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Wow! Former U.S. Attorney Fired By Trump Has A New Job At A Major News Network | This is shocking but once you remember what this lawyer is all about it fits. Former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara is joining CNN as a senior legal analyst, a CNN spokesman said on Thursday.CLINTON FIRED U.S. ATTORNEYS BUT TRUMP TAKES HEAT FOR BEING FORCED TO FIRE BHARARA!Bharara forced President Trump to fire him! The U.S. Attorney was fired in March by President Donald Trump, after refusing to resign his post when asked to do so by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Bharara joins CNN, a unit of Time Warner Inc, at a time when the cable network faces numerous accusations of being fake news from President Trump on Twitter.CNN declined to give further details on Bharara joining the network.Remember how he went after Dinesh D Souza? He is a ruthless and a very deceitful guy. The first thing that s highlighted inside my case file is I m a conservative . This should be completely irrelevant in the decision whether to prosecute me. It should be beside the point. But of course in Bharara s case it was the point. This was a political prosecution conducted by Bharara as a henchman for the Obama administration. And so for me this is actually kind of nice. When I was in confinement, Bharara was laughing. Now that he s unemployed, I m kinda laughing. The former U.S. Attorney also launched a weekly podcast called Stay Tuned with Preet on WNYC, which aired the first episode on Wednesday. Bharara detailed the story of his firing for the first time, including how President Trump initially asked him to remain in his post after the election, and also spoke with former CIA Director Leon Panetta in the episode.Bharara may also address the circumstances of his firing in a book he is expected to publish in January 2019 with publisher Alfred A. Knopf.Shortly after his firing in March, Bharara joined New York University Law School as a distinguished scholar in residence. He said in a statement he will use the opportunity to address issues such as honest government, corporate accountability and criminal and social justice. Read more: Reuters | 1real
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Clinton Staffer Caught Sacrificing Baby to Demon Moloch - Wikileaks |
According to a new Wikileaks email leak , a Clinton staffer has been caught “ sacrificing a chicken in the backyard to Moloch “.
Chicken is a code-word for children, babies among pedophile and satanic ranks.
Moloch is a Demon to which the ancient Jewish people of the past were caught by Moses while they were sacrificing their own babies when he was on top of Mount Sinai receiving the 10 Commandments from God.
Moses was so angry and upset that he broke the first set of the 10 Commandments! He condemned and damned everyone. He later went to the mountain again and got a second set of of the 10 Commandments.
In Leviticus 18:21 God forbid the chosen people to do such a horrible thing:
Do not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Moloch, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.
God also ordered in Leviticus 20:2 to 20:5 that any follower of Moloch must be put to death:
Say to the Israelites: ‘Any Israelite or any foreigner residing in Israel who sacrifices any of his children to Moloch is to be put to death. The members of the community are to stone him.
I myself will set my face against him and will cut him off from his people; for by sacrificing his children to Moloch, he has defiled my sanctuary and profaned my holy name.
If the members of the community close their eyes when that man sacrifices one of his children to Moloch and if they fail to put him to death,
I myself will set my face against him and his family and will cut them off from their people together with all who follow him in prostituting themselves to Moloch.
This is NOT a joke people, this is serious SATANIST stuff and either you believe in God or not, it’s your problem, but what matters is that these people DO BELIEVE IN WHAT THEY DO!
16 years ago, on 15 July 2000 Alex Jones was the first and only to date, to ever infiltrate and secretly videotape the Bohemian Grove . Guess what they were doing there… Mock (or real?!?) sacrifices of children to Demon Moloch.
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Elections stop being a tool for change - Putin | Elections stop being a tool for change - Putin Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he would "happily" retire when time comes. "When time comes, I will retire, and it will be the right thing to do. For the time being, I am not retired, I work as the leader of a large power, I have to be restrained, I do not need to show excessive aggression in what I say. I do not think that this is my style at all," Putin said Valdai Club.President Putin also noted that although attributes of democracy are still present in world's leading contemporary countries, but in reality, the majority of their citizens do not have any influence on power. " Elections stop being a tool for change, they are reduced to scandals, to discussions of, excuse me, who sleeps with whom and who pinched whom . This is beyond all boundaries. Frankly, if you look at candidates' programs, you get the impression that they are all made according to one and the same pattern," Putin said. "People feel that their interests come into contrast with the views of elites. Consequently, referendums and elections lead to more and more surprises for the authorities. People vote contrary to what respectable official media recommend, while social movements that were previously considered too leftist or too rightist come to the forefront, pushing political heavyweights aside," Vladimir Putin said, RIA Novosti reports. He noted that such uncomfortable results were considered as something very unusual at first. Afterwards, when they became increasingly frequent, they started saying that "people do not understand those in power, that they are too immature to assess the aspirations of the authorities, whereas some others may hysterically scream that this is a consequence of external, primarily Russian propaganda." Pravda.Ru Vladimir Putin Valdai Club speech: Russia's Mideastern Initiative | 1real
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Like Mother, Like Daughter: Chelsea Clinton Spreads Lie Claiming Outrageous Michigan Anti-Gay Law Passed | Like mother, like daughter Brainiac Chelsea Clinton falsely tweeted today that the Michigan House had voted to allow emergency medical providers choice in treating patients, specifically giving EMTs the option to deny treatment to gay patients.Chelsea is often wrong on twitter. It s becoming embarrassing and evident that Steve Bannon was right about Hillary not being very smart. Looks like the apple doesn t fall far from the tree Absolutely appalling, the former First Daughter tweeted, Michigan House Passed Bill Allowing EMTs To Refuse Treatment To Gay People. The story Clinton cited was from a website for the LGBT New Now Next Awards, and was posted in 2014. When followers pointed out the story was old, Clinton deleted her tweet.Not only was the story old, but the actual premise was deeply flawed. What the Michigan House actually passed was a garden variety Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), which would have exempted religious individuals from laws that infringed on their religious beliefs.Like most state RFRAs, the Michigan bill contained a clause that allows the state to infringe on religious beliefs when there s a compelling government interest. The preservation of human life is widely considered to qualify, according to legal experts.The misconception that the bill would allow ambulance drivers to let gay people bleed out in the streets evidently stems from a local CBS story, which was later picked up by CBS News national website.Huh? A Jewish butcher would not have to handle non-Kosher meat Yes, he REALLY said that: For example, a Christian doctor who does not believe in a gay lifestyle would not have to treat a gay patient, CBS Detroit legal analyst Charlie Langton said at the time. Or perhaps, a Jewish butcher would not have to handle non-Kosher meat. When the original CBS story was published, a Stanford law professor told the Weekly Standard that Langton was simply wrong. Read more WFB | 1real
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Bus Bombing in Jerusalem Wounds 21 - The New York Times | JERUSALEM — A bomb exploded on a bus in Jerusalem on Monday, wounding about 21 people and feeding a sense of vulnerability among many Israelis after months of simmering violence. The sights and sounds were familiar: Television images of a hulk of a bus and wailing sirens, immediately reminding many Israelis of the second Palestinian uprising, which erupted in 2000, when suicide bombers blew up buses in Jerusalem and other Israeli cities, killing scores. Attacks on buses have been rare in recent years. Describing the blast as a terrorist attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose image as Israel’s security czar has been dented in recent months, vowed to track down those responsible. “We will find whoever prepared that explosive device, we will get to those who sent it and we will also get to those who stand behind them,” he said, adding, “We will settle accounts with those terrorists. ” The bombing came as many Israelis were already on edge after a wave of stabbings, shootings and vehicle attacks by Palestinians that have killed about 30 people. More than 200 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces during that period, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Israeli officials say that most of the Palestinians were killed while carrying out, or attempting, attacks, and that others were killed in clashes with Israeli security forces. Unlike the major assaults of the second uprising, which were engineered by the main Palestinian groups, most of the recent attacks appear to be the almost spontaneous work of by individuals. “We are in an ongoing battle against terrorism,” Mr. Netanyahu said, “terrorism of knives, terrorism of shootings, of bombs, of rockets and even of tunnels. ” He was referring to a tunnel that the Israeli military said on Monday it had discovered and “neutralized. ” Running from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory, it was the first such tunnel found since a ended 50 days of fighting in the Palestinian coastal territory in summer 2014. Mr. Netanyahu hailed the discovery, saying, “the State of Israel has achieved a global breakthrough in the ability to locate tunnels. ” He described the breakthrough as “unique,” but did not provide any details about the technology involved. The military said the tunnel had been built 100 to 130 feet underground by Hamas, the Islamic militant group that controls Gaza that it could have been used for terrorist attacks against Israeli border communities and that it was equipped with electricity and communications lines. Israeli officials have said in recent months that Hamas had most likely rebuilt much of the tunnel network that was damaged by Israel during the war. The officials also said Hamas was trying to restock its rocket supplies. The threat of the tunnels continues to sow fear in Israeli communities along the border. Some residents have reported hearing digging underground. Feeding those anxieties, Hamas’s military wing said in a statement that the recently discovered tunnel “is only a drop in the ocean of resistance preparations” meant to defend the Palestinians. Hamas also praised the Jerusalem bus bombing on Monday, without claiming responsibility for it. “We bless the operation,” the organization wrote on its Twitter account, using the Arabic name for Jerusalem. The details of the bus explosion on Monday emerged slowly. The blast came shortly before 6 p. m. in Moshe Baram Street, by the Talpiot industrial zone in southeast Jerusalem. A fire caused by the explosion spread quickly to a second bus, but the police said it was not immediately clear whether the blaze was the result of a bomb or caused by a mechanical flaw. More than two hours later, Yoram Halevy, the Jerusalem district police chief, said in a televised statement that a bomb had caused the blast, but the police were cautious about determining if it involved terrorism, or crime. Mr. Halevy said the police were still investigating the circumstances surrounding the blast, including whether one of the people who was wounded had brought the bomb onto the bus. Two victims were in serious condition. The identity of at least one of the wounded was still unknown hours after the blast, Micky Rosenfeld, a police spokesman, said. Mr. Rosenfeld said the police were investigating how the bomb got onto the bus, and if it was meant to go off there or was intended for another location. Racheli Dadon, a Jerusalem resident, described from her hospital bed how she had boarded the No. 12 bus with her daughter, Eden, 15. “I had not even sat down when I heard a huge blast and all the glass fell on us,” she told the Israelie news site Ynet. She said she searched for her daughter amid smoke and darkness, finding her with burns all over her body. The driver of the No. 12 bus, Moshe Levy, said he had inspected the vehicle twice before setting out on his route. “The whole way was fine,” he said. “I got to Baram Street in Talpiot and stopped in a traffic jam. I heard a blast in the back portion of the bus and I opened the doors and told people to exit the bus. ” Prof. Avraham Rivkind, head of the trauma unit at the Hadassah Medical Center in Ein Kerem, on the southwestern edge of Jerusalem, said the hospital received several of the wounded who had suffered burns as well as injuries from nails and bolts — “wounds,” he said, “that are familiar to us from past events in our city. ” Also on Monday, Israeli military prosecutors filed a manslaughter charge against a soldier who fatally shot a Palestinian assailant in the West Bank city of Hebron last month as he lay on the ground, wounded and subdued. The military court lifted an order banning the publication of the name of the soldier, Sgt. Elor Azaria, from Ramle, in central Israel, and said his trial, in a military court, would begin on May 9. | 0fake
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Four Sit Atop a Crowded Leaderboard at U.S. Open - Breitbart | ERIN, Wis. — Benign conditions at Erin Hills made for a scoring fest and a crowded leaderboard that guarantees an exciting weekend at the U. S. Open. [With little wind, no rain, and greens that Fox Sports analyst Paul Azinger called the best he’s ever seen, the world’s best golfers tore up the course leading to the lowest cut line in U. S. Open history at +1. The bunched leaderboard consists of four players tied at the top: Englishman Paul Casey and Tommy Fleetwood, and Americans Brian Harman and Brooks Koepka. Rickie Fowler failed to capitalize on the great conditions, shooting a 73 that kept him on the first page of the leaderboard but left him in a tie for second place with Jamie Lovemark and JB Holmes. Fowler seemed unconcerned with missing an opportunity to run away from the field. “It will be just fine,” said Fowler, who plays in the group on Saturday. “We’re in a good spot. Looking forward to the next two days. ” The course wasn’t easy for the ranked players in the world as Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, and Jason Day head home after missing the cut. This is the first time in major championship history that the ranked players have failed to make the cut. DJ looked very disappointed as he was hoping to defend his title while Day and McIlroy seemed more resigned to their fate. McIlroy chalked his poor play up to rust and lack of competitive rounds. There is a palpable excitement around the grounds at Erin Hills due to the packed leaderboard that portends a thrilling weekend and the fact that the course has shown well — challenging yet fair. The forecast calls for rain and stiffening winds over the weekend. Expect the course to exact revenge. | 0fake
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Israel to build new settler homes in Shiloh, despite US objections | November 1, 2016 Israel to build new settler homes in Shiloh, despite US objections
Israel intends to move ahead with plans to construct 98 new homes in the West Bank settlement of Shiloh, despite harsh United States objections to the plan.
On Monday the state informed the High Court of Justice it awaited final bureaucratic approval to develop the site within six months as a relocation option for the 40 families from the Amona outpost.
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Many police, few protesters as far right enters Austrian government | VIENNA (Reuters) - Hundreds of police sealed off part of central Vienna on Monday as Austria became the only western European country with a far-right party in power, but protests against the swearing-in proved small and largely peaceful. Conservative Sebastian Kurz, who is just 31, became chancellor in a coalition with the far right two months after winning a parliamentary election with a hard line on immigration after Austria was swept up in Europe s refugee crisis in 2015. The last time the anti-immigration Freedom Party (FPO) entered government in Austria, demonstrations were so big that the cabinet took a tunnel from the chancellery to the swearing-in ceremony at the president s office across the street. There was no need for that this time as, almost 18 years on and to a significantly more muted reaction, the country once again became an exception among its peers, but in a very different European political landscape. Protests nearby drew only a fraction of the tens of thousands who gathered in 2000 - and criticism from across the continent has also been more restrained. Police wore riot gear and stationed two water cannon at the main protest site. We will certainly not be going underground to the Hofburg, but rather with our heads held high in the street, FPO leader Heinz-Christian Strache said earlier in an interview with regional newspapers. He was referring to the former imperial palace that houses the president s office. This time, police cleared a large area around the head of state s office, keeping several thousand protesters about 100 meters (110 yards) away in a nearby square. Chants could be heard as the new ministers from the FPO and the conservative People s Party crossed the street quietly to the ceremony. The coalition deal hands control of much of Austria s security apparatus to the FPO, which came third in the election with 26 percent. Any crime committed in Austria is one too many, FPO Chairman Herbert Kickl said as he assumed his new position of interior minister. The FPO was also given the foreign and defense ministries. The agreement, which made Strache vice chancellor, includes plans to cut public spending and taxes and curb benefits for refugees. I fear a total shift to the right, a hardening of the domestic political climate and incitement against outsiders, said 69-year-old protester Wolfgang Pechlaner. Police said 1,500 officers were deployed. People marched peacefully, carrying placards saying Nazis out and chanting Strache is a fascist . Police put the number of protesters at 5,000-6,000 and said three arrests were made. Organizers put the turnout as high as 10,000. By late afternoon, the crowds had dispersed. The FPO s success made it an outlier in Europe in the 1990s when it was led by the late Joerg Haider. Now it is one of many anti-establishment parties gaining ground in Europe. Its allies and sister parties this year entered the German parliament and made the French presidential run-off. Swearing in the government, President Alexander Van der Bellen highlighted safeguards built into the coalition agreement. We have achieved a clear consensus that (involvement in) Europe or the European Union and continuity in our foreign policy as well as respecting our fundamental rights and freedoms are important fundamental principles, he said. That was a reference to the coalition having ruled out a referendum on EU membership, and to Austria s support for EU sanctions against Russia despite the FPO s pro-Moscow stance. The FPO, founded in the 1950s by former Nazis, has backed away from calling for a vote on EU membership. It and Kurz s conservatives want the EU to focus on fewer tasks, like securing external borders, and hand more powers back to member states. France and Germany were cautious about future ties with Vienna. We will follow how the EU policy of Austria develops, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said. Chancellor (Sebastian) Kurz has the intention of being an active partner in Europe, and I am glad of that. We have lots of problems to solve in Europe. Israel was also less than effusive about dealing with a Foreign Ministry controlled by the FPO, which has courted Jewish voters with limited success. Israel will hold working contacts with the operational echelons of the (Austrian) government departments that are headed by ministers from the Freedom Party, Israel s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Israel wishes to underline its total commitment to fighting anti-Semitism and commemorating the Holocaust. Kurz travels to Brussels on Tuesday to meet European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and Council President Donald Tusk. | 0fake
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Teen Charged With Assault for Allegedly Hitting 91-Year-Old Man With a Cane - Breitbart | Per a NY Post report, authorities have charged the teenager involved in hitting an elderly Manhattan man with a cane. Saul Nunez, 19, was seen on video beating Juan Llorens with a cane Friday until someone nearby intervened. Llorens suffered a bloody gash on his left ear that required stitches. Nunez ran off after the attack, but was arrested Saturday and charged with felony assault and criminal possession of a weapon. Follow Breitbart. tv on Twitter @BreitbartVideo | 0fake
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WATCH: GOP REP DAVE BRAT TURNED TABLES On #FakeNews CNN…Accused Them Of Collusion With Liberal Media…CNN’s Actions Are “Unethical But Not Illegal” | During a Friday interview, Virginia Rep. Dave Brat slammed Democrats who want to impeach Trump without any evidence of criminal wrongdoing. What you gotta do is just name the statute that s been violated, Brat explained of Democrats going after Trump. Democrats are upset that Trump won the election and so they ve been saying impeach, impeach since day one. Brat took shots at fellow Virginia Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, who have respectively called potential Russia collusion disturbing and close to treason. My Senators from Virginia are getting apoplectic, Brat argued. Mark Warner s seeing smoke everywhere he goes like he s in a Cheech and Chong movie and [Tim] Kaine now thinks the son is worse than Benedict Arnold. CNN may have thought they were safe from the destruction, but Brat quickly turned on them too. There s collusion everywhere but the question is whether a statue has been violated, he said. There s collusion between CNN and the DCCC and the Washington Post and I don t complain about that it s not illegal. I think it s unethical but it s not illegal. Watch: Daily Caller | 1real
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WHY TRUMP’S OWN CHILDREN WON’T Be Voting For Him In NY Primary | I m pretty sure Trump will win with a YUGE majority in New York without his kids votes. Eric Trump and Ivanka Trump won t be voting for their father, Donald, in the New York primary next week.The deadline to register to vote in the Republican primary in New York was October 9, 2015. Both Eric and Ivanka missed the deadline to register. They had a long time [to] register and they were, you know, unaware of the rules, and they didn t, they didn t register in time, Trump stated during an interview on Fox News. So they feel very, very guilty. But it s fine, I mean, I understand that. I think they have to register a year in advance and they didn t. So Eric and Ivanka I guess won t be voting, Trump added. Via: Breitbart News | 1real
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Qatar emir again urges dialogue, Trump says dispute to be resolved quickly | UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Qatar s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani on Tuesday renewed a call for unconditional dialogue to end a crisis pitting Qatar against four Arab states while U.S. President Donald Trump said he expected the dispute to be resolved quickly. Speaking from the podium of the 193-member United Nations General Assembly, Sheikh Tamim renewed the call for an unconditional dialogue based on mutual respect for sovereignty . Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain cut diplomatic and trade links with Qatar on June 5, suspending air and shipping routes with the world s biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas, which is home to the region s biggest U.S. military base. The nations say Doha supports regional foe Iran and Islamists, charges Qatar s leaders deny. Kuwait has been trying to mediate and the United States has taken an increasingly robust role in trying to end the crisis, but as yet to no avail. Trump and Sheikh Tamim later held a meeting in which the emir was careful to emphasize the strong Qatar-U.S. relationship after Trump appeared to be more sympathetic to the Saudi position at the start of the crisis. Qatar hosts Al Udeid air base, the largest U.S. military facility in the Middle East. As you said, Mr. President, we have a problem with our neighbors, Tamim said, adding that with Trump s intervention, hopefully we can find a solution for this problem. Trump, who has said he would be willing to mediate the worst dispute in decades among the U.S.-allied Arab states and Qatar, said he had a very strong feeling the dispute would be solved pretty quickly . In a speech severely criticizing the four Arab states conduct during the dispute, the emir said the countries were inflicting damage on the war on terror. The countries who imposed the blockade on the State of Qatar interfere in the internal affairs of many countries, and accuse all those who oppose them domestically and abroad with terrorism. By doing that they are inflicting damage on the war on terror, Sheikh Tamim said in his speech to the annual gathering of world leaders. We have refused to yield to dictations by pressure and siege. A Gulf official from one of the opposing countries said it was unfortunate that Emir Tamim continues to talk about a blockade when even he in the same speech acknowledged that his ship lanes are open. It s disappointing that he talks about interference in the internal affairs of others while refusing to admit that is a core part of the four nations complaints against Qatar, the official added. Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia suspended any dialogue with Qatar, accusing it of distorting facts, just after a report of a phone call between the leaders of the two countries suggested a breakthrough in the Gulf dispute. Saudi Arabia s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke by the telephone with Qatar s emir in the first publicly reported contact between the two leaders since the start of the crisis. | 0fake
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Leaks of Manchester bomb probe 'reprehensible,' will stop: U.S. envoy | LONDON (Reuters) - The most senior U.S. diplomat in Britain condemned media leaks of an investigation into a suicide bomb which killed 22 people in Manchester, saying the U.S. government would take action to identify those responsible. “These leaks were reprehensible, deeply distressing. We unequivocally condemn them,” Lewis Lukens, U.S. charge d’affaires in London and acting ambassador to Britain, said on BBC radio on Thursday. “The United States government is launching an investigation into these leaks and will take appropriate action once we identify the source of the leaks,” he said. “We are determined to identify these leaks and to stop them.” British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Thursday she would tell U.S. President Donald Trump that intelligence shared between their two countries had to remain secure. | 0fake
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Exclusive: China's border city with North Korea eases tourism curbs - sources | BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese tourists are still visiting Pyongyang from China s border city of Dandong, tourism sources say, even after authorities unofficially halted the tours just ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump s visit to China last month. A group of 40 Chinese tourists left on Friday from the border city of Dandong to Pyongyang, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters, a sign local authorities have not been strongly enforcing curbs on tourist flows. This is the largest group to go in from Dandong since the curb, a tour operator said, adding the tourists traveled by train into North Korea for a four-day tour. The Dandong Tourism Bureau declined to be interviewed for this story. When asked for comment, China s foreign ministry said they did not understand the situation. Local businesses in China are known to find ways around policies introduced by local authorities or Beijing, whether in good times or bad. There s always a way around government policies, said one Dandong-based tourism source. You know how Chinese people are. I think the central government will be very annoyed at Dandong for lifting the travel restriction, the tour operator said. MONEY-MAKER FOR NORTH Tourism to North Korea is not banned by the United Nations and is one of the few remaining ways that North Korea earns hard currency. The Korea Maritime Institute, a South Korean think-tank, estimates that tourism generates about $44 million in annual revenue for North Korea. The U.N. has ramped up sanctions over North Korea s accelerating missile program over the past year, curbing key export industries including coal, seafood and textiles. Simon Cockerell, head of Beijing-based Koryo Tours which organizes travel to North Korea, said he saw 3 to 4 busloads of Chinese tourists in Pyongyang in mid-November. But I m not sure where they entered from or what visas they were on, he said. If you have a visa to North Korea, it doesn t say where you can and can t go. So once you enter into Sinuiju or Rason, you could travel onwards to Pyongyang. The North Koreans wouldn t care, Cockerell said. Sinuiju and Rason are popular entry points for Chinese tourists traveling overland into North Korea. China never publicly announced a ban on Chinese tourists visiting Pyongyang and strongly opposes unilateral sanctions, which it says undermines U.N. unity. But the day before U.S President Donald Trump s first official visit to China in early November, Reuters exclusively reported that the Dandong Tourism Bureau had told Chinese tour operators based in Dandong to halt trips to North Korea s capital of Pyongyang. Trump has frequently praised Chinese President Xi Jinping Trump with whom he has been working to exert pressure on North Korea through strict enforcement of sanctions over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Dandong, a city of 800,000 people in northeastern Liaoning province, is the main trading hub on the Chinese side of the border and most tour companies that take Chinese tourists to North Korea are based there. The U.N. sanctions have particularly hit Dandong s economy this year. Almost all tours to North Korea have stopped and many Dandong-based companies who traditionally conducted business with North Korea are struggling, sources told Reuters. A lot of the more successful Chinese businessmen have gone on holidays because there s nothing for them to do around here at the moment, said one Chinese businessman in Dandong. China s trade with North Korea has already fallen to its lowest in months. Beijing has repeatedly said it is rigorously enforcing U.N. resolutions aimed at reining in Pyongyang s missile and nuclear programs. North Korea has accelerated the pace of its missile tests this year. Pyongyang said its latest test on Nov. 28 was an intercontinental ballistic missile that it said could deliver heavy nuclear warheads anywhere in the continental United States. | 0fake
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Australia Prime Minister Tells Trump To Man Up And Accept Refugees Because ‘A Deal’s A Deal’ | The deal-maker just got owned.Donald Trump embarrassed himself and America again during a recent phone call with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.As we all know, President Obama struck a deal with Australia in 2015 agreeing to take 2,000 refugees from Nauru and Papua New Guinea s Manus Island.But Trump doesn t want to honor the deal, so he whined about it. I hate taking these people, Trump said. I guarantee you they are bad. That is why they are in prison right now. They are not going to be wonderful people who go on to work for the local milk people. The refugees are in a detention camp right now because they have been denied entry into Australia. They are not necessarily bad people.Trump s milk people remark is a reference to the American dairy industry.It s a racist remark, of course. Because not all immigrants perform farm work. Some become doctors and businessmen. Some become teachers and police officers. Some even go into politics.The fact is that United States can also hold these refugees until a thorough vetting process is complete before allowing them to resettle. Therefore, Trump s concern that these refugees are bad is ridiculous.Anyway, Turnbull, who is also a businessman, told Trump to suck it up and honor the terms of the agreement. There is nothing more important in business or politics than a deal is a deal, Turnbull reminded Trump. You can certainly say that it was not a deal that you would have done, but you are going to stick with it. In other words, the man who allegedly wrote The Art of The Deal just got schooled on deal-making by Australia s prime minister.Turnbull is right. A deal is a deal and Trump must comply with it or risk angering and alienating one of our closest allies.Trump cannot just go back and examine every deal made in American history and go back on it if he doesn t agree with it. That s not how governing works. Sitting presidents must honor the agreements made by their predecessors. Anything else violates trust between nations and hurts our reputation around the globe.He can try to renegotiate a deal if he wishes and some deals can even be voided by Congress. But the deal with Australia will be hard to renegotiate because Turnbull expects America to honor it.And we should. It s the right thing to do.Featured Image: Mark Wilson/Getty Images | 1real
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"Dont Criticize what you cannot Understand" Mr. Kejriwal watch this video of Gurumurthy, its a perfect answer to you! | November 20, 2016 | Viral Videos | 1.8k SHARES
“Do not try to criticize” if you dont know the subject very well! This advise is from one of India’s prominent economist S Gurumurthy. This is equally applicable to all of us because, recently all the social media discussions are totally focusing on currency demonetization and interestingly everybody has become an economist!
This video is specially dedicated to all those Facebook Economist who think that Demonetisation is a joke. Listen to learn How massive this mission is and How secretly it gets implemented. Gurumurthy explains Why it couldn’t be implemented better.
We are also dedicating this to our Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Mamata Banarjee of West Bengal. These two have gone completely crazy after the demonetization announcement. We dont need to discuss about the reason behind their panic as it is no loner a secret! 1.8k | 1real
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TRUMP BOMBSHELL! — I’m reopening 9/11 Investigation | By BAXTER DMITRI
Is the s**t is about to hit the fan? Is the fur about to start flying? Maybe! It’s too early to tell. With a new investigation promised into the true facts behind 9/11, there are already rumors surfacing . . . rumors that certain people in high places are getting a bit worried and thinking about buying one-way tickets to Tel Aviv. WHODUNIT?!?
Donald Trump’s plans for his first 100 days in office are raising eyebrows around the world, but of all the items on his agenda it is the reopening of the 9/11 investigation that will provide the greatest earthquake for the establishment.
Trump believes that 9/11 has not been properly investigated and he plans to get to the bottom of it. “First of all, the original 9/11 investigation is a total mess and has to be reopened,” Trump said.
The election of Donald Trump has rocked the establishment and things are only going to get rockier for them during his first term. There is a reason George W. Bush didn’t vote for Trump in the election, leaving the presidential line blank and voting Republican down-ballot. Trump has pledged to investigate 9/11 in a way it has not been investigated before.
For the first time 9/11 will be investigated by someone who isn’t part of the establishment, with skin in the game and plenty to lose.
“First of all, the original 9/11 investigation is a total mess and has to be reopened” Trump announced to supporters. “How do two planes take out three buildings in the same day? I never got my head around the fact that nothing is mentioned about the destruction of Building 7 in the 585 page document,” he explained, talking about World Trade Center 7 which also collapsed – inexplicably – during the September 11 attacks.
Donald Trump has also taken cracks at former president George W. Bush. There will be no covering up for former presidents on Trump’s watch.
“The World Trade Center came down during the reign of George Bush,” he said in a February debate. “He kept us safe? That is not safe. That is not safe.”
“Why did the administration at the time not take legal means against Saudi Arabia? Weren’t 19 of the high-jackers from Saudi Arabia? Americans deserve answers and I will definitely request a new investigation so that this horrible tragedy never happens again.” Donald Trump and the 9/11 Truth movement
While Trump might be railing against the establishment in reopening the 9/11 investigation, he has received support on this issue from a number of public personalities who have demanded the case be revisited – and not behind closed doors.
Former Senator Bob Graham has been demanding a new, transparent investigation “For years I have been campaigning for the release of the 2002 Joint Congressional Intelligence Committee 9/11 Inquiry’s report, to no avail” explains the former Governor of Florida. “These missing pages point to the direct involvement of the government of Saudi Arabia. Why are these being kept secret? Who has to gain from these games of secrecy?” he asks.
“I have read these documents myself and if the American public knew what was in these documents, there would be a revolution tomorrow in the streets of America” he acknowledged during a radio interview. “Americans deserve to know the truth” he concluded, visibly angered by the whole affair.
Since 2002, the release of a number of 9/11 Commission Report documents is hindered because they are congressional records, hence they are exempt from the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
The long withheld 28 pages were partially released to the public this year – heavily redacted – and the Saudi government claimed the release proved they were not responsible for supporting or financing the attacks. But it’s not as simple as that. There are direct ties to the Saudi hierarchy in the 28 pages. There are a lot of questions that need answering, and they were never going to be addressed under a Clinton presidency with all her ties to Saudi Arabia. But with President Trump’s executive powers, everything has changed. The establishment are on edge. More than half the country doesn’t believe the official version of what happened that day. There is now a renewed belief that this biggest of lies and cover ups is about to be dismantled.
The establishment did all it could to destroy Trump’s election chances.
Now they are on edge. Like this? Share it now. 3 thoughts on “ TRUMP BOMBSHELL! — I’m reopening 9/11 Investigation ” Gilbert Huntly says: | 1real
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NBC's Baghdad Bob: There Is No FBI Investigation of Hillary | Frontpage Mag | NBC's Baghdad Bob: There Is No FBI Investigation of Hillary November 4, 2016 Daniel Greenfield
Remember when Hillary Clinton was insisting that there was no FBI investigation of her, just a security review, even when the FBI rejected that claim?
Well Andrea Mitchell, NBC's own Baghdad Bob, isn't giving up that claim so easily. Even while the rest of the Clinton clique is screeching against the FBI for investigating Hillary like bats from the nether regions of left-wing hell, Mitchell is sticking to the old spin. There is no FBI investigation of Hillary . Close your eyes and say it three times. The FBI is not investigating Hillary. It's not. It's not.
In a complete state of denial on Thursday, MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell interrupted live coverage of Donald Trump speaking at a Florida campaign rally to supposedly “fact-check” the candidate for citing a bombshell report that the FBI was conducting an extensive investigation into Hillary Clinton’s e-mail and charitable foundation scandals.
Mitchell refused to accept reality: “Just a lot of fact-checking to do. She's not under criminal investigation. In fact, it's not an investigation. It's just a review of the e-mails. She did not lie to the FBI, according to James Comey. There was no grounds to prosecute her. So there are no lies, there’s no criminality.” She fretted: “I don't know even where to start....but I mean, we have to put it in some context.”
The context is that defending Hillary Clinton has become a mental illness.
But as I wrote earlier this week, fact checking has become a media term for insisting on the primacy of its alternate reality even when it flies in the face of actual reality. There is no FBI investigation of Hillary. Anyone who believes that is probably some sort of right-winger who listens to what the FBI actually says, rather than what NBC says that the FBI says. | 1real
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She Might Be The Last Decent Republican In America, And This Audio From A Hot Mic Proves It | Tuesday morning, attendees of a Senate subcommittee hearing were treated to that wonder of wonders, a hot mic episode in which a speaker continues talking without realizing that their microphone is still live. In this case, it was Republican senator Susan Collins of Maine.Collins, noted recently for her opposition to the GOP health care bill currently before the Senate, is known for thinking outside her party. It s not really surprising that she does it s actually surprising that more Republican female members of Congress aren t at least a little concerned with their colleagues behavior. But if Collins bucking the party on Trumpcare made you smile, the exchange she had with the ranking Democrat on the subcommittee she chairs, Jack Reed of Rhode Island, will make you smile even bigger:Collins: I swear, [the Office of Management and Budget] just went through and whenever there was grant, they just X it out. With no measurement, no thinking about it, no metrics, no nothing. It s just incredibly irresponsible.Reed: Yes. I think I think he s crazy. I mean, I don t say that lightly and as a kind of a goofy guy.Collins: I m worried.Reed: Oof. You know, this thing if we don t get a budget deal, we re going to be paralyzed.Collins: I know.Reed: [Department of Defense] is going to be paralyzed, everybody is going to be paralyzed.Collins:I don t think he knows there is a [Budget Control Act] or anything.Reed: He was down at the Ford commissioning saying, I want them to pass my budget. Okay, so we give him $54 billion and then we take it away across the board which would cause chaos.Collins: Right.Reed: It s just and he hasn t not one word about the budget. Not one word about the debt ceiling.Collins: Good point.Reed: You ve got [Budget Director Mick] Mulvaney saying we re going to put in all sorts of stuff like a border wall. Then you ve got [Treasury Secretary Steve] Mnuchin saying it s got to be clean. We re going to be back in September, and, you know, you re going to have crazy people in the House.Then the conversation got funny. On Monday, a Texas congressman was clearly referring to Collins when he blamed female senators from the northeast for holding up Trumpcare. He said if she were a guy from south Texas, he might take her on, Aaron Burr-style :Collins: Did you see the one who challenged me to a duel?Reed: I know. Trust me. Do you know why he challenged you to a duel? Cause you could beat the shit out of him.Collins: Well, he s huge. And he I don t mean to be unkind, but he s so unattractive it s unbelievable.Collins: Did you see the picture of him in his pajamas next to this Playboy bunny?Unfortunately, I must now show you the picture she s talking about:This is the photo Sen. Susan Collins was referring to when she commented on Rep. Blake Farenthold wearing pajamas in 2010. pic.twitter.com/jZYCPC4FYW Beatrice-Elizabeth (@MissBeaE) July 25, 2017 Obviously that last bit caught someone s ear, because the mic was cut off.Seriously, though: It is adorable that, even in what she thought was a private conversation, and even though that slob had talked about literally shooting her, she still says I don t mean to be unkind. The only thing left to make Collins a Democrat at this point is to say this stuff into a mic she knows is live.Featured image via Alex Wong/Getty Images | 1real
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Donald Trump & Hillary Clinton: Defensive Realist vs. War Hawk? | 21st Century Wire says How will Trump and Hillary s foreign policy differ if they are President of the United States?In the following episode of CrossTalk experts debate how we might interpret the foreign policy direction that a Clinton or Trump administration might take.Trump s foreign policy speech reads like that of a defensive realist, while Hillary has a history of promoting war and aggression.With a new poll saying Trump can beat Hillary, and the other GOP candidates dropping out, we may be more likely to see President Trump than Hillary. Watch the episode here: GET THE FULL STORY ON THE 2016 ELECTION: 21st Century Wire Election Files | 1real
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House Campaigns Hit Fundraising Records Due to ’Trump Effect’ - Breitbart | U. S. House campaigns on both sides of the political spectrum hit fundraising records in the first quarter of 2017, according to findings from the Federal Election Commission. [Donors gave a record $96. 1 million in the first quarter of 2017, a 45 percent increase over the previous record of $66. 2 million raised in the same amount of time two years ago, Bloomberg Politics reported. The maximum contribution amount stayed the same for both periods of time. Republicans raised $49. 8 million, while Democrats raked in $46. 3 million. The reason for this surge in fundraising on both sides can be attributed to President Trump’s first actions as president on immigration, cutting regulation, tax reform, and healthcare reform. groups have seen a surge in demonstrations and fundraising to fight against Trump’s efforts as president, but conservatives have also seen a boost in fundraising during the first few months of the Trump administration. “Heightened partisanship is good for fundraising,” said Michael Beckel, manager of research, investigations, and policy at Issue One, a group that advocates limiting the role of money in politics. “Republicans and Democrats are trying to keep their donor bases active at the dawn of the Trump presidency. ” But the biggest surge in fundraising has come from donations. House campaign committees for both parties received a total of $13. 7 million in donations from donors who gave $200 or less. President Trump has also benefited from donors, who propelled him to victory in 2016 and helped him raise $13. 2 million for his 2020 . | 0fake
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Saviors or profiteers? Bangladesh fishermen rescue Rohingya, for a price | SHAMLAPUR, Bangladesh (Reuters) - For tens of thousands of Rohingya Muslims, an informal fleet of small wooden fishing boats has meant deliverance from what they say is an indiscriminate assault on their villages by the Myanmar army. Deliverance, however, comes at a price. Some refugees told Reuters they paid as much as 10,000 taka ($122) per adult to boatmen to make the five-hour crossing from Myanmar s coast to ports in southern Bangladesh. While the fishermen say they have a moral obligation to help desperate fellow Muslims escaping persecution, Bangladeshi officials accuse them of profiteering. Ordered to stamp out what they call human trafficking, they have made arrests and even set fire to fishing boats. Of course we want to keep going back to rescue more people. Our Muslim brothers and sisters are in a bad situation, so I have to go and bring them, said Mohammed Alom, 25, a fisherman in the Bangladeshi village of Shamlapur. Around 400,000 Rohingya have arrived in Bangladesh in less than three weeks and people are still coming, by land as well as by sea, after attacks by Rohingya militants sparked a fierce counteroffensive by Myanmar s army. Senior United Nations officials have described the violence as ethnic cleansing . The influx is placing huge strain on authorities in southern Bangladesh, one of the poorest parts of a poor country. Don t say rescuers. The rescuers should be going and they should rescue people, not in terms of money, said Lieutenant Colonel Ariful Islam, Border Guards Bangladesh commander in Teknaf on the country s southern tip, referring to the fishermen bringing refugees ashore. These people are very poor, it s just extorting from them whatever they have. We are helping those who arrived, but we re trying to insist that no human trafficking should take place. Reuters interviewed three Rohingya fishermen and two Bangladeshi boat owner-operators, all of whom had made at least two visits to Myanmar in recent weeks. The men didn t believe the profits they made detracted from what they saw as a rescue mission. Shaif Ullah, 34, a Bangladeshi, who co-owns a fishing boat, said he made 100,000 taka ($1,220) rescuing the family of a Rohingya in Malaysia who paid him via BKash, a popular mobile money service, after he returned to Bangladeshi shores. People from Malaysia and Saudi Arabia call me and tell me to go there to get their family, he said. They are crying for my help. I take money from them, yes, but it s also a humanitarian act. Two refugees have told Reuters their family members were detained by fishermen or brokers in Bangladesh when they could not pay for the journey. Several also complained they had to hand over gold and other jewelry to boat operators. We had no chance to negotiate with the boatmen, said Ali Johar, 75, an elder from his village in southern Maungdaw, just across the Naf river that forms the border between Myanmar and Bangladesh, now staying in Shamlapur. He handed over his wife s gold necklace and a gold ring, in addition to 7,000 taka for the rescue of him and about 30 members of his extended family, including young children, he said. But we are grateful to the fishermen for bringing us here, he said. There were so many people trying to get here. If they didn t bring us, we would be stuck. Pronay Chakma says it was a stroke of fate that thrust him into a key role in Bangladesh s response to the crisis. The 31-year-old administrator arrived in Teknaf to start a new job as sub-district assistant commissioner for land on Aug. 23, two days before northwestern Myanmar exploded into violence. The thing is that, yes, the fishermen can go there, no problem, but if they demand money from the pain of stricken people, is it humanitarian? No, he said. Chakma - a Buddhist member of the Chakma tribe who live scattered throughout South Asia - is an executive magistrate, which means he can hand down jail terms in simple criminal cases. He interrupted an interview with Reuters to sentence a man to three months for possession of five methamphetamine tablets. Chakma and another local official have sentenced at least 100 people to terms of up to six months for continuing to charge Rohingya refugees for ferrying them to safety. Each and every time we are warning them, he said. Yes, you can do that, but not in exchange of money. He pointed to the deaths of women and children who, unable to swim, have died after their boats capsized near Bangladeshi shores. Fishermen and local residents told Reuters that authorities have also broadcast messages in their villages by loudspeaker ordering them not to pick up Rohingyas. At least five boats caught bringing refugees in exchange for money have been set on fire on the beach by officials. The boatmen Reuters spoke to said they were cautious about operating in bad weather and rejected allegations of coercion or detaining refugees. Tens of thousands of people may still be waiting to cross the mouth of the Naf river, according to estimates by refugees, fishermen and rights groups. I would like to go back to bring these people, because Muslims are suffering, said Bangladeshi boat owner Moni Ullah, 38. For me, it s hard to sit here and not go there, because I have seen so many people crying on the beach. ($1 = 81.9300 taka) | 0fake
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Stephen Hawking Says He’s Afraid Of Visiting The U.S. Till Trump Is Gone (VIDEO) | Stephen Hawking might be one of the most brilliant and highly respected scientists in the world, but that means nothing in Donald Trump s America. In fact, that sort of thing is a liability, and that s why Hawking has no plans on visiting for the next few years.After receiving the US Franklin medal for science and receiving the presidential medal of freedom from President Obama in 2009, Hawking fears the country s definite swing to a right-wing more authoritarian approach. He also fears that he wouldn t be welcome here anymore. I would like to visit again and to talk to other scientists, but I fear that I may not be welcome, he said in an interview with Good Morning Britain on Monday.Source: The GuardianNaturally, Trump s denial and inaction toward the biggest crisis to hit our planet, manmade climate change, is at the forefront of Hawking s mind. He should replace Scott Pruitt at the Environment Protection Agency, he said. Climate change is one of the great dangers we face, and it s one we can prevent. It affects America badly, so tackling it should win votes for his second term. God forbid. As a citizen of the U.K., which recently voted to leave the European Union for reasons very similar to the impetus behind Trump s election, he understands the feeling of being left behind and the fear of globalism, but he doesn t respect it. Trump was elected by people who felt disenfranchised by the governing elite in a revolt against globalisation, he told ITV1 s breakfast programme. His priority will be to satisfy his electorate, who are neither liberal nor that well informed. Here s the video: Hawking has reasons to be afraid. Trump s cabinet picks and budget are about as hostile to the scientific community as they can be, but we desperately need people like Hawking to stand up to Trump and to the ignorant masses who elected him. Universities, smart cities and smart rich people, please invite Hawking. The majority of the country doesn t agree with Trump. He will have a warm embrace, although not from our government.Featured image via Bryan Bedder | 1real
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The People Are Laughing at the Liberal Media | The People Are Laughing at the Liberal Media The People Are Laughing at the Liberal Media 53 am by Cliff Kincaid Cliff Kincaid | Accuracy in Media
Members of the media continue to talk among themselves, as if they had not been repudiated by the people on November 8. Mass firings and new faces are needed if the media are going to have any hope of regaining any credibility with the public.
Some on the far-left are waking up. Anis Shivani of the AlterNet news service asked , “Is the liberal media dead?” She answered: “One of the positives of this campaign is that despite relentless 24/7 propaganda about Trump, exaggerating his personal foibles while painting anyone not supportive of Hillary as a closet misogynist, racist or even sexual predator, the message failed to get through. In the end, no one paid any attention. Those inside the elite bubble were persuaded that they were headed for victory, hearing nothing contrary in their own ecosphere, when they were in fact doomed. The people have shown that they can tune out this noise. The media has fragmented so much that only those who are already persuaded come within the ambit of any new message, so in essence they have pounded their way into their own irrelevance (emphasis added).”
Hillary Clinton had the endorsements of most major newspapers in the United States. Her own website declared , “By all accounts, this election is historic—and so is the list of newspapers from across the country endorsing Hillary Clinton for president. That list includes a number of papers that, for decades, have exclusively endorsed Republican presidential candidates—until now.”
Reid Wilson of The Hill newspaper calculated that Clinton got 57 newspaper endorsements and Trump got only 2.
In addition to The Washington Post and The New York Times, which both endorsed Hillary, some of the other notable losers included: The Columbus Dispatch endorsed a Democrat (for the first time since Woodrow Wilson), and urged voters to elect Hillary. Ohio went for Trump anyway. The Akron Beacon said that Hillary was the change this country needed. The Cincinnati Enquirer broke a century-old tradition to endorse Hillary. The Sun Sentinel editorial board urged Floridians to vote for Hillary. Florida went for Trump. The Arizona Republic broke a 120-year tradition to endorse Hillary. Arizona went for Trump. The Dallas Morning News broke a 75-year tradition of supporting Republicans to endorse Hillary. Texas went for Trump anyway. The Houston Chronicle, the largest newspaper in Texas, usually backs Republicans but endorsed Hillary.
Among major voting blocs, one of the most amazing turnarounds can be found in the Catholic population.
On November 2, the Catholic Jesuit publication America was reporting that Clinton was leading Trump in the polls thanks to the Catholic vote. Citing a poll from the Public Religion Research Institute and the Institute for Policy Research & Catholic Studies at The Catholic University of America, Clinton was getting support from 51 percent of Catholics, compared to 40 percent for Donald Trump. This is what liberal Catholics wanted to believe and encourage. Hillary’s campaign chairman John Podesta was a liberal Catholic who got a job as professor at Catholic Jesuit Georgetown University. He had communicated with other campaign officials about a scheme to force the church even further to the left. Elizabeth Yore’s article at The Remnant explained the relationship between George Soros, the Clinton campaign and the Jesuit-led Vatican.
However, exit polls show that Trump won the Catholic vote by a margin of 52 to 45 percent. What happened?
One answer is that Catholics are bypassing the liberal media and turning to alternative sources of news and information, such as The Remnant. Another such source is Boston Catholic Insider, which argued in an article, “ Why Catholics Should Vote for Trump ,” that Hillary had a “monstrous” position on abortion that justified the gruesome procedure up to and including the time of birth.
Another growing source of news and information for Catholics and non-Catholics is LifeSite . Its post-election stories include “Liberal media in meltdown over Trump election” and “America rejects Planned Parenthood and its party.”
Another important development was the airing of the film “ A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing ” by the EWTN Catholic cable channel. As we noted in a previous column, the film examined how Marxists have subverted the church from within by recruiting clergy into revolutionary socialist activities that divide people and cause conflict. The film was described as “a lens into America’s cultural Marxism euphemistically called ‘progressivism.’”
As long as the members of the liberal media continue in their old and discredited ways, without major changes in the journalism business, the alternative sources of news and information will continue to grow in power and influence. The new conservative network CRTV has just announced that Steven Crowder , from the popular show “Louder with Crowder,” is joining the new media venture.
Even with major changes in the liberal media, such as the firing of liberal hacks and the hiring of solid conservatives, it is doubtful that viewership can be maintained. On outlets like CNN, they will continue to talk and act like they still have some credibility left. The public is laughing at them and declaring, “You’re fired.” Cliff Kincaid
Cliff Kincaid is the Director of the AIM Center for Investigative Journalism and can be contacted at cliff.kincaid@aim.org. View the complete archives from Cliff Kincaid . 0 | 1real
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WikiLeaks: Email Proves Democrats Manipulate Polls | Email
An email published by WikiLeaks on Friday reveals the extent to which Democrats and their allies manipulate polls to serve their ends.
The 2008 email appears shows Democratic operatives plotting to intentionally oversample seniors in a poll in order to get their desired results.
“FYI: We are going to try to do an oversample of seniors on the poll. Sample too small otherwise,” operative Tom Matzzie wrote to Clinton adviser Paul Begala, campaign Chairman John Podesta, Media Matters for America founder David Brock, and operative Susan McCue. “Good,” Begala responded.
Trump and his supporters have claimed often that many polls showing a significant Hillary lead over Trump have been manipulated through selective sampling. There is ample evidence that this occurs in Democrat-friendly newsrooms.
“Hillary Clinton has opened up a 7-point lead over Donald Trump in an online poll that seems to reflect a ‘bounce’ for the former secretary of state after she wrapped up the Democratic nomination last week,” the Daily Mail reported in June.
"But the weekly tracking poll, from NBC News and the Surveymonkey company, included the opinions of 7 percent more self-identified Democrats than Republicans – the same margin as the poll's topline result," the article noted.
The email released by WikiLeaks Friday proves that Democratic operatives themselves engage eagerly in such tactics.
Polls are a powerful propaganda tool, and people exposed repeatedly to polls suggesting their candidate's loss is a foregone conclusion will often be influenced to stay home on Election Day.
"I think sometimes polling is done to dampen election turnout," Rand Paul said in an interview on Wednesday on "The Tom Roten Show" out of West Virginia. "When we say over and over someone can't win that is a form of rigging in the sense that it is designed to suppress turnout," he added. | 1real
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Jonah Goldberg: Hillary's Iowa 'win' is a big loss for Democrats | Result signals a long war between Clinton establishment and the party's young base.
Hillary Clinton’s asterisk-heavy victory in Iowa might have been the narrowest of wins for her, but it was arguably the worst of all possible outcomes for the Democratic Party.
As of this writing, the result was a statistical tie, 49.9% for Clinton and 49.6% for Bernie Sanders. The margin of victory in the delegate count was decided by six coin tosses that “flip truthers” will forever remember as mysteriously biased toward Clinton.
Clinton raced to the podium to declare victory, but the news media will continue to describe it as a tie, probably forever. Sanders' supporters won’t even make that concession, bitterly complaining about irregularities and, again, coins that seemed to be in Clinton’s pocket, figuratively speaking.
A crushing defeat would have been worse for Clinton, of course. But this wasn’t much better. In fact, the nature of this victory will probably bring out the worst in Clinton. If she lost decisively, as she did in Iowa in 2008, she'd have the option of playing the victim. Maybe she'd even cry again, like she did in Portsmouth, N.H., in ’08, earning the sympathy vote. Instead, she won Iowa this time. But saying so requires lawyerly qualifications and caveats.
Everyone knows this “win” was nothing to brag about. According to The New York Times, her “advisers said they did not know if a significant staff shakeup was at hand, but they said that the Clintons were disappointed with Monday night’s result and wanted to ensure that her organization, political messaging and communications strategy were in better shape for the contests to come.” That’s not exactly William Wallace in Braveheart shouting of victory.
Clinton simply can’t go around talking about her “win” in Iowa without seeming ungracious and grasping. Every time she tries, it will, by the very nature of that victory, seem like spin. Already, her supporters are fanning out across cable news overselling the win and reinforcing the sense that Team Clinton is disconnected from reality. Also, any bragging from the Clinton camp will further antagonize Sanders' supporters, many of whom are already quite hostile to Clinton.
But the real loser in all this is the Democratic Party.
The ghost of Eugene McCarthy has hovered over the Democratic race for a year. In 1968, the left-wing senator from Minnesota challenged President Johnson in the New Hampshire primary. McCarthy actually lost by a significant margin. But the mere fact that he got 42% of the vote against the sitting president was enough to ultimately knock Johnson out of the race and entice Robert F. Kennedy into it.
These are different times, and Clinton isn’t an incumbent president. Even so, numerous observers raised the possibility that if Clinton suffered a devastating loss in both Iowa and New Hampshire, it might be enough to entice Vice President Biden, Al Gore, Michael Bloomberg or someone else into the race to save the party from the prospect of a socialist nominee or a fatally flawed Clinton candidacy.
There was never any question in my mind that Clinton will never drop out. Like Richard Gere in An Officer and a Gentleman, she’s got nowhere else to go. But there was some slim possibility that someone else would get in and beat her and Sanders. That won’t happen now. She will almost surely go on to lose in New Hampshire. After that, her best hope is to grind out a victory over many months, antagonizing Sanders' supporters, who are disproportionately made up of exactly the kind of young activists Clinton desperately needs to win in November.
The window for a Democratic savior — if one ever existed — slammed shut Monday night. The Democrats are stuck with what they’ve got.
Jonah Goldberg, American Enterprise Institute fellow and National Review contributing editor, is a member of USA TODAY's Board of Contributors.
In addition to its own editorials, USA TODAY publishes diverse opinions from outside writers, including our Board of Contributors. To read more columns like this, go to the Opinion front page. | 0fake
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No joke: China government warns northern cities to get serious in war on smog | BEIJING (Reuters) - Some northern Chinese cities failed to improve air quality by much last month, hitting the smog-prone region s overall results in a drive against pollution, the government said as it warned provincial officials to comply with stringent steps to clear the skies. Some cities did not improve air quality by much or even experienced some volatility, and in a way, they have dragged down the regional air quality level, Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) spokesperson, Liu Youbin, said at a regular briefing on Thursday. He did not identify the underperforming cities, but the comment comes amid concerns about the country s ability to reduce pollution in winter as it battles to avoid a repeat of the near-record levels of choking smog that enveloped key northern areas at the start of the year. There is no jesting in war. For those local officials who do not enforce the measures of the campaign effectively and could not improve air quality in time, we will hold them accountable, Liu added. Data earlier this month showed only four of 28 northern Chinese cities met their air quality targets in October and air quality in 338 Chinese cities worsened in October, with levels of hazardous breathable particles, known as PM 2.5, up 5.6 percent on the year to an average of 38 micrograms per cubic meter. Beijing is under huge pressure to meet politically crucial air quality targets and clear the skies of toxic smog that blankets the north of the country as homes turn up the heat which is powered by coal. Liu said overall air quality in the northern cities was improving compared with September. Average PM 2.5 levels in the region dropped 15.8 percent in October from the month before, he said. It shows that our measures are working. As long as we are persistent, and diligently enforce existing measures, regional air quality will definitely improve, he said. Under the six-month campaign, 28 northern Chinese cities were ordered to thin traffic and cut industrial output. Thousands of pollution sources including steel mills, coal-fired boilers, cement and ceramic plants, mines and building sites will be shut. These measures, part of Beijing s years-long time war on smog, have already roiled commodities market, fuelling worries that the tough inspections are hurting the already slowing economy. | 0fake
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WATCH: Nicolle Wallace Just Ripped Trump A New One For Having So Much Secret Contact With Russia | If Donald Trump and his team were planning to continue using the ole I forgot defense to explain all these secret meetings with Russian officials during the campaign, he should think again.Because during an appearance on the TODAY Show with Chuck Todd, Republican strategist Nicolle Wallace blew that defense out of the water by pointing out that while one Trump official could reasonably say they forgot about a meeting, it s really hard to believe that all of them could have simply forgotten that they met with Russian officials.The number of Trump officials who met or spoke to Russian officials during the campaign has only risen in recent weeks as it has been revealed that Jeff Sessions and Jared Kushner both communicated with them during the election in addition to Michael Flynn, who lied about his own contact with Russian officials and had to resign for it. It s inexplicable now why so many people had so many meetings with so many Russians that they forgot about, Wallace said.Wallace went on to call for a 9/11-style commission to investigate Trump s Russia scandal and when Todd asked if Trump and his team could offer one big excuse to explain their actions, she made it clear that Trump is cornered. There is none! So many people having so many contacts and not remembering? It doesn t make sense. They re either the most forgetful team in political history or the most intimate with Russia. And neither one of those labels is good for Trump and his administration.Here s the video:Jeff Sessions did not forget his meeting with Russian officials during the campaign. He simply lied under oath about it and is making an excuse to avoid being charged with committing perjury.Donald Trump s Russia scandal only continues to get worse and his desperate attempts to distract the American public no longer work. It s time for Congress to take this scandal seriously and investigate it. But Republicans should not investigate it themselves. It s clear they are too biased to do it, so they must appoint an independent commission and a special prosecutor. It s the only way to make sure this gets done and gets done right.Featured image via YouTube | 1real
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Meredith Corp. and Koch Money Buys Time Inc., ‘Left’ Goes Bonkers | 21st Century Wire says News broke Sunday night that Meredith Corp., publisher of Better Homes & Gardens and other popular magazine brands, agreed to purchase all of Time Inc. s assets in a cash deal valued at $2.8 billion.Grabbing all the headlines is the $650 million investment from Koch Equity Development (KED). This is the private equity firm of Charles and David Koch, aka the Koch Brothers. According to the company s official press release, KED will not have a seat on Meredith s board and will have no influence on Meredith s editorial or managerial operations. Zero Hedge reports the deal gives the conservative billionaires a stake in one of America s best-known publishers. And that is what is giving the Left mainstream media nightmares and creating widespread panic and hysteria on social media:Great. The Koch brothers are about to be co-owners of TIME, Inc. How long til TIME, People and Sports Illustrated are pushing stories about how much better life would be if we canceled Social Security and Medicare? Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) November 27, 2017It remains to be seen how the editorial of these publications will be affected by Koch money. When the news broke in 2013 that Amazon.com founder and Bilderberg member Jeff Bezos bought the Washington Post, we started asking some questions at the time. We re starting to see how it will play out.What we do know thus far about the Meredith/Time news all the crazed paranoia around this deal exposes, yet again, how the mainstream, corporate power media likes to think their version of mass media is so influential. At the same time, discounting the ability of everyday citizens to think for themselves, and not be spoon fed whatever gets pushed out through the echo chambers of many of these failing and lost print magazine empires.Let s not forget it was Time Magazine that started selling ad space on their covers shortly after they were spun off from Time Warner back in 2014.We thought this story by Bloomberg Rothschild s Koch Connection Pays Off in Pursuit of Time Inc. was an interesting angle.Watch this space READ MORE MEDIA CRITIQUE AT: 21st Century Wire Media Cog FilesSUPPORT 21WIRE SUBSCRIBE NOW & BECOME A MEMBER @21WIRE.TV | 1real
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(VIDEO) WATCH WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A FOX REPORTER CONFRONTS THE ENTIRE SAN FRANCISCO BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON MURDER OF KATE STEINLE | Jesse Watters confronts the board of supervisors in San Francisco and it s crickets | 1real
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Senate Ethics Committee opens probe of Senator Franken | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate Ethics Committee said on Thursday it has opened a preliminary inquiry into alleged misconduct by Senator Al Franken, who has been accused of sexual misconduct and inappropriately touching women. Franken, a Democrat, said this week he was embarrassed and ashamed by his behavior but would not resign. He said he would cooperate with an Ethics Committee investigation. “While the committee does not generally comment on pending matters or matters that may come before it, in this instance, the committee is publicly confirming that it has opened a preliminary inquiry into Senator Franken’s alleged misconduct,” the committee said in a statement. Asked for comment, a spokesperson for Franken said the senator was committed to cooperating fully with the ethics investigation. Franken is one of several prominent American men in politics, media and entertainment to be accused in recent months of sexual harassment and misconduct. He was accused of sexual misconduct by Leeann Tweeden, a radio broadcaster who in 2006 appeared with Franken in an entertainment tour for U.S. troops serving in war zones. Another woman, Lindsay Menz, accused Franken of touching her buttocks when they were being photographed at the Minnesota State Fair in 2010. Prior to winning his Senate seat in 2008, Franken was a well-known comedian, television writer and author. | 0fake
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FOUR-TIME DEPORTED ILLEGAL ALIEN Gang Member Sexually Assaults 2-Yr Old Girl In Front Of 4-Yr Old Brother…Violently Stabs Mother, Another Woman | Nassau County cops busted a Long Island man who was previously deported four times and went on a sick five-hour alcohol-fueled rampage, allegedly sexually abusing a 2-year-old girl and stabbing his girlfriend and a second woman before passing out, officials said.MS-13 gang member Tommy Vladim Alvarado-Ventura, 31, had been deported multiple times since 2006 before the shocking attacks that started late Tuesday, but kept coming back.Alvarado-Ventura began the violent spree by allegedly abusing the toddler sometime after 11:30 p.m. Tuesday in Hempstead while a 4-year-old boy and another tenant were in the Fulton Ave. apartment.With the 2-year-old crying, Alvarado-Ventura stormed out of the home and went eight blocks to the El Mariachi Lounge.He was there drinking for two hours, when he got into an argument with a 24-year-old woman over a marijuana sale at about 2:20 a.m., officials said.The woman walked out of the bar and Alvarado-Ventura followed her in a rear parking lot, officials said. He punched and kicked her, then pulled a knife and stabbed her repeatedly. The woman suffered a collapsed lung, among other injuries.Alvarado-Ventura staggered back to his home at about 3:15 a.m. and stewed until his girlfriend came home.She spotted the 2-year-old s injuries, described by Nassau cops as severe, and confronted him.As the argument escalated, Alvarado-Ventura pulled the knife and stabbed her over and over.Alvarado-Ventura promptly passed out, which is how police found him after they arrived in response to a 911 call.Cops arrested Alvarado-Ventura and charged him with predatory sexual assault, attempted murder, assault and illegal weapons possession. NY Daily News | 1real
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Newly Leaked Executive Order Will Turn A FRIGHTENING Number Of Christian ‘Morals’ Into Law | It seems the Trump administration will stop at nothing to codify the religious-right s insanely narrow beliefs into law. After backing off an earlier executive order that would have legalized all manner of discrimination against LGBTQ individuals, it appears there s a draft of a new order out that s far broader, and far scarier.A copy of the draft order was obtained by The Nation and other outlets, and would do the following: The draft order seeks to create wholesale exemptions for people and organizations who claim religious or moral objections to same-sex marriage, premarital sex, abortion, and trans identity, and it seeks to curtail women s access to contraception and abortion through the Affordable Care Act. The order refrains from specifically mentioning Christianity, and the administration no doubt thinks that makes it Constitutional. Under this order, religious exercise applies to any act or refusal to act that is motivated by a sincerely held religious belief, whether or not the act is required by, or central to, a system of religious belief. As such, it would prohibit the government from denying tax-exempt status, or financially punishing, religious organizations that are involved in politics.That, in turn, makes it clear that it would reward people who discriminate against LGBTQ individuals, oppress and control women, and even reward people who seek to stop things like comprehensive sex-ed because it supposedly encourages pre-marital sex, and more, just because of their religious beliefs.It could even open the floodgates for so-called gay conversion therapy, despite its dangers, and despite its being condemned by every medical and psychological organization out there.But wait! That s not all. This order requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to exempt anyone who objects even to preventive medical care on religious grounds. It does not specify what types of preventive care, but it s not hard to see that they re targeting women s healthcare here, including hormonal birth control, as well as vaccines.The preventive care mandate within the ACA actually has a separate section for women s care, including screening for STDs, breast cancer, UTIs, HPV and cervical cancer, as well as well-woman visits (which covers pap smears and other routine exams).The mandate also requires health insurers to cover vaccines for children from birth to age 18, as well as cervical dysplasia screenings for sexually active adolescent girls, and HIV screenings for sexually active adolescents.Should the preventive care mandate go away, the ones who will be hurt the worst will be women and girls, and that s intentional since the religious right is all about controlling women and their behavior.According to The Nation s story, a professor at Georgetown University s Law Center, and expert on church-state separation and religious freedom, says: This executive order would appear to require agencies to provide extensive exemptions from a staggering number of federal laws without regard to whether such laws substantially burden religious exercise. Moreover, the exemptions would raise serious First Amendment questions, as well, because they would go far beyond what the Supreme Court has identified as the limits of permissive religious accommodations. He would be extremely surprised if the Office of Legal Counsel were to certify this order in part because it greatly expands the definition of religious exercise to mean anything for anyone, it seems.Perhaps worst of all is that it would cover federal employees, which could lead to discrimination including denying people care at the VA or denying them Social Security benefits, simply because they have a stated sincerely held belief against enabling whatever.If this order is signed, LGBTQ individuals will be subject to hideous discrimination, women will lose access to preventive care and birth control, and without court intervention, it will likely lead to making Christianity the law of the land. Trump and his administration are way out of control with unconstitutional executive orders.Featured image by Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images | 1real
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Christian Fundamentalist A**hole Leaves Waiter A Dirty Trick For A Tip (IMAGES) | Garret Wayman, a 17-year-old waiter in Wichita, Kansas, tweeted photos of a $20 dollar tip he received while working where it quickly went viral. The reason? The $20-dollar bill that was left underneath a ketchup bottle turned out to be note left by a fundamentalist Christian, that was only disguised as a $20-dollar bill.someone seriously left this as my tip today. pissed is an understatement. i was so excited when i saw $20 pic.twitter.com/czntdlgoqS garret (@BEANBURRlTO) December 29, 2015The note, once opened, reads, Don t be fooled! There is something you can have more valuable than money. This is followed by a very long argument as to why a person should read the Bible, and become a Christian.Photo Courtesy: Garret Wyman via TwitterBesides being an incredibly cruel trick of the note being made to look like a $20-dollar bill, the note is essentially just like any other piece of propaganda a proselyting Christian might hand out on the street. The person who left the note apparently wants it to be made very clear that Wyman cannot be truly happy until he finds Jesus. Things and people will disappoint you. Nothing in this world will really satisfy. That is because there is a void in your life that can only be filled by God, who created you, the note reads.Photo Courtesy: Garret Wyman via Twitter I m 17-years-old, $7,000 in debt because I had to buy myself a car, juggling full-time school, and working seven days a week, Wayman told Tech Insider, adding that he was excited to see the cash at first because getting a $20 tip at the restaurant I work at is very, very rare. Restaurant servers make almost nothing without tips. So it is understandable why Wayman is angry about the trick that was played on him. He just left that, Wayman said. I wanted to tell him that I only make $3 an hour and bust my a at my job to make way less than I deserve, but he was gone by the time I had the chance to. The internet has no love for people who are rude to servers in general. People in the service industry work hard for almost no pay, and are almost entirely dependent on the tips they receive. I m sure that to the deranged individual who left this tip probably thinks that they were doing a good deed. But all they did is just show the world once again how horrible religious proselytizers actually are.Featured Image Credit: Screenshot via Twitter | 1real
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Criminal Complaint Shows Tie Between Alex Jones And ‘Pizzagate’ Shooter – Jones TERRIFIED | Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones isn t known for having a solid grasp of the truth. He takes ordinary news items and turns them into something completely bizarre, and he promotes things that have already been changed into something completely bizarre. Such was his involvement in perpetuating the lie that Comet Ping Pong, in D.C., was the site of a massive child trafficking operation involving Hillary Clinton.Now that that conspiracy theory has led to near-tragedy, Jones seems to be desperately trying to scrub any evidence he might have influenced Edgar Maddison Welch to fire his assault rifle in the restaurant in an insane attempt to investigate the place, and free the children allegedly being kept there. He thought he was doing a public service based in part on what Jones had been saying on the matter.Instead, he put innocent customers and restaurant staff in danger because he believed a conspiracy theory that Jones actively and openly promoted.The criminal complaint against Welch actually mentions a video carrying a headline from InfoWars called, Watch PIZZAGATE: The Bigger Picture, which Welch sent to a friend on Dec. 1. He had been watching YouTube videos in an attempt to research Pizzagate and he said it was making him sick, because why try and actually look for the truth when you d rather believe in conspiracy nonsense?Alex Jones site, InfoWars, heavily promoted the Pizzagate conspiracy theory. Jones posted a video called Pizzagate is Real: Something Is Going On, But What? to his YouTube channel in late November, but now that video has been removed by the user, although nobody really knows when that happened.Jones has also deleted the video from his Facebook account, and InfoWars deleted an article that promoted Jones Pizzagate video. Some things remain, but who knows for how long. It certainly seems like Jones wants to at least look innocent in the whole thing. When you peddle baseless conspiracy theories, though, this is what can happen. Jones needs to own up to his part in this near-tragedy.Featured image by Ben Jackson via Getty Images for SiriusXM | 1real
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After a Crime, the Price of a Second Chance - The New York Times | During the tough financial times of 2011, Marcy Willis, a single mother who raised five children in Atlanta, used her credit card to rent a car for an acquaintance in exchange for cash. But the man — and the car — disappeared, she said. Four months later, when Ms. Willis finally recovered the car and returned it, she was charged with felony theft. As a offender, Ms. Willis, 52, qualified for a big break: a program called pretrial intervention, also known as diversion. If she took 12 weeks of classes, performed 24 hours of community service and stayed out of trouble, her case would be dismissed and her arrest could be expunged, leaving her record clean. Diversion is not uncommon. Last year, Rebecca Horting, a nurse in Topeka, Kan. was offered a similar deal for an offense that caused far greater harm. She was charged with reckless battery and texting while driving after she hit a girl on a bicycle, causing brain damage and the loss of a leg. Both women did what was required of them, yet their cases took different paths. The reason: money. Ms. Horting was able to pay $1, 138 in fees and is on track to have her case dismissed. Ms. Willis, who owed $690, had a harder time. When she paid all but $240, her case was sent back to court for prosecution. By that time, the arrest had already led to her losing her job, and then her apartment. At a homeless shelter, she was robbed. Accustomed to earning a living, she began to despair. “I felt like I was in a grave or a hole and instead of digging the dirt out, it was piling up,” Ms. Willis said. “I lost the respect of my kids, my family, and I was too embarrassed to reach out to friends — so what do you do?” Though few people have heard of diversion, the practice is increasingly being embraced as a way for the criminal justice system to save people from itself. Diversion is intended to relieve overburdened courts and crowded jails, and to spare offenders from the devastating consequences of a criminal record. It mostly applies to nonviolent cases that make up the vast majority of crimes — offenses like shoplifting, drug possession and theft. There are now diversion programs in almost every state. But an examination by The New York Times found that in many places, only people with money could afford a second chance. Though diversion was introduced as a reform, some jurisdictions quickly turned it into a source of revenue. Prosecutors exert almost total control over diversion, deciding who deserves mercy and at what price, The Times found. The prosecutors who grant diversion often benefit directly from the fees, which vary widely from town to town and can reach $5, 000 for a single offense. In a country where 27 million households make less than $25, 000 a year, even $500 can be prohibitive. Diversion, interviews and case records show, can be revoked for failure to pay, or never even offered to defendants deemed too poor to afford it. A prosecutor in Ohio said he rejected applicants if he thought they wouldn’t be able to pay restitution within a time limit — one that he imposed. “To tell somebody that if you can pay for this, you can get your charges dismissed, but if you are poor you are going to go through the system? That’s completely unfair,” said Mark Kammerer, who runs diversion programs for the Cook County state’s attorney in Chicago, where defendants are not charged a fee. The Times examination focused on adult diversion programs run by prosecutors, as opposed to drug courts or mental health courts where a judge is in charge. The Times gathered information, statutes and fee schedules on 225 diversion programs in 37 states and interviewed more than 150 prosecutors, defense lawyers, defendants and experts. Because prosecutors have wide latitude to design the programs, different jurisdictions have different rules, resulting in substantial inequities for defendants, records and interviews show. Tennesseans cannot get diversion for drunken driving, but in Oregon it is common. In Saline County, Kan. diversion is not offered for drug offenses three counties south, it is. In Toms River, N. J. a school district official accused of a $141 fraud was rejected by the prosecutor, who argued that she had violated the public trust. But near N. C. a prosecutor accused of offering $20, 000 to fix an election was allowed to enter pretrial diversion. Because diversion is considered a privilege, not a right, the district attorney’s decision is almost always final and those who are rejected have no way to appeal. Yet even defendants who are granted diversion can discover that the central promise of the program — avoiding prosecution and a criminal record — can be an empty one. Dismissed cases can still show up as a black mark in a background check. And many district attorneys impose rules that undermine the benefits of diversion, such as requiring defendants to enter a guilty plea that can later be used against them. Some defendants find themselves saddled with strict requirements, like hundreds of hours of community service, five years of probation or even a month in jail, that are indistinguishable from punishment. Because prosecutors are usually not required to report on their programs and many diversion agreements are not filed in court, there is little quantifiable data on fees, success rates, recidivism or even who is rejected. A few studies, including a recent Department of Justice examination of the Memphis juvenile court system, suggest that whites are far more likely to get diversion than blacks. Almost 200 defense lawyers across the country answered a Times questionnaire about diversion. of them said fees were a barrier for their clients. In Atlanta, Ms. Willis’s diversion was overseen by a private company that said about one in four of its cases was returned to court, often for failure to pay. Because of a court backlog, Ms. Willis’s case remained pending, and on her record, for more than four years. Finally, in January, she scraped together the remaining $240 and, with the help of the Georgia Justice Project, got the case dismissed. Now, her record has been approved for expungement — as soon as she can pay the $25 fee. In the aging rust belt towns of Lorain County, Ohio, diversion operates under the sole authority of Dennis Will, the prosecuting attorney. Mr. Will allows arresting officers and victims to block diversion. Defendants who enter the program pay only a modest fee but must plead guilty and pay off all restitution within a year. Though state law allows diversion for violent offenders in certain circumstances, Mr. Will does not. Lawyers there said diversion applicants had been denied because of unrelated prior offenses like driving with a suspended license or drunken driving. “It was very difficult to get anybody in diversion,” said one local lawyer, Kenneth Ortner. “It was a joke among defense attorneys. ” A national panel had something else in mind when it drew up standards in 2008 for pretrial diversion. The programs had been around for decades, but fell out of favor during the war on drugs. With the tide turning against incarceration, the idea was to reintroduce diversion as an alternative, said Spurgeon Kennedy, the vice president of the National Association of Pretrial Services Agencies, which drafted the standards. Diversion is intended to address the root causes of crime by connecting defendants to counseling, job training and, in the case of a Philadelphia man caught with painkillers, medical benefits to cover a root canal. It also gives prosecutors a way to avoid absurd outcomes. A Georgia college student who hacked into the online calendar of the school’s football rival and left a prank message faced up to 15 years in prison. He got diversion instead. Brendan Kelly, a prosecutor in Illinois, started offering diversion four years ago after seeing marijuana arrests having “tremendous impact” on the future of young men. “You’re branding them with a scarlet F” for felon, Mr. Kelly said. “You’re making them a permanent problem for law enforcement. ” But diversion is not without political risk, and it requires officials to balance questions of culpability, justice and mercy. In Chattanooga, Tenn. there was a public outcry when a speeding teenager was given diversion after a fatal crash. In San Antonio, on the other hand, a district attorney reluctant to use diversion was unseated. In Lorain County, Mr. Will said, voters have the ultimate say. “If people don’t like the decisions I make, then they have a way to deal with that. ” Frustrated by Mr. Will’s rules, county judges decided to take the matter into their own hands. In 2010, they started a competing program. James Burge, a judge at the time, said the legislature had intended for many more defendants to get diversion. “You find a credit card on the ground and you use it. That’s an automatic felony. You come in to Judge Burge and you plead guilty. You’re going to be on probation for at least 18 months and you’re going to have a felony conviction,” Mr. Burge said. “You have to wait another three years to get that record sealed. That’s four to five years as a young adult with a felony record. Try to buy a car, get a job, get a loan — it’s not happening. ” The judges’ diversion program gave a second chance to some defendants who had been rejected by Mr. Will. Among them was Wayne Dopart, who had been indicted on theft and Medicaid fraud charges. Mr. Will did not believe that Mr. Dopart could pay the thousands of dollars he owed in the case within a year, his lawyer recalled. But when Mr. Dopart was admitted to the judges’ program, he paid on time. Brenda who was charged with theft, was denied diversion because her arresting officer objected, according to court records. Corey Earl, a former police officer accused of cashing a $400 stolen check shortly after retiring from the force, was also deemed ineligible. Both Ms. and Mr. Earl successfully completed the judges’ diversion program. Of the 21 defendants listed in one court filing who had been granted diversion by the judges, only two had subsequent charges in Lorain County. But defendants like Ms. and Mr. Earl were not in the clear. Instead, they found themselves ensnared in a legal battle between the judges and the prosecutor. Mr. Will argued repeatedly to the appeals court that only prosecutors had the power to grant diversion. Several of the judges’ completed diversion cases were overturned and the defendants were forced to return to court. Ms. pleaded guilty and now has a felony record. Mr. Earl’s diversion was upheld, but he has been unable to get the case expunged from his record so he can find work. Mr. Will argued that because Mr. Earl was a police officer, “it is important for the public to maintain a public record of when this public figure admitted to violating that trust. ” Early last year, Caleb Moore was arrested in Troy, Ala. on charges of possessing Xanax and marijuana. Mr. Moore is the son of Roy Moore, at the time the chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court. Despite having three prior arrests, Caleb Moore was granted pretrial diversion, paying $900. After he promised to enter drug rehab, his case was dismissed. But not every defendant is the son of a prominent jurist. The vast majority are poor people for whom $900 is well out of reach. Yet in many jurisdictions, they are required to pay the same fees as defendants. Diversion programs have complex fee structures, and it is impossible to come up with an average cost. To begin with, some defendants must pay just to find out whether they are eligible The Times found nonrefundable application fees as high as $250. If accepted, defendants almost always pay a program fee, typically a few hundred dollars but in some places far higher. Drunken driving diversion is often the most expensive in the city of Dothan, Ala. it costs up to $5, 000. The list of additional charges can be long: counseling, classes, drug tests, monthly supervision, charitable contributions, court costs, prosecution costs and compensation for the arresting agency. The Times found cases where defendants who were not being prosecuted paid a $400 drug lab fee, a $50 Crime Stoppers fee or $2, 000 for the services of an indigent defense lawyer. District attorneys are sometimes willing to adjust their diversion policies for the right price. In Shawnee County, Kan. defendants who might not normally be considered eligible can get diversion if they agree to pay more than the usual fee — sometimes thousands of dollars more — said Matt Patterson, the district attorney’s chief of staff. Asked if the fees are ever waived for the poor, Mr. Patterson gave a long sigh. “Not really, to be honest with you,” he said. The same is true in many places. “Pretrial diversion is a voluntary program,” reads the prosecutor’s website in Florida’s 18th judicial circuit, in all capital letters. “Fees are not eligible for reduction or waiver. ” While some jurisdictions do make allowances for the poor, The Times found sliding scales that exist largely in theory. In South Carolina, state lawmakers capped the diversion fee at $350 and said it might be waived for indigent defendants. But waivers remain an afterthought at best. In a review of diversion guidelines issued by 13 of the state’s 16 prosecutors, only two mentioned the possibility of a waiver. In interviews, several prosecutors seemed to have given little consideration to whether the costs exclude defendants. “I guess you’re right,” said Ron Dixon, a longtime prosecutor in Fulton County, Ga. when asked if fees kept people out of the program. Scott Colom, who last year was elected district attorney in eastern Mississippi with help from the liberal billionaire George Soros, said he ran on a platform of expanding diversion but kept the fee the same as his predecessor, assuming it was cheap compared with other places. It is $1, 320. That fee does cover services that cost extra in other jurisdictions, like drug testing and counseling. It can also be paid over time, which makes diversion more accessible. It is impossible to determine how many defendants are barred from diversion for lack of money, but one jurisdiction offers a hint. The diversion program in New Orleans once cost as much as $1, 200 and had about 300 participants. In 2009, when a new district attorney lowered the cost to $200, participation more than tripled. But some jurisdictions have come to rely on diversion revenue. In 2015, Wichita, Kan. brought in almost $1. 2 million, an increase of 49 percent over 2010. Diversion fees have received little scrutiny: They are rarely challenged in court, and district attorneys are seldom required to give a detailed account of how they spend the money. With so few checks and balances, the money can easily become a source of temptation. In 2013, a Nebraska prosecutor pleaded guilty to donating diversion money to a trapshooting team. In 2009, the district attorney in Shawnee County was found to have paid himself more than $300, 000 from the pretrial diversion and forfeiture funds. The county attorney in Brown County, Tex. is under investigation for accepting what he called donations of as much as $2, 500 — the state maximum diversion fee is $500 — in exchange for diversion. Some critics say diversion fees do not pass the smell test no matter how the money is used. “It’s almost like you’re paying for a dismissal,” said Lynn Pride Richardson, the chief public defender in Dallas. “And that is illegal. ” Some prosecutors said fees were necessary to cover programs’ costs. In other cases, defendants were used as piggy banks. Scott Anderson, who worked in the Topeka city prosecutor’s office, said the city’s fee structure had pure revenue “built in,” even though the program saved the city money. “The way we explained it to defendants — this is going to sound terrible — it was the benefit of the bargain for us: what the city was getting for not prosecuting you,” said Mr. Anderson, who has since become a public defender in Wichita. “When I was a prosecutor, it didn’t present a problem to me. But I’ve been a defense attorney now for 11 months, and it’s been an ” Mr. Anderson said. “I didn’t realize how many people we were actually disenfranchising from participating. ” By title, Amrith Aakre is an assistant prosecutor in Cook County, which encompasses Chicago. But what she really does is save people from prosecution. One morning in June, she sorted paperwork from the previous night’s arrests into two stacks: eligible for diversion, or probably not. A sheaf of paperwork from a huge drug bust went into the “no” pile. But on other cases, Ms. Aakre paused to take a closer look. She picked up one case, a car . “You see damage like shattering windows, a violent component,” she said. “We’re looking at the public safety risk. This happened across the street from a school at 12 o’clock, when all the kids were outside at recess. ” Next, she checked the defendant’s history. “We’re looking for a pattern — is this a thing or is there a long pattern of violence? If it’s a thing, this may be the gateway. There is a saying, ‘The more you do it, the more you do it.’ And this is our opportunity to catch them at an early stage and give them the services to cope with whatever they’re dealing with. ” Cook County’s diversion programs, recognized as a national model, handle about 5, 000 defendants a year. The emphasis is on inclusion: A team of prosecutors like Ms. Aakre is dedicated to scouting potential cases, and eligibility has steadily expanded. Defendants do not have to plead guilty if they fail, they are either returned for traditional prosecution with no penalty or moved to a more intensive program. Diversion can be completed quickly, in as little as three months for the most minor offenses. Victims must give consent, but they rarely refuse, prosecutors said. Defendants pay no fee — in fact, the notion strikes prosecutors as absurd. “That would be a complete failure here in Cook County,” said Robert Groebner Jr. a felony prosecutor. “These defendants, they don’t have $50 in their pocket. ” The wide range of diversion programs is based on a medical model: Use the least invasive treatment that has a chance of success. Misdemeanor defendants may be required to do nothing more than attend two counseling sessions, while those charged with felonies can be sent to Branch 9, a yearlong program overseen by a singing, judge. Community service is assigned only if the defendant cannot find a job. In part because relapse is often part of recovery from addiction, the programs are forgiving: Defendants can repeat drug school, a defensive class for drug offenders, if they have been for three years, and can undergo a more intensive drug diversion program up to three times. Participants may be asked to get a substance abuse evaluation, but treatment is not mandatory. “These are not people who are acutely symptomatic,” said Mark Kammerer, who runs the programs. “These are people who we want to think about whether there’s something deeper going on with them. ” More complex cases are referred to drug court or mental health court, where defendants can be required to get treatment. By Mr. Kammerer’s measure, the programs are highly successful. A year after finishing felony diversion, 97 percent of graduates have no new felony arrests, and 86 percent have no new arrests of any kind. Drug school alone saves the county an estimated $1. 5 million a year. One afternoon in felony court, Debra Kreatsoulas anxiously awaited the appearance of her husband, Carlos Ramirez. Mr. Ramirez had gone to work drunk, Ms. Kreatsoulas said, and had gotten into an argument with a fellow school custodian. Mr. Ramirez left, saying he was going to get a gun and shoot the other man, according to the police report. It was the day after a mass shooting at an Orlando, Fla. nightclub that killed 49 people. The school was placed on lockdown the story made the evening news. Mr. Ramirez might have faced up to three years in prison. But when prosecutors reviewed the facts — he had no criminal record and no gun was found — they decided that diversion was more appropriate. The victim at first refused to allow diversion, saying that Mr. Ramirez had used a racial slur. But he relented when he learned that Mr. Ramirez had already spent more than two weeks in jail. Ms. Kreatsoulas, a teacher’s aide who could not afford to bail her husband out, was optimistic. She said his drinking had become worse since he lost a job a year before. “This might force him to get the help that he needs,” she said. “He has a family that he needs to stand up and start supporting. ” Mr. Ramirez accepted Branch 9 diversion and, hours later, was released from jail, which he described as a dangerous place where inmates fought over bread and soap. “I’m not coming back here to the jungle,” he said. Branch 9 connects defendants to services like classes for a high school equivalency diploma, substance abuse evaluations and health insurance. Spurgeon Kennedy, the diversion expert, said recent research contradicted the assumption that punitive rules and negative consequences, rather than immediate benefits, keep defendants in line. “Defendants don’t think that way,” he said. “Most people are participating because they see a value. ” So far, Mr. Kammerer said, Mr. Ramirez has met all of his diversion requirements and is once again working full time. Ten years ago, Issa Kona tried to steal an $80 battery charger from a Home Depot in Cleveland. The prosecutor’s office charged him with robbery, as opposed to shoplifting, because store employees said that when they asked for the merchandise, Mr. Kona resisted and had to be handcuffed. Still, it was his first arrest. Mr. Kona’s case was dismissed after he agreed to plead guilty and enter pretrial diversion. He came to regret it. Mr. Kona, a Palestinian stonecutter, has been in the United States legally since 2002. His three daughters are in college. He had applied to become a United States citizen. But when immigration lawyers discovered his robbery case, they warned him that the fact that he had pleaded guilty meant he could be deported. “We don’t want to go back,” Mr. Kona said. “We don’t know a thing back there. ” Diversion’s big promise is to spare defendants a criminal record. But that central goal is being undermined by prosecutors across the country who, for the sake of expediency, are requiring defendants like Mr. Kona to plead guilty. If a defendant fails to complete diversion and is sent back to court, prosecutors must mount a case from scratch, locating evidence and witnesses months or years after the fact. “You didn’t just go to a sentencing hearing, you went to square zero,” said Joshua Marquis, an Oregon district attorney who serves on the board of the National District Attorneys Association. “So many D. A. s were like, ‘Why are we doing this? ’” Guilty pleas solve the problem, ensuring conviction without the effort of a trial. But for defendants, the pleas make things more difficult, coming back to haunt them years after completing diversion. Pleas have been used as evidence to deny professional licenses, citizenship and employment. The 2008 diversion guidelines issued by the National Association of Pretrial Services Agencies said that defendants should not be required to plead guilty. Other common practices make it harder for defendants to succeed. Though prosecutors can dismiss a case when diversion starts, clearing it from the docket with the option of reopening it later, many prefer to leave the case open. A pending charge, though, can stymie defendants’ efforts to find work and housing, or even win custody of their children. The guidelines also stressed that dismissal is not enough — after diversion, cases should be sealed or expunged from the public record. But expungement is rarely automatic, and many defendants do not realize that it requires filing paperwork and paying an additional fee. In El Paso, the district attorney bans expungement altogether. In interviews, several defendants said they had trouble landing a job because their case appeared in background checks. Employers, they said, did not differentiate between a dismissal and a conviction. In some cases, even expungement may not be enough. Though state laws usually specify that sealed records do not have to be disclosed on applications, The Times found job, college and housing forms that ask applicants whether they have ever had a case diverted. The application for St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio requires people to disclose any criminal case, “even if you were granted any type of pretrial diversion. ” It adds, “Disclosure is required even if you have been told by any source that you do not have to disclose any such instance. ” Stephen M. Sheppard, dean of the law school, said diversion would not disqualify an applicant. The point, he said, was evoking candor and making sure that students did not have unacknowledged problems like substance abuse that would hinder them from representing future clients. In Cleveland, Mr. Kona tried to undo his diversion and guilty plea to clear his path to citizenship. Had the case gone to trial, Mr. Kona’s lawyer said, it would most likely have been downgraded to the less serious charge of shoplifting, which would not set off deportation. So Mr. Kona took the unusual step of asking the state Supreme Court to allow him to be prosecuted. During oral arguments 18 months ago, Justice William O’Neill did not bother to suppress his incredulity. “In order to get into that diversion program, you must admit to committing a crime?” he asked. “What happened to the Fifth Amendment?” Last month, the court finally ruled, in Mr. Kona’s favor. The local prosecutor announced that he would not retry the case. | 0fake
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NEW HAMPSHIRE VOTER FRAUD BOMBSHELL: New Report Reveals How Over 5,500 Votes Were Illegally Cast On Election Day 2016 | Kris Kobach For years, the mainstream media has ignored the problem of voter fraud and belittled those of us who are trying to do something about it. And when secretaries of state like me identify cases of fraud, we are told that the number of incidents of voter fraud is too insignificant to matter.New Hampshire was a must win for Hillary. Watch CNN explain the significance of winning the state of New Hampshire for Hillary: New Hampshire is one of fifteen states that allow same-day voter registration. The benefit of same-day registration is that it allows a person who has procrastinated or has forgotten to register to nonetheless cast a ballot on election day. The downside of same-day registration is that it does not allow the state time to assess the eligibility of the voter. A volunteer poll worker simply accepts a modicum of identification and takes the voter at his word that he s a U.S. citizen resident of the state who is eligible to vote.New Hampshire is also a battleground state. Unlike neighboring Massachusetts and Vermont, which reliably vote for the Democrat in presidential elections, New Hampshire can swing either way. It has long been reported, anecdotally, that out-of-staters take advantage of New Hampshire s same-day registration and head to the Granite State to cast fraudulent votes.Now there s proof.According to statistics released by the Speaker of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, on the date of the general election in November 2016, there were 6,540 same-day registrants who registered to vote in New Hampshire using an out-of-state driver s license to prove their identity. In and of itself, that doesn t prove that any fraud occurred theoretically, each of those individuals could have been someone who recently moved to the State and had not yet had time to get a New Hampshire driver s license. According to New Hampshire law, a new resident has 60 days to obtain a New Hampshire driver s license.So if those 6,540 voters were bona fide New Hampshire residents, they would get their driver s license no later than January 7, 2017. However, the numbers tell a very different story. It turns out that, as of August 30, 2017 nearly ten months after the election only 1,014 of the 6,540 same-day registrants who registered with an out-of-state license had obtained a New Hampshire driver s license. The other 5,526 individuals never obtained a New Hampshire driver s license. And, of those 5,526, only 213 registered a vehicle in New Hampshire.So 5,313 of those voters neither obtained a New Hampshire driver s license nor registered a vehicle in New Hampshire. They have not followed the legal requirements for residents regarding driver s licenses, and it appears that they are not actually residing in New Hampshire. It seems that they never were bona fide residents of the State.5,513 is a big number more than enough to swing two very important elections. The closest major election was the contest between incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte and challenger Maggie Hassan (D). Hassan won the election by a razor-thin margin of 1,017 votes. Those 5,313 fraudulent votes were more than enough to swing the election. If 59.2 percent or more of them went for Hassan, then the election was stolen through voter fraud. That s likely, since the surrounding states are Democrat strongholds.It s also possible that New Hampshire s four electoral college votes were swung to Hillary Clinton through illegal voting by nonresidents. Clinton won New Hampshire by only 2,732 votes. If 74.8 percent of the 5,513 fraudulent votes were cast for Clinton, then the presidential election in New Hampshire was tipped as well.If the presidential contest had been closer and had come down to a margin of three or four electoral college votes, then this voter fraud might have had extraordinary consequences. Regardless, in the Senate contest, it is highly likely that voting by nonresidents changed the result. Breitbart | 1real
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Race Obsessed Democrat Congressman CAUGHT Allowing Daughter To Use Vehicle With Congressional Plates As Taxi For Hire | Of course, Black Caucus member and loudmouth activist, Rep. Cummings would be the first to let everyone know how outraged he was if this what a white congressman A Lyft car adorned with congressional plates that went viral on social media belongs to Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), The Washington Post reported Tuesday.A photo submitted to local Washington, D.C., blog Popville last week depicted a black Honda with a pink Lyft driver sticker on its window shield and the words Maryland U.S. Congress 7-A on its license plates.Cummings told The Washington Post that his daughter who just graduated from Howard University has been using the car to drive for Lyft and earn extra income. In an effort to earn some extra money to pay her expenses at school, she signed up for a part-time position with one of the ride-sharing companies, Cummings said. They, in turn, gave her a sticker to apply to the windshield of the car. Cummings added that he has asked his daughter to remove the congressional plates, which afford special parking privileges for members and staffers.Allen B. West Elected to the House in 1996, Cummings is coming up on his 20th year representing Maryland s 7th congressional district which includes over half of Baltimore City and most of Howard County. His district contains some of Maryland s most black precincts, precincts in which statistics for crime and incarceration, homelessness, economic development, school drop-out, unemployment, drug conviction and out-of-wedlock birth rates all are consistently worse than both state and federal levels for all those same statistical categories.Yet despite these facts, Cummings believes its time for EVERYBODY ELSE to realize that black lives matter.In a piece published on afro.com Cummings laid out his plan new plan, Enacting Black Lives Matter into law , stating [in part]: America is at an historic crossroads. Either we will move forward in 2016 with public policies that support greater opportunity for everyone or we will continue to sink deeper into economic inequality, injustice and violence. These are the stakes in our current political struggles and this is why black lives should matter for everyone. It s not the first time congressional cars have come under the spotlight. Roll Call s video of Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) performing a botched park job outside the Capitol went viral last year. Via: The Hill | 1real
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WATCH: GOP Senator Pleads With Trump To Drop Out Of The Election (VIDEO) | Mike Lee (R-Utah) has been a major figure in among Congressional Republicans in the #NeverTrump movement. Following the release of audio recordings from 2005 that show just how much of a violent misogynist Donald Trump actually is, Lee has called for Trump to drop out of the race. Lee posted a video to his Facebook page where he gives a scathing response to Trump. During the video the senator says: If anyone spoke to my wife or my daughter or my mother or any of my five sisters the way [Donald Trump] has spoken to women, I wouldn t hire that person. I wouldn t hire that person, wouldn t want to be associated with that person, and I certainly don t think I d feel comfortable hiring that person to be the leader of the free world. Lee is absolutely correct. Imagine if Trump sat down in a job interview and the person interviewing him heard what Trump said in 2005. No one in their right mind would hire a person like that. That isn t all Lee had to say. He goes on to lambast the Republican nominee calling for him to drop out and let someone else run in his place. Your conduct, sir, is the distraction. It s the distraction from the very principles that will help us win in November. You yourself, sir, Mr. Trump, have stated repeatedly that the goal, the objective, has got to be to defeat Hillary Clinton in November. I couldn t agree more. Mr. Trump, I respectfully ask you, with all due respect to step aside. Step down. Allow someone else to carry the banner of these principles. Trump has no experience, no civility, and no practical policy ideas. If he was a prospective employee for any modern company, he would not be hired. It s ridiculous to think that a person whose public behavior would keep them out of even entry level positions could possibly be deemed qualified to be the president of the United States. What every voter in the United States needs to ask themselves especially women is if they would enjoy having Trump as a boss. Would they feel comfortable working in an environment where they knew that their boss held openly violent misogynistic views? How about f the fathers and husbands out there knew that their wife or daughter was working for a man like Trump? I certainly wouldn t and I couldn t think of a single person who would want to live in such a nightmare scenario. Lee cannot say it, though he must know that having Trump drop out of the race at this point in the election would mean a landslide victory for Hillary Clinton. It could also possibly do major in down ballot elections across the nation, further jeopardizing the GOP s control of Congress. Lee and others appear willing to take that risk to prevent a Trump administration. That should tell every voter out there just exactly how important it is to keep Trump out of office.Watch:Featured image from video screenshot | 1real
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Clinton calls for U.S. ‘intelligence surge’ in wake of Orlando attack | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton said on Monday that if elected, she would pressure U.S. technology companies to help intelligence agencies disrupt violent plots after a gunman inspired by radical Islamist groups killed 49 people in an Orlando nightclub. In a speech in Cleveland, she articulated plans for expanded online surveillance of potential extremist attackers. She is campaigning against presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump ahead of the November presidential election. “We already know we need more resources for this fight. The professionals who keep us safe would be the first to say we need better intelligence to discover and disrupt terrorist plots before they can be carried out,” Clinton said. “That’s why I’ve proposed an ‘intelligence surge’ to bolster our capabilities across the board, with appropriate safeguards here at home.” While Clinton did not detail what her effort would entail, she said she wants technology companies to be more cooperative to government requests for help in countering online propaganda, tracking patterns in social media and intercepting communications. Clinton’s comments will likely further stoke an international debate over digital privacy, which has flared after attacks in Paris, Brussels and San Bernardino, California. Omar Mateen, the 29-year-old Orlando shooter and a U.S. citizen, was likely inspired by jihadist content online, but there is not yet evidence that he was part of any plot directed by others outside the United States, FBI Director James Comey said Monday. Facebook (FB.O), Alphabet’s Google (GOOGL.O) and Twitter (TWTR.N) have all dedicated more resources to combating online propaganda and recruiting by Islamic militants within the past year. But they do so quietly to avoid the perception that they are overly cozy with authorities. The companies rely heavily on users to flag problematic content, which is impossible to eliminate completely without creating a highly censored Internet, according to technologists. Counterterrorism experts have also long said so-called lone wolf attackers are difficult to track and stop because they often do not communicate their plans to others. Twitter and Facebook had no immediate response to questions about Clinton’s comments. Google declined comment. The Center for Democracy and Technology and Electronic Frontier Foundation, both digital advocacy groups, said they were waiting for more specifics from Clinton before commenting. Unlike Trump, Clinton did not call for blocking online content. She did not reiterate her previous push for a massive effort to break encryption, and she ruled out targeted surveillance of Muslim Americans as “dangerous.” | 0fake
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PAUL JOSEPH WATSON Is Not Happy About The Air Strike On Syria…Here’s Why [VIDEO] | The truth about the air strike on Syria.SHARE: https://t.co/ABMiasgK6D pic.twitter.com/eoEjPeb5w7 Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) April 8, 2017Watson argues that half of Trumps advisors are CFR globalists and that he has NOT yet drained the swamp.Watson also claims the airbase that was bombed was actually protected a nearby Christian town from being overrun by jihadists. He claims that that town will now be taken over by jihadists, and that the air strike on the air base only cleared the way from them to move in and take over.Watson also questions why Assad would have used chemicals to attack his own people when it would be completely self-defeating? Less than one week ago, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said a regime change in Syria was off the table . Now Tillerson is saying regime change is back on the table. Why would Assad put himself in this position he asks? Watson believes there is a real chance that Trump has been surrounded and manipulated by neocons in the deep state . | 1real
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MINORITIES TURN ON OBAMA…BLAST HIS “LEGACY”: “I Voted For Your Black Ass…Is That Your Legacy…Obamaphones…Transgendered Toilets?” [VIDEO] | Barry, the Democratic party has done nothing for the black American. Your presidency has proved that. And you re going to call us disrespectful if we don t vote for Hillary? I m insulted you even asked Barry. https://twitter.com/hectormorenco/status/780254967273693185Obama's Legacy: Almost 8 years of Violence, rioting, looting & burning down communities. Time 4 real change. Everyone Should vote Trump! Diamond and Silk (@DiamondandSilk) September 22, 2016Obama's legacy of hate and racism is about to end, in 50 days @POTUS MT Gilbert (@tponews) September 20, 2016Since Obama has come into office terrorist attacks and race riots have become a regular occurrence. Hillary will only continue this legacy. Hispanics for Trump (@HispanicsTrump) September 23, 2016Here s angry Obama threatening the Black community to vote for him:https://twitter.com/P0TUSTrump/status/777707415601049600Here is a brilliant response to Obama s threat by an outspoken black critic of Obama s insulting presidency:Here are more responses to Obama s angry demand that minorities support Hillary, lest he be insulted .LOL!SeriouslyWe're not slaves anymore. No Obama, we're not voting for Clinton bc of your legacy honey. Put the pipe down #CrackIsWack RejoiceMagazine.net (@TemiaBrinson) September 19, 2016Obama claims that Trump is out to ruin his legacy, no honey, Trump is out to #MAGA. You ruined your own legacy by being a terrible president Black Women 4 Trump (@TallahForTrump) September 18, 2016I'm insulted by Obama more concerned about his damn legacy! What? Transgendered toilets? Ex-Dem Latina (@terrymendozer) September 19, 2016https://twitter.com/P0TUSTrump/status/776625654762725376As an added bonus, we ve included a few additional remarks from American voters about Barack s legacy:LIST: The Race Riots https://t.co/lM7Kye9lxw DRUDGE REPORT (@DRUDGE_REPORT) September 25, 2016https://twitter.com/CajunKangaroo/status/779830457445781504You cut a deal to ransom Americans from Iran, Obama.You funnelled > a BILLION dollars to our ENEMY.This is your 'legacy?'Enjoy. Linda Suhler, Ph.D. (@LindaSuhler) September 23, 2016https://twitter.com/NolteNC/status/780001984522977280Obamacare is imploding, Obama.In six years you single-handedly destroyed America's healthcare system.Some 'legacy.'Enjoy. Linda Suhler, Ph.D. (@LindaSuhler) September 23, 2016Let us know if we missed anything in the comment section below. | 1real
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Adele helps pregnant mothers by telling them; "It aint no fun being a mum!" | 1real
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Do not expect postcard-sized tax return from Republican plan: experts | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Since mid-2016, U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan has carried around a “postcard” that he has said shows how easy it will be for Americans to file their taxes once Republicans are finished their tax overhaul. And as recently as Thursday President Donald Trump touted Americans being able to “file their taxes on a single, little beautiful sheet of paper.” With lawmakers finalizing the biggest tax reform in 30 years and the president ready to sign it into law before the end of the year, the moment should be near when Ryan’s postcard stops being a rhetorical prop and becomes a reality. Right? “It’s kind of crazy to say you can file on a postcard when, first, no one is going to put their Social Security number on a postcard. And second, you already have a giant postcard in the form of the 1040EZ,” Mark Mazur, a director of the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, said, citing a 14-line Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax form. Representatives from the $11 billion U.S. tax preparation industry said that the legislation so far seemed unlikely to render their services unnecessary. “I don’t think you’re going to have millions of people filing their taxes on a cell phone,” said Mark Steber, chief tax officer at Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc [JAKHT.UL]. “I think the demise of the tax business is a bit premature.” The IRS would not discuss changes that might come from the proposed tax overhaul. However, the IRS estimates that, despite its efforts to make filing taxes easier, 90 percent of Americans use tax preparation services such as Jackson Hewitt, H&R Block Inc and Liberty Tax Inc or tax software such as TurboTax from Intuit Inc. If Congress enacts the Republican plan into law, it would not affect 2017 tax-year returns filed in 2018. But in 2019, millions of middle-class Americans would no longer gain from a wide range of deductions, credits and other tax breaks. A key driver of this, according to independent analyses, would be a proposed doubling of the standard deduction and a curtailment of the deduction for state and local tax payments. In combination, these two changes would mean that about 29 million people would no longer benefit from itemizing. So they would stop writing off their charitable donations, mortgage interest and state and local tax payments, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a think tank. Itemized deductions for medical expenses, investment interest, unreimbursed employee expenses and tax preparation fees could also be dropped by many. Personal exemptions for individual taxpayers, which now take up a lot of space on tax forms, would also be eliminated. Such changes would mean simpler taxes and possibly allow a number of taxpayers to use shorter forms. The IRS expects 24 million people in 2018 to file the longest and most widely used IRS form today, the Form 1040, which is 79 lines long. About 4.6 million people will use the 14-line 1040EZ. Wealthy Americans likely would still itemize under the Republican plan. Owning businesses, homes and other factors could also lead to taxes being more complicated than what filers could describe on a postcard. “Even though we’re talking about simplification for a large number of taxpayers, there’s still many taxpayers who will have complicated tax situations and we’ll be there to help them as well,” said David Williams, chief tax officer for TurboTax. (Adds first name, title in 4th paragraph) | 0fake
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Venezuela Supreme Court has staged effective coup: jurists' group | GENEVA (Reuters) - Venezuela s Supreme Court has progressively dismantled the rule of law, becoming an instrument of President Nicolas Maduro s government in what amounts to a coup against the constitutional order, an international human rights group said on Tuesday. The collapse of the judiciary has left victims of torture, killings and disappearances and their families without recourse to justice after months of violent street protests, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) said. It called on the U.N. Human Rights Council to take action. We have seen a judiciary that has essentially lost its independence and become a tool of a very authoritarian executive branch, Sam Zarifi, ICJ Secretary-General, told a news briefing. This breakdown of the rule of law has also severely obstructed accountability (and) essentially made it impossible to bring to justice those responsible for gross violations of human rights, he said. The Venezuelan government did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Foreign minister Jorge Arreaza on Monday rejected as baseless a U.N. report that found excessive use of force by its security forces and other violations. Four months of demonstrations in which at least 125 people were killed have all but stopped due to fatigue among protesters and disillusionment at seeing the ruling Socialist Party cement vast powers despite the concerted opposition push. The ICJ said the top court had undermined human rights and infringed the Constitution through a series of rulings since December 2015. In two rulings in March 2017, the Supreme Court of Justice effectively claimed legislative powers for itself, depriving the National Assembly of its Constitutional powers and granting sweeping arbitrary powers to the executive, it said. These decisions amount to a coup d tat against the Constitutional order and have ushered in a new reign of arbitrary rule, Zarifi said. Judges on the Supreme Court are mainly from the Socialist Party or former officials of the government of Maduro or both, the Geneva-based jurists group said. Judges who have demonstrated independence and ruled against the executive branch have faced retaliation and punishment, Zarifi said. Maduro denies accusations of a power grab, saying his actions, which include the creation of an alternative Constituent Assembly that has granted itself law-making powers, aim to restore peace after months of protests and violence. The new Constituent Assembly at this point acts as a body outside of the rule of law. It is able to legislate and create law and new regulations in the country without accountability, Zarifi said. The ICJ report, The Supreme Court of Justice: an instrument of executive power , was issued on the sidelines of the U.N. Human Rights Council. U.N. human rights chief Zeid Ra ad al-Hussein said on Monday that Venezuelan security forces may have committed crimes against humanity against protesters and called for an international investigation. The evidence that s there, of course it is not adjudicated, but certainly suggests room for investigating crimes against humanity, Zarifi said. Such crimes are defined as grave and systematic violations including torture, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings that are part of a state s policy, he said, adding: Those indicators are all there in Venezuela. Carlos Ayala, a Venezuelan lawyer and ICJ commissioner based in Caracas, told the briefing: The situation is worsening on a daily basis because of hyper-inflation (and) the lack of access for the majority of the population to medicines and health care. More than 600 civilian students are currently being tried before military courts in Venezuela, more than 1,000 young persons, students, are in jail because of the demonstrations. | 0fake
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REFS WALK OFF IN PROTEST After High School Players Kneel During Anthem | TWO PATRIOTS WALK:The officials, Ernie Lunardelli, 54, and his son, Anthony Lunardelli, 27, stood for the anthem and then abruptly left the field after seeing the players kneeling. Their spots on the five-person crew were filled by junior cadet officials at the game, Ernie Lunardelli said. DISRESPECTING OUR COUNTRY I m not in favor of anyone disrespecting our country, our flag, the armed forces, Ernie Lunardelli told NJ Advance Media Saturday afternoon. What they re protesting has nothing to do with the national anthem and I m against it, so I decided to protest for them kneeling and that s what I did. Ernie Lunardelli said weeks ago he informed the officials assigner for the Greater Middlesex Conference, Thomas Paulikas, that he would walk off the field if any players knelt for the anthem before his games.BEST COMMENT OF THE WEEK: Whoever is disrespecting that flag and the national anthem, that s who I have a problem with, Lunardelli said. That s my protest. I don t care if it s a baby, if it s an 80-year-old man, anybody. I don t care. Any race, color, I don t care who it is. It s not the way I was brought up and it pisses me off that people are doing that. PUNISHED FOR RESPECTING OUR COUNTRY:Lunardelli, meanwhile, said he and his son were unassigned from working Saturday s game between Spotswood and Raritan.After Lunardelli and his son left, they were replaced by two cadets who were already assigned to work on the chain crew for the game. Lunardelli alleged Saturday the game is not official because the cadets did not have proper certification or training. That game should not count now because they did not have the right personnel on the field, Lunardelli said. These kids weren t officially carded and trained, so they re putting the kids in jeopardy, I m not. Monroe athletic director Greg Beyer declined comment when reached by phone Saturday. State officials assigner Carmine Picardo also declined to discuss the situation, saying he did not know what could happen based on the protest by the Lunardellis.Colts Neck went on to defeat Monroe, 18-13.Read more: NJ.comALL IS NOT LOST:THIS NEW JERSEY HIGH SCHOOL HAS THE RIGHT IDEA:While some players choose to disrespect our national anthem, several New Jersey high school football programs are honoring those who protect and serve.St. Joseph High School held its second annual Military, Police and Fireman Appreciation Day in September:The event, which former St. Joseph head coach Casey Ransone initiated with tremendous success last season, includes a pregame ceremony and complementary tailgate for the honorees.What a great idea!Read more: MyCentralNJ.com | 1real
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South Korea says strongly condemns North Korea missile launch | SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea said on Tuesday it strongly condemned the ballistic missile launch by North Korea earlier in the day that flew over Japan and landed in the Pacific waters off Hokkaido. We will respond strongly based on our steadfast alliance with the United States if North Korea continues nuclear and missile provocations, the South s foreign ministry said in a statement. | 0fake
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Terrorist Jon Ritzheimer Uses Sobbing Daughters To Beg For Money Before Turning Himself In | Jon Ritzheimer, infamous hater of Muslims and one of the terrorists responsible for the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon, managed to escape the arrests made Tuesday by federal agents of ringleader Ammon Bundy and his band of right-wing nutjobs.According to a post on his Facebook page, Ritzheimer had returned to his home in Arizona to visit with his family:That was, of course, the real reason Ritzheimer was part of the occupation to begin with: Money. After his armed protest of a mosque in Arizona failed to bring in the $10 million he said he needed for security upgrades, Ritzheimer began appearing at idiotic movements all over the place. His last was the Bundy fiasco in Oregon. Ritzheimer has proven he will go out of his way to find a reason to beg for money, and this was no different. Before turning himself in, he released this video on his Facebook page, along with yet another plea for help for legal fees and for help for his family, who he clearly can t support.Ritzheimer has proven he will go out of his way to find a reason to beg for money, and this was no different. Before turning himself in, he released this video on his Facebook page. It s a real tear-jerker anytime you see a man who has repeatedly abandoned his family to fight for stupidity a thousand miles away:https://www.facebook.com/scrappyphx.rider/videos/474428609411611/?autoplay_reason=gatekeeper&video_container_type=0&app_id=6628568379Along with the video was yet another post, complete with a link for donations. Apparently Ritzheimer was pretty well prepared to NOT die for the cause:That s all he wants. A couple of weeks ago all he wanted was to die for the cause. Now all he wants is the government to play by his rules. Let s be honest, Jon all you want is money.There s no official word yet on Ritzhewimer s arrest or bail requirements. Addicting Info will update this story as more information becomes available.Featured image via file photo | 1real
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An Amateur vs. ISIS: A Car Salesman Investigates and Ends Up in Prison - The New York Times | WYOMING, Del. — By his own account, Toby Lopez was a supremely ordinary guy. He sold Toyotas and lived with his mother in a tidy rancher here with a cherry tree out front. He was proud that he could connect with customers — anyone from a Superior Court judge to, as he put it, “Redneck Bill from down on the farm. ” What passed for excitement was the time his young niece won a beauty contest and he chauffeured her in a red Corvette in a local parade. Then a high school friend was killed in Afghanistan, and the Islamic State began beheading American journalists. Horrified, Mr. Lopez heard on CNN one day in the fall of 2014 that the Islamic State was active on Twitter, and he went online to see what he could find. “I was intrigued,” said Mr. Lopez, 42. “What could they possibly be saying on Twitter?” What followed was a radical break from his humdrum life. He was pulled into the murky world of Internet jihadists, sparring with them from his office at the car dealership and late into the night at home. Before long, he was talking for hours on Skype with a man who claimed — falsely, as it would turn out — to be a top ISIS military commander, trying to negotiate the release of hostages. Mr. Lopez contacted the F. B. I. and began a testy relationship with counterterrorism agents who came to believe he might pose a danger. In the end, he landed in federal prison, where he was held for nearly 14 months without trial. The story of one man’s deepening obsession with a terrorist group is a reminder of how the Internet provides easy portals to distant, sometimes dangerous worlds. It shows the complications for law enforcement agents who confront an overeager amateur encroaching on their turf. But it also underscores how lost a person can feel inside the criminal justice system. Deprived of his freedom, his sanity in question, Mr. Lopez found himself without a legal advocate he trusted or access to evidence he believed could free him. The hundreds of emails, text messages and recorded Skype calls that Mr. Lopez saved show him growing more and more frantic when F. B. I. agents did not see things his way. Believing American hostages’ lives were at stake, he sent an agent 80 increasingly overheated messages in 10 days. In one, he declared, “Just remember whatever ends up happening to you … You deserved it,” and added an expletive. On Feb. 11, 2015, a dozen police and F. B. I. cars surrounded the house with the cherry tree, arrested Mr. Lopez and charged him with transmitting a threat. He was shuttled among federal facilities in Pennsylvania, New York, Oklahoma and North Carolina. Without access to his records, prison psychologists assumed his tales of talking to Islamic State members were fiction, symptoms of a mental illness that made him incompetent to stand trial. Prosecutors sought a hearing to decide whether he should be forcibly medicated. The defense finally obtained a third mental health evaluation — the first one by a psychologist who had actually reviewed Mr. Lopez’s voluminous files. It found him competent, and he was released on bail late last month. “Without having the documents,” Kirk Heilbrun, a Drexel University psychologist, wrote in his March 2 evaluation, “I would have concluded that his account of this entire series of events sounded both grandiose and delusional. Having reviewed these documents, however, I would not describe his account as delusional. ” On Friday, the United States attorney’s office in Delaware said it had taken the “exceedingly rare” step of dropping the charges. “We have not hesitated to do so when the facts and law support such a decision,” a statement said. In an interview last week, Mr. Lopez’s voice broke as he described his prison ordeal. “Nobody deserves to get dragged through what I got dragged through, along with my family,” he said. “It’s sad that when someone does something with righteous intentions and gets treated by the government this way. ” By his own admission, Mr. Lopez knew almost nothing about the Islamic State before 2014. Athletic and he had managed an Italian restaurant for years before becoming a car salesman. He became addicted to painkillers for a while, but he kicked the habit and has been off drugs for several years, he said. “Toby is your regular guy,” said Mary Roloff, who is married to Mr. Lopez’s half brother, Edward. At first, Mr. Lopez said, he started insulting people who praised the Islamic State on Twitter. Then he decided to learn more about his social media adversaries. He picked up a few Islamic terms online and began to engage the terrorist group’s supporters, even quoting the Quran to counter them. He found the anonymity of the Internet intoxicating. As he put it, nobody knew he was “little Toby, the car salesman from Delaware. ” On Google, Mr. Lopez discovered that one man who had engaged him on Twitter, calling himself @shishaniomar, seemed to be Omar or Omar the Chechen, the nom de guerre of the military commander of the Islamic State. Soon the two were regularly chatting on Skype. By early November 2014, he had left his job, agreeing with his boss that his online life had become a distraction. The man who claimed to be the Islamic State commander regaled him with tales of battle, grumbled about condescending Arab bosses and called Mr. Lopez “brother. ” The man confided that he did not believe that Islam condoned the taking of women and children as slaves. Soon he asked Mr. Lopez to raise ransom to free hundreds of members of the Yazidi religious minority held hostage by the Islamic State. When relatives gathered for Thanksgiving in 2014 at the Roloffs’ home near Baltimore, Mr. Lopez showed them jihadist videos and text message exchanges with Islamic State fans. “We love ‘CSI,’” Ms. Roloff said. “We thought, ‘This is really cool.’ But some of what he shared with us — like videos of kids hanging from a tree — started to scare me. It was beyond our comprehension. ” Mr. Lopez contacted the F. B. I. and two agents visited his home and interviewed him, he said. Through Allan Ripp, a New York public relations specialist he found online, Mr. Lopez also contacted The New York Times. Two reporters visited him in January 2015 and spent several hours reviewing his emails, texts and audio recordings. But after checking with experts, the reporters concluded that Mr. Lopez was talking not to the real, Mr. Shishani, but to an impostor. The actual commander did not speak fluent English, and the language overheard in the background of Skype calls was not Chechen, as the impostor claimed, but Kurdish. His multiple Twitter accounts had an antic tone he once posted a “Simpsons” cartoon about the Islamic State. “It’s definitely a fake,” Joanna Paraszczuk, a British journalist and researcher who tracks the Chechens fighting in Syria, said by email. She said the same man had duped an Australian radio station into interviewing him but later admitted that he was not the ISIS commander, but a Kurdish immigrant to Scandinavia. The man’s motive appeared to be money: He asked Mr. Lopez to bring the ransom to Sweden, supposedly to be forwarded to Syria. When the Times reporters told Mr. Lopez they did not believe he was dealing with the real Islamic State commander, he grew angry. He was hearing similar skepticism from the F. B. I. according to email exchanges with Jeffrey A. Reising, a senior counterterrorism agent based in Wilmington, Del. From the emails, it appears that Mr. Reising was exploring Mr. Lopez’s contacts even as he tried to persuade him to disengage from the online jihadist world. But Mr. Lopez connected with a second Twitter user claiming to be an Islamic State figure who could get American hostages released, and Mr. Lopez tried to contact several hostages’ families. At least one of them complained to the F. B. I. Convinced that he could save lives, Mr. Lopez brushed off Mr. Reising’s warnings. He wrote dozens of emails to the F. B. I. some proposing that he talk to the bureau’s director or even to President Obama. He focused on the case of Kayla Mueller, a American aid worker being held by the Islamic State. His online contacts had suggested that she might be freed. Despite his doubts about Mr. Lopez’s exploits, Mr. Reising appeared to believe he might have stumbled across useful information. “Can you provide all contact information for the person on that chat?” he wrote to Mr. Lopez on Feb. 4, 2015, referring to an exchange with a purported Islamic State representative. Near midnight, Mr. Lopez excitedly emailed the F. B. I. agent. “I want to bring her home alive,” he wrote. “I know I can do it and I will look the PRESIDENT in his eyes and tell him exactly that … Anything else your fooling yourself and your in denial!! Good night!” The weary F. B. I. agent replied: “Toby … . Seriously. Get some sleep. ” When Ms. Mueller was reported killed two days later in an airstrike, Mr. Lopez was furious and blamed the F. B. I. for not cooperating with him. His messages to the bureau grew more defiant. “Any attempt to arrest me will be treated as a hostile act,” he wrote to Mr. Reising. By then, agents had been informed by the Delaware State Police that Mr. Lopez’s mother, Joyce Lopez, had told them that her son had a shotgun and was in a “poor mental state. ” Mrs. Lopez, 78, said recently that she had simply asked whether the gun had to be registered. By Feb. 11, the F. B. I. had had enough. Mrs. Lopez arrived home to find her house surrounded. “Cars all over the place,” she recalled. “Toby was standing there with his hands up. I said, ‘What’s wrong? ’” The authorities had interpreted Mr. Lopez’s heated emails as a “threat to injure” Mr. Reising, a crime with a sentence of up to five years. Mr. Lopez said later that he had threatened only to expose what he considered government bungling to the news media. He was locked up, and federal prosecutors soon sought a court order for a mental health assessment. At an initial court hearing in Wilmington, family members urged Mr. Lopez’s public defender, Daniel I. Siegel, to collect the records of his online contacts, which they thought showed his intentions were good. By their account, Mr. Siegel ignored their pleas. “He just said, ‘Your brother is very sick and he needs help,’” Ms. Roloff recalled. Mr. Lopez said Mr. Siegel never came to see him in the year that followed, as he cycled through the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan (where he surprised a few terrorism defendants with Arabic phrases) a medical prison in Butner, N. C. (where he played on the softball team) and three other facilities. The first two psychological evaluations found that Mr. Lopez was suffering from “delusional disorder, grandiose type. ” To Mr. Lopez’s distress, Mr. Siegel did not contest the findings. A year into Mr. Lopez’s imprisonment, after complaints from his family and reporters’ inquiries, Edson A. Bostic, the chief federal public defender in Delaware, took over the case. He quickly obtained from the family the files documenting Mr. Lopez’s online history and arranged for the third psychological assessment. Dr. Heilbrun, the Drexel psychologist, declared in his report that if Mr. Lopez had not been talking with the real Mr. Shishani (who was killed last month) then someone posing as the Islamic State commander had pulled off “a clever, detailed, and hoax. ” In a statement on Friday, Mr. Bostic called the case “a complex matter” and praised Mr. Siegel’s record of representing indigent clients. But he said the complaints from Mr. Lopez and his family would be investigated. Mr. Siegel did not respond to emails seeking comment. Now that the charges have been dropped, Mr. Lopez, who missed two family weddings while in prison, is reconnecting with friends and relatives. “All over you see those billboards that say, ‘See Something Say Something,’” said Tana Stevens, Mr. Lopez’s sister. “He tried to do that. And they basically kidnapped him for 14 months. ” Mr. Lopez said he had consulted lawyers and was considering a lawsuit against the government officials responsible for his incarceration. “If I hadn’t gotten another evaluation, I might still be sitting down at Butner, with a needle in my arm,” he said. “This was the United States of America, flexing its muscles on me. ” | 0fake
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Trump knew for weeks that aide was being misleading over Russia: White House | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump knew for weeks that national security adviser Michael Flynn had misled the White House about his contacts with Russia but did not immediately force him out, an administration spokesman said on Tuesday. Trump was informed in late January that Flynn had not told Vice President Mike Pence the whole truth about conversations he had before Trump took office with Russia’s ambassador to the United States, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said. Pence learned of the “incomplete information” that he received from Flynn when news reports surfaced late last week, spokesman Mark Lotter said on Tuesday. Flynn quit on Monday after Trump asked for his resignation, and the president hopes to pick a new national security adviser by the end of the week, Spicer said. The departure was another disruption for an administration already repeatedly distracted by miscues and internal dramas since the Republican businessman assumed the presidency on Jan. 20. The New York Times reported late on Tuesday that members of Trump’s campaign and other associates had contact with senior Russian intelligence officials in the year before the Nov. 8 presidential election, although U.S. officials told the newspaper they had not uncovered any evidence that Trump’s associates colluded to disrupt the election. U.S. lawmakers, including some leading Republicans, called for a deeper inquiry into not just Flynn’s actions but broader White House ties to Russia. Trump has long said that he would like improved relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Representative Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, said Trump only moved against Flynn because of news media attention, not concern about any wrongdoing. “The reason they lost faith or trust in General Flynn only last night when they knew for weeks that he had been lying was that it became public,” Schiff told MSNBC. A timeline of events outlined by Spicer and a U.S. official showed that Trump had known for weeks about Flynn misleading the vice president. Trump, a former reality TV star whose catchphrase was “You’re fired!” has often boasted of his eagerness to get rid of subordinates. He was not quick to fire Flynn, a strong advocate of a better relations with Russia and a hard line against Islamist militants. The Justice Department warned the White House in late January that Flynn had misled Pence by denying to him that he had discussed U.S. sanctions on Russia with Ambassador Sergei Kislyak, a potentially illegal act, a U.S. official said. Flynn did talk about sanctions with the diplomat, whose calls were recorded by U.S. intelligence officials, the official said. But Pence went on television in mid-January and denied that Flynn had discussed sanctions. The Federal Bureau of Investigation interviewed Flynn in his early days as Trump’s national security adviser regarding his conversations with the Russian ambassador, a White House official confirmed. Spicer stressed that the administration believed there was no legal problem with Flynn’s conversations with Kislyak, but rather an issue over the president’s trust in his adviser. The turning point, Spicer said, was a Washington Post story published on Thursday in which Flynn, through a spokesman, said for the first time he could not say with 100 percent certainty that he had not discussed sanctions with Kislyak. Spicer said the Justice Department sought to notify the White House counsel on Jan. 26 about the discrepancies in Flynn’s accounts. “The White House counsel informed the president immediately. The president asked them to commit a review of whether there was a legal situation there,” Spicer told reporters, saying it was a “trust issue.” Flynn’s conversations with the ambassador took place around the time that then-President Barack Obama imposed sanctions on Russia, charging that Moscow had used cyber attacks to try to influence the 2016 presidential election in Trump’s favor. A U.S. official familiar with the transcripts of the calls with the ambassador said Flynn indicated that if Russia did not retaliate in kind for Obama’s Dec. 29 order expelling 35 Russian suspected spies and sanctioning Russian spy agencies, that could smooth the way toward a broader discussion of improving U.S.-Russian relations once Trump took power. Flynn’s discussions with the Russian diplomat could potentially have been in violation of a law known as the Logan Act, which bans private citizens from negotiating with foreign governments about disputes or controversies with the United States. There have been no modern prosecutions using the 1799 law. “The Logan Act is a red herring. The better question is whether he made any false statements to the FBI at any point, which would be a much bigger deal,” said University of Texas law professor Stephen Vladeck, adding the fallout would likely be “political” in nature. Flynn could also face legal trouble if it emerges that he violated other federal laws in his communications with the Russians, said Andrew Kent, a professor at Fordham University School of Law in New York. The Espionage Act criminalizes sharing information with foreign governments. Democrats, who do not have control of Congress, clamored for probes into Flynn, and asked how much Trump knew about his connections to Russia. U.S. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called for an investigation of potential criminal violations surrounding the resignation of Flynn. “What I am calling for is an independent investigation with executive authority to pursue potential criminal actions,” Schumer told reporters, saying such a probe could not be led by newly installed U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions or White House lawyers. Two leading Senate Republicans, Bob Corker and John Cornyn, said the Intelligence Committee should investigate Flynn’s contacts with Russia. But the highest-ranking Republican in Congress, House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, sidestepped questions about whether lawmakers should look into Flynn’s Russia ties, saying he would leave it to the Trump administration to explain the circumstances behind Flynn’s departure. A broader investigation of the White House and its ties to Russia is not possible without the cooperation either of the Justice Department or the Republican-led Congress. Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and Syria and Republican congressional opposition to removing sanctions on Russia make any White House attempt to embrace Putin problematic. Senator John McCain, a leading Republican voice on foreign relations, said Flynn’s resignation raised questions about the administration’s intentions toward Putin’s Russia. | 0fake
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Kurds Fear the U.S. Will Again Betray Them, in Syria - The New York Times | ISTANBUL — For almost two years, Syrian Kurds, with American weapons, air cover and training, have fought and died in battle against the Islamic State. They have taken pride in their status as the United States’ most faithful proxy in the fight against the militant group, and they have hoped their effectiveness as warriors would lead to American support for Kurdish political gains inside Syria. So, many Kurds shuddered when Turkish tanks and soldiers recently rolled into northern Syria, with American support, to push back against Kurdish gains. They saw it, perhaps prematurely, as a replay of a century of betrayal by world powers, going back to the end of World War I, when they were promised, then denied, their own state in the postwar settlement. “The Kurds are going to scream betrayal at every turn when they think things are not going to go their way, because they’ve had a century of it,” said Joost Hiltermann, the program director for the Middle East and North Africa at the International Crisis Group, and a longtime expert on the Kurds. The Syrian Kurds say their aim is to establish an autonomous region, not their own state, where their rights are protected, in whatever settlement comes from the long Syrian civil war. And they say they hope that the United States will support them in that desire. To accomplish that, though, they need to connect two of their territories: Afrin, in the west, and Kobani, in the east, an effort that Turkey sees as a national security threat to be thwarted at virtually any cost. So, while the first aim of Turkey’s incursion last month into northern Syria was to push the Islamic State from the border town of Jarabulus, many believe Turkey’s primary goal was to thwart Kurdish territorial ambitions. That the United States supported the move by Turkey, a NATO ally, reverberated among ethnic Kurds across the region, where they are spread across four countries — Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey — and have long dreamed of their own state, while being oppressed by autocratic governments that have denied them basic political rights. “These operations by Turkey are obviously more against the Kurds than Daesh,” said Mahmoud Othman, a prominent Iraqi Kurdish politician, using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State. He added: “People are afraid now. People are really afraid of what could happen in the end. ” Drawing on history, Kurds see themselves as the playthings of world powers, used in proxy fights when it serves someone’s interest and then discarded. The United States, on balance, has arguably been a great friend to the Kurds, coming to their aid after the Persian Gulf war in the early 1990s and helping to establish an autonomous region for them in Iraq, safe from Saddam Hussein’s brutality. However, the United States also figures prominently in that historical memory of betrayal. In 1975, after the C. I. A. worked with Iran to supply weapons to the Kurds to fight Mr. Hussein’s regime, Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger abruptly pulled the plug after a reconciliation between Tehran and Baghdad. “In 1975, the same betrayal of the Kurds happened,” said Hasos Hard, a Kurdish journalist in northern Iraq, when asked about his reaction to the American support for Turkey’s Syria incursion. Many analysts, though, as well as Syrian Kurdish fighters on the ground, say the accusations of betrayal are not quite right — at least not yet. There is little sign that the United States has abandoned the Syrian Kurds. American officials have worked to negotiate a truce on the ground between the rebels backed by Turkey and the Kurdish militia, known as the People’s Protection Units, and fighting has calmed in recent days. But many Kurds say they now see the writing on the wall and worry that once the Islamic State is driven from its capital in the Syrian city of Raqqa, the United States will sell them out. Mr. Hiltermann said that when he traveled to northern Syria this year, he was asked this question, over and over, by the Kurds: “What do you think the Americans will do when Raqqa is taken?” The question highlights the conundrum that the increasingly complicated Syrian battlefield presents the United States, which has tried to balance its relations with Turkey and the Syrian Kurds — a primary Turkish enemy because of their ties to militants inside the country. Even though the United States has funneled weapons to the Syrian Kurds and provided them with military training, it has not established ties to the militia’s political wing, the Democratic Union Party, because of Turkish concerns. Nor has it promised them anything beyond military support in the fight against the Islamic State, other than expressions of support for a Kurdish role at the negotiating table when, or if, serious peace talks get underway. Aliza Marcus, an author and expert on the Kurds, said, “It seems crass by the U. S. ” to provide military support without any steps to establish political ties. This seems especially true now, she said, after the Kurds took heavy casualties in pushing the Islamic State out of Manbij, a city in northern Syria they recently liberated, and are now being asked to leave because Turkey does not want them there. Lacking United States support, the Democratic Union Party has been shut out of Syrian peace talks that have been held in Geneva, and now there are increasing worries that Washington will eventually distance itself from the Syrian Kurds in a bid to improve relations with Turkey. “The U. S. themselves, they say, these are the best fighters against Daesh,” said Mr. Othman, referring to the People’s Protection Units. “These are the best allies. Hopefully they will stick to that, and help them, and not leave them in the end. ” The recent events stand in marked contrast to a year ago, when it seemed that the Kurds were capitalizing on the turmoil in the Middle East to make historic gains. In Syria, they had secured land and found a powerful benefactor in the United States. In Turkey, for the first time, a Kurdish political party entered Parliament after elections. In Iraq, amid the fight against the Islamic State, they took control of Kirkuk, a city historically divided between Arabs and Kurds. A year later, though, those prospects have dimmed. Iraq’s Kurds, somewhat insulated from the Syrian crisis, are pushing forward with their ambitions for independence, undaunted by an economic crisis. But in Turkey a war has resumed between the Kurdistan Workers’ Party and the Turkish state, and the main Kurdish political party has been isolated from national politics. In Syria, the Turkish military has quashed the Kurds’ efforts to link their two territories. Further complicating matters, the Syrian conflict has become intertwined with Turkey’s domestic turmoil. Turkey now sees itself as fighting the Kurdistan Workers’ Party on three fronts: in Turkey, in northern Syria and in northern Iraq, where its members hide out in the mountains. As a result, analysts now say that there can be no final settlement of the Syrian civil war without the resumption of peace talks between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, of which the Democratic Union Party is its Syrian affiliate. For now, the Kurds are still counting on the Americans to preserve them a place in a future Syrian state. “They should help them politically, to have rights in Syria,” Mr. Othman said. The Kurds, he said, “want a new Syria to be established, with them having a say in it. ” If nothing else, the American military support, even without any promises on the political front, has legitimized the Syrian Kurds’ ambitions. It has helped them to secure a large section of territory they say they will never give up, no matter what their patrons do. “Throughout history, the Kurds were abandoned,” said Ahmad Haj Mansour, a Democratic Union Party official who lives in Britain. “But now, the time and place is different. We don’t need world powers to survive. We are in charge of our land, and we have fighters. ” | 0fake
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2:00PM Water Cooler 11/4/2016 | By Lambert Strether of Corrente .
TPP/TTIP/TISA
TPP: A Podesta mail where Nikki Budzinski, Labor Outreach Director, discusses Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson: “I have received four calls from labor about a district meeting that Congresswoman Johnson (a HRC public supporter) held in Dallas, Texas where she discussed TPP. She claimed in the meeting that she speaks with HRC 2-3 times a week and that she was told by the Secretary that the only reason she opposes TPP is to get ‘labor off her back’ and that once she is elected President she will reverse position. I have worked with our Western Political Director Jessica Meija, and she has connected with the Congresswoman’s COS to clarify the inaccuracy of what she said and push back on her comments. This was not helpful with labor. [ Wikileaks (attachment)]. “Inaccuracy.” Of course, of course.
TPP: “[Our Revolution,] the progressive group founded by Sen. Bernie Sanders has begun a targeted campaign to sway at least five House Democrats to oppose the TPP in hopes it could change the outcome of a ratification vote — and it’s getting some results” [ Politico ]. “Our Revolution, which Sanders formed in late August to support liberal candidates, has set its sights on at least five other fence-sitting lawmakers. In a vote that’s expected to have razor-thin margins, plundering just a few Democratic votes the White House hoped to gain could make all the difference. The target list includes Reps. Seth Moulton (Mass.), Ed Perlmutter (Colo.), Beto O’Rourke (Texas), Derek Kilmer (Wash.), and Pennsylvania state Rep. Dwight Evans.”
TPP: “In Thursday, Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers published a report warning that if the TPP isn’t passed, a China-backed trade agreement will takes its place. That could put U.S. manufacturers at a disadvantage when they try to sell to customers in Japan and other Asian nations. The report argues that if China’s Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership goes into effect, at least 35 U.S. industries as diverse as plastics, fishing and footwear will be at risk of increased competition from China in the Japanese market” [ FiveThirtyEight ]. So they’ve settled on this messaging, now? And: “[I]f Clinton wins, Obama might be able to put together a coalition of Republicans and trade-friendly Democrats* to support the treaty. In other words, TPP isn’t dead yet.” * Especially those looking for jobs on K Street.
TPP: “”If TPP is not passed and RCEP is enacted, which is what all these countries say they are planning to do, then U.S. businesses would face a direct loss of competitive position,” said Jason Furman, the chair of the Council of Economic Advisers” [ Reuters ]. “This would displace U.S. goods and be worse than simply maintaining the trade status quo, Furman said. The study identifies 35 industrial sectors employing 4.7 million people with $5.3 billion in sales to Japan that would face such a disadvantage.”
TPP: “Japan’s ruling parties push TPP through committee after opposition walkout” [ Nikkei Asian Review ]. “The next hurdle for the trade deal is a vote during a plenary session of the House of Representatives, expected early next week. It will then be sent to the Diet’s upper house, the House of Councillors.”
TPP: “Working-class U.S. residents already lose about $1,800 annually because wages have been depressed by global competition on labor rates, according to the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute. TPP would deepen this problem” [ Detroit Free Press ]. I know the cheap goods are supposed to make up for this, but when your jobs and and what you can afford to buy are both crapified….
2016
Days until: 3!
Corruption
“Two former Christie administration insiders charged in a bizarre scheme of political retaliation against a mayor who refused to endorse the governor for re-election were found guilty Friday on all counts in the long-running Bridgegate saga” [ Newark Star-Ledger ]. “‘In keeping with the disgrace that was this trial, one of the things the U.S. Attorney’s Office should be ashamed of is where it decided to draw the line on who to charge and who not to charge,’ Baroni’s attorney Michael] Baldassare said. ‘… They should have had belief in their own case to charge powerful people, and they did not.” Hmm. I wonder which “powerful people” Baldassare has in mind?
Our Famously Free Press
“Behind all the Times’ fawning profiles of Clinton — and the denigrating pieces not only on Trump but also Democratic challenger Bernie Sanders — was a cozy understanding between Times reporters and the Clinton campaign, WikiLeaks has shown us, that getting Clinton elected is something of a collaborative effort” [ MarketWatch ]. “Editors at the Times, the Washington Post and elsewhere justify this hostility because they have determined that Trump is an existential threat to democracy and the worst presidential nominee in history and can’t be treated as an ordinary candidate. So why do the polls show the worst nominee ever running neck-and-neck with the candidate President Barack Obama has praised as the most qualified person ever to run for president? Do these editors know something that tens of millions of American voters are missing? Whose job is it really to decide what poses a threat to our democracy — a handful of editors in the corporate media or the voters?”
The Voters
New Hampshire : Clinton 44%, Trump 44%, Johnson 5% ( UMass Lowell )
Iowa : Trump 44%, Clinton 41%, Johnson 5% ( RABA Research )
Virginia : Clinton 45%, Trump 38%, Johnson 5% ( Roanoke College )
Georgia : Trump 48%, Clinton 46%, Johnson 4% ( Landmark )
Missouri : Trump 52%, Clinton 41% ( PPP )
New Hampshire : Clinton 48%, Trump 43% ( PPP )
Nevada : Clinton 48%, Trump 45% ( PPP )
Wisconsin : Clinton 48%, Trump 41% ( PPP )
Pennsylvania : Clinton 48%, Trump 44% ( PPP )
North Carolina : Clinton 49%, Trump 47% ( PPP )
Wisconsin : Clinton 44%, Trump 38%, Johnson 7% ( Loras College )
If I plug all the states where Clinton is ahead into the New York Times “paths to victory” calculator , Clinton wins — even if Trump wins Florida. Of course, last I checked, NH was dead even, not Clinton up 4, and I don’t have the chops to assess how good any of these polls are.
“Trump is finishing the race the way many Republicans wished he could have run it from the start: fiercely on message and on offense” [ RealClearPolitics ]. “Trump has largely adhered to his teleprompters and resisted controversial tweets this week. As Clinton campaigned a few days ago with Alicia Machado, the former Miss Universe winner with whom Trump has infamously feuded, the GOP nominee focused primarily on higher costs for Obamacare and the revived FBI investigation into emails pertinent to Clinton’s private server. The campaign believes those issues bolster his closing argument that Clinton is corrupt and a vestige of old politics, while he says he’s an agent of change.”
“Our polling data suggests that the missing whites aren’t exactly conservative populists who support Mr. Trump. They’re just dissatisfied: They don’t like their candidate, and they don’t like the other party’s candidate much either” [ New York Times ]. “The registered white missing Democrats, for instance, support Mrs. Clinton by only 61 percent to 19 percent. The missing registered white Republicans support Mr. Trump by only 69 to 13.”
“Election Update: Why Clinton’s Position Is Worse Than Obama’s” [Nate Silver, FiveThirtyEight ]. “In the table below, I’ve run a head-to-head comparison showing how many electoral votes each candidate was projected to have at various margins of victory or defeat. For instance, Obama had a lead in states (and congressional districts) totaling 332 electoral votes in our final 2012 forecast. Clinton leads in states totaling only 272 electoral votes, just two more than the minimum she needs to win the Electoral College.” In brief, Clinton is stronger than Obama among highly educated voters in states that she would win anyhow , and weaker among white voters without college degrees in states that are close.
War Drums
“The U.S. government believes hackers from Russia or elsewhere may try to undermine next week’s presidential election and is mounting an unprecedented effort to counter their cyber meddling, American officials told NBC News. The effort is being coordinated by the White House and the Department of Homeland Security, but reaches across the government to include the CIA, the National Security Agency and other elements of the Defense Department, current and former officials say” [ NBC ]. ” Officials are alert for any attempts to create Election Day chaos, and say steps are being taken to prepare for worst-case scenarios, including a cyber-attack that shuts down part of the power grid or the internet. But what is more likely, multiple U.S. officials say, is a lower-level effort by hackers from Russia or elsewhere to peddle misinformation by manipulating Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms. For example, officials fear an 11th hour release of fake documents implicating one of the candidates in an explosive scandal without time for the news media to fact check it.
The Trail
“With Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump breathtakingly close in polls of key states, analysts are beginning to factor in the possibility of recounts that would delay the outcome” [ MarketWatch ]. “Bear in mind that a candidate would have limited time to contest the vote. This year, the Electoral College is due to meet on Dec. 19. By law, electors meet on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December.” A recount would make Florida 2000 look like a walk in the park, especially because Clinton, bless her heart, is unlikely to let herself be rolled, unlike Gore.
Michigan: “Hillary Clinton is hanging onto a narrow 4-point lead over Donald Trump in Michigan heading into the last weekend before Tuesday’s election, with a new Free Press poll showing clear momentum for the Republican nominee in a state that several weeks ago was believed all but decided for the Democrat” [ Detroit Free Press ]. ” [T]he number of undecided voters — 13% — remains extraordinarily high for this late in an election cycle, speaking to the high unfavorable marks voters give both major party candidates.” Normally, I’d say a 4% lead is a lot, but those undecideds. Wowsers.
Realignment
“Who Broke Politics?” [Paul Krugman, New York Times ]. “So how did all our political norms get destroyed? Hint: It started long before Donald Trump. On one side….” Hint: You will read to the end of the column without finding the “On the other side” that “on one side” sets up. I mean, it wasn’t mean Republicans who prevented Obama from throwing the banksters in jail, was it?
“America and the Abyss” [Andrew Sullivan, New York Magazine ]. Of course, if Trump really were a fascist, the Democratic Establishment would fight him tooth and nail. Right?
“Donald Trump didn’t break one of our two great and ancestral political parties. He won the nomination because the Republican Party was already broken, and those responsible for the party, the elected officials and thinkers, didn’t know. Now they do” [Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal , “Democracy’s Majesty and 2016’s Indignity”]. “Soon they will begin that stage of political mourning known as the symposia process. They’ll discuss how to repair, renew, keep the party together. Or the party will, over the next few cycles, split apart… The Democratic Party and its lobbyist/think-tank/journalistic establishment in Washington have long looked to me to be dominated by people devoted mostly to getting themselves in the best professional position and their kids into Sidwell Friends School. They want to be part of the web, the arrangement. They want to have connections, associates, a tong. They want to be wired in. They don’t want to be I.F. Stone, alone, reading the fine print of obscure government documents. And Clintonism—for years the biggest web, the securest source of money, a real tong with enforcers and reward-dispensers—has long been a sound route to all of this. You may have to bend rules to be part of it, accept unsavory deals and characters, but it is warm and cozy in there.” And:
One thing I saw this year was that sincere conservatives wholly opposed to socialism had real respect for Bernie Sanders because they saw his sincerity. He wasn’t part of the web and they honored him for it.
I never thought I’d find myself writing this, but for punditry I’ll take Nooners over Krugman’s hackery or Sullivan’s hysterical ranting. It’s been quite a year.
Democrat Email Hairball
“The Podesta Emails Part 29” [ Wikileaks ].
“[A] meeting between POTUS and HRC at a critical time” [ Reddit (aliteralmind)]. From Podesta email drop #28. One of those timeline things that does make you go, hmm. Particularly the genesis of the meeting in previous meeting between Podesta and White House chief of staff Denis McDonough in an “offsite” Starbucks near the White House. If I were Putin, I’d have that Starbucks wired to the gills.
“What the WikiLeaks emails tell us about Hillary Clinton’s campaign (and what they don’t)” [ Los Angeles Times ]. Death of a thousand cuts.
“The real Clinton email scandal is that a bullshit story has dominated the campaign” [Matt Yglesias, Vox ]. Oh, Matty.
Stats Watch
Employment Situation, October 2016: Unemployment Rate – Level (4.9 %); Participation Rate – level (62.8%) [ Econoday ]. “Solid payroll growth is not the whole story of the October employment report. Average hourly earnings are rising, up an outsized 0.4 percent in the month with the year-on-year rate, at 2.8 percent, suddenly near 3.0 percent and at its recovery peak… The unemployment rate is down 1 tenth to 4.9 percent and, for some, is already signaling full employment for the labor market.But negatives are scarce in this report, where strength is emphatically underscored by the unexpected acceleration in average hourly earnings which further includes an upward revision to September. Today’s report marks a solid opening to fourth-quarter data and will raise talk of a wage-inflation flashpoint…” Gotta take the punchbowl away from lower orders! But: ” The number of persons working part time for economic reasons was essentially unchanged in October. This level suggests slack still in the labor market” [ Calculated Risk ]. Moreover: “t’s also worth noting that the standard measure of unemployment — now at 5 percent — doesn’t capture the lingering weakness in the market seen in the broader U6 measure, which includes discouraged workers, other workers marginally attached to the labor force and those in temporary jobs because they can’t get full-time work. The conventional unemployment measure is a hair below its mean from 2003-7, which is 5.2 percent. The broader U6, however, at 9.7 percent is higher than its 2003-7 mean of 9.1 percent. This is just another sign that there’s still slack in the labor market.” [ Bloomberg ]. And: “Should we believe the employment numbers in this report? There is little evidence of political bias in past election cycles” [ Econintersect ]. “To sum this report up – employment is continuing to tread water – growing little better than the theoretical working population growth. However, note that the household survey removed 43,000 to the workforce (which is the reason the unemployment rate declined). There was really nothing good or nothing really terrible – although manufacturing declined. The year-over-year rate of growth significantly declined this month.” Again, the Econoday summary is just a little too breathless for this Maine bear.
International Trade, September 2016: “A decline in imports helped pull down the nation’s trade gap sharply in September, to $36.4 billion from a revised $40.5 billion in August. Imports, reflecting declines for capital goods and also consumer goods, fell 1.1 percent while exports, showing an especially strong gain for capital goods, rose 0.6 percent” [ Econoday ]. “Declining imports are a plus for the GDP calculation but are not signals of strength for domestic demand, whether business demand for capital goods or business expectations for consumer imports ahead of the holidays.” And: “Declining imports are a plus for the GDP calculation but are not signals of strength for domestic demand, whether business demand for capital goods or business expectations for consumer imports ahead of the holidays” [ Econintersect ].
Jobless Claims: “However, comparing initial claims today with the past is the proverbial apples to oranges. An important fact in looking at claims data is that vastly fewer people today are eligible for unemployment benefits. In other words, the number of unemployed people who can’t receive jobless benefits — and thus are not in the initial claims data — has risen relative to those who have unemployment insurance” [ Bloomberg ]. As Mosler has been saying.
Housing: “Residential remodeling has recovered to 38% of the peak it attained prior to the Great Recession. New residential construction, on the other hand, is only at 17% of the peak” [ Econintersect ].
Retail: “The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has just announced that Samsung is having to recall its top-load washing machines due to a risk of impact injuries. The exact hazard listed was that the washing machine top can unexpectedly detach from the washing machine chassis during use, posing a risk of injury from impact” [ 247 Wall Street ]. “What matters here is that this will not be a cheap recall. You can drive a smartphone back to the store or mail it in cheaply. Have you ever tried moving a washing machine, or just dealing with getting a technician out to deliver or fix one? And the size of this recall is huge — about 2.8 million total units!” Korea is really having its troubles, isn’t it? Samsung is a failing national champion, Hanjin went bankrupt, and there’s a ginormous scandal with their President.
Shipping: “In August, the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) reported its first quarterly volume decline for the first time after 25 straight quarters of growth. Earlier this week, marked its second straight quarterly volume decline, officially extending more of an unwelcome streak” [ Logistics Management ]. “Total third quarter intermodal volume movements—at 4,348,634—were off 4.6 percent annually, following a 6.1 percent second quarter decline at 4,271,162. The first quarter of 2016 saw volumes rise 2.0 percent annually. … Like recent quarters, domestic containers were the lone metric to see an increase.”
Shipping: “Orders for heavy-duty commercial trucks in North America plummeted 46% in October from the same month last year, providing a grim outlook for truck manufacturers in the coming year” [ Wall Street Journal , “Truck Orders Tumbled 46% in October “]. “In an analyst note Thursday, Stifel said the October order total was the weakest since 2009, falling well below expectations. “October orders are critical as they represent the traditional start to the order season for trucks to be produced the next year,” the report said.”
Shipping: “After four days [!!!] firefighters have finally managed to douse the terrible tanker blaze that killed many workers at a shipbreaking site in Gadani, Pakistan. Rescue work inside the hull of the Indonesian ship cannot start however as the steel plates are still too hot” [ Splash 247 ]. “While there are now 21 confirmed dead, the eventual death toll could hit triple figures with many unaccounted for inside the hull of the ship and a number of the 60 workers sent to hospital deemed to have such severe burns that they are unlikely to survive.” The human cost of excess capacity.
The Bezzle: “GoPro’s forward statements are not believable, in light of its recent performance, and management’s ability to forecast. It is also essentially a one-product company, and that product does not sell very well” [ 247 Wall Street ].
The Bezzle: “the app economy may have passed its peak. CB Insights analyzed the company descriptions of thousands of startup companies receiving VC funding for the first time between 2010 and today, scanning for buzzwords that describe the companies’ field of focus. While ‘app] is still the keyword that shows up in the most company descriptions, the share of startups working with apps in some way has declined for three straight years” [ Econintersect ]. “Looking at the terms with the largest increase in mentions in startup company descriptions between 2010 and 2016 possibly allows us to glimpse into the future and gives us an idea of what the next big thing might be. According to CB Insights’ analysis, these terms are ‘virtual reality’, ‘machine learning’ and ‘natural language.'” I think reality is quite virtual enough already, thank you.
The Fed: “Central bank independence ‘comes from an understanding of the macroeconomic policy problem that is not relevant to current times,’ Summers said in a speech at the International Monetary Fund” [ MarketWatch ]. “During the question-and-answer session, Summers said he did not think that entitlement reform should be on the immediate agenda for the next administration. He said that policy makers should focus solely on accelerating growth. If they are successful in sparking demand, the long-run debt-to-GDP ratio will be sustainable, he said. If policy makers fail, it will not be.”
Today’s Fear & Greed Index: 17 Fear (previous close: 18, Fear) [ CNN ]. One week ago: 46 (Neutral). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated Nov 3 at 11:31am. Still waiting for single digits.
Corruption
“Prosecutors in the Singapore trial of a former BSI banker said this week the defendant and other former employees of the Swiss bank helped launder up to $2.3 billion looted from the Malaysia sovereign wealth fund 1MDB” [ FCPA Blog ] and “Two former executives of a Singapore-based defense contractor have been extradited to the United States in the massive bribes-for-secrets scandal that has rocked the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Command” [ FCPA Blog ]. Wait, what? I thought Singapore was supposed to be squeaky clean?
Standing Rock and #NoDAPL
“SEE IT: Journalist shot with rubber bullet while conducting interview at Standing Rock protests” [ New York Daily News ]. The journalist says “officer,” but it’s not clear to me whether “officer” means “cop” or “mercenary.”
Gaia
“The average U.S. family destroys a football field’s worth of Arctic sea ice every 30 years” [ Science ]. “If both the linear relationship and current emission trends hold into the future, the study suggests the Arctic will be ice free by 2045—far sooner than some climate models predict. The study suggests that those models are underestimating how warm the Arctic has already become and how fast that melting will proceed.”
Guillotine Watch
“In the seven years since, terror threats in Europe and political uncertainty from Britain to the U.S. have helped make [New Zealand] — a day by air away from New York or London — a popular bolthole for the mega wealthy” [ Bloomberg ]. Great. Cut the undersea cables, and they might as well be on Mars.
Class Warfare
“Instacart workers are earning a lot less money after changes to the company’s pay structure — changes CEO Apoorva Mehta told BuzzFeed News are necessary for the company’s continued growth, but that hundreds of vocal Instacart shoppers say are threatening their livelihoods. According to a Buzzfeed News analysis of 15 workers’ pay stubs, shifts that once earned shoppers $100 or more in 4–8 hours have dropped closer to $60 to $80 for similar shifts. These shoppers estimate their earnings have fallen by around 30% so far” [ Buzzfeed ]. Should have filed this under The Bezzle, maybe. Yet another Silicon Valley darling whose valuation depends on screwing over working people. Oh, and this is good:
The vast majority of shoppers who spoke with BuzzFeed News for this article asked to remain anonymous out of concern that their accounts would be deactivated for speaking with the press; Instacart said it has never deactivated workers for speaking publicly about their experience with the company.
Yikes!
“The case for social insurance begins with the recognition that capitalist economies are subject to boom-and-bust cycles. With a managed, socialist economy, business cycles are much less severe (though they can’t be eliminated entirely, for example, in years when agricultural production is unexpectedly low due to the weather) because the government manages production and employment. But these economies tend to grow slower than capitalist economies, and they often have substantial inefficiencies in the way resources and labor are used” [Mark Thoma, CBS ].
“”What Makes Scandinavia Different?” [ Jacobin ]. “The only way to get “Scandinavian levels” of redistribution and social protection is to start building powerful popular movements capable of advancing this agenda.”
News of the Wired
“Before Irv Teibel, listening to nature meant leaving the house. Here’s the story of the man who brought the rain, thunder, and crickets to your stereo, one satisfied, relaxed customer at a time” [ Pitchfork ].
“The People’s Code” [ code.gov ]. We’ve got the U.S. Digital Service, but not a National Health Service. Seems odd.
* * *
Readers, feel free to contact me with (a) links, and even better (b) sources I should curate regularly, and (c) to find out how to send me images of plants. Vegetables are fine! Fungi are deemed to be honorary plants! See the previous Water Cooler (with plant) here . And here’s today’s plant (b1whois):
That tree is a little ecosystem in itself…
Readers, Water Cooler is a standalone entity, not supported by the very successful Naked Capitalism fundraiser just past. Now, I understand you may feel tapped out, but when and if you are able, please use the dropdown to choose your contribution, and then click the hat! Your tip will be welcome today, and indeed any day. Water Cooler will not exist without your continued help. Donate | 1real
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No Charges for Mother of Boy Who Slipped Into Gorilla Enclosure at Cincinnati Zoo - The New York Times | An Ohio prosecutor said Monday that no charges would be brought against Michelle Gregg, the mother of a boy whose foray into an exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo led to the killing of a gorilla and set off a frenzy of condemnation online. The Hamilton County prosecutor, Joseph T. Deters, made the announcement at a news conference in Cincinnati after an investigation that relied on the recollections of four witnesses. “She was being attentive to her children by all witness accounts,” he said. “And the just scampered off. ” Ms. Gregg, 32, who was also accompanied on the trip by three of the boy’s sisters on May 28, had turned her back for a matter of “seconds” when the child made a beeline for the Gorilla World enclosure, Mr. Deters said. “If anyone doesn’t believe a can scamper off very quickly,” he said, “they’ve never had kids because they can, and they do. ” In a statement, the Gregg family said it was pleased with the decision. “This is one more step in allowing us to put this tragic episode behind us and return to our normal family life,” the statement said. “We extend thanks to all of those who have been praying for us and who have supported us through this trying ordeal and praise to God for his mercy and grace. ” Ms. Gregg had faced intense public scrutiny, as well as unrelenting invective on social media, over what some saw as her failure to block the boy from the pen. After breaching a fence, the boy fell about 15 feet into a shallow moat and was then dragged around by Harambe, a western lowland gorilla weighing more than 420 pounds. Zoo workers, fearing for the child’s safety, shot and killed the animal. By early Monday, a petition demanding that Ms. Gregg be investigated for evidence of child neglect had nearly half a million signatures from people who called her attention to the boy “unacceptable” and “grossly negligent. ” Ms. Gregg has declined to give interviews, but in statements released through a spokeswoman, Gail Myers, the family said it had cooperated with the police investigation. The family had no plans to sue the zoo, Ms. Myers said. Witnesses at the zoo described panicked moments as Harambe at times seemed to take a protective posture with the child, but would then yank him violently by the ankle. Thane Maynard, the zoo’s director, said the boy’s head was “banging on concrete. ” In Ms. Gregg’s 911 call, she sounds frantic: “He’s dragging my son,” she says. “I can’t watch this. I can’t. I can’t. ” The screams of the crowd added another volatile element, causing Harambe to become agitated and disoriented, zoo officials said. After about 10 minutes, zoo officials made the fraught decision to kill the endangered animal, firing a single rifle shot to Harambe’s head as he stood over the boy. The boy ended up with scrapes and bruises, but no serious injuries. “This is a beautiful little boy,” Mr. Deters said on Monday, “and had they not acted and this animal behaved sometimes like animals behave, we could have had a genuine tragedy here. ” The zoo faced harsh questions over its decision to use live rounds rather than a tranquilizer dart, and was criticized for erecting a security barrier that could be so easily breached by a small boy. Mr. Maynard, the zoo director, said that the drug would not have acted quickly enough in a situation that at any second could have turned deadly for the boy. The pierce of a dart also presented a risk of startling the powerful animal, he said. The zoo has also defended the barrier around the gorilla enclosure as adequate, noting that until May it had not once been breached since the exhibit opened in 1978. Still, last week the zoo unveiled a reinforced version, raised to 42 inches and secured by wooden beams and knotted rope netting. The exhibit is scheduled to reopen on Tuesday. The Department of Agriculture and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums have both opened investigations into the episode. During his news conference, Mr. Deters defended the zoo’s decision to kill the animal: “The one thing I will say, the zoo lost a beautiful animal, one that many people in this area have enjoyed watching for a long time, but it’s still an animal. “It does not equate human life,” he added. “And they felt that this boy’s life was in jeopardy, and they made the painful choice to do what they did. ” Western lowland gorillas are considered critically endangered, with fewer than 175, 000 left in the wild in Africa. The zoo said Harambe, who was born in captivity and turned 17 the day before he was killed, was an intelligent and curious animal on his way to becoming a group leader. Last week, the Gregg family asked that people offering to send money direct it instead to the Cincinnati Zoo in Harambe’s name. | 0fake
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New York City plans largest-ever Election Day police presence | NEW YORK (Reuters) - Both U.S. presidential candidates plan to watch Tuesday night’s election returns in New York, prompting the city to stage the largest Election Day police deployment in its history, officials said on Monday. More than 5,000 police officers will be stationed around the United States’ largest city, and there will be extensive street closures in the neighborhoods where Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump plan to watch returns come in - and where one will likely declare victory before hundreds of cheering supporters. “We know that the eyes of the world will be on New York City,” Mayor Bill de Blasio told a news conference on Monday. “We have an obligation, not only to the people in the city but to this country, to make sure that tomorrow, all through the day and particularly tomorrow night, go smoothly and goes well.” Clinton plans to hold her election night event at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center near the Hudson River, while Trump’s will be at a large Hilton Hotel in Midtown Manhattan. The city’s heightened security efforts come after federal authorities received unspecific threats of attacks by the al Qaeda militant group on New York City, Texas and Virginia around Election Day. Tuesday will be the first time that both major party candidates have spent Election Day in New York City since 1944, when New York state’s Republican governor, Thomas Dewey, tried to unseat Democrat and New Yorker Franklin Roosevelt, who went on to win an unprecedented fourth term in office. The New York City Police Department plans to station uniformed officers, including some with automatic weapons and explosives-detection equipment, across Manhattan and the city’s 1,205 polling stations. All of the city’s bomb-sniffing police dogs will be deployed, as well as special roving teams of officers, police said. The candidates will also be protected by the U.S. Secret Service, which has provided security for both candidates during the presidential campaign and will work with the city police department on Tuesday. “This is by far the largest election detail that the NYPD has ever had,” said Carlos Gomez, the chief of department. “It’s comparable to the detail size we have here on New Year’s Eve and last year when Pope Francis visited.” Trump has longstanding ties to New York City, where he was born and followed in his father’s footsteps as a real estate developer. Clinton moved to the suburb of Chappaqua, New York, following President Bill Clinton’s eight years in the White House, and served as a U.S. senator from the state from 2001 through 2008. | 0fake
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Inside Planned Parenthood's $30 Million Campaign For 2016 | PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- Donald Trump may think Planned Parenthood does "good work," but its members have few nice things to say about the presumptive GOP frontrunner in return.
"Asshole," "racist," "chauvinist," "dangerous," "unqualified" and "pendejo" were all words Planned Parenthood volunteers used when asked to share their thoughts about Trump. One woman said she thought a fart noise would be more appropriate than an actual word.
Nearly 1,000 of Planned Parenthood's most active volunteers gathered in Pittsburgh this past weekend for an intensive Power of Pink grassroots training, the kickoff for the organization's 2016 work. The group has endorsed Democrat Hillary Clinton, so mobilizing against Trump will be a major focus.
"He says in the same breath that he loves Planned Parenthood, we do great work and at the same time vows to defund us because we provide abortion access. That's no friend of ours," said Deirdre Schifeling, who leads the group's national organizing and electoral work.
Trump recently promised that if elected president, he would also name anti-abortion justices to the Supreme Court.
Planned Parenthood aims to spend close to $30 million in the 2016 election cycle to make sure he doesn't get that chance. That amount would be the most money it ever spent in an election and double what it spent in the last cycle, according to Schifeling. The focus will be on reaching 5 million voters known as "swing women" -- women who view access to reproductive health care as a core issue but are independents and flip between the parties.
On Saturday morning, the Power of Pink attendees gathered for a final rally that, at times, felt like a Purim carnival. Whenever, someone mentioned Trump, inevitably, the entire room would erupt in boos.
"Every election has stakes. This one has some serious stakes, ya'll. Serious stakes. I'm just going to say it again: Donald Trump. If those are not stakes, I don't know what else is," said Marlon Marshall, the Clinton campaign's director of state campaigns and political engagement.
"We cannot trust Donald Trump with our lives, and we can't trust him with our future and we can't trust our country in his hands," said Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards. "He seems to live in a world where bullying and stoking fear and anger is the only way to get ahead and where cutting down others is the only way to get on top. And for us, that's all too familiar how that feels," she continued. Richards then read off some of the terms Trump has used to describe women -- "bimbos," "dogs" and "pigs." | 0fake
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Lawmaker says U.S. foreign surveillance 'unmasked' Trump associates | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Republican chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives intelligence committee set off a political firestorm on Wednesday when he said the communications of members of Donald Trump’s transition team were caught up in incidental surveillance targeting foreigners. Representative Devin Nunes said at a news conference that it was possible President Trump’s own communications were also intercepted and disseminated among U.S. intelligence agencies. The White House seized on Nunes’ remarks, which had cited anonymous sources, to bolster Trump’s unproven assertion that former President Barack Obama’s administration spied on the incoming president. Nunes himself said there is no proof of that, as have other lawmakers of both parties and the FBI director. A short while later, Trump spokesman Sean Spicer cited Nunes’ comments at his White House news briefing. “I do think it is a startling revelation, and there’s a lot of questions that need to get asked,” Spicer said. Democrats denounced Nunes’ statements as highly unusual from the chairman of an intelligence committee, with the top Democrat on the committee saying its members had not been informed and implying that Nunes was giving political cover to the president. Intelligence reports about the communications appeared to “unmask” the identity of the Trump associates and the names were widely shared among the agencies, Nunes said. He said it was possible Trump’s own communications were also collected. The National Security Agency routinely collects electronic communications on foreigners through a variety of surveillance tools. But information about Americans is also sometimes incidentally gathered, such as when someone is communicating to a foreign target. Typically the names of Americans are made anonymous, or masked, in foreign intelligence reports unless an intelligence agency determines the identity of that person is relevant to national security or a criminal investigation. It was unclear why the reports Nunes cited contained unmasked names. A U.S. government source said it was logical, if not normal, that communications from Trump aides would have been incidentally intercepted by U.S. agencies after his election, given that they would have an interest in talking to foreign governments. Trump took office on Jan. 20. Two days ago, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, James Comey, told a hearing of Nunes’ committee that his agency was conducting a criminal investigation of potential links between Trump associates and Russia’s attempts to influence the 2016 U.S. election to benefit Trump. “I recently confirmed that on numerous occasions the intelligence community ... collected information about U.S. citizens involved in the Trump transition,” said Nunes, who was himself on Trump’s transition team. Nunes said he was referring to intelligence reports of communications collected under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. “I want to be clear, none of this surveillance was related to Russia or the investigation of Russian activities or of the Trump team,” he said. Trump said he felt “somewhat” vindicated by Nunes’ announcement after being briefed by Nunes. FBI head Comey on Monday said that Trump’s claims were groundless. According to Nunes, the conversations in question were collected legally in November, December and January. In an interview with CNN, the committee’s leading Democrat, Adam Schiff said, “The chairman will need to decide whether he is the chairman of an independent investigation into conduct which includes allegations of potential coordination between the Trump campaign and the Russians, or he’s going to act as a surrogate of the White House, because he cannot do both.” Nunes’ remarks appeared tied to a line of questioning from Republicans during Monday’s hearing about the importance of identifying and prosecuting those responsible for intelligence leaks. Republicans have focused much of their discussion of the issue on the release of the names, or “unmasking” of Trump associates in the investigation. Trump fired his former national security adviser, General Mike Flynn, after the revelation that he had spoken to Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak, during the transition - which was leaked to the press after those calls were caught by surveillance intercepts. Nunes appeared to suggest intelligence reports about intercepts other than Flynn’s conversations existed. Former intelligence officials and Democrats said Nunes’ announcement was highly unusual from the chairman of an intelligence committee. Schiff said he was not consulted by Nunes before his news conference. Nunes’ decision to share the information with the White House before informing the committee was a “profound irregularity,” Schiff said, adding that “a credible investigation cannot be conducted this way.” Schiff said the unmasking of a U.S. person may be appropriate in the context of an investigation. U.S. intelligence agencies have accused Russia of seeking to influence the presidential election in Trump’s favor against Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton by hacking computer systems and spreading disinformation. Russia denies the allegations. Nunes said he was “very concerned” about whether U.S. intelligence agencies were spying on Trump. He briefed Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan before the news conference and went to the White House to share the information. Admiral Mike Rogers, the director of the National Security Agency, was asked by Republicans at Monday’s hearing about the agency’s policies for “unmasking” the names of Americans whose communications were incidentally collected under foreign surveillance programs. Rogers said that 20 NSA employees, including himself, have the authority to unmask the identity of an American’s communications, and that senior officials at the CIA, FBI and Justice Department can make such a request. Asked how many Americans had been unmasked since June 2016, Rogers said he did not know. | 0fake
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Britain will suffer from Brexit more than EU: German minister | BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany will experience trade difficulties due to Brexit but Britain will suffer more that the remaining European Union members when it leaves the bloc, Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said on Wednesday. I expect we will of course have problems with trade ... but it will not be so hard for Europe as for Britain, Zypries told a news conference in Berlin to present updated German government growth forecasts. | 0fake
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Erdogan tells Iraqi Kurds they will go hungry if Turkey imposes sanctions | HABUR, Turkey (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said Iraqi Kurds would go hungry if his country halts the flow of trucks and oil across the border with northern Iraq and warned that all military and economic measures were on the table against its neighbor. The comments, some of the harshest yet from Erdogan about Monday s referendum in Iraq s semi-autonomous Kurdish region, came as Iraqi troops joined the Turkish army for military exercises near Turkey s border with northern Iraq. While initial results indicated overwhelming support for independence, Turkey - long northern Iraq s main link to the outside world - sees the referendum as a threat to its own security, fearing it will inflame separatism among its Kurdish population. (They) will be left in the lurch when we start imposing our sanctions, Erdogan said in a speech broadcast live on television. It will be over when we close the oil taps, all (their) revenues will vanish, and they will not be able to find food when our trucks stop going to northern Iraq. Turkey, which is home to the region s largest Kurdish population, is battling a three-decade Kurdish insurgency in its southeast, which borders northern Iraq. Erdogan said on Monday that traffic was only being allowed to cross from the Turkish side of the border into Iraq. Erdogan has repeatedly threatened economic sanctions, but has given few details. Hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil a day flow through a pipeline in Turkey from northern Iraq, connecting the region to global oil markets. Iraq, including the Kurdish region, was Turkey s third-largest export market in 2016, according to IMF data. Turkish exports to the country totaled $8.6 billion, behind Germany and the United Kingdom. Erdogan said all potential measures - including economic and military initiatives that involved land and air space - were on the table, adding that Iraqi Kurds would be incapable of forming a state. They don t have an idea on how to be a state. They think that they are a state just by saying it. This can t and won t happen, he said. Iraqi soldiers joined Turkish troops for military exercises in southeast Turkey near the border with Iraq on Tuesday, a Reuters witness near the border said, as the two countries coordinate steps in response to the referendum. A small group of soldiers holding an Iraqi and a Turkish flag walked across the dusty plain where the exercises, launched last week, were being held 4 km (2.5 miles) from the Habur border gate. The flags were then held aloft from the top of an armored personnel carrier. National and international media observed the exercises from the main highway leading to the border gate. The Turkish president also accused Masoud Barzani, the president of the Kurdistan Regional Government, of treachery over the vote. Until the very last moment, we weren t expecting Barzani to make such a mistake as holding the referendum. Apparently we were wrong, Erdogan said. This referendum decision, which has been taken without any consultation, is treachery. | 0fake
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U.S. health secretary: House health bill is just first step | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - House Republicans’ plan to repeal and replace Obamacare is the first step of the Trump administration’s effort to revamp the nation’s health care system, U.S. Health Secretary Tom Price said on Tuesday. Price, in a letter to the chairmen of two key House committees, said congressional rules prevented the proposed bill from including certain changes, such as allowing health insurance to be sold across state lines and lowering drug costs. More action would be needed, he added but gave no other detail. | 0fake
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DAY AFTER DALLAS COPS’ MEMORIAL, Obama Invites BLM Activists To WH, Including Leader Of Group That Chanted: “Pigs In A Blanket…Fry Pigs Like Bacon” | When America elected a Community Agitator, they had no idea what that would mean for our nation. Does everyone get it now? You can take the community agitator out of the community, but you can t take the agitator out of him Obama s guest list includes the recently arrested Black Lives Matter terror group leader, DeRay McKesson. McKesson was arrested on July 9th in Baton Rouge, LA for obstruction of a roadway during Black Lives Matter agitator event:Black Lives Matter activist Deray Mckesson records own arrest in Baton Rouge https://t.co/EQn2GHop2O pic.twitter.com/2uweGiw7ge Action News on 6abc (@6abc) July 10, 2016We are at the @WhiteHouse right now for a 3-hour convening w/ President Obama re: the recent events in #BatonRouge & across the country. deray mckesson (@deray) July 13, 2016In addition to Deray, who advocated looting for political purposes, Obama also is meeting with Mica Grimm, who is a leader from the Minnesota group who has been responsible for shuting down highways.Perhaps you may recall there famous chant on the highway last August? https://youtu.be/9xNxoeqf0Wsh/t Weasel ZippersHere s a look at the race obsessed Mica Grimm:Here is a guest list provided by CBS News White House Correspondent: Mark Knoller:Individuals invited to Pres Obama's meeting today about police/community relations. pic.twitter.com/pE9tWsIjjk Mark Knoller (@markknoller) July 13, 2016 | 1real
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Senate's McConnell still looking at Saudi 9/11 lawsuit bill | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The majority leader of the U.S. Senate, Republican Mitch McConnell, said on Tuesday he was still considering a bill that would allow U.S. citizens to sue the Saudi Arabian government over the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and had not set a date for debating the legislation. “I’m still looking at it,” McConnell told reporters. | 0fake
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5 Key Revelations for Free Thinkers to Consider After Election 2016 | Waking Times
The political system we have today is not the democratic republic it pretends to be. National elections are orchestrated public relations events, engineered to serve the complex interests of the plutocracy and shadow government . The perception of differences between major party candidates is limited to within a narrow spectrum of mainstream ideology, and voting has become a tool used by the oligarchy to routinely refresh the illusions of choice and consent.
Indoctrinated to believe this system is mandatory for human prosperity and security, consideration of alternatives is practically unthinkable to the citizenry. Most have their entire lives and fortunes invested in this game, and as such, a truth this heavy is simply too much to process and too painful to accept. Obedience and compliance to state and culture have their sleepy, comfortable perks, but the natural inclination of the human spirit is to gravitate towards truth and freedom. When this is ignored or denied, inner peace is impossible, and outer chaos inevitable.
For this, the free-thinker will always emerge as the winner in a contest against the statist, for, it is the soul who needs no illusions and carries no attachments which can look upon the ashes of ruin and give them credit for being the first signs of new bloom.
Now that the unbelievable spectacle of election 2016 is complete, here are some critical things that free-thinkers can take away from this rather insane and revelatory experience.
1.) The mainstream, corporate media is unashamedly here to convince and distract you, not to inform or empower you. Most media outlets, including many alternative outlets, have fully exposed themselves as partisan organizations with no commitment to objectivity or logic. We are at last free from the chokehold of this organized form of propaganda and ideological occupation.
2.) People still do not yet understand the true nature of government as an organization which derives its power and authority from the superior application of violence. They don’t yet fully understand that in order for government to offer a solution to a problem, it must first create that very problem. Many are still unready to admit that we are ruled by a plutocratic, oligarchical, corporate state that does not take orders from elected politicians.
Because of this, there are now plenty of opportunities to inspire and awaken people with serious information.
3.) Social chaos and mindless incivility has been properly revealed as a reflection of inner chaos, fear and disharmony. It’s clear now that many have been trained to choose team loyalty over personal independence. To choose destructiveness instead of creativity, to build echo chambers instead of round tables, to relish conflict over curiosity, and to seek the comfort of group-think over the uncertainty of individuality.
These programs are socially engineered diseases and their chief symptoms are violence in word and deed. This is out in the open now, for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear.
“We have met the enemy, and he is us.” ~ Pogo
4.) There is no place on planet earth where free-thinking people can enjoy voluntary community and peaceful coexistence without interference by the state and its sympathizers. Sad, but true. The entire world is colonized by statist ideology and there is no where to run or hide from this mindset. Yet, there is sufficient living freedom in this revelation alone, because from anywhere now, we can openly engage in any one of a million simple acts of revolution and independence , and they will be witnessed and absorbed by those most in need.
5.) At long last, some of the darkest, ugliest and most difficult to look at issues are bubbling up into mainstream consciousness. The long and well-documented history of occultism , pedophilia, human-trafficking, human sacrifice, Satan worship and dark ritual among the world’s ruling elite can finally be openly discussed without instant mindless backlash. The proverbial black cat is out of the bag now, and there has never been a better time to participate in the work of waking people up to the high crimes of the elite. Final Thoughts
In 2016 your personal awakening counts more than your vote , for the only thing that can turn the tide on endless war, unstoppable surveillance, the strategy of tension, weaponized stress , environmental ruin, and unchecked debt-slavery, is a large enough and spiritied enough class of fearless, righteous individuals. Until free humanity emerges victorious from the mental slavery of the state, we will get the president that we deserve.
Enjoy this excellent elucidation of this point by Carey Wedler: Read more articles by Dylan Charles . About the Author
Dylan Charles is a student and teacher of Shaolin Kung Fu, Tai Chi and Qi Gong, a practitioner of Yoga and Taoist arts, and an activist and idealist passionately engaged in the struggle for a more sustainable and just world for future generations. He is the editor of WakingTimes.com , the proprietor of OffgridOutpost.com , a grateful father and a man who seeks to enlighten others with the power of inspiring information and action. He may be contacted at . This article ( 5 Key Revelations for Free Thinkers to Consider After Election 2016 ) was originally created and published by Waking Times and is published here under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Dylan Charles and WakingTimes.com . It may be re-posted freely with proper attribution, author bio, and this copyright statement.
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Podesta Goes Crazy Live On CNN Over New FBI Hillary Investigation | Podesta Goes Crazy Live On CNN Over New FBI Hillary Investigation # Isotrop 0
This is hilarious. John Podesta gets crazy on CNN news anchor when asked about the new Hillary investigation by the FBI. Tags | 1real
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New Zealand Labour leader says will not yet concede election | WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand Labour leader Jacinda Ardern said on Sunday it would be difficult to complete coalition talks before all votes were tallied in an election that left both major parties needing the nationalist New Zealand First party to form a government Speaking outside her home in Auckland, Ardern told media that her centre-left party would not concede, despite lagging almost 10 points behind the incumbent National Party, which received 46 percent of the vote in Saturday s election. A final tally of all votes, which will include overseas ballots, will not be released until Oct. 7. New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has declined to say which party he will favor to form a coalition government and reiterated that he will not rush into a decision. | 0fake
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Stop the vendetta against Planned Parenthood | THE STING videos targeting Planned Parenthood are hard to watch. Doctors talk clinically, some say callously, about harvesting fetal tissue. Technicians identify and isolate tiny organs. References are made to “it’s a baby” or “it’s another boy.” The videos were taken surreptitiously and were artfully edited to produce maximum discomfort about complicated issues that, for many, are inherently uncomfortable.
That truths were distorted to paint an inaccurate and unfair picture of a health organization that provides valuable services to women — as well as to demonize research that leads to important medical advances — doesn’t matter to antiabortion activists. Or, sadly, to the politicians who pander to them.
Planned Parenthood is under virulent attack for the role a small portion of its affiliates play in helping women who want to donate fetal tissue for medical research. The antiabortion group Center for Medical Progress has orchestrated a propaganda campaign accusing the nation’s largest provider of abortions of profiting from the illegal sale of fetal tissue, a charge refuted by Planned Parenthood.
None of the videos released shows anything illegal and, in fact, the full footage of Planned Parenthood executives meeting with people presumed to be buyers for a human biologics company include repeated assertions that clinics are not selling tissue but only seeking permitted reimbursement costs for expenses. Indeed, the Colorado clinic featured in the videos refused to enter into a contract with the phony company because of its failure to meet its legal and ethical standards.
Such facts, though, haven’t stopped officials in several Republican-led states, including Texas, Louisiana and Ohio, from launching investigations of Planned Parenthood, even though affiliates in those states don’t facilitate fetal tissue donations. In Washington, Senate Republicans have fast-tracked a bid to defund Planned Parenthood, with a vote set for Monday. Fortunately, it’s unlikely there will be 60 votes to advance the bill, as cutting off funds to Planned Parenthood would be irresponsible.
No federal money is used by Planned Parenthood to provide abortions except in some rare exceptions. So cutting off government funds, mostly through Medicaid and grants, would only hurt the thousands of people, most of them low-income women, who each day depend upon Planned Parenthood for birth control, cancer screenings, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections and other health services. Given that many of the clinics are in medically underserved areas, it’s a myth, as Republicans claim, that other providers can fill the gap. Shutting down clinics would make it harder for many women to obtain birth control — and the last thing either side of the abortion debate should want is an increase in unwanted pregnancies that result in more abortions.
We are under no illusions that the vendetta against Planned Parenthood will end. Conservative Republicans are already threatening to shut down the federal government in the fall by blocking any spending that includes money for Planned Parenthood. It’s clear from how quickly Republican presidential hopefuls seized on the issue that it will be a staple of the campaign trail. Consequently, it’s important that congressional Democrats and others continue to stand up for Planned Parenthood and the women whose health depends upon its services. | 0fake
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Sarah Palin Gleefully Counts Bodies After MOAB Strike And Gets Ripped APART By Twitter (TWEETS) | Leave it to Sarah Palin to get a hate-boner after our resident Manchurian couch potato dropped the mother of all bombs on ISIS. The MOAB cost $16 million (enough to completely take care of countless underprivileged families from whom Trump is stripping social programs and healthcare) and cost a whopping $300 million to develop. While some have called Trump presidential for learning that stupid people like big explosions, the reality is that he dropped 20,000 pounds of the American people s tax dollars in a hole and blew it all up to satisfy his ego and distract from his other problems (like Russia).On Saturday, Sarah Palin gleefully celebrated news from Afghan authorities that they had increased the number of enemy combatants killed to a whopping 94 (that s about $170,000 per dead body y all!) and a yet-unknown number of civilians.ALERT: Death Toll from MOAB Just SKYROCKETED, but News of Why Is Even Better https://t.co/PxWje1FJmp Sarah Palin (@SarahPalinUSA) April 16, 2017Naturally, super-Christian Palin s decision to do the happy dance over Trump s big boom extravaganza on Easter weekend was not taken lightly by people who don t still believe in that rabbit guy who hides eggs:@russboot @SarahPalinUSA Do you need to go and change your panties ? Lisa (@lisaedwards63) April 16, 2017@lisaedwards63 @russboot @SarahPalinUSA or diaper? Rayne Wilde (@RayneWilde) April 16, 2017@SarahPalinUSA Oh Sarah, You re so Jesusy. Go out and celebrate with a drunken family brawl. DigitalMindPatrol (@digitlmndpatrol) April 16, 2017@SarahPalinUSA I thought we stood against ISIS because THEY glorify death. Just because it s necessary doesn t make it something to celebrate. #Hypocrites Randolph Clemens (@CheerstoHistory) April 16, 2017@SarahPalinUSA Stop taking your husband s pain meds. Susan Fraser ?? (@InvPac) April 16, 2017@SarahPalinUSA Wahoo! Let s celebrate death! Henriks Feet (@HenriksTongue) April 16, 2017@SarahPalinUSA Celebrating that death toll from US attack skyrocketed. During Easter. How appropriate Andi (@ac452) April 16, 2017@SarahPalinUSA Even better??? Do you glory in death? How very Christian of you on the eve of the most Holy Day of the year! Caoimhin Seosamh (@KevinHickie) April 16, 2017@SarahPalinUSA Sounds like your blood alcohol content skyrocketed. Ace Rothstein (@BillyBatts1970) April 16, 2017@SarahPalinUSA You are no Christian. Shame on you. Khaleesi (@khaleesikhaldro) April 16, 2017Unfortunately, this attitude of finding glory in death is typical of conservatives. Hell, they feel that way for people they just don t agree with. It s one thing to say that ISIS must be stopped. It s entirely different to act like your biggest desire is to bathe in the blood of the dead.Happy Easter, everyone. Death to the infidels?Featured image via screengrab | 1real
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Teen Swimming off Florida Coast Punched Shark as It Bit Her | A Kentucky teenager punched a shark as it bit her while she was swimming off the Florida coast Sunday, authorities said. [Caitlyn Taylor of Louisville, 17, was swimming in an area behind a condominium in Destin, Florida, when a shark bit her leg, the reported. As the shark bit her, the teen punched the shark. The Atherton High School student was in Destin with her school’s softball team for a tournament when the incident occurred. The shark bit her while she was in water at around 3:39 p. m. according to the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page. Michele Nicholson, an Okaloosa County Sheriff spokesperson, said the shark tugged on her legs before turning her loose. “She was hitting it with her hand and then it released” its bite, Nicholson said. Taylor suffered six puncture wounds from the shark bite and cuts on her hand and both legs, ABC News reported. Her mother Tracey, told ABC News affiliate KBMT that her daughter had to get “120 to 140 stitches. ” Taylor posted an update on Twitter Sunday evening after the attack, along with a picture of the wounds. “Beyond lucky to be alive and well and thank you to everyone for the support and wishes and I’m going to be okay, love you guys,” she wrote on Twitter. The attack was “only the fourth documented attack off Okaloosa County beaches since 1882,” the Northwest Florida Daily News reported, and the sheriff’s department said authorities are not sure what type of shark attacked Taylor. | 0fake
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BREAKING VIDEO: HILLARY CLINTON Seen Being Lifted Into Van After “Episode” [Video] | Hillary Clinton 9/11 NYC pic.twitter.com/q9YnsjTxss Zdenek Gazda (@zgazda66) September 11, 2016UPDATE ON WHAT WENT ON BUT STILL SILENCE FROM THE PRESS: The Democratic presidential nominee appeared to faint on her way into her van and had to be helped by her security, the source said. She was clearly having some type of medical episode. Clinton s stumbled off the curb, her knees buckled and she lost a shoe as she was helped into a van during her unexpected early departure, a witness told Fox News.The NYPD retrieved her shoe.The lapdog media is downplaying this medical emergency (as expected) but would we even know about this had it not been for people recording her departure? This was an area that press isn t allowed into. The Clinton campaign came out with a statement saying she felt overheated and is now resting at Chelsea s apartment. Do you believe this reason or are you skeptical like me? Even if it was a fainting spell, this woman seems unwell with all the coughing. Your thoughts? | 1real
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7 Mexican Leaders with Ties to Drug Cartels | Many of Mexico’s top leaders are linked to the brutal drug cartels overrunning their country. As Mexico slips further into a failed top politicians’ links with drug cartels possibly help explain why. [1. Enrique Peña Nieto, Despite his many campaign promises, the current Mexican president has been unable to put a halt to the raging cartel violence taking place in his country or has he been unwilling? As a candidate and during his term in office, Peña Nieto has openly supported many of the cartel linked politicians who are now in trouble with the law. As Breitbart Texas reported, operators from the Juarez Cartel allegedly funneled illicit funds into Peña Nieto’s 2012 presidential bid. The funds were used to buy cash cards that were then given to citizens in exchange for their votes. The scandal became known as Monexgate and was originally discovered by famed Mexican journalist Carmen Aristegui. 2. Tomas Yarrington, The former governor of Tamaulipas is wanted by the U. S. Department of Justice on multiple drug trafficking and money laundering charges. As Breitbart Texas reported, he allowed the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas to operate in his state in exchange for cartel bribes. After his term as governor, Yarrington worked with Los Zetas and the Beltran Leyva Cartel to move drugs through Veracruz. He was recently arrested in Italy and is awaiting extradition to the U. S. to stand trial. 3. Eugenio Hernandez, A second governor of Tamaulipas is wanted by the U. S. Department of Justice on multiple money laundering and bank fraud charges. As Breitbart Texas reported, Hernandez is believed to have continued Yarrington’s scheme of receiving cartel bribes as well as expanding a network used to embezzle government funds from contracts with ghost companies. While Hernandez is a wanted fugitive in the U. S. in Mexico he has a clean record and is not sought by that country’s law enforcement agencies. As Breitbart Texas first reported in a story that then Wall Street Journal tried to take credit for, the Mexican government had been providing both Hernandez and Yarrington with police officers as their personal bodyguards. Hernandez continues to live in Mexico. 4. Javier Duarte The former governor of Veracruz has been charged with engaging in organized criminal activity, embezzlement and other charges by Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office he is not wanted by U. S. authorities. As reported by Breitbart Texas, Duarte was recently arrested in Guatemala and is fighting Mexico’s extradition efforts. Duarte is accused of embezzling massive amounts of money from the state’s coffers. The former governor has also been singled out by news organizations for the impunity with which journalists were killed in his state. 5. Cesar Duarte Jaquez The former governor of Chihuahua is currently a wanted fugitive in his own country on warrants accusing him of embezzlement. As Breitbart Texas reported, the current governor or Chihuahua has stated that Duarte crossed into Texas to hide from prosecution. A series of investigations by the late journalist Miroslava Breach uncovered the ties between Duarte’s party the Institutional Revolutionary Party and Mexican drug cartels. Breach was killed after reporting that the PRI was trying to have the mother in law of a top Juarez Cartel boss run for mayor, Breitbart Texas reported. 6. Humberto Moreira, The former governor of the border state of Coahuila Humberto Moreira, has been singled out as having protected Los Zetas by former Mexican President Felipe Calderon, Breitbart Texas reported. The former governor is trying to run for Mexico’s congress under the Partido Joven (Young Party) where he has labeled himself as El Valiente or the Brave one. Moreira and various state officials have been fingered in U. S. court testimony and documents as having protected the key leaders of the Los Zetas cartel in exchange for bribes. Moreira was arrested in Spain in early 2016 on money laundering charges. During the various hearing tied to the case, Spanish prosecutors stated that Moreira had been a surrogate for the Los Zetas cartel the information for the statements was based on an ongoing investigation by U. S. federal agencies. Moreira had been the PRI party leader during Peña Nieto’s 2012 presidential bid. as Breitbart Texas reported, the Mexican government applied political pressure in order to get his release eventually, Spain released Moreira claiming he was clear of the charges in that country. 7. Jesus Reyna, The interim governor of Michoacan remains jailed on charges of engaging in organized criminal activity. The case against Reyna began in 2014 when a leaked video revealed a series of interactions between the politician and Servando “La Tuta” Gomez, the former leader of the Knights Templar — Familia Michoacana Cartel. Reyna served as interim governor of Michoacan for six months and had a long history of having served as state party chair for the PRI. Ildefonso Ortiz is an journalist with Breitbart Texas. He the Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and Stephen K. Bannon. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. Brandon Darby is managing director and of Breitbart Texas. He the Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and Stephen K. Bannon. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart. com. | 0fake
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null | That would be unconstitutional. | 1real
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Anti-Trump Protester’s X-Rated Comment Angers MSNBC Anchor: “Grow The Hell Up!” | This is rich! A live feed from MSNBC was trying to show how great the anti-Trump protesters were behaving but all of a sudden a guy yells out a disgusting sexual phrase. Fair warning! | 1real
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WATCH: Clinton Destroys Trump And The GOP For Their Stupid Response To Terrorism | A day after the terrorist attacks in Brussels, Belgium, Hillary Clinton gave a speech on counterterrorism at Stanford University in California.The speech was billed by the campaign as an opportunity to highlight how now is a time for steady leadership when we must stand in solidarity with our European allies and respond firmly to defeat ISIS. Both Democrats and Republicans have pointed out that by contrast to Clinton former Senator, former Secretary of State Donald Trump s foreign policy ideas have been haphazard, contradictory, and overall would endanger the country.On ISIS and the Belgium attacks, Clinton directly rejected Trump s kneejerk response that America needs to build his beautiful wall because, Walls will not protect us from this threat. We cannot contain ISIS we must defeat ISIS. Clinton took direct aim at Trump s recent reckless claim that America should pull away from NATO and our allies, pointing out that while Vladimir Putin already hopes to divide Europe, it could be even worse because, if Mr. Trump gets his way, it ll be like Christmas in the Kremlin. .@HillaryClinton: "If Mr. Trump gets his way, it'll be like Christmas in the Kremlin" pic.twitter.com/u9D2QO5vx7 POLITICO (@politico) March 23, 2016She also went after Ted Cruz, noting, slogans aren t a strategy for global peace and security because loose cannons tend to misfire. She also called for reigning in Cruz s reckless rhetoric about carpet bombing of targets, saying doing so would be a serious mistake, instead she said, What America needs is strong smart steady leadership. Clinton also echoed President Obama s condemnation of Cruz s proposal to send patrols into Muslim neighborhoods, It s hard to imagine a more incendiary, foolish statement and said: It s wrong, it s counterproductive, it s dangerous. In what is likely to be a consistent counterpoint to Trump s desire to make America great again, the former Secretary of State said, America is a great nation. Instead of the aggressive, dangerous moves supported by Trump and the GOP, Clinton called for a plan that would rely on what actually works, not bluster that alienates our partners that would allow the United States to defeat ISIS.Featured image via Twitter | 1real
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U.S. senator urges DOJ to reject any White House push in merger probes | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senator Amy Klobuchar, the top Democrat on the Senate antitrust panel, sent a letter to the U.S. Justice Department on Friday urging that it reject any effort by the White House to inject politics into merger investigations. The letter follows a New York Times report saying that White House advisors battling television news station CNN mulled using a government review of AT&T Inc’s plans to merge with CNN parent Time Warner Inc as leverage. “Any political interference in antitrust enforcement is unacceptable. Even more concerning, in this instance, is that it appears that some advisers to the president may believe that it is appropriate for the government to use its law enforcement authority to alter or censor the press,” Klobuchar wrote in a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Both the White House and Justice Department declined comment for this story. Klobuchar, who has herself expressed concern about the $85.4 billion megadeal, noted those concerns but added that the Justice Department’s antitrust review should focus on consumer welfare rather than politics. Klobuchar also asked Sessions to report to the Senate Judiciary Committee and the antitrust subcommittee any White House staffer or presidential adviser who had contacted the Justice Department about the merger. President Donald Trump has not commented publicly on the deal since the election but during his campaign he said it was an example of a “power structure” that was rigged against him and “too much concentration of power in the hands of too few.” | 0fake
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Trump aides, lawmakers hold talks to revive healthcare bill | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Top White House officials met moderate and conservative Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday in an effort to revive a plan to repeal and replace Obamacare. Key members of the administration, including Vice President Mike Pence, invited a group of moderate Republicans known as the “Tuesday Group” to the White House. Pence then went to Capitol Hill to meet the Freedom Caucus, a group of House conservatives who last month derailed a healthcare bill backed by President Donald Trump. The White House would like to see a revised bill come up for a vote as early as week’s end, before the House breaks for a spring recess, and the text of the new proposal could be ready some time on Tuesday, lawmakers said. “It was clear the president would be very happy come Friday to have this passed,” said U.S. Representative Chris Collins, a member of the Tuesday Group and a Trump ally. “This could move fairly quickly,” he said. Just 10 days ago, House Speaker Paul Ryan was forced to cancel a vote on a bill to replace the 2010 Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare, when it was clear he could not deliver the votes needed for it to pass. The defeat was a big political setback for Trump and fellow Republicans in Congress who were elected on pledges to repeal and replace former Democratic President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law. Freedom Caucus members said the Republican bill was too similar to Obamacare, while moderate Republicans balked at some of the changes conservatives sought. Trump attacked Freedom Caucus members on Twitter late last week for their opposition to the bill and threatened to work to defeat them in the 2018 congressional elections. At the weekend, he struck a more conciliatory tone, tweeting early on Sunday: “Talks on Repealing and Replacing Obamacare are, and have been, going on, and will continue until such time as a deal is hopefully struck.” After golfing with the president on Sunday, Republican Senator Rand Paul, a sharp critic of the Republicans’ previous healthcare bill, also expressed renewed hope the healthcare bill could be revised in a way that picked up support from the conservative and moderate factions of the Republican Party. Paul told reporters he was “very optimistic that we are getting closer and closer to an agreement repealing Obamacare.” Pence and White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus laid out the administration’s revised healthcare plan during a 40-minute meeting with Freedom Caucus members, said Congressman Mark Meadows, the leader of the conservative group. Meadows said he was “intrigued” by the new plan, which would allow states to opt out of some of Obamacare’s mandates, possibly by obtaining waivers. “We’re encouraged ... but would certainly need a whole lot more information before we can take any action either in support or in opposition,” Meadows told reporters. He expected to see a detailed draft of the proposal within 24 hours, he said. In the earlier meeting with the moderate Tuesday Group, White House officials said the new plan would preserve Obamacare’s essential health benefits clause, or services and care that insurers must cover, but states could apply for a waiver if they could show it would improve coverage and reduce costs, according to Collins. Trump aides also discussed directing funds from the $115 billion stability fund for states into high-risk pools for people with pre-existing health conditions to better ensure insurance premiums come down in cost, Collins said. “It’s an acknowledgement that they were chasing votes with the Freedom Caucus and the Far Right and then ended up losing votes with those of us who are typically the most reliable votes,” Collins said of the proposal provisions discussed at the meeting. | 0fake
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NOT BREAKING…HILLARY LIKELY LIED: Does Obama’s Support For Biden Have Anything To Do With New Bombshell Discovery That Hillary’s E-mails “Might Still Be Recoverable” | Is it a coincidence that more and more evidence keeps magically appearing in the case against Hillary and the misuse of her private email account? Is the timing with Joe Biden s (Obama s puppet) entry into the Presidential race and the release of more damning evidence against Hillary accidental or is the Chicago mob politician just getting warmed up It looks like Hillary might be beaten by Barack yet again The Denver-based company that stored Hillary Clinton s private email server said that the emails might still be recoverable, because there s no evidence that the server was properly wiped clean. Platte River has no knowledge of the server being wiped, Platte River representative Andy Boian told The Washington Post. All the information we have is that the server wasn t wiped. If the server was not wiped clean, and investigators can still get all of the information off it, then Clinton-World s attempts to stonewall the investigation could be rendered null and void.Clinton did, in fact, delete all of her emails earlier this year, but it is possible that she never managed to physically damage the server itself to the degree that all of the information on it would be lost forever. Thus, the server, which is now in the possession of the FBI and Department of Justice investigators, could still pull up some of the confidential emails that Clinton thought would never see the light of day.But Platte River s statement to The Post might also be an example of the company running interference for the Clintons.Boian, it should be noted, is representing Platte River Networks through his small, Colorado-based public relations firm Dovetail Solutions, which also employs top Clinton operative David Goodfriend, a major Washington cyber security lobbyist and friend of Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta. Platte River Networks vice president David DeCamillis also went to high school with Clinton s 2008 tech chief Nathaniel Pearlman, who supervised Clinton s server manager Bryan Pagliano.Pagliano has pleaded the Fifth to protect himself from having to give up any information about his work on Clinton s server.Via: Breitbart | 1real
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HORRIBLE! TEACHERS VOTE STUDENT “Most Likely To Become A Terrorist” | This is in such poor judgement by the teachers of this school. You have to wonder what they were thinking!A number of teachers in a Texas school district are being disciplined after naming a student most likely to become a terrorist. Lizeth Villanueva, a seventh grader, received a certificate during a mock awards ceremony Tuesday at Anthony Aguirre Junior High in Channelview, Texas, near Houston. Lizeth said the teacher who signed it handed out certificates to a number of students while other teachers watched and laughed. They just found it as a joke, said Lizeth, 13.The awards were given out a day after the suicide bombing at the end of the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England. She said that some people might get offended, but she doesn t really care about our feelings, Lizeth said. She was laughing about it. It s no laughing matter to Lizeth s mom. I read it twice. I m like, What is this?! said Ena Hernandez.Hernandez said her daughter is in an advanced academic program and has never had a discipline problem.Read more: USA Today | 1real
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14 Days to Do 14 Things, If Hillary’s Indicted-Extreme Violence Expected |
UPDATE: HILLARY CLINTON IS AGAIN UNDER INVESTIGATION BY THE FBI. IF SHE IS INDICTED, HER PEOPLE WILL UNDOUBTEDLY LAUNCH A CYBER ATTACK ON THE ELECTIONS AND BLAME THE RUSSIANS. HILLARY HAS TIPPED HER HAND MANY TIMES. IF THIS HAPPENS, YOU MUST HASTEN YOUR PREPARATIONS. IF HILLARY SKATES, AGAIN, WE STILL ONLY HAVE A SHORT WINDOW TO ALL HELL BREAKING LOOSE. PLEASE PREPARE NOW!
The Common Sense Show issued an alert yesterday with regard to the likelihood of widespread violence, regardless of who wins the election. The violence may not be dramatic on November, but I believe that a crescendo will be reached by the holidays. There are literally dozens of troop movements and a number of martial law events taking place as I write these words. The bottom line is, half of the country hates the other half of the country and pressure valve is ready to blow. And if Trump wins, the violence factor will escalate exponentially as evidenced by the firebombed GOP building in North Carolina.
When these events come to fruition, it could potentially paralyze this nation and bring the economy to a standstill. Subsequently, the grocery store shelves could be empty within two days and food riots would likely commence by sundown of the second day. All Americans would instantly be in danger. Local law enforcement would be overwhelmed. What would be your chances of survival? Yesterday, I wrote about the fact that FEMA has conducted research studies on America’s level of preparedness and the news is not good. FEMA concluded that 72% of all Americans are not prepared to survive what is coming In other words, when society begins to fragment, you and your fellow preppers are outnumbered by a 3 to 1 margin.
Are you prepared for 3 out of 4 of your neighbors climbing through your windows in search of life-saving supplies?
The FEMA Preparedness Reports In response to concerns about strengthening the nation’s ability to protect its population and way of life (i.e., security) and ability to adapt and recover from emergencies (i.e., resilience), the President of the United States issued Presidential Policy Directive 8: National Preparedness (PPD-8).
PPD-8 is a directive for the Department of Homeland Security to coordinate a comprehensive campaign to encourage Americans to practice national preparedness. Despite efforts by FEMA and other organizations to educate American citizens on becoming prepared, growth in specific preparedness behaviors has been limited. Government programs to this end are nearly nonexistent.
I have spent the past week illustrating how a coming economic collapse is unavoidable and how the elite have conspired to steal as many of your assets as possible prior to the collapse. This article presents some common sense things one can do which could increase the chances of surviving a major societal meltdown resulting from an economic collapse. If you have any doubts as to what is coming, I strongly encourage you to read what I have written about on this topic over the past several months. Even Ray Charles could see that our economy will not be around much longer in its present form.
It is always best to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. For the purposes of this article, it is possible that society will not totally collapse even if the dollar does. However, large segments of societies always collapse when an economic collapse happens. Surviving the worst case scenario is the purpose behind what will be covered here.
We have about 14 days to do the following 14 things: 1. The Creation of a Pseudo-Identity It may be necessary to become invisible in the event you think you believe that your name could be on a (Red) list because roundups will usually occur in dire situations. Therefore, the creation of a pseudo-identity could become very important.
2. It Takes Money to Prepare If you have read the articles at the above links, you should have concluded that it is the height of stupidity to leave your life savings in an institution that is planning to steal from you. You need to divert your cash, other than the ability to pay basic bills, in preparation for what is coming.
Getting your money out of the bank has become an art form and you need to be careful. There is a barrier to your ability to procure some of these life-saving and life-extending supplies. Right now, you do not have full access to your money.
As you move to withdraw the bulk of your money, there are three federal banking laws that you should be cognizant of, namely, Cash Transaction Report (CTR), a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) and structuring.
Cash Transaction Reports Federal law requires that the bank file a report based upon any withdrawal or deposit of $10,000 or more on any single given day.The law was designed to put a damper on money laundering, sophisticated counterfeiting and other federal crimes.
To remain in compliance with the law, financial institutions must obtain personal identification, information about the transaction and the social security number of the person conducting the transaction.
Before proceeding with the planned withdrawal of your money, I would strongly suggest that you read the following federal guidelines as it relates to CTR’s as produced by the The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). All the federal regulations contained in this article are elucidated in this series of federal reports.
Structuring and SAR There will undoubtedly be some geniuses whose math ability will tell them that all they have to do is to withdraw $9,999.99 and the bank and its protector, the federal government will be none the wiser. It is not quite that simple. The bank is required to file a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) which serves to notify the federal government of an individual’s attempt to structure deposits or withdrawals by circumventing the $10,000 reporting requirement.
Structuring transactions to prevent a CTR from being reported can result in imprisonment for not more than five years and/or a fine of up to $250,000. If structuring involves more than $100,000 in a twelve month period or is performed while violating another law of the federal government, the penalty is doubled.
Enforcement Much like the enforcement of our tax laws, the federal government’s enforcement of its banking laws as it relates to CTR’s, SAR’s and subsequent structuring is quite draconian. Civilian asset forfeiture laws come into play. The government can seize your bank accounts while it determines if a crime has been committed. The government can literally seize your assets in perpetuity without an order of the court. Of course, you could try and sue but you will be up against the deep pockets of the federal government and the case could take years. By the time your case is decided, the financial banking crisis that you are so desperately trying to avoid by withdrawing your money, could be over. So, proceed with caution.
Withdrawing Your Money From the Bank The best way to avoid getting your money caught in the bank in the midst of a bank run would be to not let the lion’s share of your money ever cross the bank. The simplest way to accomplish this is to prevent any form of deposit from going automatically into your account, as much as it is possible.
Secondly, you need to begin to pay cash for everything. Let’s say that every 30 days, Bob cashes his check at the bank from his work worth $5,000 net pay. Bob leaves just enough in the bank to be able to conduct normal banking business. Bob walks out of the bank every month with the majority of the cash from his check. Bob should begin to pay cash for as much as he can, such as eating out, paying the electric bill (pay the bill in person), buying groceries, etc. When it becomes necessary to make a “big ticket” purchase, Bob could temporarily leave more in the bank to cover the writing of a check.
You would also be wise to open multiple banking accounts ranging from the big five megabanks to your local credit unions. You could withdraw much smaller amounts until the sum total of your accounts is greatly diminished and is in your possession. To open the accounts, simply write a personal check from your home bank. Of course, in these cases, the bank could hold the check for 15-30 days.
I cannot promise you that if you become the target of federal investigators, that you will not have your every financial move scrutinized and the feds will eventually discover the aggregate patterns of withdrawal. People who I interviewed told me that they believe that the federal government is in the process of getting the banking computers to “talk” to each other in a way that would reveal structuring, but that technology is not yet online.
If you ever become the target of a federal investigation, do not, under any circumstances, allow yourself to be interviewed by federal officials without an attorney present. In many cases, people go to jail and pay huge fines, not because they have committed a federal crime, but because federal officials state that they have lied or misled them. And if you do not have an attorney present, it is your word versus the federal government. There are other sources besides banks that you can tap into for money which can be used to prepare for what is coming.
4o1K’s, IRA, et al If you were 100% convinced of an imminent crash, you would be foolish not to take your money out. However, the prepayment penalty of 50% is steep if you withdraw your funds before you are 59.5 years old.
If you are retiring soon, take the lump sum option and convert all of these retirement monies to survival supplies and gold which you will need as the world emerges from the crash.
The moral of the story is to become as liquid as possible, from a cash perspective. Getting access to your money is only the first part of being prepared to survive an economic crash.
3. Make a List Buy a good prepper book. Holly Deyo is an excellent source for this information (www.standdeyo.com). In the interim, procure your food, water, guns, ammo and home security adjustments. If you do not have a big dog, consider obtaining a pair. These animals will be your companion, home security system and ally if someone attempts to breach your home with bad intent. Of course, you will have to store dog food as well.
Sit down and construct a list of what you will need after reading a good prepper book.
Make all of you purchases in cash! You do not want to let the wrong people know what you are up to.
4. Rural Vs. Urban We have to live our lives for today and it may not be possible to move to a rural area because of your job. However, one survivalist that I was speaking with estimates that the rate of survival for a country in economic chaos would be 10 times higher for rural residents as opposed to urban residents. Consider buying a place in an isolated area and commuting to work in the interim.
5. Pay Off Your Mortgage and Car Loans If you have a CD, a 401k or any other long-term investment, you might want to consider taking the penalty and executing a withdrawal and apply what’s left of the principal, usually about 50% of the original value, and paying down your major debts.
After an economic collapse, you most likely will not have a job and your retirement and savings will likely be wiped out and confiscated. That is why it would be wise to pay down your debt while you can afford to do so because after the collapse, there will still be foreclosures and repossessions and if you and your family survive, you could be on the street if you cannot pay your bills.
6. Buy Gold and Silver While You Can Afford It Goldman Sachs has been shorting gold. The elite have been hording gold as have the BRICS. These entities are telling you, by action, what medium of exchange is going to be of value following the collapse that is coming.
Storing gold and silver is an economic survival strategy which will pay dividends after the smoke begins to clear in the post-collapse era.
7. Practice Austerity Before Austerity Is Imposed On You It is critical to immediately eliminate all unnecessary expenses. Give yourself some operating capital. You may be able to purchase a bug-out residence in a rural area. You will certainly be able to afford more survival gear.
In order to increase your immediate cash flow, start an at-home business. Start a business which has virtually no upfront and startup costs. Even if you are not able to generate much income, you will create a legal tax evasion strategy in which you can legally deduct many of your present activities and expenses (e.g. mileage, the purchase of any office supply, etc.) including survival gear.
8. Create and Store Your Own Food With regard to storing food, you need to do so immediately. I recommend storing two years worth of food. However, you need to master the art of growing food inside your home. There are plenty of resources which can teach you how to do that. However, you would be wise if you would create a hiding place in which you can store food and water safely in a hidden location . If you are ever robbed, you will not have exhausted your food supplies. You are most likely to be robbed by FEMA or one of their mercenary groups (e.g. Academia) during the beginning of the crisis because food and water will be used as weapons to control you. I am personally aware of FEMA going to selected homeowners to catalogue their reserve food and water supplies. Remember, water is sunlight and temperature sensitive. There are plenty of prepper manuals that you can consult for instructions on how to meet these needs. The time to do these things is yesterday.
The biggest threat to survival is death due to dehydration and starving to death. Contaminated water will also pose a threat. There are plenty of places to purchase large drums and obtain water tablets for water purification purposes. Obtain a pair of water filters in case you have to go mobile to survive.
Finally, learn to grow your own food within your residence. Your garden will likely be raided by humans and hungry animals alike. There are plenty of prepper manuals which can teach you how to accomplish this task.
9. Personal Supplies Of course you will need toothpaste, toiletries, eating utensils, feminine hygiene supplies, etc. For a complete list of personal items see Steve Quayles list on his website .
10. Horde Medicines and Medical Supplies If you or your family has a chronic health condition, it is critical that you have 6 months to a year in medicine. Also, you should research natural alternatives to treatment for health conditions in case you are not able to meet this goal due to the inability to obtain prescriptions. Don’t forget to obtain some pain medication and antibiotics in case of unforeseen emergencies. Make a trip to Mexico and sneak across medication in old pill bottles in order to escape detection by the Border Patrol who will ask you if you obtained medication in Mexico when you come back across the border.
If you can safely ration your existing medication doses, do so and store the excesses. Make sure you also have a first aid kit. Take a First Aid class including CPR at your local fire station.
Some are thinking that this is a lot of work. My response would be, how bad do you want you and your family to survive?
11. Guns and Ammunition Regardless of your moral convictions, ask yourself if you want your family to survive.
Buy your guns off the books from private parties and at gun shows. “Keep guns for show and guns for go”. In other words, have a safe location that you can bury guns so that when gun confiscation begins, you will not be left totally defenseless.
America needs to not only create safe and secure homes, but to create as many Warsaw ghettos as possible (look it up). We need to make ourselves a hard country to conquer and occupy. We cannot stop a treasonous leader from handing off the country to some foreign entity (e.g. the UN). However, occupation of America should be problematic for the blue-helmet wearing Russians, Chinese and other proxy forces training on our soil to occupy us.
It is recommended that you have 3 types of weapons: (1) pistols for close in fighting; (2) shotguns for defense of the entrance to your home; and, (3) a rifle with a scope in order to fight back against long-range snipers that do not want to storm your home because you appear to be prepared. Immediately, obtain weapons instruction for you and your family, firearms training and then practice! Conduct mock raids on your residence so that you can see your vulnerabilities. An armed populace makes a people more feared by an abusive government.
Do not forget about gas masks for each member of your family and make sure to store extras. If you have the means to obtain body armor, do so now, because Congress is preparing to outlaw the private use of body armor.
12. Prepare to Survive in the Raw Elements and Build a Way of Life
It is possible that you can learn to survive in the raw elements without heating and central air conditioning. You may not have lights. Obtain flashlights, many batteries and a hand crank radio.
Make sure you have clothes befitting all weather that you may encounter because a crisis that begins in January, may not be over by August.
Take a weekend and pretend the grid is down. This will allow you to see firsthand what supplies you will need. When should you perform this drill? There is no time like the present.
To people with generators, congratulations on your foresight. However, if you are the only house on the block with lights, how long do you think it will be until you have unwanted visitors with bad intent?
Get in shape, begin to walk, jog or run. The better shape you are in, the better.
Don’t forget about procuring non-electronic forms of entertainment. This should include board games and educational materials for your children. You will want to establish some normalcy for the sake of your children. You are preparing to adopt a new way of life. Make the new life worth living.
I would also recommend that every personal library contain The Constitution of the United States. After the chaos subsides, we will need to rebuild. You will not want to live in a “might makes right” society.
13. For Goodness Sake, Do Not Tell Anyone If your four adjacent neighbors broach the topic of preparedness, gauge the situation and then make an informed decision. If your neighbors are on board with preparing, that will help you form a defensive perimeter and a mutual alliance pact. Otherwise, tell nobody of your preparation plans. Do not tell your friends, family members, and co-workers. Make your preparations in cash or cashier’s checks as much as possible. Limit the paper trail to you. You do not want the government to know that you are prepared because you could be the first one on your block that is visited at 3AM. You and your mate should prepare in stealth. Kids talk and so do their friends.
14. PRAY! Survival is never guaranteed, salvation is! And do not forget one of your most important resources, your Bible. In a post-collapse America, it is likely that a religion will be forced upon the survivors and that religion will not be Christianity.
Conclusion In an upside-down world in which the banks legally own your money, getting your money away from these criminal banks has become an art form. I cannot promise you that you will be able to retrieve all of your assets. However, I can promise you that if you do not act, you will lose everything and you will lack needed supplies to weather what is coming.
I would strongly suggest that you keep your gas tank filled and you have plenty of cash, food and ammunition on hand. It is better to be safe than sorry.
Breaking News: FBI Investigation Reopens The elite may be pulling their support for Hillary. She is, again, under investigation by the FBI. IF her plug is pulled, the violence may come sooner than we anticipated- Get to work America, we do not have long.
DONATE TO THE COMMON SENSE SHOW Don’t wait for the collapse of the dollar because it will be too late.
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BREAKING UPDATE: At Least 27 DEAD After Shooter Enters Texas Church In Full Combat Gear…Almost Every Person In Church Was Shot…Gunman Chased After Fleeing Scene…Is Now DEAD [VIDEO] | Please pray for the victims and their families At least 27 people have been killed inside a Texas church including a two-year-old child after a gunman dressed in full combat gear opened fire during the morning service before cops shot him dead.The shooting happened at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, where around 50 people usually attend service, according to local reports.According to @ksatnews a witness reported seeing a man in full gear come into the church & unloaded several rounds. https://t.co/2K0aJZ3D79 pic.twitter.com/EFbWIKnX9D Nick Short (@PoliticalShort) November 5, 2017Wilson County Commissioner Albert Gamez Jr told CNN that at least 27 people have been killed in the shooting, but the death toll is expected to climb. My heart is broken, Gamez said. We never think where it can happen, and it does happen. It doesn t matter where you re at. In a small community, real quiet and everything, and look at this, what can happen. Albert Gamez, Jr., Commissioner of Wilson Co. TX gives his account of the scene in this video: Alert: TEXAS CHURCH ATTACK: 27 Dead, Official Says Dozens Wounded Suspect Dead After Chase FBI On Scenepic.twitter.com/LlptnMl2d9 J_Patriot_Train (@r_little_finger) November 5, 2017At least 24 others were injured in the horrific shooting. Witnesses said a man in full gear walked inside the church and opened fire just before 11.30am.FoxNews At least 20 feared dead in mass shooting at Texas church https://t.co/Li9uiH7HbK pic.twitter.com/Sgl96YEEzmAt least 20 feared de (((T W))) (@timgw37) November 5, 2017A woman wrote on Facebook that she saw the man flee the scene in his vehicle before crashing it not far from her daughter s house. She said he then ran on foot and was pursued by police.The shooter was killed after the brief foot chase into Guadalupe County, according Guadalupe County Sheriff s Office spokesman Robert Murphy.But it s still unclear if the gunman shot himself or was taken down by authorities.The suspect, who has not been identified, is dead and there is no longer an active shooter threat, according to police.Police could not give an exact number of victims shot in the attack, but witnesses said they heard as many as 20 shots fired.Dana Fletcher, who owns a store in Sutherland Springs, told CNN: It s just awful there were emergency responders everywhere. Neighbors in the area said they may have heard the shooter reload multiple times. Another witness at the scene said a two-year-old was also shot in the attack.For entire story: Daily Mail | 1real
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Democratic U.S. senator questions Deutsche Bank over Trump | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Democratic U.S. senator pressed Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) on Wednesday to release information about issues including President Donald Trump’s debt and any bank meetings with Trump administration officials, saying he had “great concern” about possible conflicts of interest. “I write to you with great concern regarding conflicts of interest between Deutsche Bank and the President of the United States and how these conflicts may impact ongoing investigations and regulatory oversight of your institution,” Senator Chris Van Hollen wrote in a letter addressed to the chief executive of Deutsche Bank USA, which he released to the public. Van Hollen is a member of the Senate Banking Committee. A spokeswoman for Deutsche Bank declined comment. White House officials did not respond to a request for comment. Van Hollen’s letter said prior financial disclosures listed two loans and two mortgages for which Deutsche Bank was the lender and Trump the borrower. Those loans amounted to about $340 million, with another $950 million extended to a venture in which Trump owns a 30 percent stake, he wrote. The letter also noted that Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, holds a multimillion-dollar line of credit at Deutsche Bank. Van Hollen asked for a response by May 12. | 0fake
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Ex-GOP Congressman Might As Well Be Wearing A Hood During Latest Interview (VIDEO) | The depths of Republican cruelty is on full display this week after the House passed the disastrous unread/unscored bill that we will forever call Trumpcare. It seems though, that even some Republicans are admitting that single payer or at least some form of actual universal healthcare is ideal, but, at least according to ex-congressman and deadbeat dad Joe Walsh, we can t have nice things because we have black people.Walsh, who for some unfathomable reason, is an MSNBC contributor, sparred with host Ali Velshi, who told the ex-congressman that our healthcare system ranks last among the 11 wealthiest nations. All the others have universal healthcare. That s when things turned ugly. You can t compare the rest of the world to us, Walsh replied. They do not have the big diverse populations that we have. They do not have the inner-city populations that we have. Later, when Velshi brought up the point again that the United States ranks poorly in life expectancy, access to care and a variety of other measures Walsh again brought up diversity. I love you, my friend, but you cannot Sweden does not have our inner-city population, he said. Norway, these countries do not have you re talking about countries the size of India with homogenous populations, Ali. You can t compare them to what we have! Source: Talking Points MemoVelshi, to his credit, didn t back down. He mentioned Canada, which is actually more ethnically diverse than the United States and has better health care.Here s the video:Walsh, of course, has the entire issue completely backwards. Yes, people of color, and in particular African-Americans and Hispanics, do have a lower life expectancy, although that is improving. But that s not because they are black, as Walsh implies. It s because they are more likely to live in poverty and they are less likely to have insurance.While a plurality (45%) of the uninsured are non-Hispanic Whites, people of color are at higher risk of being uninsured than Whites. People of color make up 41% of the nonelderly U.S. population but account for over half of the total nonelderly uninsured population (Figure 4). The disparity in insurance coverage is especially high for Hispanics, who account for 20% of the nonelderly population but nearly a third (32%) of the nonelderly uninsured population. Hispanics and Blacks have significantly higher uninsured rates (17.2% and 12.2%, respectively) than Whites (8.1%).Source: KFF.orgInstead of addressing poverty and lack of healthcare availability, Republicans like Walsh would rather use this totally fixable disparity to deepen the racial divide in this country and to foster hate. As for Walsh, he might as well wear that hood you know he owns in public. He s not even pretending anymore.Featured image via Alex Wong/Getty Images | 1real
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Young Fellas Made Of Nothing These Days, Finds Scientific Study | We Use Cookies: Our policy [X] Young Fellas Made Of Nothing These Days, Finds Scientific Study November 10, 2016 - BREAKING NEWS , HEALTH Share 0 Add Comment
DOCTORS studying the make-up of young fellas have found that they are made of nothing these days, in contrast to the men of old.
The scientific study, carried out by a team of genetic experts at Trinity College Dublin, found that the majority of Irish males aged between 16-30 have grown a lot weaker physically and less resilient to cold temperatures over the past 60 years. Of 100 Irish males tested in physical work environments, 67% percent moaned about being tired and fatigued after just two minutes.
“We put the study group to work on a local farm picking spuds, weeding gardens and doing general old time shit,” lead researcher Professor Conor Tracey explains, “We even made them travel to work in their bare feet. The results we got back were absolutely appalling to tell you the truth. Only a small minority of the men got on with their chores without complaining”.
In fact, further testing found that 89% of those studied were ‘perishers’, a trait increasing in modern day males.
“Nearly every one of them began whinging about the cold during the picking stones in the frost task,” Dr. Tracey added, “They began complaining that their ikkle fingies were sore, and that they couldn’t feel their hands or feet from the cold. Poor pets. Several lads even tried to pretend they were sick in a bid to get out of the job, and one 18-year-old subject began crying for his mammy like a big baby, so he did”.
The study concluded that 92% of Irish men were found to be made of nothing these days, compared to the young fellas of years ago who used to walk to school in their bare feet, before then going to work in the mines for 18 hours a day. | 1real
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Monday Newspaper Headlines Assert Administration Line: Hillary Exonerated! | November 7, 2016, 2:45 pm
FBI Director Comey’s weekend decision not to pursue crooked Hillary for her mishandling of secret government emails was a startling acquiescence to the White House position: In a letter to Congress, Comey said that Clinton should not face criminal charges on the basis of newly discovered State Department emails on a non-secure device.
One can imagine that the FBI Director was ferociously pressured to back down from his earlier accusations. And the switch created the desired headlines one day before the election that concerned voters could safely choose Hillary: she won’t be dragged from the Oval Office to be tried as a criminal!
The Sacramento Bee had a nicely artistic presentation:
The liberal press all headlined with the same not-so-subliminal message — Vote Democrat:
FBI SAYS REVIEW CLEARS CLINTON IN EMAIL INQUIRY — New York Times
FBI won’t pursue charges against Clinton — Washington Post
FBI Affirms No Clinton Charges —Wall Street Journal
FBI clears Clinton but Anger Persists — Los Angeles Times
Clinton cleared in late twist — Chicago Tribune
FBI clears Clinton in email case — Houston Chronicle
Again, no FBI e-mail charge — Denver Post
So five out of eight newspapers (chosen by me as being typical major publications) used the verb “clear” which is broad and has the air of finality.
However, the truth is more complex than a brief headline can convey: Hillary may get a temporary reprieve on the email case now, but that doesn’t mean she is off the hook. As Congressman Trey Gowdy (a former prosecutor) remarked on Sunday, “Investigations are never over unless a statute of limitations has expired or unless jeopardy has attached.”
So if something more incriminating turns up, it’s game on.
Plus, the Clinton Foundation remains an object of FBI investigation and is rumored to be a stronger case. In fact, Clinton Cash author Peter Schweizer appeared on a Fox Business show Monday and remarked, “The way it’s been explained to me by people in the FBI sphere is that basically they’re going to get one bite at this apple, so if you bring an email case prosecution, or were to do that and were to fail, the Clinton Foundation investigation just politically would be too much.”
Certainly the Wikileaks story that Chelsea’s deluxe wedding was financed by the Foundation has refocused attention on family’s corrupt slush fund disguised as a do-gooder organization.
So Hillary in prison orange remains a possibility, albeit an unlikely one. | 1real
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Idiots Pretending To Surf On Turtle’s Back Face $20,000 Fine | It’s not nice to harm wildlife – nor is it financially intelligent. Two guys, one named Ricky Rogers and his unnamed friend, found this out the hard way after they posted a photo of themselves... | 1real
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New Video DESTROYS Democrats Over Their Obamacare LIES- NAILS IT! | 0 comments
When Obamacare was voted in, it was by ALL Democrats, not one single Republican voted that garbage to existence. Now here we are with premiums skyrocketed, and set to increase EVEN more come 2017…to ridiculous heights. It’s all a huge mess…I mean… HUGE!
Not everyone understands this, in the way they should. They only understand that they are losing money and the anxiety from it all is nearly throwing them into depression. I mean, we’re already working ourselves to the bone to live the “American Dream” that Obama has put so far out of reach in these last 8 years…do we really ALSO have to worry about being able to afford…staying ALIVE!?
This is scary people! …and more should understand WHY it’s happening, so they can help do something about it.
This video needs to go viral…
Now I give you the new video…. “Broken Promises”
Wasn’t that SPOT ON!
Why does this need to spread everywhere? Because this is America, and we do not need to sit still and take this kind of abuse from the people making the choices in D.C.
WE ARE THE PEOPLE! So we need to vote those asshats out of there, and get some people into the White House that actually love America and her people.
It’s our country… squeeze the greed out of DC and exile it until forever. Related Items | 1real
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IMAM SLAMS CBS News For Trying To “Make Terrorist White”…”I’m Glad They Didn’t Make His Eyes Blue As Well” | Yesterday, the Imam who calls himself the Imam of peace called out NYC s Democrat mayor, Bill DeBlasio, for ignoring the Imam s warnings about Islamic terror in NYC.About #NYC terrorist attack, I personally sent letters to Mayor De Blasio online & in person about terrorist breeding in NYC.He did nothing. Imam Tawhidi (@Imamofpeace) October 31, 2017In 2016, I told Mayor De Blasio that I was in NYC and noticed some hot radical centres. I was willing to point out serious cases. Ignored! Imam Tawhidi (@Imamofpeace) October 31, 2017When critics came after him, Imam Tawhidi announced that he would release his letter to DeBlasio warning him of Islamic extremists in NY.I ll be releasing my 2016 letter to Mayor De Blasio warning him of Islamic extremists in NY upon my landing . His office is a proven FAIL! https://t.co/QQCLN1OiNf Imam Tawhidi (@Imamofpeace) November 1, 2017The popular Imam is not shy about his thoughts on radical Islam.The Islamic world is infested with extremists. Whoever denies this is either unaware of what s going on or simply a benefiting politician. Imam Tawhidi (@Imamofpeace) November 1, 2017He s not shy about calling out the hypocrisy in Islamic politics eitherIslamic politics is amazing. We behead each other with our own knives, stone with our own stones, then our leaders blame the USA. Spot on . Imam Tawhidi (@Imamofpeace) August 11, 2017Today, Imam Tawhidi called out CBS for making the NYC terrorist appear to be white in their New York attack suspect: Who is Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov? article.Here s the image CBS used in their story:Here s the Imam s tweet:CBS tried to make terrorist Saipov white, I m glad they didn t make his eyes blue as well. pic.twitter.com/EQH3v57itk Imam Tawhidi (@Imamofpeace) November 1, 2017This isn t the first time that a liberal media outlet has been accused of white-washing an image of a high-profile killer to fit a certain liberal narrative.Conservative Treehouse accused CNN of whitewashing the selfie image of Oregon Umpqua College killer, Christopher Mercer, that he uploaded to his Facebook page. On the right is how CNN presented the same selfie in broadcast stories about him. Why did CNN need to change the complexion (color) of their broadcast?What are your thoughts? Do you believe CBS intentionally white-washed the image of the New York City terrorist? We d like to hear what you have to say. Please tell us what you think in the comment section below. | 1real
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White House looks to scientists to sell Iran deal | Trump will also meet with retiring Indiana Sen. Dan Coats, former Georgia Gov. Sonny Purdue and Linda McMahon, a prolific Republican donor, two-time Senate... | 0fake
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BIDEN GEARS UP FOR PRESIDENTIAL BID AS “Somebody Very High In The Food Chain” Works Behind The Scenes To Take Down Hillary | It s pretty common knowledge there is no love lost between Valerie Jarrett and the Clinton crime syndicate. It s also pretty common knowledge who s calling the shots at the White House. If Valerie doesn t want Hillary to be coronated as the next Democratic Presidential candidate, it s highly likely that in the dirty world of Obama s Chicago thug style politics that Hillary s not gonna be the candidate The lady in waiting will have to keep waiting. Probably forever. Fate has spoken.Already threatened by a growing trust deficit with voters, her would-be majesty now faces an even more lethal adversary. It s called the truth, though she probably sees it as a vast, left-wing conspiracy.The news that two inspectors general from the Obama administration want the Justice Department to investigate her handling of classified material is a potential game changer. For many Democrats, it will serve as final proof she is fatally flawed. Her standing will further erode, turning her coronation plans into a long, hot summer. The drip, drip, drip of details will produce new polls showing a bleeding of support, which will entice other candidates into the race. Look for Vice President Joe Biden to jump in soon, and lefty Sen. Elizabeth Warren might also take the leap.Meanwhile, Clinton must play defense against her former colleagues in the State Department and intelligence agencies. Actually, it s worse. She s almost certainly up against the White House.Somebody very high in the food chain leaked the memos requesting the probe. The New York Times, which broke the story, identified its source only as a senior government official. My money is on Valerie Jarrett, the Obamas Rasputin, who is known to despise Clinton. If it was Jarrett, she would not do this against the president s wishes.That also would be true for any senior government official who leaked the memos. Targets don t get any bigger than Hillary Clinton, so this was not a rogue operation. This was an approved hit.Clinton has an enemies list and it looks like she s on Obama s. It s also possible the White House is using the issue to keep her in line on the Iranian nuke deal. The implied threat is look what happened to Robert Menendez. Either way, she had it coming. Her arrogance and bald-faced lies about the emails must have infuriated her boss and colleagues. Her decision to conduct government business on a private server in her home and use personal email accounts was a giant f k you to the administration.When it was revealed in March that she had deleted tens of thousands of emails before turning over those she deemed government property, she compounded injury with an insulting insistence that she did nothing wrong. Insiders knew that was a big fat lie.As I wrote then, Clinton s claim that she acted out of convenience was hogwash. She wanted to keep her correspondence secret from Congress, the media and also from the White House, and the people it stashed at State to watch her. It s obvious now she underestimated the ammunition she was providing. As a result, she has put her dream of being the second President Clinton in mortal jeopardy.And her problems may not end with the classified issue. Any honest prosecutor looking at her emails would also look for evidence she traded government favors for contributions to the Clinton Foundation or paid speeches.She and Bill Clinton were paid $25 million for speeches in just 16 months, and some of that cash came from donors and companies with business before her. Similarly, big donors to the foundation also sought help from her as secretary.And now a career marked by persistent dishonesty might be nearing the finish line long before she planned.Via: NY Post | 1real
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Cops Dragged A Half-Naked Woman Into Her Courtroom, But What This Judge Did Is AWESOME (VIDEO) | A Louisville, Kentucky Metro Corrections judge was outraged when jail officials dragged a female, African-American inmate before her. The woman was not wearing a jail jumpsuit, and appeared to not be wearing any pants, period. Speaking of those, the inmate says she was denied feminine hygiene products, as well. What the hell is going on? a clearly exasperated Judge Amber Wolf demanded upon seeing the woman, whose attorney explained that jailers refused to give her pants and any kind of hygiene products that she needed specifically feminine hygiene products. This is outrageous; is this for real? the judge asked, wondering if she was in the Twilight Zone. This can t wait, Wolf said as she pulled out her phone and angrily made a phone call demanding that someone come explain to her why the woman was not given pants. What the hell is going on? Wolf said into the phone. I m holding her here until she is dressed appropriately to go back to jail. This is outrageous. She then demanded that court staff find anything, I don t care what it is that the woman could use to cover herself.Jail officials say that the woman was wearing athletic shorts, the same ones she was wearing when she was arrested three days prior, when she made her court appearance. In other words, she was forced to wear dirty clothing for multiple days in a row. This was their defense. On top of that, jail spokesman Steve Durham says that it is standard practice to put inmates through this sort of dehumanizing treatment: This is pretty standard that when individuals are arrested, they remain in the clothing that they ve been arrested in, Especially for the first 72 hours. But Metro Corrections Deputy Director Dwayne Clark, who brought the defendant pants, says that this was completely improper. Dressed like she was, she should have been changed into a jumpsuit, he said. I gotta look into why she wasn t. Wolf released the woman, who was put through all this for failing to complete a diversion program after a years-old shoplifting charge, on time served with a $100 fine, saying that the jail also dropped the ball by holding her for more than a day. This is not normal. I ve never seen this happen, Wolf told the woman, describing her treatment as completely inhumane. I m sorry you had to go through this, the judge said.Watch footage of this badass in a robe standing up for someone s basic human rights below:WDRB 41 Louisville NewsFeatured image via screengrab | 1real
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Key U.S. senator remains concerned over ChemChina-Syngenta deal | BEIJING (Reuters) - A powerful U.S. senator said he is concerned that state-owned ChemChina, which is buying Swiss crop protection and seed group Syngenta SYNN.S for $43 billion, could use U.S. sovereign immunity laws to shield itself from claims in U.S. courts. Some Chinese state-owned entities have argued that they have sovereign immunity and thus can’t be sued in U.S. courts under the U.S. Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) of 1976. The acquisition by China National Chemical Corp (ChemChina) [CNNCC.UL] of Syngenta, the largest global investment by a Chinese company, won U.S. regulatory clearance in August despite concerns from some lawmakers over U.S. food security. This week, a U.S. congressional panel urged lawmakers to take action to ban Chinese state-owned firms from acquiring U.S. companies. In a Nov. 9 letter to U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley that was posted on his website, ChemChina said its U.S.-incorporated businesses are subject to U.S. civil law, and that FSIA does not apply to commercial activity. Grassley, who represents the U.S. agricultural powerhouse state of Iowa, said in a Nov. 16 response that he remained concerned that ChemChina could seek to shield itself from U.S. court jurisdiction. “While ChemChina indicated that immunity would not extend to Syngenta’s U.S. business, the company failed to note that immunity would otherwise apply to a wholly state-owned entity,” he said on his website. Some legal experts say the sovereign immunity defense, intended under international law to shield governments from legal rulings made by a foreign power, typically does not apply to commercial cases. ChemChina’s acquisition is now in the process of gaining approval from the European Commission, and the deal is expected to be closed around the end of March. In its letter to Grassley, ChemChina said the Chinese government does not interfere with ChemChina’s operations and has not directed ChemChina or any of its affiliates to engage in price-fixing with competitors. “Syngenta will continue to have its same strategy, management, people and culture and its headquarters in Basel. No jobs will be lost and no jobs will go overseas as a result of this transaction,” it said. ChemChina also said the Chinese government does not interfere with its operations and has not directed ChemChina or any of its affiliates to engage in price fixing with competitors. | 0fake
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New Zealand party leaders meet with caucuses to start negotiation talks | WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand s major party leaders met with their caucuses on Tuesday, preparing to kick off talks on forming the next government with a nationalist party that holds the balance of power after an inconclusive weekend election. The ruling National Party won the most seats in Saturday s general election, but failed to secure enough to form a government, leaving the New Zealand First Party in the position of kingmaker. Deputy leaders of both the ruling National and opposition Labour parties said they would be willing to give up the role of deputy prime minister to win the backing of Winston Peters, who leads New Zealand First. But the Labour Party, whose support spiked after Jacinda Ardern became leader last month, also has a chance to govern in New Zealand s proportional representation system, if it can woo Peters into a coalition along with the Green Party. Ardern said she had every chance to become the country s youngest prime minister in modern history, adding that her team had contacted that of Peters, a veteran politician who has served in National and Labour governments. We are willing and available when he is ready, Ardern, 37, told reporters in Wellington. I respect the time that Mr. Peters will need to talk with his party. Asked about possible sticking points in talks, she said budget responsibility rules would apply in any government Labour led. Both National and Labour are expected to stick to fiscal prudence, but to differ on monetary policy, trade and immigration. Labour wants to cut immigration and renegotiate some trade deals that could hurt two key sources of growth. It wants to add employment to the central bank s inflation-targeting mandate, which could make monetary policy more stimulatory, and there is some concern about New Zealand First s preference for more central bank intervention in the currency market. The political uncertainty weighed on the New Zealand dollar , which was down 0.32 percent at $0.7243, after posting its biggest daily drop in more than four months on Monday. Forming a coalition government could take weeks, Prime Minister Bill English has said, though he hoped talks would be constructive, even if expected to be tense. English has courted Peters since election night, when he acknowledged his strong performance , saying voters had given him a role in the new government s formation. He understands his role and the role here is, now that we ve had an election where the people have spoken... then it s up to the political party leaders to form the kind of government indicated by the election, English told media. The National Party secured 58 seats, ahead of the 52 won by the Green Party and Labour in Saturday s election, leaving both still in need of NZ First s nine seats to reach the tally of 61 required to form a government. A final tally of election results is due on Oct. 7, when special votes , which constitute 15 percent of the total and include overseas votes, are released. English remains prime minister in the interim. | 0fake
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'There appear to be no rules anymore' | There is an path for Democrats to regain the presidency — and it does not run through Ohio, Michigan or Wisconsin. | 0fake
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Democrats’ Divisions Linger, but Parties Have Seen Far Worse - The New York Times | PHILADELPHIA — Follow along with our coverage of the Democratic National Convention. For all the noise, demonstrations, walkouts and silent protests, the divisions on display here as Democrats nominated Hillary Clinton for president do not appear to present a major threat to her candidacy, paling in contrast to intramural battles that have doomed nominees in the past and that threaten Donald J. Trump today. Even as Mr. Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, has sought to take advantage of the acrimony by appealing directly to the supporters of Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Mrs. Clinton’s campaign has methodically used the first three days of this convention to win over those supporters. Almost on the hour, the lights in the convention hall have dimmed to present “Trump in His Own Words,” a series of short video clips that show Mr. Trump offering contentious views on, for example, women and pregnancy in the workplace, advertisements clearly aimed at Sanders backers at the gathering. “I don’t think it’s going to be a permanent division,” said Gov. Jerry Brown of California, a Democrat who lost his own bitter primary campaign for president against Bill Clinton in 1992 and whose state delegation has been a hotbed of Sanders support. “The stakes are high. The issues are very sharp. There will be a real convergence around the core ideas of the campaign. ” Despite a modest walkout after the roll call and a march on the convention hall by Sanders supporters as Mr. Clinton spoke on Tuesday, the convention has offered each night a broad of the party leadership that has allied behind Mrs. Clinton: speeches of support from President Obama, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Howard Dean, whose 2004 candidacy for president recalls the one Mr. Sanders ran. “The Sanders people walked out last night — there were less than 100 of them!” Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Senate minority leader, said. Mr. Sanders was given a speech to make the case to his supporters that it was time to rally behind Mrs. Clinton. At the behest of the Clinton campaign, he moved to nominate her by acclamation to make it appear unanimous, just as she had done for Barack Obama in 2008. Even before the convention began, polls showed that a substantial majority of Mr. Sanders’s backers said they would vote for Mrs. Clinton over Mr. Trump, and if history is any guide, those numbers will only grow as Election Day approaches. Todd Gitlin, a historian, said both parties have over the years faced divisions that were deeper and that festered through Election Day, including when Hubert Humphrey emerged from a Democratic primary contest with Eugene McCarthy and Robert F. Kennedy to lose to Richard M. Nixon in 1968, as well as when Barry Goldwater, after a divided Republican convention four years earlier, lost to Lyndon B. Johnson. The current Republican Party may also fall into that category, given how many powerful Republicans have refused to back Mr. Trump. “In 1968, the cleavage in the party was far deeper than it is now,” Mr. Gitlin said. “The hatred in the streets between the Humphrey supporters and the supporters of Kennedy and McCarthy was so intense. People like me didn’t vote. I don’t think we are looking at anything like that today. ” Which is not to say that this is going to be an easy walk down the aisle. In interviews, Democrats said they worried less about Sanders supporters voting for Mr. Trump than about them not turning out at all, or casting votes for, say, the Libertarian Party or Green Party candidates. “I think there will be some loss of votes to candidates,” Stanley Greenberg, a Democratic pollster, said. Former President George Bush has long blamed his defeat in 1992 on the candidacy of Ross Perot. Ralph Nader, who ran for president in 2000 on a line, cost Al Gore, a Democrat, the election against Mr. Bush’s son, in the view of many party members. Mr. Sanders’s support for Mrs. Clinton crystallized only recently. Well into the summer, he was still making a vigorous case against her — on issues like trade and what he described as her sympathies to Wall Street — drawing loud cheers and hardening opposition to Mrs. Clinton at his rallies. “Long after it was clear he was not going to be a nominee, he was attacking her as an instrument of Wall Street,” Mr. Greenberg said. The reconciliation was no doubt complicated even more this week when Gov. Terry McAuliffe of Virginia, a longtime adviser to the Clintons, strongly suggested to an interviewer that Mrs. Clinton would change her position again on the Partnership Treaty and try to put it in effect once she was in the White House. Mr. Sanders has made opposition to the treaty, a pact with the United States and 11 other Pacific Rim nations, a central part of his campaign, forcing Mrs. Clinton, who once supported the treaty, to publicly disavow it. In this context, even a plea from Mr. Sanders to his supporters to embrace Mrs. Clinton may not be enough, at least for some of them. “She really needs to do actual concrete things to show that she recognizes what a dire situation our country and world is in,” said Lisa Flythe, a Sanders delegate from Brooklyn who works as a representative. “She needs to take concrete actions to enact a progressive agenda from workers’ rights to eliminating T. P. P. ” At one point on Wednesday night, Sanders supporters, wearing green shirts and scattered across the hall, broke into loud chants of “No more war,” drowning out Leon E. Panetta, who was the director of the Central Intelligence Agency and the defense secretary under Mr. Obama, as he praised Mrs. Clinton’s foreign policy credentials. Still, some of Mr. Sanders’s supporters said that given the choice, they were ready to support her. “I think it’s appropriate to tell the Bernie supporters to support Hillary because of the alternative,” said Taz Tally, a Democratic delegate from Homer, Alaska, “and in my view, if you choose not to vote, it’s basically a vote for Mr. Trump, which is scary. ” Governor Brown, who endorsed Mrs. Clinton in the final days of the Democratic primary in California, said he did not think people who voted for Mr. Sanders would support Mr. Trump. “Trump is too antithetical to anything that Sanders people talk about,” he said. “There’s a similarity on trade, but immigration, the N. R. A. Trump is a real outlier. And while he picked up the nomination of the Republican Party, he’s not close to the mainstream that would make crossover likely from Democrats to Republicans. ” In the end, the party divisions appear to be, as they have been through much of the campaign, as generational as they are ideological. “There will continue to be a hard left, some of whom are naïve,” Mr. Gitlin, the historian, said, referring to Sanders backers. “They are young. This is their first crusade. They feel betrayed. They were true believers: They believed that Bernie was the man and Bernie was transformative. They were in this for victory. The feeling of betrayal is very real. ” | 0fake
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CLASS ACT! WATCH THE TODAY SHOW’S MATT LAUER Get Shot Down By Trump’s Friend New England Patriots Owner Bob Craft [Video] | 1real
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Bill Weld is Hillary Clinton’s Libertarian Party Surrogate | Written by Adam Dick It is common in presidential campaigns for surrogates to speak at events or take part in media interviews where they vouch for a presidential candidate. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has many such surrogates, including her former presidential primary opponent Bernie Sanders, her husband and former United State President Bill Clinton, and First Lady Michelle Obama. Hillary Clinton’s campaign, as is typical of presidential campaigns, also uses Clinton’s vice presidential running mate Tim Kaine as a surrogate. What is unusual is that Bill Weld, the vice presidential nominee of the Libertarian Party, has also joined the ranks of Clinton surrogates. Weld, interviewed Tuesday at MSNBC by Rachel Maddow, said that he was on her show “to vouch for Hillary Clinton.” And vouch for Clinton he did throughout the interview. Asked by Maddow if people should vote for the Libertarian presidential ticket in states where there appears to be a close race between Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump, Weld answered that Weld fears “for the country” if Trump is elected, that Trump is “stirring up envy and resentment and even hatred,” and that Trump threatens US foreign policy and the nation’s “position in the world at large.” Weld did not say “vote for Clinton,” but it is easy for viewers of the interview to fill in those blanks. Not satisfied with Weld’s implicit call for voters to support Clinton, Maddow pushed for more explicit direction from Weld. And Weld obliged. Asked why a person would vote for the Libertarian ticket headed by presidential nominee Gary Johnson in a state with a close Clinton versus Trump race, Weld answered that he has “a lot to say” about Clinton to such voters who choose not to vote Libertarian. Weld proceeded praising Clinton who he says he has known for 40 years and has worked with professionally. “I know her well personally; I know her to be a person of high moral character, a reliable person, and an honest person, however so much Mr. Trump may rant and rave to the contrary,” Weld continued. In contrast, Weld, in the interview, argued that Trump behaves like a bully and cannot “competently manage the office of the presidency.” Narrowing in more on Weld’s vote recommendation, Maddow proceeded to ask Weld the following question: “Do you honestly believe that Gary Johnson would be a better president than Hillary Clinton?” Breaking from expectations based on the history of American vice presidential nominees, Weld did not say that the head of his presidential ticket would be the best choice for president and then launch into a list of reasons. Instead, Weld gave lukewarm praise for Johnson while sidestepping the direct question. “I think he’d be capable of being a good chief executive and, yes, a commander-in-chief” said Weld regarding Johnson. Weld then returned in his answer to his focus on how Clinton is a much better choice for voters than is Trump, asserting that a President Trump would bring “chaos to the country” while a President Clinton would bring a “very businesslike and capable and competent approach to our affairs.” Included in Weld’s defense of Clinton is his declaration during the interview that people should “just ignore,” because “there is nothing there,” the Friday disclosure by Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director James B. Comey that the FBI has reopened its investigation of Clinton for mishandling classified information. Maddow then questioned Weld regarding whether his opinion on the matter conflicts with a press release in which Johnson starts off saying, as quoted by Maddow, “The newest revelations about Hillary Clinton demonstrate why America should be scared of both Clinton and Trump.” Asked by Maddow if Weld agrees with the press release , Weld confirmed that he does not. Weld then immediately proceeded in his answer to list “a number of substantive issues” on which he disagrees with Johnson — something Weld did not do in regard to Clinton. Weld’s divergence from the expected message of a Libertarian Party vice presidential nominee should not be too surprising. On May 19, the day after Johnson declared his preference that the Libertarian National Convention delegates choose Weld for the vice presidential slot, Jesse Walker, writing at Reason, pointed to Weld’s “anti-libertarian positions” on both domestic and foreign issues before concluding “if I wanted to elect an Iraq hawk for gun control, I could vote for Hillary Clinton.” Several months later Weld has come out in the open to effectively answer Walker with a resounding “Hear, hear!” Since his nomination at the Libertarian National Convention, Weld has continued to endorse positions contrary to the Libertarian Party platform and libertarian ideas. These positions include outlawing people listed on the US government’s so-called terror watch lists from buying guns and nominating far-from-libertarian individuals to the US Supreme Court. Weld has also been busy promoting Clinton during his time as the Libertarian vice presidential nominee, though maybe never before so brazenly as in his interview this week with Maddow. In September, for example, Weld declared in an MSNBC interview that he thinks “very highly” of Clinton and that he is “not sure anybody’s more qualified than Hillary Clinton to be president of the United States.” Then, last week, Weld issued a statement , directed to people who are undecided between voting for Clinton or Trump, that goes on and on about how terrible Trump is but neglects to suggest voting for the Libertarian ticket. Weld appears to have been in the tank for Clinton for quite a while. A curious observer would have to wonder if Weld has supported Clinton’s election since before his nomination at the Libertarian National Convention. With so many Republican establishment individuals opposing Trump and even jumping to support Clinton, it is not far-fetched to think an effort would be made to put a Clinton supporter on the Libertarian presidential ticket. Indeed, David French, who Bill Kristol was once promoting as a potential independent presidential candidate to foil Trump, wrote a National Review article expressing his desire that the Libertarian National Convention delegates nominate a presidential candidate that anti-Trump Republicans could support. French suggested that Johnson may be alright in the top spot on the ticket, though French also expressed some reservations. Weld might very much satisfy many such “Never Trumpers” by using his platform as the vice presidential nominee to encourage people to vote for Clinton. Watch Weld’s interview with Maddow, in three segments, here: Copyright © 2016 by RonPaul Institute. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit and a live link are given. | 1real
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Russia says ready for talks with U.S. to try to save arms pact | MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia s Foreign Ministry said on Friday it was ready for talks with the United States to try to keep a landmark arms control treaty that helped end the Cold War alive and that Moscow would comply with its obligations if the U.S. did. The ministry was referring to the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, which was signed in 1987 and banned all Soviet and American short and intermediate-range land-based nuclear and conventional missiles. Its statement was published to mark the 30th anniversary of the treaty, which was signed with the Soviet Union. The ministry said Moscow was ready to hold talks with the U.S. on problems that have arisen around the treaty, but considered the language of ultimatums and attempts to pressure Russia by imposing sanctions unacceptable. | 0fake
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How Trump and Sanders Broadened Their Bases in New Hampshire | Voters in the nation's first primary delivered resounding victories to Donald Trump and Democrat Sen. Bernie Sanders, who both found a wider appeal with New Hampshire voters than polls had predicted.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich emerged from a crowded pack of Republicans to take second place. | 0fake
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Republicans, Facing Pressure, Delay Hearings for 4 Trump Cabinet Nominees - The New York Times | WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans, under increasing pressure to ensure that Donald J. Trump’s nominees are fully vetted by federal authorities, have delayed the hearings of four potential cabinet members, three of whom have not been cleared by the agency charged with unraveling potential conflicts of interest. As frustrations over confirmations grow, a group that supports Republicans accused the ethics office and its leader — in a highly unusual attack on the nonpartisan agency — of politicizing a process long viewed by both parties as arduous but essential for anyone serving in government. Hearings for Betsy DeVos, Mr. Trump’s choice to lead the Department of Education Andrew Puzder, his labor secretary nominee and Representative Mike Pompeo, Republican of Kansas, Mr. Trump’s pick to lead the Central Intelligence Agency, have all been pushed back as Democrats clamor for more time to collect and review the standard background checks that nominees traditionally undergo before their hearings commence. Wilbur Ross, Mr. Trump’s pick for secretary of commerce, will also be delayed several days because his ethics agreement is not complete, according to the chairman and ranking Democrat of the commerce committee. The delays represent a stumble for the incoming Trump administration, which has vowed to run government with a businesslike efficiency, and highlights how in several respects its preparation to take office is behind that of predecessors. In the case of Ms. DeVos, a billionaire, a complex web of financial holdings may be slowing down the Office of Government Ethics, which helps federal officials address conflict of interest matters, while Mr. Puzder’s background documents are also not in order. Walter M. Shaub Jr. the director of the ethics office, said in a letter to Senator Patty Murray, Democrat of Washington, that he did not know when Ms. DeVos would be cleared by his agency as this was “dependent on the nominee to provide needed information, respond to questions and accept the terms of an ethics agreement. ” Republicans have vowed hearings for as many nominees as possible before Mr. Trump’s inauguration, so that they can be cleared to served immediately, particularly those posts associated with national security. “We will be in a position to confirm a significant number of the president’s nominees on day one,” said the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the minority leader, said Tuesday on the Senate floor, “This new hearing schedule is a very good first step, but we still have a ways to go. ” Mr. Trump’s aides have been pressuring the ethics office to expedite its processes, even though it did not get the necessary paperwork from most of his nominees until recently, putting Republicans in a difficult position of either pushing forward with hearings without proper vetting — something most of the chairmen are loath to do — or delaying them in some cases indefinitely. “Trump is the latest to begin the process in contemporary history,” said Paul C. Light, a professor of Public Service at New York University who worked on Capitol Hill as an adviser on transitions. “This puts the Republicans under pressure and sets up possible problems down the road. Mr. Trump is asking the Senate to make up for his own failures here. ” The conservative organization America Rising PAC took aim at Mr. Shaub on Monday, highlighting his “history as a Democrat and the double standard he employed as head” of the agency, highlighting his political donations to President Obama as well as his office’s “utter incompetence” in policing financial matters related to Hillary and Bill Clinton. The PAC chided Mr. Shaub for wading into the politics of the transitions, saying his public comments and criticisms had become fodder for “Congressional Democrats to try and score points. ” The PAC noted an informal — and — series of postings on Twitter from the office’s official account congratulating Mr. Trump on divesting from his real estate business — a move he had not made. “The head of President Obama’s ethics department has absolutely zero credibility to criticize others,” Scott Sloofman, a spokesman for America Rising PAC, said in an email, adding that Mr. Shaub’s “outburst over the weekend reeks of partisan politics from an embittered Democrat still reeling from November’s election result. ” In messages posted to Twitter on Tuesday, the office wrote that it is “Moving quickly!” — noting that it had 54 percent of the nominees it has received from the Trump transition team, compared with 29 percent at the same point in 2009. “OGE is expediting reviews of the financial disclosure reports of the ’s nominees, without sacrificing quality,” the agency said on Twitter. An employment lawyer by trade, Mr. Shaub joined the Office of Government Ethics in 2006, during the administration of George W. Bush, working as a supervisory lawyer. In 2008, he became a deputy general counsel, and then President Obama in 2013 nominated Mr. Shaub as director of the office. Ethics experts who have worked closely with the office and Mr. Shaub said the criticisms of him seemed unfair. “For simply doing his job, director Shaub is now being unfairly attacked,” Norman L. Eisen, a former special counsel for ethics and government reform under Mr. Obama, and Richard W. Painter, the chief White House ethics lawyer to Mr. Bush, said in a joint statement. “It seems that it is open season on ethics in Washington, D. C. Last week the nonpartisan, independent Office of Congressional Ethics was attacked, and now the nonpartisan, independent Office of Government Ethics and its director are being targeted. ” They added, “This attempt to bully and intimidate a hardworking, understaffed agency like O. G. E. must not go unchecked. ” The compliance office work on the transition got off to a cordial and even enthusiastic start during the final months of the campaign, and continued after the election, according to a series of emails between ethics officials and Mr. Trump’s representatives obtained through public records requests by MSNBC and the James Madison Project. “Congratulations on the campaign’s victory,” Mr. Shaub wrote members of Mr. Trump’s transition team on the morning after Election Day, just hours after his victory, adding, “We’re really looking forward to getting down to work on this presidential transition — which we’re going to make one of the best in history!” | 0fake
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WATCH: Keith Olbermann Tells Fools Who Voted For Trump To Wave Goodbye To Their Social Security | Keith Olbermann did not mince words. The end of Social Security is near because of Donald Trump.Trump supporters are living in a fantasy land if they really believe Trump and the Republican Congress are going to protect Social Security.For decades, Social Security has been a lifeline for the elderly during hard times. During the Great Recession in 2008, Social Security kept people over the age of 65 afloat as millions of Americans took hits that drained their bank accounts or left them homeless.For senior citizens, Social Security did exactly what is was meant to do, prevent them from ending up in poverty.Every American in this country pays into Social Security so that they can benefit from the program one day.But Republicans are already planning on gutting Social Security in 2017 with a bill known as the Social Security Reform Act of 2016.The bill will raise the retirement age, which means American workers will have to work longer and harder before they can stop and draw the Social Security they worked so hard for. And it won t even be worth it because the bill also slashes benefits by 35 percent and will be cut by 50 percent for younger workers. In short, Americans will get less but have to work more.And Republicans are hoping to pass this bill handily without anyone noticing. Not only are they banking on Trump serving as a distraction, they are betting that he ll sign whatever they put in front of his face. The banana Republicans are going on a stealth offensive, Olbermann began. They have to reveal themselves sooner or later, if only to signal to corporations who own them that, yes, the fix is in and ownership will be getting what they prostituted the government for. Olbermann explained that chief actuary of the Social Security Administration Stephen C. Goss sent a letter to bill sponsor Rep. Sam Johnson warning him that his so-called reform plan will actually harm Social Security and hurt the millions of Americans who use it. Paul Ryan and all the other corporate whores intend to plunge the knife into the back of Social Security, and especially those hard working fools of Middle America who actually believed the net impact of a Donald Trump presidency would be more money for them and not poverty in their old age, Olbermann continued. Social Security would be gutted. Less money would be flowing into Social Security and Americans would see massive cuts, some of which would begin as early as December 2018. So millions of Americans will take a major hit two years from now, and right around the Christmas season to add insult to injury.And Olbermann added that Trump supporters will be too busy fawning over their new hero to notice that they are being swindled. They will be watching whatever Trump is doing at the moment at some point likely to be his version of Daffy Duck drinking a gallon of gasoline and a bottle of nitroglycerin, a pile of gunpowder and a glass of uranium-238 and then lighting a match and in the background, the Republican House and Republican Senate now full of the subsidiaries of the corporations who were able to buy this country after Citizens United, they will destroy Social Security so the rich can get even richer by stealing a billion dollars one dollar at a time. Our part-time president will take a quick look away from his Twitter feed to sign exactly where they tell him to sign. Here s the video via YouTube.Republicans are prepared to launch an all-out assault on not only Social Security but on Medicare and Medicaid as well. So senior citizens and every American who manages to survive to old age after Republicans destroy everything, will not have Social Security or healthcare. This is what Republicans mean when they say they will take care of the middle class. The reality is that Republicans are selfish and they only care about the wealthy. The time for peaceful protests is over. If we want to keep the programs we have all worked hard to earn and stop the greedy from stealing them from us, the time for open revolt is now.Featured image via screenshot | 1real
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Senior Saudi prince freed in settlement agreement of $1 billion: Saudi official | DUBAI (Reuters) - Senior Saudi Prince Miteb bin Abdullah, once seen as a leading contender to the throne, was freed after reaching an acceptable settlement agreement with authorities paying more than $1 billion, a Saudi official said on Wednesday. The official said Miteb, in his deal with the government, had admitted corruption. Three other people involved in corruption cases have also finalised settlement agreements with authorities, the official told Reuters. | 0fake
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Donald Trump Criticizes Muslim Family of Slain U.S. Soldier, Drawing Ire - The New York Times | Donald J. Trump belittled the parents of a slain Muslim soldier who had strongly denounced Mr. Trump during the Democratic National Convention, saying that the soldier’s father had delivered the entire speech because his mother was not “allowed” to speak. Mr. Trump’s comments, in an interview with George Stephanopoulos of ABC News that will air on Sunday, drew quick and widespread condemnation and amplified calls for Republican leaders to distance themselves from their presidential nominee. With his implication that the soldier’s mother had not spoken because of female subservience expected in some traditional strains of Islam, his comments also inflamed his hostilities with American Muslims. Khizr Khan, the soldier’s father, lashed out at Mr. Trump in an interview on Saturday, saying his wife had not spoken at the convention because it was too painful for her to talk about her son’s death. Mr. Trump, he said, “is devoid of feeling the pain of a mother who has sacrificed her son. ” Gov. John Kasich of Ohio, a rival of Mr. Trump’s in the Republican primaries who has refused to endorse him, castigated him on Twitter. “There’s only one way to talk about Gold Star parents: with honor and respect,” he wrote, using the term for surviving family members of those who died in war. And Hillary Clinton, Mr. Trump’s Democratic opponent, said he “was not a normal presidential candidate. ” “Someone who attacks everybody has something missing,” she told a crowd at a campaign stop in Youngstown, Ohio. “I don’t know what it is. I’m not going to get into that. ” Mr. Khan’s speech at the convention in Philadelphia was one of the most powerful given there. It was effectively the Democratic response to comments Mr. Trump has made implying many American Muslims have terrorist sympathies or stay silent when they know ones who do. Mr. Trump has called to ban Muslim immigration as a way to combat terrorism. At the convention, Mr. Khan spoke about how his son, Humayun Khan, an Army captain, died in a car bombing in 2004 in Iraq as he tried to save other troops. He criticized Mr. Trump, saying he “consistently smears the character of Muslims,” and pointedly challenged what sacrifices Mr. Trump had made. Holding a copy of the Constitution, he asked if Mr. Trump had read it. Mr. Khan’s wife stood silently by his side. Mr. Trump told Mr. Stephanopoulos that Mr. Khan seemed like a “nice guy” and that he wished him “the best of luck. ” But, he added, “If you look at his wife, she was standing there, she had nothing to say, she probably — maybe she wasn’t allowed to have anything to say, you tell me. ” Mr. Trump also told Maureen Dowd of The New York Times on Friday night, “I’d like to hear his wife say something. ” In a statement late Saturday, Mr. Trump called Captain Khan a “hero,” and reiterated his belief that the United States should bar Muslims from entering the country. “While I feel deeply for the loss of his son,” he added, “Mr. Khan, who has never met me, has no right to stand in front of millions of people and claim I have never read the Constitution, (which is false) and say many other inaccurate things. ” Even given Mr. Trump’s reputation for retaliating when attacked, his remarks about the Khans were startling. They called to mind one of his earliest counterpunches of the campaign, when he responded to criticism from Senator John McCain of Arizona, once a prisoner of war in Vietnam, by saying at a forum in Iowa, “I like people that weren’t captured. ” But Mr. McCain has a long history in the public eye. The Khans, before their convention appearance, had none. “Trump is totally void of any decency because he is unaware of how to talk to a Gold Star family and how to speak to a Gold Star mother,” Mr. Khan said on Saturday. Ms. Khan did speak on Friday to MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell, saying she “cannot even come in the room where his pictures are. ” When she saw her son’s photograph on the screen behind her on the stage in Philadelphia, she said, “I couldn’t take it. ” “I controlled myself at that time,” she said, while choking back tears. “It is very hard. ” In his interview with The Times, Mr. Khan said his wife had helped him craft his convention speech, and told him to remove certain attacks he had wanted to make against Mr. Trump. But on Saturday, he unmuzzled himself. “Unlike Donald Trump’s wife, I didn’t plagiarize my speech,” Mr. Khan said, referring to how several lines from a Michelle Obama speech found their way into Melania Trump’s address at the Republican National Convention. “I also wanted to talk about how he’s had three wives, and yet he talks about others’ ethics and their religion,” Mr. Khan said. “She said, ‘Don’t go to his level. We are paying tribute to our son. ’” Mr. Trump’s comments provoked another avalanche of criticism on social media, and again put Republican leaders in a difficult position, facing new demands that they repudiate their presidential nominee. Even before Mr. Trump’s remarks to ABC News, Mr. Khan had asked that Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, and Paul D. Ryan, the House speaker, denounce Mr. Trump. On Saturday, neither directly addressed Mr. Trump’s new comments. Don Stewart, a spokesman for Mr. McConnell, referred to Mr. McConnell’s response last year that a ban on Muslims entering the United States would be unacceptable. AshLee Strong, a spokeswoman for Mr. Ryan, delivered a similar response: “The speaker has made clear many times that he rejects this idea, and himself has talked about how Muslim Americans have made the ultimate sacrifice for this country. ” In the same ABC News interview, when Mr. Stephanopoulos said that Mr. Khan had pointed out that his family would not have been allowed into the United States under Mr. Trump’s proposed ban, the candidate replied, “He doesn’t know that. ” And when asked what he would say to the grieving father, Mr. Trump replied, “I’d say, ‘We’ve had a lot of problems with radical Islamic terrorism. ’” Mr. Stephanopoulos also noted that Mr. Khan said that Mr. Trump had “sacrificed nothing,” and had lost no one. “I think I’ve made a lot of sacrifices,” Mr. Trump replied. “I’ve worked very, very hard. I’ve created thousands and thousands of jobs. ” Some of the fiercest condemnations on Saturday came from Republicans who have argued — unsuccessfully to date — that Mr. Trump is unfit to be president. Tim Miller, a former communications director for Jeb Bush’s presidential campaign, called Mr. Trump’s comments “inhuman. ” “Memo to Trump supporters,” Peter Wehner, a speechwriter for President George W. Bush, wrote on Twitter. “He’s a man of sadistic cruelty. With him there’s no bottom. Now go ahead defend him. ” Reihan Salam, a conservative writer for National Review and a frequent Trump critic, said that Mr. Trump had an opportunity to declare remorse for the Khans while still holding to his own views as a candidate. “He might have asked why Humayun Khan had died in the first place — because of a war that many, if not most, Americans regard as a tragic blunder,” he said. “There was really no benefit for Trump in suggesting that Ghazala Khan had been muzzled,” he added, “because she could easily come out and say that she had been too to speak, which she did. ” Ibrahim Hooper, the spokesman for the Council on Relations, said on Saturday, “It’s really despicable that anyone, let alone a presidential candidate, would choose to dishonor the service of an American who gave his life for this nation. ” Ms. Khan, he said, “was obviously there to support her husband, who was offering what many people believe was the most impactful speech of the entire convention. ” As is often the case, Mr. Trump, who has had no campaign events this weekend, managed with a few words to overshadow Mrs. Clinton, who was making several stops in Ohio and Pennsylvania with her running mate, Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia. In the ABC News interview, Mr. Trump also hedged over whether he would participate in the three scheduled debates with Mrs. Clinton. He insinuated that she had worked to schedule two during football games so viewership would be lower, and said that the National Football League had sent him a letter complaining about the timing. The debates were scheduled in September of last year by the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates. And while Joe Lockhart, a spokesman for the National Football League, said the league was not thrilled about the scheduling, “we did not send a letter to Trump. ” | 0fake
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