Iranian carrier, Mahan Air, which is privately owned, recently upgraded its fleet to newer Airbus models and flies without safety limitations to several European cities, including direct flights to Athens, Milan and Munich from Tehran. But those air links remain relatively infrequent, and the high cost of operating such an antiquated fleet leaves Iranian airlines at a competitive disadvantage to European rivals like Lufthansa, Air France and British Airways, which have recently resumed or plan to resume direct flights to Tehran. Iran and the United States broke off diplomatic relations decades ago, and Iran has been seeking a reciprocal resumption of flights with the United States for years. That possibility has been renewed because of the easing of Western sanctions. Ms. Bulc cited air transport as a “key enabler” of economic growth and credited air services agreements that the European Union has concluded in recent years with several countries in the western Balkans, the Middle East and North Africa with significantly bolstering air traffic between those regions and Europe. “Every new destination opens new potential for business development,” Ms. Bulc added. The possible loosening of European airspace restrictions on Iran comes at a delicate time, however. The United States has charged that planes owned by Iran Air and Mahan Air have been used by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps of Iran to ferry weapons and fighters to Syria in support of the government of President Bashar in violation of a United Nations arms embargo. Ms. Bulc acknowledged the United States’ concerns but declined to comment further before the commission’s visit. “I do not at all expect any easy steps to be taken,” she said of the negotiations, emphasizing that Europe’s dealings with Iran on aviation issues had always been focused on safety, rather than on political concerns. “In air transport, safety is the highest priority,” Ms. Bulc said.

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Trump says giving Mideast peace 'an absolute go'

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he believed we really have a chance to make peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Trump has faced deep skepticism at home and abroad over the chances for him to achieve any quick breakthrough, not least because his administration has yet to articulate a strategy for restarting a moribund peace process. Trump has described peace between Israelis and Palestinians as the ultimate deal. Peace between the Palestinians and Israel would be a fantastic achievement, and we are giving it an absolute go. I think there s a good chance that it could happen. Most people would say there s no chance whatsoever, Trump said as he began a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York ahead of the U.N. General Assembly s meeting. I think Israel would like to see it. I think the Palestinians would like to see it. I can tell you the Trump administration would like to see it. So we re working very hard on it; we ll see what happens. Historically, people say it can t happen. I say it can happen. Trump is also to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas later this week.

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WOW! GLOBALIST LEADERS Furious Over Trump’s IMPORTANT Decision at G7

There was a heavy push and big-time lobbying from G7 leaders but President Trump said no to endorsing the Paris Climate Agreement. We hope this means another nail in the coffin of Obama s legacy. Obama set America up to pay a fortune to other nations in this MAJOR boondoggle of a redistribution of wealth to other nations. American taxpayers DO NOT want to pay for this!Trump has stated in the past that he would like to renegotiate the deal but we think he needs to get out of it. He tweeted he ll make his decision next week after saying that the discussion on climate was very unsatisfying : Whole Discussion on climate was very unsatisfying #Merkel says after #G7taormina. No indication whether US will stay in #ParisAgreement . pic.twitter.com/n1BH3LqB6U Maximilian Hofmann (@maxhofmann) May 27, 2017Even better, Trump s decision upset world leaders like German Chancellor Angela Merkel, desperate to convince the president of the agreement s merits. The Paris deal isn t just any other deal. It is a key agreement that shapes today s globalization, Merkel said, describing discussions with Trump about climate change very unsatisfying. Merkel doesn t understand that globalization is exactly why we don t like this boondoggle!For opponents of the agreement, the decision is a welcome development after the president s economic adviser, Gary Cohn, told reporters that Trump was evolving on the issue. Trump needs to evolve his way OUT of this agreement . PULL OUT!Read more: Breitbart

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Iran's Guards flex muscle in Middle East despite Trump warning

BEIRUT (Reuters) - A week after U.S. President Donald Trump delivered a blistering speech about Iran s Revolutionary Guards, the most powerful military and economic force in the Islamic Republic has shown it has no intention of curbing its activities in the Middle East. In defiance of other world powers, Trump chose in a speech last Friday not to certify that Tehran is complying with a pact to curb Iran s nuclear work and singled out the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), accusing Tehran of destabilizing the region. A senior IRGC commander said after the speech Trump was acting crazy and was following U.S. strategy of increasing the shadow of war in the region . Iran s Shi ite militia proxies have made formidable military gains in recent months in Syria as well as Iraq, stretching from northern Iraq to a string of smaller cities and this week, after the Trump speech, re-captured the oil-rich city of Kirkuk. In the short-run clearly Trump has increased the power and aggressiveness of the IRGC, said Abbas Milani, the director of the Iranian Studies program at Stanford University. The IRGC can t back down from a street fight. Their domestic and regional prestige is predicated on the fact that they fight a good fight and they don t back down. The day after Trump spoke, the head of the Guards al Quds overseas operations, Major General Qassem Soleimani, traveled to Iraq s Kurdistan region. He held talks about the escalating crisis between Kurdish authorities and the Iraqi government after a Kurdish independence referendum. The niece of the late Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani, Alaa Talabani, told the al Hadath TV channel that Soleimani met with members of her family on Saturday. He had come to pay respects to Jalal, a former Iraqi president and founder of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) party who died this month. Other Iraqi and Kurdish officials told Reuters Soleimani held meetings with Kurdish leaders to persuade them to retreat from Kirkuk ahead of the Iraqi army push into the city. I don t deny that Mr. Qassem Soleimani gave us the advice to find a solution to Kirkuk, she said. He said Kirkuk should return to the (Iraqi) law and constitution and to have an agreement about Kirkuk and give up the intransigence about the referendum which was a decision not thought out. Within days, Iran s mostly Shi ite allies in Baghdad launched a lightning assault, pushing Kurdish fighters out of disputed territories such as Kirkuk and consequently strengthening Iran s hand in Iraq. Commanders of the Kurdish forces, known as the Peshmerga, have accused Iran of orchestrating the Shi ite-led Iraqi central government s push into areas under their control, a charge senior Iranian officials have denied. A video posted by the Kurdish Rudaw channel online on Wednesday showed an Iraqi Shi ite militiaman loyal to Iran hanging a picture of Iran s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the Kirkuk governorate office. Iran, which has a large Kurdish minority, has reason to be wary of Iraqi Kurdish independence. It fears it might encourage its own Kurds, who have also pushed for separatism. After the independence vote in Iraqi Kurdistan on September 25, videos posted online showed hundreds of people celebrating in the streets in the Kurdish areas of Iran. FRONT-LINE PLAYER Regional analysts say the emergence of Iran in Iraq, Syria, Kurdistan and Lebanon, where it wields influence through its allied Shi ite Lebanese Hezbollah militia, means Tehran has become a front-line player in the region which Washington could not afford to ignore. Trump s stupidity should not distract us from America s deceitfulness ... If the U.S. tears up the (nuclear) deal, we will shred it, said Khamenei. Americans are angry because the Islamic Republic of Iran has managed to thwart their plots in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and other countries in the region. Speaking after Trump s speech, Amir Ali Hajizadeh, head of the Guards aerospace division, said: From the start of the Islamic revolution ... (presidents) have increased the shadow of war in the region ... Dear brothers and sisters today Trump is acting crazy to gain concessions through this method. The ramping up of tension could put the two countries on a collision course in the Gulf where clashes have only been narrowly avoided in recent months. Small boats from the Revolutionary Guards navy veered close to U.S. naval vessels in the Gulf at least twice this year, prompting the U.S. military to fire warning shots and flares. In August, an unarmed Iranian drone came within 100 feet (31 meters) of a U.S. Navy warplane, risking a crash, according to a U.S. official. Some recent naval showdowns between Iran and the United States took place near the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway where up to 30 percent of global oil exports pass annually. During the presidential campaign last September, Trump vowed that any Iranian vessels that harassed the U.S. Navy in the Gulf would be shot out of the water . The Guards could also target U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria through tens of thousands of loyal Shi ite militia fighters without directly acknowledging a role in any attacks. The IRGC can claim ignorance of Shi ite militia attacks against the U.S. military, said Ali Alfoneh, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council who has done extensive research on the Guards. In early October, an American soldier was killed in Iraq by an explosively formed penetrator, or EFP, a type of roadside bomb which was often used by Iran s Shi ite militia proxies in Iraq, according to the U.S. military. This is the first time that we ve seen it used in this area, U.S. Army Colonel Ryan Dillon, a coalition spokesman, said. Dillon said the U.S. military has not yet concluded who carried out the attack. Dozens of American soldiers in Iraq were killed and injured by EFPs used by militia groups linked to Iran after the 2003 invasion of Iraq by U.S. forces, according to the U.S. military. Asked about the threat posed by Shi ite militias allied with Iran in Iraq and Syria, particularly after Trump s speech, Dillon said: We re always assessing the threats no matter where they come from. During certain announcements or certain dates or when certain events happen, we make proper adjustments. Trump s new plan, observers say, will also weaken a group that had made progress in curbing the Guards political and economic ambitions in recent years: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and the pragmatist politicians in his cabinet. Since becoming president in 2013, Rouhani and members of his cabinet repeatedly pushed back against the Guards economic influence and involvement in political matters. Now, Rouhani s push against the Guards has been tempered because of the hardening in Trump s approach to Tehran, regional observers said. What this has done is that even those who were critics are now defending the Revolutionary Guards, said Nasser Hadian-Jazy, a political science professor at Tehran University.

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Iraqi PM Rebuffs U.S. Decree That ‘Foreign Shia Militias’ Should Leave Country

Ever since ISIS appeared in Iraq in 2014, both the policies and strategies coming out of Washington have ranged from confused to inept, as politicians and Pentagon officials spar over whether or not to cooperate with various Iranian-affiliated Shia militias and People s Mobilization Units (PMF), led by Hash d al-Shaabi and Badr Organisation.The driving factor behind Washington s stance is the Israeli Lobby and Gulf state led by Saudi Arabia who vocally oppose any US cooperation with Shia PMF s in Iraq. This lack of coherency has also helped alienate the Iraq government in Baghdad who appear to be less and less concerned with Washington s sectarian imposition and more concerned with closing-out the ISIS threat in Iraq.This dysfunctional US policy of exclusion in local operational partners on the ground may have helped to prolong the lifespan of ISIS in parts of Iraq. Washington s insistence on playing the sectarian card has led to its inability to openly cooperate with key players to benefit of ISIS.Notice how the AFP report below categorically refers to Shia militia in Iraq at Iranian militias another example of the western mainstream media intentionally skewing language in order to give a false impression that all Shia militias in Iraq are Iranian which is patently false.This week: US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson drew the short straw again, as Pentagon warhawks send him to Riyadh on another impossible mission AFP reports Iraq on Monday rebuffed a US demand that Iranian militias leave the country, insisting that the paramilitary forces which helped it defeat the Islamic State group consist solely of Iraqi nationals. Nobody has the right to interfere in Iraqi affairs, the Iraqi cabinet said in a statement, quoting a source close to Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. The fighters of the Hashed (al-Shaabi paramilitary units) are Iraqis who are concerned for their country and have sacrificed for its defence and for its people, it said.On Sunday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson demanded that Iranian militias leave Iraq. Certainly Iranian militias that are in Iraq, now that the fighting against (IS) is coming to a close, those militias need to go home, Tillerson said. All foreign fighters need to go home, he said at a press conference in Riyadh.The 60,000-strong Hashed was formed in 2014 after IS seized swathes of northern Iraq, routing government forces.A coalition mostly made up of Iranian-backed militias, it has played a key role in Iraq s successful fightback against the jihadists over the past three years.It answers to Iraq s prime minister as commander-in-chief of the Iraqi armed forces, into which it has been integrated by a parliamentary vote.Tillerson s remarks were also aimed at Iran s elite Revolutionary Guards and their foreign operations wing, the Quds Force, according to a senior US official accompanying him. The position of the Iraqi government and the position of our government is that there should be a single Iraqi security force answerable to the Iraqi state, the official said on condition of anonymity.Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has also hit back at Tillerson s remarks, saying Iran played a crucial role in the fight against IS both in Iraq and Syria. If it wasn t for the sacrifices of the Islamic Republic of Iran Daesh (IS) would have installed its government in Damascus, Baghdad and (the Iraqi Kurdish regional capital) Arbil by now, he said.READ MORE IRAQ NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Iraq FilesSUPPORT 21WIRE SUBSCRIBE & BECOME A MEMBER @ 21WIRE.TV

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Sanders' TPP stance shot down by Democrats' platform committee

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A trade deal fight led by U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders on Saturday failed to fully materialize as rival and presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton announced a compromise to expand mandatory healthcare funding over the next decade. At a meeting of the Democratic Party draft platform committee in Orlando, Florida, on Saturday, supporters of Sanders were unable to influence the committee to adopt strong language opposing the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade pact, marking a powerful blow to the efforts by the U.S. senator from Vermont to push the party further to the left. “We did everything we could to win that vote,” said Sanders policy adviser Warren Gunnels. “It was very disappointing.” Instead of a condemnation specific to the TPP, the committee reached language saying they would oppose “trade agreements that do not support good American jobs.” Sanders has headed the effort on the U.S. left to oppose the TPP and trade deals like it, which he says are unfair to American workers. Clinton has also come out as opposed to the agreement. Despite Clinton having already secured the requisite delegates to clinch the party’s nomination at the July 25-28 convention, Sanders remains in the race to be the party’s nominee. He has indicated that he would hold off on endorsing Clinton for the Nov. 8 general election fight against Republican presumptive nominee Donald Trump until she adopted policies and campaign language that more closely resembled his own more liberal tone. “I would like to say that while this vote was disappointing, we have won some tremendous victories,” Gunnels said, including securing language in the draft supporting a federal $15 minimum wage, another trademark issue for Sanders. On the same day, the Clinton campaign announced changes to its healthcare policy proposal, including increasing mandatory healthcare funding under the Affordable Care Act by $40 billion over the next 10 years, highlighting the significant influence Sanders still yields over the party. “We have more work to do to finish our long fight to provide universal, quality, affordable healthcare to everyone in America,” Clinton said in a statement that included her intention to give Americans the choice of a public-option insurance plan and allow for individuals below Medicare age, beginning at 55, to opt in to the U.S. federal program that pays elderly Americans’ hospital bills. Sanders has made combating healthcare costs a rallying cry of his campaign and often battled with Clinton during the primary race on how best to reach their shared goal of universal healthcare. On Saturday, Sanders praised the updates to Clinton’s proposal as a step in the right direction to “save lives and ease suffering,” indicating, along with the more liberal tone in several parts of the 2016 platform draft, a growing compromise between the two camps. For Clinton, an endorsement from Sanders - seen as a champion of the progressive left - could open the door to many of his supporters who have been reluctant to support the more moderate Clinton. “The proposal brought forth today by Secretary Clinton, working with our campaign, is an important step forward in expanding healthcare in America - and expanding health insurance and healthcare access to tens of millions of Americans,” he said in a statement. “I congratulate Secretary Clinton for this extremely important initiative.” The New York Times reported on Thursday that an endorsement is imminent, and Sanders is expected to officially throw his support behind Clinton, a former U.S. secretary of state, at a campaign stop in New Hampshire early next week. (This story corrects age at which individuals could opt in to Medicare under Clinton plan in paragraph 10)

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One Killed and at Least 2 Wounded in Shooting Near California Polling Places - The New York Times

AZUSA, Calif. — A gunman with a rifle was found dead inside a home in a suburb of Los Angeles on Tuesday after shooting at police officers who responded to a report of gunfire and found one person fatally shot and two others critically injured, the authorities said. It was not clear if the gunman — a man whose identity was not immediately known — died of a gunshot wound or had been shot by the police, Lt. John Corina of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said at a news conference. “We’re in the process of trying to figure out why this happened and who this person is and what exactly made him snap,” he said. The victim who was fatally shot was a man, but no details were immediately available about him. The two other victims, women ages 65 and 59, were in “really critical” condition, Lieutenant Corina said. “We don’t know what’s going to happen to them,” he said. The episode, which unfolded around 2 p. m. in Azusa, a city about 25 miles east of Los Angeles, took several confusing and conflicting turns as the authorities tried to sort out what happened and to whom. The acting chief of the Azusa Police Department, Steve Hunt, had said at a news conference earlier on Tuesday that the person who did the shooting was a woman armed with a rifle and that the dead victim was also a woman. Asked about the inconsistencies with earlier accounts, Lieutenant Corina said, “With something like this there are a lot of rumors flying around and a lot of misinformation going out. ” He added that “so far we have found no evidence” of an accomplice in the shooting but emphasized that the police were searching for anyone else who might be injured, dead or hiding. The shooting unfolded as five Azusa police officers and one from nearby Irwindale responded to a report of gunfire on Fourth Street. Chief Hunt said that officers found “multiple victims” and that as they were tending to them, the officers came under fire. They had to be extracted by armored vehicles. All of the officers who were pinned down by gunfire were “accounted for, safe and rescued,” the department said on Twitter. The gunman went back into a home and was barricaded there until tactical units entered the house and found him dead. Lieutenant Corina said that the police were obtaining a search warrant to look through the house. The victim who was fatally shot was lying in a doorway outside the home. What set off the shooting remained a mystery. “We’re still trying to figure it out ourselves,” Lieutenant Corina said. After the shooting, two schools were locked down and two polling sites — at Memorial Park and Dalton Elementary — were closed, with Memorial Park shut for the rest of the day. “Voters should avoid the area and, if necessary, cast a ballot at an alternate polling location,” Dean Logan, the Los Angeles County and county clerk, said on Twitter. The police said the shooting did not appear to have any connection to the polling sites or Election Day. Alfonso Mendez, 42, who lives in the neighborhood, said he saw two vehicles crash at the intersection of North Angeleno Avenue and Third Street. “A big van and a white car were in an accident,” Mr. Mendez said. He said an occupant “ran out of the car and started shooting at the cops. ” Chief Hunt said there was no pursuit by the police leading up to the shooting. The lieutenant said it was not clear how — or if the crash — was related to the shooting.

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YOU’RE FIRED: Fox News Is Finally Kicking Trump Pal Bill O’Reilly To The Curb And It’s About Damn Time

For decades, Bill O Reilly has poisoned the airwaves with his racism, sexism, and right-wing rhetoric on Fox News. Not anymore.The exodus of advertisers from his show on the conservative propaganda network finally tipped the scales against O Reilly. Years of sexually harassing his female colleagues, being a domestic abuser, and lying about being a war correspondent were apparently not enough to justify firing him earlier, but lost advertiser dollars struck the killing blow on O Reilly s pathetic career.New York Magazine reports:According to sources briefed on the discussions, network executives are preparing to announce O Reilly s departure before he returns from an Italian vacation on April 24. Now the big questions are how the exit will look and who will replace him.O Reilly went on vacation after the New York Times revealed that Fox News has spent $13 million settling sexual harassment lawsuits against O Reilly over the years.In response to the revelation, O Reilly played the victim. The worst part of my job is being a target for those who would harm me and my employer, the Fox News Channel, O Reilly said.But the fact that Fox News paid off O Reilly s many accusers rather than fight them in court makes it pretty clear that Fox knew they would not win.Once the New York Times story got out, companies who advertise on O Reilly s show began pulling their ads in droves. The allegations are disturbing and, given the importance of women in every aspect of our business, we don t feel this is a good environment in which to advertise our products right now, Mercedes-Benz said in a statement.And that s pretty much the stance every other company has taken to explain why they are pulling their advertising.Of course, O Reilly had his defenders as well.Serial sexual predator Donald Trump, who admitted he grabs women by their genitals without their consent, defended him. I don t think Bill did anything wrong, Trump said. I think he s a person I know well he is a good person. Trump s decision to weigh in didn t help O Reilly at all. A majority of women in this country fiercely oppose him, and Trump s past statements about women and his past treatment of women was just another example of a sexual predator defending a fellow sexual predator.Fox News is expected to publicly announce O Reilly s departure soon. But they won t say he was fired. They ll make up some bullshit about how this was a mutual decision and they ll say nothing but good things about O Reilly. O Reilly will likely whine and claim that he s the real victim.But the impact of O Reilly s firing will last for years. Conservatives love his show and he was a ratings winner for a network that has started to struggle.Megyn Kelly s departure from the network was a major blow. Losing O Reilly as well will be crushing. Ratings have already dipped and Fox News audience is aging.Fox News and conservatives are going to miss O Reilly. The majority of the country, however, are going to say good riddance. Featured Image: Addicting Info Screenshot

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Filmmaker Maria Ivanova: People in Damascus ‘have fear in their eyes’

movies , syria , RBTH Daily , refugees Russian filmmaker Maria Ivanova. Source: Elena Kern / press-photo Where did you find the courage to go to the Middle East to make a film on migrants? Maria Ivanova: I began making my film in Berlin, in a camp for refugees. I was searching for a female protagonist. But when I arrived, I was told that girls do not flee Syria alone, only with their husbands or relatives. In the end I visually began "capturing" interesting faces. I found my protagonist – 14-year-old Muhammad, who was sent by his parents to Germany alone. He did the whole journey alone so that later he could get his relatives out of Syria through the legal process of family reunification. During the shooting I understood that next I needed to go to Damascus, where this boy's parents remained. Due to the hassle in obtaining a Syrian visa my cameraman and I traveled to Syria through Beirut. In Lebanon you don't need a visa. Russian journalist in Syria: We came within a whisker of death As we were driving along the road I knew that ISIS was only 10 kilometers [6 miles] away, very near. We were driving incredibly fast, 200 kilometers per hour, and when the driver saw a motorcycle coming, the car quickly turned around and headed in the opposite direction. “Why?” I asked later. Because terrorists often drive around at night on motorcycles. That’s how we got to Damascus. There was no heating in the apartment we were taken to. No electricity and hot water. We slept on something similar to a couch. There are no real beds in the real East. And at three in the morning I heard bombing. Is all of Damascus in this state? M.I.: I was in the south and there it was frightening to walk out on the street. People have fear in their eyes, the atmosphere is very heavy. In the end did you meet the parents of your protagonist Muhammad? How did you contact them? M.I.: They welcomed us with open arms. They fed us. They have all means of communication, they use social networks. After meeting with them we returned to Beirut and went to the refugee camps in Lebanon's mountains, filming there for two weeks. Were the Lebanese camps different from the German ones? M.I.: Of course. Lebanon doesn’t have special conditions. There’s a character in our film, a man who has 17 children. He lives in a tent that he has divided into several parts. He patches up the holes. They all sleep on the floor. Despite their horrible position, these people offered us food and played the oud for us [an Arabian musical instrument – RBTH]. They joked… Their life is based on the hope that they will return home. Of course, many want to go to Europe. They fill out applications. But Europe does not accept everyone. In general, Lebanon is an unusual country. Just think, there are 18 religious confessions on a territory that is smaller than the Moscow Region. There are four million residents and one and a half million Syrian refugees. And yet, I never saw a conflict between, say, Christians and Muslims. They all go to the same restaurants, the same movie theaters, everyone is friendly. Which films are you taking to the festival in Lebanon? M.I.: We finished this documentary film just a few days ago and I decided to hold the premiere in Lebanon, where we shot most of the material. Moreover, our partner, the TV channel RT, is producing two documentary films: Women against ISIS and Sector of Contradiction . The directors of these films are coming to answer questions and hold master classes. How much is Russian culture present in Lebanon? Do people speak Russian there? M.I.: Many Lebanese studied in the Soviet Union. There is even an association of Soviet university graduates. These people speak Russian, many even married Russian citizens. Furthermore, there are 30,000 Russians living there. There are Lebanese who attend classes and study Russian. Sure, you mostly hear Arabic, English, French. Russian culture is not well known. So we sort of filled a vacuum. Is the war in the neighboring country felt in Lebanon? M.I.: You still feel the previous war, the civil war. There are buildings scarred by bombings. There are many military personnel, roadblocks, armored personnel carriers, patrols. But next to a destroyed building you can find a modern art gallery, which is followed by soldiers again, and then a modern theater. This is a patchwork country, it is very heterogeneous. Can a low-budget Russian disaster film look like a Hollywood blockbuster? Once I was at the Sarajevo Film Festival, which had a really heavy atmosphere. There were no stadiums there. They had turned into cemeteries since there was no space for burying people. While in Lebanon you feel very light. You want to live, despite certain moments… The presence of soldiers, on the contrary, creates the feeling of security. I traveled there by car with a driver, saw beautiful cities, mountains, wine production. I went to an apple festival. I wasn’t afraid. The country has a modern airport, taxis, hotels, wonderful restaurants, beaches and movie theaters. But the thing is that no one anywhere will give you 100-percent guaranteed security, including when you're driving through France or Germany. In terms of security, Lebanon is no different than Europe. The full interview can be found on RIA Novosti . Subscribe to get the hand picked best stories every week Subscribe to our mailing list Facebook

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WATCH: Sean Spicer Just Made Trump’s Wiretap Accusation Look Like The Lie That It Is

For a week now, the world has been up in arms about Trump accusing former President Obama of wiretapping his tower to spy on his White House campaign. The House Intelligence Committee has demanded Trump turn over any and all evidence he s got that supports that accusation, and there s also the possibility that he s committed obstruction of justice just by tweeting about it.So, of course, the White House press corps was asking Sean Spicer about all of this during today s press briefing. He said: The president made very clear in his tweet that it was wiretapping. Those quotation marks above aren t an accident. Watch what he did below:Basically, Spicer stood at the podium in the White House press room, in front of the press corps, and put air quotes around the word wiretapping. Air quotes tend to serve the same purpose as scare quotes in writing they re used to create doubt around a word or phrase. Spicer just put doubt around Trump s accusation of wiretaps. Literally.Now, it s entirely possible that Spicer just thought he was placing emphasis on wiretapping, or that he s just clueless enough not to know what air quotes like that imply. But it doesn t matter what he thought he was doing. It matters what he did, and he just cemented the doubt surrounding Trump s wiretap accusation.Featured image by Mark Wilson via Getty Images

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Learning Horrors of War from Vets

Learning Horrors of War from Vets November 9, 2016 Americans shed some guilt for sending young soldiers to war by saying “thank you for your service” but it’d be better to ask vets about their war experiences, says ex-U.S. Army chaplain Chris J. Antal who served in Afghanistan. By the Rev. Chris J. Antal Veteran’s Day too often only serves to construct and maintain a public narrative that glorifies war and military service and excludes the actual experience of the veteran. This public narrative is characterized by core beliefs and assumptions about ourselves and the world that most citizens readily accept without examination. The U.S. public narrative reconciles deep religiosity with a penchant for violence with an often unexamined American National Religion. The core beliefs of this religion include the unholy trinity of governmental theism (One Nation Under God, In God We Trust, etc.), global military supremacy, and capitalism as freedom. These core beliefs provide many U.S. citizens with a broad sense of meaning and imbue the public narrative with thematic coherence. U.S. Marines patrol street in Shah Karez in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. Robert Storm) War is a Force that Gives Us Meaning , as Christopher Hedges wrote. Yet this kind of coherence has a moral and psychological cost. The consequence of an unexamined faith in American National Religion is a moral dualism that exaggerates U.S. goodness and innocence and projects badness on an “other” who we then demonize as the enemy and kill. Walter Wink described this moral dualism as a “theology of redemptive violence,” the erroneous belief that somehow good violence can save us from bad violence. Veteran’s Day, in the context of American National Religion, enables selective remembering, self-deception, and projected valorization. In short, it serves to perpetuate lies in order to avoid facing uncomfortable truths about who U.S. citizens are and what kind of people we are becoming. Imagine a Veteran’s Day where citizens gathered around veterans and asked, “what’s your story?” Citizens who risk this bold step begin to bridge the empathy gap between civilians and veterans and open up the path for adaptive change and post-traumatic growth. I believe one citizen who approaches a veteran with the invitation, “what’s your story?” does more for the veteran than a thousand patriotic platitudes like “Thank you for your service” could ever do. Only a First Step Asking the question is only the first step. A citizen who wants to give back to veterans should cultivate narrative competence, the capacity to recognize, absorb, interpret, and be moved by the stories one hears or reads. The voice of veterans, if we open our ears to hear them, often provides an essential counter-narrative to the U.S. public narrative. Coffins of dead U.S. soldiers arriving at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware in 2006. (U.S. government photo) Violent, sudden, or seemingly meaningless deaths, the kind of deaths often experienced by veterans, can make the world appear dangerous, unpredictable, or unjust. The experience of warfare can often undercut our sense of meaning and coherence and shatter assumptions. Because of this many veterans carry a depth of pain that is unimaginable to many citizens. The voice of the veterans often reveals uncomfortable truths and invites collective examination of core beliefs and assumptions, especially those that form the bedrock of American National Religion. Imagine a Veteran’s Day where communities join together for authentic dialogue between veterans and civilians. Such a gathering would empower veterans to share the kind of stories that would help the community face real problems. What new story might emerge in the process? How might we become a better people as a result? The Reverend Chris Antal was a chaplain with the US Army in Kandahar, Afghanistan and later in the US Army Reserve. While in Afghanistan, he delivered a sermon that said, “We have sanitized killing and condoned extrajudicial assassinations…” He nearly lost his job. This past April, in an open letter to President Obama, he resigned his commission in protest over the use of drones, nuclear proliferation and our government’s claims of impunity to international law. He is minister at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Rock Tavern, New York. More background here.)

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Russians Mint ‘In Trump We Trust’ Coin To Commemorate U.S. Inauguration (IMAGE, VIDEO)

Just before the Inauguration for the president-elect, a Russian metal working company has minted a sterling silver coin to commemorate Donald Trump s big day. The coin features Trump s face and the Statue of Liberty is on the flip side. The coin includes the slogan In Trump we trust. Well, Russia certainly trusts Trump more than American citizens do. Trump will enter the Oval Office with the worst approval rating in modern history for a president-elect.Only 45 of the limited-edition coins have been made.Image: screen capture via Associated Press. The man in charge of Art-Grani, spoke with the the Associated Press Television News and said the coins were designed to express his and other Russian business leaders hopes associated with Trump. Vladimir Vasyukhin s company is about 650 miles east of Moscow, in south-central Russia s Chelyabinsk region. He said, there are more hopes associated with Trump with regards to the lifting of sanctions; maybe the environment (between the U.S. and Russia) will change. CBS reports:Mr. Trump even suggested in an interview with the Times of London several days ago that he might be willing to drop some of the sanctions against Moscow in exchange for an agreement on nuclear arms reduction. Moscow s reaction to the proposal was muted, and on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said he didn t actually see it as a proposal from the incoming president.Five of the commemorative coins will be cast in silver and the others will be cast in gold.They measure almost five inches in diameter and weigh about two pounds each, similar to coins made by the company featuring Putin and other notable Russians.Watch:We re wondering when the president-elect s accent will start changing to Russian. Trump has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin as a strong leader who is very smart. Vasyukhin said the coins will sell for thousands of dollars and added that his company would like to give the first coin to Trump. Maybe Trump could use the coin to pay back some of the money he owes to Russian banks.Coincidentally, Ann Coulter authored a book titled, In Trump We Trust: E Pluribus Awesome! We re told by Trump supporters that Donald will be tough on Russia. Is anyone else laughing, too?Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

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O’Malley Comes Out Swinging At DNC: ‘To Hell With Trump’s American Nightmare’ (VIDEO)

Former Maryland Gov. Martin O Malley came out swinging at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday. He denounced Donald Trump as a bully and a racist who makes his followers fearful of tomorrow and feeds off of a deep-seated and dangerous anger. I say to hell with Trump s American nightmare, O Malley said. We believe in the American Dream. O Malley praised Hillary Clinton and her running mate, Tim Kaine, saying they were as tough as they come. He compared the Democratic ticket with the Republican nominee, who turns anger into a political weapon. Anger never fed a hungry child, did it? Anger never protected a family s home or sent a kid to college. Anger never built a great republic, said O Malley.O Malley slammed Trump for his insistence that wages are too high, a stance the billionaire candidate did an about face on today even though he had argued vehemently against a minimum wage hike during a Republican presidential debate in November. Wages are too high? O Maller asked incredulously. Really Donald? I ll tell you what s too high. College tuition is too high. I ll tell you what s too high. The cost of childcare, that s too high. The number of American children who live in poverty, that s too high. Donald Trump s opinion of himself way, way too high, O Malley quipped.The former governor then ripped apart Trump s ridiculous assertion that the concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese. I ll tell you what: If the Chinese were really capable of designing some kind of diabolical farce to hurt America, they wouldn t invent global warming, he said. They d invent Donald Trump. O Malley then said that Trump has been a bully his whole life. But here s what I learned on playgrounds in Catholic school: all bullies are cowards in disguise, O Malley said. But unlike that immigrant-bashing carnival barker Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton actually knows the enduring symbol of America is not a barbed wire fence, he remarked. It is the Statue of Liberty. Watch Martin O Malley bash the billionaire bully at the DNC here: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THdw8sw3LO4]Featured image via Alex Wong/Getty Images

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Homeless TRUMP Supporter Guards Donald Trump's Star on Hollywood Blvd

Homeless TRUMP Supporter Guards Donald Trump’s Star on Hollywood Blvd page: 1 On Wednesday a violent leftist smashed Donald Trump’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The culprits used a sledgehammer to destroy Donald’s star. The person who was watching Trumps star had an anti-immigration sign and is pro-trump. Later another homeless man took up the watch to keep Trumps star on Hollywood BLVD safe. From the video it looks like the star had already been replaced. Could this be a plant? And has Trump secured the homeless vote? Everybody's looking for a gimmick, and their 15 minutes of fame. Sad, really. Really sad. Maybe he wants a home. Another stinkin' deplorable. link Ill bet Hillary laughs at him because he is homeless and like Trump. I would give him money if I lived there. The violent destructive liberals just cant stop stealing signs, spray painting buildings and now vandalizing a sidewalk, wow but not surprised, the liberals have been so dirty not only Hillary and her supporters but her whole entourage that it makes this years election a new low in lows and sets a really bad example for the next election.

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Argentina's Macri vows to pursue tax, labor, pension reforms

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina s President Mauricio Macri vowed to press ahead with reforms to the country s tax, labor and retirement systems in a speech on Monday, a week after his Let s Change coalition swept to victory at the polls in midterm elections. The government will present a tax reform proposal this Tuesday or Wednesday, and an amnesty plan for companies that hired workers informally in the coming days, Macri said. He added that the government would convene a commission to propose changes to the retirement system in coming weeks. The speech marked a roadmap for the second half of Macri s four-year term, as he seeks to implement business-friendly reforms to attract investors who avoided the country during more than a decade of populist rule. We need lower taxes, more public works, and all this we need to achieve with fiscal balance, Macri told a gathering of lawmakers, governors, union leaders, judges and others. Investors have been encouraged by the reforms Macri has implemented since taking office in December 2015, including lifting foreign exchange controls, settling with holdout creditors, and lowering export taxes. But significant investment has not arrived. Companies have demanded lower costs, while credit agencies are concerned about a deep fiscal deficit. Macri s coalition swept the five most populous areas in midterm elections, giving him a broader mandate to pass reforms, though it still lacks majorities in both chambers of Congress. Macri said his government had reduced the country s tax burden, and wanted to make the system simpler, clearer, and fairer. He reiterated the government s aim of slashing Argentina s fiscal deficit by one percentage point of gross domestic product per year. And he also vowed to reform the country s retirement system, a large driver of government spending. We need to start a mature and honest conversation about our retirement and pension system, Macri said. Our retirement system hides serious inequities, and it is not sustainable. While Macri has said he does not plan major changes to the country s labor code, he has said the government plans to provide incentives to companies to formalize undeclared workers and work with unions in specific sectors to lower costs. Macri also pledged reforms to the country s justice system to combat corruption. Cabinet Chief Marcos Pena told journalists that the resignation on Monday of chief prosecutor Alejandra Gils Carbo, appointed during the former administration of President Cristina Fernandez, was a step towards making the judiciary more independent.

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Hannity Rips NBC For ’Corporate Jihad Against President Donald Trump’ - Breitbart

Wednesday for his show’s “Opening Monologue,” Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity took aim at NBC News a day after Rachel Maddow, host of MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show,” released President Donald Trump’s 2005 taxes. Hannity categorized Maddow’s effort as being part of what he called “the propaganda media” and offered other examples in addition to Maddow of attacks on Trump. Partial transcript as follows: NBC’s corporate jihad against President Donald Trump continues. Plus, a new report from Circa News shows the investigation into a server connected to Donald Trump was, in fact, a politically motivated hit job pushed by a Hillary Clinton donor. By the way, that’s tonight’s “Opening Monologue. ” All right, NBC has now hit a new low by releasing the president’s tax returns, or a small portion of them, last night. But what we’re seeing from the alt left propaganda destroy Donald Trump media — it’s not new. Now that Donald Trump occupies the Oval Office, the opposition party press is going to new extremes and lows to try and take down his presidency, and they won’t stop until he’s out of office. Now, I’ve been saying since 2008 right here on this program journalism is dead. Now it’s in the ground, buried, flowers on top. And last night’s political hit job by NBC is just the latest example in the media’s long list of attacks against the president. Here’s just a small sampling. (END VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here you have a deranged president, or a pathologically lying president, lying about the operations of the American government and lying about the previous president of the United States. That’s enough to invoke the 25th Amendment, but Mike Pence and the cabinet are not there yet. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When he said today “America first,” it was not just a racial — I mean, I shouldn’t say racial, the Hitlerian background to it … UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I understand why so many people voted for him. I understand where you were coming from. I understand why you liked him. But this man is lying to you. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Trump’s critics, those who are worried about this president and this White House, saw a live special television event brought to you by narcissism, thin skin, chaos and deeply personal grievances. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This was a whitelash. This was a whitelash against a changing country. It was a whitelash against a black president in part. And that’s the part where the pain comes. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a really sad night. I’m just going to say it. This is a very sad night for the country. You can’t polish this turd. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don’t know — are you using the word lie or falsehood? What are you — what are you … UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. (CROSSTALK) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, I think you have use — the word — the word — you have to call it what it is. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was interesting because I saw Sean Spicer on FOX News, and he said that you were rude. And I thought … (CROSSTALK) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What if you had called him a fake president? (END VIDEO CLIP) HANNITY: Beyond awful. And when the alt left propaganda media isn’t doing what you just saw and attacking the integrity and mental health of the president, well, they’re running wild all kinds of bizarre conspiracy theories about the Trump campaign colluding with the Russians. Now, what the biased press refuses to tell you — there is zero — no evidence whatsoever that shows any kind of collusion. Well, that didn’t stop the leader of the propaganda media, Rachel Maddow herself, from going off the deep end last night, claiming that in 2005, a Russian oligarch knew that Donald Trump was going to be president, so he bought a property from him in Florida and Trump made a huge profit, more than two times what he paid for it! And as I said last night, Maddow thinks that somehow, maybe Russia knew in 2005 that Donald Trump would be elected president in 2016. Unfortunately, NBC News didn’t think that was possible even on election night. Now, that’s pretty pathetic, and the media should know better, but they’d rather put their radical agenda than telling the truth to the American people. That’s why they never vetted Obama. That’s why they colluded with Hillary. Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor

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Reaction to death of U.S. Justice Scalia

(Reuters) - Conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has died, setting up a major political showdown between President Barack Obama and the Republican-controlled Senate over who will replace the jurist just months before a presidential election. Following is reaction to Scalia’s death. “For almost 30 years, Justice Antonin ‘Nino’ Scalia was a larger-than-life presence on the bench, a brilliant legal mind with an energetic style, an incisive wit and colorful opinions.” “I plan to fulfill my constitutional responsibilities to nominate a successor in due time. There will be plenty of time for me to do so and for the Senate to fulfill its responsibility to give that person a fair hearing and a timely vote.” “These are responsibilities that I take seriously, as should everyone. They’re bigger than any one party. They are about our democracy. They’re about the institution to which Justice Scalia dedicated his professional life and making sure it continues to function as the beacon of justice that our founders envisioned.” “He was a towering figure and important judge on our nation’s highest court. He brought intellect, good judgment, and wit to the bench, and he will be missed by his colleagues and our country.” “He was an extraordinary individual and jurist, admired and treasured by his colleagues. His passing is a great loss to the Court and the country he so loyally served.” “The American people‎ should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president.” “The president can and should send the Senate a nominee right away. With so many important issues pending before the Supreme Court, the Senate has a responsibility to fill vacancies as soon as possible. It would be unprecedented in recent history for the Supreme Court to go a year with a vacant seat. Failing to fill this vacancy would be a shameful abdication of one of the Senate’s most essential Constitutional responsibilities.” REPUBLICAN SENATOR CHUCK GRASSLEY, SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN “Given the huge divide in the country, and the fact that this president, above all others, has made no bones about his goal to use the courts to circumvent Congress and push through his own agenda, it only makes sense that we defer to the American people who will elect a new president to select the next Supreme Court justice.” SENATOR PATRICK LEAHY, RANKING DEMOCRAT ON SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE “The Supreme Court of the United States is too important to our democracy for it to be understaffed for partisan reasons. It is only February. The president and the Senate should get to work without delay to nominate, consider and confirm the next justice to serve on the Supreme Court.” “Unless (Obama) can find a consensus choice, the next president will pick the replacement for Justice Scalia ... If we lose the election, Hillary Clinton is going to pick somebody that I wouldn’t pick. I’m telling every conservative now, don’t expect to lose the election and still get your way.” “I think it is too late to nominate someone now. “He (Obama) has every right to nominate but it will be up to the Senate to evaluate that nomination ... and decide whether to move forward with it.” “My hope is that the president will promptly nominate someone with strong intellect and integrity who can win bipartisan support. I will work vigorously as a member of the Judiciary Committee to achieve confirmation.” “The Republicans in the Senate and on the campaign trail who are calling for Justice Scalia’s seat to remain vacant dishonor our Constitution. The Senate has a constitutional responsibility here that it cannot abdicate for partisan political reasons.” “While I differed with Justice Scalia’s views and jurisprudence, he was a brilliant, colorful and outspoken member of the Supreme Court.” “He was a justice who did not believe in legislating from the bench and he is a person whom I held in the highest regard and will always greatly respect his intelligence and conviction to uphold the constitution of our country.” “As liberals and conservatives alike would agree, through his powerful and persuasive opinions, Justice Scalia fundamentally changed how courts interpret the Constitution and statutes, returning the focus to the original meaning of the text after decades of judicial activism.” “One of the greatest honors in my life was to attend oral arguments during Town of Greece v. Galloway and see Justice Scalia eloquently defend religious freedom.” “His logic and wit were unparalleled, and his decisions were models of clarity and good sense. I often said he was my favorite justice because he took the Constitution, and the responsibility of judges to interpret it correctly, with the utmost seriousness.” OHIO GOVERNOR JOHN KASICH, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE “His death is a serious loss to our nation and the court. He was an essential, principled force for conservative thought and is a model for others to follow.”  “It is imperative that the Senate not allow President Obama to diminish his legacy by trying to nominate an individual who would carry on his wishes to subvert the will of the people.” “I expect they will nominate a replacement and the Senate will refuse to take it up. From a policy standpoint, a lot of knotty decisions that might have been 5-4 will now be tied and, assuming the Senate won’t act, the lower court rulings will stand. That means on immigration, for example, the Fifth Circuit ruling invalidating the president’s order may prevail.”

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Police reveal names of Orlando club shooting victims

Orlando, Fla. (Reuters) - A day before the Orlando, Florida, nightclub massacre, Luis Vielma, 22, updated his Facebook profile with a picture of himself standing with young people in front of a Disney castle and a caption that read: “True friends who become family.” By Sunday night, his profile was altered to “Remember Luis Vielma” after police confirmed he was among 50 people killed in the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. As authorities frantically tried to notify all the relatives, the Orlando Police Department began publishing the names of victims on a city website on Sunday afternoon. Among them was Vielma, who worked part-time as a rides attendant at the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey theme park ride, while studying physical therapy at Seminole State College, according to his Facebook profile. Others included Edward Sotomayor Jr., 34, Stanley Almodovar III, 23, Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, 20, Juan Ramon Guerrero, 22, Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, 36, and Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, 22. Police killed the gunman, who was identified as Omar Mateen, 29, a New York-born Florida resident and U.S. citizen who was the son of immigrants from Afghanistan, and officials were probing evidence suggesting the attack may have been inspired by Islamic State militants. The sheer number of deaths appeared to overwhelm officials in Orlando, a city of 270,000 people. Orlando police asked mourners to hold off on vigils as they were understaffed to police them. “We understand our community is grieving and that vigils are being planned but PLEASE hold off on vigils – they represent a serious strain on our limited resources, which we need to dedicate to law enforcement and victims,” the city posted on its official Twitter handle. Sotomayor was a marketing manager at a Sarasota, Florida-based gay-themed travel company. His boss, Al Ferguson, said Sotomayor’s partner was outside the nightclub putting something in the car when the shots rang out. He got a text from Sotomayor telling him he was safe in the bathroom and not to come back into the club. Sotomayor texted again 20 minutes later to say he was OK. That was the last his partner heard from him, Ferguson said. Sotomayor was a legend in the industry, Ferguson said. He booked tours for entertainer and drag queen RuPaul and put together the first gay cruise to Cuba last year. He was going to announce a second trip on Sunday, but was killed. “Anyone who booked gay cruises knew Sotomayor,” Ferguson told Reuters. “He was a great man.” In an Instagram post published on Sunday, RuPaul’s Drag Race judge Michelle Visage called Sotomayor “a joy.” “I loved you on so many levels. You were SO SO special and will never be forgotten,” she wrote. “I promise you that.” Neighbors of Almodovar, a 23-year-old pharmacy technician, said his parents had recently moved back to Puerto Rico after his mother became ill with cancer. He was the youngest in the family. The Facebook page for Almodovar, of Clermont, Florida, was flooded with shocked tributes. “We’ll miss you Stanley. You made an impact on everyone that you came around. A good person and friend,” wrote Mark Nielsen of Deltona, Florida. Images posted to Almodovar’s wall over the years showed him socializing with dozens of friends. “I will always remember you,” Jeannette Molina wrote. “Your beautiful personality and spirit.”

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WOW! VIDEO SURFACES OF BERNIE SANDERS Praising Communism And Bread Lines [Video]

Please share this everywhere! Especially to anyone considering voting for this nut job!

1real

Second Congressman Calls For Trump’s Impeachment, Demands He ‘Be Charged’ (DETAILS)

Talk of impeachment has been commonplace in Congress since before Donald Trump was even sworn in. But following his decision to fire FBI Director James Comey, who just happened to be in charge of investigating his shady Russian escapades, a second congressman is now explicitly calling for Trump to be impeached.Texas Democrat Al Green issued a statement on Monday demanding that Trump be charged and impeached.President Trump is not above the law. He has committed an impeachable act and must be charged. To do otherwise would cause him Americans lose respect for, and obedience to, our societal norms.President Trump has committed an act for which he should be charged by the U.S. House of Representatives. The act is the obstruction of a lawful investigation of the president campaign ties to Russian influence in his 2016 Presidential Election.This charging, of the president, then constitutionally as impeachment.Green goes on to explain that by impeaching Trump, the House would only be charging him for his crimes, not finding him guilty. After being impeached by the House, the Senate wound then hold a trial to determine his guilt.The congressman goes on to explain, that the House has no choice but to impeach Trump after he fired Comey, admitted he considered the Russia investigation when deciding whether to relieve the FBI director of his duties and then proceeded to threaten Comey publicly via Twitter.These acts, when combined, amount to intimidation and obstruction.Green called for Trump s impeachment by the House of Representatives one more time, then closed his statement with this sentiment: Our mantra should be I.T.N. Impeach Trump Now.' Although many Democrats have discussed the possibility that Trump s presidency might end in impeachment, Green is only the second congressman to explicitly call for his impeachment. The first was Maxine Waters, who has been calling for Trump to be impeached for months now.Inbox: Congressman Al Green Calls for the Impeachment of President Trump pic.twitter.com/TUBoNaUJr6 Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) May 15, 2017Featured image via AlGreen.House.Gov

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Lebanese army to get $120 million in U.S. aid

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The United States, which wants to prevent violence spilling over from Syria into Lebanon, will give the Lebanese army $120 million more in aid to boost border security and counter-terrorism work, the U.S. ambassador to Lebanon said on Wednesday. Lebanon will get six MD 530G light attack helicopters, six Scan Eagle drones, and communication and night vision equipment under the new programs, Ambassador Elizabeth Richard said after she met Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri. The United States has given the Lebanese Armed Forces more than $1.5 billion in assistance over the past ten years, the Embassy has said previously. The United States hopes to strengthen the Lebanese army to stop the spread of violence over the border from neighboring Syria and help it become the sole military force defending the country. Lebanon s Iran-backed Hezbollah group, which Washington regards as a terrorist organization, is a powerful military force in the country and also fights in Syria for President Bashar al-Assad. Lebanon hosts around 1.5 million Syrian refugees.

0fake

NOTHING BIG MAC: Donald Trump Jr Caught in Latest Russiamania Ragbag

Patrick Henningsen 21st Century WireDespite repeated failures in litigating the Russian Collusion case, America s mainstream media and liberal establishment are still trying to manifest new episodes, hoping that one will turn up Trump.What was billed by the US mainstream media this week as a smoking gun, still hasn t produced anything remotely compelling, not by normal journalistic standards anyway.At first it looked salacious and on first read had all the makings of a Russo-American sequel to Get Shorty Last summer, well before Russiamania descended upon the US media and body politic, a former Trump Organization and entertainment agent associate, Rob Goldstone, emailed Donald Trump Jr about an interesting meeting in Trump Tower. Goldstone laid the bait, according to an email chain released by Donald Trump Jr this week, indicating that the purpose of the meeting was as follows: to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father. This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government s support for Mr Trump. No doubt intriguing, to which Trump the younger replied: If it s what you say I love it especially later in the summer. At last, no more vegan news. Russiagate has finally served up some red meat, and so it began.In a personal statement released on Monday by Donald Trump Jr, he maintained his innocence regarding the matter: The information they suggested they had about Hillary Clinton I thought was Political Opposition Research. Obviously I'm the first person on a campaign to ever take a meeting to hear info about an opponent went nowhere but had to listen. https://t.co/ccUjL1KDEa Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) July 10, 2017By that time the media had already made the jump to hyperspace. The headlines all hummed in unison, gleefully touting along the lines of, At last, they all thought, after 10 months and hundreds of millions of dollars spent, and public money wasted, and thousands of hours of hollow media coverage we ve finally got it! If the media is to believed, you d think that every Trump-Russia story is a precursor for his impeachment.If there s one thing we ve learned from the media by now, it s that even if it s an obvious cul-de-sac, they can still sustain a Trump-Russian story for most of the working week. Just this morning, an enthusiastic Washington Post, still going strong, pushed out the headline which read: Category 5 hurricane : White House under siege by Trump Jr. s Russia revelations. Not surprisingly, CNN was just as determined, like a dog searching for its chew toy under the couch. CNN breaking news voiceover presenter announced loudly, Another potential bombshell report from the New York Times the key word here being potential, but that s already a stretch. There are plenty in the media who would like there to be something there, but to paraphrase one of the great political eels of all time, Donna Brazile There is no there, there. While pushing the story on Tuesday, CNN s lead paragraph was keen to stress that President Donald Trump s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, met a Russian government attorney even though everyone already knew by that time that the attorney in question, Natalia Veselnitskaya, had already stated she had never acted on behalf of the Russian government.Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya (Source: The Australian) According to Donald Trump Jr s own personal statement and email chain released on Twitter, Russian lawyer Veselnitskaya produced no useful dirt on Hillary Clinton at the supposedly magnanimous meeting in Trump Tower and claims the meeting was really about the Magnitsky Act, signed by President Barack Obama in 2012 which contained targeted sanctions against Russian individuals and which also put the brakes on US-Russia adoptions. At the time we were told that Russian President Vladimir Putin viewed the Act as an affront to Russian national interests and retaliated by halting American adoptions of Russian children.The Magnitsky Affair became the cause de jour for the West as well as the opening salvo in the New Cold War, but according to veteran investigative reporter Robert Parry the real details of this scandal have been purposefully blocked from Western eyes and ears. Instead, a mythology has been perpetuated which persists to this day thanks to the efforts of one of the scandal s protagonists, hedge-fund operator William Browder.Beyond the palace intrigue and the Magnitsky angle, no mainstream journalists seem brave enough to ask the simple question: is there a story here? In the end, no information was passed to Trump, and no crime appears to have been committed. It s not just a nothing burger, it s a nothing Big Mac.Staying to the task at hand, the New York Times kept establishment s Russiamania on track. Right on queue, the New York Times responded to Trump Jr s email release by trying elevate the alleged incident to the level of Russian collusion with its headline, When the Kremlin Says Adoptions, It Means Sanctions . CNN also used the opportunity to recycle and repeat what should be by now a discredited piece of fiction by crowing, The US intelligence community concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin directed an influence campaign to hurt Clinton and help Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign Apparently, unhinged editors at CNN are still asleep to the fact that the New York Times had already jettisoned the 17 agencies fable when they retracted their yarn ten days previous:After seeming to ditch that big white lie which served as the mainstream s keystone anti-Russia trope since the last October, the New York Times has since tried to rehabilitate the narrative in Matthew Rosenburg s frail opus entitled, Trump Misleads on Russian Meddling: Why 17 Intelligence Agencies Don t Need to Agree. In other words, Yes, we misled the public on the 17 agencies tale, but he s still guilty. Assange InterventionThe most amazing turn in this story however, does not have to do with the contents of the emails, but rather who took them public first.We re told that someone had possession of the incriminating email chain, and had supplied this to the New York Times.On July 10th, while the story was still percolating, the New York Times boasted: The Times now has the email to Donald Trump Jr. offering Russian aid to incriminate Hillary. It seems that while the NYT was gloating over the potential of the story, editor Dean Baquet forgot the golden rule in investigative journalism: publish first, then celebrate. Champagne corks were already popping down on Eight Avenue in advance of the email release, and why not? They really believed they finally had a genuine Russiagate story this time.Here's my statement and the full email chain pic.twitter.com/x050r5n5LQ Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) July 11, 2017Once Trump Jr tweeted out the email chain, the story suddenly shifted away from how damning the revelations are for the White House to how badly the New York Times fumbled this story. If Trump Jr hadn t released the emails, it s a near certainty that the NYT would have cropped and dripped out what it felt were the most juicy bits, and wrapped those in a prefabricated Russiagate narrative, to be disseminated to the Washington Post, CNN, NBC et all. .What incensed the media more than anything was that he had beaten the media to the story by releasing his own emails on Twitter. That canny move by Donald Jr was in part due to the timely intervention and advice by none other than Wikileaks founder Julian Assange who tweeted out after the fact:Contacted Trump Jr this morning on why he should publish his emails (i.e with us). Two hours later, does it himself: https://t.co/FzCttGSyr6 Julian Assange (@JulianAssange) July 11, 2017Later, Assange explained his actions on Twitter: I argued that his enemies have it so why not the public? His enemies will just milk isolated phrases for weeks or months with their own context, spin and according to their own strategic timetable. Better to be transparent and have the full context but would have been safer for us to publish it anonymously sourced. By publishing it himself it is easier to submit as evidence. Nonetheless, Donald Jr humiliated the New York Times. By telegraphing their story, they gave him an easy opening, in effect beating the New York Times and sucking any available oxygen out of the story.Slightly further up the leftwing of America s east coast intelligensia food chain, The Atlantic Magazine attempted to re-heat this fabulous nothing burger. With no real story to follow-up on, as a consolation prize, writer Mark Galeotti instead focused on the bizarre as its cast of characters surrounding this story as he tried to surmise how indicative of an unelected network of wealthy oligarchs, captains of industry and powerful corporations who really run things in Mother Russia. In essence, The Atlantic s Galeotti is complaining that there might actually be a Russian deep state permeating the halls of power in Moscow. He states: These hybrid relationships extend to virtually every arena of state business. The state media is an engine of propaganda. Private banks and businesspeople are, for the most part, exactly who and what they appear to be, but they are used to funnel money to sympathetic foreign parties and politicians when the Kremlin pleases. So, Russia has a deep state too. Is the United States, the UK, or any other Western country any different?Interestingly, it was The Atlantic who ran a host of Trump-related deep state articles through the latter part of the US election cycle. So it s: deep state in the USA = an acceptable fact of life, but deep state in Russia = an evil Putinism.Music promoter Rob Goldstone (Source: Mediaite)Who is Rob Goldstone? If there was ever a dodgy actor in this story, it s this man. We re told that the instigator-cum-middleman of this affair is one Rob Goldstone, a former Trump business associate from the Miss Universe event, and former promoter of Russian-based pop singer and businessman Emin Agalarov. According to the email chain, it was Agalarov who is said to have prompted the meeting at Trump Tower between Trump Jr and Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, along with President Trump s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort who was Trump s newly appointed campaign boss.Wayward music svengali Goldstone told the future US president s son, the crown prosecutor of Russia offered to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father. This has all the makings of a classic political set-up, with Goldstone positioned as the potential schlepper.Agalarov s family attorney Scott Balber told RT: Rob Goldstone was a publicist, a promoter for Emin s musical career. So, they certainly had a relationship in that regard, Balber said, adding that arranging a meeting about some top-secret information, allegedly coming from the Russian government, was obviously out of Goldstone s competence. Rob Goldstone is an entertainment industry publicist. So, I think it s fair to say that he was out of his alignment in making these communications. And what he said is not true. CNN s Kathy Griffin pictured here with Rob Goldstone, date and location of image unknown:Don't recall taking this photo with Russian intermediary Rob Goldstone, but I am in my Dynasty hat waiting for my interview with Mr. Mueller pic.twitter.com/VZ4iT1SuJX Kathy Griffin (@kathygriffin) July 10, 2017Goldstone appears to be a bit of an artful dodger who keeps some interesting company, including Kathy Griffin of CNN fame (see tweet above). Not surprisingly, Griffin can be seen on Twitter trying to milk the Trump Jr-Goldstone scandal for some extra publicity. It was Griffin, commonly referred to as a female comedian who had her CNN New Years Eve contract canceled following last month s mock ISIS-style beheading of President Trump.What REAL Collusion Looks likeThe word collusion is a new one for Americans. You almost never heard it before 2017. It came into our cultural lexicon after the previous two iterations of Russiagate were decommissioned due to repeated failures. The first iteration was Russian hacking of US elections which despite monumental efforts by the media and Democratic Party could not actually produce any evidence. Russian hacking was later downgraded to Russian meddling, which like the hacking meme, led absolutely nowhere. Then came collusion, which in the case of Trump, appears to be going nowhere. Since then, collusion has since been lowered to an effete, Russian influence. Back in January however, Politico revealed how the Clinton campaign had actually colluded with the Ukrainian government to spread anti-Trump stories and information during the 2016 election.Unlike the US liberal establishment s Russiagate Hoax, the Clinton-Ukraine story is real, and a definite breach of numerous codes, and possibly illegal. This incredible story was later summarized here by The Daily Caller:A veteran DNC operative who previously worked in the Clinton White House, Alexandra Chalupa, worked with Ukrainian government officials and journalists from both Ukraine and America to dig up Russia-related opposition research on Trump and Manafort. She also shared her anti-Trump research with both the DNC and the Clinton campaign, according to the Politico report. Chalupa met with Ukrainian Ambassador Valeriy Chaly and one of his aides, Oksara Shulyar, at the Ukrainian Embassy in March 2016 to talk about unearthing Paul Manafort s Russian connections, Chalupa admitted to Politico. Four days later, Trump officially hired Manafort. The day after Manafort s hiring was revealed, she briefed the DNC s communications staff on Manafort, Trump and their ties to Russia, according to an operative familiar with the situation, Politico reported.The Politico report also notes that the DNC encouraged Chalupa to try to arrange an interview with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to talk about Manafort s ties to the former pro-Russia president of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, whom Manafort previously advised.To make matters worse, the Clinton campaign then actively coordinated a number of mainstream media journalists to spread the information:In one email released by WikiLeaks, Chalupa told Luis Miranda, then the DNC s communications director, that she was working with Yahoo News reporter Michael Isikoff and connected him to the Ukrainians. A lot more coming down the pipe. I spoke to a delegation of 68 investigative journalists from Ukraine last Wednesday at the Library of Congress the Open World Society s forum they put me on the program to speak specifically about Paul Manafort and I invited [Yahoo News reporter] Michael Isikoff whom I ve been working with for the past few weeks and connected him to the Ukrainians, Chalupa told Miranda. More offline tomorrow since there is a big Trump component you and Lauren need to be aware of that will hit in next few weeks and something I m working on you should be aware of. The Open World Leadership Center, which funded Chalupa s briefing of journalists about Manafort, is a taxpayer-funded congressional agency. Regarding the media colluding with Clinton, one of the most disturbing examples of this was when CNN s foreign affairs correspondent Elise Labott (image, left) was caught red-handed coordinating with former Hillary Clinton spokesman and State Department aid, Philippe Reines, on how to damage the public image of former GOP presidential candidate and Kentucky Senator Rand Paul during the 2013 Benghazi Hearings. A batch of emails which was released by Gawker showed how Labott took direction from Reines on how to craft tweets during the January 23, 2013 Senate Foreign Relations Committee Hearing. At the time, Senator Paul was pressing Clinton on the details of Benghazi, and the joint-attack by Reines and CNN s Labott looked very much like retribution. Both Labott and Reines conferred, before Labott tweeted to her followers: Sen Paul most critical on committee of Clinton, but a little late to the #Benghazi game. Not sure he was at many of the 30 previous briefings. This was a clear effort behind the scenes to defame a sitting US Senator by a member of the press colluding with a Clinton operative. You d think that Elise Labott would have been sacked for this, but after all it s CNN which means she not only kept her job, but probably got a pay rise to boot.We also learned how Clinton campaign operatives had paid large sums of cash to a shady Washington DC firm called Fusion GPS to conduct opposition research on Donald Trump. The firm was originally hired by rival GOP primary candidates to research Trump, but after Trump knocked out all 16 of his rivals and secured the Republican Party nomination, Fusion GPS was then re-hired by Democratic Party donors. Fusion GPS used a portion of that money to contract a former British intelligence agent, Christopher Steele, in order to help produce what would later become known as the Trump Dossier which was then handed to one of the establishment s information laundromats, BuzzFeed (owned by NBCUniversal), which was then seized (surprise, surprise) by CNN. Both media outlets happily seized upon the bogus report, claiming to have damning new information on Donald Trump s ties with Russia. Steele s colorful report claimed that Russia s FSB intel agency had Kompromat on Trump gathered during a trip to Moscow in 2013. It was this incident which eventually prompted then President-elect Trump to christen CNN and its frivolous correspondent Jim Acosta as Fake News, widely regarded as a well-earned label and one which the network hasn t been able to shake off ever since.How this cartel of disinformation goes unregistered on the ethics meter by America s liberal establishment is shocking enough and speaks to both the built-in bias, and cognitive dissonance that plagues America s bustling partisan media and political establishments.Interestingly, UK website The Independent reported how Ms Veselnitskaya is believed to be linked to Fusion GPS. If there is any truth in that claim, then it could lend further credence to the idea that this entire scenario was an establishment stitch-up, possibly to snare the Trump camp in another Russian scandal. According to their report: A complaint filed last year claimed that GPS Fusion headed the pro-Russia campaign to kill the Magnitsky Act. Fusion GPS is the company behind the creation of the unsubstantiated dossier alleging a conspiracy between President Trump and Russia, Senator Chuck Grassley wrote in the letter. It is highly troubling that Fusion GPS appears to have been working with someone with ties to Russian intelligence let alone someone alleged to have conducted political disinformation campaigns as part of a pro-Russia lobbying effort while also simultaneously overseeing the creation of the Trump-Russia dossier. Did Fusion GPS arrange this meeting between Trump Jr and Veselnitskaya?The firm denies any involvement stating, Fusion GPS learned about this meeting from news reports and had no prior knowledge of it. Any claim that Fusion GPS arranged or facilitated this meeting in any way is false. But that rabbit hole leads somewhere, although it s not clear exactly where yet.We do know for sure: that the US mainstream media, especially the New York Times and CNN, cannot be trusted to cover this story fairly or accurately.Watch as 21WIRE s Patrick Henningsen discusses the media s dilemma with RT International on July 11th: *** Patrick Henningsen is an American-born writer and global affairs analyst and founder of independent news and analysis site 21st Century Wire and host of the SUNDAY WIRE weekly radio show broadcast globally over the Alternate Current Radio Network (ACR).READ MORE TRUMP NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Trump FilesSUPPORT 21WIRE SUBSCRIBE & BECOME A MEMBER @21WIRE.TV

1real

Eight Days to America’s Armageddon

Previous Eight Days to America’s Armageddon We have eight days until America meets her ultimate fate and this is what we are about to inherit as a leader. Hillary’s Epitaph By hook, or crook, this is who we are about to elect into the White House. This is what she’s accomplished: Whitewater Sitting on the Board of LaFarge when the first payments were given to fund ISIS by LaFarge The first failed version of Obamacare when she was first lady Vince Foster The Travelgate scandal when she was the First Lady Selling 20% of America’s uranium to the Russian (NY Times) TREASON Stealing $2 billion of Haitian relief money. Posting Ambassador Stevens travel plans prior to Benghazi ACCOMPLICE TO MURDER Benghazi The drug and money laundering of the Clinton Foundation Paying out 5% of the total proceeds of the Clinton Foundation to charity while pocketing the rest Using foreign money in Presidential campaign Pay for play- Perpetuating arms arms deals with nations that sponsor terrorism, when serving s Secretary of State, in exchange for payments to the Clinton Foundation Preparing to run to a country who has no extradition agreement with the United States in order to escape the justice that is coming her way (eg Qatar). The ongoing email scandal in which she obstructed justice by deleting 33,000 emails that were under investigation by Congress The ongoing email scandal in which she sent out emails with security designations as “ABOVE TOP SECRET” and she did so 22 times ESPIONAGE Refusing to step down and creating a constitutional crisis in a nation that is hopelessly divided already Hillary’s new administration will consist of the following goals and this is not even being kept secret. Enacting the largest tax increase on Americans at $1.3 trillion dollars. The elimination of the family structure as we know it though increased power given to CPS’ around the country though Health and Human Services. Remember? It take a Village to Raise a Child? Or, was it the Village Idiot to Raise a Child? The elimination of inheritance. The elimination of Christianity. The elimination of free speech and she has made this one abundantly clear with her comments toward the alt. media. The elimination of free speech. The creation of a borderless nation. Increasing the importation of possible terrorists without national security vetting. The elimination of the Second Amendment. A President who will never leave office until she dies. We are witnessing the possible installation of the modern day version of Stalin as the President of the United States. I could go on and on, but fortunately, I still have a life that is worth living. The big question is this: Why aren’t Americans from every race, color and religion in the streets demanding an end to her candidacy? I have written about this before, perhaps America is now ready to look at herself in the mirror. The following represents why America has not had enough of the criminality. The following 3 psychological principles have manifested in the form of a self-created prison that over half the country finds itself in. The CNN Effect-Group Think The world of psychological research provides the definitive answer as to whether we should fear our military in the coming storm ahead in the form of a phenomenon called group think . Group think is often described as a decision-making process whereby the group members go along with what they believe is the consensus. Group think has also been used to describe individual acquiescence to authority even when the authority has limited power to enforce compliance. Group think often causes groups to make hasty, irrational decisions, where individual doubts are set aside, for fear of upsetting the group’s leadership and balance. The Migram Experiment The controversial 1963 experiment, known as the Milgram Experiment demonstrated that with very minimal verbal pressure, and nothing else, approximately 65% of the population will put someone to death based upon the orders of a perceived authority figure. And this occurs when the authority figure, in the Milgram experiment was not allowed to apply any REAL threats. For a complete description of the Milgram Experiment, please click here . The MSM tells America Trump cannot win, Hillary is good and Donald is bad. The political leaders, owned by the corporations who have been raping this country for 40 years tell us to vote for the criminal Clinton. And like good little sheep, we follow orders of the elite, just like the Nazis. IF the Media Tells the Lie Often Enough, the People Will Come to Believe It: Confirmation Bias “We’ll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the public believes is false.” William Casey, former CIA Director Confirmation bias is the same in any tyrannical form of government. The social psychological term, confirmation bias, refers to the fact that the masses will believe even the biggest of lies, if they hear it often enough. Confirmation bias and group think work hand in hand to enslave Americans into believing in and accepting a self-destructive paradigm. Television MSM news has a filtering impact on the perception of reality . The psychological concept of confirmation bias means that when we hear a message often enough, we come to unquestionably accept the message as authentic and real. And the message is amazingly consistent because only six globalist corporate entities control over 95% of the media. Donald Trump is racist! You have heard it before and you will keep hearing it until every nonwhite person in America believes that if he elected, America will see a race war. Racist and sexist, that’s Donald Trump and we hear this over and over and over and the unaware masses in this country come to believe as the real facts fade into the background. Trump Cannot Win According to the Polls, Says the MSM and It Doesn’t Matter What You Do- Learned Helplessness Why won’t America stand up for herself? Why is the country, once a country which possessed courage and conviction, now sitting idly while allowing itself to be taken to the slaughter without so much as a whimper? The answer to the above question lies in the psychological concept known as “Learned Helplessness” as discovered by Martin Seligman in the 1960’s. “Learned helplessness” occurs when an animal, or a person, is repeatedly subjected to an aversive stimulus that it cannot escape from. Eventually, the animal will stop trying to avoid the stimulus and behave as if it is utterly helpless to change the situation. Even when opportunities to escape are presented, this learned helplessness will prevent any action ”. Phase One In the first phase of the learned helplessness experiment, Seligman placed a dog on an electrical grid, shocked the dog and noted that the dog would demonstrate the ability to escape the aversive stimulus. Phase Two In the second phase, the dog was barricaded on the grid and was unable to escape the painful shocks. Eventually the dog laid down and passively accepted the shock. Phase Three Seligman then removed the barricades and the dog could have easily escaped the shocks. However, the dog, conditioned by the prior set of events, simply laid down and accepted the shocks, without mounting any resistance whatsoever. This, in large part, is where America is at today. Trump has removed the barrier (phase three) and America has a chance to redeem herself in the eyes of God. We have a chance to reclaim a measure of respectability from the criminal enterprise system that we presently under. It does not matter if you vote. Trump cannot win, says the globalist controlled media. The research shows us that one factor, and only one factor, can move the masses to action. When people see their loved ones in danger (ie cannot feed their children), they will act with purpose. This is the angle that the awake must use to awaken the sleeping sheep in this country. Do I think it is going to happen, I don’t think so. However, if we all get on our knees and pray to God for forgiveness and deliverance, we might be surprised at what happens. There are only 8 days to America’s Armageddon

1real

Fake News: The Unravelling of US Empire From Within

Setting the Stage of the Press-President War.US ruling ideology and Washington power have become unstuck as never before. A war of opposing certitudes and denunciations is waged day to day between the long-ruling US corporate media and the White House. Both continuously proclaim ringing recriminations of the other s fake news . Over months they both portray each other as malevolent liars. Prof. John McMurtry Global ResearchUS bully pulpits are now beyond show disagreements and successful media inquisitions of the past. Slanderous accusations long confined to vilifying the designated Enemy have crept into accusations of the President himself. The Russians are coming is returning as the final recourse of smear to stop deviations from the global program of hugely profitable enemy hate and perpetual preparations for foreign war.The ruling big lies of the US money party and corporate globalization have divided into opposing camps. The Press and the President denounce each other non-stop on the public stage, while US dark state agents take sides behind the scenes.Fake news is the medium of battle.Tracking the Real Fake News Built into Corporate GlobalizationBeneath the civil war of official narratives, cognitive space opens for truth long suffocated by the Washington Consensus . Even the US-led G-20 has recently agreed not to automatically condemn protectionism as an economic evil. The battle slogan of transnational corporate rule over 30 years has been quietly withdrawn on the global stage.Is the big lie of free trade finally coming to ground? It has long led the hollowing out of societies and life support systems across the world in a false mass promotion as freedom and prosperity for all . In fact beneath the pervasive fake news, a closed-door transnational corporate command system forces all enterprises across borders into a carbon-multiplying trade regime with thousands of rules to protect the transnational corporate looting and ruin of home economies and environments as the only rights enforced.Propagandist names and fake freedoms are proclaimed everywhere to conceal the reality. The corporate-investor regime has stripped out almost all evolved protections of workers, ecologies and social infrastructures. Non-stop liquidations and roboticizations of local jobs and enterprises are reversed in meaning to jobs, jobs, jobs and higher living standards , the very opposite of the facts. Destabilization and bombing wars attack resource-rich and air-defenceless societies outside the circle of treaty subjugation.False news allows every step. Even the happy-face Trudeau regime is taken aback by the tidal shift to national priorities. Its ministers scuttle around the US in near panic to find common cause for restoring the unaccountable regime. Multiplying carbon, disemployment and ecological plunder are ignored throughout in the longest standing fake news of all economic growth .In fact, there is no real economic growth in universal life necessities or reduction of waste. The only growth is of volumes and velocities of transnational money exchanges, foreign commodities, and private profits to the top. More prosperity for nations and the world means, decoded, more transnational corporate-state treaties to deprive nations of their rights to organization and production for citizens real needs as well as organically regulated protection of environments and ecosystems.The consequences covered over by pervasively false cover stories are speeded-up ecocidal extractions, permanent disemployments, and wastes hemorrhaging into cumulatively more polluted oceans, air, atmosphere and life habitats. Corporate-state solutions of carbon markets for pollution rights have nowhere reduced any of these life-and-death crises, but only further and selectively enriched transnational corporations.As for the Obama solution, we need more Canadas , fake news again conceals the reality. Beneath the global celebrity hype covering empty and broken promises, Canada s Trudeau regime is essentially a brand change of PM rhetoric to advance transnational corporate dictates as free trade and to ensure oil pipelines out of the most polluting oil basin in the world, Alberta s tar-sands, are built through water basins and indigenous lands across Canada and the US. One cannot help but observe this is Trump s plan too, and overrides Trudeau s promises to protect Canada s first peoples.I recently sent a letter to my local MP requesting evidence for what PM Trudeau promises over months of repetition that more free trade means a better life for those in the middle class and those wanting to join the middle class . As always, there is no evidence to support the non-stop false news from the PMO. Revealingly, the middle class turns out to be people making $180,000 a year slated to get significant tax cuts.Trump s rogue elephant charge on Washington-led lies, war, and dispossession of the working class is no solution to life-blind corporate globalization. Trump in office is a US nationalist oligarch commanding policies even more blindly rapacious in despoliation of the environment and transferring far more public wealth to the rich.The common ground of all our lives, collective life capital, does not exist for any government in the free world or any policy of globalization . The lies that must be promulgated to advance the private corporate agenda are built into its transnational command system from the beginning.Out of the Ruling Memory Hole with the Internet CommonsJoining the dots shows that every step of US money-party globalization has, in fact, been driven by fake news.No corporate media tolerance has been given in a quarter of a century to any voice demanding accountability to the common life-ground of citizens. A new game of numbers has proceeded instead. At most, a euphemistic climate change has been endlessly debated while the totalizing destabilization of human and planetary life cycles remains without a name or collective response. Only more profitable market panaceas which do not reduce any pollution continue to divert from the deepest degenerate trends destroying the planetary life host.On the upside, the big lies of free trade and humanitarian wars have been called into official question for the first time by the Trump presidential campaign, and he has been elected against the official line. Yet opposing camps are still at each other s throats. So the perpetual fallback on accusing the long-designated foreign enemy is triggered by the fallen establishment. The fake news chorus of Russia s aggressions now includes collusion of the Trump administration with its officials to win the US election. This mainspring diversion from reality is called back from the dead witch-hunts of the past. As then tool, facts do not count, only accusations do. The official media line is almost predictable: Russia is behind Trump s election victory. As always, reverse projection is the mass-psyche operation to blame an official Enemy to divert attention from the life-and-death facts. The Enemy is once again accused of doing what the US has always done worse as the reason for attacking It. Russia is the usual placeholder in this reverse-blame operation. The 2016 US election of Trump is the latest variation.Meanwhile throughout the election and its aftermath, the new transnational internet commons including Wiki-leaks over a decade has increasingly laid bare the greatest propaganda machine in history now in many-leveled crisis. The long normalized half-truths, one-sided slanting of the facts, and non-stop fallacies of inference are coming out into the open as never before. The pretexts and lies for US imperial bullying and war are exposed beyond any corporate-media gate.This time the accusation is interference and attack on the US presidential election with no evidence of wrongdoing or vote manipulation whatsoever. Yet as in the long past, the method is smear with no evidence for the accusations. Ever more media repetition and shadowy insinuation does the job. It has always worked before, why not again since all the other media buttons pushed on taking down the Trump peace initiatives with Russia and opposition to globalization of US jobs have failed.Having wondered during the election campaign whether we could be friends with Russia and promoted diplomatic relations into his administration, Trump can be named as the enemy in hiding to be rooted out. The real problem the fake news never mentions is that he threatens the cornerstone of the US war state over 70 years.So when Trump won the election with his heresy still intact, the ever-ready accusation of evil-Russia connection moves into high gear although the target is the opposite of communist and an epitome of capitalist riches and connections. We see here the historical mind-lock compulsion to blame the Enemy Russia and smear whoever dissents from it, even if it is a bully-capitalist president. There are very big stakes in keeping the game going.Yet the no-profit and unpaid analyses from the internet commons have no such ulterior motive and interest in false accusations. With more objectively informed analysts than the commercial press and unimpeachable facts like WikiLeaks going to tens of millions of readers across the world, the genie is out of the bottle. The official grand narrative and its normalized big lies are coming apart at the seams.So blame as usual is diverted onto the accepted Enemy, now conniving with Trump to attack the 2016 US presidential election. Beneath the fake news, the fact is that positive diplomatic relations with Russia not only threaten to stop the highly profitable permanent war against it, but spike the longest pretext for US war and military domination now moving through Ukraine.The free internet commons cannot be gagged for telling the truth. Freedom of speech in the US cannot be openly stopped without fatal loss of legitimacy of rule.So the rest follows. All the non-corporate and non-profit messages from the critical sites on the internet commons which are speaking against the US war state inside are now vilified as fake news . A third, unofficial protagonist has entered the battle with no private profit or career motive or corporate boss to serve and a wealth of proven professional knowledge and talent at work. It has to be denounced to sustain the big lies of the ruling money-war game which is in deepening crises and conflicts all the way to the unprecedented US President-Press civil war.The Harvard Proclamation of a New Memory HoleThe innermost fount of US ideology and war, Harvard University, has now stepped in. It is officially naming and denouncing US-critical internet sites for fake news .Not even the medieval Church went so far in its Index Librorum Prohibitorum of prohibited writings. It was at least innocent of scientific method and openly declared its dogmas. Not Harvard.Underneath notice, all the sites it attacks are internet commons, and none are financed by private corporate donors and captive institutions while Harvard and the corporate media are. This is the real battle agenda underneath, the long war to privatize the news for profit as everything else with anti-establishment internet criticism now the target.In the background, Harvard University has long propagated an unexamined academic method. It normally cuts off any faculty or learned source of opposition to the private corporate rule of America and the wars of aggression to impose it on the world. Accordingly, the underling grand narrative equations of the US is Good and the designated Enemy is Evil is not questioned. It is presupposed. Malevolent motives are always assumed of the designated Enemy, down to Harvard-produced geostrategic economic and war models. So when a host of internet commons sites challenge the grand narrative framework, Harvard and satellites denounce them to stop people reading them. A long list of critical sites is accused without criteria, proof or evidence as all spreaders of fake news .What is not recognised here is that only on the internet commons can the process of truth be free from ruling pressures to control message for external sponsors.Here there is no commercial-profit condition to speak and write, and no livelihood dependence on private profit. There is no inducement to avoid life-and-death issues in academic obfuscation or ad-vehicle style. Internet authors not on the payroll can be free of the game of all games behind the scenes enriching the rich further with no life-coherent criterion of truth.These underlying conditions of the internet commons and free speech itself cannot be recognised by the academy or the corporate press without undercutting their proclaimed status as the only legitimate founts of truth. The internet commons is a new world of competitive capacities to research, understand and disseminate not bound by private money patronage (as over centuries in Harvard University).When challenged in this way, Harvard (and the official press) are set back on their heels. They cannot think the facts through because their instituted presumptions have long been what they must presuppose and not question to acquire their credentials and pay for public speech. They must attack what calls all this into question if it effectively speaks truth to power to expose or de-legitimate the ruling system narrative as false. Harvard and the US press thus follow the reigning method of reverse projection. They accuse the effective opposition of fake news .The most revealing fact here is that Harvard authority as other academic administrations proceed in name-calling without any valid argument or demonstration the very basis of reasonable conclusion. Yet this is such a long tradition of presumptive accusation allowed against anyone designated as the Enemy, and anyone else exposing the falsehood of the ruling US story of moral superiority over all others and God s blessing to lead the world by force or money.This is why only dissenting sites from the official storyline of US freedom and rightness in all things are accused as fake news . Accusation of opposing positions is so well-worn into conditioned brains that endless repetition locks it in as self-evident. This is why attributions of vile motive are automatic from Harvard or the New York Times for any outside leader opposing US interference in their countries including elections. US hypocrisy here is staggering, but unreported. In fact, Harvard s life-blind elite of war criminal geo-strategists, economic modellers and so on are fawned upon within the wider corporate rule they serve.None can engage critical facts and thought challenging the US moral superiority assumptions because they have never been required to consider them. So they denounce them as once the Church denounced apostasy.In the end, US system worship is a war-state religion. It eliminates all enemies to its right to rule. Its globalizing system institutes the market laws of God. War crimes are God-blessed justice.Freedom of Speech, the Process of Truth, and the US ConstitutionLed by senior academics, journalists and technical expertise, the internet commons provide for the first time impartial witness and free speech open to public examination and circulation across borders. They are free from corporate-rank dictate and private copy-right control.In consequence, the internet commons are liberated from private corporate profit as controlling goal. Those who know what they are talking about can speak truth to dogma and power without words to appease editors, business boards and ad revenues. Truth itself is not defined, but its principle of process is a more inclusively consistent taking into account towards life-coherent conclusionDespite Google black-holing of radical legal facts, CIA penetration of Wikipedia, and so on, the internet commons freedom of speech is far beyond anything guaranteed in the US constitution. In fact, the sacred US Constitution that all presidents give oath to preserve, protect and defend guarantees in the end only freedom of public speech to private money demand.Long before the Supreme Court s 2010 decision reverse-titled as Citizens United , the US constitution was structured to one overriding end to remove prior limits to private-money right over all else,including to begin, the rule of British law and the lands of the first nations West of the Appalachians.This is why no common life interest exists in the US Constitution from the start. People s universal human life necessities of water, food, protection and liveable environment are ruled out a-priori. This is why civil rights themselves were first federally enforced by the commerce clause protecting freedom of commercial bus passengers including blacks to cross borders.It is also why the Fourteenth Amendment to protect the equal rights of freed slaves ended up being the legal basis for private-profit corporations and wealthy funds to acquire the constitutional rights of living persons (e.g., to freedom of speech for big money to buy elections and to avoid government access to financial records).Even the iconic rights of life, liberty and happiness turn out to be in fact only private market rightswhich allow corporate fictive persons to unlimited money wealth, protection against public redistribution, and the freedom of private wealth alone to speak to America by buying corporate self promotions and election attack ads.The US Constitution fix goes all the way back to 1787. As professor of constitutional law at Chicago s iconic Kent College of Law, Matthew Stanton, explains in personal correspondence: [The fix] goes all the way back to the 1787 coup where the 39 signatories to the Constitution sequestered themselves in a Philadelphia meeting house, with locked doors and shuttered windows, to ostensibly make adjustments to the Articles of Confederation, but instead delivered an entirely new document that enabled creating a federal system centralizing control of the economy by propertied wealth .Russia the Enemy: the Deus ex Machina of Fake NewsWe may recall that the corporate-press and Wall-Street-enriched candidate for the presidency, Hillary Clinton, started the accusation of fake news to explain her defeat. As establishment mask of the politically correct masses with the money-war party as her paymaster, Clinton blamed her fall in the 2016 US election on the new enemy she saw arising against the official story and herself. When the glass mirror story line did not take, she joined forces with the corporate media on another plane. Fake news misled Americans. The New York Times, the Washington Post, the TV Networks, and other establishment tale tellers saw pay-dirt far beyond Clinton s failed bid for president.In fact, the corporate mass media were losing marketability by the escalating appeal of free social media. The once all-powerful press propaganda system has been increasingly deserted. The fake news story provided a media base to condemn free internet news and commentary as immoral. The 2016 election became the leverage for a big market grab back.Very soon it was not just fake news to spike news cycles and subscriptions. War as peace and corporate globalization as freedom found its long place of rule the enemy of Russia to blame. Now the news can be that Russia hacked and attacked the lost 2016 election. Russia may be a hollowed-out shell by global corporate and oligarch dispossession. But it can still continue as pretext for US-NATO war crimes and aggression reverse-blamed on it. As the European breadbasket and newly discovered fossil-fuel rich nation, Ukraine is a very big prize. Now in Ukraine s US-led coup aftermath and ethnic civil war, evil Russia can be an ace card again to accuse for attacking the US election.Since Russia led by Putin is drawing the line as in Crimea to support the Russia-speaking region against US-led war crimes under international law (documented in previous articles), all roads connect. Russia s uncontrolled aggression is reverse-projected onto the victim again in a glorious new use. Reverse blame it for interference in the US election of Trump and kill Russia-US peace initiatives at the same time. No fact is required to verify the accusation, and no law broken is needed to insinuate treason of whoever relates with Russia s officials in peace initiative. It can work even against an elected US president.At the same time, the US s own record attacking other nations elections and societies is thereby erased as well continually orchestrating mass-murder and dictatorship to sabotage the electoral process from Vietnam and Chile to Ukraine in 2010 and Latin America social democracies since.If it were a story of reverse projection by a mass-murderous psychopath, it would be too much to believe. Yet it now runs the US news cycle as the big story unfolding with no evidence of US illegality, force, or non-compliance with international law. The accusations run by themselves in US media culture and across the empire. So as 2017 Spring breaks, endless media insinuations of treason seep into the populace from corporate media sites across borders with backrooms and Congress setting up for another presidential inquisition.It is interesting to observe two precedents. Past inquisitions were unfolded soon after Bill Clinton said in India, it s time to level up rather than down in global trade and Richard Nixon founded the Environmental Protections Agency, stopped corporations from outsourcing US jobs, and made peace with China as Trump sought with Russia.The ludicrous hypocrisy, factual vacuum, and war-drums of blame-the-enemy go into high-volume operation again, led by an attack-dog media against the elected US president whose only action has been to have business-like relations with Russia. Few observe the immense stakes of the US media and war establishments in this process. Cui bono? who benefits? is the question never asked Continue this article at Global ResearchREAD MORE ABOUT FAKE NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Fake News Files

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Introducing: Hamish “The Illusion” Patterson

21st Century Wire says Welcome to Spaceship Earth.This past week, Stuart J. Hooper took a trip to Los Angeles, California and got the chance to meet up with YouTube star Hamish The Illusion Patterson.The Illusion has made over 1,200 videos covering everything from current events, to the nature of the universe, and his journey through sobriety.In the coming days, look for a hour and a half long discussion with Stuart and Hamish covering the state of the world and current political events.In this initial video, The Illusion introduces his worldview and philosophy: You can follow Hamish on Youtube, Facebook and Instagram.SUPPORT 21WIRE SUBSCRIBE & BECOME A MEMBER @21WIRE.TV

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This Sickening Pro-Gun Meme Is Quite Possibly The Most Vile Thing On The Internet (IMAGE)

The pro-gun crowd loves guns first, and respect last. At least, that seems to be the case with whoever made a truly horrible meme out of an old black-and-white war photo. The photo depicts troops executing a couple of people in the back as they kneel in front of a mass grave. The troops are just obeying orders, and the dead in the mass grave are citizens obeying gun laws. This is the meme:Image via TwitterWe don t know who created this, but we don t have enough middle fingers to express how we feel about them. The piece of shit behind this is no doubt someone who believes the lie that, had the Jewish citizens of Germany and elsewhere just had guns, the Holocaust wouldn t have happened.The photo in the meme is from the German-occupied Soviet Union, and depicts one of the mobile execution squads known as the Einsatzgr ppen. They were tasked with mass executions of Jews, communists, and anyone else that the Nazis decided weren t suitable to living their empire and master race. Tens of thousands were murdered this way they are part of the Holocaust.The myth of guns and the Holocaust is so completely and terribly wrong it defies description. Yes, the Nazis seized guns from their enemies, however, they actually didn t make much of a dent in total gun circulation in Germany, contrary to what the gun-rights crowd wants us to believe.Furthermore, the Nazis actually loosened gun laws in 1938 for everyone except Jews. People who have a basic understanding of Nazi Germany know that the Nazis targeted more groups than Jews, and they know that more people than Jews opposed the Nazis however quietly they had to.Why didn t those people, who could own guns, rise up? It s because of the power of a police state the very thing the moar gunz crowd fears the most.Therefore, the cretin who came up with this meme can rightfully be termed as having no clue what they are talking about. But worse than that, they have no problem whatsoever with using the horror of the Holocaust to further their all guns all the time agenda. That is just abominable, and has no place in any discourse at all. Here s why: This historical second-guessing is deeply offensive to Jews, Holocaust survivors and those who valiantly fought against Hitler during World War II. It is, in fact, as many historians have previously noted, a distortion of history itself When you manipulate the history of the Holocaust and use it to score political points, its wholly inappropriate and offensive. Especially for the sake of the victims of the Nazi onslaught and their memory, it must stop. That s from Jonathan Greenblatt, the national director of the Anti-Defamation League. He was speaking against Ben Carson s painfully offensive assertion that the Nazis had disarmed everyone so they could kill Jews with impunity, but it s just not true. And it s an serious affront to every single victim of the Nazis, as well as everyone who fought them.This meme s creator ought to go back to the depths of the hellish abyss that first spat him out.Featured image via screen capture from Twitter

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GAY PAYPAL CEO Gives Rousing Speech Endorsing Trump: “What Trump represents isn’t crazy and it isn’t going away” [Video]

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Brian Cloughley: “The Greatest Achievement of Mr. Trump would be Engage in Positive Discussions with Russia and China”

18 Shares 17 0 0 1 Mohsen Abdelmoumen : Don't you think that we are in a continuation of the cold war between the USA and its allies in NATO on one side and China and Russia on the other, and who has interest to provoke a confrontation between these superpowers? Brian Cloughley: It’s not so much a continuation as a resurrection of the Cold War. After the Warsaw Pact disbanded in March 1991, NATO, although deprived of any reason to continue in existence, managed to keep going, and in 1999 added Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary to its 16 members. As the BBC noted, these countries became “the first former Soviet bloc states to join NATO, taking the alliance’s borders some 400 miles towards Russia.” With good reason Moscow wondered what on earth the US-NATO military alliance might be planning. In spite of facing no threat whatever from any country in the world, NATO continued to expand around Russia’s borders, inviting Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia to join in 2002, which they did two years later. As President Putin observed in an interview with Italy’s Corriere della Sera “we are not expanding anywhere; it is NATO infrastructure, including military infrastructure, that is moving towards our borders. Is this a manifestation of our aggression?” The US is also implacably hostile to China and does what it can to provoke it in the South China Sea, but NATO has not yet ventured into Eastern waters. MORE... Arise President Trump (or Why it's not the End of the World as We Know it) Trump's sexual predator characteristics - His Grandfather was a pimp, but at least he paid the women he hired The significance of the GOP's attempted purge of Donald Trump Trump, Turkey, and police tyranny: The crisis of Imperialism finds political expression There is certainly confrontation — but it was originated by the western powers at the behest of Washington. It is dangerous to indulge in military menaces, but the US appears determined to continue such a policy, and the world as a whole will certainly not benefit from its posture. How do you explain the silence of the media and Western Governments on the infamous war led by Saudi Arabia against the people of the Yemen? The most important things are money and oil. Western governments and mainstream media may from time to time make statements that “regret” the Saudi war on Yemen, but they will never take action against the Riyadh royal dictatorship that might make it cease its merciless blitz on the Yemeni people. The US State Department records that in Saudi Arabia its “citizens lack the right and legal means to change their government” while there are “pervasive restrictions on universal rights such as freedom of expression, including on the internet, and freedom of assembly, association, movement and religion; and a lack of equal rights for women . . .”, but Washington takes no action to encourage the Saudi monarchy to relax or even modify its domestic tyranny. Saudi Arabia is a valued ally of the United States and indulges in “torture and other abuses [and] arbitrary arrest and detention,” while “freedom of religion is neither recognized nor protected under the law.” It might be imagined that the President of the United States might feel it proper to indicate his disapproval of the fact that in Saudi Arabia “civil law does not protect human rights, including freedom of the speech and of the press.” — but no US president will ever do anything to discourage the Saudi monarchy from continuing its domestic tyranny and murder of so many innocents in Yemen. Don’t you think that, with Hillary Clinton President of the USA, we’ll have a total war, knowing that she is supported by the neocons and the military-industrial complex? Under a Clinton administration there would have been no cessation of US havoc-wreaking wars around the world, and desperate refugees would have died in their thousands. Her regime would have ensured that the Pentagon’s fleets continue to go down to the seas in confrontation, and the bombers would have streaked across the skies, deliberately provoking China and Russia. Remember that she is one of the Washington-Brussels war-drum beaters who planned the 2011 aerial blitz on Libya to destroy the government of President Gaddafi, about whose murder she giggled that “ We came; We saw; He died. ” The US-NATO attacks on Libya caused massive suffering and destruction, opened the way for feuding bands of militants to fight each other for control of parts of the country, and created a haven for the lunatic extremists of Islamic State [aka ISIS]. Hillary Clinton has not criticised or questioned Obama’s years of aerial bombardment around the world and her foreign policy adviser, Jeremy Bash, told London’s Daily Telegraph that she would order a “full review” of US strategy on Syria as a “first key task” of her presidency, resetting the policy to emphasise the “murderous” nature of the government. He said that Mrs. Clinton would work to get Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, “out of there.” President Assad has been selected as another target for the Clinton policy of “We came; We Saw; He died,” and his country appears doomed to a rerun of the Libya fiasco. If Hillary Clinton had become President of the United States, as seemed only too likely, there would have been even greater emphasis on global airstrikes and military confrontation. Greater turmoil, chaos and catastrophe were to come. Several reports mention deliveries of Western arms to groups activated in Syria, weapons that ended up in the hands of terrorist groups, such as ISIS-Daesh and al-Nusra. How do you explain the miscalculation of governments that have delivered weapons to terrorists to find these weapons turned against them, as we have seen in various attacks on European soil? The US supplies weapons to many rebels and insurrectionists around the world. One of the most absurd of these supply chains was in the 1980s when they gave hundreds of Stinger missiles to the Mujahideen in Afghanistan, then had to buy them back for half a million dollars each when it was realised that the Mujahideen were about to use them against civilian airliners. The British have also supplied ground-to-air missiles to insurrectionists groups, with much less publicity but on occasions with serious results. The only explanation for the motives of western governments in doing this sort of thing is that they are poorly informed by their vastly expensive intelligence agencies. The Americans destroyed Iraq with their ally Tony Blair, Sarkozy made the same thing in Libya with David Cameron, how do you explain that these personalities are not judged, in particular via ICC, authority which judges only African despots? The International Criminal Court (ICC) “investigates and, where warranted, tries individuals charged with the gravest crimes of concern to the international community: genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.” But the United States “is not at present a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court” and although Britain and France are in theory supportive of the ICC, there will never — ever — be a political leader of these countries arraigned before the Court for war crimes or anything else. The African despots it judges are no doubt guilty of heinous crimes, but they are also easy to arraign. How do you explain that Hillary Clinton's candidacy was maintained while she does not stop making headlines with multiple scandals? Because the Democrat Party desperately wanted a Democrat president. Members of the Party was prepared to hold their noses with one hand to keep out the stink of Hillary’s scandals while with the other hand pressing the button to Vote Hillary. In your opinion, why do Western Governments continue to support old leaders and despotic regimes and to destabilize others according to their interests under the pretext of "human rights", "democracy", etc.? Who gave them this right? Nobody gave them the right to support or destroy any government, anywhere, but Western politicians and generals continues to believe that, as in the old colonial days, they have a mission to alter the lives of those they consider inferior. There is flexibility in this policy, however, because if dictators are important for the economies of the West, they are permitted to torture detainees, treat women as chattels, forbid freedom of religion and imprison critics. Some of our European intelligence sources tell us that there was a mass movement of Daesh towards some countries of Northern Europe, result of the offensive on Daesh in Syria and Iraq. How do you explain that such redeployment towards Europe is possible with all the risks of attack that entails? Don’t you think that the coordination between European intelligence fails? I do not believe that there has been mass movement of Daesh/IS adherents to northern Europe. Libya is a terrorist sanctuary a few kilometers away from Europe. You have an experience in both military and diplomatic, how do you see the resolution of the Libyan equation, is a crisis that can only be resolved militarily or is the policy which should prevail? Unlike in Saudi Arabia, for example, in Gaddafi’s prosperous Libya there was freedom of religion and women were regarded as human beings. The entire population received free education and medical care. Then the country was reduced to anarchy by the US-NATO aerial blitz of March-October 2011 (Germany refused to join in), during which, among other devastation, water and oil pipelines and pumping stations were deliberately destroyed. Militia bands took over various parts of the country and continue to fight against each other, while extremist Islamic [Wahhabi] groups have grown in size and influence and the “Government of National Accord” is powerless. Many of those who energetically supported the war, such as the former secretary general of NATO, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, continue to claim that it was a success — “a model intervention” — and that it is the fault of “the international community” that the country is a shambles. But even US President Obama admitted that the war on Libya “didn’t work” and that failure to have a plan for the future of the country after the murder of President Gaddafi was “the worst mistake” of his presidency. Given that the Obama presidency is in its last months, it is unlikely he will order an invasion of Libya to try to eradicate the Islamic [aka Takfiri] terrorists and rebuild the country he and his allies destroyed. He and his supporters in Europe, notably France and Britain, will continue clandestine ground operations, drone attacks and conventional airstrikes to try to assassinate extremist leaders and destroy their gangs, but these will fail. It is difficult to predict the future in Libya, other than to say that it is most likely that its people will continue suffering the appalling effects of the US-NATO war, and that there will be no peaceful resolution of its problems. Is the era of the American domination a fatality? Doesn ' t humanity may find it beneficial to see the emergence of a multipolar world ? It should be remembered that in an August 2014 interview with the New York Times President Obama said “Our participation in the coalition that overthrew Qaddafi [emphasis added] in Libya. I absolutely believed that it was the right thing to do.” The name of the game is regime change, but America, the “indispensable nation” has failed in its military adventures all over the world and has created widening instability which in turn has led to growth in extremism and terrorism. Unipolarity, with the US possessing and exercising most military power, has not worked. It appears that multipolarity might be a better alternative, with other nations restraining Washington from unilateral intervention aimed at overthrowing governments, but it is apparent that the US is determined to do all it can to prevent interference in its world domination strategies. In consequence it has engaged in a deliberate policy of confrontation with China and Russia that is entirely counter-productive and could well lead to war. Multipolarity would probably benefit humanity, but that is irrelevant to the indispensable nation. What do you think of the defeat of Hillary Clinton and the victory of Donald Trump? Mr. Trump has not elucidated a foreign policy as such, and we can only hope that he will build on the positive indications he has given about America ceasing to meddle militarily all round the world. His greatest achievement would be engage in positive discussions with Russia and China, which would result in vastly diminished tension in east and west. The defeat of Clinton has meant that the threat of US international confrontation has at least diminished, because the world would have been a very dangerous place if she had got in to the White House. Interview realized by Mohsen Abdelmoumen Who is Brian Cloughley? Brian Cloughley is a British and Australian armies’ veteran, former deputy head of the UN military mission in Kashmir and Australian defense attaché in Pakistan. He studied South Asian affairs for forty years and is South Asia defense analyst for IHS/Jane's Sentinel, covering Afghanistan, India and Pakistan, updating material regularly. Other evaluations include updating of nuclear, biological, chemical and radiological developments in the region for IHS Global. He has a weekly column in Strategic Culture Foundation and contribute pieces elsewhere, including Counterpunch , Pakistan's Army Journal Hilal and the business magazine Blue Chip . Brian Cloughley wrote books including A History of The Pakistan Army: Wars and Insurrections; War, Coups & Terror: Pakistan’s Army in Years of Turmoil; Trumpeters: The Story of the Royal Artillery’s Boy Trumpeters; From Fabric Wings to Supersonic Fighters and Drones: A History of Military Aviation on both sides of the Northwest Frontier. His website: http://www.beecluff.com/

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Japan says ties at risk if South Korea messes with 2015 'comfort women' deal

SEOUL (Reuters) - Japan said on Wednesday any attempt by South Korea to revise a 2015 deal meant to have resolved a row over comfort women forced to work in Japan s wartime brothels would make relations unmanageable after Seoul said the agreement had failed. The two U.S. allies, which share a bitter history including Japanese colonizations, are key to international efforts to rein in North Korea s nuclear and missile programs that it pursues in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions. South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha apologized for the controversial deal on Wednesday, as a panel investigating the negotiations leading up to the agreement unveiled its results. The investigation concluded that the dispute over the comfort women, a Japanese euphemism for the thousands of girls and women, many of them Korean, forced to work in wartime brothels, could not be fundamentally resolved because the victims demand for legal compensation had not been met. South Korea wants Japan to take legal responsibility and provide due compensation. Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono said the 2015 settlement, which includes a 1 billion yen ($8.8 million) fund to help the victims, resulted from legitimate negotiations , warning any amendment may complicate relations. If (South Korea) tries to revise the agreement that is already being implemented, that would make Japan s ties with South Korea unmanageable and it would be unacceptable, Kono said in a statement. Kang apologized for giving wounds of the heart to the victims, their families, civil society that support them and all other people because the agreement failed to sufficiently reflect a victim-oriented approach, which is the universal standard in resolving human rights issues . Under the deal, endorsed by South Korean President Moon Jae-in s predecessor and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Japan apologized to former comfort women and provided the fund to help them. They agreed the issue would be irreversibly resolved if both fulfilled their obligations. Tokyo says the matter of compensation for the women was settled under a 1965 treaty. It says that in 2015, it agreed to provide the funds to help them heal psychological wounds . The South Korean government will review the result of the investigation and translate it into policy after consulting victims and civic groups that support them, Kang said. The comfort women issue has been a regular cause for contention between Japan and neighbors China and North and South Korea since the war. Japan colonized the Korean peninsula between 1910 and 1945 and occupied parts of China before and after the war. (The Moon government) has said it will seek a two-track policy by separately dealing with the comfort women issue and the relationship in the face of North Korea s threats, but Japan may not agree with that , Lee Sung-hwan, a professor of Japanese studies in Keimyung University in South Korea, told Reuters. Japan wants South Korea to remove statues near the Japanese embassy in Seoul and the Japanese consulate in Busan city commemorating Korean comfort women. Seoul says the memorials were erected by civic groups and therefore out of its reach. According to the investigation, however, the sides struck a separate, secret deal in which South Korea promised to persuade the groups to relocate the statues, provide no support for their overseas statue-raising campaign and refrain from calling the women sex slaves on the world stage. In 2014, the U.N. Human Rights Committee requested Tokyo to clarify the comfort women euphemism, with an independent expert on the panel calling for it to be replaced with enforced sex slaves . Such an issue of universal value and historical awareness as that of comfort women cannot be resolved through short-term diplomatic negotiations and a political bargain, said Oh Tai-kyu, a former journalist who led the investigation. Andrew Horvat, a visiting professor at Josai International University in Japan, said that the pact was flawed from the beginning because it failed to produce real reconciliation. The agreement was not reconciliation, but an agreement not to talk about it anymore , Horvat said.

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Ex-Christie associates guilty in New Jersey 'Bridgegate' scandal

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Two former associates of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie were convicted on Friday for their roles in the “Bridgegate” lane closure scandal, following a six-week trial that served to further tarnish the Republican’s damaged reputation. Bridget Kelly, the governor’s former deputy chief of staff, and Bill Baroni, former deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, were found guilty in Newark federal court on all counts. They were convicted of fraud, conspiracy and depriving the residents of Fort Lee, New Jersey, of their civil rights. Christie, who is in charge of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s transition team, has not been criminally charged, but the scandal has torpedoed what was once seen as a promising political career. Christie on Friday again denied having had any advance knowledge of the scheme to choke traffic heading for the busy George Washington Bridge, which links New Jersey and Manhattan. “I had no knowledge prior to or during these lane realignments, and had no role in authorizing them,” Christie said in a statement following the verdict. “Anything said to the contrary over the past six weeks in court is simply untrue.” The scandal has dogged Christie, once seen as a potential presidential nominee before his campaign for the White House failed this year. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman John Podesta said on Friday Trump should ask Christie to resign as head of his transition team. Legal experts have said it is unlikely Christie would face any criminal consequences based on the trial testimony. Baroni and Kelly were accused of shutting down access lanes to the bridge in September 2013 in Fort Lee, New Jersey, creating a massive days-long traffic jam to punish the town’s mayor, Mark Sokolich, a Democrat, for declining to endorse Christie’s reelection campaign. The Port Authority, which runs the bridge, says it is the world’s busiest, carrying 102 million vehicles a year on the I-95 interstate highway, a major east coast traffic artery. Lawyers for Kelly and Baroni vowed to appeal. “This is not over,” Kelly’s lawyer Michael Critchley said outside the courthouse, with his arm around his weeping client. He said the judge had erred during jury instructions. Defense lawyers were furious when U.S. District Judge Susan Wigenton told jurors in response to a question they could convict Kelly and Baroni on conspiracy even if the act itself was not “intentionally punitive toward Mayor Sokolich.” Wigenton said prosecutors did not have to prove motive, even though their case had revolved around the political retribution. “By answering the way you’re answering, you’re directing a verdict of guilty,” an angry Critchley told Wigenton on Tuesday. Baroni’s lawyer, Michael Baldassare, told reporters the case was a “disgrace” and said the conviction would be overturned. “I am innocent of these charges,” a smiling Baroni said. Kelly and Baroni’s co-conspirator, former Port Authority official and confessed mastermind David Wildstein, had earlier pleaded guilty and appeared as the government’s star witness, detailing how the three schemed to pay back Sokolich. But Wildstein also implicated Christie, saying he and Baroni discussed the lane closures with the governor while they were ongoing. Christie, Wildstein testified, laughed at the notion that Sokolich was frustrated by the traffic. At the time, Christie believed that securing the backing of Democratic officials would burnish his national reputation, according to trial testimony. Kelly, who took the stand in her defense, testified she had discussed the lane closures with Christie a month beforehand, though she said she thought at the time they were part of a legitimate traffic study. “I take no pleasure in this verdict,” said U.S. Attorney of New Jersey Paul Fishman, a successor of Christie in that position. Fishman, whose office prosecuted the case, said he was saddened by the conduct of top government officials. Kelly and Baroni’s lawyers argued that Wildstein had orchestrated the plot himself and told them he was conducting a traffic study. Wildstein said on the stand the three of them knew all along that the study was a bogus cover story. Prosecutors showed jurors numerous exchanges that Kelly and Baroni each had with Wildstein, who operated as liaison between Baroni at the Port Authority and Kelly in the governor’s office. Those included Kelly’s now-infamous email to Wildstein that prosecutors said launched the scheme, in which she wrote, “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee.” Kelly and Baroni are scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 21. Each faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison on the most serious charge of fraud, though it is unlikely they would receive such a lengthy term.

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