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Democratic primaries: Clinton claims nomination victory

Hillary Clinton celebrated her status as the first woman to win a major party’s presidential nomination on Tuesday evening in Brooklyn – and then turned quickly from history to politics, attacking GOP rival Donald Trump as a bully who wanted to “take America backwards.” “To be great, we can’t be small,” Clinton told a cheering crowd in Brooklyn, previewing a general-election campaign in which she will attack Trump as vulgar, erratic and divisive. Clinton cast the election as a test of national identity: “This election is different. It really is about who we are as a nation…We are better than this. We won’t let this happen in America. And if you agree, whether you’re a Democrat, Republican or independent, I hope you will join us.” Clinton’s speech came on a night when she won primaries in New Jersey and New Mexico, and lost the caucuses in North Dakota to rival Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.). Races in two other states – South Dakota and Montana – remain too close to call, with Clinton narrowly in the lead in both. Polls in California, the biggest prize of the night, closed at 11 p.m. Eastern time. Clinton’s speech had been robbed of some of its drama, after the Associated Press declared Monday night that she had gathered enough delegates to win the nomination. But Clinton sought to re-create it, entering to a song with the refrain “I want to see you be brave,” and citing the work of early suffragettes in fighting for women’s right to vote. She noted that the room she was speaking in was a giant greenhouse. “It may be hard to see tonight, but we are all standing under a glass ceiling right now. But don’t worry, we’re not smashing this one,” Clinton said, in a reference to her concession speech from the 2008 election, when she said that the “glass ceiling” had about 18 million cracks in it, a reference to the votes she’d received in a losing primary campaign against then-Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.). “Thanks to you, we’ve reached a milestone. The first time in our nation’s history that a woman will be a major party’s nominee.” Clinton also used the speech to reach out to Sanders, who had threatened to push their primary contest all the way to the party’s convention in Philadelphia. “Now I know it never feels good to put your heart into a cause or a candidate, that you believe in, and to come up short. I know that feeling well,” Clinton said. “But as we look ahead, to the battle that awaits, let’s remember all that unites us.” She then recited a series of attacks on Trump, hoping that Sanders supporters – and Sanders himself – might see the Republican as an enemy they held in common with Clinton. Sanders himself has not indicated what he will do after Tuesday. He is reportedly going to speak late at night, after the results from California begin to come in. Sanders, a self-described “Democratic socialist” from Vermont, rocketed out of obscurity with an urgent call to fight income inequality and big money in politics. He gave Clinton an unexpectedly close race, but now trails her in votes, “pledged” delegates and un-pledged superdelegates. And, after Tuesday night, there will be no more states to fight over. Only the D.C. primary remains. Sanders’s showing in Tuesday’s races — especially in California, where the race could be close — may determine whether he tries to fight on to the party convention, seeking to “flip” super-delegates committed to Clinton. In a news conference at one of his golf clubs on Tuesday night, Trump attacked Clinton for her use of a private email server, and called her a symbol of a “corrupt system.” “There’s one thing we all have learn. We can’t fix the rigged system by relying on very – and I mean this so, so strongly – on the very people who rigged it. And they rigged it. We can’t solve our problems by relying on the politicians who created our problems,” Trump said. He promised a speech next week that would delve into the problems of the Clintons. Trump – reading, uncharacteristically, from a prepared text – made a pitch for voters supporting Sanders. “To all of those Bernie Sanders voters, who have been left out in the cold…we welcome you with open arms,” he said. At the same time, Trump seemed to speak to his fellow Republicans, trying to reassure them after an awful week in which the presumptive GOP nominee attacked a federal judge, saying he was biased against Trump in an ongoing fraud cause because the judge is “Mexican.” The judge is American, born in Indiana to parents who were Mexican immigrants. It seemed to be a simultaneous rejection by Trump of both the American melting pot, and public trust in the judicial branch. Trump did not mention the case, or the judge. But he told Republicans, “I will never, ever let you down.” As a sign of the Democratic Party’s effort to close ranks around Clinton, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi announced her support Tuesday just before polls opened in her home state, California. Speaking in an interview with George Stephanopolous on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Pelosi emphasized the need for her party to coalesce soon for the general election. “Bernie knows better than anyone what’s on the line in the election and that we at some point have to unify as we go forward,” he said. “He wants to influence the platform. I think that’s fine.” Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), the one sitting senator who has endorsed Sanders, said in an interview Tuesday that it is important to allow the remaining six states and the District of Columbia to vote before declaring a presumptive Democratic nominee. But he added that just as Obama and Clinton saw “the lay of the land” in 2008 after all the primary voters cast their ballots, “we’ll soon be able to see the parts of the party work together to unite.” [Sanders’s supporters lash out as chances slip away] “I think we’ll be absolutely united in making sure the self-promoting huckster named Donald Trump never becomes president of the United States,” he said, adding that Clinton should learn from Sanders’s connection with voters. “If Secretary Clinton is the nominee, she will not win in November without a deep and profound and passionate understanding of the issues that have so moved the grass roots in America.” Clinton’s pivot to the race against Trump unofficially began last week with a withering speech on foreign policy in which she shredded the real estate mogul’s qualifications and temperament. Those attacks have continued this past weekend at appearances up and down California and have been received with unprecedented enthusiasm by her supporters. “Donald Trump is not qualified to be president of the United States of America, but we can’t just say that assume everybody understands it,” she said at a star-studded “She’s With Us” concert at the Los Angeles Greek Theatre on Monday night. “We have to make the case and organize and mobilize.” Clinton has faced an unexpectedly strong and increasingly contentious challenge from Sanders, and there is the possibility that the senator will keep battling her even now that she has effectively sewn up the nomination. Sanders has said it made no sense to declare the race over until the votes of the superdelegates are counted next month at the convention. After finishing breakfast with his family in San Francisco, the senator sounded upbeat about the remaining primaries. “I think we’ve got a shot,” he said outside The Butler & The Chef bistro as he greeted a throng of cheering supporters. “I’m feeling great.” Before the polls opened Tuesday, Sanders’s campaign manager sent an email to supporters acknowledging that the reported delegate count for Clinton could suppress voter turnout. But the message asked for help in phoning California voters so that Sanders could “defy the pundits once more” and “shock the establishment.” [How Bernie Sanders missed his chance to beat Hillary Clinton] “We know that this race is going to carry on until the delegates cast ballots at the convention in Philadelphia,” said campaign manager Jeff Weaver. “We should let the voters decide who they want the Democratic nominee to be rather than having the media decide for them. I am asking you to continue to stand with Bernie in pushing for the political revolution.” Sanders met with some voters in the Bay Area later Tuesday morning and then flew to the Los Angeles area, where he was to tape an interview with Lester Holt of “NBC Nightly News” in Burbank and then hold an election night rally in Santa Monica. Outside the coffee shop where Sanders ate, voters appeared split about what path Sanders should pursue. Kyle Sorrels, a 25-year-old engineer and self-described progressive, described Clinton “as unacceptable as Donald Trump to be the president” and said that he had informed his employer he would move to Berlin if either candidate won in November. “My hope is that Hillary gets indicted in the next few weeks and Bernie gets it,” he said. As he walked away he said to no one in particular, “Feel the Bern! Hillary for prison!” Bobby Schultz, 38, an independent voter and a software developer from San Bruno, Calif., who was sipping coffee with friends nearby, said he was “surprised” Sanders was still running. “I really like Bernie, but as this point the race is pretty much over,” he said. Tuesday marks the exact anniversary of the day eight years ago when Clinton conceded the Democratic nomination to then-Sen. Obama. The president could endorse Clinton as soon as this week, not waiting for the Democratic convention in July, according to White House press secretary Josh Earnest. Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Earnest said that out of respect for the ongoing voting, “I’m not going to declare a winner from here.” But he emphasized that Obama intends “to make his voice heard in coming together” behind the presumptive nominee and planned to play a role in brokering a rapprochment between the two candidates. He added that Obama’s endorsement could influence Republicans, not just Democrats, given his seven and-a-half years in the job. “The president is an important validator.” An Obama endorsement would be a significant boost to Clinton as she seeks to unify Democrats after the difficult primaries. It would send a strong message to Sanders and his supporters that they should coalesce around Clinton, something Sanders has indicated he is far from ready to do. “Obviously, I’m excited about having the president’s support, because I have said throughout this campaign I was honored to serve in the president’s Cabinet,” Clinton said. Phillip reported from Los Angeles. Juliet Eilperin and John Wagner in Washington and Robert Costa in San Francisco contributed to this report.

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Stocks Point Toward a Geert Wilders Win in Netherlands

With a week to go before the general election in the Netherlands, the race appears to be a dead heat between the populist, nationalist Party for Freedom led by Geert Wilders and the centrist People’s Party for Freedom led by incumbent Prime Minister Mark Rutte. [The Netherlands AEX benchmark stock index has been rising sharply this year, outpacing impressive gains seen in broader European indexes. Conventional wisdom has it that these gains are a sign that asset managers assign a very low probability to a victory by Wilders and the Party for Freedom. Here’s a representative sample from CNBC: “The blase market reaction is because it’s not a core economy like France or Germany, but it does set the table for the rest of the year,” said Jasper Lawler, senior market analyst at London Capital Group. “There’s also a consensus that they won’t be able to form a [coalition]. I think that’s why nobody’s too worried. ” “But even though I don’t see an upset here, I do think markets are underpricing risk here,” he said. This echoes a lot of the commentary about how the market would crash in reaction to a Donald Trump victory. We now know that commentary got it backwards: markets boomed after Trump won in November. Similarly, stocks in the U. K. rallied within days of the Brexit vote that many experts had predicted would bring doom to the British economy. In other words, markets appear to like nationalism and populism. Instead of underpricing the “risk” of a Wilders victory, markets are more likely pricing in the odds of a Wilders victory as a positive factor. There’s another reason to think Dutch stocks would rise with a Wilders victory. That begins with the observation that Wilders is often described as “the Dutch Trump. ” With 21% of the revenue of the companies in the AEX index derived from the U. S. according to a recent Wall Street Journal report, joining America’s embrace of economic nationalism and populism is likely to lead to improved conditions for the businesses in the index. It’s always dangerous to project future events based on the movements of financial markets. But if there is a message in the Dutch stock market, it is likely that the chances of a Wilders win are stronger than polls and pundits suggest.

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Putin says Trump is listening to Russia's views on North Korea crisis

MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that U.S. President Donald Trump was listening to Russia s views on the North Korean missile crisis which emphasize diplomacy over further sanctions or military action. Putin, speaking at an energy forum in Moscow, called for all sides to dial down the rhetoric on North Korea.

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Cruz says would deport illegal immigrants, sharpens immigration stance

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz vowed to deport immigrants living illegally in the United States and build a wall to keep others out, sharpening his stance on the issue a week before presidential contests in several southern states. Cruz’s comments on the eve of Tuesday’s Nevada caucuses came hours after the public firing of his main spokesman over misleading social media postings involving rival Marco Rubio. Rubio won endorsements on Monday from prominent Republicans as he sought to become the party’s mainstream alternative to front-runner Donald Trump after Jeb Bush dropped out of the race for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. Cruz was asked on Fox News’ “O’Reilly Factor” if he would round up the 12 million illegal aliens in the country, and how. “Listen, we should enforce the law. How do we enforce the law? Yes, we should deport them. We should build a wall. We should triple the Border Patrol,” Cruz said. “And federal law requires that anyone here illegally that’s apprehended should be deported.”  Asked if he, like real estate tycoon Trump, would go out and look for them, Cruz replied, “Of course you would. That’s what ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) exists for. We have law enforcement that looks for people who are violating the laws.”  The comments marked a shift from last month, when Cruz rejected sending authorities to find immigrants as “police state” tactics. “I don’t intend to send jackboots to knock on your door and every door in America. That’s not how we enforce the law for any crime,” Mr. Cruz told CNN in an interview on Jan. 10. Cruz has repeatedly criticized Rubio for having embraced a sweeping immigration reform bill he characterizes as amnesty. Cruz and other Republican candidates vying to represent their party in the Nov. 8 presidential election have been under pressure to toughen their stance on immigration by Trump’s ferocious rhetoric on the issue. Trump responded to Cruz’s comments with a trademark Twitter taunt on Tuesday, referring the U.S. senator from Texas’ third-place finish in South Carolina’s primary on Saturday. “Ted Cruz only talks tough on immigration now because he did so badly in S.C. He is in favor of amnesty and weak on illegal immigration,” Trump said. The New York billionaire has said he would deport all undocumented immigrants, build a wall and rescind U.S. President Barack Obama’s executive orders on immigration.

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Salma Hayek Turned Donald Trump Down For A Date And His Revenge Was Classic Trump

Donald Trump loves beautiful women. We know that because he s told us that, repeatedly. In fact, he once called hot women his alcoholism, especially if they are 17 or 18. Salma Hayek is undeniably beautiful. It s no wonder Trump tried to ask her out. It s also no wonder that she said no. What Trump did after that, though was pure Donald Trump.When I met that man, I had a boyfriend, and he tried to become his friend to get my home telephone number, she said, describing meeting Trump early in her career before she was well-known. He got my number and he would call me to invite me out. When I told him I wouldn t go out with him even if I didn t have a boyfriend, [which he took as disrespectful], he called well, he wouldn t say he called, but someone told the National Enquirer, Hayek continued, adding that she never went out with him. Someone told the National Enquirer I m not going to say who, because you know that whatever he wants to come out comes out in the National Enquirer. It said that he wouldn t go out with me because I was too short, she said. Later, he called and left me a message. Can you believe this? Who would say this? I don t want people to think this about you, she said. He thought that I would try to go out with him so people wouldn t think that s why he wouldn t go out with me. Like most things that come out of Trump s mouth, his denial didn t ring true, especially after it was revealed that he paid $120,000 from Trump Foundation money for a prize that included dinner with Hayek.Hayek has never particularly been a fan of Trump. In August, she compared him to a first grader.[ad3media campaign= 1214 ]She is a strong supporter, though, of Hillary Clinton. Just days ago, she made a Spanish language video in support of the Secretary of State.I guess we ll have to wait and see what Trump has to say about Hayek in his next 3:00 Twitter rant.Featured image of Selma Hayek via Mike Coppola/Getty Images | Featured image of Donald Trump via Gerardo Mora/Getty Images.

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AWESOME! PRESIDENT TRUMP Draws Red Line On Saying “Merry Christmas” [Video]

President Donald Trump told televangelist Pat Robertson in a new interview that he will make it safe to say Merry Christmas You ll be saying Merry Christmas again soon Pat Robertson, the 700 Club host and Christian Broadcasting Network founder, asked President Trump if he is going to take on heavyweights. The president said that he doesn t want to take on lightweights. He then turned to the topic of religious liberty: We have to bring our country back. Our country was going in the wrong direction. And by the way, what they were doing to religious liberty: They were destroying religious liberty. He then added this firm statement on the effort to bring back Christian liberty in America: You will be saying Merry Christmas again very soon Robertson responded: We ll count on it. President Trump previously stated that Democrats had been taking the wrong steps to improve the lives of all Americans: You couldn t build, you couldn t do anything One of the focuses of the Trump agenda has been stripping away regulations so Americans can be more productive. In addition, the president believes in stripping away all of the supposed politically correct phrases including Happy Holidays . He s drawn a red line on those who insist on shaming anyone who chooses to say Merry Christmas .While on the campaign trail, candidate Trump criticized the use of Happy Holidays as a substitute for Merry Christmas . His support among Evangelical Christians has remained high, with many including Robertson praising his appointment of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court.

1real

Oh hey, I was the guy who started that plane tracking thread – https://www.reddit.com/r/conspiracy/comments/57×782/flightradar24com_offline_after_a_redditor_tracks/ . A week ago I put the final dot on the situation, since the Ecuadorian embassy seemingly validated that Assange is still at the embassy and doing well. Now, 8 days later I come back to see what has changed, and to be honest, it looks like the situation hasn’t been crossed off as a “false alarm” yet.

1real

Blaming judges is 'corrosive,' says a judge who ruled against Trump

HONOLULU (Reuters) - One of three federal appeals court judges who last month upheld a ruling that blocked U.S. President Donald Trump’s first try at a travel ban said on Thursday it was “corrosive to the justice system” when litigants attack judges for their decisions. Judge Richard Clifton of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals became the latest in a series of judges to draw criticism from Trump after Clifton and two colleagues refused to reinstate an executive order temporarily barring entry by people from seven Muslim-majority countries. Shortly after the Feb. 9 ruling, Trump tweeted: “SEE YOU IN COURT, THE SECURITY OF OUR NATION IS AT STAKE!” He also told reporters that the ruling was “political.” “It’s easy to blame the referee when you don’t like the result,” Clifton said in a speech to the Conference of Western Attorneys General, which is meeting in Honolulu. “It is corrosive to the system when a disappointing result, or result disappointing to you, is responded to by blaming the referee,” said Clifton, who did not mention Trump by name. He urged the state attorneys general not to blame judges, saying it could lead to a “breakdown in law and order.” Clifton, appointed to the court by former Republican President George W. Bush, was discussing the executive order case, but did not comment on any substantive issues about the travel ban. The White House had no immediate comment on his speech. Trump has frequently attacked judges who rule against him. Last month, he called a Seattle federal judge who ruled against the first travel ban a “so-called judge.” During last year’s presidential campaign, he said a San Diego federal judge overseeing a fraud lawsuit against Trump University was biased because of his Mexican heritage.

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OHIO LOSER Brags About Abandoning Motorist In Snowstorm On Social Media Over Trump Bumper Sticker On Car…Goes Viral

A prolific Trump foe found viral fame after boasting about abandoning a driver stuck in the snow as punishment for supporting the President-elect.Troy Brown, from Winchester, Ohio, shared an image of a car that had slid off the road and was pointing into a ditch, with no obvious way to escape unaided.He captioned the image: I was going to help her but she has a #Trump sticker on her car #CallYoPresident. It was shared approvingly some 1,700 times.Brown posts extensively about political issues like Black Lives Matter on his Facebook page:He then tried to capitalize on his fleeting celebrity by advertising merchandise with the photo on it. Heatstreet

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Pentagon chief to preview fiscal 2017 budget on Feb. 2: sources

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter is scheduled to preview the Pentagon’s fiscal 2017 budget request in a speech on Feb. 2, a week before the White House sends its budget plans to Congress, two U.S. defense officials said on Monday. Carter is expected to highlight the broad themes of the Pentagon’s budget request and its priorities, rather than presenting a detailed list of programmatic changes, said one of the sources, who was not authorized to speak publicly. A massive government spending bill enacted by Congress last year set a spending level of about $576 billion for the Pentagon in fiscal 2017, which meant the Defense Department had to trim its planned funding levels by about $15 billion. The White House earlier this month said it plans to release President Barack Obama’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2017, which begins on Oct. 1, on Feb. 9. Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N), maker of the F-35 fighter jet, Boeing Co (BA.N) and other big weapons makers are anxiously awaiting details about the budget and how it will affect their programs. Senior defense officials have said that the $15 billion in cuts would largely come from procurement accounts since personnel costs and operations costs were harder to cut. Defense Undersecretary Frank Kendall, the military’s chief weapons buyer, told reporters last month that the Pentagon’s fiscal 2017 budget plan may slow production of key weapons programs, including the F-35 fighter jet.

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CEO Of Starbucks Sends Giant F**K YOU To Trump In Groundbreaking Open Letter

In what can only be seen as a groundbreaking and unprecedented move, Starbucks chairman and CEO Howard Schultz delivered an open letter to all their partners (employees) regarding Donald Trump s Muslim ban.He titled the letter, Living Our Values In Uncertain Times and here it is: Dear partners,I write to you today with deep concern, a heavy heart and a resolute promise. Let me begin with the news that is immediately in front of us: we have all been witness to the confusion, surprise and opposition to the Executive Order that President Trump issued on Friday, effectively banning people from several predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States, including refugees fleeing wars. I can assure you that our Partner Resources team has been in direct contact with the partners who are impacted by this immigration ban, and we are doing everything possible to support and help them to navigate through this confusing period.We are living in an unprecedented time, one in which we are witness to the conscience of our country, and the promise of the American Dream, being called into question. These uncertain times call for different measures and communication tools than we have used in the past. Kevin and I are going to accelerate our commitment to communicating with you more frequently, including leveraging new technology platforms moving forward. I am hearing the alarm you all are sounding that the civility and human rights we have all taken for granted for so long are under attack, and want to use a faster, more immediate form of communication to engage with you on matters that concern us all as partners.I also want to take this opportunity to announce specific actions we are taking to reinforce our belief in our partners around the world and to ensure you are clear that we will neither stand by, nor stand silent, as the uncertainty around the new Administration s actions grows with each passing day:Support for DACA: As I wrote to Senators Graham and Durbin this week, we are enthusiastically behind their work to support Dreamers across our country including those young men and women who are part of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. There are nearly three quarters of a million hardworking people contributing to our communities and our economy because of this program. At Starbucks, we are proud to call them partners and to help them realize their own American Dream. We want them to feel welcome and included in our success, which is why we reimburse them for the biennial fee they must pay to stay in the program and why we have offered DACA-related services at our Opportunity Youth hiring fairs.Hiring Refugees: We have a long history of hiring young people looking for opportunities and a pathway to a new life around the world. This is why we are doubling down on this commitment by working with our equity market employees as well as joint venture and licensed market partners in a concerted effort to welcome and seek opportunities for those fleeing war, violence, persecution and discrimination. There are more than 65 million citizens of the world recognized as refugees by the United Nations, and we are developing plans to hire 10,000 of them over five years in the 75 countries around the world where Starbucks does business. And we will start this effort here in the U.S. by making the initial focus of our hiring efforts on those individuals who have served with U.S. troops as interpreters and support personnel in the various countries where our military has asked for such support.Building Bridges, Not Walls, With Mexico: We have been open for business in Mexico since 2002, and have since opened almost 600 stores in 60 cities across the country, which together employ over 7,000 Mexican partners who proudly wear the green apron. We have sourced coffee from Mexico s producers and their families for three decades and last fall, we also announced the creation of a farmer support center in Chiapas to help accelerate our collective ability to grow and export some of the world s finest coffees from this important growing region, while donating more than $2 million to support the livelihood, food security and water quality of coffee producing communities in Oaxaca. With the support of thousands of Starbucks partners and millions of customers, we have also donated over a million coffee trees to support 70,000 families, and we will be expanding the initiative this year to generate another 4 million tree donations. Coffee is what unites our common heritage, and as I told Alberto Torrado, the leader of our partnership with Alsea in Mexico, we stand ready to help and support our Mexican customers, partners and their families as they navigate what impact proposed trade sanctions, immigration restrictions and taxes might have on their business and their trust of Americans. But we will continue to invest in this critically important market all the same.Our Healthcare Commitment to You: Finally, let me restate what we have recently communicated with you about the Affordable Care Act our commitment remains that if you are benefits eligible, you will always have access to health insurance through Starbucks. Many of you have expressed concerns that recent government actions may jeopardize your ability to participate in the Affordable Care Act. If the recent Executive Order related to health care remains in place and the Affordable Care Act is repealed causing you to lose your healthcare coverage, you will always have the ability to return and can do so within 30 days of losing that coverage rather than having to wait for an open enrollment period. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Benefits Center at 877-728-9236.In the face of recent events around the world, let me assure you that we will stay true to our values and do everything we can possibly do to support and invest in every partner s well-being while taking the actions that are squarely within our ability to control. This is our focus: providing a Third Place of respite for those around the world who seek it, daily.Starbucks has and will always stand for opportunity opportunity for our young people who are working to land their first job in the 75 countries where we do business, opportunity for our farmers who care so deeply for the highest of quality coffee we offer to customers all around the globe, and yes, opportunity for those who come to America in search of their own fresh start whether that is with Starbucks directly, or through our suppliers or our partner companies.If there is any lesson to be learned over the last year, it s that your voice and your vote matter more than ever. We are all obligated to ensure our elected officials hear from us individually and collectively. Starbucks is doing its part; we need you to use the collective power of your voices to do the same while respecting the diverse viewpoints of the 90 million customers who visit our stores in more than 25,000 locations around the world.So, while we seek to understand what the new Administration s policies mean for us and our business both domestically and around the world, I can assure you that we will do whatever it takes to support you, our partners, to realize your own dreams and achieve your own opportunities. We are in business to inspire and nurture the human spirit, one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time whether that neighborhood is in a Red State or a Blue State; a Christian country or a Muslim country; a divided nation or a united nation. That will not change. You have my word on that.Onward,Howard Well said, Mr. Schultz, and you are a better American for all that was said. Your dedication to what truly makes America the land of the free and the home of the brave will forever be noticed.Featured Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

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Bloomberg looks West after bankrolling Philadelphia soda tax win

NEW YORK (Reuters) - After successfully funding a campaign to pass a soda tax in Philadelphia, billionaire Michael Bloomberg is preparing to fund similar efforts in several other cities, giving new momentum to measures seeking to limit soft drink consumption. The former New York City mayor contributed the bulk of the money for the pro-soda tax side in Philadelphia, providing around $1.6 million. Now the prominent public health crusader will support measures in San Francisco and Oakland, California this year, Howard Wolfson, a senior adviser to Bloomberg, said in a conference call on Friday. Bloomberg may also support soda tax drives in Seattle and Multnomah County in Oregon, which includes Portland, in 2017, Wolfson said. The billionaire’s planned backing raises the stakes for the powerful beverage industry, which has lobbied hard to defeat many of the 43 municipal and state-level attempts to implement a soda tax that have failed since 2008. Before this week, Berkeley, California was the only U.S. city with a soda tax. But the success in Philadelphia, the country’s fifth-largest city with a diverse population of 1.6 million, could mark a turning point as Americans become more aware of health campaigners’ message that sugary soft drinks contribute to obesity and diabetes. “If Berkeley was a tremor, Philadelphia is an earthquake, and we expect there will be more earthquakes going forward,” Wolfson said. As New York’s mayor, Bloomberg led efforts to pass a state-level soda tax, prevent residents from buying sodas with food stamps, and limit the size of sugary beverages. His efforts prompted public outcry against what were dubbed “nanny state” initiatives, and all three measures were ultimately defeated. Philadelphia’s Mayor Jim Kenney took a different approach, emphasizing the revenue benefits of the tax over the health angle. The city council approved the measure in a 13-4 vote on Thursday after activists raised a total of around $2 million, according to Kevin Feeley, who led the pro-tax campaign. Feeley and Wolfson both said the soda industry outspent the pro-tax campaign. A spokeswoman for the American Beverage Association (ABA), which represents Coca-Cola Co and PepsiCo and funded a local group opposing the tax, said the group did not yet have a final tally for how much it spent. The spokeswoman added that the group would “oppose all discriminatory tax proposals.” The group has said the tax’s passage in Philadelphia was the result of unique local political conditions and unlikely to have a ripple effect in other cities. The ABA said on Thursday it would sue Philadelphia to stop the tax, and Wolfson did not rule out the possibility that Bloomberg would contribute to aid the city’s defense. Wolfson declined to specify an amount that Bloomberg was willing to spend on the San Francisco and Oakland efforts, but noted that he was “not in a position to match soda dollar for dollar.” Bloomberg’s contributions are meant to help “level the playing field,” he said. (Story corrects first name of Howard Wolfson in paragraph two previously said Michael.)

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(Video) Staffer Pleading Fifth On Emails ‘Another Blow’ To Hillary

Bryan Pagliano is in hot water with this and he knows it. Is water boarding an option here? Seriously, they need his testimony but he s obviously not going to incriminate himself so he pleads the fifth.The State Department IT worker who managed Hillary Clinton s private email server while she was secretary of state will plead the Fifth Amendment if called to testify about his work on the Democratic presidential candidate s mysterious email setup, his attorney informed the House Select Committee on Benghazi this week. The committee subpoenaed Bryan Pagliano on Aug. 11, according to The Washington Post. In addition to testifying on Sept. 10, committee chairman Trey Gowdy asked Pagliano to produce documents related to the servers he managed on behalf of Clinton. Pagliano worked on Clinton s 2008 presidential campaign before moving over to the State Department in May 2009, several months after Clinton took office. He left the agency at the same time as Clinton, in Feb. 2013. But in a letter to the Benghazi Committee on Monday, Mark MacDougall, Pagliano s attorney, said that his client would assert his constitutional right against self-incrimination if called to testify. Pagliano is one of numerous Clinton aides that Gowdy s panel intends to interview. Two of Clinton s top aides will testify this week. Clinton herself is scheduled to publicly testify next month.

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WATCH: SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM DROPS BOMBSHELL… FINALLY Confirms The Fake Russian Dossier Was Used To Obtain FISA Warrant To Spy On Trump

Everyone suspected the sketchy Steele Dossier was what corrupt FBI and DOJ officials used to get the October 2016 FISA warrant against Trump. FBI and DOJ officials refuse to answer that question publicly.Rep Ron DeSantis (R-FL) said in a statement: We now know that the so-called Steele dossier was paid for by the Democratic Party in an effort to gin up negative information regarding then-candidate Trump. What the American people deserve to know is whether the information compiled by Steele on the Democrats dime was used by the Obama administration to obtain approval to conduct surveillance against Trump associates. The FBI has stonewalled producing these documents for months and their production shouldn t be limited to closed door viewing by a small number of members of Congress. The Trump administration should immediately declassify all the documents used to obtain surveillance warrants against Trump or his associates. Immediately after his inauguration, President Trump came out swinging over the fake Russian dossier. He even went as far as to blame the intelligence community. President Trump was immediately criticized for his comments, and the media behaved as though he was insane to even insinuate such a wild theory. As it turns out, he wasn t too far off the mark.CT Despite a hundred different ways congressional investigators have asked the question, and despite numerous on-camera questions to FBI and DOJ officials about the 2016 FISA process, no-one had definitively confirmed the Christopher Steele Russian Dossier was the underlying evidence for the 2016 FISA application to gain wiretaps and electronic surveillance upon presidential candidate Donald Trump. UNTIL NOW.Senator Lindsey Graham just confirmed the sketchy Steele Dossier was used to get the wiretap and surveillance warrant from the FISA court. Brian Kilmeade understood what he was hearing was serious, but didn t quite catch the specific gravity of it. Watch at starting at the 04:10 mark: The back-story to the FISA warrant is the cornerstone. The back-story contains both the FBI and the DOJ scheme. Expose it, remove it, and the entire muh Russia conspiracy collapses under the weight of sunlight This is critical and important because the specific use of the Steele Dossier underpins the BIG UGLY and exposes the entire top-tier apparatus of the FBI Counterintelligence Division (Peter Strzok, Bill Priestap, James Baker, Andrew McCabe) and the DOJ National Security Division (John Carlin, Stuart Evans, Mary McCord and Sally Yates), as well as DOJ Bruce Ohr and FBI lawyer Lisa Page directly to conspiracy charges.The 2016 FBI counterintelligence operation was surveillance on the Trump Campaign and was thinly disguised under the fraudulent auspices of a FISA warrant, sold as a defense of U.S. democracy from Russia, which permitted the wiretaps and surveillance etc.The DOJ involvement surrounds legal arguments, processing of FISA applications, and use of the legal system to support the FBI operation with actionable legal framing (against Trump). The DOJ National Security Division carried out that collaboration with the FBI.Tablet Mag did a deep dive into the Fusion-GPS connection to the creation of the Steele Dossier; and more specifically how Fusion-GPS head Glenn Simpson and his wife Mary Jacoby were instrumental in getting the dossier assembled and into the hands of the White House prior to the DOJ and FBI applying for the FISA warrant SEE HERE.Tablet Mag outlines how Mary Jacoby even bragged about getting the Russiagate narrative started:A Tablet investigation using public sources to trace the evolution of the now-famous dossier suggests that central elements of the Russiagate scandal emerged not from the British ex-spy Christopher Steele s top-secret sources in the Russian government which are unlikely to exist separate from Russian government control but from a series of stories that Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson and his wife Mary Jacoby co-wrote for TheWall Street Journal well before Fusion GPS existed, and Donald Trump was simply another loud-mouthed Manhattan real estate millionaire.Understanding the origins of the Steele dossier is especially important because of what it tells us about the nature and the workings of what its supporters would hopefully describe as an ongoing campaign to remove the elected president of the United States.[ ] In a Facebook post from June 24, 2017, that Tablet has seen in screenshots, Jacoby claimed that her husband deserves the lion s share of credit for Russiagate. (She has not replied to repeated requests for comment.) It s come to my attention that some people still don t realize what Glenn s role was in exposing Putin s control of Donald Trump, Jacoby wrote. Let s be clear. Glenn conducted the investigation. Glenn hired Chris Steele. Chris Steele worked for Glenn. This assertion is hardly a simple assertion of family pride; it goes directly to the nature of what became known as the Steele dossier, on which the Russiagate narrative is founded. (read more)The Tablet-Mag outline shows the distinct trail of the finished Steele Dossier entering into the White House and how President Obama likely saw and reviewed the content.However, missing from this report is an origination angle even more nefarious.Remember, previous media reporting -in conjunction with Clinton campaign admissions- have confirmed the DNC and Clinton Campaign financed Fusion-GPS through their lawyers within Perkins Coie. Fusion then hired Nellie Ohr the wife of DOJ Deputy Bruce Ohr who thereafter sub-contracted with retired British MI6 agent Christopher Steele to write/research/provide credibility for the dossier. The dates here are important because they tell a story.The origin of the Clinton effort with Fusion-GPS was April 2016. That s the same month Fusion hired Nellie Ohr, wife of DOJ Deputy Bruce Ohr, to gather opposition research on candidate Trump. It would be most likely that Nellie Ohr was in contact with Christopher Steele. DOJ Deputy Attorney Bruce Ohr was later demoted for his unreported contacts with Christopher Steele and Fusion-GPS founder Glenn Simpson in October 2016; the same month the FISA warrant was granted.However, there was another event in this April 2016 timeline which enhances the trail of the Dossier origination. [Hat Tip Katica] Check this out:In April 2016 Mary Jacoby shows up on White House visitor logs meeting with President Obama officials. In April 2016 the Clinton Campaign and DNC hired Fusion-GPS to organize the Russia research, that later became known as the Steele Dossier .(link to White House Logs)The wife of Glenn Simpson (Fusion GPS), Mary B. Jacoby, with years of Russia-angled reporting including Donald Trump visits the White House in April 2016, at the same time as the DNC and Clinton hire Fusion GPS to conduct the opposition research on Donald Trump, surrounding Russia?This timeline is entirely too obvious to be coincidental.Expand slightly and consider:April: Mary Jacoby, wife of Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson, visits the White House. The Clinton Campaign and DNC then hire Fusion GPS to conduct Opposition Research , with a Russian emphasis. Fusion GPS then hires Nellie Ohr who specializes in Russian-centric counterintelligence. Nellie Ohr then contacts MI6 agent Christopher Steele to write a Russian Dossier. A month later, May 2016: Nellie Ohr s husband inside the DOJ, Bruce Ohr, is then working with FBI counterintelligence head Peter Strzok. By June 2016: Peter Strzok, Bruce Ohr, and DOJ Attorney Lisa Page then apply for the first FISA warrant.[June 24th, 2017, Mary Jacoby appears on Facebook taking credit for the origination of the Russiagate narrative.]This timeline is so transparent it s deafening.[More from the Tablet] Simpson and Jacoby had ID d Manafort as a world-class sleazeball and they were right. A slick Georgetown Law grad running in GOP circles since the Reagan campaign, Manafort used his talents and connections to get paid by some very bad people. I would only add here that, in my personal experience, journalists are not in the habit of forgetting major stories they ve written, especially stories with a character like Manafort at the center.So when the Trump campaign named Paul Manafort as its campaign convention manager on March 28, 2016, you can bet that Simpson and Jacoby s eyes lit up. And as it happened, at the exact same time that Trump hired Manafort, Fusion GPS was in negotiations with Perkins Coie, the law firm representing the Clinton campaign and the DNC, to see if there was interest in the firm continuing the opposition research on the Trump campaign they had started for the Washington Free Beacon. (more)Mary Jacoby and Glenn Simpson Fusion GPSIf the counterintelligence FISA warrant was obtained through deception, misleading/manipulated information, or fraud; and that warrant is what led to the wiretapping and surveillance of candidate Donald Trump and General Flynn; and that warrant was authorized by FISA Court Judge Contreras who was the judge in Flynn s case, and is now recused the entire tenuous FBI and DOJ operation begins to collapse and the outline of a conspiracy becomes clearly evident.The back-story to the FISA warrant is the cornerstone. The back-story contains both the FBI and the DOJ scheme. Expose it, remove it, and the entire muh Russia conspiracy fraud collapses under the weight of sunlight.Go HERE to see the entire fascinating investigation compiled by The Conservative TreehouseWATCH President Trump tell FOX Business Lou Dobbs what he thinks about the Democratic efforts to smear him during his presidential campaign in an exclusive interview.

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Mitt Romney SLAMS Trump’s ‘Trickle-Down Racism’ And REFUSES To Vote GOP (VIDEO)

If there s one Republican we know that is absolutely devastated that Donald Trump is the GOP s front runner, it s former presidential candidate Mitt Romney.In an interview that trumps his previous attacks on the business mogul, Romney laid into The Donald for his racism, xenophobia and misogyny and admitted that Trump has made it ethically impossible for Romney to support his party in this election. In an interview with CNN s Wolf Blitzer, Romney said: I simply can t put my name down as someone who voted for principles that suggest racism or xenophobia, misogyny, bigotry, [for someone] who s been vulgar time and time again. I don t want to be associated with that in any way, shape or form. Like many prominent GOP leaders, Romney was left disgusted by Trump s recent racially charged remarks about Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who is overseeing lawsuits on the fraudulent Trump University. According to Romney, it s too late for Trump to rebrand himself as anything but the hateful, racist, privileged individual he is he s shown far too much of his true character to redeem himself. He indicated what he believes in his heart about Mexicans and about race by the comments he made about Judge Curiel, and he may try to distance himself from that, but we know what he believes. Romney also slammed Trump for refusing to apologize for his many offensive statements about anyone who isn t a white male, and wondered what having such a horrible person in the White House would mean for America s future. I don t want to see trickle-down racism. I don t want to see a president of the United States saying things which change the character of the generations of Americans that are following. Presidents have an impact on the nature of our nation. And trickle-down racism, trickle-down bigotry, trickle-down misogyny, all these things are extraordinarily dangerous to the heart and character of America. This is not a matter of just policy. It s more a matter of character and integrity. You can watch Romney rip Trump below:Mitt Romney says Donald Trump will change America with trickle-down racism https://t.co/IhUqGGoW37 https://t.co/sgiEKgx998 The Situation Room (@CNNSitRoom) June 10, 2016Without giving any names, Romney also expressed genuine disappointment in other Republican leaders that continue to support Trump even though many of them (like House Speaker Paul Ryan) have acknowledged that what Trump said was racist beyond doubt. I wish everybody in the Republican Party had rejected Mr. Trump and chosen someone else. Romney said there was no chance in hell he would be giving a racist like Trump his vote, and is considering voting for Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson instead.You can watch the full interview below:This interview ruined Trump s day, and he responded by acting like a child and tweeting about it:TwitterFeatured image via Ethan Miller / Getty Images

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Hariri's party condemns attacks against Saudi Arabia: statement

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The party of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, who unexpectedly quit a week ago while in Saudi Arabia, denounced on Saturday attacks against the kingdom and Iranian intervention in Arab countries. Hariri s Future Movement political party said it stands by him and was waiting impatiently for his return to Lebanon to handle his national responsibilities in leading this stage. Hariri s shock resignation, in a broadcast from Riyadh last week, has plunged Lebanon into crisis and thrust it back into the forefront of regional rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

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BOILER ROOM – EP #53 – Say Bye Bye to Culture

Tune in to the Alternate Current Radio Network (ACR) for another LIVE broadcast of The Boiler Room starting at 6 PM PST | 9 PM EST every Wednesday. Join us for uncensored, uninterruptible talk radio, custom-made for barfly philosophers, misguided moralists, masochists, street corner evangelists, media-maniacs, savants, political animals and otherwise lovable rascals.Join ACR hosts Hesher, & Spore along with Patrick Henningsen of 21Wire, Sunday Wire regular, Basil Valentine, Mike Robinson of UK Column and Branko Mali from Kali Tribune. Tonight the Boiler Gang brings the internet show with more more left hooks, right jabs and ear biting than a 90 s Tyson prize fight. We ll be discussing the Panama Papers, the utter nonsense of Poverty Pimp Bob Geldof charging upwards of $100,000 to speak about ending poverty, Rand Paul introducing a bill that would limit the sale of arms to the Saudi Government in the wake of their atrocities in Yemen, destruction of culture by design, the potential rise of an European Union military force, Basil takes the Pope to task for his ridiculous publicity stunt in which he picked 12 migrants to come on the Pope-jet back to Vatican City and Branko Mali schools us on Orwellian terms and what they actually mean in using Pre-Dystopic English. Listen in as we discuss a plethora of media and current events in a VERY un-PC fashion . If you want to participate, bring something interesting to throw into the boiler Join us in the ALTERNATE CURRENT RADIO chat room.BOILER ROOM IS NOT A POLICTALLY CORRECT ZONE! LISTEN TO THE SHOW IN THE PLAYER BELOW ENJOY! REFERENCE LINKS:

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British protesters tell Trump from Tower Bridge: 'Build bridges not walls'

LONDON (Reuters) - A banner reading “Build bridges not walls” was draped across London’s Tower Bridge as part of several protests in Europe and Asia on Friday against the inauguration of Donald Trump as U.S. president. Soon after sunrise, activists on the bridge, with its two Gothic-style towers, held up pink letters reading “Act now!” while others beside parliament unfurled banners saying “Migrants welcome here”. There were also demonstrations in Japan, the Philippines and Belgium, where hundreds of people held a minute’s silence, lighting candles in Friday evening’s bitter cold and holding signs defending women’s rights. In the Scottish capital, banners on Edinburgh’s North Bridge read “Women rise up” and “There is no Planet B” - a reference to Trump’s perceived lack of interest in combating climate change. Later, after the inauguration ceremony, several hundred people gathered outside the U.S. embassy in London, chanting and singing protest songs. “I’m deeply, deeply saddened and embarrassed,” said one of them, Kim Grey, 40, from Texas. “I’m here because I think the majority of Americans who didn’t vote for him need to see the solidarity around the world ... that he’s unfit, he’s unacceptable.” Trump opponents were angered by his comments during last year’s election campaign about women, illegal immigrants and Muslims, and his pledges to build a wall on the Mexican border. In Tokyo, several hundred people, most of them expatriate Americans, marched along a downtown street holding electric candles or placards reading “Love Trumps Hate” and “Women’s Rights Are Human Rights”. In the Philippines, about 200 demonstrators from a Philippine nationalist group rallied for about an hour outside the U.S. embassy in Manila. Some held up signs demanding U.S. troops leave the Philippines while others set fire to a paper U.S. flag bearing a picture of Trump’s face. At the rally in Brussels, people held up signs saying “Proud to be a Pussy” and “We will fight Like a Girl”. “I have a wife and three daughters; I have a vested interest in the equality of women,” said Protestant pastor Murray Frick, 62. “I am afraid of a big step backwards in terms of dehumanizing groups of people ... about my home country losing its moral compass.” Julie Chasin, a 42-year-old teacher originally from New York who has lived in London for a decade, joined the Tower Bridge protest. “Yes Donald Trump is President, but he still needs to protect everybody’s rights,” said Chasin, a Democrat. “It’s scary. I hope he’s kept in check. I hope everyone who is telling me not to worry, and saying that we have a strong system of checks and balances, I hope that it’s true”. Trump’s supporters, who admire his experience in business and see him as an outsider who will take a fresh approach to politics, were also marking his inauguration in London. Some 200 of them gathered under the gaze of a life-sized cardboard figure of Trump to celebrate at an exclusive club near the Ritz hotel. As he completed the oath, the room broke into a standing ovation complete with high-five celebrations. “I was expecting him to win,” said businessman David Pattinson. “It was the same with Brexit in how the polls got it wrong.” In Moscow, Russians hoping Trump will usher in a new era of detente welcomed his inauguration. Russian nationalists held an all-night party at what used to be the main Soviet-era post office in Moscow. Sellers of traditional matryoshka nesting dolls have added Trump dolls to their popular line-up of items carved in the likeness of President Vladimir Putin, Bolshevik revolutionary Vladimir Lenin, ex-President Mikhail Gorbachev and Josef Stalin. And craftsmen in the city of Zlatoust, east of Moscow, have released a limited series of silver and gold commemorative coins, engraved with “In Trump We Trust” - an allusion to the phrase on U.S. banknotes “In God We Trust”. In Nigeria, more than a thousand supporters of a southern secessionist movement took to the streets to welcome Trump, hoping he will end what they see as the “Islamization” of the West African nation.

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“We are progressive”: Activist Defends $190K Payout To Illegal Alien By Taxpayers For Being Turned Over To ICE [Video]

Immigration advocate Roberto Hernandez joined Tucker Carlson to debate the controversial payout of $190K to an illegal for being turned over to ICE. You won t believe the reasoning! This is insane!An illegal immigrant is set to be awarded $190,000 from San Francisco after police turned him over to immigration authorities, which is a violation of the city s sanctuary policy. Pedro Figueroa-Zarceno, who is from El Salvador and was living in the U.S. illegally, walked into a police station on December 2, 2015, to recover his stolen car. When he left the station, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) immediately took him into custody. Figueroa-Zarceno recently reached the massive settlement agreement with the city attorney s office. The agreement must be approved by the city s Board of Supervisors.Tucker argued it s insane that the city is paying Hernandez because they actually enforced U.S. federal immigration law. You shouldn t pay a criminal for breaking the law, Tucker said.Hernandez said that San Francisco has a sanctuary policy because citizens and city leaders believe that the federal government s immigration policy has failed. In San Francisco, we are different. We are progressive. We think different. We re leaders when it comes to being humanitarians, Hernandez said.Tucker asked why San Francisco is willing to ignore federal law, but only for illegal immigrants. If I m wanted for tax evasion in another state and the San Francisco police turn me over to the feds, why shouldn t I be able to sue the city of San Francisco for cooperating with the federal authorities?

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Terrorists attack police training college in Pakistan: 60 cadets killed and 120 injured

(7 fans) - Advertisement - At lease 60 cadets were killed and more than 116 injured as terrorists attack the Police Training College in Quetta, Pakistan, in one of the deadliest extremist attacks this year. Three gunmen burst into the sprawling academy, targeting sleeping quarters home to some 700 recruits, and sent terrified young men aged between 15 and 25 fleeing, Dawn News reported. Communication intercepts showed the attack was carried out by Al-Alimi faction of the Lashkar-i-Jhangvi militant group, IG Frontier Corps (FC) Major General Sher Afgan said. The group itself has not claimed the attack. Most of the deaths were caused when two of the attackers blew themselves up. The third was shot dead by Frontier Corps (FC) troops. At least 120 people were injured, according to Dawn News. The IG FC said "terrorists were communicating with their handlers in Afghanistan". "There were three terrorists and all of them were wearing suicide vests," he added. The training college is situated on Sariab Road, which is considered to be one of the most sensitive areas of Quetta. Militants have been targeting security forces in the area for almost a decade. The attack comes a day after militants belonging to the Baloch Liberation Army on a motorcycle shot dead two coast guards and a civilian and wounded a shopkeeper in a remote southwest coastal town in Balochistan. In August, a suicide bombing at a Quetta hospital claimed by the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar faction of the Pakistani Taliban killed 73 people, including many of the city's lawyer community who had gone there to mourn the fatal shooting of a colleague. - Advertisement - Pakistan says intelligence agencies of India and Afghanistan are fanning unrest in Balochistan by helping the rebels and sectarian militant outfits. According to Islamabad Policy Research Institute, the Indian consulate in Kandahar, a border town, provides a firm base to train, arm and dispatch militants across the border to undertake sabotage activities in Balochistan. Indian companies have been awarded contracts on various projects to link Kabul with Balochistan near Iranian border; and in the bargain it makes the job of the Indian intelligence agency RAW easier. Last month Indian government formally offered political asylum to secessionist Baloch leaders. The Zee News of India reported that the media is buzz with reports that Brahumdagh Bugti, grandson of Nawaz Akbar Khan Bugti, is set to get Indian citizenship. He is currently living in exile in Switzerland. Balochistan is a key region for China's ambitious $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor infrastructure project linking its western province of Xinjiang to the Arabian Sea via Pakistan. Security problems have mired CPEC in the past with numerous separatist attacks, but China has said it is confident the Pakistani military is in control. 18 Indian soldiers killed in an army base attack - Advertisement - The Quetta terrorist attack came five weeks after a militants attack on an army base in the garrison town of Uri in the Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir -- killing 18 soldiers. The attack on Sept 18, which took place near the de facto border between India and Pakistan in the disputed region, was one of the deadliest on an army base in Kashmir since militant attacks began in 1989, according to CNN. Tension remains high between the neighbors following the Uri attack. The Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has been under intense pressure from his own party and the Indian public to respond to the Uri army base attack. Mr Modi came to power pledging to toughen India's response to what he calls cross-border incursions from Pakistan. He vowed that the Uri raid "will not go unpunished". On September 29, India announced that it had carried out early morning "surgical strikes" on terrorist camps in Pakistani controlled Kashmir. However, Pakistan denied that a cross border strike had taken place, saying that Indian troops had fired small arms across the Line of Control, killing two soldiers and injuring nine. The notion of surgical strike linked to alleged terrorists' bases is an illusion being deliberately generated by India to create false effects," the Pakistani military said in a statement.

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GA TOWN MANDATES GUN OWNERSHIP: Here’s What Happened To The Crime Rate…

The results of this town s gun ownership mandate shows what happens when there are armed civilians out there In 1982, the little town of Kennesaw, Georgia passed an ordinance that every able bodied family must own a gun. Here is the text of the ordinance:(a) In order to provide for the emergency management of the city, and further in order to provide for and protect the safety, security and general welfare of the city and its inhabitants, every head of household residing in the city limits is required to maintain a firearm, together with ammunition therefore.(b)Exempt from the effect of this section are those heads of households who suffer a physical or mental disability which would prohibit them from using such a firearm. Further exempt from the effect of this section are those heads of households who are paupers or who conscientiously oppose maintaining firearms as a result of beliefs or religious doctrine, or persons convicted of a felony.An amendment to the gun ownership law grants exceptions to convicted felons, conscientious objectors and those who cannot afford a gun.In 2007, there was a follow up, showing the effects of the law on crime and the city. The liberals of course warned that Kennesaw would become the Wild West. Like all liberal predictions, this one belongs in the sewer. (Make sure you flush twice, it s a long ways to DNC HQ) In the 25 years that the law had been in place as of 2007 not one murder or defensive shooting took place. The first murder finally did occur in 2014, 32 years into the ordinance. The population soared from 5,242 to 28,189. The year prior to the passage of the ordinance, the city had a crime rate of (4,332 per 100,000). That was higher than the national average of (3,899 per 100,000). As of 2007, the crime rate had dropped to (2,268 per 100,000). The current crime rate for Kennesaw has dropped to (1,760 Per 100,000)In fact, Family Circle Magazine ranked Kennesaw as one of the ten best cities for families to live in. Kennesaw came in at Number 5. Kennesaw is far from being the one exception to the rule.The DOJ released a report that covered the years 1993 to 2011, a period in which gun ownership soared. What did they find? In 1993 there were 18,253 gun deaths. In 2011 there were just 11,101. Even more startling is that non fatal shootings dropped by 69%!!What about the liberal propaganda that gun shows are the case of most gun shootings because there are no background checks? The DOJ found that gun felons in federal prisons got just 2% of their guns from gun shows. 10 percent said they purchased their gun from a retail shop or pawnshop, 37 percent obtained it from family or friends, and another 40 percent obtained it from an illegal source.Concealed carriers also assisted in dropping crime rates during the years of the Obama caliphate. The number of concealed carry permits in 2007 was 4.6 million and has now soared to 12.8 million. That number is actually much higher since 8 states now do not require a concealed carry permit. During this same period, gun deaths dropped from 5.6 million to 4.2 million per 100,000.Harvard studied gun policies around the world and found to their astonishment that more guns mean less crime.One last item. What about the vaunted Gun free Zones? Are they working? Yes, but only for mass murderers. Since the 1950s, all but two mass shootings took place in gun free zones.Via: The PC Graveyard

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The Kochs' plan to beat Reid

Ohio Democrat Tim Ryan does a lot of media but only has 2 public supporters

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Merkel's conservatives tied with SPD ahead of state vote: poll

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel s Christian Democrats (CDU) and the rival Social Democrats (SPD) are nearly tied ahead of a crucial regional election in the state of Lower Saxony, a poll conducted by a German newspaper showed on Monday. The poll by the Hannoverschen Allgemeine Zeitung put the CDU on 33.1 percent, while the Social Democrats - who now rule the state with the environmentalist Greens - were at 32.8 percent. The Oct. 15 election is being followed closely because it follows just three weeks after national elections and will delay federal coalition talks since parties are reluctant to alienate core voters by making compromises ahead of the vote. The poll showed the Greens were in third place with 9.9 percent of the vote, followed by far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party with 8.1 percent, the pro-business Free Democrats with 8 percent and the far-left Left party at 5.4 percent.

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Re: Babylon Mystery Religion Series

« Reply #1 on: Today at 08:44:21 PM » Part 2 Mother & Child Worship https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWtZPg2RP-M Logged The answer to 1871 is 1776I am one of the people, not a fictional entity created by an incorporated state issued Birth Certificate.

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Election Heats Up: Kerry Heads To The Poles…In ANTARCTICA WTF

We Are Change While many Americans headed to the polls to vote in the 2016 election on Tuesday, Secretary of State John Kerry traveled to… Antarctica. Kerry’s trip will include a visit to the McMurdo and Amundsen-Scott South Pole stations, which will make him the first Secretary of State to visit Antarctica, according to a press release from the National Science Foundation. It comes at a curious time, given the ongoing election. When asked about the timing, State Department spokesman John Kirby insisted that its purpose is “to talk to researchers and scientists largely about climate change research.” A reporter responded by questioning the legitimacy of the trip, noting, “There’s some criticism that this trip is basically, you know, the Secretary wants to knock Antarctica off his bucket list and he’s doing it on taxpayer expense.” Kirby insisted that it is important for Kerry “to see firsthand what we are learning about the environment down there on the South Pole.” “As an individual who has literally championed climate change research and awareness for decades now, the secretary is and will remain committed to increasing the awareness and education of the public about this,” Kirby said. The location of Kerry’s trip is also interesting. Russian scientists drew criticism in 2012 for drilling into Antarctica’s “Alien” Lake Vostok, which scientists claim went “undisturbed by sunlight for over 15 million years.” Theories as to what is under the surface of the lake—which is considered the sixth largest in the world— include oil, a secret Nazi base with Hitler’s remains, nuclear energy, Atlantis, and of course, a UFO landing site. Kerry’s trip will add to his lead as the Secretary of State who has traveled the most miles, with over 1.3 million since 2013. This sends him even further ahead former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who traveled 956,733 miles from 2009 to 2013. In addition to staying away from the polls in the U.S. where he would be expected to vote for Clinton, Kerry is also showing her up by reminding the world that he beat her in total miles traveled—an area where Clinton was very competitive. In 2010, Clinton wrote an email to her top aide Huma Abedin asking , “What’s my total now?” “We have 36 trips to date,” Abedin responded, noting that Clinton needed at least four more to beat the record of 1.06 million set by Condoleezza Rice. Follow Rachel Blevins on Facebook and Twitter . The post Election Heats Up: Kerry Heads To The Poles…In ANTARCTICA WTF appeared first on We Are Change .

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Ukraine PM says review of gas price formula is under way

KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine s prime minister, Voldoymyr Groysman, said on Saturday the government was reviewing the way it sets domestic gas bills to make sure market prices are taken into account - a bid to answer demands under a $17.5-billion IMF aid program. The long-delayed disbursement of a next tranche of IMF loans depends on Ukraine adjusting gas prices, and also on pension reform and the creation of an independent judicial body to tackle endemic graft. Speaking at the annual Yalta European Strategy conference, Groysman said the gas pricing formula was being reviewed but did not say how tariffs would be affected. We believe that the gas price should be determined in accordance with the gas market and in accordance with a formula. The most important thing is for this formula to be fair, news agency Interfax Ukraine quoted Groysman as saying at the annual Yalta European Strategy conference. At the moment our technical division is working on verifying the formula that determines the gas price, he said. The IMF wants gas prices to be set by external market dynamics through an automatic formula to stop tariffs being set unsustainably low as a populist measure. Ukraine has so far received $8.4 billion from the Fund, helping it recover from a two-year recession following the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014 and the outbreak of a Russian-backed insurgency in its industrial east. On Friday, the IMF s first deputy managing director, David Lipton, said Ukraine risked undoing progress made under the program and urged the authorities to push ahead with reforms needed for the next loan tranche. Earlier on Saturday Groysman said Ukraine needed to set up an independent anti-graft judicial body quickly - adding that it did not matter if it was a separate court, as envisaged by the IMF, or a chamber to existing courts. We need to quickly establish an instrument that would allow corruptioneers to face justice and whether it s called an anti-corruption chamber or court doesn t matter, he told the conference. On Friday President Petro Poroshenko said an anti-graft chamber within the existing court system would be more feasible in the short-term - a proposal that reform activists have said would limit the independence of the body. (This story corrects headline and second para to clarify Ukraine is reviewing the gas price formula, not gas prices, which the IMF wants under its reform program)

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Clinton’s Campaign Chairman John Podesta Invited to an Occult ‘Spirit Cooking’ Dinner by Marina Abramović

Clinton’s Campaign Chairman John Podesta Invited to an Occult ‘Spirit Cooking’ Dinner by Marina Abramović November 4, 2016 190 The Podesta e-mails released by Wikileaks contain various bizarre entries, including an invitation to a ‘Spirit Cooking’ dinner from notorious occultist Marina Abramović. These parties include blood, semen, breast milk … and God knows what else. A leaked e-mail reveals that John Podesta was invited to a ‘Spirit Cooking’ dinner by Marina Abramović in 2015. John David Podesta is the Chairman of the 2016 Hillary Clinton presidential campaign. He previously served as Chief of Staff to President Bill Clinton and Counselor to President Barack Obama. Hillary Clinton and John Podesta, 2011. - Advertisement - Here’s the leaked e-mail . Marina Abramovic sent an e-mail to Tony Podesta (John Podesta’s brother) who then forwarded it to his brother. Before going any further, here’s a video of Marina preparing a ‘Spirit Cooking’ ritual. Yes, the process involves buckets of congealed pig’s blood. Marina paints on walls instructions coded in classic occultist matter. Spirit cooking refers to “a sacrament in the religion of Thelema which was founded by Aleister Crowley” and involves an occult performance during which menstrual blood, breast milk, urine and sperm are used to create a “painting”. Strange fact: In another leaked e-mail , Podesta contacts his doctor about an infected finger. Strange coincidence. Further in the video, Marina drenches in blood a statue shaped like a small child. Why do I have the sick feeling that actual children might be used during these ceremonies? Why would an occultist such as Marina Abramović be in direct and friendly contact with people at the highest levels of power? Because they are all part of the OCCULT ELITE. Marina Abramović Marina Abramović is considered to be the “grandmother of performance art”. Most of her work however takes place in private settings where she conducts magick rituals. She is an important and powerful figure in pop culture and is greatly influential in Hollywood, the fashion world and the music business. Marina ‘training’ Lady Gaga in the ‘Abramovic Method’. Marina performing with Jay-Z. Marina is an “occult pop culture” icon. Here are symbolic pictures celebrating this fact. On this cover of Vogue Ukraine, Marina represents the stronghold of occultism on the fashion world. In the same photoshoot, Marina is holds a goat’s head by the horns – a classic way of representing the drawing of magickal power from Baphomet. Same photoshoot: Marina standing in front of a model with inner body parts exposed while doing an occult handsign. This picture was featured in The New Yorker along with a lengthy article praising her career. A serpent hiding one eye: The perfect way of representing a member of the occult elite. Marina on the cover of ELLE with one eye hidden. Mimicking Baphomet horns. “Cleaning the Mirror”, 1995. Another interesting fact: Marina’s Twitter name is @AbramovicM666 This is why the term ‘occult elite’ is used to describe the highest level of power. Do you see the dots connecting? TAGS

1real

Trump sets out Mideast vision: backing Arab strongmen against Iran

DUBAI (Reuters) - The images from the same night broadcast around the Middle East speak as loudly as the words. On the one hand: the young people of Iran, dancing in the streets to mark the re-election of a pragmatist, men and women together. On the other: the president of the United States, swaying through an all-male “sword dance” under the stars with the absolute rulers of Saudi Arabia, where publicly calling for any form of political change risks prosecution. President Donald Trump told admiring Arab absolute monarchs and military strongmen in a gilt chamber at the weekend that he wanted “peace, security and prosperity”, and the United States was not there to tell them how to run their own countries. He joined them in berating their arch-foe Iran, and signed a $110 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia that put him firmly on one side of the sectarian divide fuelling most of the Middle East’s wars. The contrast between the two scenes was noted by Iran’s newly re-elected president, Hassan Rouhani, who has sought to reach out to the West while batting back hardliners at home. “Buying arms or building weapons won’t make a country powerful,” Rouhani told a news conference on Monday. “The foundation of power is national strength and this only happens through elections. Trump saw millions of Iranians took part in an election, but he visited a country whose people have not seen a ballot box and don’t know what an election is.” “PRE-OBAMA ERA ON STEROIDS” Trump’s attempt to orchestrate a Muslim and Arab coalition against Iran was a repudiation of the regional policy of his predecessor Barack Obama, whose administration held the first direct talks with Tehran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Although Washington and Tehran were still a long way from normalizing their relations, Obama reached an accord to lift sanctions in return for Iran curbing its nuclear program, which Trump repeatedly slated as “the worst deal ever signed”. By swinging American policy back to firm support for the Sunni Arab states, Trump has jettisoned that carefully constructed balance, said Jean-Marc Rickli, Head of Global Risk and Resilience at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy. “We are back in the pre-Obama era, on steroids,” he said. “Under Obama you had this attempt of the USA playing the external balancer in the region. Now the regional balancer has gone. The balancer has chosen his camp.” Just as dramatically, Trump also repudiated the policies of Obama’s Republican predecessor George W. Bush, who promised to spread democracy across the Middle East in a landmark 2003 speech that declared “freedom can be the future of every nation”. Trump told his audience of autocrats: “We are not here to lecture you. We are not here to tell other people how to live, what to do, who to be or how to worship.” Washington’s alliance with the mainly Sunni Muslim countries of the Arab world against Shi’ite Iran is decades old. But in practice the United States has had to improvise in recent years when choosing its friends in a more complex Middle East, where enemies can appear on either side of the sectarian divide. Washington and Tehran are still frequently on opposing sides, most notably in Syria, where Iran supports the government of President Bashar al-Assad. But elsewhere, notably Iraq, U.S. forces are fighting on the same side as Shi’ites close to Iran. Obama’s outreach to Tehran reflected that reality. But those subtleties were cast aside on Sunday when Trump nodded approvingly as Saudi King Salman described Iran as the “tip of the spear” of terrorism in the Middle East. A senior U.S. official defended the initiative, citing “a common threat from terrorist organizations as well as from Iranian subversion throughout the region”. In fact, most of the militant groups U.S. troops have fought in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, such as al Qaeda, Islamic State and the Taliban, are Sunni Muslims who consider Shi’ite Iran their enemy. The timing of Trump’s uncompromising call for a U.S.-backed axis against Iran was particularly awkward because it coincided with the re-election of Rouhani, swept to a second term on his promises to seek rapprochement with the West. Although democracy in Iran has clear limits - all candidates must be vetted by a hardline body and the unelected supreme leader can veto policies of the elected government - it still goes further than in most of the countries that attended Trump’s speech, a fact noticed across the region. U.S. arms deals for Iran’s Sunni foes help bolster the case of Rouhani’s hardline opponents, who say any detente with the West is dangerous folly. The Riyadh summit showed that the “passivity” of Rouhani’s government “has emboldened the enemies of Iran,” wrote Hossein Shariatmadari, editor-in-chief of Kayhan, a newspaper closely associated with security hardliners who opposed Rouhani. “Small and weak countries that could not imagine a fight with Iran, are now publicly talking about forming a military alliance against it.” The Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), the powerful Iranian security force that supported Rouhani’s hardline opponent in the election, has the power to stir up confrontation across the region to undermine Rouhani at home. “All the indicators point to a further arms race in the region and on the rhetorical level we are on a path of escalation,” said Rickli. “You just need a small trigger that can escalate the situation on the ground. “I would not be surprised to see an increase in hostilities in Syria and Yemen. Also, the IRGC might want to foster pro-Shi’a groups in Bahrain and some parts of Kuwait to regain power after the elections,” Rickli said. Putting a huge arms deal at the center of the visit also plays into the hands of foes who say U.S. policy is driven mainly by money. Saudi Arabia is both the world’s biggest exporter of oil and one of the world’s biggest importers of military hardware made in the West. Trump boasted about the jobs that would be created at home by the arms deals he signed. “We will make sure to help our Saudi friends to get a good deal from our great American defense companies, the greatest anywhere in the world,” Trump said in his speech. “Doubling down on Saudi Arabia has a lot to do with trade and investment considerations. The supporting allies, anti-terrorism and anti-Iranian rhetoric provides a cover for that,” said Richard Dalton a former UK ambassador in the Middle East. But the policy could be counter-productive, he said. “Furthering more enmity with Iran, rather than seeking common ground and interests at a time when Iran is ready to reach out diplomatically on the region’s long-term problems, is going to work against the long term aim of a peaceful and stable Middle East.”

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Graveyard killing of Belgian mayor was 'revenge': media

MOUSCRON, Belgium (Reuters) - A Belgian teenager who blamed the local mayor for his father s suicide after he was fired from a town hall job has confessed to slashing the politician s throat in a cemetery on Monday night, public broadcaster RTBF said. The murder of Alfred Gadenne, 71, the mayor of Mouscron and a former lawmaker in the regional parliament, has shocked the country, with the prime minister expressing his horror . The public prosecutor told Reuters that a man was under arrest after giving himself up to police at the scene after dark in Mouscron, an industrial border town of 57,000 close to the French city of Lille. He declined comment on media reports. RTBF, citing sources including the suspect s lawyer, said he was 18 and told police he was avenging his father, who killed himself two years ago after losing his job as a local council employee. A box-cutter was found at the scene, where the young man had calmly called police to attend around 8 p.m. Gadenne, a conservative whose death prompted tributes from across the national political spectrum, acted as caretaker for the cemetery next to his home and was killed after going there to lock up for the night, as he did every evening. Media reporting of this spare-time occupation during his decade as mayor had allowed the suspect to find Gadenne alone, RTBF said. It added that the man waited until he reached the age of majority so his mother, also a municipal employee, could not be held liable for his actions under Belgian law. Mourners left flowers at the cemetery gates and visited the town hall to sign a book of condolence for the mayor.

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Trump supports NATO's collective defense clause: senior official

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump stands united with other NATO countries in defending all members of the Western military alliance, a senior White House official said on Thursday, after Trump made no mention of NATO’s Article V in a speech. “It’s the core of the alliance,” the official said after Trump gave a speech to fellow NATO leaders in Brussels. NATO’s founding treaty states that an attack on one ally is an attack on all, but Trump questioned that in his election campaign and has not publicly backed the defense commitment set out in Article V.

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Trump campaign says it raised $80 million in July: statement

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s campaign took in $80 million last month, leaving it with $74 million in cash on hand ahead of the Nov. 8 election, it said in a statement released on Wednesday. Of the $80 million raised in July, $64 million was from donations that included matching donations from Trump, it said. Another roughly $16 million was from 20 fundraisers cohosted with the Republican National Committee, the statement said.

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Trump Tweets FAKE Photo Of Black Supporters After Racist Meltdown

The morning after getting pounded for several racial outbursts he made on Friday, Donald Trump retweeted an image of a black family with the caption American Families for Trump. The problem is, the photo of the family is not from a pro-Trump event or gathering. The picture is actually from a news story about a black family reunion in 2015.The photo fakery was pointed out by Mark Czerniec.The episode is part of a pattern with Trump, who often retweets images created by his supporters that more often than not are either conspiracy theories, complete fakes, racist or some combination of the three. They reflect a lot of the values the presumptive Republican presidential nominee has mainstreamed in his short political career.Trump has expressed strong belief in the conspiracy theory that President Obama was not born in the United States, that climate change is a hoax created by the Chinese, and in the idea that immigrants are mostly criminals and rapists.Pushing the photo of fake black supporters comes after a day in which Trump pointed to a black man at a campaign rally in California and referred to him as my African-American. In the same rally, Trump tripled-down on his racist assertion that the judge overseeing his Trump University case cannot be fair or impartial because he has Mexican heritage and at the same time Trump is building a wall. In response to his racial outburst, Hillary Clinton noted, It makes no sense to me. The judge was born in Indiana. Yes, he s of Mexican heritage. Donald Trump is apparently of German heritage. What does that mean? We are all Americans. The most senior Republican in the country, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, also condemned Trump s racist attack on the judge but Trump has been making the allegation for months already, and Ryan endorsed Trump for the presidency.Featured image via Flickr

1real

George P. Bush says father Jeb Bush is ‘seriously considering’ 2016 run

George P. Bush, the son of former Florida governor Jeb Bush (R), said Sunday on ABC's "This Week" that his father is seriously considering a presidential run in 2016. "I think it's more than likely that he's giving this serious thought in moving forward ... that he'll run," he said. Bush also said the family "would be behind [Jeb Bush] 100 percent if he decides to" run.

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Comment on Sunday Devotional: A Petition to the Father by muchmadness

Hear, LORD, my plea for justice; pay heed to my cry; Listen to my prayer From you let my vindication come; your eyes see what is right. You have tested my heart, searched it in the night. You have tried me by fire, but find no malice in me. My mouth has not transgressed as others often do. As your lips have instructed me, I have kept from the way of the lawless. My steps have kept to your paths; my feet have not faltered. I call upon you; answer me, O God. Turn your ear to me; hear my speech. Show your wonderful mercy, you who deliver with your right arm those who seek refuge from their foes. Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings from the wicked who despoil me. My ravenous enemies press upon me; they close their hearts, they fill their mouths with proud roaring. Their steps even now encircle me; they watch closely, keeping low to the ground, Like lions eager for prey, like a young lion lurking in ambush. Rise, O LORD, confront and cast them down; rescue my soul from the wicked. I am just—let me see your face; when I awake, let me be filled with your presence. Two days from now, Americans will each go to our respective polling stations to cast our ballots for the gravest, most consequential election in our lifetime. May God send the Holy Spirit and the Archangel Michael to help us. May God have mercy on us, a sinful people. 2 Thessalonians 2:7, 9-12 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. [T]he one whose coming springs from the power of Satan in every mighty deed and in signs and wonders that lie, and in every wicked deceit for those who are perishing because they have not accepted the love of truth so that they may be saved. Therefore, God is sending them a deceiving power so that they may believe the lie, that all who have not believed the truth but have approved wrongdoing may be condemned. 2 Thessalonians 3:1-3, 5 Finally, brothers and sisters, pray for us, so that the word of the Lord may speed forward and be glorified, as it did among you, and that we may be delivered from perverse and wicked people, for not all have faith. But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one. May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the endurance of Christ.

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#DraftOurDaughters: Pro-War Hillary Faces Backlash Over Female Draft

#DraftOurDaughters: Pro-War Hillary Faces Backlash Over Female Draft Hillary combines equality with war against Russia Kit Daniels - October 28, 2016 Comments Hillary Clinton’s support for a female draft is sparking outrage as she continues to fuel war tensions with Russia. Clinton initially backed requiring women to register for the draft back in June, but the backlash really exploded as Clinton started taunting Russia after the last presidential debate. The Twitter hashtag #DraftOurDaughters is trending, with memes mocking Hillary’s “total war” policies which could easily ignite World War 3.

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She can have an event daily. It will never change Trump Voters.

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Trump to CNN: ’You Are Fake News’ - Breitbart

During a press conference on Wednesday, Donald Trump refused to take a question from CNN Senior White House Correspondent Jim Acosta and told him “You are fake news. ” After Trump criticized CNN for its recent report on Russia and him, Acosta asked if, since Trump was attacking them, CNN could ask a question. Trump stated, “Your organization is terrible. … Don’t be rude. No, I’m not going to give you a question. … You are fake news. ” Acosta replied that this wasn’t appropriate. Later in the press conference, Trump did take a question from CNN reporter Jeremy Diamond. Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett

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WOMAN ATTACKED WITH EGG At Trump Rally Is Asking For Help From Fellow Patriots [Video]

In case you missed the total horror of seeing a woman egged by protesters at a Trump rally, we ll just say it was REALLY terrible! We ve posted the video below for you. She was up against a wall and was pelted with numerous eggs and took it like a champ! She needs our help! The woman who captured national attention Thursday night after she was egged at a Donald Trump rally and then smiled about it is asking for people to help oust the mayor of San Jose.Rachel Casey, identified by her Facebook posts, LinkedIn profile and by people who know her, posted one of at least two petitions to get Mayor Sam Liccardo to resign from his post. As of Monday, one petition, started by a man in Texas, had 3,600 supporters. Another petition, started by a man in Minnesota, also asks for the mayor s resignation, and had more than 7,000 signatures by Monday morning. The mayor had criticized Trump for whipping up the nation into an antagonistic state, but also condemned protesters for getting violent mostly by harming the Trump camp. Liccardo responded: I m not terribly persuaded by calls of resignation that are emanating from Texas or Minnesota. I serve at the pleasure of the residents of San Jose and am accountable to the residents of San Jose. Efforts to reach Casey, who lists herself as a physical therapist assistant and personal trainer from Florida who moved to the Bay Area, were not immediately successful on Monday. Her former company, Boca Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine said she no longer worked there. A message left at what appears to be her home or cell was unanswered. She didn t immediately respond to a Facebook message request, which she saw, as she acknowleged two reporters trying to find her in her own post. But her image persists as the face of the violent Trump rally last week, where not only was she egged, but others were injured and Trump hats and American flags were burned.Read more: NBC

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Muslim debate seizes GOP presidential race

A debate over Islam -- first sparked by Donald Trump not correcting a town hall questioner who called President Obama a non-American Muslim, and now Ben Carson saying a Muslim should not be president -- has unexpectedly shifted the conversation in the Republican presidential race. So far, neither candidate at the center of the furor is backing down. Trump has said he had no obligation to correct the man who wrongly called Obama a Muslim. And Carson is doubling down on his remarks from Sunday. Carson, a Christian and retired neurosurgeon, initially commented on whether a Muslim should be president on NBC's "Meet the Press." "I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation," Carson said. "I absolutely would not agree with that." He later told The Hill that the next president should be "sworn in on a stack Bibles, not a Koran." He explained, "I do not believe Sharia is consistent with the Constitution of this country." Carson's comments were attacked by Democrats, while fellow Republicans gave a more careful answer to the same question. In a primary race that so far has been as unpredictable as it is unruly, the Muslim debate marks the latest sharp turn -- after previous heated debates over illegal immigration and other issues. Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz said Sunday, "It's hard to understand what's so difficult about supporting an American citizen's right to run for president. "But unsurprisingly, this left Republicans scratching their heads. Of course a Muslim, or any other American citizen, can run for president, end of story." In a separate appearance on NBC, fellow 2016 GOP candidate Ohio Gov. John Kasich, was asked whether he would have a problem with a Muslim in the White House. "The answer is, at the end of the day, you've got to go through the rigors, and people will look at everything. But, for me, the most important thing about being president is you have leadership skills, you know what you're doing and you can help fix this country and raise this country. Those are the qualifications that matter to me." Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who taped Sunday an episode of Iowa Press, an Iowa Public Television program, was asked if he agreed with Carson's statements on Muslims being president. "The Constitution specifies that there shall be no religious test for public office, and I am a constitutionalist," Cruz said. Fellow GOP contender and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio suggested the entire matter is a distraction. He told ABC News: "This has nothing to do with the future of our country. These issues have been discussed ad nauseam over the last few years. It's a big waste of time. Barack Obama will not be president in a year and a half. It's time to start talking about the future of America and the people that are at home." Carson, a top-tier 2016 candidate and popular among the GOP's evangelical wing, made the statement Sunday after fellow Republican candidate Trump was addressed by a man during a rally Thursday in New Hampshire who said President Obama is a Muslim. "We have a problem in this country," the unidentified man said. "It's called Muslim. ... You know our current president is one." Obama is a Christian. But Trump has declined to address the issue, saying he is not "morally obligated" to set straight the record. Carson also described the Islamic faith as inconsistent with the Constitution. However, he did not specify in what way Islam ran counter to constitutional principles. Carson said he believes Obama is a Christian and has "no reason to doubt what he says." He also said he would consider voting for a Muslim running for Congress, depending on "who that Muslim is and what their policies are." Carson also made a distinction when it came to electing Muslims to Congress, calling it a "different story" from the presidency that "depends on who that Muslim is and what their policies are, just as it depends on what anybody else says." Congress has two Muslim members, Democratic Reps. Keith Ellison of Minnesota and Andre Carson of Indiana. "If there's somebody who's of any faith, but they say things, and their life has been consistent with things that will elevate this nation and make it possible for everybody to succeed, and bring peace and harmony, then I'm with them," Carson said. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Senior Republicans criticize Trump's remarks on Hispanic judge

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senior U.S. Republicans distanced themselves on Sunday from Donald Trump’s comments about a Mexican-American judge, saying they were worried that the tone of his presidential campaign could enrage Latinos, who are a growing U.S. voting bloc. Trump has accused U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel of harboring a bias against him in lawsuits involving fraud allegations against Trump University, the New York business man’s now-defunct real estate school. The presumptive Republican nominee has suggested Curiel’s Mexican-American heritage had influenced the judge’s opinion because of Trump’s campaign pledge to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he “couldn’t disagree more” with Trump’s comments about the judge. “I am concerned about the Hispanic vote, America is changing,” McConnell told “Meet The Press”. “I think it’s a big mistake for our party to write off Latino Americans. I am concerned about that and I hope he will change his direction on that.” Democrats have accused Trump of racially tinged rhetoric about Latinos, including his description of Mexican immigrants as “criminals and rapists” in the speech he gave a year ago launching his campaign. Such rhetoric has exacerbated friction between Trump and Republican party leaders such as McConnell and House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan. For the past few years, the party has been trying to broaden its appeal with Latino voters and senior Republicans are concerned that Trump’s comments could cost the party votes, not only in the presidential race but in congressional races as well. Former House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich, who has been mentioned as a possible running mate to Trump, called Trump’s comments about the judge “inexcusable.” “This is one of the worst mistakes Trump has made,” Gingrich told Fox News. Curiel was born in Indiana to Mexican-immigrant parents. “He is a member of a club or society very strongly pro Mexican, which is all fine. But I say he’s got bias. I want to build a wall,” Trump said in an interview on Sunday on “Face the Nation”. Asked if he believed a Muslim judge would be biased against him based on Trump’s call for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the country, Trump replied, “It’s possible. Yes.” McConnell said America is a nation full of immigrants — pointing out that his wife, former Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, came to the United States when she was eight and didn’t speak English. “All of us came here from somewhere else,” McConnell said. Senator Bob Corker, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on “ABC’s This Week” that he did not “condone the comments” that Trump made about Curiel. Legal scholars on the right and the left have criticized Trump for attacking the judge, saying it could harm judicial independence should he become president. Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who is of Mexican descent, was one of the few Republicans to defend Trump. Gonzales argued in a column in The Washington Post that Trump should be allowed to question a judge’s fairness, saying that questioning a judge is crucial to ensuring public trust in the courts. But when asked about the racial element in an interview on Sunday on Fox News, Gonzales criticized Trump. “I certainly would have taken a different approach,” he said. “Whenever you say something about a judge’s nationality, I think it demeans the office and hurts the judiciary as a whole.”

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Orlando killer expressed support for multiple Islamist groups

ORLANDO, Fla. (Reuters) - Orlando nightclub killer Omar Mateen had expressed sympathy for a variety of Islamist extremists, including groups in the Middle East that are sworn enemies, the FBI said on Monday, as a picture began to emerge of the angry, violent man who carried out America’s deadliest mass shooting. U.S. authorities said they had found no direct links between Islamic State and Mateen, the U.S.-born son of Afghan immigrants who killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando on Sunday. Mateen, 29, was shot dead by police who stormed the Pulse club with armored cars after a three-hour siege. In 911 calls during his rampage, the killer expressed allegiance to Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. But Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey said Mateen had made comments favorable to multiple armed Islamist movements and people, which “adds a little bit to the confusion about his motives.” President Barack Obama said Mateen was likely a homegrown extremist. “So far, we see no indication that this was a plot directed from outside the United States and we see no indication that he was part of any kind of network,” Comey told reporters in Washington. “We’re highly confident this killer was radicalized at least in some part through the internet.” Islamic State, which controls territory in Iraq and Syria, reiterated on Monday a claim of responsibility, although it offered no signs to indicate coordination with the gunman. In calls to authorities on Sunday, Mateen also mentioned support for the Boston Marathon bombers and a Florida man who became a Nusra Front suicide bomber in Syria, Comey said. Nusra is an al Qaeda offshoot which is at odds with Islamic State in Syria’s civil war. Co-workers reported Mateen to the FBI in 2013 after he had made “inflammatory and contradictory” statements, including a claim that he had family connections to al Qaeda and membership of Shi’ite militant group Hezbollah, a bitter rival. The FBI’s Miami office investigated Mateen for 10 months and interviewed him twice but found no evidence of a crime or connection with a militant group. Comey said the FBI was also “working to understand what role anti-gay bigotry may have played” in the attack. The massacre reverberated on the presidential campaign trail, where Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton, the two likely opponents in the Nov. 8 election, clashed over how to confront violent Islamist extremists. Trump proposed suspending immigration to the United States from countries with a history of terrorism against America, Europe or U.S. allies, while Clinton warned against demonizing Muslims and called for tougher gun safety measures. Obama is to visit Orlando on Thursday to pay respects to families of the victims. The Orlando killings followed the massacre of 14 people in San Bernardino, California, last year and raised the question of whether the United States will have to confront jihadist attacks in the homeland for years to come. Comey said tracking apparent lone wolf attackers like Mateen was like finding “needles in a nationwide haystack” while also trying to work out what kind of people could become radicalized. The Florida shooting spree began early on Sunday when the club was packed with some 350 revelers at a Latin music night. Many fled as the gunman raked the crowd with bullets from an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle and a pistol. An initial wave of officers charged into the club and trapped Mateen in a bathroom, Orlando Police Chief John Mina told reporters. That allowed many patrons to flee, although others were trapped in the restroom with Mateen, leading to a standoff. Police negotiated with Mateen for about three hours before breaking a hole in the wall, which allowed hostages to escape. Mateen also emerged from the hole and was shot dead by officers, police said. Some 53 people were wounded and 29 remain hospitalized at Orlando Regional Medical Center. Michael Cheatham, chief trauma surgeon at the hospital, told Fox News he expects all of the survivors in the hospital to survive. Amanda Alvear’s last Snapchat video post began with a shot of her on the dance floor of the nightclub surrounded by friends. It ended with gunshots ringing out over the music. Alvear, 25, was identified by police as one of those killed at Pulse. Her friend Mercedez Flores, 26, who worked for Target, was also on the list. Another victim was Edward Sotomayor, 34, a marketing manager at a Florida-based gay-themed travel company. He was a legend in the industry, his boss, Al Ferguson, said. Pastor Deyni Ventura visited a survivor in the hospital, whom she identified only as Norman, who had taken refuge in a handicapped bathroom stall crammed with 30 people. Norman could hear the shooter laughing loudly as he sprayed gunfire over and under the bathroom stall. “They couldn’t see the shooter but they could hear him laughing,” Ventura said, intimating a loud cackling laugh. Norman, who was shot four times, crawled over the bodies of his friends to safety. Everyone else in the stall died, Ventura said. Most of the people fatally shot were Latino, more than half of them of Puerto Rican origin and at least three of them Mexican citizens. Hundreds of people attended a vigil on Monday night for the dead in downtown Orlando. Law enforcement officials searched for clues as to whether anyone had worked with Mateen on the attack, said Lee Bentley, the U.S. attorney for the middle district of Florida. But officials said they believed there had been no other attackers and had no evidence of a threat to the public. Mateen’s ex-wife, Sitora Yusifiy, described him as mentally unstable and violent toward her. “He would get mad out of nowhere. That’s when I started worrying about my safety and then after a few months he started abusing me physically very often,” she told reporters. The couple split in 2009 after four months of marriage. When Mateen met with his father the day before the killing, he betrayed nothing of the rage that would soon erupt. “I didn’t notice anything wrong,” Seddique Mateen said in an interview. “He was very slick.” In the close-knit Muslim community of about 100 families in Fort Pierce, Florida, Mateen was known as quiet with few friends. “He wasn’t a people person. He was not extremely friendly but he wasn’t rude either,” said Mohammed Jameel, 54, who worshipped at his mosque. Mateen was an armed guard at a gated retirement community, and had worked for the global security firm G4S (GFS.L) for nine years.. He told the FBI during its investigation of him that he had made pro-Islamist remarks because he was angry at co-workers who he felt were discriminating against him and teasing him for being a Muslim, Comey said.

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Why Palestinians Want To Sue Britain: 99 Years Since the Balfour Declaration

Share This Last July, the Palestinian Authority took the unexpected, although belated step of seeking Arab backing in suing Britain over the Balfour Declaration. That "declaration" was the first ever explicit commitment made by Britain, and the West in general, to establish a Jewish homeland atop an existing Palestinian homeland. It is too early to tell whether the Arab League would heed the Palestinian call , or if the PA would even follow through, especially considering that the latter has the habit of making too many proclamations backed by little or no action. However, it seems that the next year will witness a significant tug of war regarding the Balfour Declaration, the 100 th anniversary of which will be commemorated on November 02, 2017. But who is Balfour, what is the Balfour Declaration and why does all of this matters today? Britain’s Foreign Secretary from late 1916, Arthur James Balfour, had pledged Palestine to another people. That promise was made on November 02, 1917 on behalf of the British government in the form of a letter sent to the leader of the Jewish community in Britain, Walter Rothschild. At the time, Britain was not even in control of Palestine, which was still part of the Ottoman Empire. Either way, Palestine was never Balfour’s to so casually transfer to anyone else. His letter read: "His Majesty’s government view with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavors to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country." He concluded, "I should be grateful if you would bring this declaration to the knowledge of the Zionist Federation." Balfour was hardly acting on his own. True, the Declaration bears his name, yet, in reality, he was a loyal agent of an Empire with massive geopolitical designs, not only concerning Palestine alone, but with Palestine as part of a larger Arab landscape. Only a year earlier, another sinister document was introduced, albeit secretly. It was endorsed by another top British diplomat, Mark Sykes and, on behalf of France, by François Georges-Picot. The Russians were informed of the agreement, as they too had received a piece of the Ottoman cake. The document indicated that, once the Ottomans were soundly defeated, their territories, including Palestine, would be split among the prospective victorious parties. The Sykes-Picot Agreement , also known as the "Asia Minor Agreement", was signed in secret one hundred years ago, two years into World War I. It signified the brutal nature of colonial powers that rarely associated land and resources with people who lived upon or owned them. The centerpiece of the agreement was a map that was marked with straight lines by a China graph pencil. The map largely determined the fate of the Arabs, dividing them in accordance with various haphazard assumptions of tribal and sectarian lines. The improvised map consisted not only of lines but also colors , along with language that attested to the fact that the two countries viewed the Arab region purely on materialistic terms, without paying the slightest attention to the possible repercussions of slicing up entire civilizations with a multifarious history of cooperation and conflict. The Sykes-Picot negotiations were completed in March 1916 and, although official, was secretly signed on May 19, 1916. WWI concluded on November 11, 1918, after which the division of the Ottoman Empire began in earnest. British and French mandates were extended over divided Arab entities, while Palestine was granted to the Zionist movement a year later, when Balfour conveyed the British government’s promise, sealing the fate of Palestinians to a life of perpetual war and turmoil. Rarely was British-Western hypocrisy and complete disregard for the national aspiration of any other nation on full display as in the case of Palestine. Beginning with the first wave of Zionist Jewish migration to Palestine in 1882, European countries helped facilitate the movement of illegal settlers and resources, where the establishment of many colonies, large and small, was afoot. So when Balfour sent his letter to Rothschild, the idea of a Jewish homeland in Palestine was very much plausible. Still, many supercilious promises were being made to the Arabs during the Great War years, as the Arab leadership sided with the British in their war against the Ottoman Empire. Arabs were promised instant independence, including that of the Palestinians. When the intentions of the British and their rapport with the Zionists became too apparent, Palestinians rebelled , marking a rebellion that has never ceased 99 years later, and highlighting the horrific consequences of British colonialism and the eventual complete Zionist takeover of Palestine which is still felt after all of these years. Paltry attempts to pacify Palestinian anger were to no avail, especially after the League of Nations Council in July 1922 approved the terms of the British Mandate over Palestine – which was originally granted to Britain in April 1920 – without consulting the Palestinians at all. In fact, Palestinians would disappear from the British and international radar, only to reappear as negligible rioters, troublemakers, and obstacles to the joint British-Zionist colonial concoctions. Despite occasional assurances to the contrary, the British intention of ensuring the establishment of an exclusively Jewish state in Palestine was becoming clearer with time. The Balfour Declaration was not merely an aberration, but had, indeed, set the stage for the full-scale ethnic cleansing that followed, three decades later. In fact, that history remains in constant replay: the Zionists claimed Palestine and renamed it "Israel"; the British continue to support them, although never ceasing to pay lip-service to the Arabs; and the Palestinian people remain a nation that is geographically fragmented between refugee camps, in the Diaspora, militarily occupied, or treated as second class citizens in a country upon which their ancestors dwelt since time immemorial. While Balfour cannot be blamed for all the misfortunates that have befallen Palestinians since he communicated his brief, but infamous letter, the notion that his "promise" embodied – that of complete disregard of the aspirations and rights of the Palestinian Arab people – that very letter is handed from one generation of British diplomats to the next, in the same way that Palestinian resistance to colonialism has and continues to spread across generations. That injustice continues, thus the perpetuation of the conflict. What the British, the early Zionists, the Americans and subsequent Israeli governments failed to understand, and continue to ignore at their own peril, is that there can be no peace without justice and equality in Palestine; and that Palestinians will continue to resist, as long as the reasons that inspired their rebellion nearly a century ago, remain in place. Ramzy Baroud ( www.ramzybaroud.net ) is a media consultant, an internationally-syndicated columnist and the editor of PalestineChronicle.com . His latest book is My Father was A Freedom Fighter: Gaza’s Untold Story (Pluto Press). Read more by Ramzy Baroud

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October Tease: Wikileaks False Start Leaves Trump Supporters Sleepless and Exasperated

21st Century Wire says This was one of the most eagerly anticipated cyber events ever, but today s October surprise turned out to be an October tease.On Monday, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange warmed up the international community, and more importantly Trump supporters, when he hinted, If we are going to make a major publication about the U.S., we wouldn t do it at 3 a.m [Tues]. As it turns out, after much hope and lots of hype, Trump supporters couldn t even get to first base with Assange this morning Over in America, the Trump camp was buzzing with the promise that Hillary Clinton would be mortally wounded by this morning s big reveal. Trump s online again-offline again surrogate-cum-secret agent, Roger Stone, was over the moon with joy, and even tweeted:Wednesday@HillaryClinton is done. #Wikileaks. Roger Stone (@RogerJStoneJr) October 2, 2016Trump backer Alex Jones insisted that the Wikileaks document dump would be historic and that the Clintons will be devastated! and even went so far as to promote a live broadcast special on his channel Infowars.com, promising to unveil the devastating news.In the end, nothing happened. There were no documents revealed.The Clintons Will Be DEVASTATED: Infowars Historic LIVE COVERAGE Of #Wikileaks10 Press Conference Share this link! https://t.co/M4saKik1GO infowars (@infowars) October 3, 2016A classic case of the media jumping the gun, before anything was actually confirmed.It wasn t only Jones and Co. Many a Trump supporter stayed up all night in anticipation of what this Wikileaks trove might bring Did #julianassange just make me stay up 20 hours straight for him to say see you in November? #wikileaks Tim Black (@RealTimBlack) October 4, 2016It is still possible that the major information release previously promised by Assange is imminent, and Assange did hint at this in the wake of the DNC leaks which led to the resignation of chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz and others over systemic Democratic Party corruption. In his statement, he reiterated the incredible workload that he and his team have in vetting all the information in their possession before it s released. Wikileaks also has to be careful in order to preserve the integrity of the leaks, but also to organize and catalogue the information for press and public consumption.Assange has since indicated that waves of documents will now be revealed in a time-released fashion, with some items dumped each week, right up until the US election on November 8th.When asked during his Berlin videocast about what the impact might be based on his knowledge of the information, Assange simply relied: We think they re significant. WATCH THIS SPACE.READ MORE WIKILEAKS AT: 21st Century Wire Wikileaks Files

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In South Korea, daily stresses outweigh North Korea missile worries

SEOUL (Reuters) - Soon after North Korea tested its sixth and largest nuclear bomb earlier this month, You Jae-youn, a 32-year-old South Korean office worker, swiftly put the news behind her to focus on more immediate worries. We have more than enough to concern ourselves with in our everyday lives. Personally, I worry more about how much it s going to cost me to put food on the table (than North Korea), said You, from Sejong city in central South Korea. Talk of North Korea honestly feels distant to me. For most ordinary South Koreans, living for decades under the threat of war with their hostile and now nuclear-armed neighbor, more mundane concerns are what keep them up at night - jobs, the economy and the pressures that have accompanied South Korea s rapid development since the end of fighting with the North in 1953. Indeed, evidence suggests South Koreans have become increasingly indifferent to the threat of war, with civil defense drills largely ignored and surveys showing fewer people expect a conflict now than a quarter of a century ago. According to a Gallup Korea poll earlier this month, 58 percent of South Koreans said they don t think another war will break out on the Korean peninsula, the second-highest percentage since the survey first began in 1992. (For graphic on nuclear North Korea, click tmsnrt.rs/2n0gd92) Since then, the percentage of South Korean who expect another war has been gradually decreasing, down to 37 percent in the latest survey, despite a surge in missile tests under third generation leader Kim Jong Un. The two Koreas are still technically still at war because their 1950-53 conflict ended with a truce and not a peace treaty. People say the war hasn t technically ended but those in my generation have never seen war. It seems like a vague reality to me, said Kim Hye-ji, a 27-year-old graphic designer. That s why even when people say it s dangerous, I can t really feel it. All my friends are more worried about their jobs. South Korea s high-tech, export-driven economy is currently struggling to shake off slow growth that threatens to become a long-term trend. Job security is another concern, with twice the number of workers temporarily employed in South Korean than the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) average, while youth unemployment grew for four straight years through 2013 to 2016. The downturn has only intensified South Korea s hyper-competitive school and work environment which has been blamed for contributing to the country s high incidence of stress and suicide. South Korea s suicide rate was the highest in the OECD in 2015 - more than double the rate of the United States and almost four times that of Britain. Financial problems, illnesses, loneliness and relationship issues are leading causes for depression that later lead to suicide in South Korea, according to a recent presentation at the Korea Association for Suicide Prevention. North Korea didn t rate a mention. The majority of those who come to us for stress management do so for real things in their lives, like job hunting. Even those employed come to us because of trouble they have adjusting to the workplace, Sim Min-young, a psychiatrist specializing in anxiety and stress disorders at South Korea s National Centre for Mental Health. They don t come to talk about North Korea. Sim says if South Koreans were faced with a threat such as Hurricane Irma in the United States, they would be proactively doing something - creating evacuation plans, looking into shelters. But nuclear attacks render people helpless and they stop thinking about what they can actually do. But when we think of a nuclear bomb detonating just a few kilometers away from us, we don t know what we can realistically do to protect ourselves, Sim said. For the minority worried about war, options are limited. Some have made contingency plans to evacuate beyond the reach of North Korea s artillery. Sales have ticked up of emergency supplies including war bags , containing items such as fire starters, whistles and food packages. Others have sought spiritual solace. Churches have been addressing North Korea more in sermons and prayer sessions, says Choi Ei-woo, the head pastor at Chongkyo Methodist Church in downtown Seoul. I don t think there will be a war, but there could be unexpected actions that could lead to one. I am praying for God to lead us through this time, said Choi. Lee Chul-hyee, 63, has been praying more since he retired from the South Korean army six years ago and has also been giving lectures at town halls and churches to share his knowledge based on his military background. At a Buddhist temple in central Seoul, 59-year-old Mun Myung-ha said she too has been coming to pray more in hopes that a war will not break out. North Korea is conducting more nuclear tests and every time I turn on the news my heart starts beating like crazy, said Mun. Some itching for a peek into the future have been visiting fortune-tellers. Six out of 10 customers are now including a question about whether there will be a war, in addition to their usual queries on love and marriage, a traditional shaman using the name Byeorakdaegam told Reuters. Back in January or February no one asked me about war but now that s changed, said Byeorakdaegam, whose real name is Jang Yong-jun. I ask them back whether they ve been hoarding food or water and all of them say no. Then I assure them my gods tell me there will be no war, he said, passing a string of large wooden beads through one hand.

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Talk of Trump pullout alarms backers of Paris climate accord

LONDON (Reuters) - Reports that Donald Trump is about to quit the Paris accord drew calls on Wednesday for other countries to rally round the climate pact, but warnings from some environmentalists that it would leave the deal badly weakened. Trump will follow through on his campaign pledge to pull the United States out of the global agreement, a source briefed on the decision told Reuters. On Twitter the president said: “I will be announcing my decision on the Paris Accord over the next few days.” The accord, agreed on by nearly 200 countries in 2015, aims to cut emissions blamed for global warming. The United States committed to reducing its own by 26 to 28 percent, compared with 2005 levels, by 2025. The agreement has been criticized as far too cautious to hold back the rise in temperatures by more than a fraction of what is needed - but its defenders say its enrolment of almost all the world’s governments makes it crucial. Steffen Kallbekken, Research Director at the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research in Oslo, called Trump’s move “monumentally irresponsible”. “It is difficult to imagine a decision that would be a more devastating blow to the positive momentum behind the Paris Agreement, and to the prospects of raising climate ambition over time,” he said. Niklas Hoehne of Germany’s New Climate Institute said a U.S. pullout could corrode the resolve of other nations, perhaps including hydrocarbon powers Saudi Arabia and Russia. The big achievement of the Paris Agreement is that it was supported by all countries,” he said. “If the U.S. is out that doesn’t work any more.” Former President Barack Obama helped broker the Paris accord and praised it during a trip to Europe this month. Trump has called the idea of global warming a hoax. Canada, the European Union and China have said they will honor their commitments to the pact if the United States withdraws. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Spain’s Mariano Rajoy in Madrid on Wednesday, and both countries reaffirmed their Paris commitments, without mentioning the United States. French President Emmanuel Macron said at a weekend summit in Italy he was sure Trump would back the deal after listening to his G7 counterparts. That hope appears to have been quickly dashed. At a Wednesday news conference, a government spokesman said Macron had told a cabinet meeting France would be “very pro-active” in working to ensure the Paris accord was implemented. “Depending on the stance some people or others are taking, we’ll have to be very pro-active for France to be the homeland of the (fight against) climate change,” the spokesman said. Macron had “asked his ministers to take a number of initiatives, with our European partners or directly in France”. European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic said of a U.S. pullout: “It would be disappointing but I really do not think this would change the course of mankind. “There is a much stronger expectation from our partners across the world from Africa, Asia and China that Europe should assume leadership in this effort and we are ready to do that,” Sefcovic said. Guy Verhofstadt, leader of the liberal group in the European Parliament, sent a tweet in the literary style of the U.S. president: “Trump puts his ego ahead of the future of our planet - sad! Let’s double down on our efforts to make the #ParisAgreement a success.” Johan Rockstrom, director of the Stockholm Resilience Centre, called Trump’s decision “irresponsible and egoistic”. “It’s now up to the European Union, India and China to take the lead” on climate change, he said. “The U.S. is going from being a global leader to putting itself in a very destructive minority position.” But he predicted the deal would survive without Washington. Denmark’s energy and climate minister Lars Christian Lilleholt told Reuters: “It will be necessary for the EU to show leadership if the U.S. should pull out of the deal.” Judy Wakhungu, Kenya’s cabinet secretary for environment and natural resources, said her government would be “very disappointed” by a U.S. withdrawal and hoped it could be reversed. “We all live on the same Earth and face the same challenges,” she added. Friends of the Earth’s U.S. president Erich Pica said: “By pulling out of the Paris Agreement, Trump will make the United States the world’s foremost climate villain.” Some observers saw chances that Washington would not, in the end, pull out. “I hope that the president will be swayed instead by the rather sensible advice he is receiving from his Secretary of State, his Secretary of Defense and his Chief Economic Adviser, who have all recommended against withdrawal,” said Bob Ward of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change at the London School of Economics.

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Obamacare exploding? Maybe just a slow burn

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that Obamacare was “exploding” after Republican lawmakers shelved legislation that would have dismantled the healthcare law. That’s not going to happen this month. Probably not even this year. The more than 12 million people who bought 2017 health insurance plans on HealthCare.gov and other websites the law created are not in danger of losing their healthcare or having their premiums go up right now, experts say. But 2018 is another story. Republicans could choose to pass a budget that defunds Obamacare’s cost-sharing subsidies, which help low-income people cover out-of-pocket and other medical costs. But that would be highly unpopular among consumers who would likely blame the president and Congress for skyrocketing healthcare costs, experts said. “That is one of the ways that is available to monkey wrench the Affordable Care Act,” said Morgan Tilleman, an associate with the law firm Foley & Lardner, who represents insurers. Obamacare, former Democratic President Barack Obama’s signature legislation created by the Affordable Care Act of 2010, has had a tough beginning. The mix of sick and healthy customers has been worse than expected, and premium rates on the individual insurance market went up 25 percent this year. Other parts of the law, like the expansion of Medicaid to enhance coverage for the poor, and changes to allow young people to stay on their parents’ health plans, have been popular. And the defeat of the bill is a win for the hospitals that have benefited from those increased Medicaid dollars. But many counties across the country have only one insurer, after Humana Inc, Aetna Inc and UnitedHealth Group Inc pulled out after reporting hundreds of millions of dollars of losses. The insurers who are left, Anthem Inc and other BlueCross BlueShield insurers across the country, as well as smaller players like Centene Corp and Molina Healthcare Inc need to decide in the next few months where to sell insurance and how much to charge. And that is where the market’s slow burn takes off, with insurers leaving and premiums rising. Jeff Jonas, a portfolio manager at Gabelli Funds who focuses on health care, said that for consumers, 2018 looks uncertain, with a “death spiral” of decreasing competition and increasing premium rates ramping up. After the failed Republican effort to push through the bill, insurers are looking at changes to help 2018, America’s Health Insurance Plans spokeswoman Kristine Grow said. That includes the market’s cost-sharing subsidies as well as other government payments for sicker-than-usual customers and finalizing a rule the Trump administration proposed that addresses issues insurers say drives up costs. The Trump administration could do some of that itself if it wants to, such as using its regulatory authority to adjust the formula for how it compensates insurers for the sickest people, Elizabeth Carpenter at healthcare consultancy and research firm Avalere Health said. But it is unknown if the administration will try to work within the law’s existing framework or take actions to undermine it and blame the Democrats for its failure. “If they fail to act and they don’t act in an appropriate way, that will further destabilize the marketplace,” Dr. Mario Molina, CEO of Molina Healthcare, said. Molina’s enrollment ballooned to 1 million exchange enrollees this year and the company is weighing if it will submit plans for next year. The administration could also decide to not enforce the individual mandate, which requires that everyone purchase health insurance or pay a fine. It already took steps to erode that provision last month, when it backed off implementing tougher oversight that was due to go into effect for 2016 taxes. Experts said the individual mandate still cost less than purchasing insurance, but as it increases each year more young and healthy people would have incentive to join the healthcare market, helping to offset the cost of sicker patients. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that 14 million more people would be uninsured under the Republican bill next year, with most of the increase coming from the repeal of the penalty associated with the individual mandate. It’s unclear what the Republicans will do. Trump said this bill had been shelved but that Republicans would end up with a “great” healthcare bill in the future, but for now that they are moving onto tax reform. Until they do that, they will have to work within the 2010 Affordable Care Act. It can also undercut the healthcare law through regulatory authority at the Department of Health and Human Services.

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GOLDMAN SACHS CHAIRMAN THINKS UK NEEDS MORE MIGRANTS TO AVOID APPEARANCE OF RACISM…While SHOCKING NEW VIDEO Tells Another Story

Don t worry the liberal elite always know what s best for the little people.Goldman Sachs Chairman and UN Special Representative for Migration Peter Sutherland said yesterday that Britain should take in more migrants in order to avoid creating an environment of xenophobia and racism .Shocking footage filmed in the French port town of Calais shows desperate migrants attempting to break into delivery trucks heading to the United Kingdom in another illustration of how the country s generous welfare system acts as a beacon for illegal aliens.The clip shows huge gangs of migrants roaming around on a highway attempting to attack vehicles.Police or immigration authorities are nowhere to be seen as migrants rip open the back door of a truck before attempting to pull down its contents to make their way inside, while others try to pull off an underside panel.A tour guide on the bus from where the footage is being filmed tells passengers, Don t panic guys, we have locked all of the doors. Try not to panic guys. Passengers are heard gasping in shock, with one commenting, This is what we ve seen on TV. The migrants are keen to reach the UK because they can exploit the country s generous welfare system and obtain a much higher standard of living than in France, where they are forced to reside in a makeshift tent village in Calais known as the jungle .Around 2,500 migrants live in the tent village, with most of them coming from Sudan, Eritrea, Libya and Syria.The situation is so dire that a leading haulage group warned earlier this month that freight carriers could suspend supplies going through Calais altogether, causing food shortages and massive price hikes.Donald Armour, International Affairs Manager at the Freight Transport Association, told the Daily Express that the UK supply chain is in danger of collapsing as a result of drivers refusing to go through Calais.Last month, Maru International haulage company announced that they were boycotting Calais over fears that somebody will be killed by migrants attempting to enter the UK.Via: Info Wars

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Sepp Blatter and Deputies Arranged Huge Payouts After Indictments, FIFA Says - The New York Times

Days after several of his colleagues were awakened in their hotel rooms by the police and arrested on corruption charges last year, Sepp Blatter, the longtime president of FIFA, made an important decision. He decided he deserved a raise. With soccer in crisis and an unprecedented scandal beginning to boil, Mr. Blatter — who had just won to a record fifth term — signed a new employment contract that increased his salary to $3 million a year and guaranteed him a $12 million bonus if he completed his mandate. That arrangement, completed just as FIFA was plunging into organizational chaos, was one of many instances in which three of FIFA’s top officials arranged over five years to pay themselves more than $80 million, according to an internal investigation of world soccer’s governing body by the American law firm Quinn Emanuel. It was the latest in a series of accusations about a culture of corruption pervading FIFA. For years, top soccer officials have been accused of using bribes and payoffs to profit from their roles overseeing the billions of dollars FIFA and other governing bodies generate through tournaments like the World Cup. But in the past year, dozens of soccer officials — though not the three accused Friday — have been charged with fraud, racketeering and money laundering in a broad corruption investigation led by the United States Justice Department. On Friday, lawyers from Quinn Emanuel, which was hired by FIFA in the wake of last year’s arrests, published a synopsis of some of the findings of their own investigation. In it, they identified three former FIFA officials — Mr. Blatter and his former deputies Jérôme Valcke and Markus Kattner — as having mounted a “coordinated effort” to enrich themselves through a series of raises, bonuses and other payments. The three were also accused of modifying the termination clauses in their employment contracts to ensure that they would receive payouts even if they were fired for cause. “They had the authority they needed,” Quinn Emanuel investigators wrote of Mr. Blatter, Mr. Valcke and Mr. Kattner, “and they simply told payroll and HR, the department generally in charge for employment contracts at FIFA and which reported to Mr. Kattner, how much should be paid out and to whom. ” In a statement responding to the accusations, Mr. Blatter’s lawyer, Richard Cullen, said Friday, “We look forward to showing FIFA that Mr. Blatter’s compensation payments were proper, fair and in line with the heads of major professional sports leagues around the world. ” Mr. Valcke and Mr. Kattner did not immediately respond to FIFA’s statement. None of the three men currently work for FIFA. Mr. Blatter was barred from soccer by FIFA in December and replaced by a new president, Gianni Infantino, in an election in February. FIFA suspended Mr. Valcke, Mr. Blatter’s longtime deputy, last fall and fired him in January amid accusations of corruption. Mr. Valcke was replaced temporarily as secretary general by FIFA’s finance director, Mr. Kattner. That effectively placed Mr. Kattner in control of FIFA’s finances in the months leading to this year’s presidential election, but he, too, was fired, in May, after FIFA said it had discovered he had breached his fiduciary duty to the organization. The accusations by FIFA and its lawyers seemed intended to paint a picture of a leadership group operating outside FIFA financial controls: ■ In 2010, Mr. Blatter, Mr. Valcke and Mr. Kattner were awarded $23 million in retroactive bonuses for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa that FIFA said were not called for under their employment agreements. ■ In 2011, with Mr. Blatter in a contested election for the FIFA presidency, Mr. Valcke and Mr. Kattner were given contract extensions that included guarantees that they would receive full payment of their salaries if they lost their jobs, a likely outcome under a new president. ■ That same year, Mr. Blatter received a bonus of 12 million Swiss francs (about $12 million) for overseeing the 2014 World Cup. ■ In May 2015, only days after the arrests of several of their colleagues in Zurich, Mr. Blatter, who signed a contract in 2008 that paid him 2 million Swiss francs (about $2 million) a year, executed a new contract that increased his salary to about $3 million and included the prospect of another performance bonus of $12 million if he completed his term. A day after that, Mr. Kattner’s contract was extended four years — through December 2023 — and modified to include a clause that he be paid in full even if he was fired. In its statement, FIFA dryly labeled the timing of that contract extension “noteworthy. ” The details of Quinn Emanuel’s investigation deflected attention — at least momentarily — away from two other FIFA stories this week: the news that the Swiss attorney general’s office had conducted a new raid on FIFA headquarters in Zurich on Friday as part of a continuing investigation into possible corruption, and recent issues regarding transparency that have plagued Mr. Infantino. Earlier this week, a German newspaper reported that Mr. Infantino had worked behind the scenes to marginalize FIFA’s independent auditor in a leadership power struggle. That situation came to light when the auditor, Domenico Scala, abruptly resigned at FIFA’s recent Congress in Mexico, saying that Mr. Infantino and others had orchestrated a change in FIFA’s bylaws that shifted the power to hire and fire the independent ethics officials with FIFA’s new governing council — a body led by Mr. Infantino. FIFA has defended Mr. Infantino by saying the shift was done to protect the organization against the possibility it might be unable to separate itself from individuals who come under investigation, but the assertion seemed to run counter to Mr. Infantino’s professed support for reform and his stated goal of greater separation of powers at FIFA. Then this week came the German report, which said that Mr. Infantino had instructed FIFA staff members to delete recordings of an executive session in which removing Mr. Scala had been discussed. Mr. Scala, as part of his role leading the audit and compliance committee, also was responsible for setting Mr. Infantino’s salary — a process that reportedly had gone poorly, with Mr. Infantino describing Mr. Scala’s initial proposal of a $2 million salary as “insulting. ” All of this comes as FIFA tries to emerge from the worst corruption scandal in its history, a period which began just over a year ago when more than a dozen soccer and sports marketing officials with ties to soccer’s global governing body were arrested in predawn raids before a FIFA meeting in Zurich. Several have pleaded guilty to corruption charges in the United States, including more FIFA executives arrested in a second Zurich raid in December. Many of those executives held top posts in the FIFA led by Mr. Blatter, Mr. Valcke and Mr. Kattner, so it was not surprising that more detailed allegations against the three men might emerge. In its news release on Friday, FIFA and its lawyers accused Mr. Blatter, Mr. Valcke and Mr. Kattner of working together to bulk up their compensation in agreements as far back as 2007. The evidence, the lawyers said, revealed breaches of fiduciary duty and also raised questions about FIFA’s internal financial controls, especially the role of its compensation subcommittee. It was unclear whether all the salary and bonuses were paid and if FIFA would seek to recover any of it. FIFA said that all of the contracts would face further investigation, and that it had shared its findings with the Swiss attorney general’s office and would do the same with the Justice Department.

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FBI Folds: Comey Announces No Criminal Charges Against Hillary Clinton

Leave a reply Mike Adams – Under FBI head James Comey, who has deliberately and clearly conspired to cover up the enormous number of crimes committed by Hillary Clinton and her closest staffers, the FBI’s investigation of additional emails is now concluded. “We have not changed our conclusions that we expressed in July with respect to Secretary Clinton,” Comey announced today. With this decision, James Comey essentially announces that the tyranny of criminal government in Washington is now complete . The rule of law has just been declared null and void by the head of the FBI. No sufficiently powerful person in Washington will ever be held accountable for their crimes… including crimes of treason against the nation, bribery, corruption, destruction of evidence and selling government influence. Unless something reverses very quickly, the FBI has now cemented its position as nothing more than a corrupt branch of a totalitarian criminal regime that has seized power in Washington to protect the criminal class of political elitists who rule over the nation as lawless tyrants. Now, it’s up to rogue FBI agents or the NYPD to go public with the evidence they have and expose the horrifying truth about what the Clintons really are, pedophilia and all. If that fails, my analysis says we may see a rapid ramping up of real talk of open revolt , perhaps even leading to an armed citizens’ march on Washington to depose the criminal regime in power. As I’ve pointed out before, that effort would only require a few thousand armed citizens to achieve the occupation of key government buildings and the overthrow of the criminals in power. Sadly, it would also involve tremendous bloodshed and loss of life. (Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.) Here’s the letter James Comey sent out today: I write to supplement my October 28, 2016 letter that notified you the FBI would be taking additional investigative steps with respect to former Secretary of State Clinton’s use of a personal email server. Since my letter, the FBI investigative team has been working around the clock to process and review a large volume of emails from a device obtained in connection with an unrelated criminal investigation. During that process, we reviewed all of the communications that were to or from Hillary Clinton while she was Secretary of State. Based on our review, we have not changed our conclusions that we expressed in July with respect to Secretary Clinton. I am very grateful to the professionals at the FBI for doing an extraordinary amount f high-quality work in a short period of time. Source: UK Daily Mail . SF Source Natural News

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Algeria picks up 286 boat migrants en route to Europe

ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algeria s coastguard has picked up 286 illegal migrants heading across the Mediterranean to Europe by boat, the Defence Ministry has said. The migrants were detained on several boats between Thursday and Saturday, according to a ministry statement carried on Sunday by the state news agency, APS. Algeria has so far seen relatively few attempts to cross to Europe by boat, compared to the hundreds of thousands of mostly African would-be migrants who have set off in search of prosperity or security from elsewhere along the north African coast, mostly from Libya. Most illegal crossings from Algeria take place in summer, when sailing conditions are more favorable. Neighboring Tunisia has recently seen a surge in such departures as young unemployed people seek work in Italy. Algeria s economy is also suffering as its vital energy revenues have been hit by a sharp fall in prices.

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SYRIA UPDATE: Russia negotiating with Turkey to withdraw Jihadis from Aleppo

November 2, 2016 555 Russian and Turkish military chiefs meet in Moscow today as Russia publicly demands withdrawal of all Jihadis from Aleppo. Share on Facebook Following the failure of the Al-Qaeda attempt to break the siege of the Jihadi held district of Aleppo, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is giving the Jihadis in eastern Aleppo what is effectively an ultimatum. The terms of this ultimatum have been set out by General Valery Gerasimov, the Chief of the Russian military’s General Staff: “Taking into account that our American colleagues are incapable of separating the opposition from terrorists, we appeal to all the leaders of armed groups directly to stop combat actions and leave Aleppo with their arms.” (bold italics added) To this end two corridors have been opened to enable the Jihadis to retreat, one heading towards the Turkish border, and the other heading to the Al-Qaeda controlled western Syrian city of Idlib. In addition there are a further six humanitarian corridors for civilians to use if they want to leave. Gerasimov is currently engaged in meetings in Moscow with General Hulusi Akar , the Chief of the Turkish military’s General Staff, who is currently visiting him in Moscow. Having despaired of getting the US to separate Al-Qaeda/Jabhat Al-Nusra from the other Jihadis in Aleppo, and getting them to withdraw, it is likely the Russians are trying to agree the same thing with the Turks. Indeed Gerasimov’s comments today essentially say as much. Given that the Jihadis fighting in Syria totally depend on Turkey for their supplies, if the Turkish leadership tells them to quit eastern Aleppo there is a possibility that they may finally accept that the game is up and heed the call. The same thing has after all recently happened in other Syrian towns and cities, including in the formerly Jihadi controlled suburbs of Damascus. Note that Putin’s ultimatum is phrased differently from the way it was before. The Kerry-Lavrov agreement of 9th September 2016 offered the non Al-Qaeda Jihadis the option of staying in eastern Aleppo after they had separated themselves from Al-Qaeda/Jabhat Al-Nusra, who the agreement implicitly required to leave. In the subsequent discussions in the UN Security Council that took place around the proposed French Resolution, the Russians made it clear that the Al-Qaeda/Jabhat Al-Nusra was required to leave, and this was the demand the UN envoy Staffan de Mistura supposedly supported, though as I have discussed previously the terms under which he did it actually nullified it. Now Putin through Gerasimov is demanding that all Jihadi fighters in eastern Aleppo leave, irrespective of whether they belong to Al-Qaeda/Jabhat Al-Nusra or not. In other words over the course of the autumn, as the US has hesitated and reneged on its promises, the Russians have quietly raised their demands. They now want Aleppo totally rid of Jihadi fighters and handed over entirely to the Syrian government. This was surely the Russian objective all along, but it has now been made clear. As to what happens if the Jihadi fighters in eastern Aleppo reject this demand, Gerasimov pointed it out to them : “The militants’ efforts to break loose from the city have failed. The terrorists have suffered huge losses in manpower, weapons and equipment. They are unable to pull out of the city.” In other words the Jihadis in eastern Aleppo are trapped with no way out and no-one is coming to their rescue. According to RT’s Arabic service (as reported by the Iranian news agency Fars) the Jihadis have themselves admitted that they suffered casualties (dead and wounded) numbering between 2,200 and 2,500 men in their failed attempt to break the siege of eastern Aleppo over the last few days. Meanwhile the Syrian aligned Al-Masdar news agency is reporting that it has been told by a Syrian army source that following the deployment of elite and Special Forces troops to Aleppo, if the Syrian army returns to the offensive “unlike the previous offensives in Aleppo City, this assault will not be halted for any reason.” Gerasimov is reported to have said that the ceasefire to enable the Jihadis to retreat from Aleppo will take effect at 9:00 am local time on Friday 4th November 2016, and will expires at 7 pm on the same day. However if the Jihadis agree to leave Aleppo and take actual steps to do so, that period will presumably be extended. Much will probably depend on the outcome of the talks General Gerasimov is having with General Hulusi Akar today.

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German legal experts say Poland has no right to WW2 reparations: report

BERLIN (Reuters) - German parliamentary legal experts, reacting to calls by some Polish politicians, have ruled that Warsaw has no right to demand Berlin pay reparations for World War Two, according to a document obtained by a German newspaper. The experts found any claims related to German crimes had become unfeasible at latest in 1990 when a treaty was signed by East and West Germany, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States ahead of German reunification, according to Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ). The experts, who provide independent advice to the German parliament, said EU partner Poland had, during the treaty negotiations, at least implicitly waived their right to assert them , FAZ cited the report as saying. They said it was agreed back then that this treaty blocks any reparation demands against Germany to the present day , FAZ reported. In recent weeks, Polish politicians and officials have stepped up calls for compensation, but the government has yet to officially demand any reparations. Johannes Singhammer, the vice-president of the Bundestag lower house and a member of the Christian Social Union (CSU) - the Bavarian sister party to Chancellor Angela Merkel s Christian Democrats (CDU), had commissioned the report. He told FAZ: The Polish demand for reparations, which does not stand a chance from a legal point of view, is contrary to the joint future project between Germany and Poland and could instead have dangerous effects. On Thursday, Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo said that by seeking reparations, Poland would be asking for justice. We are the victims of World War Two, the damages have not been repaid in any way, quite to the contrary, Szydlo said. Several Polish government sources told Reuters that it is unlikely Poland will officially ask for repayments, but it also could not be completely ruled out.

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Rodrigo Duterte on Killing Criminal Suspects: ‘I Used to Do It Personally’ - The New York Times

President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines, overseer of a contentious and bloody crackdown on drug dealers and users, boasted on Monday about having personally killed criminal suspects when he was mayor of Davao City. “In Davao, I used to do it personally — just to show to the guys that if I can do it, why can’t you?” Mr. Duterte told business leaders at a meeting in Manila, explaining how he goaded police officers to gun down suspects. “And I’d go around in Davao with a motorcycle, with a big bike around, and I would just patrol the streets, looking for trouble also,” he said, according to The Manila Times. “I was really looking for a confrontation, so I could kill. ” Mr. Duterte is known both for his tough stance on crime and for controversial remarks. He has acknowledged killing before — in 2015, he said that he had killed at least three men suspected of kidnapping and rape in Davao City — but his remarks on Monday appeared to be his first such public admission since he became president. When he was mayor of Davao City, Mr. Duterte was known to carry a . 38 pistol and was accused of overseeing a death squad to kill people suspected of being criminals. As president, he has led a nationwide “war on drugs” by the police and vigilante groups, which has left more than 3, 000 people dead. Hours earlier on Monday, Mr. Duterte spoke at an awards ceremony in Manila, where he said, “I am not a killer,” and then threatened to kill police officers who disobeyed him. “I do not relish or enjoy a Filipino sprawled there with all the blood,” he said, according to the Philippine Star. “With regard to the killing of persons on bended knees, with hands tied behind their back, that’s not ours. Will that make you a better soldier or policeman? If they do that, I’ll shoot them. ” Though he has led a brutal crackdown on drug addicts, Mr. Duterte seemed to imply in his remarks to the business leaders that he had overused an addictive drug himself. Speaking in English, Mr. Duterte said he had been prescribed the powerful painkiller fentanyl because of chronic back pain and migraine headaches. “I was only given a fourth of that square thing,” he said, describing a patch containing the drug that was to be applied to the nape of his neck. “There was a time that if I took two — of course, my doctor learned that I was using the whole patch, because I felt better. ” The Philippine Star posted a video of the speech online. A hit man told a Philippine Senate committee in September, as part of an inquiry into extrajudicial killings in Davao City, that Mr. Duterte had personally ordered the killing of citizens when he was mayor. In October, Mr. Duterte compared himself to Hitler, saying that he would be “happy to slaughter” three million drug addicts.

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Shocking! Nostradamus Predicted Donald Trump's Rise To Power!

There have been many prophets and seers throughout the ages with both wonderful and terrible predictions. Some of the greatest and most accurate prophecies we ever encountered comes from the words of french seer Michel de Nostredame, better known by his latin coverted name "Nostradamus". During the 16th century, he looked into the future and saw many great calamities engulfing the world, the world wars and even Donald Trump rising to power as President of the United States of America. Conspiracy theorists are going crazy about these predictions, one of these even speaks of the beginning of a great and terrible war ordered by the "false trumpet". It talks about Greece becoming a landmark for immigrants and refugees which has been a topic at the centre of Trump's candidacy . So what's gonna become of the world now? How big will the American Wall be? Disclose TV SOURCE

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WOW! LOCAL OFFICIAL STUNNED When He Sees Name Written By A Parent On Halloween Tombstone For School Fundraiser

Liberalism is truly a mental disorder. Sadly, the children of these parents who are so consumed by hate, that they behave like schoolyard bullies, are going to be the ones who pay the price in the end Kids tossing bean bags at a mock tombstone for President Trump at a public school was a despicable display of dirty politics the adults forced on the unwitting children, a Gloucester Republican official said, as the furor continued to grow.School officials have apologized for a parent-teacher organization fundraiser last week at West Parish Elementary School but one GOP official fears the damage is already done. I don t think it s appropriate to put the sitting president s name on a tombstone. It s disrespectful to the office of the president, no matter who he is, said Amanda Kesterson, who heads the Gloucester Republican City Committee. Unfortunately, she told the Herald, in Massachusetts in particular, where Republicans are the minority party and the president is unpopular, I think there is a belief that joking about the president is acceptable and it s not. Boston Herald

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TRUMP CUTS OFF FUNDRAISING EVENTS FOR REPUBLICAN PARTY

Email Donald Trump’s campaign has ended fundraising events meant to support the Republican Party’s get-out-the-vote efforts in next month’s elections. Aides to the Republican nominee told Fox News that Trump Victory, the joint fundraising committee for the GOP and the campaign, held its most recent fundraiser on Oct. 19 and no more such events were scheduled. The move, which was first reported by The Washington Post, cuts off a key money source for Republicans hoping to keep hold of both houses of Congress. “We’ve kind of wound down,” Trump national finance chairman Steven Mnuchin told the Post. “But the online fundraising continues to be strong.” By contrast, the Post reported that Democrat Hillary Clinton’s campaign has scheduled 41 fundraising events between now and Nov. 4. The former secretary of state was scheduled to make her last personal fundraising appearance Tuesday in Miami. Mnuchin told the paper that the real estate mogul was focusing on making his final pitch to the voters at a campaign events rather than raising money in the final two weeks of the race. “We have minimized his fundraising schedule over the last month to emphasize his focus on political [events],” Mnuchin said of the candidate. “Unlike Hillary, who has been fundraising and not out and about, he has constantly been out and about.” According to the Post, the Republican National Committee had collected $40 million through Trump Victory as of Sept. 30. RNC spokeswoman Lindsay Walters said the organization “[continues] to fundraise for the entire GOP ticket.” Meanwhile, Politico reported Tuesday that the Senate Leadership Fund, a Super PAC with ties to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., was putting $25 million into seven Senate races deemed crucial in determining the balance of power on Capitol hill.

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Why Bomb Suspect’s Travels Didn’t Set Off More Scrutiny - The New York Times

WASHINGTON — To an amateur eye, Ahmad Khan Rahami’s travel history might appear to be a red flag: He had traveled to Pakistan, the home of Al Qaeda, four times between 2005 and 2014. The last time he stayed for a year. So Mr. Rahami’s arrest in the bombings last weekend in New York and New Jersey — and the revelation that he cited jihadist leaders in his journal — has raised an obvious question: Did the government miss something? Possibly. But Mr. Khan’s extended family, originally from Afghanistan, lives in Pakistan, and he told customs officials on his return from his trips that he had been visiting family, officials said. He had married a Pakistani woman during a 2011 visit. In 2014, he had to arrange an American passport for their baby, born that year in Pakistan. Both are plausible explanations for an extended stay. An initial review of the government’s handling of Mr. Rahami’s travel, based on records described by law enforcement officials, suggests no obvious lapses. That could change if more details of his exchanges with border officials become public. In 2006 and 2011, Mr. Rahami was subjected to extra airport screening, but no further consequences, when he returned to the United States, officials said. Mr. Rahami’s arrival at Kennedy International Airport in March 2014 appears to have received the most scrutiny. Because he had arrived on a ticket from Pakistan — a trigger for extra attention — he was questioned again in a secondary interview. But for an American returning home from a lengthy stay abroad, the ticket he used made sense, and he was not held or further delayed. Officials now believe that Mr. Rahami may have taken a side trip to Ankara, Turkey, in January 2014. It is not clear whether he informed customs officials about that trip. Still, customs officers who spoke with him thought information from the interview should be shared more broadly, so they forwarded a report to the National Targeting Center, an analysis hub run by U. S. Customs and Border Protection. Officers at the center, in turn, thought the report on Mr. Rahami was significant enough to distribute to other law enforcement agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in a summary that is sent out every few days. Officials familiar with the report said it contained no hard information that might have caused alarm or prompted immediate action. Certainly, there was nothing approaching the significance of a statement that Mr. Rahami’s father gave to the F. B. I. five months later, in which he said he thought that his son might be involved in terrorism. The National Targeting Center, near Washington, was set up after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and became part of the customs and border agency in 2002. In 2007, it was divided into two parts, one focusing on cargo, the other on passengers. Its operations were stepped up further after the underwear bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, tried to blow up an airliner as it prepared to land in Detroit. In recent weeks, the passenger and cargo operations were combined into one office again, officials said. Dozens of officers comb through passenger lists for all flights arriving in the United States, which include about 300, 000 people each day, as well as cargo manifests — looking, in essence, for the needle in the haystack. The center is in charge of identifying people who should be stopped or questioned at the borders. It also writes guidelines for when customs officers should send passengers from certain countries or with unusual travel itineraries for additional questioning, as happened with Mr. Rahami. The center has had its problems. A 2011 report from the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general found that it had a staff shortage and described a cumbersome data system that made complete checks on incoming passengers difficult and . Targeting specialists at the time used “as many as four computer monitors with different databases open concurrently,” the report said. For years after the 2001 attacks, one of the F. B. I. ’s primary concerns was trying to catch Americans traveling to Pakistan to join Al Qaeda, in an effort to disrupt recruiting networks. Today, by contrast, the bureau is most intently focused on homegrown violent extremists who may be plotting attacks in the United States. Travel to hot spots no longer stands out as an automatic sign of danger, especially when there is a reasonable explanation. “It is an indicator, but you don’t even need to travel anymore to conduct an attack,” said Brenda Heck, a former senior F. B. I. counterterrorism agent who retired in 2012. “It is less now of an indicator than when I was working there. ” Still, as an F. B. I. agent, Ms. Heck said she would want to know what Mr. Rahami was doing in Pakistan. “On one side of it, he’s likely got family, but we can’t know exactly what he did over there,” she said. “That’s troubling. ” The elaborate security measures in place for years at United States borders do not always work. In May 2013, a young man named Moner Mohammad Abusalha landed in Newark and was pulled aside for additional questioning. He told officers he had been in Jordan visiting family. In fact, he had secretly traveled to Syria. One of the officers was suspicious and called his mother in Florida. She verified his story, and Mr. Abusalha passed through customs. The F. B. I. was never told about the call to the mother or about the officer’s suspicions. Mr. Abusalha later returned to Syria, joined a Qaeda affiliate in Syria and blew himself up in an attack.

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Woman Claims Nail Salon Posted Sign Saying Fat Clients Must Pay More - Breitbart

A nail salon in Tennessee is facing an uproar after a woman claimed it posted a sign saying customers must pay more for the business’s services. [“Sorry, but if you are overweight, pedicures will be $45 due to service fees for pedicurists. Thank you!” reads a sign on a nondescript wall, seen in a photo the woman posted to Facebook. “So rude,” said Deshania Ferguson, who published the image. Ferguson claims that she saw the sign in a local salon called Rose Nails, which charges up to $30 for a pedicure. The image has been shared more than 500 times, with others balking at the alleged price increase. The Daily Mail tried calling the salon, but a person on the other line claimed that they had the wrong number. WREG got in touch with the nail salon’s owner, Son Nguyen, and spoke with him in person. Nguyen denied that the sign existed despite the viral photo. Nguyen did, however, tell the station that he and his wife who run the salon have turned away overweight people because it is “difficult for technicians to give them pedicures. ” He says that two chairs have been broken as a result of his larger clientele, which cost him $2, 500 to repair or replace them. “They took the sign down and denied ever having it up … pictures are worth a thousand words,” Ferguson posted to Facebook Friday.

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‘Hamilton’ Cast’s Appeal to Pence Ignites Showdown With Trump - The New York Times

A surprising confrontation erupted on Saturday between Donald J. Trump and the cast and creators of the Broadway hit “Hamilton,” setting off furious debate over American principles like free speech, respect and the ability to challenge authority in the Trump era. Trump demanded an apology from the cast for making a rare, politically charged appeal from the stage on Friday night to Vice Mike Pence, who was in the audience, urging him and Mr. Trump to “uphold our American values” and “work on behalf of all of us. ” Mr. Trump’s response significantly escalated an unusual protest inside a theater into a furor on social media and cable news. Mr. Trump, who has stirred bipartisan concern over his habit of attacking those who challenge him, said on Twitter that the actors had “harassed” Mr. Pence, and he issued a battle cry to his supporters by saying that the musical’s cast had criticized “our wonderful future VP Mike Pence. ” He continued to assail the show on Twitter on Saturday night, writing that the actors had been “very rude and insulting” to Mr. Pence and claiming that they “couldn’t even memorize lines” — though he offered no evidence and then deleted the message. The clash between the “Hamilton” actors and Mr. Trump captured the sharply divergent feelings of many Americans 11 days after the election: a showdown between the values of multiculturalism on the left, including the racially diverse “Hamilton” cast and the world of entertainment, and the conservative principles of the incoming Republican administration, which was backed strongly by white voters and traditional Republicans. Mr. Trump framed the cast’s appeal as a violation of “a safe and special place” — borrowing a favored phrase of the left and of campus protesters it was not clear whether he did so derisively or in earnest. His maneuver, in two posts to Twitter early Saturday, stunned the cast members and, judging by social media, jolted many Americans who are worried about the ’s tolerance for dissent after a campaign in which he was criticized for inflaming racial tensions. But it also touched off reaction among other Americans who treasure the traditions of, and respect for, the office of the presidency, and viewed the statement — and the booing of Mr. Pence by some theatergoers before the performance — as out of line. On Saturday, one supporter of Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter that the “Hamilton” statement was “a staged hit job. ” Another wrote that actors should never “humiliate a member of the audience. ” Even some artists said it was wrong to deliver a surprise political message to an audience member after curtain call. “You don’t single out an audience member and embarrass him from the stage,” the musician Steven Van Zandt, a bandmate of Bruce Springsteen’s, wrote on Twitter. “A terrible precedent to set. ” Mr. Pence’s “Hamilton” seats were bought, not provided by the production as complimentary seats, according to two people with knowledge of the transaction. Matt Borges, the chairman of the Ohio Republican Party, who was often critical of Mr. Trump this year, said that though he would always support free expression, he was dismayed that the left was demanding respect from Mr. Pence while lecturing him disrespectfully in the eyes of many on the right. “It never ceases to amaze me how liberals desire acceptance and diversity for everything except political philosophy,” he said. But many theater artists cheered the “Hamilton” cast on Saturday. “The theater will always be a place that encourages and free thinking — which is exactly what makes the art form so vital and, frankly, exciting,” said Heather Hitchens, president of the American Theater Wing, a nonprofit that supports the arts and helps oversee the Tony Awards. “Hamilton,” itself a deeply political show about the United States as a nation of immigrants — with black or Hispanic actors playing George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and other founding fathers — has been celebrated by President Obama, Hillary Clinton and many other Democrats, as well as Republicans including former Vice President Dick Cheney. The “Hamilton” company learned late Friday that Mr. Pence and his family members would be attending that night’s performance. The show’s creator, Miranda, and others discussed the appropriateness of making a statement from the stage and decided to do it only after the show was over. Remarks were written and refined, and after curtain call, Brandon Victor Dixon, who plays Vice President Aaron Burr, took a microphone and pointed toward Mr. Pence. “You know, we have a guest in the audience this evening — Vice Pence, I see you walking out but I hope you hear just a few more moments,” Mr. Dixon said. As some in the audience booed, Mr. Dixon hushed them, then added, “Sir, we hope that you will hear us out. ” As Mr. Pence stood by the exit doors, Mr. Dixon said, “We, sir, are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us — our planet, our children, our parents — or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights, sir. But we truly hope this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and to work on behalf of all of us. All of us. ” The “Hamilton” episode is the first major collision between the two Americas brought into sharp relief by the Nov. 8 election. The values and politics championed by the cast are in conflict with the remarks and actions of Mr. Trump, who has called for deporting undocumented immigrants, has declined to forcefully denounce expressions of bigotry among his allies and has so far appointed only white men to major cabinet positions. He has also pledged to change libel laws and sue news media organizations whose coverage he does not like, and he has demonized street protesters who have criticized him. Although Mr. Pence listened to the entreaty inside the Richard Rodgers Theater on Friday and then stepped onto the sidewalk smiling, Mr. Trump took time out of preparing his new cabinet on Saturday to rally his supporters. Around 9 a. m. he wrote two Twitter posts saying the “Hamilton” actors had harassed Mr. Pence and had been “very rude last night to a very good man. ” “Apologize!” Mr. Trump wrote. Mr. Dixon, who read the statement after playing the nation’s third vice president, quickly replied with a post of his own: “@realDonaldTrump conversation is not harassment sir. And I appreciate @mike_pence for stopping to listen. ” Mr. Trump lashed out at the show, the most acclaimed Broadway production in years, at a time of demonstrations against his coming presidency. Those include frequent street protests outside Trump Tower along Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, which is less than a mile from the theater showing “Hamilton. ” The has both castigated the protesters and, after being chided for doing so, praised them for their passion. Advisers, however, say he has been frustrated by the suspicion and hostility that the demonstrators and other Americans continue to hold about his election. Mr. Trump’s escalation of the “Hamilton” matter also came a day after his $25 million settlement of a lawsuit against Trump University, leading some critics to claim online that he was trying to create a distraction amid negative attention to his surrender on a legal case he had vowed to fight. Some Republican strategists said they were not surprised that Mr. Trump chose to attack “Hamilton,” noting that the believed deeply in trying to project strength in the face of any kind of opposition. “ Trump is signaling that he will fight for his team and his policies,” said Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker and a strong Trump supporter. “Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher would have approved,” a reference to the former conservative leader in Britain who often tangled with artists and the left. But other Republicans said Mr. Trump’s posts on Twitter were inappropriate. “Fidelity to the First Amendment is an absolute requirement for an American president,” said Steve Schmidt, a veteran Republican strategist who advised John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign. “The address from the cast was respectful, but even if it wasn’t, they have a right to say it. ” The statement from the “Hamilton” cast on Friday was, on one level, a breach of theater protocol: Rarely if ever do actors on stage directly address a member of the audience and throw down a gauntlet like Mr. Dixon and his castmates did. The actors, with guidance from the show’s creators and producers, chose to wait until the show had ended and they had taken their bows before breaking the wall between performers and audience. They did so, they said, because it was such a tense and anxious time for the country, and because they thought they would be remiss in not taking an opportunity to address Mr. Pence directly. The tensions over the election seemed close at hand. Mrs. Clinton, who held a at a “Hamilton” performance this summer, embraced many of the values and views that the cast members described. Mr. Trump, who loves the theater music of Andrew Lloyd Webber and invested in a Broadway play early in his career, is otherwise not in sync with the liberal political outlook of many in the theater world — at least since he adopted sharply more conservative positions recently after many years as a socially liberal New Yorker. The first lady, Michelle Obama, described “Hamilton” as “the best piece of art in any form that I have ever seen in my life,” and President Obama held a at a “Hamilton” performance. Mr. Miranda was an outspoken supporter of Mrs. Clinton’s during the presidential race, saying in July, “Are you going to vote for the guy who wants to build a wall, or for someone who’s building bridges?” The plea to Mr. Pence was written by Mr. Miranda the show’s director, Thomas Kail and the lead producer, Jeffrey Seller, with contributions from cast members, according to Mr. Seller. In an interview after the show, Mr. Seller said he learned “very late that Mr. Pence was coming to the show, and the creative team and cast members quickly reckoned with how to respond. ” “We had to ask ourselves, ‘How do we cope with this? ’” Mr. Seller said. “Our cast could barely go on stage the day after the election. The election was painful and crushing to all of us here. We all struggled with what was the appropriate and respectful and proper response. We are honored that Mr. Pence attended the show and we had to use this opportunity to express our feelings. ”

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A Narrow Path of Hope Remains for the Cubs - The New York Times

CHICAGO — If the Chicago Cubs rally to win this World Series, the degree of difficulty will make the victory even sweeter. They would need to win three in a row from the Cleveland Indians, including two on the road, to make it happen. No baseball team has won quite that way since the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates upended the Orioles in Baltimore. But there is a recent precedent in sports: The Cleveland Cavaliers trailed the Golden State Warriors, three games to one, in the N. B. A. Finals in June, only to storm back and win the title in Oakland. It would be a cruel kind of karma for the Indians to lose in roughly the same way the Cavaliers won. But after four games of this World Series, there is little to show that the Cubs are up for it. The Indians’ formula — timely hitting and a few great pitchers — offers a narrow pathway to victory, but the Cubs have opened the lanes for them three times. “It’s just been abnormal in some ways,” Cubs Manager Joe Maddon said, in a true understatement. The Indians carry 12 pitchers but basically rely on four, and yet they are one win from a championship. “They’ve been outstanding through the entire postseason, and you can see it,” Maddon continued. “We’re obviously having a tough time, like the other teams did. ” The Indians swept Boston in their division series, holding the Red Sox to a . 214 batting average. They won four of five from Toronto in the American League Championship Series, holding the Blue Jays to a . 201 average. Now, through four games in the World Series, the Cubs are hitting . 204. Remember, these are the Cubs: the team that rocked the game’s best pitcher, Clayton Kershaw, to win the pennant last weekend and outscored opponents by 252 runs in the regular season. The Red Sox had the lead in run differential (184) in the majors, and the Blue Jays (93) ranked fifth. The old baseball adage rings true again. Good pitching (specifically from Corey Kluber, Andrew Miller, Bryan Shaw and Cody Allen) has throttled good hitting. Those pitchers have thrown 22 of the Indians’ 36 innings in this World Series, with a combined earned run average of 0. 82. The bonus was Josh Tomlin, who collected the first 13 outs of Game 3. Manager Terry Francona replaced him — during a shutout — with Miller, who teamed with Shaw and Allen to preserve a win on Friday. In Game 4, it was Kluber for six innings, Miller for two and, with a lead, Dan Otero for one. Francona said Allen might handle the middle innings in Sunday’s Game 5, with Miller positioned to finish off the Cubs at the end. Francona was too polite to frame it that way, but the Cubs are wounded now, and easily teased into taking the bait of the Indians’ power breaking stuff. “They attack you, but I don’t even know if it’s that,” said the Cubs’ Kris Bryant, who is 1 for 14 with three walks. “You see Miller and Allen, they don’t walk a lot of people because they get a lot of chases. If we’re able to do that — lay off those sliders down and in — maybe we walk a little more. ” The Cubs led the majors in walks this season but have drawn just four in their three Series losses. They also have just one homer in the World Series, a solo shot by Dexter Fowler off Miller in the eighth inning Saturday. When asked if there was anything positive for the Cubs to take from Game 4, first baseman Anthony Rizzo cited that moment, with a rueful smile. “Yeah — Dexter hitting a home run off Andrew Miller, getting him to give up a run, finally, in the postseason,” Rizzo said. “But we lost. In the playoffs, a win’s a win, a loss is a loss. That’s tough. ” After the Cubs lost Game 3 of the National League Championship Series, falling behind two games to one to the Los Angeles Dodgers, catcher Miguel Montero said they needed to stop swinging for the fences and think smaller. The next night, a bunt single by Ben Zobrist started a rally that led to the first of three comfortable victories. Montero, a veteran who has not started in the Series, sounded a similar theme on Saturday. “We’re all trying to hit a grand slam with nobody on,” he said. “It’s not gonna happen. We need to be a little more patient at the plate, play a little small ball. We’re all trying to hit the ball 110 miles an hour off the bat — no. We need to get a ground ball through the hole. Simple as that. ” On Sunday, at least, the Cubs should have a decided advantage at the start, sending Jon Lester to the mound against Trevor Bauer, who lost Game 2 in Cleveland on Wednesday and has never pitched on short rest. But the Indians are changing the way to think about postseason games: If the starter falters — and sometimes even if he doesn’t — an overpowering bullpen can take over early. The strategy has helped pushed the Cubs to the brink of elimination at Wrigley Field, where the Tigers celebrated a title in Game 7 of the last World Series played here, in 1945. A party seven decades in the making on the North Side of this city has turned into a letdown, and only a can save the Cubs now. “It’s fun for us to see the pictures of everybody outside, but we can’t get too caught up in that,” Bryant said. “Hopefully we win out, and the last four games will be forgotten. ” But the odds will be firmly against the Cubs. Since those 1979 Pirates, only the 1985 Kansas City Royals have climbed from a hole to win the World Series — but they had the last two games at home. Over all, the last 10 teams to drop three of the first four games in the World Series have ended up losing.

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Rachel Maddow Shines the Light on Trump’s White Supremacist Support

By Hrafnkell Haraldsson 9:04 am The KKK newspaper features the front page full page story "Make America Great Again" with a big featured center photo of Donald Trump Rachel Maddow traces the history of the post-Civil War “Enforcement Acts” signed by President Ulysses S. Grant, including the Ku Klux Klan Act , or The Enforcement Act of 1871 (17 Stat. 13), which still makes it illegal to conspire to intimidate voters. To show that the Klan Act is not “vestigial” but very much relevant in this election, Maddow points to the citation of this law by the Democrat Party in a “whole raft of lawsuits” in Nevada, Arizona, Pennsylvania and Ohio alleging voter intimidation. Maddow points out that though voter intimidation is illegal anyway, the significance of the Klan Act is that it prohibits “conspiracy” to “prevent by force, intimidation, or threat, any citizen who is lawfully entitled to vote, from giving his support or advocacy in a legal manner, toward or in favor of the election of any lawfully qualified person as an elector for President or Vice President, or as a member of Congress of the United States.” As an example of the role the KKK plays in Trump’s campaign, Maddow produced the KKK’s newspaper of today, which bills itself as “The Political Voice of White Christian America,” which, you might note, is identical with Fox News demographic. This paper, she says, “has been turning up on front lawns in the great state of Georgia.” Watch courtesy of MSNBC (discussion begins at 9:15 mark): Tonight we just got a hold of this disgusting development. This is the newspaper of the Ku Klux Klan today. It’s The Crusader, the political voice of white Christian America. The premier voice of white resistance. They’ve got — you see the white power symbol there in the upper right-hand corner? They’ve got a whole media operation going on apparently. Watch white pride TV, listen to KKK radio 24 hours a day. This newsletter is about 12 pages long, features articles on “the threat of nonwhite immigration,” a very subtle feature on black people committing terrible crimes against white people. There’s an article by the founder of the America First Party which is all about the terrorist Jews. He brags in his byline that he’s the man who David Duke credits for awakening him to the threat of Jewish supremacism. It’s exactly what you would think from the Ku Klux Klan newspaper. If you knew there was a Ku Klux Klan newspaper these days. But the front page full page story is “Make America Great Again” with a big featured center photo of Donald Trump. It’s one of several articles in the paper about Trump, including this in-set article about how Trump’s candidacy is “moving the dialogue forward.” […] Those are a couple of the many, many robocalls that were made during the Republican primary campaign on behalf of Donald Trump’s candidacy, calls made by a white nationalist group that calls itself the American National Super PAC. The Trump campaign doesn’t appear to have anything to do with these calls. They reportedly returned a donation from the white nationalist guy who you hear on the call when it was first reported that he was making these calls and that he was a Trump donor. It was further embarrassing to the Trump campaign when this guy, this farmer and white nationalist who does these robocalls, he was initially picked to be a Trump delegate to the Republican Convention this year before his delegate status once got yanked once it was widely reported. Donald Trump’s white supremacist followers have made no secret of the fact that they want a “White homeland” and that, of necessity, the United States must be this White homeland. As Maddow has pointed out in the past, and by their own admission, their “eugenics insanity” is now out in the open because of Donald Trump. Don’t believe Maddow? Demographics Pro looked at “10,000 Donald Trump Twitter supporters [and] found that more than one third follow white nationalist Twitter accounts.” The fact is, Trump has mainstreamed white supremacy and by not strongly denouncing it, brought it into his own “movement,” which seems to be a meeting place for much more than disaffected white working-class Americans, whatever the mainstream media tells you. The Trump campaign is a maelstrom of hate, and the KKK is right at the heart of it.

1real

In Iowa, Trump Voters Are Unfazed by Controversies - The New York Times

MONTICELLO, Iowa — The Table of Knowledge was delving into Donald J. Trump’s plans to upend government, and marveling at how he had forced his fellow Republicans in the House to reverse themselves on gutting the Office of Congressional Ethics. “He’s getting responses things are happening,” Jerry Retzlaff, a retiree, said. “He got Congress to turn themselves around with one tweet. ” “There’s no secret the press doesn’t like him, and neither does a lot of the leadership,” he added. “And that’s because he’s planning on making a lot of changes. ” The eight men around a rectangular table, sipping coffee from a hodgepodge of mugs donated by customers, meet daily for breakfasts of French toast, eggs and bacon at Darrell’s diner, all while solving the world’s problems, hence their gathering’s nickname. Washington may be veering from one Trump controversy to another: unproved reports of Russia’s holding embarrassing information against him, possible ethical conflicts, the donors and billionaires of his cabinet, his pushback against intelligence findings on Russian hacking in the election. But there does not seem to be much angst in Iowa among those who voted for Mr. Trump, including some Democrats and independents. Monticello, in rural eastern Iowa, is as close as any place to the epicenter of the political quake that made Mr. Trump president. The state’s longstanding reputation as a political bellwether had led The New York Times to move me to Iowa for a full year ahead of its presidential caucuses in early 2016. I had not returned since. In the intervening year, Iowa gave Mr. Trump his largest triumph of any battleground state: a reversal over President Obama’s easy victory here in 2012. Al Ameling, 58, a technical analyst who lives in Marble Rock, near the Minnesota border, is representative of the profound demographic shift among white rural voters in the northern Midwest that helped produce Mr. Trump’s stunning upset. Mr. Ameling voted for Mr. Obama in 2008, sat out in 2012 and enthusiastically backed Mr. Trump. Nothing he has heard since Election Day has shaken his support, including reports this week that American intelligence agencies are investigating unverified accounts of meetings between Trump aides and Russian officials, as well as sex tapes purportedly made of Mr. Trump in Moscow. On Wednesday, Mr. Trump called the allegations completely false. “The way it is nowadays, unless I see positive proof, it’s all a lie,” Mr. Ameling said in a telephone interview on Wednesday. He added he was more concerned that government officials might have leaked the material to the news media. “I don’t know if it was classified, but if it was, whoever leaked it needs to go to jail,” he said. “We need law and order back in this country. ” I headed to Monticello because it was the site of Hillary Clinton’s first campaign stop after declaring her candidacy for the Democratic nomination in 2015. When she rolled up in her black van, a pack of journalists took off at a run, myself included, an enduringly silly image. Mrs. Clinton rarely returned to the state in the general election campaign, giving it up as all but lost. Jones County, which includes Monticello, is the birthplace of the painter Grant Wood, and where older men still wear the style of pinstriped overalls in his “American Gothic. ” It is a beautiful place, with bald eagles soaring over wintry farm fields. Mr. Trump carried the county by 20 percentage points Mr. Obama easily won there four years earlier. At Darrell’s, there are actually two Tables of Knowledge, one favored by Democrats and the other by Republicans. Among them are an optometrist, farmers and former employees of a utility company. I asked if there was anyone who had voted for Mr. Trump after having previously supported Mr. Obama. “Yeah, there is, but they won’t tell you,” said Mr. Retzlaff, an outspoken conservative who usually chooses to sit with the liberals. Mel Manternach, a retired farmer, said many farmers who had once voted for Mr. Obama switched to Mr. Trump, which he found perplexing. “Trump was against T. P. P. which would help exports of ag commodities,” he said, referring to the Partnership, a deal. “They voted against their own . ” The Iowans I interviewed largely went about their lives outside the political hothouse of social media. They did not follow developments of the presidential transition. Indeed, on Wednesday, several were unfamiliar with the reports that Russia was holding compromising information on the which Mr. Trump addressed in a news conference. Many were hazy on specific policy details about how, say, House Republicans were seeking to replace Medicare with a voucher system. These voters feared an outbreak of terrorist attacks by Muslims in the United States, maybe in their own communities. And overwhelmingly, Trump supporters did not want their money redistributed to people they regarded as undeserving. A year ago, I shadowed a Clinton in Newton, a small city in central Iowa that has struggled since Maytag closed a washing machine plant. Jeff McKibben, one of the workers, traded down for work at a prison. Once a “straight Democrat,” as he called himself, he refused to commit at the time to support Mrs. Clinton. Contacted recently, he did not want to say how he voted, although Jasper County, which includes Newton, was one of the more than 30 Iowa counties that swung to Mr. Trump from Mr. Obama. “Maybe it’s time to have some change,” Mr. McKibben allowed. “I saw neighbors I knew were strong union people with Trump signs in their yards. ” The story was the same in Des Moines County, in southeastern Iowa. The local Democratic Party chairwoman, Sandy Dockendorff, knew there was trouble when she saw a Trump sign in the yard of an electrician who had always supported Democrats. “When I called him,” Ms. Dockendorff explained last month to a group of demoralized activists at a United Steelworkers union hall, “he said, ‘You stopped talking my language you don’t care about jobs.’ ” In an interview, Ms. Dockendorff, who is running for chairwoman of the state Democratic Party, said rural Iowans were critical of Democrats for opposing projects like oil pipelines while running a presidential campaign focused narrowly on Mr. Trump’s shortcomings. “It was all about making fun of Donald Trump — he would never be president and how horrible it would be,” she said. But “the only one talking about jobs was Trump,” Ms. Dockendorff added. At a Des Moines County diner in Burlington, a small city on the Mississippi River, Melissa Ell, a waitress, said she had voted for Mr. Obama in 2012. But this Election Day, she stayed home. “I didn’t want to vote for either one of them, to be honest,” she said. Ms. Ell, 46, earns a base wage of $6. 50 an hour at Jerry’s Main Lunch, a restaurant across from the Burlington Northern Railroad tracks. As she bused a table, Ms. Ell commiserated with Jackie Furman about those who take advantage of government aid. “I think they should be if they’re on welfare,” Ms. Ell said. “The welfare system needs to be reorganized,” agreed Ms. Furman, a retired commercial bakery manager, complaining that “Chicago people” were moving to Burlington to receive higher benefits and bringing crime. Ms. Furman, 70, said, “I’m ashamed to say we caucused for Obama” in 2008. “My view is he purposely got into the presidency so he could ruin America. ” There are contrary views. On Washington Street in Burlington, I expected Post 10102 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars to be a bastion of support for the who had promised repeatedly to “take care of the vets. ” But there was deep skepticism. “Forget about me,” Dan Meade, a Navy veteran, said. “What’s going to happen to our kids, our grandkids? I think the guy’s nuts. ” He and three others sipped $1. 50 draft beers from plastic cups. They sarcastically echoed notable Trump lines from the campaign trail. “He knows more than the generals he doesn’t like prisoners of war,” Dan Warren, an Army veteran, said. “When Trump was running for office he said he’d run the country like he runs his companies,” Fran Boyle, who served in the Navy, chimed in. “Which one of his bankrupt companies is he going to run it like?” Still, Trump voters in the state say they are hoping for the best. Mike Staudt, a retired farmer from Marble Rock, voted for Mr. Obama in 2012, but called the Affordable Care Act a form of socialism. He said he had no problem with a candidate who had run as the voice of the working people but was stocking his cabinet with the ultrawealthy. “I know these guys are really rich,” he said. “They may have pulled off a few plays that weren’t exactly on the but they all had to be pretty smart to be billionaires. If they replace their own concerns with the concerns of the country, they can make things really move forward. That’s what I’m excited about. ”

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Nula exhibición balompédica sobre campo desierto

Nula exhibición balompédica sobre campo desierto RESUMEN DE LA JORNADA 12 DE LA LIGA SANTANDER 2016-2017 Resumen de la jornada Betis 0-0 Las Palmas Encuentro que terminó en tablas después de que el viernes por la noche ambos equipos no tuvieran a bien acudir al estadio penibético para disputar el choque. Tampoco acudió el público. Es de esperar una sanción del Comité de Competición para ambos equipos. Deportivo 0-0 Sevilla Partido que debería haberse celebrado el sábado a las 13 horas y que, sin embargo, fue ignoradamente tratado por todos los implicados en el magno evento. De nuevo, esperable sanción del Comité de Competición. Atlético 0-0 Real Madrid Primer choque de la temporada entre los ex finalistas de la Champions. Es el “derby” por antonomasia pero, sorprendentemente, ninguna televisión se encargó de emitir un partido de tantos morbos aplazados entre la turba de Simeone y el equipo albino. Tampoco lo siguió ninguna radio ni medio impreso. Barcelona 0-0 Málaga Poco se puede decir de este partido aparte de mencionar la indignación del periodista que escribe estas líneas porque el equipo de seguridad del Barcelona le impidió el acceso de forma sistemática al campo. En cualquier caso, pobre entrada al Camp Nou más allá de medio centenar de turistas ataviados de orientales maneras. Athletic 0-0 Villarreal Tampoco acudieron los leones a la catedral del fútbol para defenderse porque no había nadie atacando su marco insidiosamente. Alavés 0-0 Espanyol Tampoco acudieron al campo. Valencia 0-0 Granada Naranjianos y granaderos estuvieron al tanto del partido que jugó el sábado la Selección española, partido de clasificación al mundial frente a Macedonia. Por ese egregio motivo, la duodécima jornada de liga se aplazó al próximo fin de semana. Fenomenal. Bien. Estupendo. Muchas gracias por avisar. Sporting 0-0 Real Sociedad Tremenda falta de respeto a un profesional que lleva tantos años dedicándose a esto. Algunos, además de periodistas, somos personas. Tampoco costaba nada hacer una llamada. Existe una cosa que se llama teléfono. Ahora está el WhatsApp ese también. Bastaba con un: “Oye, soy el redactor jefe de Deportes, esta semana no te hagas el resumen de los partidos, que no hay liga porque juega la Selección”. Pero no, eso es mucha molestia. Leganés 0-0 Osasuna

1real

What Donald Trump Did On The Golf Course Is P*ssing Off His White Male Base (VIDEO)

We already know that Donald Trump hates exercising. In Italy, Trump rode in a golf cart, rather than walk 700 yards like the rest of the world leaders at the G-7 meeting. I guess it would make sense then that Trump s insists on burning as few calories as possible at his frequent golf outings, but what he did at his own Bedminster Club in New Jersey has even his rich white male base fuming. He drove his cart onto the green. I m not a golfer, and even I know this is never done.President Trump driving his golf cart all over the green is the most Trump thing ever(via MikeNFrank/Twitter) pic.twitter.com/UWuIcCIOnT Sports Illustrated (@SInow) June 22, 2017People weren t having it:Bad etiquette. It s disrespectful to every paying member of that club. It doesn t matter if he owns the course. Jerry Sardella (@SpecV63) June 22, 2017beyond bad ettiquette, played with my 72 yr old mother last wk & she almost died when a guy drove up near the fringe, like 10 ft frm green John from Frederick (@BittnerJohn) June 22, 2017For as much time he spends on the course, he should know there are rules in the game of golf and driving on the green is a big no no. Nick Walker (@Nicksplosion) June 22, 2017All the ones defending him driving on the green are assholes who would drive a cart on a green. Putting through tire tracks is no fun. Daniel (@ahhdeeh) June 22, 2017As a golfer, I am appalled LoyalOppositionKaren (@ybbkaren) June 22, 2017What an ass hat! In a 30-second video & he broke 2 rules of golf. BTW- this is a CLUB. The members own the course, not just him Lisa Cutter (@CutPhD) June 22, 2017Trump strongly held the straight white middle America vote until he drove the golf cart on the green Jack Wickham (@jawickham) June 22, 2017Of course, this is hardly the worst thing Trump has done, even today, but this may be the first time Trump s entitled jerk and bully attitude even hit home with his base at least the part of his base that plays golf.Featured image via Ian MacNicol/Getty Images

1real

Trump ROYALLY Blindsided His Own National Security Team With Last Second Change In NATO Speech

One of the major things with Donald Trump s speech at the NATO summit that shocked everyone was his refusal to commit to Article 5, which basically states that an attack on one member is an attack on all. But his speech wasn t supposed to be that way. 27 words were removed from that speech, and that threw his national security team for a loop. They had no idea those words had been deleted.Trump was supposed to say: We face many threats, but I stand here before you with a clear message: the U.S. commitment to the NATO alliance and to Article 5 is unwavering. But he didn t. And his national security team (and really, the rest of his administration) was left to clean up the shitstorm that resulted from that removal. Everyone, from Mike Pence to National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, has been on cleanup duty, going out of their way to try and convince the world that we do, in fact, remain committed to Article 5.But apparently, the White House doesn t think it matters (here s a hint to them: It does). Spicer told reporters that he thought the whole mess was a silly discussion, and that Trump s presence at the summit should have been enough to show our allies that we remain committed to all 13 Articles of the NATO alliance.Spicer made it sound like Trump deigned to attend an event which was beneath him and thus, not worthy of his time.Because of his ridiculous behavior and terrible understanding of everything, foreign policy advisers are now frantically trying to convince our allies that they still matter to us, and that Trump is still their partner.Trump put our allies badly on edge when he refused to commit to Article 5, and with other things he said at both the NATO summit and the G7 summit. In doing so, he s forced Germany and France to try and isolate us in order to maintain the strength of their own alliances, because Trump just proved that we are no longer a steadfast and true partner. He may as well have come out and said, Don t trust us anymore. Don t rely on us anymore. Featured image by Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images

1real

Migrants Setting Blood, Faeces Traps for Prison Staff

Language classes and the recruiting of ‘Islam scientists’ are among measures announced by North ’s (NRW) justice ministry to combat the rising number of ‘disgust attacks’ in prisons by Maghreb migrants. [Across Germany, migrants from North Africa have been setting ‘traps’ for staff in prisons by “greasing” doors handles, floors, and other surfaces that employees are forced to touch and walk over with bodily fluids, mainly faeces and blood. NRW has acknowledged the problem for some time, but in November the state’s justice minister Thomas Kutschaty was forced to admit the attacks have been growing more frequent. cases in which “detainees from the Maghreb states have contaminated areas with blood faeces” were logged in 2016. At prisons in Iserlohn and Cologne, there were even incidents in which staff members were pelted with faeces. Head of Bielefeld Prison, Uwe Nelle Cornelsen, described “restlessness, rioting, rebellion against lawyers, and suicide threats” are typical problems staff have to deal with. He told the Neue Westfälische that prisons “must remain consistent, and refuse to negotiate,” reporting rumours that in some parts of the Maghreb, such tactics encourage centres to release detainees earlier. Along with “security and discipline,” integration centres and language courses form the core of a series of measures recently announced by NRW’s justice ministry to tackle problem prisoners. Integration centres are being set up at each prison to “deal with problems between detainees and prison staff”. So as to “decrease the language barrier” facilities will also expand language courses on offer to prisoners, and hire more interpreters. A programme to provide tablets to staff in NRW jails, enabling them to translate their instructions into Arabic, is also set be rolled out across the state. Bridging the language gap is likely to succeed in preventing grotesque behaviour, according to a report in broadsheet Die Welt. This claimed that many migrants just “wanted to be understood,” and became calmer after conversing with staff in Arabic. The justice ministry hopes that hiring four ‘Islam scientists’ in addition to the two currently employed by the state will also ease tensions. As well as teaching prison staff to spot signs of Islamism in detainees, the ‘Islam scientists’ are also training employees to “deal with emotionally disturbed prisoners” and instructing them in “intercultural competence. ” One final measure announced by Kutschaty, to deal with the growing turmoil in NRW jails, is for faster expulsion of people from the Maghreb, who the justice minister said “have little chance of being granted leave to remain [in Germany]. ” To this end, the Social Democratic Party (SPD) minister called for Germany to recognise North African nations as safe countries of origin, and said “collective charter flights” could be used to deport Maghreb migrants who are causing trouble in prisons.

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Tech companies to lobby for immigrant 'Dreamers' to remain in U.S.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Nearly two dozen major companies in technology and other industries are planning to launch a coalition to demand legislation that would allow young, illegal immigrants a path to permanent residency, according to documents seen by Reuters. The Coalition for the American Dream intends to ask Congress to pass bipartisan legislation this year that would allow these immigrants, often referred to as “Dreamers,” to continue working in the United States, the documents said. Alphabet Inc’s Google, Microsoft Corp, Amazon.com Inc, Facebook Inc, Intel Corp, Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL], IBM Corp, Marriott International Inc and other top U.S. companies are listed as members, one of the documents shows. Reuters was first to report the news. Amazon, Intel, Uber and Univision Communications Inc [UVN.UL] confirmed their membership, but the other companies did not immediately comment. It is possible that plans to launch the group could change. “We’re pleased to join with other organizations in urging Congress to pass legislation to protect Dreamers,” Intel spokesman Will Moss said in a statement. Matthew Wing, a spokesman for Uber, said, “Uber joined the Coalition for the American Dream because we stand with the Dreamers. We’ve also held town halls, provided legal support and launched an online Dreamer Resource Center for any of our drivers.” The push for this legislation comes after President Donald Trump’s September decision to allow the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to expire in March. That program, established by former President Barack Obama in 2012, allows approximately 900,000 illegal immigrants to obtain work permits. Some 800 companies signed a letter to Congressional leaders after Trump’s decision, calling for legislation protecting Dreamers. That effort was spearheaded by a pro-immigration reform group Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg co-founded in 2013 called FWD.us. Many of the companies that endorsed that letter are named as joining the new coalition. The group has planned to take out ads in news publications, though this is subject to change, according to an email last week seen by Reuters. “Dreamers are part of our society, defend our country, and support our economy,” said one of the coalition documents, which is being shared by the group to recruit additional companies. A signup form for the group said 72 percent of the top 25 Fortune 500 companies employ DACA recipients. Trump campaigned for president on a pledge to toughen immigration policies and build a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico. He has left the fate of DACA up to Congress. Action may come in December, when Congress must pass a spending bill to keep the U.S. government open. Democrats have considered insisting on help for the Dreamers as their price for providing votes that may be required to prevent a government shutdown. “No politician wants to go home for the holidays and read stories about how this is going to be DACA recipients’ last holidays in the U.S.,” said Todd Schulte, president of FWD.us, in an interview on Thursday. He declined to comment on the new coalition. “You will see this continue to escalate until the end of the year,” he said.

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Senate Banking committee approves two SEC nominees

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate Banking Committee on Thursday approved nominees for the two vacant spots on the five-member Securities and Exchange Commission, according to the highest ranking Democrat on the committee. The nominations of Democrat Lisa Fairfax and Republican Hester Peirce now go to the full Senate. The Republican-led Congress has been slow to fill empty seats at agencies and boards, and many of the nominations made by outgoing President Barack Obama, a Democrat, have stalled. Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, the most senior Democrat on the Banking Committee, said the committee has yet to hold hearings for nominees to the Federal Reserve Board or the board of the Export-Import Bank. “It is disgraceful that the Senate still hasn’t confirmed any of the 20 nominations that the Banking Committee has received since the start of last year,” said Brown in a statement. “These nominees are essential to promoting financial stability, protecting national security, and ensuring that American businesses of all sizes can compete on a level playing field with foreign competitors.” The two SEC nominees were part of a block of five nominations that were approved by a single voice vote in a room near the Senate floor. The committee also approved Jay Lerner as inspector general of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, Amias Gerety as assistant secretary for financial institutions at the Treasury Department and Rhett Jeppson as director of the U.S. Mint. Senator Heidi Heitkamp, a Democrat from North Dakota, dissented in the hastily scheduled vote in protest over the Export-Import Bank board nominees. “Despite the fact that Congress finally passed my bill to reauthorize the agency last December, the Ex-Im Bank has still been hamstrung from supporting American jobs and businesses because there isn’t a majority on the board,” she said in a statement. “I don’t have strong concerns with the nominees we voted on today.” The committee attempted to approve the nominees last month, but opposition from Democrats over corporate political disclosure threw the vote into disarray. The Democrats had pressed the SEC nominees to support a requirement that corporations disclose political donations. Obama put the two names forward in October. Peirce once worked on the Senate Banking Committee staff and then became a senior research fellow and director of the financial markets working group at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Fairfax is a law professor at George Washington University, and has written a primer on shareholder activism.

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BREAKING: OBAMA Regime Announces Federal Takeover Of Elections [VIDEO]

In a stunning last minute power grab by the Obama administration with just 14 days left in his Presidency, the Department of Homeland Security released a statement this evening officially declaring state election systems to be critical infrastructure. The statement from DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson defines election infrastructure as storage facilities, polling places, centralized vote tabulations locations, voter registration databases, voting machines and all other systems to manage the election process so pretty much everything.I have reached this determination so that election infrastructure will, on a more formal and enduring basis, be a priority for cybersecurity assistance and protections that the Department of Homeland Security provides to a range of private and public sector entities. By election infrastructure, we mean storage facilities, polling places, and centralized vote tabulations locations used to support the election process, and information and communications technology to include voter registration databases, voting machines, and other systems to manage the election process and report and display results on behalf of state and local governments. Given the vital role elections play in this country, it is clear that certain systems and assets of election infrastructure meet the definition of critical infrastructure, in fact and in law, Johnson stated. Particularly in these times, this designation is simply the right and obvious thing to do. The designation allows for information to be withheld from the public when state, local and private partners meet to discuss election infrastructure security potentially injecting secrecy into an election process that s traditionally and expressly a transparent process, according to the AP. U.S. officials say such closed door conversations allow for frank discussion that would prevent bad actors from learning about vulnerabilities. DHS would also be able to grant security clearances when appropriate and provide more detailed threat information to states. The announcement of a federal takeover of the electoral process follows a report from several intelligence agencies also released Friday which purports the Russian government worked to influence the outcome of the 2016 US election.The AP reports several states in recent months opposed the move fearing the designation would lead to increased federal regulation or oversight on the many decentralized and locally run voting systems across the country. At least one member of the US Election Infrastructure Cybersecurity Working Group, Georgia Secretary of State Brian P. Kemp, stated he opposed the measure claiming more federal oversight could make systems more vulnerable and could make protected records more accessible, the AP writes.Kemp reportedly called the move a federal overreach into a sphere constitutionally reserved for the states on a conference call with Johnson Thursday, and said the designation smacks of partisan politics. Examples of election infrastructure include storage facilities, voter registration databases, voting locations, voting machines and other systems designed to manage the election process, the AP notes. For entire story: InfowarsDecember 18, 2016 Georgia s secretary of state has claimed the Department of Homeland Security tried to breach his office s firewall and has issued a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson asking for an explanation.Brian Kemp issued a letter to Johnson on Thursday after the state s third-party cybersecurity provider detected an IP address from the agency s Southwest D.C. office trying to penetrate the state s firewall. According to the letter, the attempt was unsuccessful.And now, Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Aaron Diamond has learned two more states election agencies have confirmed suspected cyberattacks linked to the same U.S. Department of Homeland Security IP address as last month s massive attack in Georgia.Watch here:Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp recently told Politico it is nothing more than an attempt to subvert the Constitution to achieve the goal of federalizing elections under the guise of security. During an earlier interview with the site Nextgov, Kemp warned: The question remains whether the federal government will subvert the Constitution to achieve the goal of federalizing elections under the guise of security. Kemp told POLITICO he sees a clear motivation from this White House to expand federal control, citing Obama s health care law, the Dodd-Frank financial-reform legislation and the increased role of the Education Department in local schools.To some election officials, this sounds like the first stage of a more intrusive plan. I think it s kind of the nose under the tent, said Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos, a Democrat. What I think a lot of folks get concerned about [is] when the federal government says, Well, look, we re not really interested in doing that, but we just want to give you this, and then all of a sudden this leads to something else. Meanwhile, Kemp continued on by noting that this administration only has 15 days left in its term and to make such a critical decision during the 11th hour smacks of partisan politics. But we re sure it s nothing, Obama doesn t really strike us as the type to play the partisan politics game. Zero Hedge

1real

Jeb Bush Attacks Obama Administration For Failing 'Easy Calls' On Religious Freedom

Former Florida governor and likely GOP presidential candidate Jeb Bush offered a defense of conservative Christian principles and attacked the Obama administration for failing to preserve religious freedom during his commencement address at Liberty University, a Christian school in Lynchburg, Virginia. Bush accused the Obama administration of using "coercive federal power" to infringe on the religious rights of Americans. "What should be easy calls, in favor of religious freedom, have instead become an aggressive stance against it. Somebody here is being small-minded and intolerant, and it sure isn’t the nuns, ministers, and laymen and women who ask only to live and practice their faith," he said, according to remarks released ahead of the speech. "Federal authorities are demanding obedience, in complete disregard of religious conscience -- and in a free society, the answer is 'no.'” Last year, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the Obama administration could not require closely held corporations to provide insurance coverage of contraception to employees if the employers objected on religious grounds. Bush converted to Catholicism -- his wife's religion -- two decades ago following a tense period in his marriage. Bush has said in the past that he believes the faith of leaders should shape their decision-making. "[S]ome moral standards are universal. They do not bend under the weight of cultural differences or elite opinion. Wherever there is a child waiting to be born, we say choose life, and we say it with love," Bush said on Saturday. "Wherever women and girls in other countries are brutally exploited, or treated as possessions without rights and dignity, we Christians see that arrogance for what it is. Wherever Jews are subjected to the oldest bigotry, we reject that sin against our brothers and sisters, and we defend them." Liberty University was founded by Jerry Falwell, a former Southern Baptist pastor and religious commentator. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) announced his presidential campaign at the school in March.

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Kenya court: opposition didn't show presidential campaign used state resources

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya s chief justice said on Wednesday that the opposition did not provide sufficient evidence to show that President Uhuru Kenyatta broke the law by using state resources during his re-election campaign. In response to those allegations of ... use of public resources ... we are unable to deal with that in the absence of any evidence, said Chief Justice David Maraga, as the court delivered a detailed ruling on last month s annulled presidential elections.

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Obama Just Got A Little More Than Pissed At Those Claiming He’s Soft On Wall Street

When President Obama took office in January of 2009, the United States of America was on the brink of utter economic collapse. Jobs were being lost at the rate of 750K per month, but have made consistent gains throughout all of Obama s tenure as Commander-in-Chief. Part of bringing us back from the worst recession since the Great Depression included several Wall Street reforms and a Credit Card Bill of Rights.Clearly, we ve come along way from the financial crisis that took place from 2007-2009, and sure, we have a long way to go to ensure that sort of crisis doesn t happen again, but President Obama had some choice words for those who claim he s been soft on Wall Street.On Monday, while standing with Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and several other top regulators, the president stated: I want to emphasize this because it is popular in the media and the political discourse, both on the left and the right, to suggest that the crisis happened and nothing happened. That is not true. I want to dispel the notion that exists both on the left and on the right that somehow, after the crisis, nothing happened. We did not just rebuild this, we rebuilt it better, and we ve rebuilt it stronger. According to Reuters: Obama said regulators appear set by the end of the year to have achieved most of the goals he set out for the financial system in 2008, when he first took office, although he noted there was still work to do on rules for hedge funds and asset managers in what he called the shadow banking system. He then explained why that work hasn t been done yet: One of our projects is to make sure that we are covering some of those potential gaps. We may need at some point help from Congress to do that. Which is exactly right. In order for those gaps to be filled we need Congress to cooperate, and it s not enough to just blame leadership, we have to hold our Congresspeople accountable. That s why elections, and not just presidential elections, matter so much. Republicans want to weaken regulations and make it possible for the practices that caused the financial crisis to occur, to create a future crisis. If anything, we need to embrace and expand President Obama ideas and goals on Wall Street, not condemn them. He has every right to be mad at those claiming he s done nothing, because that s an outright lie.Featured image: White House flickr

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Obama does victory lap for car industry but it is different from what he hoped

DETROIT (Reuters) - President Barack Obama, facing Republican criticism over the state of the economy, did a Detroit victory lap on Wednesday to showcase the auto companies his administration helped save, but the industry has not turned out the way he hoped in 2009. Obama has held out his bailout of General Motors (GM.N) and Chrysler during the U.S. recession as examples of tough decisions he made that paid off both for the economy and the environment. “The auto industry here in the United States has figured out that we can make more fuel-efficient cars that reduce the carbon pollution that is causing climate change, and make a profit - and put more people to work,” Obama told a crowd at a United Auto Workers Union center for workers at GM. But car companies are still churning out gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles to meet consumer demand, going against Obama’s hope that higher fuel-economy models would win the day. Sales of SUVs rose 16 percent in 2015, while car sales fell 2 percent. Although new SUVs are more efficient than prior models, they still burn more gasoline than cars. About 59 percent of U.S. vehicle sales last year were sport utility vehicles, pickup trucks or other big vehicles, up from 54 percent in 2014. Low gas prices have boosted the trend. A Ford Motor Co (F.N) plant in Michigan that Obama visited a year ago is ending production of small cars in 2018 and is expected to switch to SUVs to help meet soaring demand. The White House noted the industry was on track to double fuel efficiency and cut emissions by half by 2025. During a stop at the North American International Auto Show, Obama sought to give a push to electric cars. Obama joked that he was in town to browse for a new car himself because he had to give up his limo, affectionately known as “The Beast,” when he leaves office next year. He sat in the driver’s seat of a 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV, an all-electric car the White House said could travel about 200 miles (320 km) on a single charge. The president declared it a nice-looking car. Electric vehicle sales fell last year by 6 percent to 115,000, and the administration has said it would not meet its goal of getting 1 million plug-in cars on U.S. roads by 2015. To date, about 400,000 electric vehicles have been sold. Without naming names, the president pounded Republicans for opposing the bailout and trying to outdo each other by “peddling fiction” about the state of the U.S. economy. “When one says our economy is terrible, the next says it’s terrible, and on fire, and covered in bees!” he said. “These are the same folks who would have let this industry go under,” he said. Obama’s visit to Detroit did not include a stop in nearby Flint, which is in the throes of a water contamination crisis that has forced the state’s Republican governor to apologize. Obama pledged his support to the community. “If I were a parent up there, I would be beside myself that my kid’s health could be at risk,” he said.

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UK reaffirms commitment to Iran nuclear deal in call with Trump: May's office

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May has reaffirmed Britain s commitment to a 2015 Iran nuclear deal in a telephone conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump ahead of a key U.S. decision on whether Tehran has stuck to the terms of the pact. Trump has cast doubt on the future of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which sought to curb Iran s nuclear program in return for lifting most Western economic sanctions. A senior U.S. administration official said last week that Trump - who has criticized the pact as an embarrassment and the worst deal ever negotiated, - was expected to decertify Iran s compliance ahead of an Oct. 15 deadline. The (prime minister) reaffirmed the UK s strong commitment to the deal alongside our European partners, saying it was vitally important for regional security, said a statement from May s office following the call on Tuesday evening. (The prime minister) stressed that it was important that the deal was carefully monitored and properly enforced. In contrast, a White House statement on the phone call said Trump underscored the need to work together to hold the Iranian regime accountable for its malign and destabilizing activities, especially its sponsorship of terrorism and its development of threatening missiles. In a separate statement, Britain s Foreign Office said Iran had upheld its nuclear commitments, adding to international pressure on Trump not to jeopardize security in the region. The nuclear deal was a crucial agreement that neutralized Iran s nuclear threat, foreign minister Boris Johnson said. It was the culmination of 13 years of painstaking diplomacy and has increased security, both in the region and in the UK. It is these security implications that we continue to encourage the US to consider. Johnson spoke by telephone with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on Tuesday and will on Wednesday meet the head of Iran s nuclear agency in London to press for continued compliance with the deal. May and Trump also discussed the need for Britain, the United States and others to work together to counter destabilizing Iranian activity in the region, May s office said. Britain and the United States are two of eight signatories to the deal, along with Iran, China, France, Russia, Germany and the European Union. China, Russia and the European states have already expressed their continued support for the deal, while Iran has said Trump would not be able to undermine the pact. If Trump declines to certify Iran s compliance, U.S. congressional leaders would have 60 days to decide whether to reimpose sanctions on Tehran suspended under the agreement. Earlier, the White House said Trump would make an announcement later this week on an overall Iran strategy , including whether to decertify the nuclear deal. May s office said she agreed with Trump that their teams should remain in contact ahead of the decision on recertification.

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In the Ring He Was Ali, but in the Newspapers He Was Still Clay - The New York Times

Shortly after he defeated Sonny Liston to win the heavyweight title in February 1964, Cassius Clay changed his name to Muhammad Ali. The new name, bestowed by Elijah Muhammad, leader of the Nation of Islam, was important to Ali, who referred to Cassius Clay as his slave name and took umbrage when people used it. But in The New York Times, as in many newspapers and magazines at the time, Cassius Clay won the Liston rematch in 1965, Cassius Clay beat Cleveland Williams in 1966, and Cassius Clay refused to be inducted into the Army in 1967. It wasn’t until the early 1970s that The Times, for one, began to regularly call him Muhammad Ali. Articles appeared in March 1964 about the name change, yet over the next few years The Times mostly referred to Ali as Clay. From 1964 to 1968, Cassius Clay appeared in more than 1, 000 articles, Muhammad Ali in about 150. Sometimes articles would note that he was “also known as Muhammad Ali,” but the bulk of the references were always to Clay. A Times article in 1966 noted that Ali balked at accepting an award because it was inscribed to Cassius Clay, not Muhammad Ali. The article’s headline was “Clay Gets Award as Boxer of Year. ” On page 36 of the Feb. 6, 1967, edition, there were three stories about Ali. A preview of his fight with Ernie Terrell and a Sports of The Times column about the match referred to him as Clay. A news story about his speech at a Houston mosque called him Muhammad Ali in the headline, but Clay in the text. (In general, stories about Ali away from the ring were more likely to use his preferred name.) Robert Lipsyte, a former sports reporter and columnist at The Times, said that editors were “adamant that until Ali changed his name in a court of law, we would call him Cassius Clay. ” Lipsyte and others objected to the policy. “I found it very embarrassing,” he said. “We did not ask what John Wayne and Rock Hudson’s real names were. ” Another former Times reporter, Gerald Eskenazi, remembered “the strange dichotomy of addressing him as ‘Muhammad’ and writing about ‘Clay. ’” The Times was not alone in this policy. The Washington Post regularly referred to Ali as Clay a June 1970 headline in The Post read “Clay Set to Make Boxing Comeback.” In April 1966, Sports Illustrated’s cover read “Cassius Clay, the Man, the Muslim, the Mystery,” though by July 1967 he was referred to as Ali on the cover and inside the magazine. Lipsyte recalled that he once told Ali about the papers calling him Clay, “I feel sorry about this, but this is out of my control. ” Ali responded, “Don’t worry, you’re just a little brother of the white power structure. ” There was not a consistent Times policy against using Muslim names. Malcolm X, for example, was referred to by that name even in the early 1960s, and in the report of his death in 1965, though sometimes his birth name, Malcolm Little, was mentioned in passing. In Ali’s case, change finally came in late 1970, around the time of his return to the ring after a suspension for refusing to serve in the military. On Aug. 19, a headline read “Clay Wins Round in Court Battle,” but on Aug. 24 Lipsyte wrote a column referring to him as Ali throughout. From then on, Times articles began referring to him primarily as Ali, although they usually added “also known Cassius Clay. ” “I don’t remember a real fiat from on high,” Lipsyte said. “I think it was slippage. The older desk guys go and the younger desk guys come in … ” Times do change at The Times.’ ”“It’s much more the norm now not to impose a name on someone,” said Philip B. Corbett, the associate editor for standards. “Our basic approach now in general is to use the name people use for themselves. ”” ’He noted that Times coverage of the presidential race referred to Bernie Sanders, Ted Cruz and Jeb Bush, not Bernard, Rafael Edward and John Ellis. The Times was also quick to begin referring to Caitlyn Jenner and Chelsea Manning by their new names and genders. There are limits, though, even today. Performers who have styled their names with unusual symbols like Ke$ha and ? uestlove appear in more conventional spellings in The Times. “We are reluctant to use unorthodox typography,” Corbett said. “It can look like a mistake. ” When Prince declared that his name was an unpronounceable glyph, The Times went with “the artist formerly known as Prince,” and often just Prince. “You want to be respectful to the people you are writing about by using their names,” Corbett said. “On the other hand, you don’t want to baffle your readers. ”

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THE “OBAMA PROJECT”…Does Barack Have Secret Plans To Punish White America After He Leaves Office?

Is Barack Obama planning to use taxpayer money to travel around the world campaigning for UN Secretary General?The Jerusalem Post reported that Barack Obama has privately campaigned to succeed Ban Ki-moon as United Nations Secretary General at the end of 2016.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is also reportedly working with moderate Arab States to prevent this transition.Netanyahu remembers well just how US President Barack Obama brushed aside Israeli objections and went ahead with the P5+1 nuclear agreement with Iran.Now, Netanyahu is reportedly planning some personal payback.The sources said that once Netanyahu got wind of Obama s plans, the prime minister began to make efforts to submarine what he has referred to as the Obama project. Via: Gateway PunditThis shocking report outlines how the United Nations believes Americans should be paying reparations to African American descendants of slavery. You don t need much of an imagination to picture Barack Obama moving seamlessly into the role Secretary General of this global sham of an organization. Is the UN simply laying the groundwork for a future Secretary General Barack Hussein Obama? The United States should consider reparations to African-American descendants of slavery, establish a national human rights commission and publicly acknowledge that the trans-Atlantic slave trade was a crime against humanity, a United Nations working group said Friday.The U.N. Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent released its preliminary recommendations after more than a week of meetings with black Americans and others from around the country, including Baltimore, Chicago, New York City, the District of Columbia and Jackson, Mississippi.After finishing their fact-finding mission, the working group was extremely concerned about the human rights situation of African-Americans, chair Mireille Fanon Mendes-France of France said in the report. The colonial history, the legacy of enslavement, racial subordination and segregation, racial terrorism and racial inequality in the U.S. remains a serious challenge as there has been no real commitment to reparations and to truth and reconciliation for people of African descent. For example, Mendes-France compared the recent deaths of unarmed black men like Michael Brown and Eric Garner at the hands of police to the lynchings of black men in the South from the post-Civil War days through the Civil Rights era. Those deaths, and others, have inspired protests around the country under the Black Lives Matter moniker. Contemporary police killings and the trauma it creates are reminiscent of the racial terror lynchings in the past, she told reporters. Impunity for state violence has resulted in the current human rights crisis and must be addressed as a matter of urgency. Some of the working group s members, none of whom are from the United States, said they were shocked by some of the things they found and were told.For example, it s very easy in the United States for African-Americans to be imprisoned, and that was very concerning, said Sabelo Gumedze of South Africa.Federal officials say 37 percent of the state and federal prison populations were black males in 2014. The working group suggests the U.S. implement several reforms, including reducing the use of mandatory minimum laws, ending racial profiling, ending excessive bail and banning solitary confinement. Via: Epoch Times

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Why Polls Fail

November 13, 2016 Why Polls Fail Today I discussed the U.S. election with a friend who studied and practices statistics. I asked about the failure of the polls in this years presidential election. Her explanation: The polls are looking at future events but are biased by the past. The various companies and institutions adjust the polls they do by looking at their past prognoses and the real results of the past event. They then develop correcting factors, measured from the past, and apply it to new polls. If that correcting factor is wrong, possibly because of structural changes in the electorate, then the new polls will be corrected with a wrong factor and thus miss the real results. Polls predicting the last presidential election were probably off by 3 or 5 points towards the Republican side. The pollsters then corrected the new polls for the Clinton-Trump race in favor of the Democratic side by giving that side an additional 3-5 points. They thereby corrected the new polls by the bias that was poll inherent during the last race. But structural changes, which we seem to have had during this election, messed up the result. Many people who usually vote for the Democratic ticket did not vote for Clinton. The "not Clinton" progressives, the "bernie bros" and "deplorables" who voted Obama in the last election stayed home, voted for a third party candidate or even for Trump. The pollsters did not anticipate such a deep change. Thus their correction factor was wrong. Thus the Clinton side turned out to be favored in polls but not in the relevant votes. Real polling, which requires in depth-in person interviews with the participants, does not really happen anymore. It is simply to expensive. Polling today is largely done by telephone with participants selected by some database algorithm. It is skewed by many factors which require many corrections. All these corrections have some biases that do miss structural changes in the underlying population. The Clinton camp, the media and the pollsters missed what we had anticipated as "not Clinton". A basic setting in a part of the "left" electorate that remember who she is and what she has done and would under no circumstances vote for her. Clinton herself pushed the "bernie bros" and "deplorables" into that camp. This was a structural change that was solely based in the personality of the candidate. If Sanders would have been the candidate the now wrong poll correction factor in favor of Democrats would likely have been a correct one. The deep antipathy against Hillary Clinton in a decisive part of the electorate was a factor that the pseudo-science of cheap telephone polls could not catch. More expensive in depth interviews of the base population used by a pollster would probably have caught this factor and adjusted appropriately. There were some twenty to thirty different entities doing polls during this election cycle. Five to ten polling entities, with better budgets and preparations, would probably have led to better prognoses. Some media companies could probably join their poll budgets, split over multiple companies today, to have a common one with a better analysis of its base population.One that would have anticipated "not Hillary". Unless that happens all polls will have to be read with a lot of doubt. What past bias is captured in these predictions of the future? What are their structural assumptions and are these still correct? What structural change might have happened? Even then polls and their interpretation will always only capture a part of the story. Often a sound grasp of human and cultural behavior will allow for better prediction as all polls. As my friend the statistician say: "The best prognostic instrument I have even today is my gut." 13, 2016 at 03:17 PM | Permalink

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WATCH: Sarah Palin Dehumanizes Black People: They’re ‘Thugs,’ Not People

Sarah Palin continued to fan the flames of hatred and racism toward black people on Sunday by demanding that the media refer to them as thugs and avoid acknowledging that they are living breathing human beings.During an interview with Breitbart two days after five Dallas police officers were killed by a lone gunman who was totally unaffiliated with Black Lives Matter, Palin followed other conservatives by blaming black people for the killings and said she refuses to call the protesters people. They re not protesters. You know, these are thugs, they re rioters. And yeah, I m calling out the media, saying quit claiming that these rioters are people. They re stomping on a flag figuratively and literally shouting death to cops , celebrating violence. Black Lives Matter is a non-violent peaceful movement protesting police brutality and the unjust killing of innocent black people by police officers who flagrantly use excessive force.Furthermore, the Black Lives Matter rally in Dallas was a peaceful march and leaders worked with police prior to and during the demonstration. And when shots were fired protesters helped police identify where the shots were coming from.It should also be pointed out that burning an American flag is not illegal and is considered protected by free speech.But none of the facts matter to America s village idiot.She went on to call black people who speak out against police violence evil and attempted to co-opt Dr. Martin Luther King, who also led nonviolent demonstrations in the 1960s to fight for civil rights the same way Black Lives Matter does today. I think the media is perpetuating a message that really evil people are thriving on right now as they try to warp malleable minds that would believe that one race matters more than another. You know, it s the antithesis of Martin Luther King Jr. s message. It s the antithesis of our Constitution, of the Bill of Rights, our charters of liberty that says all men are created equal. Here s the video via YouTube.Conservatives across the country have been making every effort to portray black people as monsters and criminals in an effort to shut down the Black Lives Matter movement. They are perfectly fine with black people getting shot like dogs in the streets by police officers and their rhetoric against the protesters has already nearly resulted in a massacre at a Portland, Oregon rally. A right-wing gun nut could have killed dozens of people had he not lost his nerve after pulling his gun and aiming it at the protesters marching down the street.So rhetoric like Palin s is only making things worse. As bad as the racism and hate from conservatives has been, it s about to get even uglier and could erupt in violence.Featured image via YouTube screenshot

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Factbox: Contenders for senior jobs in Trump's administration

(Reuters) - The following people are mentioned as contenders for senior roles as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump assembles his administration before taking office on Jan. 20, according to Reuters sources and other media reports. Trump already has named a number of people for other top jobs in his administration. * Elsa Murano, undersecretary of agriculture for food safety under President George W. Bush and former president of Texas A&M University * Chuck Conner, a former acting secretary of the U.S. Agriculture Department and current head of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives * Tim Huelskamp, Republican U.S. representative from Kansas * Sid Miller, Texas agriculture commissioner * Sonny Perdue, former Georgia governor * Navy Admiral Mike Rogers, director of the National Security Agency * Ronald Burgess, retired U.S. Army lieutenant general and former Defense Intelligence Agency chief * Robert Cardillo, director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency * Pete Hoekstra, Republican former U.S. representative from Michigan * John Allison, a former chief executive officer of regional bank BB&T Corp and former head of the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank * Paul Atkins, a former commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission * Thomas Hoenig, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp vice chairman and former head of the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank * Dr. Scott Gottlieb, a venture capitalist, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and former Food and Drug Administration deputy commissioner * Jim O’Neill, a Silicon Valley investor who previously served in the Department of Health and Human Services * Paul Atkins, a former SEC commissioner who heads Trump’s transition team for independent financial regulatory agencies * Ralph Ferrara, securities attorney at Proskauer Rose LLP * Daniel Gallagher, A Republican former SEC commissioner The Trump transition team confirmed the president-elect would choose from a list of 21 names he drew up during his campaign, including Republican U.S. Senator Mike Lee of Utah and William Pryor, a federal judge with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. * Dan DiMicco, former chief executive of steel producer Nucor Corp * Jovita Carranza, founder and president of consultants JCR Group. Former vice president at United Parcel Service and former deputy administrator of the Small Business Administration * Robert Lighthizer, former deputy U.S. trade representative during the Reagan administration * Wayne Berman, senior executive with private equity and financial services firm Blackstone Group LP * David McCormick, president of investment manager Bridgewater Associates LP * Pete Hegseth, CEO of Concerned Veterans for America and Fox News commentator * Navy Admiral Michelle Howard * Retired Admiral Thad Allen, former Coast Guard commandant appointed by President Barack Obama to lead government relief efforts after BP Gulf oil spill * Toby Cosgrove, president and chief executive officer of Cleveland Clinic * Luis Quinonez, founder of IQ Management of Virginia and member of Trump’s National Hispanic Advisory Council * Scott Brown, former Republican U.S. senator from Massachusetts * Sarah Palin, former Alaska governor and Republican nominee for vice president in 2008 * Jeff Miller, a former Republican U.S. representative from Florida who was chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee * Larry Kudlow, economist and media commentator * Tom Bossert, former deputy homeland security adviser to President George W. Bush, cyber risk fellow with the Atlantic Council think tank

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Trump tries to rally support for healthcare bill

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump tried to rally Republican lawmakers behind a plan to dismantle Obamacare on Tuesday as U.S. stock markets showed their worst one-day performance since the November election. Trump is trying to win the first major legislative battle of his presidency. Pressure is growing on the businessman-turned politician to deliver as investors become worried that a failed healthcare push could also portend trouble for promised tax cuts and relaxed regulation that have propelled the market to record highs in recent months. In one of the few visits he has made to the U.S. Capitol since taking office two months ago, Trump told fellow Republicans in the House of Representatives on Tuesday morning they would face “political problems” for opposing the bill that takes apart Obamacare and partially replaces it. Later in the day, Trump hosted roughly a dozen lawmakers in the Oval Office to listen to their concerns. “The president was really clear: He laid it on the line for everybody,” House Speaker Paul Ryan, the leading proponent of the bill, told reporters. “We made a promise. Now is our time to keep that promise. ... If we don’t keep our promise, it will be very hard to manage this.” The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average lost over 1 percent in their worst one-day performances since before Trump’s election victory on Nov. 8. The S&P financial index sank 2.87 percent, its biggest daily fall since June. “You have this back and forth in Congress with the new healthcare plan and you have this belief that if the healthcare plan can’t pass, then they can’t move on to taxes. There’s this feeling that if things don’t get done, then maybe what the market has been anticipating gets held up,” said Mark Kepner, managing director at Themis Trading in Chatham, New Jersey. Some conservative lawmakers believe the healthcare bill does not go far enough, while moderate Republicans worry that millions of Americans will be hurt by the dismantling of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, Democratic former President Barack Obama's signature healthcare legislation. (For a graphic on how U.S. healthcare stacks up under the ACA and AHCA click tmsnrt.rs/2n0ZMKf) Party leaders hope to move the bill to the House floor for debate as early as Thursday. But the administration and House leadership can afford to lose only about 20 Republican votes or risk the bill failing since Democrats are united against it. Republican Representative Mark Meadows, chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, said the roughly three dozen members have decided not to vote as a bloc. As many as 21 currently plan to vote no on the legislation, according to a CNN report. Republican Representative Walter Jones said Trump told lawmakers in the closed-door meeting at the Capitol that if the Republican bill does not pass, they would face “political problems.” Jones said he thought Trump meant lawmakers could lose their seats. Repealing and replacing Obamacare was one of Trump’s main campaign promises and has been a goal of Republicans since it was enacted. While Trump predicted that Republicans could face challenges in primary contests ahead of the 2018 midterm elections if they do not gut Obamacare, there is also danger to them in doing so. If the Republican bill is passed, millions of voters might lose their healthcare coverage. The Congressional Budget Office said last week that 14 million people would forfeit coverage under the House bill over the next year, although that number could change based on the most current version of the legislation. Nancy Nielsen, associate dean for health policy at the University at Buffalo’s Jacobs School of Medicine, said Republican leaders were in a tough spot. “It is a not-so-delicate balancing act, as they have to win over the most conservative House and Senate members without causing an outrageous backlash from voters now or in the next election,” Nielsen said. Democrats oppose the Republicans’ plan, saying it would hurt the elderly, poor and working families while giving tax cuts to the wealthy. Republican leaders tweaked the bill this week to try to satisfy critics, mainly from their own party. Republican chairmen for two key committees said late Monday they proposed more funding for tax credits, which conservatives have opposed, that would give the Senate flexibility to help older people afford health insurance. Additionally, Obamacare’s taxes would be eliminated in 2017 instead of 2018. The amendments also addressed Medicaid, which is the country’s largest health insurance program and covers about 70 million people, mostly the poor. The changes would allow states to implement work requirements for certain adults, an idea championed by many conservatives, and to decide how they receive federal funds. Congressman Dan Donovan, who attended the Oval Office meeting on Tuesday, said Trump did “more listening than directing.” There was some “political talk” but “no threats,” he said. Donovan, who has not announced whether he will support the bill, cited people losing Medicaid and the defunding of women’s healthcare provider Planned Parenthood as concerns in his New York district. The Club for Growth, an influential conservative lobby group, said it would spend at least $500,000 for ads on television and digital platforms urging Congress members to defeat the bill. The Senate also will vote on the legislation, and more changes could be made. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that if the House approved a healthcare bill, he would try to bring it to the Senate floor next week.

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Senate approves major tax cuts in victory for Trump

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate narrowly approved a tax overhaul on Saturday, moving Republicans and President Donald Trump a big step closer to their goal of slashing taxes for businesses and the rich while offering everyday Americans a mixed bag of changes. In what would be the largest change to U.S. tax laws since the 1980s, Republicans want to add $1.4 trillion over 10 years to the $20 trillion national debt to finance changes that they say would further boost an already growing economy. Trump, speaking to reporters as he left the White House for New York hours after the pre-dawn vote, praised the Senate for passing “tremendous tax reform” and said “people are going to be very, very happy”. Once the Senate and House of Representatives reconcile their respective versions of the legislation, he said, the resulting bill could cut the corporate tax rate from 35 percent “to 20 (percent). It could be 22 (percent) when it comes out. It could also be 20 (percent).” U.S. stock markets have rallied for months on hopes that Washington would provide significant tax cuts for corporations. Celebrating their Senate victory, Republican leaders predicted the tax cuts would encourage U.S. companies to invest more and boost economic growth. “We have an opportunity now to make America more competitive, to keep jobs from being shipped offshore and to provide substantial relief to the middle class,” said Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate. The Senate approved their bill in a 51-49 vote, with Democrats complaining that last-minute amendments to win over skeptical Republicans were poorly drafted and vulnerable to being gamed later. “The Republicans have managed to take a bad bill and make it worse,” said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer. “Under the cover of darkness and with the aid of haste, a flurry of last-minute changes will stuff even more money into the pockets of the wealthy and the biggest corporations.” No Democrats voted for the bill, but they were unable to block it because Republicans hold a 52-48 Senate majority. Talks will begin, likely next week, between the Senate and the House, which already has approved its own version of the legislation, to reconcile their respective bills. Trump, who predicted that the negotiations would produce “something beautiful,” wants that to happen before the end of the year. This would allow him and his Republicans to score their first major legislative achievement of 2017 after having controlled the White House, the Senate and the House since he took office in January. Republicans failed in their efforts to repeal the Obamacare healthcare law over the summer and Trump’s presidency has been hit by White House in-fighting and a federal investigation into possible collusion last year between his election campaign team and Russian officials. The tax overhaul is seen by Trump and Republicans as crucial to their prospects at mid-term elections in November 2018, when they will have to defend their majorities in Congress. In a legislative battle that moved so fast a final draft of the bill was unavailable to the public until just hours before the vote, Democrats slammed the proposed tax cuts as a give-away to businesses and the rich financed with billions of dollars in taxpayer debt. The framework for both the Senate and House bills was developed in secret over a few months by a half-dozen Republican congressional leaders and Trump advisers, with little input from the party’s rank-and-file and none from Democrats. Six Republican senators, who wanted and got last-minute amendments and whose votes had been in doubt, said on Friday they would back the bill and did so. Senator Bob Corker, one of few remaining Republican fiscal hawks who pledged early on to oppose any bill that expanded the federal deficit, was the lone Republican dissenter. “I am not able to cast aside my fiscal concerns and vote for legislation that ... could deepen the debt burden on future generations,” said Corker, who is not running for re-election. Numerous last-minute changes were made to the bill on Friday and in the early morning hours of Saturday. One was to make state and local property tax deductible up to $10,000, mirroring the House bill. The Senate previously had proposed entirely ending state and local tax deductibility. “The tax reform measure that passed the Senate is negative overall for state and local government finances. Lower federal tax rates for businesses and individuals could result in a modest boost to hiring and consumption, positively affecting state and local revenues,” Nick Samuels, Vice President at Moody’s Investors Service, said in a statement. “However, the change to the state and local tax (SALT) deduction would reduce disposable income for many taxpayers, likely outweighing the positive effect of lower federal rates on consumption in many communities and states.” In another change, the alternative minimum tax (AMT), both for individuals and corporations, would not be repealed in full. Instead, the individual AMT would be adjusted and the corporate AMT would be maintained as is, lobbyists said. Another change would put a five-year limit on letting businesses immediately write off the full value of new capital investments. That would phase out over four years starting in year six, rather than be permanent as initially proposed. Under the bill, the corporate tax rate would be permanently slashed to 20 percent from 35 percent, while future foreign profits of U.S.-based firms would be largely exempt, both changes pursued by corporate lobbyists for years. On the individual side, the top tax rate paid by the highest-income earners would be cut slightly. The Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan think tank, analyzed an earlier but broadly similar version of the bill passed by the Senate tax committee on Nov. 16 and found it would reduce taxes for all income groups in 2019 and 2025, with the largest average tax cuts going to the highest-income Americans. Two Republican senators announced their support for the bill on Friday after winning more tax relief for non-corporate pass-through businesses. These include partnerships and other companies not organized as public corporations, ranging from mom-and-pop concerns to large financial and real estate groups. The bill now features a 23 percent tax deduction for such business owners, up from the original 17.4 percent. The Senate bill would gut a section of Obamacare by repealing a fee paid by some Americans who do not buy health insurance, a step critics said would undermine the Obamacare system and raise insurance premiums for the sick and the old. Senator Susan Collins, a moderate Republican, said she obtained commitments from Republican leaders that steps would be taken later in separate legislation to minimize the impact of the repeal of the “individual mandate” fee.

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NYT: Trump ’Helping Terrorists’ by Refusing to Talk Gun Control after London Knife Attacks

On June 12 the New York Times editorial board claimed that President Trump is “helping terrorists” by refusing to talk gun control after London’s June 3 terrorist knife attacks. [Moreover, even though terror attacks are becoming more frequent in Britain and the whole of Europe, the NYT lauds Britain for putting “civilian safety” before gun rights. How safe were the civilians who walked on London Bridge June 3? The impetus behind the NYT editorial was Trump’s June 4 tweet: Do you notice we are not having a gun debate right now? That’s because they used knives and a truck! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 4, 2017, The NYT reacted by describing Trump as “the candidate of the National Rifle Association” and suggested he did not want to talk gun control after the June 3 attacks because he “prefers to discourage any debate in this county about the lethal role played by easily obtainable guns. ” The NYT completely misses the fact that the June 3 attacks happened in London, not here, and they were carried out with knives, not guns. They also avoid connecting the dots. That is, they describe all the gun controls Britain has put in place but they fail to recognize that the controls were impotent to stop the June 3 attacks. If anything, those controls made the attacks easier to carry out because such controls meant Londoners would be defenseless. France has gun controls which are very similar to those in Britain, yet in 2015 alone terrorists were able to shoot 142 Parisians to death. This is why Trump spent time on the campaign trail stressing that gun control is not the answer but an armed citizenry is at least part of the answer. During a January 10, 2016, appearance on Meet the Press, Trump stressed that terrorists need to feel the sting of bullets being shot back at them. He said: If in Paris or if in California recently, where the 14 people were killed and probably others to follow — in terms of that group because you have some people who are very, very badly wounded — if in Paris they had guns or if in California [they had guns,] on the other side, where the bullets go both ways, not just in one direction. You wouldn’t have had the kind of carnage that you had. Gun control is not the answer. London has gun control — the whole of Europe has gun control — and they also have terror attacks, knife attacks, truck attacks, and hammer attacks. They face attacks from rudimentary weapons and those attacks are often successful because they people lack a means to defend themselves. AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of “Bullets with AWR Hawkins,” a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart. com

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Largest Pipeline in US Explodes, Kills and Injures Workers Trying to Make Repairs

In September, the Colonial pipeline – the largest pipeline in the US – made headlines after it ruptured, leaking 336,000 gallons of gasoline into the countryside of Central Alabama. Workers...

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DONALD TRUMP SKIPS MEDIA: Delivers Transition Update Straight To The People [Video]

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PROVOCATION? Republican Senators Introduce New Bill to Move US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem

21st Century Wire says Donald Trump s campaign promise to move the US Embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem could trigger a series of events pushing the region back towards serious conflict. Trump s appointment of right-wing Jewish bankruptcy lawyer David Friedman (image, left) as his ambassador to Israel is seen by many as an aggressive move to promote an ultra-Zionist agenda, as Friedman is a supporter of illegal Israeli settlement expansion in Palestine.Moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem would be in direct violation of numerous other UN resolutions 11 UN Security Council resolutions have ruled that Israel s seizure of East Jerusalem is that of an occupied territory.Hussein Ibish of Foreign Policy Magazine outlines some of the context of this issue in terms of US politics: Among the many alarming ways in which President-elect Donald Trump might upend traditional American foreign policy, one of the most immediate and troubling concerns his pledge to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.Other successful presidential candidates, most notably Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, made the same promise, only, once inaugurated, to emulate all of their predecessors by invoking the executive waiver to the 1995 Congressional Mandate to relocate the embassy. According to Saeb Erekat, a senior Palestinian official and peace negotiator, said that annexing settlements in the West Bank and moving the embassy to Jerusalem might mean the destruction of the peace process as a whole. Naturally, bellicose Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu denied it would inflame any conflict, stating in December that is was great step forward to peace. Middle East advocate Camille Mansour, told Al-Monitor that the US move would be devastating to relations between Palestinians and Israel, stating: It is a clear abandonment of the corpus-separatum issue, which Jerusalem has enjoyed since before 1947, he said. A number of consulates were based in Jerusalem US, Italian, English, Turkish, Spanish, French and Belgian based on this separate recognition of the city. NOTE: Corpus-separatum refers to Jerusalem s observed neutral legal and political status, closely related to that of an independent city-state.This comes on the heals of the recent controversy over the recent UN Security Council Resolution condemning Israeli settlements. Apparently, the UN also followed up the settlement resolution with a plan to track activities of companies doing business in the illegally occupied West Bank.Either way, this latest push by Republicans on behalf of Netanyahu and the Zionist Lobby seems to be a prelude to increased tensions in the Middle East David Smith The GuardianThree Republican senators have introduced legislation to recognise Jerusalem as Israel s official capital and move the US embassy there from Tel Aviv, a plan backed by Donald Trump but likely to ignite fierce protests.After being sworn into the 115th Congress in Washington, Ted Cruz of Texas, Dean Heller of Nevada and Marco Rubio of Florida unveiled the Jerusalem Embassy and Recognition Act.Similar moves by Republican majorities over the past two decades have come to nought, but this time they have a sympathetic president-elect in Trump. He has repeatedly pledged to relocate the embassy to Jerusalem and nominated a US ambassador who shares that view.Critics warn that the move could unleash a wave of violence and further rattle the Israel-Palestine peace process and the future of a two-state solution.Cruz, runner-up to Trump in the Republican presidential primary, said on Tuesday: Jerusalem is the eternal and undivided capital of Israel. Unfortunately, the Obama administration s vendetta against the Jewish state has been so vicious that to even utter this simple truth let alone the reality that Jerusalem is the appropriate venue for the American embassy in Israel is shocking in some circles.[ ] Rubio added: Jerusalem is the eternal capital of the Jewish state of Israel, and that s where America s embassy belongs. It s time for Congress and the president-elect to eliminate the loophole that has allowed presidents in both parties to ignore US law and delay our embassy s rightful relocation to Jerusalem for over two decades. The US embassy has been located on Tel Aviv s HaYarkon Street for half a century. US state department policy has long held that the status of Jerusalem will only be determined in final talks between Israel and the Palestinians Continue this story at The GuardianREAD MORE ISRAEL NEWS AT: 21WIRE Israel FilesSUPPORT 21WIRE SUBSCRIBE & BECOME A MEMBER@ 21WIRE.TV

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Ron Paul: Blame Government, Not Markets For Monopoly

Ron Paul: Blame Government, Not Markets For Monopoly 11/01/2016 EURASIA REVIEW When Time-Warner announced it planned to merge with another major communications firm, many feared the new company would exercise near-total monopoly power. These concerns led some to call for government action to block the merger in order to protect both Time-Warner’s competitors and consumers. No, I am not talking about Time-Warner’s recent announced plan to merge with AT&T, but the reaction to Time-Warner’s merger with (then) Internet giant AOL in 2000. Far from creating an untouchable leviathan crushing all competitors, the AOL-Time-Warner merger fell apart in under a decade. The failure of AOL-Time-Warner demonstrates that even the biggest companies are vulnerable to competition if there is open entry into the marketplace. AOL-Time-Warner failed because consumers left them for competitors offering lower prices and/or better quality. Corporate mergers and “hostile” takeovers can promote economic efficiency by removing inefficient management and boards of directors. These managers and board members often work together to promote their own interests instead of generating maximum returns for investors by providing consumers with affordable, quality products. Thus, laws making it difficult to launch a “hostile” takeover promote inefficient use of resources and harm investors, workers, and consumers. Monopolies and cartels are creations of government, not markets. For example, the reason the media is dominated by a few large companies is that no one can operate a television or radio station unless they obtain federal approval and pay federal licensing fees. Similarly, anyone wishing to operate a cable company must not only comply with federal regulations, they must sign a “franchise” agreement with their local government. Fortunately, the Internet has given Americans greater access to news and ideas shut out by the government-licensed lapdogs of the “mainstream” media. This may be why so many politicians are anxious to regulate the web. Government taxes and regulations are effective means of limiting competition in an industry. Large companies can afford the costs of complying with government regulations, costs which cripple their smaller competitors. Big business can also afford to hire lobbyists to ensure that new laws and regulations favor big business. Examples of regulations that benefit large corporations include the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) regulations that raise costs of developing a new drug, as well as limit consumers ability to learn about natural alternatives to pharmaceuticals. Another example is the Dodd-Frank legislation, which has strengthened large financial intuitions while harming their weaker competitors. Legislation forcing consumers to pay out-of-state sales tax on their online purchases is a classic case of business seeking to use government to harm less politically-powerful competitors. This legislation is being pushed by large brick-and-mortar stores and Internet retailers who are seeking a government-granted advantage over smaller competitors. Many failed mergers and acquisitions result from the distorted signals sent to business and investors by the Federal Reserve’s inflationary monetary policy. Perhaps the most famous example of this is the AOL-Time-Warner fiasco, which was a direct result of the Fed-created dot.com bubble. In a free market, mergers between businesses enable consumers to benefit from new products and reduced prices. Any businesses that charge high prices or offer substandard products will soon face competition from businesses offering consumers lower prices and/or higher quality. Monopolies only exist when government tilts the playing field in favor of well-connected crony capitalists. Therefore those concerned about excessive corporate power should join supporters of the free market in repudiating the regulations, taxes, and subsides that benefit politically-powerful businesses. The most important step is to end the boom-bust business cycle by ending the Federal Reserve. This article was published by RonPaul Institute .

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(Starcraft) Hell, it’s about time.

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Dylann Roof Found Guilty in Charleston Church Massacre - The New York Times

CHARLESTON, S. C. — Dylann S. Roof, a young white supremacist who killed nine black parishioners last year when he opened fire during a assault on Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, was found guilty by a federal jury here on Thursday. Mr. Roof, 22, stood, his hands at his side and his face emotionless, as a clerk read the verdict aloud in Federal District Court, where he had been charged with 33 counts, including hate crimes resulting in death. Mr. Roof, whose lawyers conceded his guilt, will face the same jurors when they gather on Jan. 3 to begin a more suspenseful phase of his trial to decide whether he will be sentenced to death or life in prison without parole. The jury deliberated for only about two hours on Thursday afternoon, and as a clerk began to read the guilty verdicts, one after the next, a few women in the courtroom nodded with satisfaction. After the court adjourned, the two adult survivors of the attack, Felicia Sanders and Polly Sheppard, shared a long embrace. “I wasn’t expecting anything less,” Ms. Sanders told reporters later. “I knew it was going to be guilty, guilty, guilty, all the way through. ” Ms. Sanders’s husband, Tyrone, called Mr. Roof “pure evil” as he held his wife’s hand. “My thoughts were if I could get to him, what would I do,” said Mr. Sanders, whose son died in the attack. “But the Lord kept me from charging. ” The outcome seemed a foregone conclusion from the first minutes of the trial, which began on Dec. 7 and included a swift acknowledgment from the chief defense lawyer, David I. Bruck, that Mr. Roof was responsible for the “astonishing, horrible attack” on June 17, 2015. Mr. Roof had chillingly confessed to investigators nearly 18 months earlier and revealed his purpose in a blatantly racist manifesto that he published online. His choice of targets seemed intensely premeditated — he scouted the church half a dozen times — although he also researched other black churches and a festival elsewhere in South Carolina before settling on Charleston because, he wrote, it is the “most historic city in my state. ” Prosecutors and defense lawyers agreed on the basic contours of Mr. Roof’s march toward racial animosity. He belonged to no hate groups and acted alone in Charleston, but they said he had been an avid consumer of racist materials online. “You can easily give him way too much credit for thinking of this stuff if you don’t see where it came from,” Mr. Bruck said of Mr. Roof, who had declared in his writings that he had not been “raised in a racist home or environment. ” In a closing argument, an assistant United States attorney, Nathan S. Williams, depicted Mr. Roof as “a man of hatred, a man who’s proven to be a coward and a man of immense racial ignorance. ” The prosecutor’s voice often rose in outrage, and the jurors were again shown photographs of the carnage Mr. Roof left behind: blood, bodies, and tables. “He must be held accountable for each and every action he took in that church,” Mr. Williams urged. Mr. Roof has said he intends to represent himself during the penalty phase, so Mr. Bruck, as he has done throughout the trial, did his best on Thursday to suggest that his client was unstable, and thus not fully accountable. Mr. Bruck, who called no witnesses, peppered his closing argument with words like “abnormal,” “delusional,” and “suicidal. ” Mr. Roof told the F. B. I. in a confession shortly after being arrested that he had saved ammunition to kill himself if, as he expected, he confronted the police when he left Emanuel. The Wednesday night assault on the oldest A. M. E. congregation in the South began less than an hour after Mr. Roof entered through an unlocked side door and took a seat at a weekly Bible study meeting. The congregants, including the church’s pastor, the Rev. Clementa C. Pinckney, were studying the parable of the sower. When the congregants closed their eyes for a familiar benediction, the sound of gunfire roared through the fellowship hall. When they looked up, they saw Mr. Roof holding a semiautomatic pistol he had bought about two months earlier and concealed in a pack on his waist. Mr. Pinckney was the first wounded, and the churchgoers began diving below the room’s circular tables. Mr. Roof kept firing, striking the victims at least 60 times. One photo showed a table bearing an opened Bible, a study sheet and an empty magazine. It was one of the most unfathomable racial attacks in decades, and it upended the notion of a postracial America that some had imagined after the election of the country’s first black president. But fears of street violence eased when family members of five victims appeared at Mr. Roof’s bond hearing less than 48 hours after the killings and expressed forgiveness for the accused. President Obama flew here for Mr. Pinckney’s memorial service and delivered a eulogy in the form of an indignant and sorrowful meditation on race. This elegant port city where half of all slaves disembarked and the Civil War began soon assumed a mantle of racial healing, although some in the community found the good feelings a superficial papering over of inequities in education, law enforcement and poverty. The victims of the attack at Mother Emanuel, as the church is known, were Mr. Pinckney, Cynthia Hurd, Susie Jackson, Ethel Lee Lance, the Rev. DePayne Middleton Doctor, Tywanza Sanders, the Rev. Daniel Lee Simmons Sr. the Rev. Sharonda and Myra Thompson. The three survivors were Ms. Sanders, Ms. Sheppard and Ms. Sanders’s granddaughter. During turns on the witness stand, Ms. Sanders and Ms. Sheppard described the havoc that turned a house of worship into a scene. Ms. Sheppard told jurors that Mr. Roof had approached her and asked whether she was wounded. She was not. “I’m going to leave you to tell the story,” Mr. Roof replied, according to Ms. Sheppard. Mr. Roof was arrested the next morning in Shelby, N. C. where F. B. I. agents questioned him for about two hours and began to piece together his descent into racist thinking and how, over the course of six months, he planned his assault. But before Mr. Roof spoke of his beliefs, which he had detailed in a handwritten journal and an online manifesto, he admitted to the attack. “I did it,” Mr. Roof said. The confession served as the centerpiece of the prosecution’s case. Prosecutors also introduced an array of technical evidence, such as phone records and GPS data, to demonstrate Mr. Roof’s premeditation and document his views on race. He wrote that he mounted the attack in Charleston because no one else would take a stand against what he perceived as an epidemic of crime and the relegation of white Americans to status. He called himself a white nationalist, as well as a white supremacist, and said he subscribed to ideologies advanced by Klansmen and Nazis. Mr. Roof wore a jacket bearing patches of the flags of South Africa and Rhodesia and posed in photographs with the Confederate battle flag. In a consequence that he surely did not anticipate, that flag was removed from the grounds of the South Carolina State House in response to the church killings. The decision to try Mr. Roof was a subject of some dispute because he had offered to plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence. Ms. Sanders and Ms. Sheppard both supported such an agreement, as did many family members of the victims. But they welcomed the verdict on Thursday, even as they girded for the next round. “We were overjoyed that the jury saw fit to give us this triumph,” said the Rev. Sharon Risher, Ms. Lance’s eldest daughter. “It gives us an opportunity to start the healing process and we just thank God. ”

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Kremlin says U.S. hacking allegations are 'reminiscent of a witch-hunt'

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Allegations that Russia tried to influence the U.S. election in favour of Donald Trump amount to a witch-hunt, the Kremlin said on Monday, in its first reaction to the release of a U.S. intelligence report on the alleged Russian operation. The report, a redacted version of which was released publicly last week, alleged that Russian President Vladimir Putin directed a cyber campaign aimed at helping Trump beat his rival Hillary Clinton in the race for the White House. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said no new evidence had been produced to show that Russian officials was involved. “We are observing a serious fatigue with these accusations,” Peskov told reporters on a conference call. “It truly is reminiscent of a witch-hunt.” His words echoed a phrase used by Trump himself, who was quoted as saying in an interview with the New York Times newspaper on Friday that the storm over Russian hacking was a “political witch hunt.” Peskov, commenting on the U.S. intelligence report, said: “You know, that version of the report that was made public added no substance whatsoever that we can comment on.” “Groundless accusations which are not supported by anything are being rehearsed in an amateurish, unprofessional way. We don’t know what information they are actually relying on.” Asked if Putin himself had read a translation of the report, Peskov said there was nothing in the document “that’s worth reading in detail.” But Peskov said the Kremlin’s position, as in the past, is that it categorically rules out that any Russian official could have been involved in hacking related to the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Both Trump and Putin have said that they want to restore U.S.-Russian relations, and the Kremlin spokesman indicated that Moscow was looking beyond the hacking row and ahead to the new administration. Peskov said there had been witch-hunts in the past in U.S. history, but those periods came to an end when what he described as more sober leaders took charge. Peskov said that once Trump had been inaugurated on Jan. 20, work would begin on finding a date for a first meeting between the Russian and U.S. leaders. “If some kind of contacts will be planned, then they will be planned extremely painstakingly, carefully, especially since we are talking about contacts following a very tense period in our relations,” he said, referring to disputes between the Kremlin and the Obama administration.

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Democratic debate: 's Reality Check team inspects the claims

Washington The Democratic candidates for president gathered in Des Moines, Iowa, for their second debate Saturday, and CNN's Reality Check team spent the night putting their statements and assertions to the test. The team of reporters, researchers and editors across CNN selected key statements and rated them: True; Mostly True; True, but Misleading; False; or It's Complicated. Previous CNN Reality Check coverage of the Democratic and Republican candidates can be found here . This story will be updated throughout the night. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton threw her support behind a $12 hourly minimum wage at Saturday's debate. That's lower than the $15 an hour minimum backed by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, as well many progressive activists nationwide. Clinton defended her stance, saying: "If you go to $12, it would be the highest historical average we've ever had." That's the "smartest" way to move forward, she added. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said, "When you talk about the long-term consequences of war, let's talk about the men and women who came home from war, the 500,000 who came home with PTSD and traumatic brain injury." Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said, "The Muslim nations in the region -- Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey, Jordan -- all of these nations, they're going to have to get their hands dirty, their boots on the ground. They are going to have to take on ISIS. ... Those Muslim countries are going to have to lead the effort. They are not doing it now." Launched in September 2014, the U.S.-led coalition fighting ISIS consists of more than 60 coalition partners, including more than a dozen Muslim-majority countries. All of the countries Sanders mentioned are part of that coalition -- with the exception of Iran, which has been countering ISIS in separate initiatives that include training, advising, and supporting Iraqi and Syrian forces fighting ISIS. The actual contributions of each member of the U.S.-led coalition vary widely. As of October 2014, Saudi Arabia's contribution consisted of warplanes and training for Syrian rebels fighting ISIS. They also donated $500 million to UN humanitarian efforts in Iraq. Turkey has allowed foreign troops to launch attacks against ISIS from within its borders, and in July, began launching its own airstrikes against ISIS in Syria. Jordan launched airstrikes against ISIS early in the campaign, but later suspended its participation when one of its aircraft went down in Syria and one of its pilots was taken hostage. Jordanian strikes resumed after ISIS announced it had killed the Jordanian pilot. Few of the coalition's members have contributed active ground troops. In 2014, Egypt sent forces to Libya to bomb ISIS positions there. In late October, the United States authorized the deployment of about 50 special operations forces to northern Syria to fight ISIS. The Obama administration is also considering a special forces task force to fight ISIS in Iraq. In June of 2014, Iraqi officials said that Iran had sent about 500 Revolutionary Guard troops to fight alongside Iraqi troops against ISIS. The Iranian Foreign Ministry denied this, but Iran's president said Iran was prepared to help advise Iraq if asked. Sanders is correct that, at present, the primary coalition fighting ISIS is led by the United States. But several of the Muslim countries in the coalition have lost soldiers and civilians in the battle against ISIS. Former Gov. Martin O'Malley said, "The truth of the matter is net immigration from Mexico last year was zero." He then challenged viewers to fact-check him, and we couldn't resist. Additionally, the actual number of Mexicans living in the United States consistently declined throughout 2014. The U.S. Border Patrol also reported that in the 2014 fiscal year, the number of Mexicans apprehended along the border decreased 14% when compared to the 2013 fiscal year. The information we have suggests that the net immigration rate is negative -- which is actually not zero -- but it is close, and probably still supports O'Malley's point. Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley often goes back to his record as governor to explain how he would best shepherd the nation's economy in the White House. But he went a step further than he typically does during Saturday night's debate and took credit for Maryland's high median incomes. O'Malley was answering a question of how precisely he would freeze college tuition around the nation and whether his blueprint from Maryland would work across the U.S. "The blueprint in Maryland that we followed is we raised the sales tax by a penny and made our public schools the best public schools in America for five years in a row with that investment. And yes, we did ask everyone -- the top 14% of earners in our state -- to pay more in their income tax and we were the only state to go four years in a row without a penny's increase to college tuitions," O'Malley said. The answer, nationwide, is paying for priorities by taxing capital gains income like normal income, he said. "I believe capital gains, for the most part, should be taxed the same way we tax income from hard work, sweat and toil," O'Malley said. "And if we do those things, we can be a country that actually can afford debt-free college again." But in the exchange he also took credit for the state's median income level -- long the highest in the nation. "So while other candidates will talk about the things they would like to do, I actually got these things they would like to do. I actually got these things done in a state that defended not only a AAA bond rating, but the highest median income in America," O'Malley said. There's no question that Marylanders have done, on average, much better than those in other states since the recession. It's actually had the highest median income every year since 2006, when the median income was $65,144, to last year, when it was $73,971. In his answer, O'Malley did not explain how his economic plan kept high-wage jobs in Maryland. But President Barack Obama and former President George W. Bush may be better able to make that claim because of the large share of federal employees in Maryland. A "Governing" magazine analysis of federal employment statistics from 2013 determined that Maryland had the largest share of federal workers for the total workforce of any state, something that the governor has nothing to do with. Maryland had 145,300 people working for the government, equal to 5.5% of the state's total non-farm employment. Virginia had more federal employees -- 172,500 -- but they only accounted for 4.6% of the total state employment. And a Washington Post review of federal salaries found that federal workers do quite well compared to many other industries -- earning an average salary of $78,500 as of 2012.

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Majority of Americans say Clinton won first debate against Trump: Reuters/Ipsos poll

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A majority of Americans say Democrat Hillary Clinton won Monday night’s presidential debate, but her performance doesn’t appear to have immediately boosted her support among likely voters, according to a Reuters/Ipsos national tracking poll released on Wednesday. The online poll, which gathered responses from more than 2,000 people on Tuesday, found 56 percent of American adults felt that Clinton did a better job than Trump in the first of their three televised debates, compared with 26 percent who felt that Trump did better. Of those who thought Clinton emerged the victor, 85 percent were Democrats and 22 percent were Republicans. U.S. presidential debates have historically been seen as a crucial test of candidates’ poise and policies. Monday’s was watched by a record 84 million viewers and was billed as a rare prime-time opportunity for two unpopular candidates to convince millions of undecided voters to back them. Afterward, both candidates claimed victory. ““Every single online poll had me winning,” Trump said at a campaign stop in Council Bluffs, Iowa on Wednesday. “You sit back and you hear how well she did in the debate. I don’t think she did well at all.” Clinton campaign spokesman Jesse Ferguson said the Democrat clearly won the debate as Trump “was unprepared, became unhinged and was incoherent throughout.” Among those who are expected to take part in the Nov. 8 general election, 34 percent said they felt that the debate changed their view of Clinton in a positive way, compared with 19 percent who said the same of Trump. Some 31 percent of likely voters said the debate improved Clinton’s chances of winning the White House, while 16 percent said the debate benefited Trump. Even so, Clinton’s performance seemed to have little impact on her support among America’s likely voters. The poll showed 42 percent supported Clinton while 38 percent supported Trump. Over the past few weeks Clinton has maintained a lead of between 4 and 6 points over Trump. Narrowing the focus to likely voters who watched the debate, Clinton led Trump 44 percent to 39 percent. One possible reason for the lack of movement in her support is that it usually takes several days to measure the full impact of a single event, like a debate, said Donald Green, a political scientist at Columbia University. The Reuters/Ipsos poll is conducted every day in English in all 50 states. Monday’s sample of 2,036 American adults included 1,336 people who were considered to be likely voters from their voting record, registration status and stated intention to vote in the election. Among those likely voters, 1,026 said they watched some portion of the debate on live TV, online or in media clips that were circulated after the debate. The poll has a credibility interval, a measure of accuracy, of 3 percentage points for the entire sample and the sample of likely voters. It has a credibility interval of 4 percentage points for the likely voters who watched the debate. National opinion polls have differed this year in how they measure support for Clinton and Trump. Some polls, like Reuters/Ipsos, try to include only likely voters, while others include all registered voters. The Reuters/Ipsos tracking poll gathers responses every day and reports results twice a week, so it often detects trends in sentiment before most other polls. Polling aggregators, which calculate averages of major polls, have shown that Clinton’s lead over Trump has been shrinking this month to about 2 percentage points.

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HERE’S WHAT HILLARY’S “FAIR GROWTH” Economic Plan Means For Americans [Video]

If you ve never heard Betsy McCaughey speak you re in for a treat! She was one of the most outspoken and honest people warning us about Obamacare. She actually read the entire bill and then picked it apart. She s smart and very straightforward. Now, she s warning us about what a Hillary administration would do to our economy:

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Blast hits train in southwestern Pakistan; at least 6 hurt

QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) - At least six people were wounded on Friday when a bomb went off along railway tracks in southwestern Pakistan, halting train service in the region, security and railways officials said. The train was traveling from Baluchistan s capital of Quetta to the eastern metropolis of Lahore when a blast on the main railway track damaged one of its cars. One train bogie was damaged in the blast and a portion of the tracks blown up, said railways official Aammir Baloch, adding that Quetta s train services had been suspended. Security officials said six passengers were injured in the blast. The Taliban, Sunni Islam militants and sectarian groups linked to al Qaeda and the Islamic State group also operate in the strategically important region, which borders Iran and Afghanistan. Baluchistan is at the center of infrastructure projects that form part of China s Belt and Road initiative, which has brought $57 billion of investment to Pakistan. Violence in the southwestern region has fueled concern about security for a transport and energy link planned to run from western China to Pakistan s southern deepwater port of Gwadar. Separatists in Baluchistan, who have long battled the state for a greater share of the resources of the gas- and mineral-rich region, also accuse the central government of discrimination. Separately, two workers of a prominent political party were killed on Friday in a landmine blast in the district of Harnai near Quetta as they traveled to a party meeting. The victims were brothers and belonged to the Awami National Party, regional official Abdul Salam Achakzai told Reuters. The explosive device was planted by the road, he added.

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Cruz, Rubio say Iran prisoner swap a 'dangerous precedent'

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidates Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio praised Iran’s release of five detained Americans on Sunday, but sharply criticized the deal the White House made to win their freedom saying it would lead to more Americans being taken “hostage.” U.S. President Barack Obama pardoned three Iranian-Americans charged for violating sanctions against Iran, a lawyer for one of the men said, while prosecutors moved to drop charges against four Iranians outside the United States. Iran agreed to free five Americans including Rezaian and Saeed Abedini, an Iranian-American Christian pastor sentenced to eight years in prison in 2013 on charges of undermining Iran’s national security. Cruz, speaking to Fox News Sunday, said, “Praise God that the prisoners are coming home” but Iran got the better end of the prisoner swap. “We released seven terrorists who had helped Iran with their nuclear program, and we agreed not to prosecute another 14 terrorists for doing the same thing. That’s 21 terrorists helping Iran develop nuclear weapons that they intend to use to try to murder us,” Cruz said. He said the deal was a “very dangerous precedent.” Obama on Sunday defended the move describing the release as a “reciprocal, humanitarian gesture” that was a one-time event. But Rubio, speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press, said the deal traded American “hostages” for Iranian “prisoners who did commit a crime”. Obama has “put price on the head of every American abroad,” Rubio said. “Our enemies now know that if you can capture an American, you can get something meaningful in exchange for it.” Rubio said that the deal shows “weakness” on the part of Washington, and if he were elected president, Iran would not dare to detain Americans because it would face tough consequences. He said the start of his presidency would be like that of Ronald Reagan in 1981, when Iran released hostages taken at the American embassy in Tehran in 1979. A senior Obama administration official pushed back against criticism of the prisoner swap, saying that those held in the United States were not a major threat, and the administration made a “judgment” that brought detained Americans home. “If people want to say that they were for leaving these Americans in prison, they should say so. But the fact of the matter is this was our opportunity to bring them home,” the official told reporters on a conference call. (Reporting By David Lawder; Editing by Alan Crosby) SAP is the sponsor of this coverage which is independently produced by the staff of Reuters News Agency.

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WOW! MALE College Professor Caught On Camera BULLYING Female Pro-Life Student: “College campuses are not free speech areas” [VIDEO]

A Fresno State University professor was recently caught on camera scrubbing pro-life message off of the sidewalk and encouraging several of his students to do the same.Here is Gregory Thatcher s profile on the Fresno State College website. We thought we d post it before they take it down. His contact information is listed below, if you d like to have a respectful free speech discussion with him. The whole idea of free speech is that we have a free speech area on campus, kay? Professor Gregory Thatcher erroneously declares in a video recorded by the school s Students for Life chapter. Free speech is free speech in the free speech area. It s a pretty simple concept, okay? This does not constitute a free speech area, okay? He and his students go on to argue that it is within their own First Amendment rights to actively remove the pro-life messages from campus, and in one instance Thatcher claims that since the pro-life group has permission to put it down he has permission to get rid of it. This is our part of free speech. Do you disagree with our part of free speech? Thatcher asked while erasing one of the club s messages, after which he proclaimed that college campuses are not free speech areas. The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) has since filed a lawsuit against Thatcher on behalf of the Students for Life chapter at Fresno State, arguing that his efforts to intimidate and harass members of the Student for Life chapter violated their fundamental right to free speech.***WARNING***The video you are about to see will make your blood boil. It s pretty hard to watch a full grown man employed by Fresno College sending female students out to do his dirty work. It s even harder to watch the way he aggressively approaches this young female pro-life student, while arrogantly explaining to her that he has the right to deny her free-speech in America Fresno State Students for Life received full permission to chalk pro-life messages near the library. Rather than countering with his own message, Dr. Thatcher took the illegal approach of censoring speech and inciting students to help in this, Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, remarked in a press release, claiming that no student should have to endure this kind of intimidation and harassment for simply expressing their views. For entire story: Campus Reform

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Texting and Driving? Watch Out for the Textalyzer - The New York Times

Over the last seven years, most states have banned texting by drivers, and public service campaigns have tried an array of tactics — “It can wait,” among them — to persuade people to put down their phones when they are behind the wheel. Yet the problem, by just about any measure, appears to be getting worse. Americans confess in surveys that they are still texting while driving, as well as using Facebook and Snapchat and taking selfies. Road fatalities, which had fallen for years, are now rising sharply, up roughly 8 percent in 2015 over the previous year, according to preliminary estimates. That is partly because people are driving more, but Mark Rosekind, the chief of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said distracted driving was “only increasing, unfortunately. ” “Radical change requires radical ideas,” he said in a speech last month, referring broadly to the need to improve road safety. So to try to change a distinctly modern behavior, legislators and public health experts are reaching back to an old strategy: They want to treat distracted driving like drunken driving. Harvard’s School of Public Health, for example, is developing a new push based on the effective designated driver campaign it orchestrated in the United States beginning in the late 1980s. Candace Lightner, the founder of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, has helped found a new group this year, Partnership for Driving, which is circulating a petition to pressure social media companies like Facebook and Twitter to discourage multitasking by drivers, in the same way that Ms. Lightner pushed beer and liquor companies to discourage drunken driving. The most provocative idea, from lawmakers in New York, is to give police officers a new device that is the digital equivalent of the Breathalyzer — a roadside test called the Textalyzer. It would work like this: An officer arriving at the scene of a crash could ask for the phones of any drivers involved and use the Textalyzer to tap into the operating system to check for recent activity. The technology could determine whether a driver had used the phone to text, email or do anything else that is forbidden under New York’s driving laws, which prohibit drivers from holding phones to their ear. Failure to hand over a phone could lead to the suspension of a driver’s license, similar to the consequences for refusing a Breathalyzer. The proposed legislation faces hurdles to becoming a law, including privacy concerns. But Félix W. Ortiz, a Democratic assemblyman who was a sponsor of the bipartisan Textalyzer bill, said it would not give the police access to the contents of any emails or texts. It would simply give them a way to catch multitasking drivers, he said. “We need something on the books where people’s behavior can change,” said Mr. Ortiz, who pushed for the state’s 2001 ban on devices by drivers. If the Textalyzer bill becomes law, he said, “people are going to be more afraid to put their hands on the cellphone. ” If it were to pass in New York, the first state to propose such an idea, it could well spread in the same way that the rules did after New York adopted them. Ms. Lightner said the intensifying efforts around distracted driving “are the equivalent of the early ’80s” in drunken driving, when pressure led to tougher laws and campaigns emphasizing corporate responsibility. Distracted driving “is not being treated as seriously as drunk driving, and it needs to be,” she said. “It’s dangerous, devastating, crippling, and it’s a killer, and still socially acceptable,” she added. The safety administration plans to release the final fatality numbers as early as Thursday but previously announced that the numbers appeared to be up sharply. Jay Winsten, an associate dean and the director of the Center for Health Communication at Harvard’s School of Public Health, said, “We’re losing the battle against distracted driving. ” Dr. Winsten is developing a campaign based on efforts that were ultimately backed by major television networks and promoted by presidents, sports leagues and corporations. He said the new campaign would urge drivers to be more attentive, rather than scold them for multitasking, and would encourage parents to set a better example for their children. The campaign, though still in development, has already garnered support from YouTube, which has agreed to recruit stars on the website to create original content involving the message. Dr. Winsten said he had also been in talks with ATT, Nascar, a major automaker and potential Hollywood partners. Dr. Winsten said the new campaign could be a kind of carrot to encourage better behavior by drivers, but he added that a stick was also needed. While the Textalyzer raises potential privacy concerns, it might help enforce texting bans that have so far proved ineffective, he said. “Right now, we have a reed, not a stick,” Dr. Winsten said, adding that the Textalyzer would “make enforcement that much more credible. ” Now, the police can obtain a warrant for cellphone records, but the process takes time and resources, limiting the likelihood of investigation, Mr. Ortiz said. But those protections are there for good reason, according to privacy advocates, who oppose the New York bill. “It really invites police to seize phones without justification or warrant,” said Donna Lieberman, the executive director of the New York chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. A unanimous decision by the Supreme Court in 2014 ruled that the police could not search a cellphone without a warrant, even after an arrest, suggesting an uphill fight on the New York legislation. But the bill’s authors say they have based the Textalyzer concept on the same “implied consent” legal theory that allows the police to use the Breathalyzer: When drivers obtain a license, they are consenting in advance to a Breathalyzer, or else they will risk the suspension of their license. Matt Slater, the chief of staff for State Senator Terrence Murphy of New York, a Republican and a sponsor of the bill, said the constitutional concerns could and should be solved. “It’s monumental if we can get this done,” he said. Mr. Slater said he hoped it could happen this session, which ends in June, but, he added, it may take several tries and may require broader public support. “We’re facing the same hurdles we faced with drunk driving,” he said. “We’re trying to make sure safety and civil liberties are equally protected. ” Fourteen states prohibit the use of devices by drivers, and 46 ban texting, with penalties ranging from a $25 fine in South Carolina to $200 fines elsewhere, and even points assessed against the driver’s license. A handful of states have strengthened their original bans, including New York, which in 2014 adopted tougher sanctions that include a suspension of a permit or a license suspension for drivers under 21, while a second offense calls for a suspension. Deborah Hersman, the president of the nonprofit National Safety Council and a former chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board, said she liked the Textalyzer idea because it would give the police an important tool and would help gather statistics on the number of crashes caused by distraction. She said the comparison was apt because looking at and using a phone can be as dangerous as driving drunk. “Why are we making a distinction between a substance you consume and one that consumes you?” Ms. Hersman said. The Textalyzer legislation has been called Evan’s Law for Evan Lieberman, who was asleep in the back of a car on June 16, 2011, when the vehicle, driven by a friend, lost control. Mr. Lieberman, 19, died from his injuries, and his father, Ben Lieberman, spent months trying to gain access to phone records, which ultimately showed that the driver had been texting. Ben Lieberman became an advocate for driving safety, and in December, looking to develop the Textalyzer concept, he approached the mobile forensics company Cellebrite, which was involved in helping the government find a way into a locked iPhone, and which works with police departments around the country. Jim Grady, the chief executive of Cellebrite U. S. A. said that the Textalyzer software had not been fully built because it was not clear what a final law might require, but that it would not be too technologically challenging. “I hope it will have the same effect as the Breathalyzer,” he said.

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Clinton takes on FBI director in latest email flap

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla./GOLDEN, Colo. (Reuters) - Hillary Clinton on Saturday challenged FBI Director James Comey to provide a fuller explanation of investigative steps he is taking related to her use of a private email server, as the Democratic presidential candidate accused him of “deeply troubling” behavior 10 days before the U.S. elections. Speaking to volunteers in Daytona Beach, Florida, Clinton said: “Some of you may have heard about a letter the FBI director sent” on Friday to the U.S. Congress informing it that the agency is again reviewing emails. Comey had decided in July that the FBI was not going to seek prosecution of Clinton for her handling of classified materials on a private email server while she was secretary of state. “It is pretty strange to put something like that out with such little information right before an election,” Clinton said, adding, “It’s not just strange, it’s unprecedented and it’s deeply troubling because voters deserve to get full and complete facts.” She urged Comey to “put it all out on the table.” In tandem with Clinton, fellow Democrats on Saturday also worked to pressure Comey to provide details on a controversy that dominated the presidential campaigns on Saturday, less than two weeks before the Nov. 8 elections. Four U.S. senators - Patrick Leahy, the longest-serving Senate Democrat, Dianne Feinstein, Thomas Carper and Benjamin Cardin - wrote Comey and U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch asking that they provide by Monday more detailed information about investigative steps underway. At a press conference in Columbus, Ohio, the Congressional Black Caucus, comprised of about 45 members of the House of Representatives, nearly all Democrats, also urged Comey to be more forthcoming. Sources close to the investigation on Friday said the latest emails were discovered as part of a separate probe into Anthony Weiner, the estranged husband of top Clinton aide Huma Abedin. Weiner, a former Democratic U.S. congressman from New York, is the target of an FBI investigation into illicit text messages he is alleged to have sent to a 15-year-old girl in North Carolina. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump pounded away at the new FBI development, devoting a large part of a campaign speech in Golden, Colorado, to attacking Clinton and arguing that she is not to be trusted with the presidency. “Her criminal action was willful, deliberate, intentional and purposeful,” Trump said, standing in front of hay bales stacked in a horse barn. “Hillary set up an illegal server for the obvious purpose of shielding her illegal actions from public disclosure and exposure.” Comey, however, has not provided any details on whether the emails now under review are being seen for the first time by the FBI or the nature of their contents. Clinton’s campaign team tried to downplay the new review. “There’s no evidence of wrongdoing, no charge of wrongdoing,” said John Podesta, who heads the Clinton campaign, referring to the FBI’s latest announcement that it was taking “appropriate investigative steps” after learning of emails “that appear to be pertinent” to the earlier Clinton email probe. In some of his toughest language on Saturday, Podesta portrayed Comey’s letter to Congress as “light on facts, heavy on innuendo.” Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook, trying to tamp down speculation of a voter backlash this late in the campaign, said Americans had already “factored” what they knew about the email investigation into how they would cast their ballots. “We don’t see it changing the landscape” for undecided voters, Mook said. Clinton aides also said this latest controversy has further energized her supporters. Clinton did a campaign swing through Florida as she and Trump were thought to be in a tight race in a state famous for its role in close presidential elections. Many analysts believe this battleground state is essential for Trump to win in order to have any chance of being elected. In recent weeks, Trump has been running behind Clinton in most public opinion polls. Singer and actor Jennifer Lopez was scheduled to headline a free concert in Miami on Saturday for Clinton supporters. The Clinton campaign hopes that “J.Lo,” as she is known by fans, will provide celebrity star power and help Clinton connect with young voters who earlier this year flocked to Democratic primary challenger Bernie Sanders. Justice Department officials, according to a source who asked not to be identified, were opposed to the FBI director’s letter being sent to Congress and believe his actions conflict with a Justice Department memo outlining instructions that agencies should not to act in ways that could influence elections. While Lynch did not discuss the matter directly with Comey, the source said aides were in touch with each other. Comey let it be known he felt he had to send the letter as a follow-up to his congressional testimony earlier this year regarding the FBI’s probe of Clinton’s emails, the source said. During his speech in Golden, before flying to Arizona to campaign, Trump accused the Obama administration’s Justice Department of trying to protect Clinton from prosecution. “The attorney general didn’t want anything to happen to Hillary. I wonder why. It’s very sad. Folks, we’re living in a third world country,” Trump said.

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Delingpole: Climate Mob Threatens Trump - ’Quit Paris and You’re Toast!’

The international climate mob have made President Trump an offer he can’t refuse: “Stay in Paris — or the U. S. gets it! ”[Among the threats made so far, should the president honor his election trail promise to quit the UN Paris climate agreement. The U. S. will lose $6 trillion worth of jobs in “clean” energy. The U. S. will become a “rogue country”. The U. S. will be removed from Angela Merkel’s Weihnachtskarte list. The U. S. may become the victim of further weaponized handshakes and other typically Gallic “your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries” insults from prepubescent Mummy’s little tough boy President Macron of France. The U. S. presidential administration may become subject to further awkward rifts between those who want a “seat at the table” in Paris — Tillerson Jared Kushner Ivanka Gary Cohn Rick Perry — and those who want out. The U. S. may add to “global warming” by 0. 3 degrees C, causing the world to boil and melt or, if not that, then at least provoking much bitterness and resentment among all the countries that haven’t yet quit Paris even though they’d all secretly like to. Quite how Trump will respond to these threats is still anyone’s guess. On the one hand, he has reportedly told various allies that he intends to pull out. On the other, he is known for changing his mind at the last minute. What we do know is that the climate gravy train is trundling on regardless. And that as far as the U. S. climate negotiators are concerned, the current president might still just as well be Barack Obama. Yup, that’s the inside gossip from EU news specialist Euractiv: But, according to our sources, the US team are exploiting the vacuum to press ahead with the agreement, which was signed by Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama. They told officials, “We are following the Obama procedure. As long as there are no new instructions, the old ones are still valid. ” They agreed a limited budget increase to plans in Bonn. Diplomats told their opposite numbers that they should seize the opportunity to get as much agreed before Trump makes up his mind, awestruck sources gossiped. Another source blasted that “climate should be humanity’s number one concern and this guy hasn’t found the time to sit down with his climate negotiators in more than 120 days in office”. This international determination to keep the U. S. in the Paris Agreement at all costs sits slightly at odds with reports that several other signatory nations are privately desperate to escape. According to Climate Home, former Eastern Bloc countries Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary are trying to “gut, block or water down” the Paris accord’s promises because they interfere with their economic growth and commit them to useless, expensive renewable energy. Europe’s steelmakers — among them, Germany’s Thyssenkrupp and Austria’s Voestalpine — have written to EU leaders begging not to be burdened with any of the carbon emissions costs they say would make them uncompetitive against foreign rivals. Meanwhile a report produced by the Commission on Carbon Prices claims that says the carbon dioxide price needs to rise or twentyfold if it is to meet Paris pledges. This would — to coin a phrase — cause electricity prices necessarily to skyrocket … As Cliff Forrest notes in the Wall Street Journal, the ‘business case’ for Paris is bunk. The economic merits of the Paris Agreement take on a different air when more fully considered. advocates’ bizarre premise is that economic gains will come from restricting access to the most abundant, reliable and affordable fuel sources. Never mind that this defies the experience of many European nations that have invested heavily in renewable energy. After “Germany’s aggressive and reckless expansion of wind and solar,” for example, the magazine Der Spiegel declared in 2013 that electricity had become “a luxury good. ” Apparently this time will be different. Which is why — as I remarked yesterday — it is so absurd and wrong and dishonest of the President’s Economics Adviser Gary ‘Wormtongue’ Cohn to be pretending otherwise. No one is pretending Trump won’t get a lot of stick from the Climate Industrial Complex, from the Euro weenies, from the globalists, the Bilderbergers, the eco Nazis and Davos Man if he does the right thing and pulls out of Paris. No one is pretending that pulling out of Paris won’t earn him an even stiffer handshake from President Macron and even dirtier looks from Mrs Merkel next time they meet. But increasingly — at least from this Englishman’s perspective — whether President Trump pulls the U. S. out of Paris boils down to one very simple question: “Are you a man or a mouse, Mister President?”

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James Stavridis, Retired Admiral, Is Being Vetted as Hillary Clinton’s Running Mate - The New York Times

Hillary Clinton’s campaign is vetting James G. Stavridis, a retired Navy admiral who served as the 16th supreme allied commander at NATO, as a possible running mate, according to a person with knowledge of the vetting process. Some close to Mrs. Clinton, the former secretary of state, say she was always likely to have someone with military experience on her shortlist, and Mr. Stavridis, currently the dean of the Fletcher School at Tufts University, fits the description. During his four years as NATO’s supreme allied commander, he oversaw operations in the Middle East — Afghanistan, Libya and Syria — as well as in the Balkans and piracy off the coast of Africa. The Clinton campaign declined requests for comment, and Mr. Stavridis declined to comment other than referring calls to the campaign. The person with knowledge of the vetting spoke anonymously because of the sensitive nature of the process. In 2012, Mr. Stavridis was investigated for having improperly used a military aircraft to fly with his wife to an exclusive party in Burgundy, France with winemakers. He was later cleared of misconduct after a long Pentagon investigation into his travel and expenses, including trips he took with his wife, daughter and mother. The Pentagon inspector general’s report ultimately concluded that he had failed to exercise sufficient oversight over staff members, and had made several bookkeeping mistakes. Donald J. Trump has also said he sees certain appeal to selecting someone with military experience as a running mate, and is considering retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn. In an interview with ABC News over the weekend, Mr. Flynn, a lifelong Democrat, seemed to stumble, offering his support for abortion rights — a view out of lock step with Republican base orthodoxy. But in a phone interview with The New York Times on Tuesday, Mr. Trump called Mr. Flynn “a patriot. ” Mr. Trump will continue his public audition process for possible running mates on Tuesday night, when he is set to appear at a campaign rally in Indiana with Mike Pence, the state’s governor.

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TARGET STORES TO REMOVE GENDER LABELS FROM KIDS DEPARTMENTS

The LGBT Mafia and PC Police doing what they do best shaming Americans and businesses into conformity. Does anyone have the courage or fortitude to fight back, or are we just going to allow these PC thugs to strip our children of the genders God clearly assigned to each of us? Target Corp. is removing gender labels from most of its children s departments after customers complained about signs designating certain toys for girls.The kids bedding section will no longer feature boy and girl signage, and the toy department will be without labels and pink or blue paper on the shelves, Minneapolis-based Target said on its website Friday. Gender labels will remain in the kids clothing section because of sizing and fit differences.Retailers have been moving away from gender stereotypes, and some startups have emerged to break down the divide in kids clothing and toys. The signage that sparked the dispute at Target was for building sets, like GoldieBlox, that are targeted at girls. As guests have pointed out, in some departments like toys, home or entertainment, suggesting products by gender is unnecessary, Target said. We heard you, and we agree. Right now, our teams are working across the store to identify areas where we can phase out gender-based signage to help strike a better balance. In June, Ohio mom Abi Bechtel called out Target s gender designations in its toy aisle. She posted a photo to Twitter that showed store signs for Girls Building Sets next to regular Building Sets. The outcry was swift, with angry shoppers calling for change. It stood out to me as a good example of the way our culture tends to view boys and men as the default, normal option and girls and women as the specialized option, Bechtel told CNN at the time.Via: Bloomberg

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